You are all bad women! Don't come over!

The Capital City is traversed by a large river, and the ancestral home of the Shen Family is on River Heart Island. The entire island is private property of the Shen Family.

It is said that the island dates back several hundred years, originally built by the ancestors of the Shen Family with their servants and retainers to avoid war and chaos. Later, it continued to serve as the ancestral home. Although many members of the Shen Family would be assigned elsewhere, they would always return to the ancestral home during festivals or ancestor worship ceremonies.

The island is named Mingde, and it spans nearly one hundred square kilometers, fully equipped with bridges, docks, and even a private airfield.

After disembarking the plane, Li Zhuangsheng arrived at the Shen Family in a luxurious car.

The original fortress of the Shen Family remains preserved, but no one resides there now; it is only occupied during ancestor worship or holidays. The Shen family generally lives in a villa built next to the fortress.

There are three villas on the island, each with many large courtyards. It is said that three of these belong to Shen Mochen — reportedly they originally belonged to Shen Mochen's father and grandfather, but since they are no longer around, they were all inherited by Shen Mochen.

Shen Motian and Shen Xinyue first took Shen Mochen to meet the family head, Shen Muchong.

Entering a courtyard, Shen Muchong was at a stone table reading a book. Without being told, who would guess that this scholarly elder is actually the powerful head of the Shen Family?

"Grandfather, Mochen is back." Shen Xinyue approached with a smile.

The old man lifted his head, immediately put down his book upon seeing Shen Mochen, and held Shen Mochen's hand with a look of relief in his eyes: "Child, you've finally returned! The third son has an heir!"

Shen Mochen felt complex emotions, but his face remained calm as he said, "Great-uncle."

"Ah!"

Shen Muchong responded and had Shen Mochen sit down, kindly asking if the journey had been smooth, then inquired about Shen Mochen's past. Hearing about Shen Mochen's childhood in the slums, he became both angry and tearful.

The two grandparents talked cheerfully, and before they knew it, it was getting late. Shen Muchong immediately arranged for a dinner banquet, inviting many elders present at home. Shen Muchong and Shen Motian introduced them one by one, and Shen Mochen recognized them all.

While introducing Shen Mochen, Shen Muchong also mentioned each person's identity outside the family, including officials and businesspeople... In short, none were ordinary folk. The most ordinary among them were university professors.

Shen Mochen smiled and responded confidently, not the least bit intimidated. The elders secretly nodded in approval.

Although county officials can't match a present governor and some official positions and businesses are indeed notable, Shen Mochen had seen the world. At Guanghai Manor, he held everyone hostage, including the Roman Empire's royal envoy, Yupi's presidential representative, Count Roman, and others.

Thinking back, were there any Shen Family members among these people? Shen Mochen didn't care at the time.

Having witnessed those "people above," Shen Mochen felt that people aren't much different after all. Nobility and lowliness are the same in the face of death.

Shen Mochen even thought to himself that the life and death of these people were at his whim. What was there to be nervous about?

Upon recognizing all the elders, the family banquet dispersed, and Shen Mochen was pulled aside for a chat with Shen Muchong, who then conveyed that in the coming days, Shen Mochen would formally acknowledge his ancestry.

Shen Mochen nodded casually; in truth, he wasn't interested in these surface-level rituals, as long as they didn't provoke his distaste.

They talked late into the night. Shen Muchong asked Shen Xinyue to lead Shen Mochen to rest. Shen Xinyue first took Shen Mochen to tour the courtyard he would soon occupy and introduced him to all the servants.

One villa had over thirty servants, including sixteen personal maids and several housekeeper-like aunts assisting with chores.

The inner courtyard housed the master and the personal maids, while the other aunts lived in the outer courtyard. Among the maids, four held the highest status, residing in the master's room to offer round-the-clock care, while the remaining twelve lived in separate rooms. Of course, if allowed by the master, they could also stay in the main house at night.

Shen Mochen got to know each of them; all sixteen personal maids were strikingly beautiful, ranging from twelve to twenty years old, and were considered beauties on the level of class queens. Even the aunts were quite dignified, though they were older and lacked that "fishy" look.

Standing nearby, Shen Xinyue vaguely hinted that in the courtyard, he was the absolute master and could do anything to anyone. Shen Mochen only smiled at hearing this. These aren't maids; they are clearly like indentured servants.

He observed three courtyards in succession, all the same.

"You just got back, and these courtyards haven't been tidied up yet. Why don't you stay at my place for the next few days?" Shen Xinyue suggested with a smile.

Shen Mochen was always easygoing and went home with Shen Xinyue, first visiting her parents, before being arranged to stay in the room next to Shen Xinyue's.

At night, just as Shen Mochen was about to retire, Shen Xinyue entered. She seemed to have just bathed, now dressed in a simple long dress, exuding a pleasant fragrance.

"Mochen, are you asleep?"

"Not yet."

"Haha, I was worried you might feel uneasy, so I came to chat with you," Shen Xinyue said, sitting by Shen Mochen's bed with a smile.

"Thank you, Sister Xinyue, but I'm actually fine," Shen Mochen replied with a smile.

Shen Xinyue held Shen Mochen's hand, gently and tenderly: "The day after tomorrow is the official day when you'll be registered into the family; many people will be there. I hope you won't be nervous; they're all your kin and have come to bless you."

"Alright, I understand." Shen Mochen nodded.

"Haha, I almost forgot, how could such a small occasion make you nervous?" Shen Xinyi suddenly remembered, tapping her head cutely, "You're the brave one who dared to hold all the dignitaries hostage at Guanghai Manor."

"Sister Xinyue, don't tease me. I was impulsive back then, young and ignorant." Shen Mochen showed a shy grin, eyes innocent, like a pure young boy who'd never held a girl's hand.

Shen Xinyue just chuckled softly, "Young and ignorant, it was only a few months ago."

"By the way, Mochen, how are you feeling today? Any thoughts or dissatisfaction?"

"No, everything is just fine." Shen Mochen grinned, "I feel like Jia Baoyu."

Although considering the power of the Shen Family, he should be much more formidable than Jia Baoyu.

In truth, reaching this point, Shen Mochen still harbored doubts. But he did not intend to investigate further; his Shen Family heritage no longer mattered to him. What mattered was that being the heir of the Shen Family brought him no harm. Accepting this identity, Buque would feel more at ease with him and wouldn't worry about the White-Haired Maiden luring him to the Roman Empire.

Though they might worry about him leaning towards the Shen Family and distancing from Buque, the Shen Family is from Yupi's lineage, at least in his own domain.

"Who is Jia Baoyu? Was he a classmate from Gaotang No.1 Middle School?"

"No, a character from a novel," Shen Mochen waved.