Chapter 134: The Struggle for the Title of Family Head
Xu Youyou truly couldn’t understand where her confidence came from, nor could she comprehend how He Zhilan, with her intelligent face, could believe in such bizarre ideas.
To her, the Qilin Jade Pendant was nothing more than a regular antique jade pendant, yet in He Zhilan’s words, it almost sounded like a magical artifact from a fantasy novel with its own spirit.
“Are you all overthinking this? Can it really be that effective? Don’t do anything foolish,” Xu Youyou said helplessly.
He Zhilan explained, “Miss Xu, you must have heard the saying: ‘When all possibilities have been eliminated, the one remaining guess, no matter how absurd, must be the truth.'”
Xu Youyou nodded slightly, recalling that this saying seemed to come from some detective TV drama.
He Zhilan continued, “Our ancestors recorded that the Qilin Jade Pendant had been lost several times, but it was always found again by descendants, and those who found it were invariably the most outstanding of the He family.”
“Later, our ancestors began using this method to select the next family head. Whenever the position of family head was about to change, the current family head would intentionally send the Qilin Jade Pendant out. Whoever could retrieve it would become the next family head, and the one holding the pendant outside the family would become He family’s closest partner.”
Xu Youyou asked, “So you’re all so certain? Hasn’t there ever been trouble? Like the previous family head secretly telling a chosen successor the pendant’s whereabouts?”
He Zhilan smiled and nodded. “Everyone has selfish desires, and such things are inevitable. But the Qilin Jade Pendant is intelligent, and even if someone knows where it is, they still may not be able to get it.”
Xu Youyou widened her eyes in surprise.
He Zhilan continued, “There was once a family head who wanted to pass the position to his own son. He buried the Qilin Jade Pendant in his backyard. He waited the whole night, but the pendant was unknowingly dug up by a servant and secretly sold.”
“Three years later, it appeared a thousand miles away from the He family’s stronghold, where it happened to be found by an exiled younger branch member. This person, who had been forced to leave the family due to his tarnished reputation, was my great-grandfather. He then became the head of the He family.”
Xu Youyou felt like she was listening to a male-focused story of rise and revenge.
“The Qilin Jade Pendant is the He family’s most important treasure. It selects the true heir of the family,” He Zhilan said, her face now glowing with a strange light.
Now that she had the pendant, it meant she was firmly the next family head.
But Xu Youyou still felt that this whole thing seemed too childish, far from the kind of decision a prominent family should make.
“Isn’t it reckless to judge someone based on a jade pendant? Hasn’t the pendant ever made a mistake?” Xu Youyou asked.
He Zhilan lowered her voice and said, “Sometimes, human judgment isn’t as reliable as the jade pendant.”
“During the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, our ancestors tried to give the pendant to the newly appointed Crown Prince, Emperor Jianwen, hoping he would become the He family’s destined person. But in the end, the pendant ended up in the hands of Prince Yan, Zhu Di.”
“Shortly after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, Prince Yan Zhu Di gave the pendant as a wedding gift to his general. The general’s wife, He Shi, wore the pendant when she returned to her family six months later.”
“According to the selection of the Qilin Jade Pendant, the destined person for the He family was Prince Yan Zhu Di, and the next family head should have been the He Shi woman who married outside.”
“But at the time, the He family thought that Emperor Jianwen’s throne was secure and didn’t want to recognize an outside woman as the family head, so they thought the pendant was wrong.”
“After Emperor Jianwen ascended, he pushed for the weakening of the vassals, leading to the death of the King of Xiang. Prince Yan Zhu Di rebelled, and after the Jingnan campaign, the He family side, which supported Emperor Jianwen, was ruthlessly suppressed, almost wiped out. However, the outside-married He Shi woman and her close relatives survived because they sided with Zhu Di.”
“The remaining He family members, despite their reluctance to accept a female family head, recognized the outside-married He Shi woman as the family head after Zhu Di became emperor.”
“During the years when Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was most popular, despite the strange voices from the outside world, anyone chosen by the Qilin Jade Pendant to be the family head, regardless of gender, could lead the He family. This is how the He family has been passed down to this day.”
Xu Youyou was struck with shock. How many lives had the He family’s ancestors been saved by the Qilin Jade Pendant in the past? It seemed that their gratitude had lasted for over a thousand years.
At this point, Xu Youyou was beginning to believe He Zhilan’s words, as she realized that although outsiders didn’t know, she, herself, had been given an advantage by the system. She was no ordinary person.
Xu Youyou also felt curious and asked, “In the past century, how has your family selected the head?”
He Zhilan, surprisingly open with Xu Youyou, explained:
“Back then, the person we followed as the destined one resolutely joined the resistance against the Japanese invasion. The old family head, to support him, sold off all the family’s assets and used the funds to send supplies to the front lines. Several family members also went to the front. Unfortunately, that destined person died in battle, and most of the family members who went to the front didn’t return.”
Xu Youyou was deeply moved. She respected the He family even more for their decisive actions. It was no wonder they remained one of the four prominent antique families.
He Zhilan, looking rather helpless, added, “Since the He family made the wrong choice between Emperor Jianwen and Emperor Chengzu and almost caused the family’s downfall, we have never dared to go against the Qilin Jade Pendant again.”
The Qilin Jade Pendant seemed too powerful. Xu Youyou, for a moment, was reluctant to sell it to the He family.
However, she also knew that an item so deeply entwined with a family’s fate would likely not be useful to her if she kept it.
“I suppose I benefited from the Qilin Jade Pendant’s blessing, or else you probably wouldn’t have been willing to sign Miss Zhitin to me,” Xu Youyou said.
He Zhilan smiled. “The person chosen by the Qilin Jade Pendant will definitely not be a villain. Miss Xu’s company must also be cleaner than others, and I have no more concerns.”
Xu Youyou comforted herself. Even though she had made an easy profit of a billion, she was also securing a female artist with top-tier potential for her company.
“Looking forward to our collaboration,” Xu Youyou extended her hand, acknowledging the connection as ‘destined ones.’
He Zhilan shook her hand with both of hers. “Miss Xu, from now on, the He family will be your most loyal partner, supporting all your decisions unconditionally.”
Xu Youyou honestly couldn’t understand why she would need a family with such a deep history of antiques as a business partner. After all, she didn’t need anyone’s help to make her own lucky finds.
“Miss Xu, I have one more small request. When you purchased the Qilin Jade Pendant at the auction, did you receive any proof of purchase? The He family needs to trace the pendant’s ‘adventures’ outside before confirming the family head,” He Zhilan asked politely.
Xu Youyou nodded. “I will have my housekeeper send the relevant documents to you from Hu City.”
