Chapter 437

Chapter 437 The Ultimate Illegitimate Child!

In the villa by Junting Lake.

　　By his usual routine, Su Wuxian would have been asleep long ago at this hour, yet here he stood before his desk, pinching a slender, delicate calligraphy brush, writing something across a large sheet of xuan paper.

　　Su Chiyan sat nearby in her loungewear, watching her adoptive father sweep brush stroke after brush stroke, a complex look flickering in her eyes.

　　Because Su Wuxian had been writing calligraphy the entire night, and the content was nothing more than the same four characters repeated over and over —Boundless Innovation , Boundless Resolve!

　　At first the four characters Su Wuxian wrote still maintained a refined small regular script, but gradually they shifted into running script, and an hour later the vast sheet of xuan paper was covered entirely in wild cursive.

　　The change in script style also reflected the shifting emotions within Su Wuxian’s heart.

　　”Your mind is in turmoil,” Su Chiyan said.

　　From childhood to adulthood, Su Chiyan had never once seen her adoptive father look like this. He had always given people the impression that he could stand unmoved before a collapsing mountain, that even if the sky fell he could still laugh and chat at ease — yet this time, Su Wuxian had gone the entire night without a single word, simply letting his brush roam freely across the paper, and that alone was enough to show something was wrong with him.

　　”Chiyan, you’re mistaken.”

　　Su Wuxian didn’t even lift his head, his brush moving like a dragon and serpent across the page. Judged purely on the level of calligraphy, whether in running script, regular script, or cursive, he could rank among the top masters in all of China.

　　”Something like this isn’t worth losing my composure over.” A faint, self-mocking smile touched the corner of Su Wuxian’s lips. “I have to admit, after confirming with the old man what I had suspected, I was genuinely shocked — but only shocked, nothing more.”

　　”I lost my composure at the time,” Su Chiyan answered honestly.

　　”Yes, well — who could have imagined that the old man, who had disciplined himself his entire life, would go and father an illegitimate child at such an advanced age.”

　　An illegitimate child!

　　A trace of mockery had already appeared plainly on Su Wuxian’s face. He said, “When you first saw Su Rui, you thought he looked a great deal like me, and when I laid eyes on him for the first time, I had the same feeling.”

　　Su Chiyan smiled. “The whole capital is buzzing with the rumor that Su Rui is your illegitimate son.”

　　Su Wuxian switched to a fresh sheet of xuan paper and continued writing as he spoke. “But even if they racked their brains, they’d never guess Su Rui’s true identity. If it weren’t for the piece of calligraphy the old man gave me as a hint, I wouldn’t have figured it out either.”

　　Su Chiyan’s eyes fixed on the xuan paper, and she read softly, “Boundless Innovation — Boundless Resolve.”

　　”Yes, Boundless Resolve.”

　　”Su Rui, Su Yi, Su Wuxian!”

　　At that, Su Wuxian suddenly put more force into his voice. The brush in his hand came down heavily on the xuan paper, leaving a jarring blot of ink.

　　”Grandfather valued his reputation greatly his whole life — can this be considered a stain on it?” Su Chiyan asked with some worry.

　　She was deeply concerned about what kind of gossip and slander might be brought upon that old man who had weathered so many storms, if the news that Su Rui was the old patriarch Su’s illegitimate son were ever exposed.

　　Thinking about it, Su Chiyan herself felt it was all a bit melodramatic — Su Rui was actually slightly younger than her, yet she would have to call him “little uncle.”

　　The Su family’s business empire was so vast. With a youngest son suddenly appearing out of nowhere, there were probably quite a few people who wouldn’t be sleeping well at night.

　　”Chiyan, you’re wrong again.”

　　Su Wuxian frowned at the ink blot left by his momentary shift in emotion, and suddenly lost all desire to continue writing. He tossed the brush aside carelessly, picked up the strong tea beside him that had long since gone cold, and drained it in one gulp.

　　He simply sat down across from Su Chiyan and said, “The old man lived his whole life with a clean conscience. He never once used his reputation to gain any private benefit for the family. Even when he had every right to stand at the very pinnacle of this nation, he still never gave us children any special treatment.”

　　”His reputation is excellent, but it was never something he deliberately cultivated. On the contrary, the thing he cared least about was his own reputation.”

　　Su Wuxian put forward a view that was the complete opposite of Su Chiyan’s.

　　”Whether commanding armies in battle or governing the nation and managing the family, the old man never once cared about what others said. Otherwise, how could he have pushed through reforms with such bold, sweeping strokes? If it had been anyone else facing those layers upon layers of difficulty, they would surely have hesitated and dithered, unable to move forward.”

　　”But if news like this got out, it would be a tremendous blow to grandfather’s reputation,” Su Chiyan hesitated, then said, “Should we try to keep it under wraps? Right now only the two of us and Second Uncle know — why not just let it stay buried forever.”

　　No one would ever have imagined that the formidable man who, five years ago, had nearly toppled the five great families starting from nothing as a commoner, also carried the identity of a scion of the most elite family — and the top-tier eldest son of the next generation at that.

　　”Su Rui has already made his appearance, and the capital is full of rumors. News like this can’t be kept under wraps.” Su Wuxian laughed at himself. “I can hardly pin the old man’s romantic debt on my own head, can I?”

　　Su Chiyan nodded in silence. “Grandmother passed away early, and grandfather is only human. For him to have done something like this — I can understand it.”

　　”I understand it too. Ever since I learned of this, I’ve never once blamed him.” Su Wuxian turned his face away, gazing out at the night sky. “Mother died far too young — she left almost no memories for me at all. Only a few of my older sisters still have any impression of her. If the old man hadn’t played both father and mother to us, none of us could have grown up the way we did.”

　　Su Chiyan said, “I’m very curious who Su Rui’s mother is. Grandfather’s standards are so high — who could he have taken a liking to?”

　　”I was curious about that before too.” As Su Wuxian said this, a faint smile had already settled at the corner of his mouth. Su Chiyan could clearly see that within that smile there was a thread of something like relief.

　　”It’s Rui Hongyun — I’ve always called her Auntie Rui.” Su Wuxian said.

　　”Rui Hongyun?” Su Chiyan covered her very alluring lips with her hand, looking somewhat startled. “I’ve heard that name. She was grandfather’s dedicated personal nurse?”

　　”Not ‘was’ — she always was.” Su Wuxian recalled, “The old man sustained a body full of injuries during the war, and every year he’d suffer several serious bouts of illness. Auntie Rui was assigned by the organization to care for him when she was just a teenager, and she continued right up until she was in her forties — nearly thirty years.”

　　”Thirty years.” Murmuring that number, Su Chiyan said softly, “Such a long time — almost half a lifetime. Anyone would develop feelings.”

　　Any normal man, cared for wholeheartedly and without complaint by a woman for thirty years, would inevitably develop a different kind of feeling in his heart.

　　Of course, whether in the era that came before or in today’s society, people with ulterior motives would interpret Rui Hongyun’s behavior as deliberately currying favor with the old patriarch Su in order to elevate her own position — but Su Wuxian would never think that way. He had known Rui Hongyun for decades, and he trusted his own eyes and judgment.

　　In that respect, Su Wuxian was truly a good person.

　　”Living together day and night, Auntie Rui eventually became pregnant. The old man had no way to give her a formal status, so he secretly sent her to Ninghai to give birth. But by that time she was already an older mother, and she hemorrhaged after delivery and couldn’t be saved.” At this point, a trace of melancholy had already entered Su Wuxian’s eyes — clearly, Rui Hongyun had left a very good impression on him.

　　”And at the time, the old man was on a state visit abroad and didn’t even get to see Auntie Rui one last time. By the time he returned, she had already been quietly cremated.”

　　”So that’s how the story goes.” A note of sorrow crept into Su Chiyan’s voice.

　　”Su and Rui — Su Rui.” Su Wuxian murmured. “I imagine the old man chose that name to commemorate what he and Auntie Rui had shared. But to have a son in his old age, only to have to raise him in an orphanage, unable even to see him — the old man must have carried a great deal of pain inside.”

　　”That must be so.” Su Chiyan said quietly. There is so much in this world that is beyond one’s control — even those who in others’ eyes have already reached the very top of the pyramid are still bound by far too many constraints.

　　Su Wuxian shifted his tone and passed his verdict on the old patriarch: “He was a good leader, but not a good father.”

　　Su Chiyan shuddered at those words.

　　”Still, Su Rui hasn’t let the old man down. Starting out no different from an orphan, he somehow managed to reach the point he’s at today.”

　　At that, Su Wuxian laughed, a hint of teasing in his smile. “Though I’m very curious to see what expression the old man will have when he finds out about Su Rui’s identity as ‘Apollo.’ He spent his whole life with impeccable revolutionary credentials, cracking down hard on criminal forces — and yet his own youngest son, in just five years, became one of the Twelve Gods of the Western underworld. Is that irony, or what?”

　　”Grandfather probably knew long ago,” Su Chiyan said thoughtfully. “He might even be proud of Su Rui.”

　　Su Wuxian’s smile faded at that. “If the old patriarch were actually proud of Su Rui, I’d imagine there wouldn’t be many people left in the entire Su family who’d feel happy about it.”

　　Su Wuxian’s words carried a deep undercurrent, and hearing them, Su Chiyan felt a heaviness settle in her heart as well.

　　”So now that Su Rui is in trouble, are you going to step in and help?”

　　Su Chiyan had very well-connected sources of information, and naturally knew that Su Rui had already arrived outside the Nangong family’s compound.

　　There were far too many people in the entire capital who wanted to move against him — his enemies were practically everywhere. This time Su Rui had walked into a trap, and if Su Wuxian didn’t intervene, it seemed unlikely Su Rui would be able to get out in one piece.

　　”If he can’t even handle something like this, he has no right to be my brother,” Su Wuxian said. “Boldness alone isn’t enough — you need a brain to go with it.”

　　In everyone else’s eyes, this was almost certainly a death trap — yet in Su Wuxian’s eyes, it was merely: something like this.

　　Su Chiyan laughed, and her smile carried a rare slyness that was completely at odds with her sultry air.

　　”You care about him. Otherwise, why would you be up in the middle of the night practicing calligraphy instead of sleeping?”

　　”No — what I care about isn’t whether Su Rui can get out safely. It’s what kind of storm this whole affair will stir up in the capital afterward.”

　　It seemed that in Su Wuxian’s eyes, Su Rui getting out of this situation was already a foregone conclusion.

　　”Even so, I think this time still calls for you to show yourself,” Su Chiyan said, a look of resolve in her eyes. “Those few great families need a good dressing-down from you as well.”

　　Su Wuxian lowered his head, turning the jade thumb ring between his fingers, and said with a light smile, “The time isn’t right yet.”