Even orphans had relatives; they simply might not know of them or keep in touch.
Liu Chang'an had relatives too. Setting aside the few people as close to him as family, he was even related to a sheep.
Naturally, he and Shangguan Dandan counted as relatives too, though their understanding of that relationship differed.
Modern people found it difficult to understand Shangguan Dandan's insistence on Liu Chang'an being her son. But anyone with even a slight understanding of the Han Dynasty's principle of governing the realm through filial piety would understand. It was one of the ideological foundations of state rule, and as someone akin to the chairman of the ruling class, Shangguan Dandan naturally practiced what she preached in defending that foundation.
In a sense, this mother-son relationship, born to stabilize the state's rule, was even more unshakable than one based on blood. It concerned the stability of the nation and the lives and fortunes of countless people.
As for how Shangguan Dandan treated relatives from ancient times, Liu Chang'an had no way of knowing. He suspected that even if she had been a little bird that had somehow survived since prehistoric times, she had no memories from before she became Shangguan Dandan.
In any case, she now spent her days muddleheaded and idle, whiling away her time among old men and women. Just as Liu Chang'an was now merely an ordinary university student.
"Was that woman in the car also Dandan's relative? A woman driving a Ferrari looked really classy. I want to drive a Ferrari someday too," Bai Hui said enviously.
Bai Hui had seen Zhu Juntang's Ferrari gathering dust in a corner of the garage. Zhu Juntang did not own many sports cars because she could not drive herself, and most four-seat sports cars offered a