An Changde

"My short-lived brother, how could you leave so early..."

Before An Ziran reached the mourning hall, he heard the wailing of an unfamiliar middle-aged man from inside. As if afraid no one would hear him, the man cried so extravagantly that it sounded somewhat fake instead.

When he arrived at the entrance and looked inside, the wailing middle-aged man happened to be getting up from the floor. His clothes were rumpled, as though he had just rolled around on the ground. Seeing someone at the door, he immediately turned around.

The middle-aged man was the eldest master Steward Su had mentioned—An Changfu's older brother, An Changde. The two brothers looked rather alike, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, likely from having worked the fields in their younger days. However, An Changde's complexion was ruddy; one glance showed that he had been living a very comfortable life.

His eyes were slightly red from crying. Someone who did not know better might truly think he was grieving for An Changfu's untimely death, but An Ziran could tell that An Changde was merely putting on a show. The calculation in his eyes was obvious, especially upon seeing his nephew—his eyes practically lit up.

"My poor nephew, after your father and mother passed away, look how pale your little face is. You must have suffered quite a bit too. It's all right. With your uncle here, I'll hold up the sky for you. No one will dare bully you!"

An Changde immediately walked up to An Ziran, looking at him with fatherly affection as he reached out to touch his head. An Ziran lightly dodged aside. When his hand fell empty, An Changde immediately cast him a displeased look.

An Ziran took in all of this, yet his dark eyes remained unusually calm.

Hold up the sky for him? Hold up the An Family?

The two An brothers had split the household long ago, when they each married. The old master of the An Family had held the bowl level, favoring neither side. Everything An Changfu possessed had been earned through his own hard work and had not the slightest thing to do with An Changde.

An Changde was merely An Ziran's uncle. The two households had no property disputes whatsoever. Was he not afraid of drawing criticism by openly saying such things?

"Thank you for your concern, Uncle. My father and mother have passed away, and I am now the An Family's sole heir. I will pull myself together, manage the An Family properly, and not let my parents down in the underworld."

An Ziran put on a sorrowful expression. His complexion was already pale, and this display immediately made people believe him eight or nine parts out of ten. However, An Changde was dissatisfied with his words.

In An Changde's eyes, An Ziran was an ignorant, good-for-nothing dandy, a fat sack of flesh who looked nothing like his parents. There was not a single redeeming quality about him. If the An Family's great estate were handed to someone like this, it would sooner or later be squandered away. It would be better to let An Changde profit from it.

Three days earlier, when An Changde learned that his younger brother and sister-in-law had died, his first thought had been that he absolutely had to seize the An Family for himself. As for the second, third, and fourth branches of the An Family, those women had only borne two daughters for the family. They would not even receive a share of the An Family's property, so in his eyes, they posed no threat whatsoever.

"Ziran, it's not that your uncle wants to criticize you, but how can you manage the An Family in your current condition? Your illness has not even healed, so you should rest properly. Don't exhaust yourself, only to let certain people take advantage of your weakness and seize the An Family's property." As An Changde spoke, he cast a pointed glance at Wang Qinglan, who had just finished wailing and was preparing to excuse herself.

Wang Qinglan's expression stiffened. The "certain people" he meant clearly referred to her. Though unhappy inside, she could not openly fall out with him, so she said in a strange, cutting tone:

"Uncle is absolutely right. The master's estate should naturally be inherited by Ziran. Even if 'outsiders' bear the surname An, they should not dream of touching so much as a fraction of the master's property. Uncle, am I right?"

The moment she finished speaking, she regretted it.

An Changde's face immediately darkened. Was he not one of those "outsiders" surnamed An—and the one with the worst intentions at that? Yet he could not refute her directly. Otherwise, before tomorrow came, word that he wanted to lay hands on his younger brother's estate would spread throughout Anyuan County, which would be extremely unfavorable to him.

"Since they bear the surname An, they are naturally members of the An Family. Compared with those outsiders who wish to divide the family property, they are far better. In the end, it still belongs to the An Family." An Changde wore a righteous, dignified expression. He had read more books and could barely be considered worldly and well-informed; his tongue was far sharper than Wang Qinglan's.

Wang Qinglan's expression stiffened again. She said no more, turning to An Ziran instead. "Ziran, I'll leave this place to you. Your Fourth Aunt will take her leave first."

An Ziran nodded. From beginning to end, he had merely watched from the sidelines.

After she left, An Changde immediately put on a kindly face and said to him with a smile, "Ziran, your uncle has matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving first. If the An Family has any problems in the future, feel free to come to your uncle, or your aunt as well. You are my own nephew. Now that Chang Fu has passed away, ours is the closest relationship there is. Do not stand on ceremony with your uncle!"

After filling his head with a great deal of talk about how family members ought to support one another, give selflessly, and rely on one another for life, An Changde left in satisfaction.

In his eyes, An Ziran was still that easily fooled fat boy from before. As long as he made him distance himself from An Changfu's three concubines and draw close only to him, would the An Family's property not fall into his hands as easily as turning over his palm?

Daydreaming was certainly as easy as turning over his palm.

After leaving the mourning hall, An Ziran did not return to his room. Instead, he went to see his younger sister, An Yuzhi.