"Yi... the Yixing branch genealogy?" Dai Zhigao had never heard of it, but judging by the name, it ought to be a genealogy compiled by the branch of the Langya Wang clan that had moved to Yixing.
Quite apart from how obscure such a book would be, if it really was a privately maintained family genealogy, he could not have read it even if he wanted to!
If he had the means to visit the Wang Residence and consult their private genealogies, why go to all this trouble? He could simply go to Jiankang, ask the heads of the Langya Wang clan for the genealogy of the entire clan, then follow that map to track down the branch records. Everything would become clear. Would he still need to toil away gathering historical sources, verifying facts, and drawing conclusions?
Wang Yang had made the whole thing up. He had no idea whether the Wangs in Yixing had compiled any branch genealogy. All he needed to do was insist that such a thing existed. It was so far away, and these were the Wangs' private family records; even someone who wanted to investigate would find it difficult. If they really manage to check every Wang family in Yixing, at worst I can say it was a genealogy compiled by my own household, or an ancient volume from a previous dynasty...
No, wait. If they really can check every Wang family in Yixing, they probably won't need a genealogy to establish whether I'm genuine...
The most important thing now was to flesh out this lie until it looked utterly convincing!
Looking down at Dai Zhigao, Wang Yang asked, "Do you know who the second son of my ancestor Wang Youjun was?"
He lifted his chin slightly, his eyes brimming with contempt and arrogance.