Chapter Sixteen: Boundaries of Affection

Yao Xingye’s harsh rebuke echoed through the banquet hall, stirring the fury of every member of the Yao family. To dare bring a counterfeit gift to the patriarch’s seventieth birthday—Lin Feng must truly have a death wish!

“Lin Feng, how dare you present a fake at Grandfather’s seventieth birthday, profaning his celebration! Kneel and beg forgiveness!”
“Kneel and beg forgiveness!”
“Kneel and beg forgiveness!”
The atmosphere shifted instantly; the banquet transformed into a tribunal for Lin Feng, with everyone eager to humiliate him, to drive him to despair.

Lin Feng turned his face toward Yao Qianqian, hoping that his wife would stand up for him in such a moment. After all, she had purchased the gift—if she produced the jade’s certification, his innocence would be obvious.

Yet reality was cruel. Yao Qianqian met his gaze without a flicker of emotion. Her face remained cold and unmoving, showing no intention of vindicating him.

In her heart, so long as Lin Feng admitted fault, he would bear all the shame and blame, thus shielding their branch of the family from repercussions. Sacrificing the pawn to protect the king—this was not only strategy, but Yao Qianqian’s choice.

The scene was heartbreakingly familiar. Her icy demeanor mirrored what had happened in his previous life.

Finally, Lin Feng abandoned his illusion. He squared his shoulders and declared calmly,
“A fake, you say? Yao Xingye, I think yours is the counterfeit. Five million for an authentic painting by the Master of Eight Great Mountains? At Sotheby’s, every work by him sells for tens of millions! Any auction would double the price. Would someone really be so foolish as to sell it to you at half price?”

“What nonsense! You—you’re slandering me! You tried to trick Grandfather with a fake and now drag me in? You’re nothing but a mad dog!”
“Grandfather, you mustn’t believe his lies!”

Yao Xingye was struck at his weak spot by Lin Feng’s words, and panic flashed across his face.

“Grandfather, if you want to know who’s the unworthy grandson, just have someone appraise the gifts. The truth will be clear,” Lin Feng said with a faint smile.

“Grandfather, you—”
Yao Xingye was now utterly flustered, his guilty conscience exposed by Lin Feng’s confident demeanor, leaving him speechless.

“Father, you’re already an expert in painting and calligraphy. Why call someone else? You should be the one to appraise them!”
At that moment, when Yao Xingye was at a loss, his mother—his aunt—stepped forward with this suggestion, quickly echoed by the rest of the family.

“Very well, I shall appraise them myself.”
The old patriarch’s eyelids narrowed. He cast a deep look at his sister-in-law, then glanced at both Lin Feng and Yao Xingye, making a silent decision.

He picked up the scroll and the jade pendant, examined them closely, pondered for a moment, and pronounced:
“The painting is genuine. The jade is fake.”

At these eight words, the whole room relaxed.

Yao Xingye, relieved, patted his chest and burst out laughing,
“Hahaha! Lin Feng, are you still struggling? Grandfather has already judged! Your worthless jade pendant is a counterfeit!”

“You tried to pass off the fake, disgrace Grandfather’s seventieth birthday—kneel and beg forgiveness!”
“How could this be? The painting is clearly…”

Lin Feng was stunned and wanted to step forward to argue, but Yao Xingye blocked his path, sneering in his ear,
“Lin Feng, are you stupid? Of course there’s bias. You’re nothing but a useless son-in-law, while I am his blood grandson. Who do you think he’ll favor?”

Lin Feng understood at once. He glanced at the lofty, dignified patriarch, then at Yao Xingye and his aunt.

Bias.
Heh, so I missed this point.

On one side stood the rightful heir of the Yao family, Yao Xingye, the eldest grandson.
On the other, Lin Feng, a son-in-law brought in from a declining family, forced to marry in.
Who mattered more, who was closer—the answer was obvious. The old patriarch was truly calculating.

“Lin Feng, kneel! Bow and admit your mistake to Grandfather!” Yao Xingye cried out triumphantly.

“Kneel! Bow!”
“Kneel! Bow!”
The entire Yao clan, four generations together, shouted as one; the banquet was filled with angry faces and voices condemning him, threatening and intimidating.

An ordinary man would have already dropped to his knees in shame.

Lin Feng remembered how, in his previous life, he had knelt in humiliation under such pressure, bowed his head in apology, and then been beaten by Yao Xingye and thrown out of the Tianhe Hotel. His dignity trampled like mud, he spiraled into despair and failure.

Yao Xingye was just as ruthless now, intent on utterly crushing Lin Feng’s pride.

But this time, he would have no such chance.

Lin Feng’s eyes narrowed. He strode forward like a tiger, seized the opened scroll from the table, sipped his tea, and sprayed it onto the back of the scroll.

“Lin Feng! You stubborn fool, still causing trouble! Are you looking for death?”

Yao Xingye tried to stop him, but it was too late.

A blood-red skull slowly emerged from the back of the scroll, beneath which four crimson characters blazed:
“Made by Wu Daozi!”

When the hidden mark appeared, everyone was stunned.

Wu Daozi—renowned in the antiques world as a master forger. Many antique shops had fallen for his tricks; he was known as the “Grandmaster of Forgery.” His skill was superb, capable of fooling even experts.

But his eccentricity drove him to leave a mark on every piece, and the skull was his signature.

“It really is a fake! Yao Xingye, the eldest grandson, tried to fool the patriarch with a counterfeit!”
“Who would have thought—Lin Feng was right all along!”

Whispers rippled through the banquet. Yao Xingye was completely exposed; his legs buckled and he fell to his knees, crying,
“Grandfather! I was deceived too! Don’t believe a word from this useless outsider! I am your blood grandson—will you listen to a stranger’s nonsense?”

“All of this is Lin Feng’s doing—it’s all him!”

The old patriarch was so furious his beard trembled, his yellowed teeth clattering as he glared at Yao Xingye, full of regret. When he turned to Lin Feng, his gaze was ablaze with anger and he roared inwardly,

“So, Lin Feng, as the saying goes, outsiders are never truly loyal. If you’d just taken the blame and knelt, it would have been over. Instead, you had to make a scene at my birthday! Are you trying to shorten my life?”

Rather than being angry at Yao Xingye, the old man placed all the blame on Lin Feng.

He shakily lifted his hand and pointed at Lin Feng, snarling,

“Cough, cough, someone! Get this troublemaker out of my birthday banquet!”

Everyone was momentarily confused, murmuring to themselves—wasn’t Yao Xingye the one at fault? Why was Lin Feng being punished?

But they quickly understood: Yao Xingye was the beloved grandson, while Lin Feng was nothing—how could they be compared?

Seeing this, Yao Xingye leapt up, first to shout, eager to lead the charge and drag Lin Feng out.

Lin Feng’s gaze was cold as he regarded these ignorant fools, and at last a spark of anger ignited in his heart.

Just then, a commanding voice rang out,

“From the Tang family, Tang Ke Nian greets Mr. Lin! On behalf of Mr. Lin, I congratulate the patriarch on his birthday and present these gifts:

A pair of Ruyi Jade Longevity Stars,
A pair of Ancient Bronze Longevity Cauldrons,
A single Bamboo Longevity Star,
A Purple Crystal Immortal Peach statue,
A Silver Crystal Immortal statue,
A pair of Jade Water Basins for Immortal Elders,
A set of Jade Ink Separators for National Peace and Prosperity,
A pair of Auspicious Ruyi ornaments,
An Everlasting Heaven Longevity Furnace,
A pair of Jade Deer Bookends.

In addition, there are 4,531 pieces of various jade artifacts.

Tang Ke Nian, on behalf of the Tang family head Tang He Nian, wishes the patriarch a long and prosperous life!”

At that moment, hundreds of people entered, each carrying a longevity gift of jade. Their procession stretched for hundreds of meters, standing respectfully at the banquet, then shouting in unison,

“To Mr. Lin, wishing the patriarch health and longevity!”

The sudden spectacle left every member of the Yao family utterly dumbfounded. Their jaws dropped, wine spilled from their mouths, and for a long moment, they could not recover from their shock.

Even the seventy-year-old patriarch had never witnessed such grandeur; he nearly fell from his chair.

These jade gifts alone were worth more than a hundred million!

But more pressing was the question—who exactly was this Mr. Lin?