“Uncle Lu, just say it directly.” Lu Youze looked at Uncle Lu and spoke gently, “I won’t take my anger out on innocent people.”

“Yes, Young Master.” Since the young master had said so, Uncle Lu was reassured. “Where did Master leave off just now?”

“Ahem.” Lu Lihai let out another fake cough. “Old Lu, I hadn’t even started speaking before you came in, so you should start from the beginning.”

“Alright, Master.” Uncle Lu then shifted his gaze to Lu Youze. His expression was calm as he said, “Young Master, you should know that in many prominent families, political marriages are common.”

“Hmm.” Lu Youze nodded slightly.

“It is said that President Gu’s mother was a gentle and refined Omega. I recall she was the eldest daughter of the Ou family, named Ruoruo.”

“You remembered correctly.” Lu Lihai added from the side. When he was younger, he had seen Ou Ruoruo a few times at banquets. “She was indeed a gentle girl.”

But unfortunately, being too gentle in a family like that was destined to be a tragedy.

Uncle Lu thought to himself, Master, why don’t you just say it yourself? But of course, he kept his thoughts to himself and continued speaking.

The Ou family primarily operated in the hotel industry, and their “Ou K” hotel chain was one of the best in the business, making them well-matched with the Gu family. Moreover, Miss Ou was well-versed in the four arts, well-educated, and highly admired by the then-head of the Gu family, Gu Xuanze’s grandfather. At the time, the Ou family’s hotel business was facing financial difficulties, so when the old Gu master proposed that Ou Ruoruo marry his son, Gu Jing, Father Ou agreed without hesitation.

Father Ou had always been a scumbag, a notorious womanizer. He had five sons and four daughters, and he had never cared much for this particular daughter. The only reason he invested so much in her upbringing was that she was an Omega, which might be useful for his business someday. In Father Ou’s eyes, Ou Ruoruo was just a chess piece, a bargaining chip for business negotiations. Even if the person proposing marriage had been old Master Gu himself rather than someone Ruoruo’s age, Father Ou would have still handed his daughter over without hesitation.

Ou Ruoruo had always been obedient, never resisting. And the strong-willed old Master Gu left Gu Jing no room to disobey either, even though Gu Jing already had a long-term lover at the time—who was already pregnant with his child.

In reality, while old Master Gu was strict, Gu Jing was still his only son, so he gave him a choice.

“Either inheritance or love—you can choose one.”

Had Gu Jing truly chosen love, the old master might have admired his courage and perhaps even allowed him to continue his relationship with the woman he didn’t approve of.

At this point, Uncle Lu paused to observe Lu Youze’s reaction. Seeing no significant change in his expression, he continued.

“Useless coward,” Lu Lihai scoffed, though it was unclear who he was referring to.

Choosing love meant leaving the Gu family behind—losing all ties to it. Gu Jing would no longer be a privileged young master but a penniless nobody, completely unprepared for that kind of life.

In the end, he succumbed to reality and chose inheritance, willingly abandoning his lover. Though it was entirely his decision, he blamed everything on Ou Ruoruo. If she had never appeared, none of this would have happened. His hatred twisted his feelings toward her—after she married into the Gu family, he never treated her well. When the old master wasn’t around, he even physically abused her… Later, after the old master found out, Gu Jing didn’t dare go too far anymore.

In the years following Gu Xuanze and his brother’s birth, Gu Jing often stayed out all night and barely interacted with Ou Ruoruo. Those years were relatively peaceful for her. Gu Xuanze was obedient and intelligent, excelling at everything he learned, which made the old master adore him. However, the old master was also well aware that Gu Jing did not like Gu Xuanze and instead doted on the illegitimate son he had raised outside. The old master couldn’t let the Gu family fall into the hands of that illegitimate child.

So, he secretly drafted a will with a lawyer, stipulating that upon his death, all his shares would be transferred to Gu Xuanze. Once Gu Xuanze came of age, he would gain control over these shares. To prevent any mishaps, he also added a clause preventing the transfer of these shares before Gu Xuanze reached adulthood.

Not long after drafting the will, the old master died in a sudden car accident on his way back from a business trip. A year after his death, Gu Jing, who had now inherited the Gu Corporation, openly brought his first love and their illegitimate son into the Gu family estate.

To gain control of the shares that the old master had given to Ou Ruoruo and to maintain control over Gu Xuanze, it was said that Gu Jing imprisoned the mother and sons in a dark house, subjecting them to daily humiliation and torment…

“I don’t know all the details.” Uncle Lu no longer dared to look at Lu Youze’s face. The young master’s expression just now had been terrifying. The documents he was holding were nearly crushed from his grip—this was the first time since his amnesia that he had seen the young master so enraged. But he had to continue, “Miss Ou had always been frail. She couldn’t endure such abuse and was eventually sent to the hospital, but she still didn’t survive. When they took her to the hospital, President Gu was also sent in. According to the nurses, he was covered in blood, with barely a single intact spot on his body. If he had been sent any later, he might have actually died.”

At this point, Uncle Lu clenched his fists slightly. “Young Master, do you know how he got those injuries?”

Lu Youze stared coldly at the photo in his hands, his voice icy. “Was it this guy?”

Uncle Lu nodded. “Young Master, I’m not exaggerating—this man is truly dangerous. At that time, he was only a year older than President Gu. Can you imagine a nine-year-old child beating his own younger brother to such an extent?”

Lu Youze glanced at the man in the photo again. The once gentle features now seemed utterly repulsive.

“And that’s not even the scariest part,” Uncle Lu continued. “The most terrifying thing is that this man has two completely different faces—one in front of people and one behind closed doors. He was always gentle to the household servants. Despite the true young master of the Gu family being locked away in darkness, these servants treated this illegitimate child as the rightful heir.”

“Hmph, a bunch of ungrateful traitors.” Lu Lihai was the first to lash out in anger. He had always been protective of his own. Even though he constantly nitpicked and found fault with Gu Xuanze, the boy was still his future son-in-law. Hearing about his suffering infuriated him.

“Master, we can’t entirely blame the servants,” Uncle Lu said helplessly. “After all, Gu Jing was the head of the household. And that eldest young master of the Gu family… I suppose we can say his name now—Gu Xuanyu. He is incredibly manipulative, and that’s what makes him so terrifying. He completely won Gu Jing over. Gu Jing adored this son, spoiling him to no end, giving him anything he wanted, and even publicly declaring multiple times that Gu Xuanyu would be the sole heir of the Gu Corporation.”

“Hmph, stupid.” Lu Lihai cursed again. He truly looked down on this Gu Jing—useless and foolish. “He’s practically digging his own grave.”

With how dumb he was, it was no surprise that he got tricked by that illegitimate child and lost his shares, ending up in such a miserable state. The old man of the Gu family must have had foresight, realizing that his son was a good-for-nothing. To prevent Gu Corporation from falling into the hands of outsiders, he must have come up with this plan to protect Gu Xuanze.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t anticipated that the illegitimate son Gu Jing brought home would turn out to be a cunning, fox-like manipulator—a truly masterful one at that.

“Master, I share the same view as you.” Uncle Lu nodded in agreement. “Gu Jing’s actions will only provoke the other shareholders, but this Gu Xuanyu is no ordinary person. He presents himself as gentle and refined, treating everyone with kindness, but he has a knack for exploiting people’s weaknesses to lure them in… Many of Gu Corporation’s shareholders—or even their wives and daughters—are quite fond of him. They believe that under his leadership, Gu Corporation will flourish.”

Lu Youze wasn’t surprised by this. What concerned him more was how Gu Xuanze managed to grow up in such an environment.

“Uncle Lu, how was Ah Ze after leaving the hospital?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“Young Master, I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you. After he was discharged, the president’s uncle took him in under the pretext of caring for his nephew.” Uncle Lu sighed. “They believe that controlling Gu Xuanze means controlling Gu Corporation. Although their kindness toward him has ulterior motives, at least in the Ou family, the president and his younger brother finally got to live a normal life.”

“Oh.” Lu Youze nodded, indicating he understood.

After Gu Xuanze came of age, he gained the authority to manage his shares and successfully reclaimed his position as Gu Corporation’s president. At that point, the shares that Ou Ruoruo once held became crucial.

Back then, knowing that Gu Jing would definitely try to take the shares from her, Ou Ruoruo had no choice but to seek help from her second brother—the one who treated her best. She transferred the shares to him, asking him to safeguard them until Gu Xuanze was old enough to take them back. No one knew how Gu Xuanyu found out about this, but in the end, the eldest young master somehow convinced Gu Xuanze’s second uncle to sell the shares to him.

And the day after agreeing to sell the shares, Gu Xuanze’s second uncle took his own life.

At this point, Uncle Lu looked somewhat guilty as he turned to Lu Youze. “Young Master, I’m sorry, but I don’t know much about what happened after that. When you asked me to investigate Gu Xuanyu, the long-missing eldest son of the Gu family, I also tried to uncover the truth from back then. But everyone who knows the real story refuses to talk. If Gu Xuanze’s second uncle really did sell his shares to Gu Xuanyu, then Gu Xuanze would have had fewer shares than him. And yet, in the end, the president won. How he managed to do it—I just couldn’t find out. If you truly want to know, perhaps the Ye family’s intelligence network could help.”

At that moment, Lu Lihai also glanced in Lu Youze’s direction, his eyes carrying a hint of concern.

“Uncle Lu, that won’t be necessary.” Lu Youze was already fuming inside, itching to teach Gu Xuanyu a lesson, but he maintained a polite smile while speaking to Uncle Lu. “I’ll ask Ah Ze about this myself. There’s no need for you to waste time on it. You and Ah You just focus on keeping an eye on Gu Xuanyu. This time, I won’t give him another chance to hurt Ah Ze.”