Chapter 1608 — Are They Relatives? And for Tang Yuyu to Enter Here Was Itself a Kind of Honor

Tang Yuyu followed Old Master Tang cautiously down the dark passage leading to the secret chamber. The moment they passed through, the door behind them slammed shut with a loud clang, plunging the corridor into pitch-black darkness!

Old Master Tang pressed something at random, and the lights along the passage flickered to life, flooding the corridor with brightness.

The passage was built in the plainest of styles, nothing like the luxurious affair Tang Yuyu had imagined - it was no different from an ordinary stairwell! After descending roughly two floors' worth of stairs, Old Master Tang and Tang Yuyu arrived at a modest little hall. Inside was nothing more than a simple conference table and a few chairs!

So this was what people called the secret chamber!

In Tang Yuyu's mind, a secret chamber ought to be a grand and dignified place - he had never expected it to be this plain, like a completely unfurnished room. In fact, Old Master Tang rarely used the chamber, so there was no need to decorate it lavishly.

"Not what you expected? Think this place is a bit shabby?" Old Master Tang glanced at Tang Yuyu's expression and smiled faintly.

"Your grandson would never dare say so..." Tang Yuyu hurried to reply. "A place for discussing matters naturally needs no extravagance."

"Well said! Sit down, Yuyu. Now then, you may tell me - what is this important matter you wish to discuss?" Old Master Tang settled into the seat of honor and, after gesturing for Tang Yuyu to sit, posed the question.

"Grandfather, during this trial, I saw someone..." At this, Tang Yuyu faltered, seeming unsure how to proceed.

"Saw someone? Who?" Old Master Tang said. "Speak your mind - what's with all this hesitation? Why bother coming to the secret chamber if you won't talk? It's just you and me in here; no one else can hear a thing!"

"Grandfather, then your grandson will speak boldly!" Tang Yuyu gritted his teeth and said. "During the trial, I saw a woman who looked... who looked very much like Third Aunt..."

"Your Third Aunt? Xiao Ming?" Old Master Tang furrowed his brow. "Like her? Who looks like her?"

"The Ice Palace... its Palace Master!" Tang Yuyu said. "The moment I laid eyes on her, I thought I was seeing Third Aunt... I was so frightened I couldn't speak, and because she was a peak late-stage Heaven-tier expert, I didn't dare stare. But as the trial wore on, the more I thought about it, the more something felt off... Then, when the trial ended, I stole another careful look at the Ice Palace Master... She really does resemble Third Aunt... I haven't seen Third Aunt in many years, so my memory isn't sharp anymore, but she's close to how I remember Third Aunt from her younger days..."

"You're saying... the Ice Palace Master and your Third Aunt..." Old Master Tang was struck dumb by Tang Yuyu's words and sprang from his chair in a single bound! With Old Master Tang's legendary composure, such a rash move was unthinkable - but the news Tang Yuyu had brought was simply too momentous!

"I suspect that the Ice Palace Master... is the child Third Aunt lost all those years ago," Tang Yuyu said. "Grandfather, do you really think there are two people in this world who look that alike?"

"That..." Old Master Tang's expression shifted through a dozen fleeting emotions, skies darkening and clearing by turns. After a long silence, he finally spoke: "That can't be possible... The Ice Palace Master is a peak late-stage Heaven-tier existence - how could she have any connection to our Tang family..."

"Grandfather, here is a photo your grandson secretly took with his phone - please take a look." With that, Tang Yuyu handed his phone to Old Master Tang. The photo had been taken that evening in the open space before the inn. Bing Tang and Elder Qing naturally noticed his little maneuvers, but there was no need to stop him - their appearances were not classified, and there was no harm in letting the Hidden Clans know.

"Let me see!" Though Old Master Tang said it was unlikely, a storm was raging in his heart! Deep down, he actually hoped Tang Yuyu's claims were true - if so, the day the Tang family rose to greatness was just around the corner!

Old Master Tang practically snatched the phone from Tang Yuyu's hands. One glance at the photo, and he froze dead in his tracks!

"So alike... truly so alike..." Old Master Tang gazed at the photo on the phone, murmuring to himself. "She's the spitting image of your Third Aunt in her youth..."

"Grandfather... you're saying she..." Hearing his grandfather's words, Tang Yuyu's suspicion was all but confirmed: "She's my half-sister?"

"If she is, then she is. But... I can't be certain..." Old Master Tang stopped here and suddenly sighed. "Your mother has always been consumed by jealousy - she was the one behind what happened all those years ago. Now, if this Ice Palace Master truly is your sister... it might not be a blessing for our Tang family!"

After the initial excitement subsided, Old Master Tang's mind cooled. His eldest son had taken three wives. The first wife came from a Hidden Clan as well - frankly, the marriage was nothing more than a political alliance, with no emotional foundation between her and his eldest son. Meanwhile, his eldest son's childhood sweetheart had become his second wife!

But this eldest daughter-in-law of Old Master Tang's first household had actually schemed to kill the second daughter-in-law! Had she not been born into a prominent clan, Old Master Tang would have carried out the family law on the spot. However, the second daughter-in-law had no backing and no children, so once the eldest daughter-in-law's family offered a few financial concessions, the whole matter quietly faded away.

The third concubine of the first household had been taken as a bride after the second daughter-in-law's death, and she bore the eldest son a daughter. Originally, this daughter posed no threat whatsoever to Tang Yuyu's right of succession as the young clan head. But the jealous eldest daughter-in-law ordered the servants to take the third concubine's child and throw her out!

After that, the third daughter-in-law of the first household fell into perpetual gloom, barely speaking anymore. She wandered about in a daze all day searching for her child, her mind seemingly unhinged. Seeing she was no longer a threat, the eldest daughter-in-law stopped bothering with her - claiming the woman had gone mad, she had her locked away in a separate courtyard, never to see the other members of the Tang family again.

"My mother? Hmph, if I were my father, I'd have divorced her long ago!" A flash of fury crossed Tang Yuyu's face. "She doesn't deserve to be my mother - I am ashamed of her! As a child, I was always close to Third Aunt and frequently sent servants to deliver her daily necessities. With me acting as a go-between, surely Third Aunt wouldn't blame our Tang family!"

Tang Yuyu was a man of honest and upright character. He favored open strategies and held petty schemes and devious plots in absolute contempt!

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