Chapter 100 Bait

Chapter 100 The Bait

The investigation results fully confirmed Yu Xin's suspicions.

Everything was fabricated—the story of him struggling to survive alone in an outer star system, working three jobs to make ends meet, the image of a hardworking, resilient young master who endured hardships—all of it was an outright fabrication.

In reality, Yu Ning had been found by the Yu family at the age of twelve and lived in luxury. Except for not living with Yu Zhengqian and his wife, he had hardly suffered at all.

At this point, Yu Xin could only laugh at how ridiculous it was. Yu Ning was indeed Yu Zhengqian's biological son; even though he hadn't grown up by his father's side, he had inherited the full extent of his talent for lying through his teeth.

What Yu Xin had uncovered was enough to destroy Yu Ning's reputation repeatedly, but that wasn't enough. What he wanted was for the entire Yu family to face consequences.

If Yu Ning alone were to fall, it would at most lead to the cancellation of his official engagement to the Third Prince, while the underhanded dealings with the Yu family would continue unchanged.

This would cause no real damage to the Yu family. Yu Zhengqian might even throw Yu Ning under the bus as a scapegoat, abandoning one to protect the whole family.

Therefore, Yu Xin had no intention of making his findings public just yet. In fact, he had come up with a bold idea.

His mere reappearance in the public eye had already reignited widespread attention around the true and false young master scandal. This slight hint of exposure had provoked such a strong reaction from Yu Zhengqian that he even publicly acknowledged his ties to the Third Prince ahead of schedule.

What if he were to dangle even more damaging bait? Would it push Yu Zhengqian into further disarray?

After all, when people are thrown off balance, they are most prone to impulsive actions.

Moreover, Yu Zhengqian was notoriously stubborn and ruthless. As long as he believed the situation was within his control, he would likely make risky moves to eliminate any potential threats.

All Yu Xin needed to do was place bait full of "weaknesses" in front of Yu Zhengqian and lure him into taking it.

As for the bait, Yu Xin already had a ready candidate.

Someone closely connected to this nearly twenty-year-old affair, who could also make Yu Zhengqian let his guard down—aside from Yu Xin himself, no one else fit the role better.

*

Recently, Yu Zhengqian had been on top of the world. Wherever he went, people greeted him smilingly. Regardless of what they truly thought, they showed him respect on the surface.

Yu Zhengqian had risen from the bottom. When he first entered the circles of the Imperial Capital Star, he had endured the snobbish attitudes of the nobility. Back then, they had barely given him the time of day, only tolerating his presence because he handled their dirty work without soiling their own hands.

Only Yu Zhengqian himself knew how grudging that acceptance had been.

But now? He had penetrated the highest circles of the aristocracy. Who would dare look down on him anymore?

Although he had taken countless risks to reach this height and it cost him, so what? Without that daring back then, the Yu family would never have achieved what they had today.

He had no regrets about allying with the Third Prince.

Leisurely, he was brewing tea in his office—a gift from the Third Prince, the finest Baihao Yinzhen.

He took a slow sip. The aroma was indeed exceptional, a tea in a class of its own.

Life, Yu Zhengqian reflected, was good.

Just then, his terminal alerted him with a message from an unknown sender.

"You knew all along that I wasn’t your biological son, didn’t you?"

Yu Zhengqian stiffened, immediately surmising the sender’s identity.

Yu Xin?

How did he find out? They had kept it well concealed—even his eldest son didn’t know. Could Yu Ning have told him?

No, Yu Ning wasn’t particularly clever, but he wasn’t foolish enough to hand over such damaging information willingly.

Staying calm, he typed a reply: "Is this Yu Xin? What nonsense are you spouting? There’s no such thing. Who’s been feeding you these lies?"

"Stop trying to deceive me! I’ve already figured it out. There’s no mistake!"

"Since I was young, you’ve never showed me affection. What kind of parents are like that? Only my older brother treated me well. It’s because you knew from the start that I wasn’t your child!"

The replies came rapidly, filled with intense emotion, clearly sent in a state of high agitation.

How did he find out? Where was the leak?

If Yu Xin started spreading this online… No, he couldn’t allow that to happen.

"Yu Xin, don’t listen to rumors. If I had known you weren’t my biological son, why would I have raised you? Why wouldn’t I have brought Xiao Ning back sooner? What you’re saying is pure nonsense!"

Yu Zhengqian tried to use his former fatherly authority to sway Yu Xin. This useless son had always been afraid of him before, never dared to cross him. Even after a year away from the Yu family, he didn’t seem to have gained much independence.

"Stop lying to me! I won’t believe anything you say. I have evidence! You found Yu Ning long ago—he never suffered at all! It was all fabricated! And you keep putting on this act like I owe him something. Who are you trying to fool?"

He knows about that too?

Yu Zhengqian’s expression darkened further. He slammed his teacup down on the desk.

Yu Xin claimed to have evidence—what evidence could it be?

When they found Yu Ning back then, they had covered their tracks thoroughly. There was no way Yu Xin alone could have uncovered any flaws.

Unless… someone had approached Yu Xin and deliberately fed him information.

What were they after? Targeting the Yu family? Or… uncovering what happened nineteen years ago?

If it was just an attack on the Yu family, that was manageable. He and the Third Prince were closely allied now; the royal family wouldn’t stand by idly.

But if someone was trying to expose the mining star incident from back then…

Yu Zhengqian’s face turned grim. Those old matters must never be touched.

Originally, he had thought that banishment of Yu Xin from the family and revoking his Imperial Capital Star residency would keep him far away, left to fade away in some remote star system. Or, given Yu Xin’s inability to take care of himself, he might not even survive long on his own—left to his own devices.

He never expected this useless son to possess hidden capabilities he knew nothing about.

He had never paid much attention to Yu Xin growing up, so he failed to notice that the person inside had changed entirely. He still saw him as the same Yu Xin who would tremble at a harsh word, believing he couldn’t possibly cause any real trouble.

But left unchecked for so long, this good-for-nothing had slipped from his control and now posed a threat.

Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable.

Another message arrived on his terminal: "All I want to know is why you did this. Why did I have to go through all this? If you don’t tell me, I’ll make everything public online and let netizens figure out what really happened."

This good-for-nothing is actually threatening me?

Has he grown a backbone, or does he have backing behind him?

Yu Zhengqian’s face clouded over. This unexpected turn of events gave him a sense of losing control—a feeling he detested.

He was desperate to restore order. The Yu family had just reached its peak; he would not tolerate any risk that could drag them down.

He typed his reply word by word: "Yu Xin, don’t be rash. There must be some misunderstanding. Going public recklessly won’t do any good."

"After all, we raised you all these years. You're not an ungrateful child, right?"

"I never asked you to raise me in the first place. I didn't even have the right to choose my own life! Right now, all I want is to get to the bottom of this."

"Give me an answer immediately, or I'll see you on the Star Network."

After sending the message, Yu Xin ended the conversation, leaving Yu Zhengqian alone in his office, furious.

He smashed everything on the desk, teacups shattering into pieces on the floor. Yu Zhengqian leaned back violently into his chair, trying to calm his breathing.

When he'd calmed down somewhat, he opened his terminal and made a call, saying, "Find out for me: where Yu Xin is now, what he's doing, who has contacted him before, and what evidence he actually has."

He refused to believe that a young punk, who at best could cook a little, could have found some powerful backing and dare to challenge him.

Cutting Yu Xin loose to fend for himself was originally an act of rare kindness on their part, but it had unexpectedly backfired and become a liability. Once he got to the bottom of this, it would be time to clean up this mess.

The Yu family had its own intelligence network, so there was no need to involve the Third Prince just yet in this matter. He also didn’t want Yu Ning’s marriage to the Third Prince to be complicated by this.

On the other side, at the Iris Base.

Bai Yizhou entered the general’s office and said, "The Yu family is making moves. They’re investigating Yu Xin."

The Yu family's every move was now under their watch, completely exposed.

"They took the bait."

Yu Xin was sitting behind the general’s desk, in Ji Yixing’s personal chair, while Ji Yixing, with his legs casually crossed, leaned against a small sofa nearby, holding a book he was reading.

Bai Yizhou had long grown accustomed to this and sat down as well. "What’s the next step?"

"Leak the materials we prepared in advance. Make the Yu family think I’m still an easy pushover they can manipulate. With Yu Zhengqian’s capabilities, he shouldn’t be able to trace it back to the Ji family."

"That way, there’s nothing for him to fear," Yu Xin said calmly.

"That’s not a problem, but how can you be sure he’ll take action against you?" Bai Yizhou asked.

"Given his personality, the odds are he will." Yu Xin was almost certain. The more arrogant someone is, the more irritated they become when familiar people or situations slip out of their control. He had deliberately provoked Yu Zhengqian, so he was confident he'd get a reaction.

"But there’s still risk in doing this..." Bai Yizhou didn’t quite agree. They could slowly gather evidence against the Yu family; they would eventually find something. Why use yourself as bait and take unnecessary risks?

It’s easier to guard against a thief for a day than to guard against one for a thousand days. Yu Zhengqian was nobody's fool.

He turned to Ji Yixing. "General, do you agree too?"

Given the general’s level of concern for Yu Xin, shouldn’t he be more anxious?

The man who was addressed sat upright on the small sofa. Though he had no need for glasses, a pair of thin-rimmed gold spectacles rested on his nose bridge, and his hair was impeccably styled. Bai Yizhou could only think of one word: refined scoundrel.

This person was never this polished normally... he thought to himself.

"I won’t casually interfere with Yu Xin’s decisions," the so-called refined scoundrel himself closed his book and spoke. "And I have confidence that I can keep him safe."

His tone was lazy, but no one would doubt the sincerity of his words.

This was a promise from the military’s top enforcer. If he couldn’t do it, no one in the entire star system could.