"Indeed, it is so!" Luo Ziling nodded his head.
"In large influential families, such things are quite common. In the ancient royal courts, wasn’t it always a complete mess? The bigger the family, the more complex the situation, and anything could happen." Luo Liansheng gave a bitter smile. "When I was young, indeed many young girls liked me, but that’s all in the past, and it won’t affect the present situation."
At this point, Luo Liansheng glanced at Luo Ziling twice, then continued, "The things that happen to you are the same. Let’s put it this way, the women entangled with you now all have significant backgrounds, beautiful and smart, and in the future, many will become the wives or matriarchs of wealthy families. When you reach a certain age and have your own descendants, you’ll find that their relationships are also incredibly intricate, even more so than what happened with your father and grandfather! History, ah, it endlessly repeats!"
After thinking it over, Luo Ziling also acknowledged Luo Liansheng’s point of view.
His relationships with women like Yang Qingyin, Ouyang Feifei, Ouyang Huihui, Chen Xiaoyi, and Lin Lan are all unusual. If they marry into wealthy families in the future, in a few decades, they might attain the status that Chen Qiaoyu, Wu Ningjing, Wu Yanning, or even Xie Enhua hold now. At that time, discussing past events will make everything seem too melodramatic and chaotic.
There might even be perceptions of phenomena like L-lun existing back then.
"Grandfather, the matters of the Luo Family are truly complex, and the affairs within wealthy families are atrociously melodramatic." Luo Ziling didn’t want to delve too deeply. He felt that the more he probed, the more melodramatic things he’d discover, possibly even overturning his worldview, thus he could only lament: "Our three generations of grandfather and grandson have all involuntarily been drawn into these wealthy family struggles, and caused so many incidents, ultimately fraught with mishaps."
"If only your grandfather wasn’t so impulsive in his youth, things wouldn’t have turned out that way, and your grandmother wouldn’t have passed so early. Unfortunately, I learned no lessons later on, thought I could live aloof from it all. Until your father’s issues occurred, I realized that being without power, even with a great reputation, is often useless." Luo Liansheng also knew talking about these matters might throw Luo Ziling into speculation, so he quickly shifted the subject, "Your father and mother must gain power, or else others will decide their fate instead."
"Grandfather, I’ll also make efforts, we will not allow regrets to repeat!" Luo Ziling firmly stated: "You will witness the rise of the Luo Family under your watch!"
"If only your father was as clever as you back then, things wouldn’t be as they are now." Luo Liansheng sighed emotionally, "We had numerous opportunities back then, many people’s influence to leverage, but did not seize them, leading to the embarrassing situations later on."
"Grandfather, let bygones be bygones, what matters is the future." Luo Ziling comforted Luo Liansheng: "All three generations of us are here, there’s nothing we can’t handle."
Luo Liansheng nodded, saying nothing more.
Not content to let things remain unclear, since Luo Ziling had brought up matters related to Chen Qiaoyu earlier, he proceeded to ask Luo Liansheng about past events.
How Luo Xusheng got involved with Ling Ruonan, how things eventually turned so sour, how Yang Family got provoked, how Chen Family got involved, and ultimately how Ling Family reacted.
Previously, Luo Ziling already had a rough understanding of these aspects, but hadn’t heard Luo Liansheng recount them in detail.
Luo Liansheng had always been reluctant to detail this, even after Luo Ziling met Ling Ruonan.
He felt information from others was surely not as authoritative as from Luo Liansheng himself.
Therefore, he hoped Luo Liansheng would explain it to him in detail.
Luo Liansheng seemed unwilling to revisit past events, but after Luo Ziling’s pressing, he eventually spoke up about some matters.
"Back then, both your father and mother were stubborn, eager to challenge conventions and break free from cages, so from the start, they had an attitude of challenging everyone. Moreover, they acted high-profile, completely disregarding Yang Yunfeng. Maybe it was partly because your mother had personal reasons, as she couldn’t break free from family marriage constraints by her own efforts, and being deeply in love with your father, she wanted to make it a fait accompli by acting high-profile, forcing Ling Jinhua and Ling Mingrui to relent. At that time, Ling Mingrui indeed gave in, but it infuriated Ling Jinhua, who couldn’t tolerate the juniors’ disruptions, thus completely opposing their union."
"The Yang Family, of course, felt even more aggrieved. In today’s terms, they were utterly embarrassed, their reputation damaged, and everyone was humiliated and angry. Especially Yang Yunfeng, who was always arrogant, never seeing your father as a rival. Once he learned about your parents’ relationship, he was furious beyond measure. At that time, he was in the military, and Yang Family hoped that after a few years in the military, he’d build connections there, as they were previously weak in that area. Several times, Yang Yunfeng, in military uniform, sought your father out, threatening him with a gun to back off. Proud as your father was, he certainly wouldn’t accept such threats, leaving tensions at an impasse!"
At this point, Luo Liansheng suddenly changed his tone: "Perhaps you didn’t know, during that period, the Yang Family attempted to kill your father several times, to eliminate future troubles!"
These words of Luo Liansheng sent a shiver down Luo Ziling’s spine.
"During his time in Yanjing, your father had several attempts on his life, much like your situation now. Your father’s skills weren’t as good as yours, and one time he was seriously injured. Without me by his side then, he might have died. It was after that injury that your mother’s attitude became even more resolute. She personally confronted Yang Yunfeng, bluntly stating that even if she were to die, she’d never marry him."
At this point, Luo Liansheng paused, his face filled with a bitter smile.
"Back then, I too had a fiery temper, I directly approached Yang Yuanshan, threatening him face to face—if the Yang Family continued their arrogance, they’d be made to regret it."
Luo Ziling listened quietly without interjecting.
"However, what I didn’t expect was that soon after this incident, your mother became pregnant with you!" Luo Liansheng sighed, "I knew about it then, but didn’t stop them. I understood that staying in Yanjing would make hiding her pregnancy impossible, so I had them leave Yanjing for the south, returning only close to the due date. After returning, everything spun out of control, beyond management."
Luo Liansheng ceased his bitter smile and continued: "They realized the situation was wrong, aimed to leave Yanjing again, yet couldn’t. Many pursued and intercepted them, Yang Yunfeng, driving a military vehicle, chased and even fired a submachine gun. But in the end, he met with a car accident, losing his own life!"
"Ah?!"