Chapter 945: I am your father |
It was clear that something had happened, which led to Shimazu Nakano suddenly changing his mind and deciding to marry his daughter to Shima Takeshi within a few months. This decision was made at the risk of offending the neighboring Otomo Family, as it was a direct snub to them. It was as if the Otomo Family's second young master was considered inferior to a regular college student in Shimazu Nakano's eyes.
However, everyone eventually calmed down, including the Shimazu Family, the Otomo Family, Shimazu Nakano's daughter, and the Otomo Family's second young master. They all accepted the situation peacefully. Today, Shima Takeshi and Shimazu Nakano's daughter are happily married, and the Shimazu Family and the Otomo Family continue to cooperate.
Thinking about it, Liu Xing felt that something was off. He rubbed his head, wondering if his thought process was different from these wealthy families.
At this moment, Sun Huiwen bid farewell to Liu Xing and Li Hanxing and took a taxi to the Shimazu Group building.
In the car, Liu Xing, who couldn't figure out the reason behind all this, asked Li Hanxing, "Li Hanxing, do you have any information about Shima Takeshi before he became the adopted son-in-law of Shimazu Nakano?"
Li Hanxing nodded but replied somewhat embarrassingly, "We did find some information related to Shima Takeshi before he changed his name. However, most of the information was gathered from the internet. When the news of Shima Takeshi marrying Shimazu Nakano's daughter broke out, many media outlets dug up his past."
"I'd like to hear more. I believe the information you've gathered is much more reliable and comprehensive than what the media reported," Liu Xing said with a smile.
Li Hanxing then shared the information he and Sun Huiwen had collected, "Here's the situation. After Shima Takeshi's father was injured while protecting Shimazu Nakano, he developed a chronic illness that prevented him from doing strenuous work. So, Shimazu Nakano arranged for him to work at a financial company under the Shimazu Family. His job was to manage the employees and ensure they didn't slack off. Shima Takeshi's father had a comfortable life at this financial company, and he soon married a company employee and had a child."
"After Shima Takeshi was born, his father wanted to earn more money to provide a better future for his son. However, Island Nation was in the late stages of an economic bubble, and even the Shimazu Family had taken a hit. Moreover, Shimazu Nakano had not yet become the head of the Shimazu Family at that time. So, although Shima Takeshi's father earned a decent amount, it wasn't a lot, and he was often ridiculed by his subordinates for being a kept man. This prompted him to venture out on his own."
"And so, Shima Takeshi's father won this gamble. He purchased numerous properties and land at low prices and then sold them after the economic bubble burst in Island Nation, making a substantial profit. However, during the Siamese economic crisis a few years later, he made a wrong decision, which resulted in a fifty percent loss of his assets. A few years later, he suffered another seventy percent loss due to the Cosmic Country economic crisis."
"After this series of setbacks, Fujino Corporation became a third-rate real estate company. Although it made some money each year, it was only enough to provide Shima Takeshi's family with a relatively affluent life. Therefore, while Shima Takeshi attended good schools, they weren't the best private schools. This made his resume look less impressive to the wealthy families. But back to the main point, Shima Takeshi passed the entrance exam for Waseda University."
"During his time at Waseda University, Shima Takeshi had a romantic relationship. However, he and his girlfriend were involved in a car accident while traveling in Ryukyu, and his girlfriend tragically died in the accident. Shima Takeshi was also severely injured, but fortunately, he was injured in Ryukyu, so Shimazu Nakano quickly arranged for a team of experts to go to Ryukyu to treat him. This was Shima Takeshi's first real encounter with Shimazu Nakano."
"Wait, how is it that Shima Takeshi's first meeting with Shimazu Nakano was during his university days? Logically, Shima Takeshi should have met Shimazu Nakano much earlier, right? After all, his father was Shimazu Nakano's close friend, and even if Shimazu Nakano didn't acknowledge Shima Takeshi as his godson initially, it's unlikely that they never met over the years." Liu Xing expressed his confusion.
Then, Liu Xing suddenly had a realization.
"Could it be...?"
"Yes," Li Hanxing replied with a smile, "Although there is no concrete evidence, many clues suggest that Shima Takeshi is highly likely to be Shimazu Nakano's son! First, Shima Takeshi's father, or should I say Fujino Tsuyoshi, was a classmate of both Shimazu Nakano and Shima Takeshi's mother. They had known each other since university, so Shima Takeshi's mother was also placed in that financial company by Shimazu Nakano. Then, after Shima Takeshi was born, Fujino Tsuyoshi took some money from Shimazu Nakano and left for Tokyo, never to return to Kagoshima. During this time, even when he suffered significant losses in the Siamese economic crisis and the Cosmic Country economic crisis, Fujino Tsuyoshi never sought help from Shimazu Nakano."
"Additionally, the media interviewed Shima Takeshi's elementary and middle school teachers, and they discovered that Shima Takeshi's parents had never attended any school events, and it was always his mother who participated in parent-teacher meetings. Lastly, when the car accident occurred, Shimazu Nakano's response was incredibly swift. He confirmed Shima Takeshi's injury almost immediately and sent people to provide full treatment, saving Shima Takeshi's life without any residual disabilities. We estimate that Shimazu Nakano used some unconventional medical methods, as it would have been impossible for Shima Takeshi to recover without any after-effects otherwise."
At this point, Liu Xing's mind conjured up a dramatic scene—Shima Takeshi's mother might have had an affair with Shimazu Nakano during their university days, and after marrying Fujino Tsuyoshi, she rekindled her relationship with Shimazu Nakano. When Shima Takeshi was born, the affair was exposed, most likely due to blood type issues, as some blood types make it impossible for couples to have children with certain blood types.
After discovering that he had been cuckolded, Fujino Tsuyoshi knew he wouldn't get any satisfaction from Shimazu Nakano, so he took compensation from him and left for Tokyo. As for why Shima Takeshi went with Fujino Tsuyoshi, it was probably because Shimazu Nakano was still vying for the position of chieftain of the Shimazu Family at the time, and he couldn't afford to have his illegitimate son affect his image.
Over a decade passed, and everyone lived peacefully, never crossing paths. However, Shimazu Nakano publicly had no children, so he paid close attention to his illegitimate son, Shima Takeshi. When Shima Takeshi had the car accident in Ryukyu, Shimazu Nakano immediately came to his aid, using special means to ensure that the severely injured Shima Takeshi survived without any disabilities.
Liu Xing was familiar with these special means, and he knew that even the chieftain of the Shimazu Family, Shimazu Nakano, wouldn't possess many of these means without certain side effects, as they were life-saving trump cards.
Now, Liu Xing also believed that Shima Takeshi was likely Shimazu Nakano's illegitimate son. If this were the case, it would make sense for Shimazu Nakano to adopt Shima Takeshi as his son after Fujino Tsuyoshi's death and have him marry his daughter... What a twist!
Shimazu Nakano only had this one daughter, who was Shima Takeshi's half-sister. Shimazu Nakano wouldn't be so heartless as to let them marry.
Unless the plot became even more dramatic, with Shimazu Nakano also being cuckolded, which led him to cuckold Fujino Tsuyoshi... In this scenario, Shimazu Nakano's daughter and Shima Takeshi would have no blood relation, and Shima Takeshi becoming the adopted son-in-law and inheriting the position of the Shimazu Family's chieftain would be understandable.
But no more nested plots, please! Liu Xing suddenly wondered if the cuckolded Fujino Tsuyoshi had sought revenge on the Shimazu Family by cuckolding Shima Mitsuhiro's father, who, in turn, cuckolded Shima Takeshi's father, thus completing the cycle... Now, that would be a truly dramatic plot.
A scene suddenly flashed through Liu Xing's mind—on the rooftop of the Shimazu Group building, Shima Takeshi and Shima Mitsuhiro stood with guns pointed at each other, while Shimazu Nakano's daughter stood by, torn between her husband and her brother.
At that moment, Shimazu Nakano suddenly appeared and said to Shima Takeshi, "I am your father." Everyone present was shocked, and Shimazu Nakano, with a bitter smile, revealed the whole story. Shima Takeshi's gun shook in his hand, and Shimazu Nakano's daughter collapsed to the ground, sobbing and holding her head.
Shimazu Nakano then took the gun from Shima Takeshi and persuaded Shima Mitsuhiro to put down his weapon. He began negotiating with Shima Mitsuhiro, offering him generous terms to give up the position of family head. After Shima Mitsuhiro agreed, he suddenly shot Shimazu Nakano, revealing his true identity.
Only then did Shimazu Nakano realize that Shima Mitsuhiro was Fujino Tsuyoshi's son. In his dying moments, he reflected on his life, apologized to everyone present and the deceased Fujino Tsuyoshi, and told his daughter that her biological father was actually Shima Mitsuhiro's father. With that, he passed away.
After Shimazu Nakano's death, Shima Takeshi and Shima Mitsuhiro immediately engaged in a gunfight, both sustaining fatal injuries. The only survivor, Shimazu Nakano's daughter, lost hope and jumped off the Shimazu Group building.
The end.
Liu Xing shuddered as he imagined this scenario, wondering how many dramatic shows the module author had watched to come up with such an outrageous plot.
Liu Xing shook his head and said, "I don't think Shima Takeshi is Shimazu Nakano's son. If he were, Shimazu Nakano wouldn't have adopted him as his son-in-law. That would be too scandalous... Even other families should be able to guess this, and the Shimazu Family would lose face and become a laughingstock among the wealthy families of Island Nation."
Li Hanxing shrugged and smiled, "Yes, it does seem like Shima Takeshi is Shimazu Nakano's illegitimate son. Many people who have a grudge against the Shimazu Family have investigated this matter, and the most enthusiastic ones were the Tokugawa Family and the Ii Family. However, they couldn't find any solid evidence. But one thing is certain: Shima Takeshi and Shimazu Nakano's daughter are likely in a sham marriage."
A sham marriage is when a couple gets married for various reasons but continues to live separate lives after the wedding. However, they maintain the appearance of a loving relationship, especially in front of relatives.
"If it's a sham marriage, many things would make sense," Liu Xing said, stroking his chin. "But ultimately, Shimazu Nakano wanted to give Shima Takeshi the status of an adopted son-in-law, so we must understand why he did this."
"I have no idea."
Li Hanxing shook his head helplessly, "I was hoping to make a deal with you to investigate further into the relationship between Shima Takeshi and Shimazu Nakano. In reality, Sun Huiwen and I have already invested a lot of effort in this matter. We know that if we can uncover the truth, we can make a fortune by selling this information to either Shimazu Nakano or the Tokugawa Family. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find anything."
Liu Xing nodded, understanding that the truth wasn't something that could be easily uncovered. However, he was certain that the key to resolving this side quest lay in uncovering the truth.
He felt a headache coming on.
Liu Xing rubbed his temples and stared out the window at the bustling city, lost in thought.
After a while, Li Hanxing spoke up, "Liu Xing, the high-ranking member of the Shimazu Family has separated from the Ii Family member. We need to follow the other side now."
Liu Xing snapped back to attention and looked ahead. He saw that Shima Mitsuhiro had gotten into another car, while the Ii Trio had entered a hotel.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 946: Establishing Contact