If there was, in all the Zhao family, one person Zhao Chen most respected and held most dear—
—it was this Second Grandma before him.
By the time Zhao Chen was old enough to remember things, both his parents were dead.
There had been only a coldly distant eldest sister and a little sister still in swaddling clothes.
Beyond that, most of the Zhao family had reckoned Zhao Chen a superfluous thing — for it was Zhao Chen's very birth that had forced the Zhao family's Eldest Miss, who by rights should have become the family head and the Owl Dragon Star System's baron, to leave for distant parts.
Through all of Zhao Chen's childhood, it had been Second Grandma who cared for him, as a true grandmother, a true mother, would.
"Up, up with you. You're a baron now — how can you go kneeling to an old woman like me." The old madam hurriedly helped Zhao Chen up, and looked at the youth before her with a face full of tender feeling.
"A year and more since I've seen you, and you're taller and stronger."
Helped to his feet, Zhao Chen in turn supported the old madam and walked with her toward the house. "You're getting on in years; you ought not to be moving about out here just now. Let me help you back inside."
"How could I sit and rest easy at a time like this? A moment ago I heard from Wan'er that the two of you wiped out the pirate fleet, and that you're now clearing away the ship-remnants that aided the Bao and Cui families?" the old madam asked with concern.
Zhao Chen said, "It's all been handled. The Three-Clawed Serpent Interstellar Pirate fleet's 35 ships, we annihilated whole out around Dragon-Tail Planet. Of the 16 ships the Bao and Cui families controlled, our ships destroyed the two T2s and seven of the T1s. The remaining seven T1 ships all surrendered. With their fleet strength gone, the Bao and Cui families can't kick up any more waves."
Hearing Zhao Chen announce all this as light as anything, the Zhao family were, inwardly, utterly staggered.
The thing that had gripped Owl Dragon Prime for two months, that had made the whole Zhao family feel doom hung over their heads—
—now, in a few sentences from Zhao Chen, had, of all things, been settled?
"Jiang Hong, help me contact every noble in the Owl Dragon Star System. Within five hours, have all those family heads come to the Zhao residence to see me; say it's the baron's command. Any who dare not come, the consequences are on their own heads." Zhao Chen looked at Jiang Hong, whom he was meeting for the first time, and gave the order without the least hesitation.
Jiang Hong was taken aback, and instinctively cut a glance at Zhao Wan'er.
Zhao Wan'er said, "Jiang Hong, do as my brother says."
"Yes." Jiang Hong set about the task.
"Chen'er, are you meaning to deal with this business?" The old madam had caught the drift of Zhao Chen's words.
Zhao Chen nodded.
The old madam went on, "Let this old woman put in a word — how do you mean to go about it?"
"The Owl Dragon Star System has rotted for years. It's time it had a great cleansing," Zhao Chen said.
The old madam looked at Zhao Chen and stroked his cheek with her withered hand. "Grown up. Our Chen'er has truly grown up. Go and do it. Whatever you do, you are the Zhao family's baron, and Grandma is behind you."
"Grandma, the scene in a little while may not be fit for you to see; won't you step aside for now?" Zhao Chen said, with some care for her.
The old madam laughed aloud, her hand on her dragon-head cane. "Chen'er, do whatever you mean to do. Grandma's lived a hundred years and more; what scene haven't I seen? You likely don't know it, but in the year your grandfather became lord, I was the Owl Dragon Star System fleet's deputy commander. I'll sit right here today, and have a good long look at how our Chen'er cleans his own house. Wan'er, help me bring that chair over."
Zhao Wan'er looked to her brother — at some point, this brother she'd once looked down on had become the pillar she leaned on.
Zhao Chen gave a slight nod.
Zhao Wan'er went inside and brought out a rosewood dragon-carved chair, very old, with cracks and faded patches on it.
This was a thing left behind by Zhao Chen's great-grandfather, the founder of the Zhao family.
It was the old madam's favorite, this rosewood dragon-carved chair.
Dragon-head cane in hand, the old madam sat down upon it.
And just then, a squad of interstellar drones appeared in the distant sky, something seeming to dangle beneath their frames.
Then a ghastly sight unfolded before the Zhao family's eyes.
Several corpses were dropped straight into the Zhao courtyard by these interstellar drones, and a voice came from one of them.
"Reporting, Captain — the Cui family were obstinate and put up armed resistance. Per your instructions, the Cui residence has been destroyed; all 225 souls of the Cui family, top to bottom, have been slain. These are the corpses of the Cui family head and several of their inner circle."
The Cui family?
Some of the Zhao family stared at the bodies on the ground — and, seeing one blood-soaked head, found it was indeed the Cui family patriarch!
Some of the women were already retching, hands clapped over their mouths.
The stench of blood rolled over them.
"That old Cui creature — long overdue for death. Biting the hand that fed him. Had our late patriarch not taken his Cui ancestors in back then and granted them a bowl of rice, there'd be no Owl Dragon Star System Cui family at all — bah." Looking at the blood-soaked scene before her, the old madam did not change expression; she cursed the Cui folk roundly instead.
After that, several more batches of interstellar drones arrived in turn, some bearing corpses, some bearing the living.
The living, too, were bound up in netting and dropped straight into the Zhao courtyard from several meters up, most of them left with barely half a breath in them.
The Zhao family looked at these people delivered to them — and without exception, every one was a noble power that had, openly or in secret, backed the Cui and Bao families.
Suddenly, one man dangling from an interstellar drone drew every eye.
The Bao family patriarch, Bao Dashan!
Bao Dashan's face was a mask of blood, his eyes empty, his spirit fled from him.
Given the same treatment as the ones before, he too was dropped hard onto the ground.
"Patriarch Bao — keeping well, I trust?" Zhao Chen looked with a smile at Bao Dashan, dropped there like so much muck.
Catching sight of the man before him, Bao Dashan blazed up in fury on the instant and shrieked, "Zhao Chen! You beast, you devil! You've slaughtered my whole clan! I'll never share a sky with you — as a ghost I won't let you rest!"
Hearing Bao Dashan's words, the Zhao family shuddered inwardly. Another Owl Dragon noble house butchered to the last.
"Bao Dashan, I've found that hide of yours is truly thick. Who was it that laid the assassination plot to kill me and Zhao Wan'er? Who was it that secretly mustered ground forces, ready — the moment word came of my death — to seize the Zhao residence by force?" Zhao Chen jeered.
Bao Dashan was left with nothing to say, but glared at Zhao Chen in fury all the same, his whole bearing wishing it could hack Zhao Chen to 1,000 pieces — though with both his legs broken, he hadn't even the means to try for his revenge.
"Find a pillar and tie Patriarch Bao up. Those corpses too — tie them all up. Leaving them lying on the ground — what if they catch a chill?" Zhao Chen said, light as anything.
Before long, the Bao family patriarch, once one of the Owl Dragon Star System's three great nobles, was lashed to a pillar like a beast.
At this whole performance of Zhao Chen's the old madam looked on, yet said nothing all the while — she even took several sips of her tea.
Just then, a shuttle reached the outside of the Zhao residence, but on account of the interstellar drones' interception, it could only halt beyond the courtyard.
"Report — the head of the Jiang family has arrived," a Zhao family servant reported.
The Jiang family was the sole surviving one of the Owl Dragon Star System's three great families — and the family of Zhao Chen's fiancée, Jiang Shasha.