My capital is quite large.

Deepsea City, Penguin Building.

Inside the high-level conference room, the air was thick with smoke, and the atmosphere was so oppressive it was almost suffocating.

"Bang!"

Sun Zhonghuai, the head of Tencent Pictures, slammed his hand on the table, the loud noise echoing through the empty conference room.

"Can anyone tell me what's going on with this point guard number one?!"

Veins bulged on Sun Zhonghuai's forehead as he roared in uncontrollable rage:

"What is his agent doing? Following him around every day, doesn't he even know what kind of rubbish is going on in his head?"

"Having an affair with his sister-in-law? And he got caught red-handed by the paparazzi!"

"Just a month ago at the group's annual meeting, President Ma praised our film and television department for making a remarkable comeback this year."

"And the result? A perfectly good situation was completely ruined overnight by this idiot!"

Faced with their boss's rage, the heads of various departments shrank back, staring at each other with wide eyes.

After a moment of silence, the head of the public relations department spoke first, sounding somewhat aggrieved: "Mr. Sun, this matter really can't be entirely blamed on us."

"Point guard number one is an underground rapper, used to unorthodox methods."

"Although the contract we issued included restrictive clauses, we in the PR department can't be monitoring him under his bed 24/7, can we?"

"That's right, Mr. Sun." The director of the artist management department also hurriedly joined in to shift the blame.

"Back when the talent show was being held, the music department and the production team, in their pursuit of so-called 'wildness' and 'explosiveness,' simply went through the motions in their background checks on these contestants."

"Now that something's gone wrong, it's unreasonable to make us take the blame..."

"Alright!"

Seeing that his subordinates were once again playing the trick of shirking responsibility with practiced ease, Sun Zhonghuai interrupted everyone's attempts to shift blame.

"I'm not sitting here today to hear you shirk responsibility! I'm here to ask you, what are you going to do now?!"

"With such lax management of its artists, resulting in such a huge scandal, how come Tencent was the last to know and only reacted after seeing it trending on social media?"

At this point, Sun Zhonghuai's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a dangerous chill:

"Today it's point guard number one, but what if one day that man and Li Moufeng also get into trouble!"

"Are we going to continue acting like we're completely ignorant and blind, like we are today?!"

Upon hearing those two names, the expressions of the people below all changed.

Those two are the lifeblood of Tencent Pictures and its traffic-driven business. If something happens to them, it will shake the very foundation of Tencent's entire entertainment empire.

The artist management director quickly explained, "Mr. Sun, you can rest assured about those two."

"As far as we know, those two have very clean private lives."

"Take Li Moufeng for example. A while ago, a big internet celebrity in Hangzhou organized a party and specially invited him to his own club, but he refused."

"As for that man, he's currently the most popular celebrity in the country! He's always been very protective of his reputation, and his team guards against paparazzi like they're guarding against thieves, so there's absolutely no chance of him causing trouble."

"fart!"

Sun Zhonghuai snorted coldly, interrupting him: "Don't you understand the concept of 'nipping problems in the bud'? Once something goes wrong, it'll be too late!"

"Starting today, we must strictly manage all the artists under our management!"

"We assign dedicated personal assistants to key celebrities with high popularity, and their social media accounts and daily schedules must be reported to headquarters daily."

"Furthermore, in response to the aftermath of 'The Rap of China,' we will conduct a comprehensive investigation of all artists involved in subculture and underground culture."

"Anyone with a tainted reputation or who skirts the line will be banned and forced out of the industry—not a single one will be spared!"

"Let me make this clear upfront. If any of our artists are involved in similar egregious social incidents like the 'overnight stay scandal' in the future..."

At this point, Sun Zhonghuai slowly stood up, placed his hands on the table, and his hawk-like gaze swept across the room as he delivered his final summary, word by word:

"Everyone here, just pack your bags and get out of here, understand?!"

"Understood, Mr. Sun..."

Inside the meeting room, a chorus of low, resounding responses rang out.

......

The dark clouds of Shenhai City seemed unable to penetrate the family ties on this ancient land of Dongda.

This year's Spring Festival came exceptionally early; January 28th was Lunar New Year's Eve.

Located on the North Jiangsu Plain, Xiapi was unusually quiet on this bitterly cold winter day.

In previous years, when Li Feng returned to his hometown to pay respects at the ancestral hall, although he was accompanied by bodyguards, he still managed to enjoy the festivities with the local people.

Not only do they give New Year's gifts and red envelopes to the elderly in the village, but they also specially invite an opera troupe to hold a banquet, making it a very lively event.

This year, however, the area within a mile radius of the Li Clan Ancestral Hall in Xiapi was cleared out by a large number of stern-faced security personnel the day before Lunar New Year's Eve.

All the villagers were politely persuaded to leave, and the unified narrative given to the outside world was:

[A high-ranking official made a low-key inspection visit here on Lunar New Year's Eve this year. For security reasons, temporary traffic control and a clearing of the area were implemented.]

However, at the heart of this thick security defense line, in front of the two heavy black lacquered doors of the Li Clan Ancestral Hall.

Standing there were only three generations of the family.

Besides Li Feng's somewhat hunched father, Li Feng was also holding the hand of a little boy who was almost five years old—Li Maozhen.

This was also the first time Li Feng had brought his eldest son back to his hometown to pay respects at the ancestral hall.

According to the somewhat feudal and stubborn rules of the Li family of Xiapi, which have been passed down for hundreds of years, even today, female members are absolutely not allowed to step into the ancestral hall.

Therefore, not only could Li Feng's mother not come, but his eldest daughter Li Yuxin and Li Maozhen's biological mother Liu Yifei could only stay in the villa in Hong Kong.

As for the little ones like Li Maosong and Li Maobai, they are still too young to be included in the genealogy or worshipped.

......

"Kneel down and kowtow to your great-grandfather and ancestors." Old Li pointed to the bright yellow prayer mat in front of the shrine, his voice a little hoarse.

Xiao Maozhen, who is almost five years old, is beautifully sculpted with delicate features and has incredibly clear, large eyes. Although she is young, she has been raised with excellent manners.

He obediently released Li Feng's hand, knelt down on the prayer mat in a proper manner, placed his hands on the ground, and kowtowed three times solidly.

Li Feng stood to the side, looking at his eldest son, whom he rarely spent time with, a hint of tenderness flashing in his dark eyes.

Seeing his son get up, Li Feng, wanting to test him, squatted down and looked the little guy in the eye, asking:

"Maozhen, do you know who that Li ancestor who shares your name was?"

Hearing her father's question, Li Maozhen raised her small face, and a hint of confidence flashed in her phoenix eyes, which looked just like Liu Yifei's.

Then, a clear, innocent child's voice rang out in the silent ancestral hall:

"I know. Li Maozhen, whose real name was Song Wentong, was a separatist warlord during the late Tang Dynasty."

"During the Qianfu era, he made military achievements in suppressing the Huang Chao Rebellion and was granted the surname Li and the name Maozhen by Emperor Xizong of Tang, and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Qi."

"Later, he dominated Guanzhong during the chaotic period, and at one point even held the emperor hostage, establishing a separatist regime in the region."

"Although he failed in his struggle for power with Zhu Wen, he still protected the people and ensured their safety during the chaotic times. He was able to live in peace in the Qin and Long regions. He died of illness during the Later Tang Dynasty and was posthumously honored with the title of Zhongjing (忠敬)."

The little guy recited it fluently, and even pronounced several obscure historical official titles and reign titles perfectly.

After hearing these words, Li Feng couldn't help but glance at them slightly.

Although he could guess that this was probably something Liu Yifei had made his child memorize at home beforehand in order to prepare for today's ancestral worship ceremony.

But for a child who is not yet five years old, to have such an amazing memory and articulation is already quite remarkable.

At least, Li Feng knew very well that when he was four and a half years old, all he could think about was mud and raiding bird nests.