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Inheritance
It had never, not, been obvious that Mai and the rest of her family were nothing alike. There had even been times when she watched from the sidelines at a dinner party or political soiree and had waited for her 'real parents' to come and take her home.
By the time she began attending the academy, she understood that, yes her mother was indeed her mother. But maybe her father wasn't her father. Mai and Royu Lei were nothing much more alike than cousins. Come to think of it, her parents were third cousins anyway weren't they?
Keeping the money within the family could be useful; but most midwives advised against it. Perhaps her mother, taking a page out of the distant past had decided that a lover she wasn't related to would produce stronger offspring. Maybe her 'father' was impotent. Or it could have just been boredom.
Whatever the reason she bared a striking resemblance to a dead naval officer, Mai could, and had spent days perhapsing her way to near laughter.