Chapter 118: CH 119

When Tan Nengwen saw his daughter, he got up and walked in front of her. He gritted his teeth and suddenly raised his hand.

Tang Tianyuan happened to be standing beside Tan Lingyin, so he grabbed his wrist.

Tan Nengwen was indignant. "I'm teaching my daughter a lesson. No need for outsiders to interfere."

Tang Tianyuan's expression remained respectful, but he did not let go of Tan Nengwen’s wrist. He calmly introduced himself, "Greetings Uncle Tan. This junior Tang Feilong is the head of this county government office. If you want to teach your daughter a lesson, please do so at home, behind closed doors. If you make a fuss here, at the county government office, others may catch wind and laugh."

Listening to his words, Tan Nengwen knew it was the county’s magistrate, so his expression eased. He glared at Tan Lingyin, then turned to salute Tang Tianyuan, "Lord Tang, it is my lack of manners."

Tang Tianyuan also cupped his hands to salute in return. "Not at all."

Tan Nengwen continued, "My daughter is lacking in etiquettes, so she must have caused a lot of trouble for the Lord."

Tang Tianyuan smiled and replied, "Not at all. Head Commissioner Tan is very good. Uncle Tan doesn't have to be overly modest. As the saying goes, 'a tiger father will not have a dog girl'. And from my observation of Head Commissioner Tan, then Uncle Tan must also be a clear minded and sensible person."

Tan Nengwen laughed, and called the woman and child behind him to come over. "This is my humble wife and son. They missed Lingyin very much. Since they found out she was here, they came with me. Lord Tang, please excuse their presence," he said as he glanced at Tan Lingyin, "Why haven’t you greeted your mother yet?"

This woman was Tan Lingyin's stepmother. Her surname was Zhang and she was originally a maid of the Tan family, but she later was promoted to a concubine. After the death of the original Madam, Concubine Zhang gave birth to Tan Nengwen's only son. And thus, with the success of her son, she also climbed up to become the Madam of the Tan Residence. Her son was loved by his parents. They treated him like a precious treasure, fitting his nickname of  Xiaobao[1].

Tan Lingyin glanced at her stepmother, but said nothing.

Madam Tan couldn't hold back her face, so she pushed Xiaobao to the front. "Xiaobao, greet your sister."

Xiaobao looked at Tan Lingyin with obvious repulsion and hostility in his eyes.

Tan Lingyin said coldly, "Concubine Zhang, Xiaobao has grown taller again."

Madam Tan's complexion changed.

Before Tan Nengwen broke out in anger, Tang Tianyuan spoke out in time to resolve their embarrassment, "It’s been a long and stressful trip for you to make it all the way here, so have a rest first. Since you are Head Commissioner Tan's family, then please treat this as your home." Tang Tianyuan then turned to ask Xianggua, "Is the guest room ready?"

Xianggua was stunned. After a moment of silence, she replied, "This maid heard that Mister and Madam already have a place to stay, so..."

Tang Tianyua’s face turned stern. "So that's how you entertain guests? Those who don't know will think I’m eager to drive them out!"

Seeing that the County Magistrate was angry, Tan Nengwen hurriedly reconciled, "It is as she said, we have indeed booked an inn outside."

"How can you live outside?" Tang Tianyuan glanced at the Xianggua, "You disappointed me!"

Xianggua looked as if she was about to cry. "This servant will do it immediately."

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"No need. The Southern Study is clean, take Uncle Tan there to settle down now."

Tan Lingyin stared blankly at the backs of them leaving, and asked Tang Tianyuan, "You seem to be more angry than me?"

Tang Tianyuan frowned and remained silent. Xianggua didn’t like Tan Lingyin, and even said bad things about Tan Lingyin in front of his mother. It was quite suspicious for such a person to be so attentive to Tan Lingyin's parents.

But this problem was hard to explain, so Tang Tianyuan didn't say anything. Instead, he held Tan Lingyin's hand and asked, "Are you okay?"

Tan Lingyin lowered her head and replied, "That woman is my stepmother. Do you think I'm quite uneducated?"

"What do you think? I've known you for so long, but I've only met her (stepmother) once. Also, don't be angry about the truth I’m about to say. Xiaobao's attitude towards you shows your stepmother’s true feelings towards you. I'm afraid only your father is still in the dark as he wholeheartedly hopes that the two of you will get along."

Tan Lingyin's eyes turned red. "Even you can understand at glance. However, my father doesn't."

Tang Tianyuan sighed. "Maybe he genuinely wants to remain blind to it all."

Tan Lingyin asked, "I haven't told you about my family, have I?"

"I know some of it." Tang Tianyuan didn't hide it. However, most of what he inquired about was Tan Lingyin's marriage. As for family affairs, he really didn’t know too clearly.

"Actually, I didn't hate her very much at first. But after I found out she almost killed Qingchen once, that was when I realized how vicious that woman's heart was. I’ve told you before that Qingchen was my father's adopted son. My dad liked him very much when he first came to my house. At that time, Xiaobao was not born yet, so my dad taught him how to do business and take care of the house. Qingchen is very smart, he can learn everything at once, and he can draw inferences after learning. My father never had a son, so he treated Qingchen very well. Later, after Xiaobao was born, my stepmother was always on guard against Qingchen. One time, she did not hesitate to kill Qingchen secretly. Originally, I tolerated my stepmother and we lived in peace. But since then, I've hated her more and more."

Tang Tianyuan patted her on the shoulder and said, "I understand, it's not your fault."

"In fact, my father loved me very much. At that time, my relationship with him was not as bad as it is now. But since Xiaobao was born, he only thought about his son. In addition, under the instigation of that woman, my father slowly started to believe I'm not sensible enough. Oh, by the way, he insisted on marrying me to Zhu Dacong because of my stepmother's persuasion. I had a big fight with my father back then and ran away from marriage after. Qingchen accompanied me until now. Up until now, my father told me to never come back again." Tan Lingyin finally couldn't help but shed tears.

Tang Tianyuan hugged her shoulders and comforted her softly. "Don't be sad. It was because I didn't meet you back then that I made you suffer those grievances. It won’t happen again in the future."

Tan Lingyin wiped away her tears and wondered, "Since he doesn't want me anymore, why did he come to find me?"

Tang Tianyuan probably guessed what was going on, but he didn’t disclose it to her. "You and your father have a good talk, and you must tell me if you find anything strange."

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Footnote:

[1] Xiaobao - Xiao is little. And Bao can mean treasure, or precious.

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