“Grandma isn’t your biological mother?” Tang Jiaojiao jumped to her feet. “No, I mean—Dad, you’re not Grandma’s biological son?”
Tang Hao nodded heavily. “That’s right. At first, I didn’t believe it either, but your grandfather was absolutely certain. That’s when I finally understood why she’d always been so biased all these years.
Your grandfather was worried that I’d be too softhearted and let her manipulate me, so he told me the truth before he died.”
Tang Youyou thought to herself, Just as I thought.
Once again, she couldn’t help roasting the original owner.
Just how stupid could she have been? She never suspected a thing.
“What?” After waiting for a while and realizing Tang Hao wasn’t going to continue, Tang Youyou snapped back to reality.
The other three were staring at her, their eyes intense yet hesitant.
After thinking about it for a moment, she suddenly understood.
She quickly wrapped both arms around Zhou Ping’s arm and acted spoiled.
“Hmph, Grandma is so mean. She’s nothing like my mom. Mom treats me like her own daughter.”
“Oh, oh, oh!”
Zhou Ping’s heart melted into a puddle.
Tang Hao couldn’t help raising the corners of his lips before continuing.
“Five years ago, when Qin Yuchen turned eighteen, I figured you girls weren’t far behind. Even though I couldn’t bear to part with you, the marriage agreement had to be honored eventually.
“But who am I?
“How could I possibly let my precious daughter marry into that family without knowing what she was getting herself into? So I had someone investigate Qin Yuchen’s character, and while I was at it, I also looked into the relationships within the Qin family.
“Just thinking about it makes me angry…”
Tang Hao’s face darkened as he ground his teeth.
He had thought nothing of the investigation at first, but once he looked into it, he was shocked.
Qin Yuchen actually had a childhood sweetheart—his so-called white moonlight—and she was the daughter of a nanny.
The two had been involved with each other for a long time, yet the Qin family hadn’t noticed a thing.
There was no way Tang Hao was going to let his daughter marry into that mess and spend her days fighting another woman for her husband’s affection.
And the Qin family’s relationships were incredibly complicated.
There were five grandsons in Qin Yuchen’s generation alone. Everyone was scheming against everyone else. Each member of the family seemed to have eight hundred different calculations running through their heads.
At this point, Tang Hao glanced at Tang Youyou.
He didn’t say anything.
But Tang Youyou still understood the emotion in his eyes.
The corner of her mouth twitched, and she turned her head away.
She wasn’t the original owner’s clueless self. She was plenty smart.
“Later…” Zhou Ping picked up the story. “Your dad said he absolutely couldn’t let you marry into the Qin family. So he even went to Zhao Family Village himself to investigate Zhao Yunzhou.
“Although their family was poor, and the Zhao family members weren’t exactly easy to get along with, Zhao Yunzhou was an honest man.
“As long as you took more dowry with you, and your dad pulled a few strings to get the Zhao family to split up as soon as possible, you’d only need to focus on living a good life with Zhao Yunzhou in your own little household.”
Tang Hao nodded.
“Zhao Yunzhou is easy to influence. As soon as he came of age, I suggested that he join the army. I heard he’s already a company commander now. If you don’t like living in the countryside, you can always follow him to the military camp.”
Tang Youyou stared blankly at the two of them.
She genuinely hadn’t expected that they had done so much for the original owner.
And yet the original owner had known absolutely nothing.
Thank goodness I came here.
“So five years ago, Dad, you were already plotting against Grandma and getting her to arrange the marriage swap?” Tang Jiaojiao asked in disbelief.
Tang Hao looked rather proud.
“Of course. I merely casually mentioned in front of your grandmother that Youyou and Yue’er would soon be coming of age, and that there was the matter of the marriage between the two families…”
“And they couldn’t wait to make the switch,” Tang Youyou finished silently in her head.
She felt quite touched.
She knew Tang Hao was making it sound easy, but there must have been plenty of difficulties behind the scenes that she didn’t know about.
“Wait!” Tang Jiaojiao suddenly exclaimed. “Dad, if you’re this good at scheming, why did you willingly hand over control of the family to Second Uncle?”
Exactly.
Why?
Tang Youyou looked at Tang Hao too.
Who would have thought that the moment Tang Hao heard this question, he simply leaned back against the sofa, crossed one leg over the other, and looked utterly carefree.
“You girls just don’t understand. Who actually likes working day and night?”
Thinking back to the exhausting, chaotic days twenty years ago, Tang Hao couldn’t help shivering.
He rubbed his arms and said, “Look at how good my life is now. I don’t have to worry about the Tang family’s future. I get my living expenses every month, sleep until I naturally wake up every day, and do whatever I want.
“How could that possibly compare to your Second Uncle? He’s only two years younger than me, yet he’s already got gray hairs.”
Tang Youyou recalled Tang Zhen, whom she had seen at the entrance of the ancestral home.
Then she looked at Tang Hao, whose hair was still dark, whose complexion was rosy, and whose face didn’t have a single wrinkle.
She silently gave him a thumbs-up in her heart.
Respect.
“I’m serious.”
Tang Hao suddenly became solemn again and looked seriously at the mother and daughters.
“I’ve received word that the Tang family will become the next target for investigation and liquidation.
“Jiaojiao, I’m not worried about you. You and Lu Ye have a stable relationship. In a couple of days, I’ll talk to Lu Ye and see if we can get you two married as soon as possible.
“Youyou, listen to Dad. Marrying Zhao Yunzhou is definitely better than marrying Qin Yuchen. I’ll find a way to get you sent down to Zhao Family Village. That way, I can still take care of you.”
“That’s right!” Zhou Ping agreed. “As soon as your dad received the news, he tried to find a way to warn your Second Uncle. But if even your dad can’t think of a way out, your Second Uncle certainly won’t be able to either.
“That’s why we need you girls to get married as soon as possible.”
She looked at Tang Youyou worriedly.
“If you insist on marrying Qin Yuchen, once we’re all sent down and no longer in the capital, the Qin family will eat you alive. There won’t even be bones left.”
Tang Jiaojiao bit her lip.
She wanted to say, But you have me.
Yet she also knew that in front of the enormous Qin family, she didn’t have the slightest ability to fight back.
Tang Hao looked at Zhou Ping again, seeming hesitant to speak.
“I thought about it. Jiaojiao is still young and can’t leave her mother. In a couple of days, I’ll publish a notice in the newspaper and sever my relationship with you two.”
The final words carried an especially heavy weight.
Tang Hao practically squeezed them out through his chest.
Zhou Ping was utterly stunned.
She froze on the spot.
Once she finally processed what he’d said, she screamed,
“Tang Hao, you want to divorce me?!”
Tang Hao’s expression stiffened.
He frantically waved his hands, trying to explain, but Zhou Ping couldn’t hear another word.
She stood up, stomped over to the dining table, and pulled a rattan cane out from underneath it.
Without a second thought, she swung it straight at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao leaped up.
In just a few moves, he scrambled all the way to the second floor.
His movements were so practiced that Tang Youyou couldn’t even bear to look.
She finally understood why there was a rattan cane hidden under the dining table.
So it was there for convenient husband-training.
My mom is freaking awesome!
Hearing Tang Hao’s screams from upstairs, the sisters exchanged a glance.
Serves him right!
After quite a while, Tang Hao finally came downstairs, looking perfectly dressed and dignified.
If it weren’t for the slightly strange way he was walking, Tang Youyou might have mistaken the whole thing for some kind of marital foreplay.
They sat down again.
Zhou Ping smoothed her hair and looked at Tang Jiaojiao apologetically.
“Jiaojiao, once you’re married, you must live a good life with Lu Ye. Don’t take advantage of the fact that he loves you and constantly cause trouble. Be careful that one day he might stop loving you…”
“He’d better not!”
Before Zhou Ping could finish, Tang Jiaojiao angrily cut her off.
Her eyes were practically spitting fire as she rolled up her sleeves, looking as though if Lu Ye really fell for someone else and betrayed her, she’d personally make sure he paid dearly for it.
The more she thought about it, the redder her eyes became.
“Dad, Mom, how about I go to the countryside with you too? I… I can’t bear to leave… my sister!”
Gaaah!
Tang Hao and Zhou Ping had just been getting emotional when they heard that last part.
The couple exchanged a look.
The sorrow and sadness of their impending separation, which had just begun to rise…
Became even more heartbreaking.
Tang Jiaojiao didn’t seem to notice at all.
She clutched the hem of Tang Youyou’s clothes, growing increasingly reluctant to part.
“If I’m not by my sister’s side, who will take care of her?
“If my sister gets angry, who will help her vent?
“Who will get revenge for her?
“Who will bring her tea and water?”
The corner of Tang Youyou’s mouth twitched.
She seriously suspected that in Tang Jiaojiao’s eyes, she was a weak, timid little girl who couldn’t take care of herself.
And somehow, even after all that, Tang Jiaojiao still managed to say something even more shocking.
The more she thought about it, the sadder she became.
The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to be separated from Tang Youyou.
Then, as if struck by divine inspiration, she suddenly said,
“How about… Sister marries Lu Ye with me?”
Tang Youyou’s jaw dropped.
Are you serious?
Tang Jiaojiao nodded enthusiastically.
Tang Youyou was left completely speechless.
A father who could cunningly scheme against his own mother and younger brother, a mother who immediately disciplined her husband whenever he crossed the line, a sister who was willing to share her husband with her sister because she loved her that much, and an original owner who was utterly clueless…
What a bizarre family!