8
Peony Garden
The Marquis of Nanyang was still enduring his soak in the tub. His trusted servant constantly wiped sweat from his brow, while Tang Cheng, his daughter, was directly having lunch in the courtyard.
The aroma of food filled the air.
The Marquis, who had not yet eaten, suddenly felt hungry.
The four maids: “…”
Wasn’t their mistress being a bit unfilial?
The two matrons’ mouths twitched repeatedly. If even the Marquis, who doted on her to the skies, was treated like this, then the Young Lord Wen stood no chance. They had nothing to say about Fourth Miss Tang anymore, and the lingering dissatisfaction in their hearts vanished completely.
Tang Cheng, whose thought process was utterly out of step with this era, saw nothing wrong with her actions. She felt that if she had gone back inside to eat alone, leaving her father behind, that would have been truly unfilial.
In her previous life, her parents had loved to eat with her, cared about her health, and showered her with affection. Even when they were too busy to come home, they would use holographic mode to keep her company.
Tang Cheng was simply following their example.
And so, the Marquis of Nanyang ended up in this predicament.
Perhaps today was simply not the Marquis’s lucky day. Just then, Madam Zhang, arrived with Tang Xin and the visiting Young Lord Wen.
Tang Cheng was feasting on a delicious lunch, while the Marquis was still soaking in the tub.
The scene looked strange yet oddly harmonious.
Madam Zhang took one look at this sight and was dumbfounded.
She… she had come at a bad time.
She had completely forgotten that the Marquis was testing the so-called body-strengthening potion Fourth Girl had concocted.
Tang Xin: “…”
Fourth Sister was truly exasperating. No wonder she was such an extreme cannon fodder character in the book—she really was something else. And the Marquis doted on her far too much. Now they had lost face right in front of the Young Lord Wen.
She secretly glanced at the Young Lord Wen’s expression. Seeing him completely at ease, his demeanor calm, neither shocked nor fazed, a flicker of disappointment passed through her eyes.
Before being transmigrated into the book, the Young Lord Wen had been her ideal man. Now that she had seen him in person, as handsome and unparalleled as the book described—Tang Xin’s heart raced.
The people in the courtyard had clearly not expected the Marchioness and Third Miss to arrive, bringing the Young Lord Wen and a group of servants. After the initial shock, the servants of Peony Garden hurriedly bowed in greeting.
Tang Cheng saw that several people had arrived: her stepmother, her third sister, and her newly-minted fiancé,the father of her child.
She paused what she was doing and let her gaze fall on Wen Huai’an, sweeping her eyes over him several times.
Her fiancé was indeed handsome, very pleasing to the eye, and had a good figure—tall and straight though he looked a bit slender, probably due to his weak constitution.
Seeing Tang Cheng scrutinize Wen Huai’an so openly, Tang Xin felt a vague discomfort in her heart.
Madam Zhang had long grown accustomed to Tang Cheng’s discourteous behavior. She neither expected Tang Cheng, who had been spoiled by the Marquis, to greet her, nor would she discipline her in front of the Marquis.
Although she occasionally “complained” during gatherings with noble ladies, she was actually quite satisfied with the current situation. A mere girl, no matter how favored, could never inherit the marquis’s title. Barring any accidents, the marquis’s residence would one day belong to her son. Her life was far more comfortable than many others’.
Tang Cheng had the original owner’s memories, but the original owner and her stepmother had always gone their separate ways without interfering with each other. As a spoiled young lady herself, the thought of greeting others never even crossed her mind.
“Had your fill of looking?” Wen Huai’an raised an eyebrow slightly.
Tang Cheng widened her beautiful apricot eyes and tilted her head. “If I haven’t had my fill, may I continue?”
Zhenzhu was dumbfounded. Was her mistress flirting with the Young Lord Wen?
Nanny Cao and Nanny Gao: “…”
Tang Xin felt a wave of frustration and couldn’t help but scold her reproachfully.
“Fourth Sister, how can you, as a young woman, be so frivolous? This is utterly disgraceful.”
The Marchioness frowned. What was Xin’er doing, scolding Fourth Girl as “utterly disgraceful” right in front of the Marquis? Leaving a bad impression on him would not be good.
Not far away, the Marquis of Nanyang’s face darkened.
Tang Cheng tilted her head and glanced at Tang Xin, who was lecturing her with such righteous indignation—this third sister of the original owner, and gave a small snort as she lifted her chin.
“The Young Lord Wen is my fiancé, and the father of the child in my belly. So, what if I’m frivolous with him? If I weren’t frivolous, where would this child in my belly have come from?”
No one could match Tang Cheng for sheer audacity.
After delivering her retort, Tang Cheng glared at Tang Xin once more, then suddenly rose, lifting the hem of her skirt as she walked toward her father.
Her beautiful, delicate face was full of pride and confidence.
The servants: “…”
The Marchioness: “…”
The corner of Wen Huai’an’s mouth twitched.
He had known that Fourth Miss Tang was very unusual, but he hadn’t expected her to be quite this unusual.
That was fine. If she married into the Duke of Zhen’s mansion, no one there would be able to bully her. In fact, her uncles and his cousins might very well be driven to vomiting blood by Tang Cheng.
Wen Huai’an suddenly felt that marrying Fourth Miss Tang might not be a bad idea after all.
Tang Xin was angered by Fourth Sister’s thick-skinned behavior. She looked at Fourth Sister’s straight-backed retreating figure, then turned to Wen Huai’an with an apologetic smile.
“Young Lord Wen, please forgive my sister’s behavior. This is simply her nature. I can only ask for your forbearance.”
The Marchioness frowned and coughed lightly.
“Xin’er, don’t meddle in matters between Fourth Girl and the Young Lord Wen.”
Tang Xin’s pretty face flushed red. She glanced at Wen Huai’an with slight embarrassment.
Wen Huai’an gave a slight nod toward the Marchioness and Tang Xin, his expression distant and polite, then stepped toward the Marquis of Nanyang, just in time to hear Tang Cheng speaking to her father.
“Father, you can come out now. I’ve saved some food for you.”
“Cheng’er is so filial,” the Marquis said, quite pleased. His precious daughter had remembered that he hadn’t eaten lunch.
Wen Huai’an: “…”
That was considered filial?
If he wasn’t mistaken, Fourth Miss Tang had just been eating quite happily by herself.
“Greetings, Marquis.” Wen Huai’an walked over and made a bow, performing the junior’s salute.
The Marquis nodded slightly. He was quite satisfied with this son-in-law, though influenced by Tang Cheng, he now thought his son-in-law looked a bit frail.
“You came to see Cheng’er, didn’t you? How thoughtful.”
“In a while, you should also soak in the body-strengthening potion. The effects… the effects are very good.”
Wen Huai’an looked at the Marquis’s clearly battered appearance and fell silent.
The Marquis didn’t mind his silence.
True, his precious daughter’s mistake had made soaking in this potion painfully tormenting, but the effects were good. The Marquis felt light all over, as if his body were even better than when he was young.
“Father is right. Wen Huai’an, you can soak in the potion right here. Don’t worry—soaking in this potion is very comfortable. When Father soaked, I miscalculated a bit and added too much potion. When you soak, I won’t make that mistake.”
The Marquis of Nanyang: “…”
Wen Huai’an: “…”
This didn’t sound reliable at all. Could he refuse?
Tang Cheng saw that her fiancé wasn’t saying anything and grew angry.
“Wen Huai’an, you need to understand that as my fiancé, your body is too weak. I don’t want a frail husband—it’s not good for our descendants.”
“I’m very open-minded. If you really don’t want to soak in the body-strengthening potion, then let’s break off the engagement. I don’t want my future children to be born too weak.”
“Of course, after this child is born, they will belong to me. I’ll raise them to be strong and healthy. You don’t have to worry about them lacking a father’s love, I’ll find them a good father.”
Tang Cheng frowned as she spoke. Then, remembering the original owner’s reputation, she felt she should show off her literary skills a bit.
“From now on, we’ll go our separate ways, each with our own happiness!”
The Marquis of Nanyang: “…”
Wen Huai’an’s handsome face faintly turned green.
What was happening?
He had only been silent for a moment, and Fourth Miss Tang was already preparing to find another father for his child?
**