On the day after the rain, although the breeze was cold, it carried the residual heat of midsummer.
That person followed Old Master Tang into the house. His gaze interweaved with Tang Wan's. She slightly nodded as a greeting. At this time, the wind blew from outside the door, and her heart inexplicably felt a little heated.
"Fifth Master, please take a seat." Zhang Liyun restrained her nervousness and secretly sized up the person in front of her.
At his age, there were only a handful of people who could be called 'Master' in Sijiu City. Although he was young, she still had to be polite when speaking to him. After all, it was rumored that this person..
Had a bad temper.
Perhaps it was because he had been ill for a long time that his skin was pale as frost, a distant place for most.
"Mrs. Tang is too polite." His voice was warm yet it sounded cold.
Tang Wan's gaze had already landed on her grandfather. Old Master Tang suddenly laughed loudly, "Wan Wan, don't you think it's a coincidence? I was just out for a walk and I actually bumped into him. That's why I invited him. Pingjiang is such a small place."
"That's quite a coincidence." Tang Wan didn't expose him. She turned to look at the person beside him and called out politely, "Fifth Master."
That person only nodded. His gaze was indifferent, as if he had no interest in her at all.
His name was Jiang Jinshang.
He was a sickly man. It was said that when he was seriously ill, he was either bedridden or in a wheelchair. It was only in recent years that his health improved.
The Jiang family wished they could raise him in a greenhouse. How could they allow him to wander around aimlessly outside!
"Why are you calling him Fifth Master? You're not much older than him. You can just call him brother." Old Master Tang laughed.
The man remained silent. However, Tang Wan knew her own limits. He didn't refute him because he was respectful to the old man. She shouldn't be untactful and actually address him as 'brother'.
"What were you guys talking about just now?" Old Master Tang saw that the two people's expressions were indifferent, so he immediately changed the topic.
When they were outside just now, they could only see that there was something wrong with the atmosphere in the room. They vaguely heard it, but it wasn't too clear.
"It's nothing. We're just chatting," Zhang Liyun said immediately, afraid that if they were late, Tang Wan would say something.
At this time, the servants of the Tang family had just finished making tea and was serving it. Zhang Liyun immediately raised his leg and kicked the person beside her. Tang Mo was looking at the person across from her in a daze when she was suddenly kicked. She came back to her senses.
"Mom?"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and bring tea to Fifth Master." Zhang Liyun was very good at finding the right opportunity.
"Okay." Tang Mo immediately stood up and took the tea from the servant's hands. As she was nervous, the cup was hot and she held it in her palm, the bottom of the cup knocked against the porcelain tray, making a clinking sound.
After she joined the Tang family with her mother, she had met many people, but she had never seen such a person in front of her.
Prideful, pampered, and graceful.
When she didn't understand anything, looks were all that mattered. Whether it was Fifth Master Jiang's appearance or his facial features, it was gorgeous. Tang Mo was still a young girl, how could she not be tempted by the looks?
As women, Tang Wan could see through her thoughts. Yet, she pursed her lips, not saying a word.
"You child, what are you standing there for? Look at how nervous you are. Pass the tea over." Zhang Li Yun urged her and was a little angry that she wasn't as alert.
She was given an opportunity yet she didn't know how to take it.
"Fifth... fifth brother, please have some tea." A pretty girl, Tang Mo sounded coquettish.
Lowering her blushed face, it was a scene to behold, something no men could resist.
Tang Wan picked up the cup of tea in front of her. She had just lowered her head to take a sip when she heard him say, "Tang Mo?"
He actually knew her name. Tang Mo's face turned even redder.
"Just now, Old Master Tang asked your sister to call me brother. She knew that it was inappropriate and knew the right thing to do. She understood the occasion and what she should say. You..." he raised his eyebrows slightly.
"You should learn more from her.
"What you do should reflect where you stand in society."
Tang Wan drank a mouthful of water and raised her head to look at Tang Mo. She stood there, with a flushed expression, and the hand holding the teacup trembled even more.
It was true Fifth Master Jiang was an eccentric soul.
If Tang Wan wouldn't do it, Tang Mo was even more unworthy of it.
Moreover, her relationship with Tang Mo was already delicate, yet this person just had to support her and bash on Tang Mo..
Ruthless.
And his words seemed to have a deeper meaning.
Recently, there had been a lot of rumors in Pingjiang about Tang Mo replacing Tang Wan to marry into the Jiang family. Even a smart person could tell how it spread. These words were also a disguised message to the mother and daughter that their status was unworthy, and they shouldn't desire the things they could never get,
"Fifth Master, I'm sorry. She's still young and immature." Zhang Liyun immediately went up and took the tea. She kept Tang Mo behind her and personally served Jiang Jinshang tea. "I hope you don't mind, she's just a child."
No matter what, Zhang Li Yun was still his elder. He didn't accept the tea. Instead, he suddenly changed the topic.
"Speaking of child, I suddenly thought of my nephew."
Zhang Liyun did not know what he wanted to do, so she could only smile and agree. "I know that. I heard that he's smart and cute."
Giving praise would always be the right thing to do.
"I don't have children myself, so I don't know how to educate him. However, my brother can educate his children very well because when my nephew was very young, he did not treat him as a child.
"He said...
"If his son is not treated as a human, he would never be one when he grows out."
Zhang Liyun stood there, and her face was a twisted mess. She was rebuked by Tang Wan, and now she had to suffer any smackdown from Fifth Master Jiang!
It was painful!
"Mrs. Tang, do you think my brother's philosophy is correct? He said that if parents aren't responsible and can't teach their children properly. Somebody out there will do it for them when they grow up and become adults."
He spoke slowly, but his voice was as cold as the winter winds.
As Zhang Liyun didn't teach her daughter well, Jiang Jinshang would do it for her!
"I think that's right." Zhang Liyun could only force herself to agree. No matter how angry she was, she couldn't refute.
Tang Wan lowered her head and kept sipping. It was one thing for Fifth Master Jiang to have a sharp mouth, but an even cruel heart!
If Zhang Liyun refuted him, it would mean that she was against his brother. At that time, he could have just shrugged it off and pin the blame on the woman.
Zhang Liyun and her daughter had suffered a loss of silence. After suffering humiliation, they could do nothing but applaud the action. It was one of the worst things they'd ever experienced.
Tang Mo was so embarrassed she excused herself to the bathroom and instead retreated to her room.
She had specially dressed up today, but at this moment, she looked like a clown.
Although Tang Wan and the mother-daughter duo had a long-standing grudge, they were still considered a family. In the end, they had to keep up the peace, that's why some words couldn't be said.
Today, she felt that she was able to vent her anger. She drank a mouthful of tea, and wherever it went down her throat, she felt her body and mind be at ease.
She knew that there were some people who could kill without using any weapons, and this Fifth Master Jiang was clearly an expert.
Clearly, words were dangerous.
***
At this time, Jiang Jinshang went out to take a call. It was from home. After chatting for a while, he hung up and was about to return to the conversation.
"Fifth Master, I heard that the rumors about the marriage in Pingjiang were spread by that mother and daughter. You were right to warn them just now."
"Warn them?" Jiang Jinshang's voice was gentle. "Are they even worthy of my attention?"
"Then you're... doing this for Ms Tang?" Even from outside, they could feel the tension in the room. Moreover, the Tang family was constantly fighting over the inheritance. Stepping on that mother and daughter was equivalent to giving Tang Wan a boost.
"After all, if the marriage proposal is successful, she would either be my sister-in-law, or..."
Wife.
The few members of the Jiang family who came with him looked at each other in dismay. Fifth Master's words were true, but they came here today...
Not to break off the engagement?
It seemed that he had begun looking after his "wife".