Chapter 50.2
Translator: Callis
Editor: Walker
“This time, we have gotten to the bottom of all the problems. It pertains to the royal family, so it would be better for us to keep it quiet. I’m afraid that a message would be intercepted, so I came in person.” The young man in his thirties with a steady temperament didn’t have the sharp edges or grumpiness of a soldier but smiled when he spoke. He didn’t speak too quickly or too slowly, and he was wearing a rankless military uniform while sitting in Zong He’s study. When he saw Zong He coming, he didn’t stand up.
“I didn’t know that this identity had pulled so much along. Duke Tang had really taken a fancy to the family inheritance, I didn’t even suspect that he dared to do such things to protect the Tang Family’s 300 years of honor. Fūrén has truly suffered.” Gu Yankai only continued speaking when he saw that Zong He had closed the door: “Tang Wan, formerly known as Tang Yu, was ranked first among the nobles because of his S-ranked spiritual strength when he was six years old. In addition to the rich cultural heritage of the Tang Family, he was also named the Crown Princess.”
Zong He expression was cold; he had already known about this.
Gu Yankai sighed with regret: “It was originally a perfect life that others envied and admired. However, his mother passed away when he was seven years old. His brother Tang Tingye was only two years old, and misfortune fell on the two brothers. Duke Tang had been raising a little lover outside, which was nothing new among the nobles. There were many people who had other lovers. Unfortunately, this lover was the daughter of the woman that Housekeeper Tang Lian had abandoned when he was young. Using Tang Lian’s guilt, the little lover quietly gave birth to a son for Duke Tang under Tang Lian’s protection. His spiritual strength had also been inherited from the Tang Family’s talent. He had been born an S-rank.”
When Gu Yankai reached this point, he couldn’t help but laugh, “Later, things became much more interesting. After the original Lady Tang’s death, Duke Tang brought the little lover home. Because of his high spiritual strength, the second Young Master was also recognized by Duke Tang. For nobles, it wasn’t inexcusable. The new Lady Tang took Tang Yu and Tang Tingye as her own and cared for them. Duke Tang Was very satisfied.
Interestingly, the eldest Young Master Tang Yu’s spiritual strength became increasingly weak. He gradually became a useless person. In order to preserve the Tang Family’s engagement and their several hundred years of honor, Duke Tang decided to allow the second eldest child to replace the eldest. He shut up Tang Yu in the rear court, saying that he couldn’t see people because of a serious illness. He didn’t see anyone for half a year. They used cosmetic technology to make the second eldest, who was the same age as Tang Yu, look like him. He took his place in the eldest’s life.”
Zong He’s expression became more unsightly. He had discovered this before, but it hadn’t been this detailed. “Continue.”
“After that, the real Tang Yu was locked up. Duke Tang told everyone that his second son was dead, so he had one less son. Actually, this situation hadn’t been handled well. It would have been perfect to conceal the existence of the second son in the beginning. However, she could only make a fuss about her son’s talent in order to enter the Tang Family. At that time, the reason that no one had discovered the counterfeit was because the children were young and looked similar. They could also claim that his memory loss was caused by the illness. The second eldest didn’t need to remember anyone else, he only needed to remember the playmate he had seen once, the Crown Prince who was barely seven years old.”
When he listened to Gu Yankai, Zong He’s eyes furrowed, “Where did he go afterward? Who created a fake identity for him?”
“This is also very interesting. His younger brother Tang Tingye, the little duke, is very shrewd. He saw Tang Yu get locked up. At the time, he was only three years old. The child’s retainer had also been killed to keep the secret. Then, he knew that if he ever spoke about this, his father wouldn’t spare him. So, he didn’t dare cry out for help and didn’t seek out his maternal grandfather. He played cute to curry favor with his stepmother, treating his fake brother as his true older brother. He slowly collected the family’s power. Now, he’s sixteen years old and controls the entire Tang Family behind the scenes. The most ferocious thing is that he controls 70% of the Tang Family’s business network.
Gu Yankai very much admired Tang Tingye’s manner. He smiled, “He was the one who helped Tang Yu escape, and had secretly taught him those means of self-protection. Tang Tingye originally sent him to a remote planet for shelter, renamed him Tang Wan, and had planned to retrieve him once he controlled the Tang Family.” The more Gu Yankai spoke, the more he felt that Tang Tingye was a true talent, “With Tang Tingye’s schemes, it’s a shame that he’s a noble. He’d be a military genius or a successful politician.”
Zong He’s expression remained cold, “Perhaps he would become a warmonger.”
Gu Yankai paused, “True, this child had been suppressed for a long time, and is a bit bloodthirsty. What I want to know now is that Tang Lian is looking for someone to kill Tang Wan, so does he know?”
Zong He scoffed, “That little thing!”
“Pfft! He should be aware. Not reporting it to you in advance, this child has quite the nerve.” Gu Yankai laughed: “He’s testing to see if you have the ability to protect his brother.”
With a cold expression, Zong He picked up the intelligence report. Gu Yankai continued: “Though Tang Tingye’s schemes run deep, he’s only a teenager. He hadn’t thought that Tang Yu’s luck would be so bad. While he was being evacuated, he encountered star pirates and disappeared. Even the signal couldn’t be found. I suspected that the identity signal is Tang Yu’s, which was erased by Tang Wan before he lost his memory. He didn’t want to be involved with the Tang Family anymore or implicate his younger brother. So like this, not even Tang Tingye could find him. With his shooting technique, he wouldn’t have any problems with self-preservation.”
At the moment, Lin Bo knocked on the door and brought in a bowl of noodles. Gu Yankai quickly stood up and received it personally, “Thank you, Lin Bo!”
Zong He opened his own communications device. When Gu Yankai sat back down, he called someone, “Mervyn, come with me.”
Gu Yankai had just picked up his chopsticks, but when he heard Zong He’s words, he stopped his movement, “What did you call Mervyn for this evening? It’s like he has rabies; he’s going crazy these days. He wants to bite whoever he meets.”
Zong He closed the communications device and calmly replied, “We’re taking a walk around Duke Tang’s house.”
“Hey!” Gu Yankai quickly stood up, “This is about the prestige of the Imperial Family. I only ran here because I didn’t want this matter to leak out. If you go, wouldn’t it just be like telling the Imperial Family about the Tang Family’s ploy? The Duke didn’t have a hand in hiring those assassins, nor did he know about the poison. Can you calm down a bit?”
Zong He had already picked up the military overcoat hanging on the coat rack, “I’m already relying on the darkness of the night, when no one is paying attention.”
“You’re bringing soldiers in at night and personally paying them a visit at this time of the night?” Gu Yankai didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were raiding a house.”
Zong He put on his overcoat, pulled out his military ranking pin from his pocket, and fastened it on his shoulder. His expression was cold and his voice was frigid: “My partner had been bullied like this. If I don’t go and stir up some trouble, then I’m not a man!”
Gu Yankai was left speechless by these words. He looked at the noodles on the table. Then he quickly took a few mouthfuls, then tilted the rest of the bowl’s contents into his mouth. All the while, he was walking down the hall, with one bowl of noodles completely eaten. A soldier’s eating speed was also very fast.
After Tang Wan cleaned up the soup and walked out, he saw that Zong He was preparing to leave. It was in the evening, and he was wearing an official military uniform. He had even put on his epaulet. He looked like he was going out on a military campaign. Tang Wan nervously asked: “What happened?”
Zong He stepped in and returned from the aircraft, “I’m going out for something, not a battle. Don’t worry.”
Tang Wan obediently nodded, thinking that Zong He was comforting him, “Then take care of your safety.”
Zong He’s expression was gentle. “It’s really nothing. There’s a report that’s related to you on my desk. You can go take a look at it.”
Tang Wan cocked his head slightly, “You’re not going out to vent for me? I was very miserable before, right?” From Zong He’s gaze, he could see that he had guessed correctly.
“Then I’ll be troubling you, Da Zhuang’s….uncle!” Tang Wan stifled his mischievous laughter. He couldn’t help but tease him. He hadn’t planned to stop Zong He. He believed that the Marshal wouldn’t impulsively do something unreasonable. Since he wanted to go, he’d let him go. If there were any consequences, they could bear it together
The corners of Zong He’s lips lifted up, and he lightly scratched Tang Wan’s nose, “Smart!”
Tang Wan smiled and his eyes curved, “You’re praising me.”
He walked with Zong He to the aircraft. After he watched the other leave, Tang Wan went to Zong He’s study. Normally, the door remained closed. Tang Wan looked at the handprint pad, hesitated for a moment, then placed his palm on it. After he was verified, the corner of Tang Wan’s lips curled up. Sure enough, Zong He had given him special privileges.
After he grabbed the report on the desk, he sat down in Zong He’s chair and slowly read it over.
After he finished reading it, Tang Wan calmly and quietly sat for half an hour. Then he sighed heavily and called for Ji Yan: “I need to go to Duke Tang’s residence.”
He hadn’t expected that the original would have been so miserable.
There were some things that he needed to face himself. He didn’t need Zong He to protect him so much. There wasn’t anything that he wasn’t brave enough to face.
— — — —
At ten o’clock in the evening, Duke Tang, who was in his sixties, was lying down. The current housekeeper suddenly came to report to him: “Duke, the Marshal has arrived. He wants to see you.”
“Zong He?” Tang Zhenqi frowned and sat up, “Why did he suddenly come to see me at such a late time?” Tang Zhenqi didn’t know why, but he had an uneasy feeling in his heart. He couldn’t discover who the officer with Tang Wan was. There must have been a person from within who had interfered. Could it be Zong He’s doing?
Zong He coldly stood in the middle of the large hall. There stood two people behind him, one on the left and one on the right. One had dark hair and eyes, gentle and refined; he seemed harmless. The other had short white hair and violet eyes, unlike a normal person’s. They were pretty but cold, as if they were staring at a dead creature, making people tremble with fear. He was a fighting demon under Zong He’s command, the captain of the special forces, the Imperial Army’s sharpest dagger: Major General Mervyn Gabriel. There would be bloodshed and death wherever he appeared. As soon as Tang Zhenqi saw him, his expression sobered. Truthfully, no one wanted to see Mervyn Gabriel’s violet eyes.
Towards Zong He, Duke Tang was polite, “I don’t know why the Marshal came over so late. Please sit down. Major Generals, please sit.”
Zong He expressionlessly sat down, not looking at the other. He felt that it was beneath him to talk to him. After what the other had done, not simply beating him up was already showing a lot of restraint. After all, if others heard that he beat up his father-in-law, it wouldn’t reflect well.
Gu Yankai smiled and said: “We’re sorry to disturb the Duke’s rest this late at night, but it can’t be helped. Someone tried to assassinate the Marshal and Fūrén today in broad daylight. We investigated and found that it has something to do with your Duke’s residence. The Marshal just wanted to come and ask about it.”
When Tang Zhenqi heard the word “assassin”, his gaze sharpened, but he calmly replied: “Related to the Duke’s residence? Then that must be well investigated.”
Zong He scornfully snorted, “Bring them out.”
In the blink of an eye, a soldier in a special black combat outfit brought a person along into the hall, let them fall to the floor, and then pressed a foot onto their neck.
Seeing the person on the ground, Tang Zhenqi pupils shrank and his expression froze, “What does the Marshal mean?”
The one pressed to the ground was his old housekeeper, Tang Lian.
Zong He’s gaze was cold: “The Duchess allied with her father and hired a person to kill my partner. The Duke should know what kind of crime this is?”
Duke Tang didn’t understand: “Your partner?”
Mervyn, who was standing behind Zong He, unforgivingly asked: “You don’t secretly keep track of who you want to kill? Is Lady Tang going to come out by herself, or should I go catch her?” As he spoke, Mervyn had already stroked the dagger on his waist out of habit. He didn’t care if they were male or female. In his eyes, there were only three kinds of people: Alive, dead, and comrades.
Duke Tang’s expression soured: “My wife has a gentle temperament. She has no enmity with the Marshal’s wife, how could she hire an assassin? I’m afraid there’s some kind of misunderstanding here.”
Zong He was disinclined to explain, only because the evidence was right in front of them. Gu Yankai beamed: “First, Duke Tang, don’t be afraid. You probably wouldn’t know about the relationship between your old housekeeper and your wife? Tang Lian, formerly known as Li Ke, is your wife Li Mo’s biological father.”
Duke Tang’s cold gaze towards Tang Lian was met with bitter eyes. He already didn’t need to ask any further, “Is Tang the Marshal’s wife’s surname?”
Zong He wouldn’t press charges against him for no reason. Having reached this point, he knew who the person Tang Lian wanted to kill was. Since Zong He had chosen this time, he didn’t want to make it public that the original Crown Princess had become the Marshal’s wife. It would be difficult for Zong He to behave with integrity if such a thing came out. So, Duke Tang thought that he had managed to grasp onto Zong He’s weakness. He calmly spoke: “Uncle Lian, what kind of illegal business did you want to do on your daughter’s behalf?”
“Duke, don’t worry. You can’t just push all of the responsibility onto the old housekeeper with such few words. Isn’t he also your father-in-law? What your wife did was even more provoking.” Gu Yankai’s expression also chilled. This father didn’t care if his son was dead or alive. He washed away his wife’s injustices first, even pushing all of the guilt to the old housekeeper. His heart really was cruel.
Zong He’s gaze had already filled with murderous intent, “Today, I’ll set all of the matters straight. Invite Lady Tang up here for me.”
Oooo confrontation time (๑و•̀ω•́)و