Frühlingsreise - Kapitel 42
It was a face so familiar, as if we'd never met before, yet so strange, as if we'd only seen it once before.
So such things really do exist in the world. Just looking at one person can leave you speechless.
She used all her strength to look at him. Her eyes involuntarily gazed repeatedly at his eyes and his nose, as if trying to etch each detail into her memory and slowly piece it together with the face in her heart.
Ah, this is Tang Qiefang.
The person who warmed him with their body when he was seven. The person who knelt with him in the rain as punishment when he was ten. The person who did odd jobs with him in the training room when he was thirteen. The person who has been closest to him for the past thirteen years.
The first one is someone who says they like themselves.
He was always gentle and self-possessed, good at controlling his emotions, but at this moment, his chest was surging like a tide, as if it were about to hit his eyebrows. He could no longer hold back, took a deep breath, turned his face, and said to Yang Luoxue, "Don't you know that Baili Wushuang's younger brother Baili Wuyou and my niece Hua Qianchu are already engaged? You want me to marry Baili Wushuang? You really have a way of thinking."
Yang Luoxue was startled; so much had happened to him in the past year that he was unaware of.
He got up and left in a daze.
The room is now empty.
The houses in Medicine King Valley are all made of bamboo, and a faint, cool fragrance can be smelled in the silence.
Tang Qiefang sat in the hall, remaining motionless for a long time.
Tang Congrong got up and walked towards the bedroom. "I'm getting ready to sleep."
Tang Qiefang said in a low voice, "I only have one sentence to say, and then I'll leave."
Tang Congrong stopped in his tracks.
Tang Qiefang watched his retreating figure, her voice slightly hoarse: "From now on, I will never leave again. Even if you hate me and don't want to see me."
Tang Congrong's heart skipped a beat, and she turned around.
Tang Qiefang had already turned around and opened the door.
The autumn wind was cool and refreshing.
Let's make this decision for the rest of our lives.
Be by his side and protect him.
Whether he looks down on him or sees him as filthy, it doesn't matter.
That's settled then.
Tang Qiefang returned to the Tang Clan.
Thus, everyone in the Tang Clan knew that Uncle had been in seclusion for more than half a year and had finally refined the Heavenly Fragrance.
Listening Pavilion once again welcomed its second owner. Since her return, Tang Qiefang has spent every day at Listening Pavilion. She still wears a jeweled crown and jade belt, and her face is still as beautiful as jade, but she has become very quiet.
Tang Congrong handled Tang Clan affairs, and he sat quietly to the side. When Tang Congrong left Tingshui Pavilion to check on the various rooms, he followed quietly.
Chapter Seventy-Seven
He rarely speaks.
He rarely even looked at Tang Congrong.
Sometimes, lost in thought, he would feel Tang Congrong looking at him, but he didn't dare to look back.
What would be in his eyes? Disdain? Indifference?
I dare not look.
Let this be a shadow. I only wish to see this person alive, alive and safe, unharmed—may that moment of collapsing in the mud in Medicine King Valley never happen again.
Yue Shenhong sighed, "Brother Tang, you've changed."
Tang Qiefang responded with an "Oh".
Will this kind of life continue indefinitely? Tang Congrong maintained close ties with the imperial court, and the Ninth Prince even wanted to marry Tang Congrong's close niece, Hua Qianye. Finally, a decree was issued for the head of the family: the lordship of each branch would no longer be hereditary, and anyone with ability could seek advancement.
Even the position of the head of the family is the same.
From then on, the Tang Clan no longer relied on its lineage to pass down its lineage.
The elders felt that since this patriarch officially took over, each of his decrees had become increasingly bizarre. This latest decree fundamentally shook the Tang Clan's traditions of over a century, and all the lords were deeply resentful that the status of bloodline inheritance had been broken. Only Tang Qiefang expressed his support. Many elders approached Tang Qiefang to analyze the pros and cons, saying, "Seventh Uncle is still young. Once he gets married and has children, he'll know how to plan for the next generation!"
Tang Qiefang said calmly, "If I had a child, I would naturally have the ability to make him surpass others and become a lord. This Daoist patriarch asked me to support him, so the morale of the Tang Clan disciples will definitely be greatly improved, which is a good thing for the Tang Clan."
Now that Tang Congrong's position is secure and she has received support from the imperial court, and Tang Qiefang, who possesses the Heavenly Fragrance, has declared her support for the family head, no matter who opposes her, they cannot stop the implementation of the family head's decree.
Tang Congrong had a smooth journey.
However, half a month later, a rather big problem arose.
At that time, Tang Yuchang and Tang Yuzhe were discussing the details of abolishing the succession of the kinship line with Tang Congrong at Tingshui Pavilion. Tang Qiefang walked up the stone steps. The sun was shining brightly that day, and a man stood by the lake.
The man had a handsome face and a calm gaze. Tang Qiefang recognized him as Yan Shengjin, Hua Qianchu's butler.
Hua Qianchu and Hua Qianye are siblings born of the same mother, and Tang Congrong is their maternal uncle. However, Hua Qianye is frail and sickly, and was taken to the Tang Clan to be raised from a young age. Hua Qianchu, on the other hand, lives in Hangzhou. She is innocent and carefree, and aside from making clothes, she doesn't concern herself with anything else. All the affairs of the Hua family are managed by Yan Shengjin.
Yan Shengjin was a busy man, managing the Sheng family's business all over the country. He was a rare guest of the Tang Clan, so Tang Qiefang hurriedly instructed the old woman to row a boat to pick him up.
Just then, Tang Yuzhe and Tang Yuchang finished their business and left. As soon as Yan Shengjin stepped ashore, he went into the Listening to the Water Pavilion with Tang Qiefang. Tang Congrong was also taken aback when she saw him, "Mr. Yan?"
Yan Shengjin lifted his robe and knelt down in front of the two men, saying, "I have come here to beg for forgiveness."