Chapter 852: The Second Master Has Something to Say
“You didn’t come to Wenshui City to investigate anything at all. You only wanted to use this matter to display your own strength and shake my position in Father’s heart. Now the Li Palace does not support me, the Holy Maiden Peak does not support me, the Huai Academy does not support me, the Li Mountain does not support me, and even the Qiu Shan family no longer supports me. On top of that, you say I colluded with the demon race, ruining my reputation. Even if I don’t care and no one dares to mention it afterward, Father will inevitably have to consider these things.”
The Second Master of the Tang family looked at Chen Changsheng and said, “Actually, you are much smarter than the world and the believers think. And Qiu Shan, and my nephew—though you are young, your methods are not bad at all. I consider myself shrewd and experienced, but now it seems you have indeed put me in a rather awkward position. Breaking out of this current situation will be somewhat troublesome.”
Chen Changsheng said, “Can I take that as you admitting you colluded with the demon race?”
The Second Master of the Tang family laughed, still without making a sound, then withdrew his smile and looked at everyone as if they were idiots. “Of course I won’t admit to colluding with the demon race. And even if I did, so what? Do you really think you can wipe out the entire demon race? In the end, there will be a truce. How do you achieve lasting peace? Through trade and exchange. I’m just doing some preparatory work ahead of time.”
Everyone fell silent at these words. The old residence grew quiet once more.
No one knew how much time passed before Chen Changsheng said, “Your view actually has some merit, but under these circumstances, what you did was wrong.”
“What’s wrong with it? My father taught us from childhood that the Tang family are merchants. Merchants are merchants. Their goal is to make money.”
The Second Master of the Tang family looked at him with a faint sneer. “Is there really any kind of money that is dirtier than another?”
At that moment, a voice rang out.
“Sometimes, a merchant cannot be just a merchant.”
The speaker was Old Master Tang.
His gaze fell on the wind and snow outside the house, as if he was recalling a heavy snowfall in Luoyang City many years ago.
“Some things, if you did them a few hundred years from now, they might be right. But doing them now makes you wrong.”
…
…
Old Master Tang’s words were the conclusion of this matter.
Clearly, the Second Master of the Tang family had not expected his father to say such a thing.
He stared quietly at Old Master Tang, without anger or despair, just looking at him.
Then he laughed silently again, still filled with mockery and malice, but this time there was also some weariness and resignation.
The conclusion had been reached. So what would the outcome be?
What followed was an internal matter of the Tang family. The King of Linghai and Zhexiu and the others withdrew from the old residence. Inside the room, besides Old Master Tang and his son, only Chen Changsheng remained.
Old Master Tang looked at the Second Master of the Tang family and said, “When you were young, I said many things to you. Some of those words you remember to this day, like the one you just said. But do you still remember me telling you that no matter whether it’s the Tang family, the Qiu Shan family, the Wu family, or the Mu Zhe family, the reason they have been able to endure for so many years without their fortunes ever declining?”
The Second Master of the Tang family looked out at the wind and snow and said, “Because these families have never had internal strife.”
Old Master Tang, not minding that he had his back to him, said, “That’s right. For families like ours, no matter how great the storms outside, we can ignore them. But if decay begins from within, that is truly dangerous. Think of those few families in Tianliang County—at their peak, they were like the blazing sun in the sky, yet now they have all withered. Only the Chen family sits on the imperial throne, and even they nearly faced extinction several times due to internal strife. That is why we four families are most vigilant about this matter and have devised countless methods to prevent it. I once thought my method was correct—before Tang Ge’er took charge of the family, I ensured none of you had offspring, thereby cutting off your ambitions and also those covetous eyes that might have turned toward you.”
The Second Master of the Tang family turned to face his father and said expressionlessly, “But have you ever considered how unfair this is to us?”
“Indeed, it is very unfair. But you have no right to say that now.” Old Master Tang’s expression was equally blank. “Because I later changed my mind and wanted to pass the family to you. You now have descendants. So I don’t understand why you still had to poison your elder brother.”
The Second Master of the Tang family remained silent, saying nothing.
Old Master Tang said, “Of course, even poisoning doesn’t matter. As you said, the Tang family are merchants. For money, what wouldn’t they do?”
The Second Master of the Tang family knew his father’s words were not finished, so he kept silent.
“But you were too impatient.”
Old Master Tang looked at him earnestly and said, “Before doing all these things, did you ask me even once? Did you even test my intentions?”
The Second Master of the Tang family could no longer stay silent, because he really wanted to laugh. So he laughed and said, “Was it necessary?”
Whether it was his attitude or these words that angered him, Old Master Tang’s face suddenly turned cold, and he barked, “What do you think? Is this your Tang family or mine? It will eventually be yours, but for now, it is still mine! Since it is my Tang family, what right do you have to hide so many things from me and do all this!”
The Second Master of the Tang family stared at him quietly for a long time, then said with a faint sneer, “Just as I thought.”
Whether he was mocking himself or the world was unclear.
Old Master Tang said, “What did you say?”
“Saying anything is useless. Everything said is false. Father, what you need isn’t reason at all—it’s reverence. You just want to maintain your mystique, hiding in the old residence playing cards every day while your sons manage the family affairs for you. If they do well, you praise them a little. If they mess up or cause trouble, you throw them away like a dirty rag.”
The Second Master of the Tang family looked at his father with a sigh and said, “Yes, besides caring about whether the Tang family is still your Tang family, what else do you need to care about?”
Old Master Tang narrowed his eyes slightly and said, “That’s because you did things I cannot tolerate.”
“Cannot tolerate?” The Second Master of the Tang family’s voice suddenly rose. “Didn’t you just say that as long as the family fortune isn’t ruined, even poisoning you to death wouldn’t matter!”
Old Master Tang said expressionlessly, “I can say that, but you cannot do it. Don’t you understand even that?”
The Second Master of the Tang family said coldly, “Because it’s too ruthless? Dean Shang valued me and was willing to use the court’s strength to support me. Wasn’t it precisely because I am so similar to you—both so ruthless?”
Old Master Tang’s eyes narrowed even more sharply. After a long silence, he said, “What disappointed me most about you today was that sentence.”
The Second Master of the Tang family’s face was full of mockery, and he did not respond.
Old Master Tang said, “Shang and I have known each other for centuries. We are true kindred spirits. I know his strength—his spiritual strength. And when you said that sentence, it meant you had already submitted to him spiritually. The Tang family can only cooperate with him. If this continues, you will ruin the Tang family.”
Hearing this, the Second Master of the Tang family’s eyes also narrowed.
“And you? Did you ever truly intend to hand the family over to me?”
His voice also dropped, but it was not calm, as if it contained years of hatred: “Yes, you thought about it these past three years. But in the end, you made up your mind only because I used poison to cripple Big Brother. Because that grandson you had high hopes for was foolish enough to stand on Chen Changsheng’s side. You had no choice but to choose me.”
Old Master Tang said, “If not you, who else could I give this family to?”
“Who else?” The Second Master of the Tang family laughed maniacally, and for an extremely rare moment, he actually made a sound: “Hahahaha… who else?”
He shouted angrily, “Do you really think I don’t know that that guy came to the old residence three days ago? Did you tell me about this? No! Because you were afraid that I and the court would make a move against him, because this is Wenshui City! You still have hope for him, don’t you? After all these years, you still think I’m inferior to him, right? But don’t forget, his surname is Wang, not Tang! Who is your real son, after all!”