After Being Blackened All Over the Internet, I Ruled the Military Variety
Chapter 732 - 722: Not Jealous, Take the High Road

Chapter 732: Chapter 722: Not Jealous, Take the High Road

The atmosphere at Xiyuan on New Year’s Eve was warm and joyful.

Although Gao Lan and Jiang Wenhu were meeting for the first time, both had a gentle and amiable nature, and within a few exchanges, they were chatting happily together.

Especially since both were following "Empress Yuan Zhao," their conversation had countless topics and seemed endless.

Jiang Lingxi genuinely breathed a sigh of relief, finally, she didn’t have to wrack her brain for topics anymore.

Jiang Runcheng, while pulling along his son-in-law to drink tea and play a game of chess, had time slip away unnoticed.

Jiang Lingxi took Xu Ling’an for a stroll in the sun around the garden, even visiting the main courtyard. Few have seen what’s inside the main courtyard. Even for routine cleaning and dusting, it was Shen Yunqing who did it herself, and there was not much interest from others, but Xu Ling’an happened to be one of those interested.

The young girl couldn’t help but marvel, "Brother-in-law really loves collecting ’Empress Yuan Zhao’ items!" She paused, "Sister, are you not jealous?"

Although these were the belongings of a person who no longer existed, the fact that they have been preserved so well for thousands of years shows how cherished they are by their current owner.

Jiang Lingxi shook her head generously, "Not jealous."

She had no reason to be jealous of her own self.

"I think this place could be like a private ’Empress Yuan Zhao’ collectibles museum."

The speaker was careless, but the listener had intentions.

Jiang Lingxi still remembered her visit to Yinhe Palace, where Curator Fu had said that items related to ’Empress Yuan Zhao’ are incredibly rare to find in the world.

However, it felt strange to put these things on display for public viewing at present, but perhaps after she and Shen Yunqing have passed, these could be donated to fill the void in that domain.

For now, it’s best to keep them close, revisiting these memories occasionally.

The garden, decorated festively for the year-end, felt fresh and new as the two strolled arm in arm, enjoying themselves thoroughly. It was just that Jiang Lingxu kept popping up, offering help from various angles in a clumsy manner that Jiang Lingxi couldn’t bear to drive him away.

However, Xu Ling’an was remarkably straightforward when it came to this, seeing Jiang Lingxu bustling around, "Little Xu is very filial to sister."

Jiang Lingxi nodded with a smile, thinking that if Jiang Lingxu heard this, he’d probably spit blood.

She needed a moment to laugh it off.

*

While Xiyuan was warm and joyful, a storm was brewing in the old Zhang Family residence elsewhere.

Zhang Nachuan held a teacup, looking at his son walking in from outside, and then shifted his gaze down to the small boy he was holding.

The boy seemed no more than five or six years old, dressed in a festive, traditional red robe and pants, clearly styled meticulously to appeal to his tastes.

The small frame wasn’t chubby, and the face was tender and cute, but his eyes still carried a hint of timidity.

As soon as Zhang Nachuan looked over, the little one shrank back behind the adult in fright.

Zhang Anfeng secretly glanced at his father’s face, unreadable in emotion, and pulled his youngest son out from behind, "Yangyang, go and bow to your grandfather. Remember what Daddy taught you on the way. Don’t be afraid, this is Daddy’s dad, your grandfather. Haven’t you always wanted to meet him?"

Zhang Nachuan took a deep breath, holding onto his teacup. If it weren’t for the fact that the child was so young and might get scared on this festive day leading to something more troubling, he would have thrown the teacup at Zhang Anfeng’s head!

Encouraged by his father, the little one suppressed his nerves and fear, took a few steps forward, awkwardly kneeled down, and correctly kowtowed, "Grandpa, I’m Yangyang. I’m five and a half. I wish you good health and long life in the new year!"

He recited it quite fluently.

Zhang Nachuan finally put down his teacup, "Get up."

"Dad," Zhang Anfeng was delighted, stepping forward to lift his youngest son, "Yangyang is a smart kid. I had a professional administer an IQ test for him — a hundred and twenty. He’s loved drawing since he was a little boy. Yangyang, quick, show Grandpa the New Year gift you prepared."

The child quickly took out a rolled-up painting from his backpack and gathered the courage to hand it to the still somewhat intimidating grandfather.

Zhang Nachuan could instantly see through his son’s scheme; smart and loving to draw, all targeted at his interests.

Looking at the painting thrust before him with effort, he expressionlessly took it.

After noticing the child’s discreet action of shaking out his arm once his hands were free, Zhang Nachuan unrolled it to reveal a semblance of a naive landscape painting.

For a child of five or six, reaching this level was quite commendable.

But whether the child genuinely loved it was probably not for him to choose.

As this thought crossed his mind, his hand began itching again.

Suppressing his anger, he asked, "Where’s the child’s mother?"

"Yangyang, go play in the side room," Zhang Anfeng first sent his youngest son away, glanced at the chair by the side, hesitated slightly but didn’t dare sit, and replied standing up, "His mom went abroad to study. She will likely settle there and not come back. Before leaving, we signed an agreement that Yangyang would stay with me."

"She could give up her own child so easily?"

"I provided for her study expenses, as well as a great deal of living funds."

"So she sold her son to you!" Zhang Nachuan soothed his heart, reminding himself today is New Year’s Eve, "Your company is struggling, where did you get so much money?"

For a mother to willingly give up her child, the amount of money involved must be substantial.

Zhang Anfeng had not expected his dad to ask this, instinctively wanting to lie, but unable to find a suitable excuse promptly, he spoke the truth, "I, I sold the ’Spring Fragrance Painting’ Mom gave me when I was a kid."

The teacup beside Zhang Nachuan couldn’t be spared after all.

"Bastard!"

Zhang Anfeng was prepared and quickly raised his hand to shield his head as the cup was hurled, albeit not avoiding getting tea and tea leaves splashed all over him.

Amidst tears and a head full of tea leaves, he cried out his grievances, "Dad, Yangyang’s mom is too cunning, and I had no choice but to give her this money. Otherwise, she’d take Yangyang abroad, and I’d never find him if I tried. Seeing little Zhou now, he’s almost the same as his sister, wasted. I can’t end up without a proper child to show for. If Mom knew, I bet she’d agree to exchange a painting for a lively grandson!"

But as he said this, blinded by tea leaves, he missed the look of utter disappointment in his father’s eyes.

Zhang Nachuan was about to tell him to get out when he heard the sound of a wheelchair’s wheels rolling over the stone pavement from outside.

"Dad, I brought Xiao Zhou to wish you a Happy New Year. I saw Anfeng’s car parked outside, did he arrive already?"

Zhang Anfeng had just wiped the tea leaves off his face when his wife’s voice sounded from behind him, and he almost jumped on the spot in shock.

"Didn’t I tell you to take good care of Xiao Zhou at the hospital, and that I could come to wish Dad a Happy New Year alone? Xiao Zhou’s surgical wounds aren’t fully healed yet. What if they tear open from all this running around?"

Lin Yi walked up to the door and saw her husband with soaked hair and some tea leaves stuck to it, directly cooling her voice to scold him.

She was instantly puzzled and aggrieved, reluctantly defending, "I specifically asked the doctor before coming. They said some light activity was permissible, so I brought Xiao Zhou. How could we not come to wish Dad a Happy New Year?"

"You quickly..."

"Daddy!"

The childish voice interrupted Zhang Anfeng’s attempts to chase her away.

Lin Yi watched wide-eyed as a child dressed entirely in red ran out from the inner room, expertly wrapping his arms around her husband’s leg. Seeing the unconcealable panic on her husband’s face, and observing the elder’s gaze fall to the floor with intentional ignorance, understanding struck her like lightning.

He had wanted to quietly settle things with the elder’s approval first!

Maybe, he even planned to alter the Zhang Family lineage records!

She immediately released the handles of the wheelchair and rushed forward directly, "Zhang Anfeng, you dare try a secret maneuver behind my back during New Year’s? We’re done, none of us are having a peaceful holiday!"

Tip: You can use left, right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.Tap the middle of the screen to reveal Reading Options.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Report