Extortion by Exploiting Weaknesses
After waiting a while, the butler came out and the two headed into the study.
Tang Xin looked curiously at Tang Jingnan. This was the first time meeting her sordid Old man. From the looks of it, he seemed to be a middle-aged man in his forties, quite young and with a look of dignity about him; he looked nothing like a father with over a dozen children. Now that she thought about it, it’s true that scumbags like him won’t exactly carve the words ‘irresponsible scum’ on their faces. It’s when appearance and personality are inconsistent with each other that women are easily fooled.
“The butler said you needed to see me.” Tang Jingnan looked directly into Tang Xin’s eyes.
Tang Xin neither shied away nor backed off but merely returned the gaze calmly, “Tenth little brother broke into my house in an attempt to kill me. How does Father intend to deal with this? According to the Tang clan rules, it is within reason to expel Tenth little brother from the Tang clan and disqualify him from competing for the position of the Tang clan Head at the same time.”
There was a deathly silence.
The butler held his breath and pretended to not exist.
Tang Jingnan lightly tapped his index finger on the desk surface, “The butler mentioned to me that you snatched the bodyguard that ‘Old’* Tenth had set his eyes on?”
[TL/N: It doesn’t refer to his age, just a familiar way an older person with higher seniority would address a younger person.
Ed/N: In this situation, the Tenth is referred to as ‘Old’ because there are younger siblings beneath him, so across the siblings, the Tenth is still considered as an older sibling.]
Tang Xin shook her head, “I didn’t snatch anyone’s bodyguard. I only followed the Tang clan rules and chose a bodyguard that caught my eye before leaving home. If father thinks that I have erred in my actions, then please do tell me which of the Tang clan rules I have trespassed against.”
Tang Jingnan frowned. Had Old Eighth argued with him in an emotionally agitated manner, he could have had both of them suffer fifty lashings each to settle the matter. But because Old Eighth had calmly asked where she was wrong, he couldn’t easily speak up. Things that had already been decided by default shouldn’t be exposed to the public attention after all.
Just because he was now the Tang clan Head didn’t mean that he wouldn’t have a mass of people scrutinizing him from behind, waiting to grasp onto his weaknesses. He needed to treat all matters fairly, even if he was merely seen as being fair on the surface.
Thinking of this, he changed the question, “When the butler entered the house, he personally witnessed you stabbing Old Tenth with a dagger. How will you explain this?”
Tang Xin held her head high and squared her shoulders, answering with a confident voice, “I was defending myself legitimately. In order to ensure my safety, it was necessary that he lose the ability to attack. ” For example, by becoming an immobile corpse.
“A bunch of nonsense!” Tang Jingnan then proceeded to ask with a heavy countenance, “What proof do you have that Old Tenth attacked you first?”
Tang Xin silently sneered. Tang Ningyi took the initiative to look for her, was this not evident enough? This was the difference between one who was the apple of the eye, and one who was discarded as unimportant. To ask her to proactively prove Tang Ningyi made a surprise attack on her and not ask Tang Ningyi for evidence to rid himself of suspicion. Fortunately, she had taken precautions long ago.
“I have a hidden camera installed in my room so the whole situation was filmed. If Father wants to review it, I can go retrieve it.”
Tang Jingnan froze as he looked at Tang Xin like she was an unfamiliar person. Had she predicted that he would ask such a question and thus made preparations for it?
“No need.” Tang Jingnan’s chest tightened. Old Tenth was his most beloved child and was also regarded as a rare genius within the Tang clan. Whether it was public or private affairs, he needed to save Old Tenth.
The person whom the Tang clan held the highest expectations in succeeding the clan head position had not yet turned twenty years old when he entered this competition. And now, he was about to be cast out of the clan. No matter the generation of children, there had never been such a ridiculous situation.
He wanted to pass the blame of Old Tenth’s rash actions onto Old Eighth’s head but failed. He wanted to make Old Tenth innocent but also failed. Looks like he’ll only be able to play the ‘family relationship’ card.
“Old Tenth is still very young and overly energetic. As the older sister, shouldn’t you treat him well? Do you really have the heart to drive him out of the family?” Tang Jingnan spoke with sincere earnestness.
Tang Xin was not moved. “When one does something wrong and violates the rules, then one should be prepared to face the consequences, regardless of who it is.”
After a pause, she suggested, “How about this. As Father is the clan head, just change the Tang clan rules for Tenth little brother’s sake. This way, Tenth little brother will successfully be able to stay in the family.”
The butler wiped at his sweat from the sidelines. He had felt that this Eighth Miss was being disrespectful to him and was filled with enmity in his heart. But look at now, Eighth Miss wasn’t holding back even for the family head! Thinking about it this way, Eighth Miss seemed to be very courteous towards himself already.
The Tang clan rules had been passed down to them by their ancestors, how could he change them arbitrarily?
Tang Jingnan narrowed his eyes, “Everyone knows that Old Tenth is the most suitable for being the next leader of the clan. Are you alone still going to stand against that?”
Tang Xin sighed, “All final decisions are made by Father. Even if Father decides right now that Tenth little brother will take on the clan head position, I would not dare object. As a member of the Tang clan, the most I can do is to pray for its sake.” After all, with Tang Ningyi’s intelligence, if he were to become head of the clan, the Tang clan’s future will be concerning.
At hearing these words, Tang Jingnan’s anger shot up to his eyes. Tang Xin may look docile, but her words were full of thorns.
Tang Ningyi was his favorite son. Though he might say Tang Ningyi was falling short of his expectations, or was neither good here nor there, he was actually quite proud of his son. Now, this son was being degraded as waste by Tang Xin’s words. No one is allowed to look down on his son- even if the one belittling Tang Ningyi is his own daughter, it’s not allowed!
Tang Jingnan was about to unleash his rage but the words on the tip of his tongue withdrew back down his throat; he still needed Old Eighth to retract her complaint.
If this matter ever got out of hand, they would be made a mockery of at minimum. Other than his own children, there were also many others within the Tang clan who were participating this year. If the possibility of ridding Tang Ningyi from the competition as a formidable opponent was made known, then many will unite together and force him to make a decision.
The more he thought about it, the more irritated Tang Jingnan became. Old Eighth just had to do things so thoroughly, he couldn’t find a means to spare his son.
Old Tenth, that idiot, why didn’t he use his brain before taking action? This big mess he created was hard to clean up. Did he have no common sense? He couldn’t even pull off such an insignificant, petty trick!
Tang Jingnan had just been infuriated at how Tang Xin despised his precious son, but looking back, he just as soon wanted to rebuke the boy himself as well.
“Old Tenth will lead the Tang clan to an even brighter future, I can’t possibly cast him out.”
Tang Jingnan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, “Do you know why all under the Tang clan must eventually leave home, why they need to fight over the clan head position? It’s so that you all can rapidly mature in the midst of the struggles. Ten years, twenty years later, no matter where you are, what you do, the experience of this struggle will become your precious strength and treasure.
“You’ll learn to cherish this experience.”
Stop trying to coax her. How many had placed their hopes on this ‘treasure’ only to sleep and never wake? This old coot couldn’t possibly want her to think of Tang Ningyi’s attack on her as a gift and thank him for it, could he?
Tang Xin remained expressionless, “I’m in the habit of avoiding enmity with others; I don’t need such ‘treasures’.”
The butler could barely catch his breath. Even after knowing that Tenth Young Master had his eyes on Yan Hao, she still went and chose Yan Hao. Was this what she called ‘avoiding enmity with others’?
“You’re really not going to account for the affections between brother and sister?”, Tang Jingnan insisted.
Don’t talk to her about ‘affections’; it’d just be a waste of time. What affection was there to be had between her and Tang Ningyi? The kind where siblings attacked each other with a knife, that kind of ‘touching’ affection?
But Tang Xin’s had her own goals so she released a breath, “It’s not like I plan to be inflexible and insist on driving him out of the clan.”
Tang Jingnan felt a little relieved at hearing those words and relaxed his frown. “You want Old Tenth to offer you an apology? No problem.”
Who knew Tang Xin would shake her head. “Even if I forgive him, there’s no guarantee he won’t target me in the future. What I need is the capital to become stronger.”
“Allowed.” Tang Jingnan’s countenance remained unchanged, “Since you have a resource quota of fifty thousand, I can make an exception and give you eighty thousand.”
The butler sighed again on the sidelines as he watched how his master was dealing with this. That which was originally a privilege, was now being given away as compensation.
Tang Xin spat out two words, “Not enough.”
Tang Jingnan thought for a while, “I can send you to Aquastar. Aquastar is rich in resources, has a beautiful environment and accessible transportation. Moreover, the Tang clan has great influence in Aquastar, which is good for your future development.”
“Not enough.”
Tang Jingnan felt a little vexed, “Don’t cross the line.”
Tang Xin merely spread out her hands, “I only hope that once I let go of Tenth little brother, I will be able to survive against him. I don’t plan to let him go only to fall right back into his hands. After all, he is of A-grade genes. “
Tang Jingnan felt those words made sense and thought it over. “There’s a limit to how much can be offered in other aspects. I have a private depository where you can go in and choose three items. The amount of benefits you can gain from this will be dependent on your discernment. How about it?”
Tang Xin considered it for a moment. From the look of things, she won’t be getting much more advantages than this and so she nodded.
Tang Jingnan walked over to the bookshelf, turned the antique vase on the shelf and immediately, a secret cache as tall as a person appeared in the study.
Tang Jingnan walked in first and Tang Xin followed after while the butler and Yan Hao stayed behind outside the entrance.
Right before entering, Tang Xin quietly asked Yan Hao, “What kind of weapon are you used to wielding?”
Yan Hao’s expression changed slightly as he whispered back, “A long sword.”
Tang Xin couldn’t help but frown and most especially wanted to say, ‘Why do you have to use the same thing as that bastard Tang Ningyi?’ But upon thinking again, perhaps Tang Ningyi was deliberately imitating Yan Hao.
Inside the secret cache were weapons, jewelry, antiques, and ancient texts placed on shelves in different categories. There were all sorts of various items.
“Pick any three items.” Tang Jingnan stood by the entrance with his eyes closed at rest.
Was he afraid his eyes would reveal his unwillingness to part with the things she picked out or was there an item that he considered extra precious? Tang Xin pouted her lips a little, knowing the probability was low. She could tell that many items here were of good quality just by looking.
“As long as I want it, then I can choose any three items? No matter what it is?” Tang Xin asked again.
“Yes.” Tang Jingnan answered bluntly.
Tang Xin felt relieved at this reassurance. She took a careful glance around the secret cache and quickly picked out a long sword, a dagger, and an old, plain looking ring.
”I’m done.”
That quickly? Tang Jingnan was slightly surprised and opened his eyes to look, only for the corners of his mouth to compulsively twitch. He can ignore the dagger as it was a sharp weapon as any other; he had plenty others of the same kind. But that long sword was something he’d painstakingly asked a mastersmith to make specially for Old Tenth.
As for that old, plain-looking ring- Tang Jingnan’s heart quivered. That was an interspace ring! They were two of a kind; one for himself and the other was for Old Tenth.
“That ring is too old, would you like to exchange it?”, asked Tang Jingnan dryly.
“No need, I like this one.” Tang Xin smiled brightly, feeling immensely satisfied as she quickly lifted her hand to wear the ring at once.
She’d had an interspace bracelet in her previous life. It was unfortunate that it was gone after switching bodies. She still felt it was rather regrettable. She hadn’t expected to come across an interspace ring so soon. She sure had luck.
Tang Xin happily returned to the study with the three treasures in hand. She immediately tossed the long sword over to Yan Hao while she hid the dagger in her short boots. With a big wave of her hand, she decided to let go of Tang Ningyi’s unintentional mistake without a second thought, promised to destroy the video evidence and happily left.
Before she left, she called the butler to go to the warehouse together.
Only Tang Jingnan was left behind gnashing his teeth. He desperately told himself that this was an investment. Old Tenth needed this ‘whetstone’* to sharpen him.
[TL/N: He’s referring to Tang Xin.]
As long as Old Eighth was here, Old Tenth would have the strong desire to advance forward. As long as he strengthens himself, there was no need to be anxious even without these extra items
Unfortunately, his clenched fists revealed his true feelings.