Chapter 18: In Vain
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
On the way back to the estate, Tang Wan took a detour to buy pastries for the old man. That's when she received a call.
It was from Zhang Liyun. "Aunt Liyun, what's the matter?"
"Oh, I want to talk to you about Momo's incident yesterday."
"What about her? Isn't the police handling it?" Tang Wan's tone was gentle.
"Look, the girl's also been in the police station for a day. She has learned her lesson. She's just a student and is still young, she needs to be taught a lesson. Nothing too much."
The voice came intermittently, and the car was silent. Although Jiang Jinshang didn't hear everything, he could guess a thing or two.
"Wan Wan, are you free now? Her parents are at home, and they want to meet with you."
The girl's family found her through some connections. At that time, the young lady was caught red-handed, so there was no way for her to ask for help. They had no way to contact Tang Wan, so they could only come to Zhang Liyun to try her luck.
"Look at how sincere their family is. You..." Zhang Liyun wanted to be a peacemaker.
"If they're apologizing to me, then I'll accept it. Aunt Liyun, I'm afraid I'm occupied. I won't be going." Tang Wan hung up the phone as she spoke.
Zhang Liyun looked at the couple sitting in the living room with a helpless expression.
"I'm sorry. I can't help. You know our relationship. I'm not close to her. She's a little stubborn. Sometimes, she won't listen to her father, let alone mine.
"It was merely a little incident, but she had to blow it out of proportions. I... She's spoilt by the family, so I really can't say anything.
"I'm really sorry, there's nothing I can help."
The couple hurriedly waved their hands. "It's okay, don't take it to heart."
Their daughter was a petty thief, and it was already embarrassing enough. Zhang Liyun was the daughter-in-law of a prominent family, so they were very grateful that she could receive them so warmly without being all egoistical.
"I'll get someone to pull some strings later. Your daughter definitely won't suffer much in there," Zhang Liyun continued.
"Thank you so much."
They were not locals, so they did not know who to talk to and where. Naturally, the couple was grateful that Zhang Liyun spoke up.
"No matter what, it's all because Wan Wan has gone too far. In fact, we have to forgive and forget. She's just too willful. There's no other way." Zhang Liyun smiled innocently.
When these words fell into the ears of the couple, they felt that Tang Wan was a strong and unruly young lady who would not let others off even if she had reason.
Zhang Liyun sipped her tea and observed the couple's expressions. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile.
That was how easy rumors were made.
How could she let Tang Wan off when she bullied her daughter?
Strong and unruly. She really wanted to see who would want a daughter-in-law like her, let alone the Jiang family, if such rumors were to spread!
***
Just as Zhang Liyun was feeling proud of herself, the phone of the couple sitting across from her suddenly rang. Seeing that it was a call from the police station, the middle-aged father tensed up and picked up the call.
"Hello, Officer Yang..." he tried to curry favor.
"What did you say? My daughter has been released!" The man stood up excitedly,"... Gosh, I, Officer Yang..."
He was so excited that he could not stop himself from stammering.
"You said that it was Ms. Tang's intention?
"... Okay, okay, I'll be there right away. We'll have to pay the bail and go through the formalities, right? I know.
"Is it convenient for me to thank Ms. Tang..."
Zhang Liyun's smile froze on her lips.
After the man hung up the phone, he did not have time to say anything to Zhang Liyun. He only thanked her politely and took his wife to the police station by taxi.
Zhang Liyun asked someone to find out that the girl who was caught stealing yesterday was indeed released.
Tang Wan, that damned girl!
Wasn't that self-humiliation?
*
At this moment, Tang Wan was sitting in the car. She had already received a thank-you call from the couple. They must have gotten her cell phone number from the police station.
"Ms. Tang, I'm really sorry. I've always wanted to apologize to you in person. My daughter was in the wrong... Are you free tonight? We'll treat you to a meal."
"Sir, you're too polite. I was indeed a little impulsive at that time. Just make sure she understands her mistakes. Besides, you weren't the one who did the wrong thing."
"I'm responsible for not teaching her well."
"I really can't bear for you to apologize to me..."
After an exchange of a few pleasantries, Tang Wan hung up the phone.
At the police station, the girl's parents were already flowing tears of gratitude for her.
Thinking back to Zhang Liyun's words, they felt that something was very wrong.
"Isn't Ms. Tang a nice person? She thought of everything for us and even considered the awkwardness if she were to meet us. She gave us a way to avoid embarrassment. Mrs. Tang was merely spouting nonsense."
"How good can a stepmother be?"
"From what she's saying now, it's clear that she's deliberately tarnishing Ms. Tang's reputation. We've never interacted with her before. Otherwise, we would really think that she's being unreasonable."
"I heard that she's going after the inheritance. This stepmother is putting on a good show."
***
Zhang Liyun had people keep an eye on the movements at the police station. Tang Wan was the person behind everything.
Most importantly, she played the role of a bad guy in vain.
***
The car had already arrived at the entrance of a teahouse. Tang Wan got off to buy some pastries.
Jiang Jinshang tilted his head and watched her enter the teahouse. He rubbed his fingers.
"Fifth Master, Mrs. Tang must have suffered a setback this time." The person in the front passenger seat turned his head around.
The corner of Jiang Jinshang's mouth curled up. "She welcomed the girl's parents into the house. There are two outcomes. Tang Wan would go and see them and Zhang Liyun would then become the peacemaker. In the eyes of that couple, she would still be a first-class hero. She would definitely be praised.
"The other outcome is that if Tang Wan doesn't meet them, it would only make her appear overbearing and domineering. And then she could mediate the situation.
"Since everyone has to be let go..." he sneered.
"Why should we let her do it!"
The two people in the front passenger seats also came back to their senses. The members of the Tang family had motives behind their every moves, all for the inheritance.
Zhang Liyun was scheming, but she was easily countered by Tang Wan.
To be honest, it was just a simple apology. An ordinary person really wouldn't have thought that deep.
"Fifth Master, Ms. Tang seems friendly. I didn't expect..."
"It's quite interesting, isn't it?" Jiang Jinshang said.
They pursed their lips. Wasn't it scary?
She was really a ruthless person.
No matter how they looked at it, she wasn't someone to be trifled with. She gave her stepsister a smackdown and right after that her stepmother. It was as if she had predicted it.
Jiang Jinshang tilted his head and looked outside. At that moment, the wind and rain had stopped. Tang Wan was carrying a few boxes of cakes out of the teahouse. He rubbed his fingers. At that moment, his phone vibrated. It was a message:
[Damn, I heard that you're going to stay at the Tangs! What's going on? Cohabitation?]
Cohabitating?
When Tang Wan carried the cakes into the car, she saw the corners of Jiang Jinshang's mouth slowly curling up. When he nodded and smiled at her, it was as if a fairy had approached a demon.
She pursed her lips. In fact, she had indeed played a little trick on the police station just now. Jiang Jinshang must have seen through it. In any case, if Zhang Liyun did not plot against her, nothing would happen. Otherwise, she would not have mercy.
Zhang Liyun and Tang Mo were currently in the car heading to the estate. Their faces were dark.
In the past, Tang Wan wasn't too aggressive. Nobody knew how capable she was. The mother and daughter was now faced with a huge obstacle.
-- Gift
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