"That Qin Long's surname is Qin, and the other's is Xiao. Even though 'Long' is in both their names, one is a True Dragon while he's just a worthless bug," Wang Ming analyzed. Zhang Meilan scoffed derisively.
"If he really had a connection to that War God, forget marrying my daughter to him, I'd even call him Dad!" Zhang Meilan said with a disdainful sneer.
"Auntie, I think this kid is more formidable than he looks; he doesn't seem ordinary," Wang Ming observed. As the young master of the Wang Family, he possessed a keen eye.
"Not ordinary?" Zhang Meilan retorted. "When others return from military service, they come back covered in glory. This kid came back covered in blood, with a broken right leg and a head injury. His only possessions were a broken bracelet and some clothes—he didn't have a single penny. He did, however, have some silver needles and Feng Shui books. I've always suspected he was just trying to pass himself off as some mystic in the army and got beaten and thrown out for it. You call that not ordinary? More like a charlatan!"
Hearing this, Wang Ming burst into laughter. "Now that you put it that way, Auntie, it makes perfect sense. It seems I overestimated him. He's just a common charlatan, haha." He took a deep breath and sipped his red wine, looking quite pleased.
"Young Master Wang, don't you worry," Zhang Meilan said, her words striking a chord with him. "Now that he has his memory back, it gives us the perfect opportunity to kick him out. In time, Xuewu will forget him. If you apply a little more pressure, she'll be yours."
"Haha, then I'll have to thank you, Auntie!" Wang Ming slapped his thigh excitedly and laughed, "What's the plan?"
"Xuewu only has a verbal agreement with him; they've never even held hands," Zhang Meilan explained. "Three years ago, Xuewu took him in out of pity. Now that his memory has returned, it's time to send him on his way. In a few days, it will be the old master's birthday. I'll bring this matter up at the banquet and have that damned parasite kicked out of our family for good." She was brimming with confidence, knowing her daughter would never dare to defy the old master.
"Haha, then I'll leave it in your capable hands, Auntie Zhang," Wang Ming said, licking his lips with a lecherous grin.
Zhang Meilan was extremely satisfied with Wang Ming. The Wang Family was, after all, a prominent and wealthy clan in Jiangzhong. If her daughter married into their family, her own status would rise accordingly, and no one would dare look down on her. Her position in the Tang Family would be beyond compare.
「One week later.」
In the grand hall of Jiangzhong's Luxurious Restaurant, the members of the Tang Family were all smiling from ear to ear. Today was the Tang patriarch's sixty-fifth birthday, and all the family's descendants had gathered to celebrate. Many other prominent families from Jiangzhong were also in attendance. Although the Tang Family's former glory had faded, the old madam had been a charitable woman who had helped many families in her time, so they came to show their respect.
At the center of the hall was a table covered with a bright red cloth. The Tang patriarch sat at its head, leaning on a cane, his face glowing with vitality.
Suddenly, a hesitant voice cut through the cheerful atmosphere. "I'm sorry, Grandpa. The taxi was stuck in traffic..."
Tang Xuewu entered slowly, supporting Qin Long.
The Tang patriarch didn't even raise his eyelids. He just snorted coldly and fell silent.
"My, my, Tang Xuewu, what a dutiful granddaughter you are, showing up late to your own grandfather's birthday!" her cousin, Tang Chuchu, sneered. "I suppose you don't have any respect for Grandpa at all." Having lived her entire life in Tang Xuewu's shadow, completely overshadowed in both beauty and talent, Tang Chuchu never missed an opportunity to mock her.
"One shouldn't be so unfilial, or they might get struck by lightning."
Tang Yuxiang, Tang Chuchu's brother, chimed in with a theatrical sigh. "I'm afraid some people have already forgotten all about Grandpa. Where would we be without his leadership?"
In the next moment, the entire Tang family turned their ire on Tang Xuewu, spewing foul insults. Her parents, seated nearby, were furious, but despite the presence of outsiders, their relatives didn't hold back in the slightest. Ever since Tang Xuewu had insisted on taking care of the crippled fool Qin Long three years ago, the Tang Family had become the laughingstock of Jiangzhong. And it was all thanks to that good-for-nothing, Qin Long.
"Grandpa, I'm sorry. We were late because Qin Long has trouble walking," Tang Xuewu said softly, her pretty face etched with grievance.
"That's enough," the Tang patriarch said, waving his hand dismissively and gesturing for them to sit.
"No one cares about ants," Tang Chuchu said with a disdainful sneer, deliberately showing off her Chanel bag.
Tang Xuewu helped Qin Long to their seats.
"Oh dear, why did you bring this crippled fool here?" Tang Yuxiang piped up. At his words, everyone's gaze fell upon Qin Long, their faces filled with contempt.
"Ah Long... it wasn't convenient for him to be home alone, so..." Tang Xuewu's face flushed red as she mumbled an explanation with her head down, feeling like the family's biggest idiot.
"You silly girl, are you brainless?" Her mother, Zhang Meilan, rushed to her side, pinching her arm and whispering fiercely. "You've completely humiliated me! Why did you bring this waste of space here? Today is your grandfather's sixty-fifth birthday, and all these prominent families are watching. Are you deliberately trying to make us lose face?"
Qin Long set down his crutch and sat on the soft chair Tang Xuewu had prepared for him, coldly observing the scene. The people around them were all looking down on him and Tang Xuewu with condescending, arrogant expressions.
"Here, idiot. Have a piece of chicken butt," Tang Yuxiang jeered, passing over a piece from a platter.
His words were met with a wave of uproarious laughter. Zhang Meilan was so furious she looked ready to attack Tang Yuxiang, while Tang Xuewu was on the verge of tears from the humiliation.
"For the Tang Family to fall from a prominent clan to such a third-rate one... it must be divine retribution!"
Suddenly, an icy voice cut through the noise. Everyone stared in shock at Qin Long, who was sitting quietly to the side. His eyes were exceptionally cold as he scanned the crowd. The onlookers couldn't believe it.
That crippled fool can actually speak? Is this the same idiot who used to cry for chicken butts? Something is different about him today.
"What the fuck are you babbling about?" Tang Yuxiang snarled, clenching his fists as if about to explode.
"Got donkey hair stuffed in your ears?" Qin Long's gaze was like ice.
"You motherfucker!" Enraged, Tang Yuxiang snatched a beer bottle from the table and stormed toward him. A cripple dared to humiliate him like this?
The Tang family members and their guests slowly began to understand what was happening. Could it be that Qin Long had regained his memory? But so what? He was still a crippled good-for-nothing.
"Qin the Cripple, you dare to look down on the Tang Family?" Tang Chuchu shrieked, pointing at his nose. "Anyone else, maybe, but you have no right! Isn't our family's downfall your fault? After freeloading off us for three years, you've suddenly grown a spine? If it weren't for us, you'd have been dead long ago!"
"Don't flatter yourselves." Qin Long flicked her hand away with an icy expression. "My life was saved by Tang Xuewu. It has nothing to do with the rest of you."
"Shut your mouth!" Old Master Tang roared, furiously throwing a teacup directly at Qin Long.
Qin Long caught it effortlessly with one hand and placed it gently on the table.
"Three years ago, if Xuewu hadn't dedicated herself to taking care of you, would our family have fallen so low?" the old man raged. "Now you've regained your memory and you show yourself to be so utterly ungrateful? If it weren't for you, our Xuewu would have married into a prominent family and soared like a phoenix long ago. And you dare say it has nothing to do with us?"