Tang Ao, the current head of the Tang Clan with real power, was now over a hundred and thirty years old.
However, he lacked any of the bearing expected of a family head. He was cunning, malicious, and a notorious womanizer. Any woman he took a liking to, he would pursue by any means necessary, only to discard them once he was done.
Thanks to Tang Ao's endless, lust-driven transactions, one branch of the Tang Clan had flourished. Aside from the thirteen wives and concubines in his household, he had over a hundred illegitimate children, so many that he couldn't even keep track of them.
Just as he was about to make a move on a new maidservant in the inner room, Tang Qin rushed in, his face panicked. "Father, something terrible has happened! Tang Si has been beaten up outside the gate!"
Upon hearing this, Tang Ao slammed his hand on the table, enraged. "Who dares to act so brazenly at my Tang Clan's doorstep? Is it that little bastard, Tang Ran? Perfect timing. I'll skin him alive!"
Tang Qin replied, "No, it's someone who claims to be a descendant of the Tang Clan, calling himself Tang Lao San. He got into a dispute with Tang Si and was beaten by his bodyguard."
"Descendant of the Tang Clan? Tang Lao San? What nonsense is this?"
"Father, do you want to go take a look?"
"Take me!"
But just as Tang Ao was about to get up to look, Shen Zhao had already dealt with the Tang Clan's servants and strode into the room.
As soon as he saw Tang Ao, Shen Zhao immediately said, "Master Tang, you're really heartless. You don't even acknowledge your own son when he comes calling. Impressive!"
With that, he kicked Ding Bu Er.
Ding Bu Er immediately understood and crawled to Tang Ao's feet, crying loudly, "Father, I've finally found you! You can't abandon me…"
"Who are you?"
"I am your son, Tang Lao San..."
Tang Ao immediately had a face full of black lines. He couldn't connect Ding Bu Er's face with his son in any way.
Over the years, there were many illegitimate children who came to recognize their fathers, but most of them were young talents. How could there be a middle-aged man, nearly fifty years old, coming to his door and calling him 'Dad'?
Besides, take a closer look, does he have anything in common with me?
Tang Ao cleared his throat and roared, "You say you are a descendant of the Tang Clan? Do you have any proof?"
Ding Bu Er immediately said, "Dad, I really am your son. If you don't believe me, look..."
Saying that, he pulled out a smelly, low-quality jade pendant from his crotch and handed it over.
"Dad, this is the love token you left with my mother when you left. My mother always carried it and waited for you her whole life. She didn't forget you even when she was dying..."
Looking at the jade pendant in Ding Bu Er's hand, Tang Ao fell into thought.
It wasn't that he was thinking about something, but rather that he'd given out a thousand or eight hundred "tokens of affection" like this. How could he possibly remember every single one he'd given away?
This was also why Shen Zhao dared to boldly propose this plan to acknowledge kinship. Who told you, you old lecher, to not control your lower half, and to sow your seed everywhere like a walking human cannon?
Well, look at you now, you're not even sure if it's true or not.
Thinking this, Shen Zhao once again firmly believed in the series of unnecessary troubles that might be brought about by opening a harem. After all, there was no paternity testing technology in this world. What if one opened a harem to the point of facial blindness, wouldn't one become a father without even knowing it?
After a chill ran down his spine, Shen Zhao also regained his composure and said to Tang Ao with indignation, "Old Master Tang, are you going to acknowledge this son of yours or not? Just say something."
Tang Ao deliberately sighed, pressed the jade pendant against the corner of the table, and said to Ding Bu Er, "Get up, child, I believe you are a member of the Tang Clan."
Tang Qin, who was on the side, immediately became anxious: "Father, how can you do this? He..."
"Shut up! Don't be rude to your younger brother!" Tang Ao made the final decision. "Your younger brother has suffered so much for so many years. Now that he can't survive, he's come to seek refuge with our Tang Clan. From now on, you must treat him well, understand?"
Tang Qin wanted to say something more, but Tang Ao glared at him, shutting him up.
Ding Bu Er, the drama king, immediately went into character, continuing to cry and shout, "Father, your son knows that this trip has caused you a lot of inconvenience. I also understand that my brother hates me.
Actually, I shouldn't have come to find you, but Father, life is really too hard. After Mother left, I was bullied every day. I couldn't even get a decent meal.
I really had no choice but to come and seek refuge with you. If my arrival causes trouble for the Tang Clan, I won't trouble you to speak, I will leave now, and I won't make things difficult for you!"
After saying this, Ding Bu Er turned around and pretended to leave.
Shen Zhao watched Ding Bu Er's performance and silently gave him a thumbs up.
When a man turns on the charm, a woman's tea art level is like a stinky fish in the sewer, no match for him.
Tang Ao quickly stopped Ding Bu Er, saying, "Third, don't be in such a hurry to leave. Father knows you and your mother suffered these past years. Remembering the scenes with your mother, Father is also filled with remorse."
Ding Bu Er did another sliding tackle and knelt before Tang Ao. "Father, don't say anything more. Before Mother passed away, she only wanted to hear Father call her name one last time. Why don't you just call her name?"
Tang Ao heard this and racked his brains, feigning deep emotion, "Qiu Ju, I have failed you."
Ding Bu Er howled a few times, "Father, you're mistaken. My mother's name is Xia Da Chun, not Qiu Ju."
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Tang Ao coughed lightly in embarrassment, then said, "Getting old, acute illnesses are no good. I almost forgot your mother."
"Father is not old, Father is still young and strong."
"Son..."
"Dad!"
Soon, the "father and son" embraced, shedding tears that weren't even there, creating a beautiful picture of fatherly love and filial piety.
However, gazing at this peculiar scene, Shen Zhao and Tang Qin exchanged glances. Ultimately, they couldn't bear it any longer and leaned out the window together, retching in unison…
After the simple, cordial reunion, Ding Bu Er pulled Tang Ao aside and began to chat.
As for what they talked about, anything went.
After all, this old man Tang Ao, apart from sleeping with his lover, which aligned with the main plot of a certain Japanese genre, skipped everything else, letting Ding Bu Er improvise. Nobody would remember what the dialogue was when getting dressed; a general idea was enough.
And Ding Bu Er, with his silver tongue, had Tang Ao roaring with laughter.
Seeing the time was right, Ding Bu Er cut to the chase: "Dad, on my way back, I saw our nephew, Tang Ran."
Tang Ao's heart flared with anger. "Tang Ran? That little bastard still isn't dead?"
Ding Bu Er immediately put on an innocent expression. "Father, you seem to..."
Tang Ao waved his hand. "That scoundrel is a complete animal, just like his parents. He nearly caused the Tang Clan to fall into eternal damnation. You must not be deceived by his appearance."
Ding Bu Er said, "So there's more to it, Father. I didn't know about this before."
Tang Ao said, "In short, his father, Tang Hao, and his dead mother, Mu Yin Bai, are both a disgrace to the Tang Clan. You'll understand later."
Ding Bu Er nodded. "I see. A few days ago, I saw Tang Ran being a live-in son-in-law at the Pang Manor of Yangzhou. He was treated like a servant and even yelled at me when I greeted him. I thought he was just that kind of person. I didn't expect it was because I'm from the Tang Clan."
"What? A Pang family son-in-law!?"
Tang Ao and Tang Qin exclaimed almost simultaneously.
No wonder they hadn't been able to find Tang Ran all these years; he'd gone off to become a son-in-law in Pang Manor?
Tang Ao made a decisive decision: "Immediately send someone to Pang Manor and bring back this Tang Clan traitor!"
But Ding Bu Er quickly stopped him: "Father, calm down. It's too late to go now."
"What do you mean?"
"Pang Manor was raided because of the burning of the disaster relief granaries, and Tang Ran left Pang Manor later."
The Tang Clan was considered half a Xuan Gate, and didn't pay much attention to worldly affairs.
Hearing Ding Bu Er say this, he couldn't help but sigh.
Tang Qin said, "What a pity. Such a good opportunity, and it was missed. The Pang family is truly useless. They were a family of several generations, yet they declined so quickly."
Tang Ao bared his teeth and said, "Tang Ran, this little beast, has a tough life. Why didn't the people of the Yin Emperor Dynasty kill him!"
Seeing this, Shen Zhao casually said, "Old Master Tang, there's no need to be anxious. Earlier, on the way here with the young master, I discovered Tang Ran's tracks. It seems he's heading towards the Tang Clan."
Tang Ao abruptly stood up, and a terrifying aura spread around him. He was actually a seventh-rank Profound Void Realm expert.
"This little bastard dares to come? It seems he's coming for his dead mother. But it's just as well, I was wondering how to kill him, and he's delivered himself to me."
Shen Zhao smiled slightly, silently praying for Tang Ran's fate.
His ultimate goal was to make the Tang Clan and Tang Ran fight amongst themselves. Those from the Tang Clan weren't good people anyway.
In his previous life, the only difference between the Tang Clan and the evil cultivators was that the Tang Clan had the pretense of being a righteous sect. They did things like experimenting with poisons on innocent people, and when they failed, they sold them to Myanmar.
According to the plot, Tang Ran would return this time to reclaim everything that belonged to him, completely control the Tang Clan, and then further expand the Dragon King Hall's influence using the Tang Clan's wealth.
But after he controlled the Tang Clan, he verbally declared that he would abolish all the Tang Clan's unsavory dealings. In reality, he secretly continued to use innocent lives to experiment with his poison techniques, becoming even more unrestrained than when Tang Ao was in charge.
Unfortunately, Tang Ran himself didn't know that the assets he had painstakingly obtained would fall into Lin Feng's hands after being devastated by Shen Zhao. He would also become Lin Feng's underling, running errands and charging ahead in battle for him.
This time, Shen Zhao wouldn't give Lin Feng any chance to rise. Whether it was the Tang Clan or the Dragon King Hall, not a single penny of resources would be left for Tang Ran and Lin Feng.
They should be like ants, forever trampled under the feet of the person they hated most, groveling and deserving their fate.
That night, after Tang Ao had settled his "good son," Shen Zhao and Ding Bu Er began the next phase of their plan.
"Today, I've called someone 'dad' more times than in my entire life. It's really disgusting. Shen-ye, you have to remember this."
"In two more days, I'll make sure the Tang Clan is wiped off the map. As for their resources, we won't be polite – we'll take it all."
"What's the next step?"
"Wait for Tang Ran to arrive and keep stoking the flames. Let the Tang Clan and Tang Ran have a complete falling out and fight to the death. That's when we reap the rewards."
"Mr. Shen, why bother with all this trouble? Why not just punch them all and be done with it?"
"That's no fun. They're at least a distinguished, righteous sect. We need to give them some dignity. I'll just be kind enough to plant Blue Yin Grass in front of the Tang Clan's ancestral graves afterward."
"The Tang Clan a distinguished, righteous sect? I'd sooner believe the prostitutes in the brothels are still virgins."
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's get some sleep. It's already the first day of the new year. Let's rest and recharge."
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