Chapter 6: Extortion

After a short wait, the butler came out and led the two into the study.

Tang Xin curiously observed Tang Jingnan. This was her first time meeting her estranged father. He appeared to be a man in his forties, quite youthful and imposing. He didn’t look like the father of a dozen children at all. She thought about it; after all, scoundrels wouldn’t have “scoundrel” written on their faces. Appearance and personality were often opposite; that’s how women easily fell for it.

“The butler said you wanted to see me.” Tang Jingnan stared into Tang Xin’s eyes.

Tang Xin didn’t flinch, calmly looking back. “The tenth brother broke into my room and tried to kill me. Father thinks, How should this matter be handled? According to the Tang family rules, the tenth brother should be expelled from the Tang family, and at the same time, he should lose the qualification to participate in the Tang family head competition.”

Deadly silence.

The butler held his breath, pretending not to exist.

Tang Jingnan lightly tapped the table with his index finger. “The butler mentioned to me that you took the bodyguard that Tenth brother had his eyes on.”

Tang Xin shook her head. “I did not take anyone else’s bodyguard. I simply followed the rules of the Tang family and chose the bodyguard I liked before leaving home. If Father thinks I have done something wrong, please tell me which family rule I have violated.”

Tang Jingnan frowned. If the old eighth argued with him passionately, he could just give them each a punishment and let the matter pass. But when Old Eighth calmly asked where she went wrong, he found it hard to answer. After all, these behind-the-scenes arrangements were not to be openly discussed.

Thinking about this, he changed the question. “When the butler entered the room, he saw you stab your tenth brother with a dagger. Care to explain?”

Tang Xin raised her head proudly, responding confidently, “I acted in self-defense. To ensure my safety, I needed to make sure he lost the ability to attack.” Like, for example, becoming a motionless corpse.

“Nonsense!” Tang Jingnan’s face darkened. He questioned, “Do you have any evidence to prove that your tenth brother attacked you first?”

Tang Xin smirked inwardly. Tang Ning came to her first; wasn’t that clear enough? This was the difference between someone close to her heart and someone of no consequence. To have her prove that Tang Ning attacked her instead of Tang Ning providing evidence to clear himself was absurd. Fortunately, she was prepared.

“There are pinhole cameras in my room, and the whole process is recorded. If Father wants to see, I can go back and get it.”

Tang Jingnan hesitated, looking at Tang Xin as if she were a stranger. Did she anticipate he would ask this, so she came prepared?

“No need,” Tang Jingnan felt a tightness in his chest. The tenth brother was his most beloved son, as well as a rare genius in the Tang family. Whether in public or private, he had to protect tenth brother.

The person with the most hope of inheriting the position of family head in the Tang family, not yet twenty years old, was about to be expelled from the Tang family. No matter which generation of descendants, they had never caused such a ridiculous situation.

He tried to shift the impulsive actions of Tenth brother onto Eighth sister and failed. He attempted to clear Tenth brother’s name and also failed. It seemed he had no choice but to play the family card.

“After all, Tenth brother is young and impulsive. As his elder sister, can you bear to see him being kicked out of the family?” Tang Jingnan earnestly spoke.

Tang Xin remained unmoved. “If one makes a mistake and violates the family rules, one must accept punishment. It applies to anyone.”

After a pause, she suggested, “How about this? Father, as the family head, could change the Tang family rules for Tenth Brother’s sake. This way, Tenth brother can stay in the family smoothly.”

The butler wiped his sweat on the side. He felt Eighth Miss was disrespectful to him, and he harbored grievances. But now, looking at it, Eighth Miss didn’t even give face to the family head! In this light, Eighth Miss was quite courteous to him.

The Tang family rules were passed down from the ancestors. How could he change them just by saying so?

Tang Jingnan squinted. “Everyone knows that Tenth brother is the most suitable candidate for the next family head. Are you really going to go against everyone’s wishes?”

Tang Xin sighed. “Everything depends on Father’s decision. Even if Father decides to let Tenth brother take over as the family head now, I dare not object. As a member of the Tang family, I can only silently pray for the Tang family.” After all, with Tang Ning’s intelligence, the future of the Tang family would be worrying if he became the family head.

Listening to this, Tang Jingnan’s anger surged. Tang Xin appeared gentle, but her words carried a sting.

Tang Ning was his favorite son. Although he often criticized Tang Ning as unreliable and pointed out his faults, deep down, he was proud of his son. Now, his son was being belittled by Tang Xin as if he were worthless. No one could look down on his son, even if it was his daughter belittling Tang Ning!

Tang Jingnan was about to shout in anger when he retracted his words. He still needed Eighth sister to withdraw the appeal.

If things escalated, there would be plenty of people enjoying the show. Apart from his children, there were many Tang family descendants competing in this generation. If they could drive out Tang Ning, a strong competitor, many would unite and force him to make a decision.

The more he thought about it, the more irritated Tang Jingnan became. Unfortunately, Eighth sister had executed everything flawlessly, and he couldn’t exonerate his son.

That idiot, Tenth, why didn’t he use his brain before doing something? He created such a big mess, and Tang Jingnan didn’t know how to clean it up. Didn’t he have any common sense? Couldn’t he do something insignificant!

Just as Tang Jingnan was angry at Eighth sister for disparaging his beloved son, he turned around and wanted to scold himself.

“Tenth will lead the Tang family toward a brighter future. I can’t possibly drive him away.”

Taking a deep breath, Tang Jingnan continued in a solemn tone, “Do you know why the Tang family descendants leave home and why they vie for the position of family head? You will grow rapidly in the struggle. Ten, twenty years later, no matter where you are or what you do, these experiences of conflict will become your precious wealth.”

“Learn to cherish such experiences.”

Don’t try to sweet-talk her. Many have slept forever with wealth as their pillow. Could the old man want her to consider Tang Ning’s attack as wealth and thank Tang Ning for it?

Tang Xin remained expressionless. “I am accustomed to a life without conflicts, and I don’t need such wealth.”

The butler almost ran out of breath. Knowing that Young Master Tenth favored Yan Hao but still insisted on choosing Yan Hao, she calls it a life without conflicts?

“Do you really not care about the relationship between siblings?” Tang Jingnan pressed on.

Don’t talk to her about emotions; it hurts the wallet. What kind of sentimental sibling relationship did she have with Tang Ning? They were stabbing each other in the back.

But Tang Xin had her own purpose, and she slightly loosened her stance. “I don’t necessarily insist on him leaving the Tang family.”

Hearing this, Tang Jingnan felt somewhat relieved, and his furrowed brow relaxed. “Do you want Tenth to apologize to you? No problem.”

Unexpectedly, Tang Xin shook her head gently. “Even if I forgive him, there’s no guarantee he won’t target me in the future. I need more leverage to become stronger.”

“Fine.”

Tang Jingnan’s expression remained unchanged. “You already have a resource quota of fifty thousand, and I can make an exception to give you eighty thousand.”

The butler sighed on the side, observing how the family head handled business. Originally meant to be given as a favor, it ended up being offered as compensation.

Tang Xin uttered two words from her mouth: “Not enough.”

Tang Jingnan thought for a moment. “I can send you to Water Blue Star. It has abundant resources, a beautiful environment, and convenient transportation. Moreover, the Tang family has a good influence on Water Blue Star, which will benefit your future development.”

“Not enough.”

Tang Jingnan was a bit dissatisfied. “Don’t push it too far.”

Tang Xin shrugged. “I just hope that if I spare Tenth, I can also survive in his hands. Instead of sparing him and ending up under his control, after all, he is an A-level gene.”

Tang Jingnan found her reasoning sound and considered it for a moment. “I can’t offer assistance in other aspects. However, I have a private warehouse. I can let you choose three items from there. How much benefit you can gain depends on your discernment. How about that?”

Tang Xin considered for a while and, judging by the situation, nodded.

Tang Jingnan walked to the bookshelf, rotated the antique vase on the shelf, and immediately, a one-person-high hidden compartment appeared in the study.

Tang Jingnan entered first, followed by Tang Xin, while the butler and Yan Hao stayed outside.

Before entering, Tang Xin quietly asked Yan Hao, “What weapon are you used to?”

Yan Hao’s expression changed slightly, and he whispered, “A long sword.”

Tang Xin couldn’t help but frown, especially wanting to say, Why use the same as Tang Ning? Then again, maybe Tang Ning intentionally learned from Yan Hao.

In the hidden compartment, weapons, jewelry, antiques, and ancient books were neatly arranged on shelves, categorized by type. There were many items in various categories.

“Pick any three at will.” Tang Jingnan stood by the door, closing his eyes to rest.

Was he afraid that his reluctance would be revealed in his eyes, and she would figure out which item was more valuable? Tang Xin curled her lips; he had guessed wrong. She had seen plenty of good things and could discern them herself.

“As long as I want them, can I take any three items? Anything goes?” Tang Xin asked again.

“Yes,” Tang Jingnan answered directly.

With this assurance, Tang Xin relaxed. Her gaze swept over the hidden compartment, and she quickly picked out a long sword, a dagger, and an antique ring.

“Chose already.”

So fast? Tang Jingnan was slightly surprised. He opened his eyes and, upon seeing the items, couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. The dagger was understandable; it was sharp, but he had other stock.

However, the long sword was crafted at great expense by a master, specifically for Tenth.

As for the ancient ring, Tang Jingnan’s heart trembled; it was a spatial ring! He only had two in total—one for himself and one intended for Tenth.

“The ring looks too worn. Do you want to pick something else?” Tang Jingnan dryly remarked.

“No need; I like it just the way it is,” Tang Xin said with a satisfied smile, casually putting it on her index finger.

In her past life, she had a spatial bracelet, which was unfortunately lost when she changed bodies. She felt quite regretful. Unexpectedly, she obtained a spatial ring so quickly; she was really lucky.

Tang Xin happily returned to the study with her three treasures. She tossed the long sword directly to Yan Hao, hid the dagger in her ankle boots, waved her hand, and decided not to hold Tang Ning accountable for his unintentional mistake. She promised to destroy the recording and left happily.

Before leaving, she called the butler and headed to the warehouse together.

Leaving Tang Jingnan alone, grinding his teeth in place. He desperately told himself it was an investment. Tenth needed to sharpen his blade. As long as Eighth was around, Tenth would have a strong desire to improve. Once he became powerful, these external possessions wouldn’t matter.

Unfortunately, the clenched fists revealed his true feelings.