Chapter 217 - Jiang Tao’s Difficult Choice
Chapter 217: Jiang Tao’s Difficult Choice
Translator: Lonelytree
The Qin Family was exceptionally happy when they heard about Jiang Tao’s return. According to their original plan, they would wait for another two months before announcing the two families’ engagement. However, now that Jiang Tao had returned early, Old Master Jiang decided to announce the marriage earlier too.
The head of the Qin Family, Qin Xingbao, was elated when he received the call from Old Master Jiang.
He made a call after that. “Yan ‘Er, where are you?”
“I’m in a coffee shop. What’s the matter, Dad?”
In a high-end coffee shop, a girl with long straight black hair, fair and smooth skin was sitting in a private room by the window. Her facial features were very exquisite. Her face was shapely with a pair of big, round eyes, faint eyebrows, and a cherry-red mouth. She was a great beauty.
She was Qin Yan, the publicly acknowledged number one socialite in the upper circles of the capital city.
At this moment, her beautiful eyes looked through the bright glass and at the building in front of her, Imperial Palace. She ignored the occasional gazes that shot her way.
“Okay, I got it. I’ll be back in a while!” After Qin Yan put down the phone, she stared at the Imperial Palace building again. She sighed lightly, but there was some unwillingness in her eyes.
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Then, she took her bag and prepared to leave.
At this time, a man in a suit and leather shoes went forward to strike up a conversation, “Hello, Beauty!”
Qin Yan completely ignored the man. The man couldn’t allow her to leave just like that. He blocked her way and said with a burning gaze, “I’m sorry, dear Beauty. You look too much like my girlfriend. It’s just that my girlfriend…” has already passed away. He wanted to buy sympathy.
Before he could finish speaking, he heard Qin Yan say in a sweet and indifferent voice, “I’ll leave this to you!”
Immediately, two men in black came out of the private room next door. They were clearly bodyguards. They accosted the man and said coldly, “Please leave now.”
The man was so scared that his face turned pale, and he staggered back two steps. The girl was clearly a person of power and status. Ordinary elites like them couldn’t afford to provoke her!
The others who wanted to come to talk to Qin Yan were frightened too.
Qin Yan’s beautiful eyes scanned her surroundings and took in the cowering men. The corners of her lips curled up slightly, and her eyes revealed a contemptuous and disdainful look. Then, she left the cafe.
After returning to the Qin family, Qin Yan asked, “Dad, what’s the matter?”
Qin Xingbao asked happily, “Yan ‘Er, Jiang Tao is back. Do you know?”
“Jiang Tao?” Qin Yan was slightly surprised for a moment, but then she shook her head and said, “I don’t know.”
Ever since she knew that she was going to be engaged to Jiang Tao, she was absent-minded. She didn’t care about anything other than that person.
Qin Xingbao immediately asked in puzzlement, “How can you not know? Don’t you two keep in touch? Aren’t you two good friends?”
Qin Yan shook her head and said, “Ever since Jiang Tao went to that backward place, we had lost contact.”
Actually, she only befriended Jiang Tao to get close to Gong Tianhao. After Jiang Tao left for that backward jungle, Jiang Tao had less contact with Gong Tianhao, so Qin Yan had less contact with Jiang Tao.
Qin Xingbao was a little suspicious, but then he said happily, “Yan ‘Er, Old Master Jiang just called. He said that Jiang Tao is back, so you can get engaged in advance.”
“Get engaged in advance?” Qin Yan looked very surprised. “But why?” She didn’t want an early engagement, in fact, she didn’t want to get engaged at all. Of course, if the engagement were to another man, she would be very happy. But, she didn’t want to be engaged to a man she didn’t even care for.
Qin Xingbao saw Qin Yan’s agitation, and he mistook it as happiness. He secretly nodded his head in satisfaction.
His daughter was heavenly and beautiful. She would help advance the family. Jiang Tao was the perfect candidate. Well, the better candidate was the Gong Family, Gong Tianhao. However, Gong Tianhao had power, money, and status. He didn’t need to rely on a political marriage to obtain further benefits for his family.
Qin Yan and Gong Tianhao had a good relationship since they were young. Qin Yan’s father thought Gong Tianhao would eventually marry Qin Yan.
However, after the Li Family’s daughter was stripped naked and reported on the family, Qin Xingbao’s heart thumped.
Gong Tianhao was ruthless and merciless. If he had feelings for Qin Yan, it was perfect, but if he didn’t, then it would be tragic if she tried to pursue him.
Qin Yan was instrumental in helping the Qin Family rise to a higher level through political marriage.
There were six great families in the capital, Gong family, Jiang family, Li family, Qin family, Chu family, and Leng family. Their power was ranked in this order.
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Qin Xingbao would only choose his son-in-law from these families. The best choice was, of course, the Gong Family, followed by the Jiang Family.
The Li family was the Qin family’s sworn enemy. There was no possibility of a political marriage at all.
Qin Xingbao tried to probe the Gong family, but he received a rejection from Old Master Gong and Gong Tianhao. It was obvious that Gong Tianhao didn’t like Qin Yan at all.
Therefore, when Old Master Jiang showed interest in a political marriage, the two families’ heads immediately decided on a union. This was not a secret among the upper circles.
When Qin Yan first heard the news, she was so shocked that her head was spinning. Her face was pale, and her entire person was weak and limp.
But she couldn’t resist fate. She had been making preparations ever since.
However, when the news of the arrangement came, she was still unwilling. She suppressed her emotions and asked very calmly in front of her father, “Dad, I heard that Jiang Tao was supposed to return in August. Why is he back now?”
Qin Xingbao shook his head and said, “I don’t know either.” At this point, he patted Qin Yan’s shoulder and said, “Yan ‘Er, it’s good that he’s back early. We need Jiang Tao as our son-in-law, or else he might be snatched away by the other families. Yan ‘Er, Jiang Tao is the best choice for you and for the family. Do you understand?”
Qin Yan’s expression changed slightly. She nodded and replied, “Dad, I’m also very happy to marry Jiang Tao.”
“Good, good!” Qin Xingbao said, “You’re going to be the Jiang Family’s bride in two days. You should be prepared.”
“Okay!”
…
In the Imperial Palace Group, Li Yuanhang walked into the president’s office and pushed the glasses on his nose. Then, he reported to Gong Tianhao, “Tianhao, Old Master Jiang is suspicious of Young Master Jiang. He has sent people to Xing Yin County!” Li Yuanhang asked suspiciously, “Did Young Master Jiang tell Old Master Jiang that he likes Xiao Lingyu? Otherwise, why would the old master move so quickly?”
Gong Tianhao frowned, “With old master Jiang’s keen and shrewd senses, even if Tao Zi didn’t say anything, as long as he showed the slightest bit of abnormality, old master Jiang would be suspicious.”
“Ah?” Li Yuanhang was a little surprised. “Then does Young Master Jiang know about this?”
Gong Tianhao leaned against the back of the chair and narrowed his deep, dark eyes. Then, he said, “I doubt it.”
Jiang Tao was raised by Old Master Jiang.
Old Master Jiang had Jiang Tao in his palm. Even if there was a slight deviation from Jiang Tao, Old Master Jiang would know. Jiang Tao was raised as Old Master Jiang’s puppet. The puppet was naturally fearful before his puppeteer. It was natural for him to reveal some flaws.
“Tianhao, what should we do now?” Li Yuanhang said worriedly, “With Old Master Jiang’s emotionless personality, once he finds out about Xiao Lingyu, he will crush her.” Li Yuanhang continued, “Granted, I didn’t have a good impression of Xiao Lingyu when we first met. However, after more interactions, I found out that she is a kind, opinionated and strong woman. It would be such a pity if she got destroyed by the Jiang Family.”
It was unknown if Li Yuanhang was purposely saying all these for the man before him or not. When he said these things, the corners of his mouth curled up. He pushed up his glasses again, hiding the craftiness in his eyes.
Li Yuanhang had low hope of the pairing between Jiang Tao and Xiao Lingyu. The biggest reason was the Jiang Family. Jiang Tao’s love was too heavy for Xiao Lingyu. Xiao Lingyu simply could not bear it.
Jiang Tao was a puppet who couldn’t love freely!
Unless he could shake loose of his puppeteer first.
To be honest, Li Yuanhang thought Xiao Lingyu was more compatible with his boss. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he had an intuition that they were compatible.
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However, Jiang Tao and his boss were good friends.
Jiang Tao had fallen in love with Xiao Lingyu first. Regardless of whether Xiao Lingyu accepted Jiang Tao or not, it would be unwise for Gong Tianhao to intervene. Of course, if Jiang Tao let go of Xiao Lingyu, then things would be different.
Gong Tianhao thought for a moment and said, “Get people to keep an eye on this. Make sure that the old man’s people don’t find out about Xiao Lingyu.”
Li Yuanhang smiled and replied, “Alright!”
After Li Yuanhang left, Gong Tianhao gave Jiang Tao a call.
Gong Tianhao said, “Tao Zi, your grandfather is already suspicious!”
After Jiang Tao put down the phone, he looked a little shocked. Then, his cold eyes filled with tears.
It turned out that he was just a clown in front of his grandfather. His grandfather could see through any of his actions.
He smiled bitterly. He had underestimated his grandfather. He hadn’t even started his resistance, but his grandfather had already made a move.
He was still too weak. And his weakness would hurt Lingyu. His family would hurt the woman he loved.
He urgently needed power, the power to control the family, and the right to control his own freedom. However, to get that power, he had to get married first. And the person had to be someone his grandfather approved. Or else his grandfather wouldn’t give him the Jiang Family’s power. Without power, he couldn’t protect the woman he loved. However, if he wanted to obtain power, he had to give up the woman he loved!
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This was a difficult quandary. As Gong Tianhao said, he had no right to love before he stopped being the Jiang Family’s puppet.
If that was the case…
Gong Tianhao put down the phone and sat quietly.
His brows furrowed and relaxed. He was deep in thought.
Jiang Tao told him before, “Tianhao, if I fail to protect Lingyu and her family, please help me protect them. This is our agreement. Don’t let anyone ruin the happiness of that small family!”
Gong Tianhao held the phone and remained silent. After a long while, he replied seriously, “Okay!”
…
“Damn, the business here is so good!”
At Taoyuan Village Fresh Fruits and Vegetables, Zeng Yaozu, the blond ruffian, looked at the business in shock.
“Auntie, is the business in this shop so good every day?” Zeng Yaozu asked Fourth Aunt Xiao curiously.
Liu Chunhua frowned at the unusual customer. She nodded and said, “Yes!”
Zeng Yaozu looked here and there and exclaimed, “The vegetables are so expensive, but the business is still so good. It’s unbelievable.”
Fourth Aunt Xiao had never seen Zeng Yaozu before. Seeing his strange behavior, she was a little suspicious. She walked over and asked, “Young man, how may I help you?”
Zeng Yaozu was reminded of his reason for being there. He scratched his head and asked with a blush, “Auntie, are you hiring? I’m here for a job!”
“You want to work here?” Liu Chunhua was shocked. She studied Zeng Yaozu and his strange way of dressing. She said hesitantly, “Little brother, our shop is not hiring right now.” He might scare the customers away, so how could she hire him?
“Hmm? You’re not hiring anymore?” Zeng Yaozu was disappointed. “Auntie, I’m very capable! I know how to check accounts.”
Auntie Xiao politely refused, “But we already have a cashier. We really don’t need more staff.”
‘Even if we do, we won’t hire a ruffian.’
Zeng Yaozu scratched his head again, and then he asked in a low voice, “Auntie, do you need a cleaner then?”
“What?” Liu Chunhua didn’t hear him clearly.
At this moment, Zeng Yaozu’s eyes lit up, and he shouted cheerfully, “Xiao Xinxin!”