Chapter 122 Aunt Ming, can you give Zao Yi to me?

"It was never a joke."

Tan Zhaojing looked calmly at the elder in front of her, "Aunt Ming, I have thought it through carefully before getting together with Zaoyi."

"Well thought out?" Mingxian crossed her arms, her eyes cold. "You think what you did was well thought out?"

The tone was almost accusatory, "Would your grandfather agree to that?"

"Have you thought about your mother?"

"How do you think your family views Zao Yi?"

Three questions in a row.

Silence fell in my ears, the stars and moon shone brightly, and all around was quiet except for the rustling of leaves in the cool breeze.

Tan Zhaojing stared at the withered leaves at his feet, lost in thought for a moment. After a while, he spoke, "Aunt Ming, I will take care of all of this."

"Settle it? Easier said than done."

Mingxian pressed hard on her throbbing temples. "Zaoyi, come here."

Tan Zhaojing let go of her hand, and Lin Zaoyi walked towards her mother, who led her into the inner room.

In the living room, Tan's father was still waiting for his son. Tan Jiani was nearby, scrolling through her phone while eating.

There was a noise in the entryway, and the father and daughter looked up at the same time, and then their eyes were glued to each other.

As someone in the know, Tan Jiani immediately sensed something was wrong when she saw this situation; it was clear that her brother hadn't managed to win over his mother-in-law.

She stopped using her phone and focused all her attention on them, saying a few words to help when necessary.

It's to help my brother.

She wouldn't help Lin Zaoyi.

Mr. Tan sensed something was wrong and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Mingxian remained silent and pulled her daughter to sit down on the sofa.

Lin Zaoyi stopped crying, but the redness at the corners of her eyes was undeniable. Her fingers unconsciously gripped her clothes, leaving behind wrinkles that couldn't be smoothed out.

Tan Zhaojing remained silent for the moment. He looked around and saw two servants moving about in the hall. He then told them to go back to their rooms first.

Mr. Tan sensed the seriousness of the situation, but he couldn't guess what it was. He picked up the calming tea that the maid had prepared earlier and was about to take a couple of sips to calm himself down when he heard Zhaojing say, "Dad, I'm with Zaoyi."

Even the most composed person can't remain calm; the tea in their hand spills onto their clothes, leaving dark stains instantly.

At this point, he didn't care about wiping himself; he gasped, "What did you say?!"

Tan Jiani felt relieved; her father should know by now, otherwise he would be seen as unsociable.

She added sarcastically, "Your eldest son has gotten together with your stepdaughter."

"Nonsense!"

The teacup was slammed back onto the coffee table, and Tan's father's face turned from pale to furious. "Tan Zhaojing, what do you want to do!"

In short, it brought the atmosphere in the living room to zero degrees.

Aunt Sun, hiding in the shadows, opened her lips silently. Even though she had suspected something beforehand, she was still shocked to hear it with her own ears. Instead of sneaking away, she hunched her shoulders and continued to eavesdrop. She refused to believe that Butler Zhao could ignore it!

The deathly silence had to be broken first. Tan Jiani took the blame, "Dad, you can get angry all you want, but you can't try to break us up. You know my temper. If you do what Grandpa did, I'll definitely run away from home!"

Mr. Tan couldn't catch his breath, and his daughter's threat further choked him. He pressed his chest and took a deep breath. "So, you already knew?"

Tan Jiani raised her voice, took a mouthful of rice and chewed as she said, "Everyone knows except Grandpa, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt!"

Because the rice was stuffed too much, it all spilled out when she opened her mouth. This spray landed on Mr. Tan, who was standing nearby and whose daughter was talking right in his face. He didn't know whether to be angry or disgusted.

Lin Zaoyi was initially quite at a loss, but just now, she laughed because of Tan Jiani's actions.

The laughter eased the atmosphere somewhat.

Tan Jiani turned her head and glanced at her, "Aren't you going to pour me a glass of water?"

Lin Zaoyi: "..."

Okay, she'll go along with Miss this once.

She leaned over to grab the teacup, but someone was a step faster than her. "I'll do it, you sit down."

Tan Jiani deliberately clicked her tongue twice, "Dad, see? Your son really likes Lin Zaoyi."

Mr. Tan didn't respond, lest he be scolded by his daughter's sharp tongue. He changed his seat, but couldn't sit still, so he paced back and forth around the living room.

"Can you stop?" He spun around without getting dizzy, but Mingxian was getting dizzy watching him. She stared at him expressionlessly. "Give me an answer about the two children."

The father couldn't give a definitive answer and hadn't calmed down yet, saying, "Let me calm down for a few minutes first."

I moved to the window, opened it, and let the cold wind caress my face.

Recalling his wife's unusual behavior a while ago, he noticed that she would shake her head and remain silent whenever he asked her about it, and at the time he thought it was menopause.

Thinking back on my son's actions, I hadn't noticed them before, but now it seems there were clues to everything.

He doesn't object to his son liking a girl, but why does he have to get married so early?

Because back then, the old man still harbored some resentment towards Mingxian. Now that Zaoyi has appeared, even if Zhaojing is at fault, the old man won't care and will only escalate the situation to Zaoyi.

This is what he is most worried about.

Once the old man shows any signs of wanting to divorce, even before he takes any action against Zaoyi, Xiaoxian will probably already throw the divorce papers at him.

Thinking this through, Tan's father took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. When he was almost done, he walked up to his son, looking very worried. "Zhaojing, do you understand the consequences of disobeying your grandfather?"

Tan Zhaojing: "Understood."

He wanted to know his father's attitude: "What do you think about this?"

Tan's father said, "What if I said I'm on your Aunt Ming's side? I wouldn't agree."

"Dad, you can't do this!" Tan Jiani couldn't sit still any longer and hurriedly interrupted, "Do you want my brother to follow in your footsteps? Or do you want my future niece and nephew to become the second me?"

Before their father could even offer an explanation, the older brother spoke up first, "There's no way we could have any nephews or nieces."

She didn't react at first, "Huh?"

The older brother said, "If your sister-in-law isn't Zaoyi, where would she get any little nephews or nieces?"

"..."

So it turns out he was just using her to show his loyalty.

Talking about father: ? ? ?

Is this a veiled criticism of him?

Tan Zhaojing noticed his father's lips twitching and wanted to explain, "Dad, I didn't mean anything by it, just listen to it casually."

The father glanced at his son and said, "They're practically naming names. Do you think I can just listen to whatever they say?"

He moved closer to his wife, but before he could say anything, she spoke up, "You have Zhaojing and Jiani, I have Zaoyi. There's no question of who betrayed whom. I won't bring up the past, so you don't need to feel guilty."

Tan's father: "..."

He has nothing to hide; he is very upright!

Getting back to the point, "Zhaojing, your grandfather has even higher expectations for you than I did back then. Getting him to agree will probably be difficult."

“Then make it difficult for him to go.” Tan Zhaojing smiled faintly. “His family only cares about a few things. I will give him whatever he wants, but he must agree to what I want.”

The father not only saw the attitude, but also sensed his son's scheme. He stared at him for a few seconds and said, "What if your grandfather wants more than that? You should be able to see his methods in me."

After a moment of silence, Tan Zhaojing said, "At such an old age, it's time to settle down."

He looked at his father. "So, are you still going to object?"

Tan's father naturally didn't want his son to become a second version of himself.

But his opinion doesn't count in this matter.

Ask your Aunt Ming.

Tan Zhaojing approached the elder with a reverent attitude, "Aunt Ming, could you entrust the morning ceremony to me?"