Chapter 135 Joint Trial

When the eldest branch of the Tan family arrived at the old house, it was five minutes to six. They were still in the courtyard when Tan Jiani glimpsed many heads in the living room through the French windows.

Good heavens, Grandpa has called the whole family over.

Second uncle, third great-uncle, fourth cousin...

She was trembling.

He glanced at his father first; his brows were furrowed and his expression was serious. Then he turned his head to his brother, looking quite calm.

"Brother, aren't you afraid?"

This guy just said, "Annoying."

She understood that her brother was complaining about the noise and that it was too much trouble to care about other people at a time like this.

As they were talking, they went into the inner room.

Except for the older men, everyone stood up to greet her, "The eldest daughter-in-law is here."

Tan Jiani knew that their politeness stemmed from their fear of her brother. Besides his position as the person in charge, their share of the profits had been increasing every year over the years.

Tan's father nodded.

Tan Zhaojing merely curled her lips slightly.

The old man's face was ashen, his whole body radiating chilling anger. He coldly opened his lips, "Where is Mingxian?"

Mr. Tan said frankly, "I didn't let her come over because I was afraid you would take your anger out on her."

The old man glared at his son, then his sharp gaze swept over his grandson. "Where's that girl?"

The sofa was already full, so the servants brought over chairs. Tan Zhaojing thanked them and replied slowly, "You didn't call for Zao Yi, did you? Okay, prepare the red envelopes first."

Everyone: "..."

Most of the people were sweating bullets as they listened, while the rest wanted to laugh but didn't dare, fearing they might incite anger.

"You bastard!"

The old man slapped the armrest of the mahogany sofa, making the teacups clang and the air in the room feel suffocated.

Tan Jiani shrank back. In such a tense moment, she thought her brother would be more restrained, but who knew he would drop another bombshell.

The older brother said, "It was I who forced you, it was I who pestered you, I wanted Zao Yi."

These words were like water poured into a hot oil pan, leaving everyone speechless and igniting the old man's anger.

At this moment, Butler Zhao had no choice but to put on an act, trying to soothe the old man while saying to the young master, "Zhaojing, speak properly, look how angry you've made Grandpa."

As he spoke, he didn't forget to give a wink.

Tan Zhaojing only cooperated halfway, saying, "I'm sorry, Grandpa, I didn't mean to hide it from you, I just wanted to wait—"

"What else could it be but intentional?" The old man interrupted before he could finish speaking, his face as dark as a storm cloud. "What did you say a few days ago that you wouldn't follow in your father's footsteps? And what happened???"

Tan's father's eyelids twitched; he felt that this kid was about to do something sabotage again.

Sure enough, the rebellious son said, "He didn't leave. He's remarried, and I don't plan to remarry."

"......"

Tan Youru felt enlightened, as did Steward Zhao. It turned out that the old man was being superficial.

The old man laughed, his laughter so loud it reached his chest. After a long while, he finally managed to exhale a full breath. "Tan Zhaojing, I think you're not thinking things through. I order you to divide it up for me right now!"

"Can't be divided," Tan Zhaojing said casually to the old man.

Snap—

The porcelain shattered on the floor tiles with a jarring sound, splashing water everywhere. The water, mixed with tea leaves, soaked the hems of his trousers, with Tan Zhaojing being the most affected. He didn't even flinch. "Shall I brew you another pot?"

"Stop talking nonsense," the old man's wrinkled eyes were full of frost, and he said sternly, "Tan Zhaojing, I'm telling you, you have to break up with him whether you like it or not!"

Tan Zhaojing reiterated, "We can't separate."

"Utterly shameless!" The old man's fleshy muscles trembled. "As expected, whatever mother you have, you'll find—"

"grandfather!"

"dad!"

The father and son interrupted the old man in unison.

Mr. Tan frowned deeply. "You may scold her, but what does this have to do with Mingxian? She taught Zaoyi very well!"

"Very good?" the old man interrupted coldly, "Very good, yet you still go and try to seduce them—"

"grandfather!"

Tan Zhaojing interrupted again, his voice no longer as indifferent as before, but deep and cold, "Before you condemn me, please listen to the whole story. Don't worry, it won't be through my mouth."

After saying that, he gestured with his chin towards the other side, "Which of you two will go first?"

Tan You and Tan Jiani both had a question mark pop into their minds at the same time: Did they still have scenes to film today?

"Brother," Tan Jiani asked, puzzled, "what do you want us to say?"

Tan Zhaojing: “I will tell you everything you have seen during this time, from how I forced Zaoyi to how I pestered her.”

Now even a pig-brain understands what it means.

The cousins ​​exchanged a glance, and the younger sister spoke first, "Should I go first?"

Tan You: "Okay, ladies first."

Tan Jiani straightened her small body. Before that, she had to say a few words, "Grandpa, I think you should know about my relationship with Lin Zaoyi. I hate her to death."

Here comes the important part: "Since my brother came back from his business trip, he has become unable to distinguish right from wrong. When I fought with Lin Zaoyi, he not only did not comfort me, but also scolded me instead. At first, I thought he had lost his mind, until I saw my brother corner Lin Zaoyi in the flower room and force her to be his girlfriend. From that moment on, I finally understood why my brother was biased."

Her words were a mix of truth and falsehood, but Tan Jiani was absolutely truthful. After she finished speaking, she added, "Grandpa, although I don't believe it either, seeing is believing."

After saying that, he turned to look at Tan Youge, "It's your turn."

Tan You cleared his throat, about to speak, when his mother tugged at him, causing him to stop talking for a moment. "What's wrong?"

The second wife lowered her voice and asked, "Did you already know all along?"

Tan You knew what his mother was worried about, so he gave her a reassuring look and answered in a normal voice, "Yes, I've known for a long time. It's not that I didn't want to tell you, but I was threatened."

As for who it is, there's no need to name names.

Her gaze fell on the person in the main seat. "Grandpa, I wasn't supposed to join the crew so early for my last film, but Brother Zhaojing saw that I was getting close to Zaoyi, so he used his power to pack me up and send me to the set overnight. I don't need to explain his purpose, right? To sever this ill-fated relationship, I risked being killed by Brother Zhaojing and dragged Zaoyi to him to show off. Oh, right—"

Pointing to her uncle, who was sitting diagonally opposite her, leisurely drinking tea, she said, "My uncle was there too; he can testify to that."

Tan Zhengli indicated that he did not want to continue the conversation.

Tan You continued talking to himself, "And guess what happened?"

Grandpa didn't say anything, just glared at him with a fierce face. He wasn't afraid, and he wasn't guilty. "As a result, my cousin threatened me to stay away from Zaoyi, or he would throw me abroad!"

At this point, she became indignant, "Grandpa, you be the judge, is this going too far?"

He was met with a punch from his own mother: "Shut up after you've finished speaking!"

"..."

You always resort to violence, can't you be a little gentler?

The other elders exchanged glances, all seeing disbelief in each other's eyes. They never imagined that it was Zhaojing who had forced them.

The old man's cold laugh reached my ears, "You think I'll believe you just like that?"

Tan Zhaojing calmly replied, "It's alright, there's someone else in the know."

He nudged the tea drinker lightly with his elbow, "Uncle, could you please say a few words?"

Tan Zhengli: "..."

The winds of misfortune eventually reached him.