Chapter 134

Chapter 134: Tang Mo Turns into a Tough Customer

Tang Mo acted as if he understood nothing; in his heart his Father had never stood so tall to begin with, and now his authority had utterly collapsed. [He could not fathom how a grandfather so formidable had produced a son like this.]

[The Tang family tombs could not keep smoking with blessed incense forever. Grandfather’s rise must have drawn on the strength of generations of Tang family ancestors, and by the time it reached Father, that strength had run out.] Not wanting to let the old Father off easy, he put on a look of surprise: “Eldest Brother actually used Sister-in-law’s dowry?”

“How is Eldest Brother supposed to face people if this spreads?”

“Doesn’t he still have his mother’s dowry in hand; has he spent that too?”

The three questions, fired without pause, pierced straight into Tang Gang’s chest. Before he could answer, Tang Mo went on: “Father should remind Eldest Brother that as the marquisate’s heir apparent, how can he spend his wife’s dowry; if word gets out, will the Marquis’s household have any face left?”

“Besides, Sister-in-law has only just entered the door; this looks far too grasping.”

His rising-tide accusations drenched Tang Rong from head to toe.

“Nonsense.” How could Tang Gang allow his beloved son to be defamed, even if the one defaming him was his other son; he snapped, “Your sister-in-law offered it of her own accord, all so your brother’s official career would go smoothly. Stop twisting it.”

Tang Mo only looked more astonished: “Then why would Sister-in-law, for no reason, do such a thing; does Eldest Brother have leverage over her?”

At that, an appraising light entered Tang Gang’s eyes. He suspected Madam Wang had told Tang Mo about the Tao family affair. Tang Mo continued: “I may not be a woman, but even I know how important a woman’s dowry is; how could she, the moment she enters, rush to hand it over to her husband.”

“A dowry is meant for her children.”

“Or did Sister-in-law do something to wrong Eldest Brother and now feels indebted?”

“Or perhaps Sister-in-law looks down on our marquisate, thinking we cannot even afford the capital to pave Eldest Brother’s career?”

Anyway, he was flinging floodwater; wherever it splashed, it stung all the same.

A sharp slap struck the desk. “Utter drivel, malicious talk; do you not wish your brother well?” barked Tang Gang.

“Father, listen to yourself,” said Tang Mo, “I even gave him my bride; what more do you want me to do to wish him well?”

“You…” In Tang Gang’s mind, the bride-swap had long since been nailed down as Tang Rong’s calculated doing. If the swap had profited them, he would have called it foresight and striving for the family; as it had gone badly, it was Tang Rong’s shame. He did not want anyone bringing it up again.

“No matter what, that is your brother’s wife’s affair,” he ground out, “you would do well to hold your tongue.”

Tang Mo rolled his eyes: “If I am not to talk, why tell me at all? I could never learn Eldest Brother’s trick. If I ever set my sights on Xin An’s dowry, she would jab my spine to pieces and slap me twice on the spot, calling me a useless wretch.”

Tang Gang drew a deep breath. [He wanted to curse Tang Mo as worthless. The Xin family is the Tang family’s purse strings. Xin An’s dowry is nearly twice Tao Yi Ran’s and more, so much she could not use it up in a lifetime. If she does not bring it out for her husband’s house, is she leaving it to benefit outsiders?]

Before he could steady himself, Tang Mo stretched out his hand, palm up. Tang Gang looked up, confused, and asked, “What are you doing?”

“Money.”

“Money?” Tang Gang thought he had misheard. “What money?”

“Father must have subsidized Eldest Brother all year long,” said Tang Mo. “I have not had so much as a copper. I am short these days. Father, give me a bit?”

A heaviness lodged in Tang Gang’s chest. “Your Mother has not given you anything privately?”

“How much money can Mother have?” said Tang Mo, ready now that the topic had come up. “Mother’s dowry was not much to begin with, and raising me cost plenty. Think about it, Father. From childhood to now, how much has the household spent on me, and how much on Eldest Brother? If we truly count it, what I have cost is not even two tenths of his.”

“And at least half of that two tenths came from Mother’s own private purse.”

“So Father marries and raises sons without spending a single coin; he just wants a free ride?”

At this Tang Gang’s blood surged. [There are things one can do but must not say. This brat drags them out to my face; what is he trying to do?]

“Is the household short of clothes for you or short of food; did we not send you to study or let you ride; and you say you spent too little?” he retorted.

Having opened the subject, Tang Mo had no intention of ending it lightly. He continued: “When Eldest Brother married, did Father not have Mother take from her dowry to supplement the betrothal gifts, saying Eldest Brother was almost like her own son, that a stepmother is still a mother and she should show it.”

“I am Father’s own son, which by that logic also makes me Eldest Brother’s mother’s son. By rights, a few items from her dowry should have been set aside for me. Yet before and after my marriage, Father made no such gesture. Why is that?”

Grinding his teeth, Tang Gang said, “Did we not give you three tenths in the end?”

“And for what reason were those three tenths given to me?” Tang Mo shot back.

Tongue-tied, head buzzing, Tang Gang could not yet explode before Tang Mo said again: “I did not take those three tenths. I returned them all to Eldest Brother, lest he go about saying I covet his late mother’s dowry.”

Father and son locked eyes, blades drawn. Rage smoldered in one pair; provocation glittered in the other. One might have thought Tang Mo would quit while ahead, yet he stretched out his hand again: “We have strayed from the point. When I take Xin An out to stroll the streets, I pay. I cannot spend a woman’s money; I would lose face.”

“My monthly allowance is spent. I can only ask Father.”

Tang Gang itched to slap him twice, but he forced the breath down. [Most of all he feared that Tang Mo would spread these words outside, sowing future trouble.] He said, “Did you not just receive more than thirty thousand taels?”

With a look that said are you getting old, Tang Mo replied, “I already said I gave it to Xin An. If I meet a difficulty and ask for a few hundred or a thousand taels, that is easy enough to say. But am I supposed to ask her for a couple of taels of pocket money? How little would she think of our marquisate then; how am I to straighten my back before her in the future?”

He then switched to a troubled expression: “Father does not know. I do not even dare say before her that Mother’s dowry is nearly spent. The last time she counted her dowry, she scolded those husbands who covet their wives’ dowries. If she learns that Mother’s dowry was either used on me or taken by Father or poured into Eldest Brother, I cannot imagine how she will look down on me.”

Tang Gang’s face went dark as iron. He could not get a full breath, his chest ached. At this moment Tang Mo was a piece of tough gristle; it was clear he meant to get money today.

Scowling, Tang Gang drew out a few banknotes from a drawer, then put two back. He handed the rest to Tang Mo and said, “Take them.”

“Only two hundred taels?” said Tang Mo. “Is this all you give Eldest Brother too?”

“I know I cannot compare to Eldest Brother, but surely I should get at least half of what he gets?”

Disgust filled Tang Mo’s eyes. Unable to bear the sight of him, Tang Gang tossed over a few more notes, making it five hundred taels in all: “Get out.”

Counting the banknotes, Tang Mo said, “So Father gave Eldest Brother one thousand taels. You really do play favorites.”

With that he cupped his hands and bowed: “Your son takes his leave.”