Chapter 275

Chapter 275: Father, You Are Old

Looking at Tang Mo’s insufferably smug face, Tang Gang felt a fire in his chest. Despite guarding against everything, he had not expected this brat to do something so childish and vile. Taking advantage of Tang Rong’s injuries and how hard it was for him to get out of bed, he had slipped him a purgative, intending to disgust him to death. Worse, he admitted it so brazenly, with no intent to conceal it. He had calculated that even if his own father knew, he would not dare to make it public.

“What are you staring at me for, Father,” Tang Mo said, unabashed and shameless, “did you suddenly discover your son is peerlessly handsome?”

Feeling utterly at ease, he added: “Father, look a few more times; it does you good. Even if I am not as dashing as my big brother, I at least smell better than he does. In future when Father and big brother eat, as you lift your bowls you can think of big brother lying in bed vomiting and defecating. How festive. You will eat two extra bowls.”

“Shut up, bastard,” Tang Gang snapped, beside himself with rage. The Tang Mo before him had not a shred of awe for him; the words he spoke stank worse than filth. Casting about, he strode to the corner and yanked a rolled painting from the scroll vase to use as a stick, shouting: “You bastard, you grow more and more lawless. Kneel.”

Tang Mo was not about to let him land a blow. He sprang up and ran, then paused at the doorway to taunt him: “Father, you are old.”

“You misbegotten wretch, stop,” Tang Gang yelled, giving chase. After only a few steps he was panting. From a distance, Tang Mo smiled and said: “Father, when you are older you should cultivate your disposition. Such a violent temper is not good. Besides, I told the truth. How can telling the truth earn me a beating. Father is far too biased.”

“Get over here,” Tang Gang said, face dark, one hand braced at his waist.

“I am not a fool,” Tang Mo said. “Will you hit me or not. If not, I am going back to change clothes. I still have a banquet tonight.”

[Tang Gang felt a mouthful of old blood he could neither spit out nor swallow. He could not outscold him, and he could not catch him to beat him. This wretch had come to collect a debt.]

Madam Wang approached at a measured pace. Tang Gang instinctively straightened his back and said: “Look at this bastard. He grows more and more improper.”

“He has been like that since he was little. If the Marquis looks a few more times, he will find it pleasing,” Madam Wang said. She now openly favored Tang Mo; [since no matter how well she did, her reputation would still be ruined, why bother with thankless tasks].

Dusting off his clothes, Tang Mo said: “If Father has nothing else, I will be going first.”

The look he wore was infuriating. Tang Gang was about to flare up when Madam Wang spoke first, saying to Tang Mo: “Your grandmother has asked for you several times. Go pay your respects.”

“Understood,” he said, and left.

Once he was gone, Madam Wang said to Tang Gang: “This matter today will not spread outside the residence. Marquis, do not vent your anger on my son.”

“He did it. He admitted it,” Tang Gang said, feeling waves of dizziness.

Madam Wang stepped forward to support him and said: “Is the Marquis planning to announce this and let everyone know?”

Tang Gang was at a loss for words. If he had not sent that man in black to the Duke Xiang residence, many of the later troubles would not have come about, and Tang Rong’s already unlucky reputation would not have suffered even more. If he exposed one more scandal, the marquisate would truly become a laughingstock. Yet he could not swallow it. “We cannot just let it go,” he said.

“Then what do you intend to do,” Madam Wang asked him, “tell the eldest so he can retaliate, and then the second refuses to accept it and retaliates in turn, until finally there is only one brother left?”

[His authority had already shattered into pieces; if he did not do something to make up for it, this brat Tang Mo would end up riding on his neck.] Even so, he could not ignore what Madam Wang had said.

“Strife between brothers is no good,” she continued. “It should be quelled early. They are brothers of the same house and should join hearts to share the Marquis’s burdens and push the marquisate forward, not stir up storms over trifles. Is that not so, Marquis?”

Of course Tang Gang wanted that. [He even found himself missing the old days: Tang Rong radiant, Tang Mo undisciplined yet respectful and never causing trouble, Madam Wang virtuous, the household harmonious.] Not like the mess it was now.

Supporting him back to the study and seating him, Madam Wang said: “Do not think the eldest is innocent. He is not. Some words still must be said to him clearly, to make him pull himself together. He cannot refuse to go out forever, can he. As for the second, I will speak to him. He still listens to me as his mother. If the Marquis thinks my words are no good, then let the brothers close the door and fight it out in this little plot of ours, roiling the household, letting it spread outside to be criticized, and in the end getting the Marquis chastised by the Emperor for failing to teach his sons.”

In Tang Gang’s eyes, naturally the marquisate’s reputation mattered most; [even Tang Rong could not be permitted to damage the marquisate’s prestige]. He rose, and after taking only two steps he suddenly stopped; [in his anger, he had forgotten the most important matter].

By that time, Tang Mo had arrived at Chun Rong Hall. The Grand Matron had earlier said she would open the Old Marquis’s armory and let Tang Mo choose a weapon handy for self-defense, and she had been thinking of it these past two days. On seeing him she brought it up, saying: “Go and choose in a while. What suits you for self-defense is what matters most. Do not look only at how expensive it is.”

Tang Mo laughed and said: “Grandmother knows me best. Without that reminder, I really would only look to see whether the scabbard has jewels.”

“Your grandfather did not like those flashy things.”

After the two joked for a bit, Tang Mo shifted closer to the Grand Matron and lowered his voice: “Grandmother, there is something I want to discuss with you.”

The Grand Matron raised a hand and dismissed the attendants, leaving only the two of them in the room. Tang Mo then revealed the Emperor’s intention: “The Emperor has permitted me to follow Liao Zhi, and he also said that if future opportunities arise I may don armor and go into battle. He asked as well whether our residence still keeps contact with Grandfather’s old generals and said we should call on them. I suspect the Emperor wants to have me do something.”

The Grand Matron was somewhat surprised and asked: “Have you told your father?”

“Not yet,” Tang Mo said. “Grandmother knows this: when it comes to Grandfather’s wishes, Father does not dare go against them even a little. He is too cautious. So I wanted to ask you first.”

The Grand Matron was even less clear on what the Emperor meant. “Your father obeys your grandfather’s wishes by looking after those retired old generals, but the commanders who still hold military power he has not gone to befriend, for fear of arousing suspicion. The Emperor did not seek your father but sought you, and he even spoke to you personally. Whether you wish it or not, you must go. You cannot defy imperial will. But you should still consult your father. This concerns the marquisate, and we must not be careless.”

Tang Mo naturally would go seek Tang Gang to discuss it. Although at home the favoritism was extreme, in the imperial court he had not slipped these many years, which showed he had some ability. “In that case,” he said, “I will go choose a weapon and then go find Father.”

“Go,” the Grand Matron said, handing him the storeroom key. She did not forget to remind him: “Once you have a firm footing in the Northern Garrison Army and have caught the Emperor’s eye, you can no longer be as before. Mind your words and actions. Be steady.”

“I understand, Grandmother,” he said.