Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Will He Believe It?
As Jiang Ran walked toward the Tang family’s estate, the more he thought about it, the more he felt that something was amiss.
Lord Tang was a man of status and reputation in Cangzhou Prefecture, with immense wealth and no sons.
How many men in all of Cangzhou Prefecture wanted to become his prized son-in-law?
Setting aside distant prospects, just today, Jiang Ran felt that what Fan Jiwu had done was likely for this very reason.
After all, it was all too much of a coincidence...
It was hard for Jiang Ran not to suspect that Fan Jiwu had acted deliberately.
For a family like the Tangs, what reason could they have to marry their daughter off to a complete stranger?
Jiang Ran mulled it over and finally concluded that it was highly likely the old drunkard had done something to orchestrate this.
’He’s probably tricked Lord Tang’s entire family...’
So, Jiang Ran decided it was better to get straight to the point rather than beat around the bush.
But unexpectedly, as soon as the words left his mouth, Lord Tang and the others showed no surprise at all.
Lady Tang, in particular, had a look of pity on her face.
"You poor child, you’ve suffered."
Jiang Ran’s eyes widened. ’Did the old drunkard even tell them about the Nine Deaths Meridians?’
"My good son-in-law, take a look at this first."
Lord Tang noticed the confusion in Jiang Ran’s eyes and took a letter from his waist.
"This letter is from your master, for you. After he sent his own letter, we calculated the days and figured you would be arriving around now.
"I’ve been waiting for you at the gate these past few days, and I haven’t dared to let this letter out of my sight for a moment.
"Now, I can finally give it to you. The entire story is explained within. You’ll understand everything once you’ve read it.
"All in all, we are the ones who have wronged you in this matter..."
After speaking, Lord Tang sighed and turned to leave.
Lady Tang and the others also had varied expressions. After letting their gazes linger on Jiang Ran for a moment, they each went their own way.
Their stares made Jiang Ran’s skin crawl. Just as he was about to open the letter, a sweet fragrance wafted over. He turned to see Tang Huayi shamelessly squeezing up beside him, standing on her tiptoes to peek at the letter in his hands.
"Brother-in-law, let me read it with you!"
"..."
For a moment, Jiang Ran wasn’t sure how to deal with this girl.
In the end, it was Lady Tang who pulled her away, saying to Jiang Ran:
"Go on, read it."
Jiang Ran gave a slight bow, then moved to the side and opened the letter.
The letter was quite thick. It seemed the old drunkard had written a lot.
But the very first sentence caught Jiang Ran completely off guard...
"You little brat, I dare you to call me an old bastard one more time!"
He glanced around, making sure the old drunkard wasn’t spying on him from nearby, before he continued reading.
But the old drunkard’s letter was long-winded and rambling.
The beginning lectured Jiang Ran about respecting his elders and cherishing the young, then went on about how difficult it was to raise him, nagging endlessly.
Jiang Ran decided to skip the first few pages entirely, scanning ten lines at a glance until he finally found the information he was looking for.
But as he read on, Jiang Ran’s brow gradually furrowed into a knot.
According to the old drunkard’s letter, Lord Tang’s elder daughter, Tang Shiqing, was born with a strange illness. It was incurable and required constant medication, day and night, just to keep her alive.
Furthermore, the medicinal ingredients required were extremely expensive.
Of course, for the Tang family, this wasn’t a problem.
But there was one issue... Lord Tang had no sons.
Both of his daughters would have to marry eventually.
The second daughter was fine; she was naturally free-spirited. It was even possible that she might one day run away from home to roam the Jianghu as a vigilante.
But the elder daughter... who could she be married to?
What man could tolerate her illness?
Even if someone was willing to accept her, it would most likely be for the Tang family’s vast fortune.
Once they got their hands on the money, they might not care about Tang Shiqing’s life.
Because of this, Lord Tang had been agonizing over the matter for a long time.
In this situation, even if he recruited a live-in son-in-law, it was hard to say if the man would remain a reliable support for Tang Shiqing after Lord Tang passed away.
Loving parents plan far ahead for their children.
Under these circumstances, Lord Tang racked his brains and decided the best solution was to find someone with a short life to marry Tang Shiqing.
Ideally, the two of them could even have a child.
This way, once Tang Shiqing was married, outsiders would have to give up their ambitions.
And once the short-lived man died, he wouldn’t have to worry about this person mistreating his daughter after he himself was gone.
Lord Tang was now in his fifties and still in his prime. Doting on a grandchild would be no issue. Once he raised the child to adulthood, that child could then support his mother and inherit half of the Tang family’s fortune. Everything would fall perfectly into place.
But the problem was... where could he find such a short-lived person?
Lord Tang wouldn’t settle for an ordinary man, but among those he would approve of, how many looked like they were fated to die young?
He couldn’t just go around asking every man he met, "Are you interested in getting married? The kind where you die after having a kid?"
It was completely absurd!
As Tang Shiqing grew older, long past the traditional marriageable age, more and more suitors came to call.
Lord Tang was gradually becoming unable to handle them all, and it was at this juncture that the old drunkard appeared.
In the letter, the old drunkard didn’t explain how he came to know about this matter.
He only said that he went directly to the Tang family to pay a visit.
Lord Tang was indeed a decent man. Even though the old drunkard was unkempt and clearly not a respectable person at first glance, he didn’t judge him by his appearance and received him hospitably.
As it turned out, the old drunkard told him that he had a disciple, born with the Nine Deaths Meridians, who wouldn’t live past the age of twenty. He described the disciple as loyal and righteous, immensely talented, and incredibly learned.
Most importantly, he was peerlessly handsome, a man of rare good looks for his time.
When Lord Tang heard this, his heart skipped a beat.
After all, a short-lived man was hard to find, but an unlucky soul who was also handsome and learned was even harder to come by.
Besides, the Nine Deaths Meridians weren’t hereditary. If his daughter could bear his child, that child would surely be an exceptional individual.
In the end, it was unclear how the old drunkard convinced Lord Tang to believe him, but the two of them secretly settled the matter.
And the Nine Deaths Meridians were no small matter. Jiang Ran had already turned twenty this year.
Who knew how many days he had left to live?
It was probably too late to go and fetch Jiang Ran. Besides, if Jiang Ran were told the truth, he might not be willing to come.
In the end, with a flourish of his brush, the old drunkard wrote a life-or-death letter.
And that led to everything that had happened before.
By the time Jiang Ran read to this point, he felt deeply uncomfortable.
This feeling of having his life controlled by others was extremely unpleasant.
However, as he read on, he found that the old drunkard’s words had taken on a tone of genuine sincerity:
"Ran’Er, you’re not young anymore, and your end is near.
"Your master is useless. You’ve suffered and toiled too much with me in this life. Now that the end is here, there’s not much I can do for you.
"All I could do was find you a beautiful wife and let you live a few days in wealth and comfort.
"If you still have the strength, work hard these next few days. It shouldn’t be too difficult to leave behind an heir.
"That way, your life in this world will not have been in vain."
Reading this, Jiang Ran felt a stir in his heart.
’The old drunkard really was thinking of my well-being, after all.’
But he didn’t know that Jiang Ran had now activated his system, and the entire Jianghu was a source of Life-extending Pills for him.
’This marriage, in the end, can’t be allowed to stand.’
Thinking of this, he gently pinched the bridge of his nose and began to consider how he should break the news to Lord Tang.
But he didn’t know that just as he was lost in thought...
...in a pavilion within the Tang family’s estate, a window had been opened a crack.
A pair of eyes watched him quietly through the gap.
A low voice slowly sounded out:
"Do you think he’ll believe it?"
...
...
