As usual.
Tang Mingxi stepped two paces aside and ordered Bodyguard, "Come up here and hold an umbrella for me."
Bodyguard chuckled honestly as he came over. "Second Young Master Tang, this piece of trash was never worthy of holding an umbrella for you! Let me do it!"
Tang Mingxi finally understood.
Were all these servants and bodyguards obsessed with the Second Young Master?! Why were they as happy to hold an umbrella for him as if they'd won the lottery?
With no need to hold an umbrella for Tang Mingxi, Ye Heng was actually better off than before. At least he no longer had to keep getting snowed on.
The two entered the resplendent banquet hall one after the other.
The five-hundred-square-meter banquet hall was already filled with seven or eight tables. The Tang Family bloodline, along with Tang Family members related within three generations and working in the company, had all taken their seats.
Tang Mingxi and Ye Heng, arriving late, instantly became the center of everyone's attention.
Fortunately, Tang Mingxi's family had been fairly well-off even before he transmigrated into the novel. He had lived in Shanghai; his parents were executives at foreign companies, his maternal grandparents were university professors, his grandfather was a famous Hollywood director, and his grandmother had been a movie star in the last century.
When he studied at Harvard, he had often accompanied his grandfather to all kinds of high-society gatherings in the United States.
So there was no need to panic :)
Tang Mingxi swept his gaze around hurriedly and matched quite a few faces with his memories, but he did not see his eldest brother, Tang Yun.
As the Tang Family's Second Young Master, he should naturally sit with the relatives of the main branch. Without a second thought, Tang Mingxi brought Ye Heng over with him, missing the faintly strange look that flickered through Ye Heng's eyes.
Before they could even sit down, a sharp, cutting taunt rang out. "Tang Er, it's one thing for you to sit here, but what right does Ye Heng, a live-in son-in-law, have to sit on equal footing with relatives of the main branch?"
Tang Mingxi paused, speechless. Wake up, the Great Qing had been gone for a hundred years.
The speaker was Tang Mingxi's cousin, Tang Yu.
A memory concerning Tang Yu flashed through Tang Mingxi's mind. Like the original owner, he was an ignorant, good-for-nothing playboy. However, he played even harder and wilder than the original owner, and he also had several illegitimate ways of making money under his control.
Back then, he had tried to trick the original owner into joining him to "seek thrills and have fun." But although the original owner was scum, he had not crossed the line into breaking the law, so he refused Tang Yu. From then on, Tang Yu had borne a grudge against Tang Mingxi.
Whenever they met at family gatherings, every sentence Tang Yu spoke was barbed.
After speaking, Tang Yu's gaze traveled back and forth between Ye Heng and Tang Mingxi. Seeing that Ye Heng was no longer as bedraggled as usual, but instead wore a brand-new, expensive suit—the very set Tang Yu had failed to commission even after spending a fortune—now worn by a live-in son-in-law he looked down on, Tang Yu's expression abruptly darkened.
Tang Yu's face suddenly turned ugly. "Tang Mingxi, what do you mean by this? Bringing your useless husband here during the New Year to ruin everyone's mood?"
The Vicious Dog
As soon as Tang Yu finished speaking, everyone around them turned their eyes toward Tang Mingxi.
There was mockery, schadenfreude, and ridicule, though it was all carefully concealed.
It was clear that Tang Mingxi's personality was indeed unpopular among the Tang Family's other relatives. But because of his status as "Second Young Master Tang," even if they disliked him, the Tang Family members still had to greet him with smiles.
The only one who dared challenge Tang Mingxi was Tang Yu. His biological father was Tang Youwei, who was currently competing with Tang Mingxi's eldest brother Tang Yun for the inheritance.
One stone stirred a thousand waves. The relatives of the main branch at this table also showed some dissatisfaction at Ye Heng's arrival.
"Second Young Master, what Xiao Yu said isn't entirely without reason. Ye Heng is an outsider, and it is indeed improper for him to dine at the same table as us."
"Hadn't Second Young Master always disliked Ye Heng? Why had he suddenly changed?"
"What else could he do even if he disliked him? The old master personally arranged the marriage. Even if it was a man, he had to grit his teeth and marry him."
As soon as those words were spoken, a round of malicious laughter broke out around the table.
In the original novel, Tang Mingxi had been someone who cared deeply about appearances. Marrying a man was practically the greatest humiliation of his life.
If it had been before, Tang Mingxi would have flown into a rage at Ye Heng in public as soon as he heard those taunts.
A verbal lashing would have been the mildest response. Given the original owner's spoiled temper, he would most likely have kicked him.
Ye Heng had already prepared himself for Tang Mingxi to lash out. More precisely, from the moment he entered this nauseating banquet hall, he had already guessed how things would end.
Yet after enduring all that mockery, Ye Heng had not seen Tang Mingxi explode in anger.
He glanced sideways
at him. Tang Mingxi's expression was unreadable, his lips curved in what might have been a smile. It was impossible to tell whether he was angry or not.
Ye Heng curled his lips imperceptibly and thought coldly, This piece of trash can actually endure quite a lot.
Tang Yu curled his lips into a smug smile and raised his chin at Ye Heng. "Did you hear that? Why aren't you getting lost?"
Then he looked at Tang Mingxi, like a victorious rooster. "Tang Er, your husband doesn't know his place. As your cousin, I'll teach him a lesson. You won't be angry, will you?"
Tang Yu was not teaching Ye Heng a lesson. He was clearly using Ye Heng to humiliate Tang Mingxi.
No matter what, Tang Mingxi and Ye Heng had come here today as husband and husband. They were family.
If Ye Heng was humiliated in public, it would also disgrace Second Young Master Tang.
How could Tang Mingxi fail to see Tang Yu's attempt to intimidate him?
This cannon fodder was really rushing to his death :)
Tang Mingxi sighed inwardly, but kept up his persona and said innocently, "Cousin is right. I failed to consider things thoroughly."
Ye Heng's fingers curled slightly as he lowered his lashes.
Tang Yu looked as though he had expected this all along and said magnanimously, "Forget it."
He suddenly paused. Seeing Ye Heng's suit, he was clearly still not satisfied, so he said harshly, "I'll give Tang Er some face, but I can't let your husband off. How about this? Have Ye Heng apologize to me. I walked all the way here, and my shoes are soaked. As an elder, how about I have Ye Heng bring me a basin of water and wait on me while I wash my feet?"
As soon as he spoke, Ye Heng's gaze also fell on Tang Mingxi's face.
Tang Mingxi remained silent for a long time, and he and Ye Heng confronted each other wordlessly.
The air seemed to freeze. Tang Yu's venomous gaze shifted between Tang Mingxi and Ye Heng as he squeezed out, "What? Tang Er, you can't bear to?"
"Of course not." Tang Mingxi relented, summoned a waiter, and said casually, "Go prepare a basin of water for Mr. Ye."
Under the fluorescent lights, his skin was almost porcelain-white, bathed in a layer of warm light that gave off an air of tenderness.
Looking only at his face, he could be called breathtakingly beautiful. No one would be able to tell what a rotten scumbag he was inside.
The private residence was fully equipped, and the foot-washing water Tang Mingxi requested was delivered quickly.
Tang Yu was thrilled. He sat up straighter, his whole body perking up.
The thought of Second Young Master Tang's husband washing his feet made that base masculine vanity swell exponentially.
Seeing Ye Heng remain still, Tang Yu frowned. "What's going on, Ye Heng? Why aren't you bringing the water over?"
Ye Heng did not move, but his gloomy expression gave him away.
It was only because he had been humiliated too many times that the young man had learned to restrain himself so well.
At that moment, Tang Mingxi suddenly spoke. "Wait."
Ye Heng looked at him. Tang Mingxi sighed, took the basin of foot-washing water, and said sincerely, "Cousin, after thinking it over, I feel Ye Heng isn't worthy of apologizing to you. It would be more appropriate for me to apologize personally. It would also show my sincerity."
Ye Heng froze for a moment and looked at Tang Mingxi in astonishment.
The entire hall erupted at those words. The Second Young Master was carrying foot-washing water?!
Forget Tang Yu—even the Tang Family members watching the show on the scene drew in sharp breaths.
Tang Yu was also stunned, suddenly caught between a rock and a hard place.
Ye Heng was merely a useless live-in son-in-law. Humiliating him was easy.
But Tang Mingxi was the true Second Young Master of the Tang Family's direct line. He had been raised in luxury since childhood, doted on to the point of lawlessness by his eldest brother Tang Yun, domineering and recklessly causing trouble.
No one had yet been born who could make Tang Mingxi carry foot-washing water!
But words spoken were water spilled.
Tang Yu could not take back his own