Chapter 723 - 623: Part 2

Actually, if she wasn’t going, Mr. Cheng didn’t want to go either. But she missed her precious grandchildren, and it was the weekend, so Manman would be home too. Since she was determined to spend the day at the Tang family’s home, she simply pushed Mr. Cheng out, telling him to go have fun with his friends.

It wasn’t that she disliked him or didn’t want him to come. Hao Hueling felt that since she and Mr. Cheng were living together without being officially married, their situation was rather improper. She thought it best not to flaunt it in front of her in-laws for the time being.

Tang Qingshan didn’t press for details, only saying he had just gotten some premium black tea and would send a pound back with his mother-in-law for Mr. Cheng.

Hao Hueling smiled and nodded repeatedly. ’This is perfect,’ she thought. ’The tea from my son-in-law is truly premium grade. Mr. Cheng had it once at his office and has been dreaming about the taste ever since. Now I can bring him a whole pound. That should be enough to soothe his ruffled feathers after I "abandoned" him today.’

Xiao Man personally cooked a lavish dinner, and unsurprisingly, everyone ate until they were stuffed. Brewing the Digestive Tea then fell to Hao Wenli. She bustled about for the better part of an hour—what else could she do? This family could make even drinking tea a complicated affair. Each person wanted a different flavor, and Xiao Man, always accommodating, had prepared a custom blend for everyone. This left Hao Wenli to brew them all, bowl by bowl, making sure none of the flavors mingled.

Grandma Tang and Grandma Hao examined a pair of jade bracelets under the light while Grandpa Tang played Go with the two little tykes. Dabao, the older twin, especially loved the game. Whenever Xiaobao tried to make a mess of the board, Dabao would stop him. Xiaobao, refusing to submit, would then demand a proper match. Despite being twins born only minutes apart, Dabao consistently crushed Xiaobao in these battles of wits. Grandpa Tang would have to praise Dabao and then immediately console Xiaobao. The trio would alternate between moments of quiet concentration and bursts of chaotic energy, making for a very amusing scene.

Tang Qingshan and Xiao Man sat on the long sofa across from them, enjoying the show while they talked. The topic shifted to Hao Hao’s impending return home, which reminded Xiao Man of Wu Xiaowen. She proceeded to tell Tang Qingshan about the time Lin Aizhen and Wu Xiaowen had shown up at the hospital to find her.

"Based on that mother and daughter’s track record, and from the expressions on their faces, they must have run into some trouble and want to use me again."

Tang Qingshan frowned. To think that Wu Xiaowen would actually go to Xiao Man for something like that... Her shamelessness was truly beyond words.

The Wu family was implicated in the Bai Lihua case for hiding and transferring embezzled money—no small crime. That they would go this far for Bai Lihua fully demonstrated that the Wu family had supported Wu Xiaowen’s affair with him from the very beginning, encouraging her to abandon her husband and children. Both Hao Hao and Manman, who refused to even acknowledge Wu Xiaowen as her mother, surely hated her and considered her a source of shame.

How could Tang Qingshan not know about Bai Lihua’s crimes, the Bai Family’s downfall, and the Wu Family’s involvement? He hadn’t mentioned it to Xiao Man or Hao Hao, simply because he didn’t want them to be embarrassed or hurt by it all. It was, after all, their biological mother’s family, a blood connection that couldn’t be denied or severed. He just hadn’t expected Wu Xiaowen’s skin to be as thick as a fortress wall. She not only had zero qualms but had run straight to Xiao Man. ’If Xiao Man were both obedient and powerful, she probably would have demanded that she bail Bai Lihua out!’

’Xiao Man can ignore Wu Xiaowen, but what about Hao Hao? Will she use her status as his mother to pressure him, ruthlessly breaking the boy’s heart?’

The more Tang Qingshan thought about it, the more furious he grew. He mentally gave Tang Qingyun a thorough beating. ’What was he thinking, ending up with a woman like that?!’

"You guessed right, Manman. The Wu family’s brothers are all involved in the Bai Lihua case. They’ll likely be sentenced," Tang Qingshan said, briefly summarizing the situation.

"No wonder," Xiao Man said. "Good. You reap what you sow. Let Lin Aizhen stew in her own juice. When Hao Hao gets back, we have to find a way to keep him from visiting the Wu family. He may not look it, but he’s actually incredibly soft-hearted and misguidedly filial. After they put on a tearful show for him, even if he can’t do anything, it will still leave a knot in his heart."

"That was Hao Hao when he was a kid. He’s grown up now, he wouldn’t be like that anymore, right?"

"Haven’t you heard the saying that you can see a person’s future by age seven? The weaknesses in his character were formed in childhood."

Tang Qingshan chuckled and patted his daughter’s head. "You make a good point. Alright, deal. I’ll figure out how to manage Hao Hao so he doesn’t get a chance to run over to the Wu family. And you’ll be in charge of changing his personality. Best if you just erase that little weakness of his altogether!"

Xiao Man stared at Tang Qingshan with wide eyes. "Dad, are you kidding me? I’m not a magician who can just change someone on command. Hao Hao isn’t a piece of paper covered in writing that I can just fix with an eraser."