The second installment,

...

The one who stepped in to stir up trouble was, naturally, Xu Ling's personal attendant, Miao San. He had seen Xu Ling struggling against Qin Fang, seemingly at a disadvantage, and was worrying about how to help Xu Ling out of the dilemma. Who would have thought that a pillow would be delivered right as he was longing for a nap? He gladly accepted it with glee.

However, the timing and target of his words were different, and so was the meaning they conveyed. At least, saying this at such a moment was utterly condemnable!

"Miao San, what do you mean by that?"

As expected, as soon as Miao San spoke, the faces of Tang Zhi, Tang Cheng, among others, changed drastically, especially Qin Fang, who furrowed his brow tightly.

Miao San's words were obviously directed at Qin Fang, but Qin Fang himself felt it was quite unjust. How had someone who appeared out of the blue suddenly become his rival in love?

This was, of course, a testament to Tang Feifei's charm. Before Song Jie went abroad, Tang Feifei was just a girl of fifteen or sixteen, at the age of blooming youth, gradually transitioning from immaturity to maturity. By then, Tang Feifei had already become quite lovely, and it wasn't strange that Song Jie, probably eighteen or nineteen at the time, would be infatuated with her...

Whether Song Jie had feelings for Tang Feifei was not easy to say, but there was indeed such an indication. However, before anything could happen, Song Jie had already gone overseas to study.

As Tang Cheng had mentioned earlier, there had been no news of Song Jie for years, and his return this time was unexpected... and these years happened to be the years Qin Fang and Tang Feifei spent together, gradually getting to know each other, deepening to their current love...

Whether Song Jie had come back for Tang Feifei or not, Qin Fang didn't really care. Everyone has the desire to admire beauty, and he couldn't stop everyone from appreciating a beautiful woman, could he?

But what upset him was Miao San's intention, which was obviously inciting trouble and provoking discord... Indeed, it was to bail out Xu Ling, but the tactic was rather despicable.

"Young Master Xu, I really don't appreciate your fundamental style..."

Tang Cheng was about to blow up on Miao San's side, but Qin Fang didn't intervene. Instead, he looked at Xu Ling with a smile that was not quite a smile, laughing calmly, yet everyone could see the disdain and mockery in Qin Fang's eyes.

It was supposed to be Xu Ling and Qin Fang vying for Tang Feifei, or rather, Xu Ling trying to snatch Tang Feifei away from Qin Fang's side, which was considered normal competition...

But with just one sentence from Miao San, it seemed as though he had declared Xu Ling already defeated, and they were setting up a new adversary for Qin Fang... suggesting vaguely that Xu Ling was now below Song Jie and Qin Fang.

Being belittled by his own attendant was like slapping his own face, and Qin Fang found it hard not to laugh!

Naturally, Xu Ling's face was not looking good either; Miao San might have had good intentions, but his actions had demeaned him, something Xu Ling could not tolerate.

From the beginning, Xu Ling and his group had never considered Qin Fang a real opponent and just saw him as a nouveau riche from the countryside who had soared to great heights by clinging to the Tang Family...

But as events unfolded one after another, Qin Fang had always maintained a more proactive position, while they seemed to be very passive—in fact, Xu Ling had been made to lose face by Qin Fang.

Miao San's intervention not only failed to help Xu Ling but actually added to the chaos...

"Miao San..."

Being mocked by Qin Fang, Xu Ling's face could hardly hang on, and he immediately spoke up, wanting to stop Miao San from continuing to make remarks that were even more outrageous, more embarrassing, and would cause him to lose face.

"Young Master Ling, you shouldn't bother with me today. I, Miao San, have always been straightforward, calling a spade a spade... Young Master Zhi, Young Master Cheng, it's not that I don't give you face, but I have great respect for Old Master Tang, just like for my own grandfather... However, with such respect, I feel that the appearance of some people might tarnish Elder Tang's reputation!"

Miao San waved his hand, stopping Xu Ling mid-sentence, and immediately went on. "To be honest, I used to look down on that lad Song Jie, thought he was a wimp, and didn't shy away from bullying him, but today... I, Miao San, take my hat off to him. At least the birthday gift he presented, I, Miao San, could definitely not match... but some people are different!"

In the end, this sly Miao San finally made it to the heart of the matter. He wanted to make an issue out of the birthday gifts... At this statement, many people's expressions immediately became rather odd.

Xu Ling let out a sigh of relief. Although Miao San's initial words had made him somewhat uncomfortable, now that the conversation had turned to the main topic, Xu Ling felt that this fellow indeed had some skills...

"You want to compare birthday gifts with me?"

Qin Fang's expression was somewhat bizarre. He had given his birthday present to Old Master Tang well before the grand birthday celebration, and after Old Master Tang had taken it, even his private and health-care doctors exclaimed in wonder as his heart problems had all been completely cured.

Tang Cheng had a similar expression. He knew a bit about the Heart Nourishing Pill. When Elder Tang took the Heart Nourishing Pill, he had been watching by his side. Yesterday, when the results were confirmed, he was there too. At that time, Elder Tang had even specifically said, "This medicine from Xiao Qin really cured my illness. I, this old man, must thank him in person..."

Old Master's words had undoubtedly confirmed the powerful effect of Qin Fang's birthday gift. As Elder Tang's grandson, Tang Cheng knew all too well about his grandfather's health problems over the past decades. The Tang family members had always been looking for various remedies and famous doctors to cure him, but to no avail.

Now, a single elixir from Qin Fang had eliminated decades of chronic illness, and Elder Tang's body was noticeably stronger than before. It was estimated that he could live another ten years without any issues!

In light of this, the significance of this Heart Nourishing Pill, this birthday gift, was tremendous. It didn't matter that Song Jie brought a jade Maitreya worth millions. Even a present worth ten times more would be meaningless.

The old master was the pillar of the Tang family. The Tang family had flourished to this day because of Old Master Tang's presence.

As the older generation of revolutionaries passed away, these surviving old masters became even more influential. Many families ended up as second or third rate simply because their older generation had passed, leaving the younger ones without a pillar to rely on, making it difficult for them to stand firm. After a few years or a decade, falling into disarray became inevitable...

As long as Old Master Tang stayed healthy and lived a few more years or even a decade longer, by then the Second Generation of the Tang Family would have already assumed quite high positions. With that, the Tang family's foothold would be completely secured, and they wouldn't fall into decline so quickly.

Old Master's health hadn't been good over the years; it was due to these chronic ailments that he suffered. Now that the hidden illnesses were gone, with careful recuperation, his life expectancy would undoubtedly be extended significantly, and the Tang family would naturally benefit immensely from this.

In this sense, Qin Fang's birthday gift was essentially priceless!

All other gifts paled in comparison to the Heart Nourishing Pill... Although the jade Maitreya was worth a fortune, did the Tang family lack money?

Therefore, it wasn't surprising to see such a reaction from Tang Cheng, who was in the know, when Miao San had the misfortune of crossing the gunpoint.

It was only Tang Zhi and other Tang family members who were not very clear about the situation, all looking at Miao San strangely. It was evident they had not anticipated his motive for doing so.

"Exactly, since you think you're so impressive, then we'd really like to see the birthday gift you gave to the old master..." Miao San was direct and made his intentions clear without any courtesy.

They were numerous and powerful on their side, being young masters and privileged sons from Capital City, with their elders holding positions in the government, most of them ranking quite high. Naturally, they had their own ways of making money.

With money, they could certainly buy very good birthday gifts... As the local lords of Capital City, they looked down on outsiders like Qin Fang.

Qin Fang laughed, gently shook his head, but didn't say much more.

His gift had already been given to Elder Tang, which by now had become the essence of various herbs completely integrated into Elder Tang's body, and it was impossible to take it out again.

He no longer had any Heart Nourishing Pills with him either, and Qin Fang certainly wouldn't waste one just to flaunt his wealth or out of spite.

"What's the matter? Can't take it out? Haha..."

Miao San saw that Qin Fang merely shook his head without any further action and immediately felt that Qin Fang had been struck a painful blow and had chickened out, letting out a very arrogant sneer which drew glances from many people nearby. However, upon realizing the person laughing was Miao San, a notorious figure in the Capital City, they lost interest in the commotion.

"It's not that I can't take it out..."

Qin Fang smiled, maintaining a calm demeanor. He wasn't angry or upset about being a laughingstock, in fact, quite leisurely and seemingly indifferent.

"Hmph, I actually thought you surnamed Qin had some substance, but now it seems... you're nothing special after all!"

Seeing that Qin Fang seemed to be ever more submissive, Miao San was quite proud, full of the smugness of a petty man succeeding. He was obviously very satisfied with his immediate and unquestionable defeat of Qin Fang...

"Don't be smug just yet. My birthday gift is not something you are qualified to evaluate... Some things will naturally become clear over time!" Qin Fang waved his hand, finding the persistent and grating laughter of Miao San, the buffoon, incredibly annoying. Qin Fang had no regard for such a person. Although it seemed like Young Master Xu Ling had been reined in by Qin Fang and was now much more subdued, Qin Fang knew that Miao San's actions were completely driven by...

"Young Master Ling, it's our turn. Let's go... We'll show someone how impressive we, the lords of Capital City, are. A freeloader like him should just go back to the countryside and farm!"

It was almost their group's turn to offer birthday greetings to Elder Tang. Miao San was about to point his finger at Qin Fang and berate him, his attitude was unbearably haughty and brazen! (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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