Chapter 1647 — Bing Tang's Boyfriend
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"No..." The moment Tang Zhi heard Xiao Ming's words, a surge of heartache swept through her. This woman was her own biological mother. After all these years apart, and now that they had finally met, if she turned her away outright, how bitterly would she be hurt?
Of course, Tang Zhi also believed that Xiao Ming and Bing Tang would not deceive her over this. There was nothing to be gained by lying; science was so advanced nowadays, with DNA testing and all, and any fabrication would show through at once.
So, almost before she knew it, Tang Zhi had blurted out, "No." She did in truth feel a certain warmth toward Xiao Ming; it was only that she could not yet bring herself to accept the reality.
"This whole affair is tangled enough as it is." Wei Zhao smiled ruefully. The matter itself was simple; what made it complicated were the feelings running between everyone involved.
"Sister Tang Zhi, you mustn't worry. My senior sister is a wonderful person, and she has only come this time to look upon your parents — that is, her own biological father and mother. Once she has seen them, she will return to the Ice Palace; she won't disturb your lives in the least!" Feng Xiaoxiao spoke up in Bing Tang's defense. "But if you are unwilling to acknowledge her, that is perfectly all right too..."
"It isn't that — it isn't that I'm unwilling. It's only that it's all so sudden, and I can't take it in at once..." Tang Zhi shook her head. Anyone at all would find such a thing hard to swallow. Even Wei Zhao, had two strangers suddenly appeared claiming to be his parents, would have stood gaping for a good long while — let alone a girl like Tang Zhi.
"Then... take your time and think it over. There is no rush. Once you have made up your mind, we can speak of everything else," Bing Tang said softly. "Little sister Tang Zhi, let Xiaoxiao keep you company. My aunt and I will wait for you in the living room!"
Bing Tang shot Feng Xiaoxiao a meaningful glance, silently bidding her lend a hand, do some persuading. At this moment, she was the only one who could.
"Sister Tang Zhi, it has been so long since we last saw each other. Shall we go somewhere and have a proper chat?" So saying, Feng Xiaoxiao took Tang Zhi by the hand and drew her upstairs together. She knew the villa's layout inside out, for she had once been one of its inhabitants herself.
Wei Zhao did not follow them. Instead he said to the eldest young lady and Xiao Shu: "Yaoyao, Xiao Shu, you go up as well and help talk Yunyun round. She has never run into anything on this scale before; she is sure to be at a complete loss."
"All right!" Without a moment's hesitation, Gu Mengyao took Shen Yushu's hand and swept up the stairs. In the living room, only Wei Zhao, Bing Tang, Xiao Qing, and Xiao Ming were left.
"Wei Zhao, you certainly live a carefree life — four beauties for company..." Only once all four women had gone upstairs did Bing Tang speak, and her words were barbed. She was no stranger to a man keeping a household of wives; many an ancient sect and ancient family was built that way. But they had the strength to do it, whereas Wei Zhao was a mere unaffiliated cultivator of no account, and a weak one at that — yet he had won the favor of so many lovely women, one of them the future Palace Master of the Ice Palace, another her own cousin on both her father's and her mother's side. It left the girl Bing Tang feeling decidedly ill at ease.
Had Wei Zhao been some Heaven-stage master, she could have accepted it. Or had he been a high-ranking alchemist — now that was an even more coveted profession, and a hundred wives would have raised no eyebrows. But no: Wei Zhao was neither the one nor the other.
"It's all right, I suppose." Wei Zhao seemed not to have caught her sarcasm, answering only in an offhand tone: "Isn't it simply that you think my strength falls below yours, and so you have always looked down on me?"