IRDFPFCIW Chapter 61

Jiang Bai returned to the Jiang family and immediately felt something strange in the atmosphere.

Normally at his time, his father would still be at the office, but today he was sitting in the living room. Jiang Bai didn’t notice his father’s gloomy expression. He approached with his usual gentle smile and greeted him.

“Dad, why are you back so early today?”

Before he could finish, Jiang Guangliang responded with a loud slap filled with anger.

“Smack!”

Jiang Guangliang’s strength was great and he showed no mercy, knocking Jiang Bai’s face sideways. Caught off guard, Jiang Bai stumbled and almost fell onto the nearby sofa.

His smile froze on his face. As the pain began to register, he stood up straight. He covered his left cheek tightly and stared in disbelief at Jiang Guangliang.

A sense of foreboding washed over Jiang Bai and his voice trembled a little, “Dad…”

“Don’t call me dad! I have no son like you!” Jiang Guangliang glared at Jiang Bai. His eyes were red and crazy, a stark contrast to his usual gentle image he deliberately maintained, as if this were his true nature all along.

In a fit of rage, Jiang Guangliang turned around and stormed upstairs. It seemed he really didn’t want to see Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai could only cover his face and look at his mother who was sitting on the sofa. Mrs. Jiang wiped her tears and asked anxiously, “Good child, didn’t you say the Marshal liked you very much? You two were in a good relationship, so why did the Marshal cancel the engagement with you?”

The big words “cancel the engagement” felt like thunderclaps crashing above Jiang Bai’s head, leaving him stunned.

The color drained from Jiang Bai’s face, and his face suddenly became miserable. He felt cold all over. After what felt like an eternity, he finally heard his voice. But this was voice was no longer as graceful and beautiful as before. Instead, it was hoarse.

“What… what do you mean cancel the engagement?” Jiang Bai shook his head vigorously, doubting his ears very much. “That’s impossible! The Marshal clearly likes me! He wouldn’t cancel our engagement!”

Jiang Bai’s emotions surged and he lost his balance. He stumbled back onto the sofa. He cradled head while murmuring, “No, it can’t be…”

How could the Marshal not like him? There were so many people around the Marshal, but he only smiled at him. Wasn’t that attraction?

…And that time he almost fell into the pool, it was the Marshal who passed by and saved him.

His voice grew louder in desperation, while Mrs. Jiang continued to ask if he had quarreled with the Marshal and urged him to coax the Marshal. Jiang Bai shouted, “Shut up! Don’t talk nonsense! The Marshal likes me, hahaha! We’re about to get engaged! I’ll soon be living in the palace!”

Seeing her son lose his mind, Mrs. Jiang looked worried. She wanted to say something, but Jiang Bai suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot as he stared fiercely at her. Mrs. Jiang was a bit scared by his expression.

Jiang Bai looked exactly like Jiang Guangliang moments ago, like a real father and son.

One hour ago—

Jiang Guangliang excitedly rushed back home from the company after receiving news from the palace.

Mrs. Jiang met him at the door. She took his coat and asked softly, “Guangliang, is what you said true? Will the Marshal really come later?”

Jiang Guangliang nodded. Although he wore a suit that made him look refined, his temperament was destroyed by the greed in his eyes.

“Of course it’s true. The Marshal is in love with our Bai Bai, right? He’s here to visit us as parents.”

Jiang Guangliang subconsciously straightened his back, wanting to put on an elder’s attitude in front of Wen Renyuan. A smug smile appeared on his face as he shook his head. “He’s probably here to discuss the engagement. Young people these days are so eager.”

The two suppressed their excitement and sat upright in the living room. After a short wait, Wen Renyuan arrived, with Wei Ke following closely behind. The two walked together into Jiang family.

“Mr. Jiang.” Wen Renyuan nodded at Jiang Guangliang.

Although the Jiang family was noble, they had fallen from grace for a long time. When it came to Jiang Guangliang’s generation, the Jiang family was almost pushed out of the circle of wealthy families in the Imperial Capital Star. Even after Jiang Guangliang’s scheming, they barely squeezed back in, remaining at the bottom of the pyramid and could only curry favor with other nobles to become a vassal.

But things were different now. By clinging to the Marshal, it was equivalent to boarding the big ship of the royal family. With the royal family and military as their backing, the Jiang family could thrive in the Imperial Capital Star!

The thought of the Jiang family regaining its glory and other families vying to curry favor with him filled Jiang Guangliang with happiness. He looked at Wen Renyuan and couldn’t suppress his fawning smile.

Wen Renyuan’s presence was overwhelmingly powerful, making Jiang Guangliang feel like a mere clown in front of him. All his ulterior motives were laid bare.

“Mr. Jiang, I’m here to discuss the conditions previously proposed by the Jiang family to the royal family.”

Wen Renyuan didn’t plan to waste much time here. He still had half of his “108 Ways to Confess” material to read, and he would be dining at Tang Tang’s house later. If it wasn’t for not wanting more trouble, he wouldn’t even bother stepping into this mess to solve it quickly even if they begged him.

As he recalled how this man had treated Jiang Tang and the hardships the young man had faced, Wen Renyuan’s expression grew colder. He didn’t want to spare even a glance at Jiang Guangliang or his family.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Jiang Guangliang was overjoyed but tried to maintain an air of authority. He appeared out of place and ridiculous.

“At that time, the condition proposed by the Jiang family to the royal family was a marriage alliance. Although I cannot agree with this behavior of using happiness of the younger generation for family benefit, since my great-grandfather made a promise, we must uphold our end for the sake of the royal family’s credibility.”

Wen Renyuan paused before continuing, “To honor that promise, I am willing to marry the child who was not yet born at that time. What do you think, Mr. Jiang?”

Hearing Wen Renyuan emphasize “that child”, Jiang Guangliang felt strange in his heart but quickly dismissed it. He wouldn’t miss this opportunity to connect with the royal family.

He replied eagerly, “Yes, exactly. The royal family values promises. After this marriage is made public, it will surely win the support of the people.”

Wen Renyuan looked at Jiang Guangliang, who seemed eager to push that impostor into the palace. He sneering internally and then said slowly, “Since we’ve reached a consensus, let’s finalize the engagement as soon as possible.”

Jiang Guangliang was nearly overwhelmed with excitement after hearing his words and almost stood up from the sofa. He rubbed his hands and stuttered a little as he spoke, “Yes, yes, we must finalize it quickly.”

“So when will Mr. Jiang let me meet that child? We should discuss the engagement details as soon as possible.” Wen Renyuan said and squinted his eyes at Jiang Guangliang, who was still blissfully unaware of the hidden meaning in his words.

“The child the Jiang family promised to the royal family in the marriage contract was the one Mrs. Jiang was pregnant with,” Wen Renyuan glanced at Mrs. Jiang, who now wore an awkward smile. “Not some random stray cat or dog. I assume the Jiang family wouldn’t send an impostor to disgrace the royal family?”

Wen Renyuan’s last few words were very cold and hard. Jiang Guangliang finally snapped out of his stupor, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Yes, at that time, they promised that the child in his wife’s belly would be the one, but that child was Jiang Tang, who had been kicked out from the family and cast to a barren planet to fend for himself.

Jiang Guangliang was at a loss for words.

Could he really go find Jiang Tang? No, that child had already severed ties with him, and Jiang Tang was too vulgar in his behavior. How could he win Wen Renyuan’s favor?

What if the Marshal ended up disliking Jiang Tang? All the glory and wealth he hoped for would be lost!

Jiang Guangliang came up with a plan and quickly put on a sorrowful expression. “The Marshal doesn’t know, but that child unfortunately passed away during a family trip due to a storm.”

Wen Renyuan’s eyes glinted coldly as he looked at Jiang Guangliang as if he was staring at a corpse.

Passed away? How dare he?

Wen Renyuan sneered, “Oh? So that child is already… gone? Then the engagement can’t be fulfilled, can it?”

Jiang Guangliang panicked after hearing his words, “After we lost that child, we adopted a child of the same age and poured all our love into this child. That’s Jiang Bai. Marshal, Bai Bai is like our own child in our hearts…”

Wen Renyuan impatiently interrupted Jiang Guangliang who was still performing the ‘deep father-son love’ there, “So you want me to marry a substitute? A mere substitute to challenge the dignity of the royal family?”

Jiang Guangliang replied quickly, “No, no, actually that child didn’t pass away…”

Jiang Guangliang tried to explain but was silenced by Wen Renyuan’s cold eyes. Cold sweat broke out on his back.

“Mr. Jiang, do you think I’m easy to fool or that the royal family is?”

Wen Renyuan was a god a war who killed anyone on his way in the battlefield. When his aura was fully unleashed, ordinary people like Jiang Guangliang stood no chance.

Under his gaze, Jiang Guangliang began to tremble.

“I’ll give you one last chance,” Wen Renyuan put on gloves, his expression devoid of warmth. “Tell me, is that child still with the Jiang family?”

Jiang Guangliang: “…No, not anymore.”

“Very well.” Wen Renyuan stood up, not bothering to spare a glance at the pale-faced Jiang couple.

“Since the Jiang family cannot provide the person, I see no reason for this marriage between the Jiang family and the royal family to exist. Don’t worry, the royal family will naturally compensate you.”

“But people must learn to be content.” Wen Renyuan looked at Jiang Guangliang with a half-smile.

“I don’t want to hear any rumors about this outside, Mr. Jiang, understand?”

---

The secret to maintain a husband-husband relationship.

…

The entire empire knows that the Marshal and his wife have a great relationship.

Years have passed since that wedding that caused a stir across the empire, but these two still appear to be in love, sticking to each other and spreading dog food[mfn]public display of affection[/mfn] to the people of the entire galaxy every day.

How do they know this? Of course, it’s because of the Marshal who wants to post 800 posts every day showing off “his Tang Tang”.

Every day, he shares pictures of the meals Jiang Tang makes, captioning them:

[Having someone willing to cook for you, what else can a husband ask for!]

—Fans across the empire are green with envy.

He occasionally posts candid shots of Jiang Tang, whether he’s reading on a lounge chair or cooking in the kitchen wearing an apron, and even close-ups of his eyelashes when sleeping!

Although Wen Renyuan’s photography skills are hard to praise, Jiang Tang’s looks are simply stunning! Any shot could be a masterpiece.

—Stealing a wife, a grudge that cannot be solved!!!

Even though natural food has become widely available now and allows everyone to enjoy various delicacies, each time they see the Marshal’s affectionate posts, comments like “I’m full, really full”, “I’d kick this dog food bowl over”, “stop shoving dog food in my face” and “If I’m guilty, the law should punish me, not make me see these posts” flood their minds.

“So Marshal, how do you and your wife maintain your husband-husband relationship? Any secrets?”

A new adjutant responsible for daily life has come to the office. He looks scholarly. When he came to work today, there was a conspicuous and large handprint on his handsome face.

When he was asked about it during the break, he frowned and complained bitterly to Wen Renyuan about his newlywed wife being too wild and resorting to physical confrontation instead of reasoning.

Thinking of the fairy love between Wen Renyuan and Jiang Tang, the “model husband and wife”, he mustered the courage to ask Wen Renyuan for tips on keeping a harmonious marriage.

Wen Renyuan perked up at this question.

“Xiao Zhou, you’re not doing it right. You see, your sister-in-law and I have been married for so many years without ever having a quarrel. At home, he always says what I say, and your sister-in-law is so obedient and clingy…”

Xiao Zhou listened, growing increasingly admiring. Then he heard Wen Renyuan say, “Actually, I have no secrets. It’s just that your sister-in-law loves me too much. If you ask me, you need to use your personal charm to conquer your wife and make her think of you. That way, you can easily win her over. Think about it yourself!”

With that, Wen Renyuan hummed a tune and went off work, leaving Xiao Zhou pondering. Tang Tang promised to cook new dishes for him tonight. Whoever works overtime is a big fool.

“Wife, I’m back!”

As soon as Wen Renyuan entered the door, he saw Jiang Tang in a creamy-white home outfit, sitting on the sofa and flipping through a magazine. The scene was too beautiful that Wen Renyuan couldn’t help but feel emotional.

He approached and wanted to embrace Jiang Tang, but before he could even land a warm kiss, he was pushed away.

Wen Renyuan then noticed Jiang Tang’s unfriendly expression.

Wen Renyuan: …Oh no, it’s over!