When Jiang Xia saw An Ning, his first thought was what a coincidence.

But in the next second, he realized something was wrong.

When did she start walking so slowly? She looked completely drained of energy.

Also, An Ning was supposed to be out buying seeds. She was back a little too early.

In an instant, Jiang Xia completely forgot about Master Tang and rushed toward An Ning.

"An Ning!"

The moment An Ning saw Jiang Xia, his entire getup told her exactly what he was up to.

She blinked her eyes frantically at Jiang Xia, mouthing the words, "Master Tang."

Unfortunately, Jiang Xia was too overcome with worry to notice.

"What’s wrong with you? You look so weak."

"You go out for one trip and manage to get yourself—Master Tang!"

Jiang Xia hadn’t even finished his sentence when he spotted Master Tang standing a short distance behind An Ning.

’This is bad,’ he thought, but he couldn’t worry about it now. An Ning was more important.

"Are you okay?"

"I’m fine. Master Tang helped me a lot."

Master Tang, who had been behind them, walked up to join them. The three looked at each other. For a moment, the air was so thick with awkwardness that if embarrassment were a living thing, it would have dug a hole to hide in.

"Master Tang, please forgive my behavior. This is my neighbor and a very good friend."

Jiang Xia did his best to salvage the situation. ’My acting just now wasn’t that out of character, was it?’

Master Tang’s gaze flickered between An Ning and Jiang Xia before he asked, without comment, "The car?"

"It’s outside."

"Lead the way."

Jiang Xia gestured for Master Tang to walk ahead. He then stood next to An Ning, about to crouch down.

An Ning grabbed Jiang Xia’s arm, her grip much weaker than usual.

"Go with him!"

"But you...?"

"I’m fine. Go, quickly."

An Ning urged him on, so Jiang Xia had no choice but to follow. As he walked away, he shouted, "Wait for me here! I’ll be back to get you in a bit!"

An Ning waved her hand dismissively as Jiang Xia ran off.

An Ning didn’t wait for Jiang Xia. Instead, she started walking forward slowly.

She was weak right now, but it wasn’t the weakness of an illness.

There must have been some kind of medicinal herbs in those two bowls of congee. Although she couldn’t taste them, the profound weakness in her body had mostly vanished after eating them.

Now, An Ning was mostly just hungry.

But she was obeying Master Tang’s instructions and couldn’t eat anything else for the time being.

An Ning walked for a little while before Jiang Xia came running back.

"I mean, how do you go out to buy seeds and end up this weak?"

"Sigh... It’s the trouble you get into for being greedy."

An Ning sighed. Following Jiang Xia’s lead, she walked over to a black sedan.

She glanced at Jiang Xia, who nodded and said, "Just bought it."

"Oh. How much? Is it convenient? I think it’s a bit small. I designed a new car that’s bigger than this."

"Really? You should have told me sooner! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bought it. I think it’s small, too. The engine is pretty average."

The two of them started complaining, completely oblivious to anyone else.

The car window slowly rolled down from the inside, revealing Master Tang’s face, his expression unreadable.

"Are we going?"

"We’re going!"

Jiang Xia seemed to have abandoned the persona he was putting on. His reply was crisp and decisive. He opened the passenger door for An Ning, then got in and drove back to the village himself.

The car was very quiet on the way.

An Ning had no idea if there was an agreement, a collaboration, or some other relationship between the two men.

Fortunately, the journey wasn’t long, and they soon arrived at Jiang Xia’s house.

Jiang Xia, looking completely relaxed, opened the door for Master Tang. An Ning, on the other hand, felt a rare nervousness as she got out of the car, watching Master Tang’s reaction.

At that moment, Master Tang was looking at the courtyard of the Jiang family’s house.

"So this is the great Jiang family compound you mentioned?"

"It is."

Jiang Xia stood beside Master Tang. Their eyes met, but there were no sparks—just a quiet understanding that an outsider wouldn’t comprehend.

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

Hearing the noise, Da Huang ran out and nuzzled against Jiang Xia’s leg.

"Da Huang—"

"It seems this is the esteemed Housekeeper Huang you mentioned, who guards the home."

Jiang Xia’s hand, which was petting Da Huang’s head, clenched slightly. "Indeed. But Da Huang really is our housekeeper."

"When I’m not home, Da Huang is the one who looks after my grandfather."

Master Tang, carrying a wooden box, offered no criticism and calmly walked into the courtyard. His gaze met that of the old man standing in the doorway.

"Mr. Jiang Sr."

Master Tang set down the box and bowed respectfully to Mr. Jiang Sr.

"Are you... Xiao Tang?"

Mr. Jiang Sr. couldn’t believe his eyes. He remembered the Tang Family line had been... had been wiped out.

Master Tang took a step forward, lifted the hem of his long robe, and knelt on both knees. Placing his hands on the ground, he performed a full kowtow to Mr. Jiang Sr.

"Thank you, Mr. Jiang Sr., for saving my life."

"Quick, quick, get up! What I did was nothing, a trivial matter."

Mr. Jiang Sr. was visibly emotional. He helped Master Tang up, looked him over carefully, and said with tears glistening in his eyes, "The resemblance... it’s uncanny. You look just like your grandfather, and your father, too."

"You three generations of men really grew up with the same face."

Master Tang smiled.

That smile made Jiang Xia and An Ning, who had been watching from behind, realize that something wasn’t quite right.

"I remember you were the most mischievous one. You certainly got your share of spankings back then."

Mr. Jiang Sr.’s words made Master Tang rub his nose in embarrassment.

"Grandpa, you two know each other?"

Jiang Xia’s question made Mr. Jiang Sr. turn to him. "Of course! The Tang Family and our Jiang family have been friends for generations."

"If it weren’t for these chaotic times..."

Master Tang stopped Mr. Jiang Sr. from saying more.

"Mr. Jiang Sr., you were the one who taught me to look forward."

"You’re right. Look forward, look forward."

Mr. Jiang Sr. took Master Tang by the arm, ready to head inside, but Jiang Xia wasn’t having it.

"Wait a minute!"

Jiang Xia stepped forward, stood beside the two of them, and stared at Master Tang. "So, you knew who I was all along?"

"Yes. You look very much like your grandmother."

Jiang Xia glanced at Mr. Jiang Sr., who simply nodded.

It finally dawned on Jiang Xia. "So, it wasn’t because I did something to please you. You wanted to come here yourself."

"That’s also why you didn’t care whether I was a young master or not, or about my Da Huang—"

Jiang Xia rattled on, and while Mr. Jiang Sr. didn’t understand, Master Tang just smiled triumphantly.

"You probably don’t know this, but even though our two families are old friends, our favorite thing to do is compete with each other."

"Since your father isn’t qualified, I had to come find you instead."

"This round, I win."

Master Tang’s smug smile and the complete shift in his demeanor made Jiang Xia so angry his nostrils flared.

He, Young Master Jiang, had been tricked!

He thought he was the one running the con, but it turned out he was the fish who willingly took the bait.

The feeling was about to make Jiang Xia explode from frustration!

An Ning understood everything now, too. She was in absolute awe of this Master Tang.

"Um... I’m going to head back now."

An Ning prepared to make her escape.

When Jiang Xia saw An Ning move, he swallowed the humiliation he’d suffered at Master Tang’s hands and followed her.

"What on earth happened to you?"

As they walked, An Ning explained what had happened with the tea-leaf eggs.

Jiang Xia said worriedly:

"From now on, don’t eat things from outside. If you want to eat something, I’ll make it for you."

Jiang Xia’s words made An Ning stop in her tracks. She stared at him and asked, "Why?"