Chapter 203: Jiang Tao’s Fate (Trigger Warning)
2
Translator: Lonelytree
In the CEO’s Office of the Imperial Palace Group, Jiang Tao sat opposite Gong Tianhao. His expression was a little ugly.
At this moment, a woman dressed in formal attire brought in a cup of coffee and placed it in front of Jiang Tao. She said very politely, “Young Master Jiang, please have some coffee!” Then, she walked out.
Gong Tianhao held a pen in front of his eyes. He raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile that was not a smile, “So you know already?”
Jiang Tao was a little speechless. He asked Gong Tianhao sharply, “Why didn’t you tell me? Do you still treat me as a friend? You actually hid such a big matter from me!”
Gong Tianhao shook his head and said, “It’s not that I hid it from you. Even if I told you, what can be changed? Your grandfather had personally arranged this marriage for you.”
The Jiang family’s grandfather was extremely stubborn and domineering. Even outsiders knew that.
“Plus, I did tell you. If I didn’t, would you be in the capital now?” Gong Tianhao said,
Jiang Tao immediately smiled bitterly.
He said self-deprecatingly, “Is this all a joke to you?” He was trying to pursue Xiao Lingyu, but his family had already arranged a marriage for him. If Xiao Lingyu found out, his hope to be her boyfriend would be dashed.
Gong Tianhao said very seriously, “This is not a joke to me. I think you should deal with this before you can pursue actual happiness. You know very well that the only way for you to reject this marriage is to be more powerful than the emperor of the Jiang Family. Otherwise, you will only bring the others down with you.” Gong Tianhao’s last sentence was light as the wind, but it landed heavily on Jiang Tao’s heart.
Jiang Tao was the eldest young master of the Jiang Family. On the surface, he was the noble crown prince who wielded both power and influence. However, every step of his life was decided by his family since he was born. He didn’t have any freedom, and he couldn’t break free. He could only walk like a walking corpse on the prescribed line. Moreover, he couldn’t make any mistakes. Otherwise, he would be severely punished.
When he was young, he wanted a dog as a pet. However, his grandfather refused him. He thought having pets was a waste of time. Jiang Tao’s time should be spent elsewhere. Jiang Tao was dispirited. He only wanted a dog as company. After all, no one in the family really cared about him. However, he was taught to submit to his grandfather’s will, so there was nothing he could do about it.
One day, on his way back from school, he encountered a stray dog. He secretly took it home and kept it. He was discovered two days later. When Jiang Tao was caught, he was very angry and asked his grandfather, “Why can other people have dogs, but I can’t?”
At that time, his grandfather didn’t say anything to him. He just glanced at him with his sharp eyes and said indifferently, “You want to have a dog, right? I’ll let you keep this one!”
To his surprise, his grandfather really let him keep that dog.
He was extremely happy. He fed it, bathed it daily, and even slept with it at night. In the entire Jiang Family, the dog was his best friend. Those were the happiest days of his childhood.
However, one day, his dog disappeared.
“Young master, the old master invites you over!” The Jiang family’s servant came over and said.
“Where is grandpa?” Little Jiang Tao was impatient. His dog was gone, and he needed to find it.
The servant said, “The old master invites you to the courtyard.”
“Courtyard!” Little Jiang Tao’s little brows furrowed. “Okay!”
When Little Jiang Tao walked to the middle of the courtyard, he saw a piece of dog skin hanging on a tree.
He could tell at a glance that it was his dog.
Because his dog’s fur was completely black, there was a strand of white fur on its head.
He was very surprised and could not believe it as he shouted, “Little Black!”
“Tao ‘Er, you’re back!” Grandfather Jiang sat at the stone table in the courtyard and sipped his tea as he said calmly, “It’s good that you’re back. The dog meat is almost ready. You should eat some to nourish your body!”
2
When he heard his grandfather’s voice, Little Jiang Tao instinctively felt fear. Then, he smelled the fragrance of meat in the air. He turned and noticed an iron stove at the corner of the courtyard. There was firewood placed under it, and there was a pot on top of it. The head chef of the family was stirring the pot with a spatula.
He then noticed the chopping board placed beside the chef. The chopping board that had not been washed was blood red.
He immediately understood what was going on.
He ran to the chef and pushed him away. Then he saw the dog meat in the pot. Little Black’s head was looking at him.
He turned his head and shouted angrily at the chef, “You killed my dog, didn’t you? Why did you kill my dog? Why did you kill my friend? You murderers, how can you be so cruel? Little Black…”
The young Jiang Tao was heartbroken because of Little Black’s sudden death. He did not know who to blame, so he could only blame the chef.
At this moment, Grandfather Jiang spoke again, “Xiao Ma, is the dog meat ready?”
“Sir, it’s ready!”Xiao Ma replied.
“Then get a bowl for the young master to Eat!” Grandfather Jiang immediately ordered. His attitude was very firm.
When Xiao Ma heard this, his scalp immediately tightened. He glanced at the young master, who was crying so hard. His heart weakened. However, he couldn’t resist Master Jiang’s order. Otherwise, he would be in big trouble.
He secretly sighed and turned around to get a bowl of dog meat. However, he made sure only to fill it with broth and small pieces of meat.
Grandfather Jiang raised his eyelids and shouted sternly, “Fill the meat to the brim.”
Xiao Ma had no choice. Then, he handed it to Jiang Tao and said, “Young master, here!”
When Jiang Tao heard that his grandfather wanted him to eat dog meat, he was dumbstruck.
He could not believe his ears. His grandfather wanted him to eat his friend’s meat. Little Black was his friend. How could he eat him?
The bowl of dog meat appeared before him.
He staggered two steps and subconsciously pushed the bowl away. The bowl fell and shattered. The dog meat was scattered all over the ground.
When Xiao Ma saw the broken bowl, he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. ‘At least, the young master won’t be forced to eat the dog meat anymore.’
However…
“Get him another bowl!” Grandfather Jiang ordered again, “Make sure he has to finish one bowl of dog meat!”
Xiao Ma could not resist the order and could only fill another bowl of dog meat.
Jiang Tao cried loudly, “I won’t eat it. I won’t eat it. Little Black is my friend. I won’t eat it.”
Grandfather Jiang stood up. His shrewd and sharp eyes stared at Jiang Tao as he said very sternly, “Jiang Tao, I’m telling you, you will eat it no matter what! This is the consequence of your disobedience! Remember this lesson. If you don’t follow my orders, while I can’t punish you, I will destroy everything that you love, be it human or dog!
1
“Guards, make sure the young master finishes the bowl of dog meat. If he refuses, force it down his throat!”
Then, he left ruthlessly, ignoring his crying eldest grandson.
Whenever Jiang Tao thought of that, his heart would still bleed. He thought the pain had lessened through time, but he was wrong.
Back then, he just wanted a pet dog, but his grandfather skinned his dog, boiled its meat, and forced him to eat it. It was a lesson forever imprinted in his mind.
His grandfather promised to destroy everything he liked if he refused to follow family orders. Jiang Tao was in deep pain. He asked Gong Tianhao. “Tianhao, what do you think I should do? I really like Xiao Lingyu. But, I also know that my grandfather definitely doesn’t like Xiao Lingyu.”
It was because Xiao Lingyu was a peasant girl. She would not bring any benefits to the Jiang Family. Instead, she would drag down the Jiang family and make the Jiang family a laughing stock in the capital. His grandfather would not allow that to happen. Jiang Tao felt like he had returned to that day in the courtyard. He was afraid and lost.
Gong Tianhao frowned. He did not comfort Jiang Tao and said, “Tao Zi, I can’t interfere in the matters of the Jiang Family! But if you involve Xiao Lingyu in the internal affairs of the Jiang family, I will definitely interfere!”
Jiang Tao looked at Gong Tianhao suspiciously and asked sharply, “Why?” He knew that Gong Tianhao never liked to meddle in other people’s business. So this was a very unusual exception. This was very much unlike Gong Tianhao. Therefore, Jiang Tao suspected that Gong Tianhao had also fallen in love with Xiao Lingyu.
Then, Jiang Tao asked, “Tianhao, tell me the truth. Have you also fallen in love with Xiao Lingyu?” Then, Jiang Tao laughed to himself. “Xiao Lingyu is indeed very different. She is beautiful and self-reliant, exuding a unique charm. It is very comfortable being with her. It is precisely because of this comfort that I am deeply fascinated and fall in love with her.”
Gong Tianhao furrowed his brows and said, “I am not interested in her. Plus, she’s your love interest. I won’t fight with you.” However, when he said this, he felt a little uncomfortable.
Jiang Tao immediately heaved a sigh of relief. Then, he asked curiously, “But why did you say that you would interfere?”
Gong Tianhao said plainly, “Because of my grandfather and her family!
“My grandfather likes to eat Auntie Chen’s cooking. Two days ago, when Doctor Huang came back from Taoyuan Village, he told me that my grandfather’s body was getting healthier. His face was glowing red, and he was more energetic than in the capital.
“If he continued in this state, my grandfather would have no problem living for a hundred years. This was all thanks to the care of Xiao Lingyu’s family.
“Secondly, Xiao Lingyu’s family is very harmonious, friendly, warm, and happy. We’ve always admired such a family. So, I want to protect that family from being destroyed!”
Gong Tianhao was telling the truth.
When Jiang Tao heard this, he immediately fell silent.
He lowered his head and clenched his fists as if he was deep in thought. After a moment, he said, “Tianhao, I will definitely not let the Jiang family touch her, and I will also not let the Jiang family destroy that family.”
Even though he only interacted with the Xiao Family for a short period of time, like what Gong Tianhao said, he knew her family was very different from theirs. There was no scheming or fighting for power. It was a very warm and happy small family.
Gong Tianhao nodded slightly, “Tao Zi, you have to remember what you said today. If I find out that the Jiang family is trying to get their hands on Xiao Lingyu, I will definitely interfere! As for you, you need to look after yourself first!”
Jiang Tao nodded. “But Tianhao, can you promise me something?”
“What is it?” Gong Tianhao asked with slight doubt.
“If one day, I really can’t protect Xiao Lingyu anymore, can you protect her and take care of her for me? Can you do that?” Jiang Tao asked very seriously.
Gong Tian’s brows knitted tightly. Seeing Jiang Tao’s serious expression, he nodded and said, “Okay!”