Chapter 322: The Culprit

Meanwhile, in the Tang family’s old residence.

According to the rules set by their ancestors, on every New Year’s day, regardless of whether it was the main family or the branch family, everyone had to rush here to participate in a family meeting. Then they would take stock of the profits from the previous year and distribute the year-end dividends. However, the originally joyous atmosphere had fallen to a freezing point at this moment!

Everyone sitting at the long table did not look too good. Some of them even had distorted expressions. Those who did not know better would probably think that they were attending a funeral!

However, everyone present knew very well that even though the outside world had been spreading rumors that the Tang family was gradually declining, the money they received was at least several times higher than the salary that ordinary people earned in a year, but this year, it was the lowest in history! In fact, they were almost on par with those ordinary company executives. What was the point of that?!

They had always been proud of their status as members of the Tang family, but now, they couldn’t wait to get rid of their relationship with the family! If this were to spread, how could they survive in the circle? When those people saw them, they would probably start talking about how poor the Tang family was now. They were so poor that they were about to lose their capital!

And the source of all this was because of the few emerging industries that the Tang family had focused on developing last year. Smart cars, smartphones, smart homes, all of them were losing money! What kind of concept was this? No matter how rich the Tang family was, they couldn’t withstand such setbacks! On the contrary, the Lu Ming Corporation was earning as much as they were losing!

They were completely no match for their competitor!

In addition, they had suffered heavy losses, one after another, and their vitality was greatly damaged. In fact, they had invested in a few pillar industries like real estate and energy development but a project worth nearly billions had failed because of Lu Ming! This caused everyone to suppress their anger and wait for the moment to explode!

…

It was spring today. The sun was hanging high in the sky, but it could not shine into the old residence.

Tang Wenyi, who had arrived late, had specially put on exquisite makeup. She draped a mink coat over her shoulders and slowly walked out from upstairs. Instantly, everyone’s gazes turned to her. There was dissatisfaction and resentment.

These negative emotions were like a cold wind that pierced into her bones. It was very uncomfortable!

It was obvious that they all regarded the incompetent Tang Wenyi as the culprit and… a punching bag. However, the protagonist who had just woken up did not notice this at all. She was only wondering why these people were looking at her with increasingly unfriendly gazes. She did not seem to have done anything recently, right?

She was forced to copy Buddhist scriptures in her room.

At the thought of this, she felt her right hand begin to ache again. Ever since she had angered the old man to the point of fainting, she had been grounded. It was useless even if she mentioned Yang Shuhai! Moreover, she had to copy Buddhist scriptures non-stop. Just as she was about to rest, the sharp-eyed Butler He would force her to continue writing! It was simply a hellish nightmare!

This made her wonder—why did she have to run back to the capital? Perhaps staying in Shanghai would at least be better than now!

Just as she was immersed in her own world, a woman in a long red coat and heavy makeup said sarcastically, “Yoho! The great hero of our Tang family is finally here? And is she the finale? Why? Are you busier than us? Recently, we’ve been busy maintaining the stability of the Tang family, but what have you done? I think you’re so free!”

“I don’t know how you can be so shameless. If you come any later, would you have come in with the old man? You’re just a hooligan without any real power. Do you really think you’re someone important? We’ve heard about the stupid things you did in Shanghai. If the old man hadn’t been soft-hearted and found someone to bring you back, do you think you would still be standing here?”

“That’s right! In the end, it’s just because we all have the Tang family’s bloodline. If it were me, I would have let you die outside! Do you know that you’re famous in the upper-class society now? At the mention of the Tang family, who doesn’t know someone like you? Not only did you cheat your teammates, you even dragged the Tang family down! Tang Wenyi, look at how capable you are!”

…

These people were all talking at the same time about Tang Wenyi. Although they were saying that she had made a great contribution, even a fool could tell from their tone that they were being sarcastic. However, all she had done was sleep in. In the past, when she did this, their reaction didn’t seem to be as intense as now.

Tang Wenyi stood rooted to the ground, not knowing what to do. She tried to explain, “I-I didn’t do it on purpose. I was praying for Old Master last night and copied the Buddhist scriptures until midnight. I-I accidentally overslept. I didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

“Ha.”

Tang Rongrong calmly took a sip of tea and said, “Even your breathing is wrong now. If you hadn’t caused trouble outside, the Tang family would have returned to its peak this year. But now, we have to save money in case of emergencies. Do you still think you’re not wrong?”

Tang Wanxi nodded in agreement and said, “Fourth Sister is right! I think you were the one who was not doing well and couldn’t bear to see us lead a good life. The Tang family lost so much money because of you! If you didn’t provoke Lu Ming Corporation, why would those people change sides and help them deal with us?”

“No. 3, you’re not innocent.”

Tang Nishang gathered her coat and said, “Now, everyone in the capital is laughing at us in the open and in the dark. You also know that the reason why we sisters can live well is because we have the backing of the Tang family, a famous family. But now that the family is getting worse every year, do you think we can still live a peaceful life?

Not to mention other uncles and aunts from the branch families.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Yajing, who was leaning against the back of her chair not far away, stared at No. 3 with a faint smile and said, “Third Sister, you’ve made a good start this time. If the others follow suit, do you think the Tang family will still be able to live until tomorrow? You’ve used these despicable tricks on others time and time again. Do you really think Lu Ming is a fool?”

She paused for a moment and continued, “He manages so many companies under him, so how can he be an ordinary person? I remember an old saying. You can’t carve something out of rotten wood, and you can’t build a wall out of dung. Since you’re not smart, do you think others are the same as you?

Now, as long as it’s someone the Tang family wants to cooperate with, Lu Ming will snatch him away without hesitation. I’ve lived for so long, but this is the first time I’ve seen the family business run so poorly. You’ve contributed greatly to this! Our New Year’s Day is filled with worries. Perhaps Lu Ming, who’s far away in Shanghai, is still thanking you for helping him again and again!”