CH 139

When Tan Lingyin walked into the reception hall, the first thing she saw was a middle-aged woman sitting upright. Her clothes were luxurious but not ostentatious; she looked well maintained and still retained her feminine grace. However, she was a solemn beauty, making it difficult for others to get close.

Tan Lingyin curtsied, "Greetings, Madam."

Madam Tang nodded.

Tan Lingyin then quickly glanced at Tang Tianyuan, "My lord."

Nominally, Tang Tianyuan was her superior. If she ignored him, it would make things more conspicuous.

Tang Tianyuan smiled slightly at Tan Lingyin, but she didn't see it.

Madam Tang was quietly examining Tan Lingyin. Big eyes, small nose and mouth; her face was shaped like a duck egg. Her skin was clear, and her chin was neither fat nor thin. Madam Tang believed the most difficult facial feature was the chin. If it were too plump, then the face would look too square, and if the chin was too thin, then the whole face would look sickly.

She was a beauty, but she's far from the vixen-like appearance Madam Tang imagined. When Madam Tang had seen enough, she reprimanded Tang Tianyuan, "Are you a fool? Why aren’t you asking her to sit down?"

She was the elder, but he was the host, so it was not unreasonable for her to push this responsibility to Tang Tianyuan. Tang Tianyuan didn't expect his mother to use this trick, but he quickly reacted, "Head Commissioner Tan, please sit down. Xianggua, serve the tea."

Madam Tang was still complaining to Tan Lingyin. "My son is lacking in etiquette, please don’t mind him, Head Commissioner Tan."

Tan Lingyin felt as if the ‘lacking in etiquette’ was actually referring to her. Nethertheless, she thanked Madam Tang and sat down.

Madam Tang studied Tan Lingyin again with a cold gaze. It can be seen that the girl was a little nervous, but she is not timid; her speech and behavior were fairly easy-mannered. In fact, her being nervous was a positive indication. Afterall, she was just a young girl from a merchant family. If she were to remain steady and sophisticated so much as for others to be unable to read her mood; that would be much more frightening.

After Tan Lingyin sat down, she didn't know what to say. She felt that nothing she could say would be good; her very existence seemed to be at fault. For a maiden to work as a head commissioner at a county government office would indicate she dealt with men every day. This should be deemed as improper in the eyes of a noble lady like Madam Tang.

Yes, the more she spoke, the more mistakes she’ll make. And so, Tan Lingyin decided to speak as little as possible.

Madam Tang suddenly let out a soft exclamation.

Tan Lingyin followed her surprised gaze and saw Tang Tang prancing in. She left Tang Tang at the door when she arrived, so he may have accidentally been let in while the servants had come and gone.

Tang Tang headed straight towards Tan Lingyin's feet. He lowered his head and nudged her calf. Where’s the meat?!

Sensing Madam Tang's suspicious gaze, Tan Lingyin blushed. She wished she didn't know Tang Tang at this moment. Tan Lingyin moved her foot slightly, trying to avoid Tang Tang, but didn't expect Tang Tang to chase after her foot. After realizing that nudging her calf had no effect, Tang Tang dropped to the ground and rolled around.

——Surely he could be fed now, right?

Food! Food!

Madam Tang asked Tan Lingyin, "How did you raise the cat so big?"

Tan Lingyin didn't know if she should tell the truth. She glanced at Tang Tianyuan.

Tang Tianyuan casually said, "Mother, Tang Tang was born big and dumb."

"Tang Tang? Who named it?"

Tang Tianyuan smiled, "Your son did, naturally. Who else would dare to give a small pet the surname of the great magistrate of this county?"

Madam Tang laughed. ‘Great magistrate of this county.’ How did he become like this after becoming a county magistrate? Was this really her son?

The atmosphere was no longer as tense as before. Tan Lingyin didn't chase Tang Tang away. She watched it roll around on the ground a few more times, trying to beg for food.

Madam Tang asked again, "Why does it keep rolling? Does it have parasites?"

No need for parasites, this lion was already one. Tang Tianyuan thought to himself.

Tan Lingyin explained, "It's hungry."

"Then why don't you feed it?" Mrs. Tang said with some reproach in her tone.

Tan Lingyin had long been prepared to be disliked by Madam Tang, her small peeve was nothing. So Tan Lingyin replied apologetically, "It was indeed my negligence. Because I came out in a hurry, I ignored Tang Tang. I should have prepared meals for it in advance."

Tang Tianyuan said, "Mother, you don't know how picky Tangtang is. It only eats cooked meat, preferably braised pork just out of the pan." His light explanation helped appease Tan Lingyin’s situation.

Madam Tang smiled, "I don't believe it." She naturally knew what her son meant by saying this, so she looked at Tan Lingyin again, "Head Commissioner Tan, what do you think?"

Tan Lingyin could neither lie nor agree with Tang Tianyuan, so she could only say, "Actually, accommodating for its food is not a problem. What worries me is that it would rather catch birds than mice."

"If cats are fed enough, they will naturally refuse to catch mice," Madam Tang said. She then ordered the woman servant beside her, "Go and bring the mongolian dried meat over." Although she said she didn't believe his son, it seemed that she did believe him.

The servant came back after a while. When she handed it over Madam Tang looked at Tang Tianyuan, "This was supposed to be for you."

Tan Lingyin covered her mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.

Madam Tang personally broke off the dried meat and fed Tang Tang.

Tang Tang has long practiced the shamelessness act of dropping all formalities to whoever gave it food. He bolted over like a dog, not forgetting to act like a spoiled child to Madam Tang while eating. Madam Tang sighed, "The more I look, the more it looks like a dog."

Madam Tang was feeding Tang Tang while talking to Tan Lingyin, though it was mostly her asking the questions. She didn't ask anything too personal. Tan Lingyin thought she was going to embarrass it, but when she thought about it, she realized that she was overthinking. 

In front of so many people, the more faults she had, the worse Tang Tianyuan's vision would be. It wouldn’t be good if rumors were to spread because of it. A mother would naturally consider her son when acting upon situations like these.

However, from her gaze and tone, Tan Lingyin could feel that she didn't like her.