Tang Hongen appeared to be a very refined person.

His gold-rimmed glasses added to his scholarly air.

He wasn’t typically a particularly strict person.

But when he chose to be domineering, no one found it out of character!

“Uncle Tang.”

Xia Xiaolan finally understood why Tang Hongen had come to attend the wedding banquet. Even though he knew Ji Ya would be angry, he still brought her mother along. He wanted to seize this opportunity, and now that Tang Hongen had declared cutting ties with the Ji family, public opinion wouldn’t side with the Ji family… No politician is a fool – it just depends on how they choose to exercise their cunning!

“Let’s go. There’s no point in staying any longer.”

Tang Hongen brushed his sleeve.

Xia Xiaolan wanted to give a hundred likes to this shrewd old Tang.

None of the Ji family members came forward to stop them. After all, the Ji family was proud, and with Tang Hongen making such absolute statements, none of them could bring themselves to lose face.

Only after getting in the car did Liu Fen speak, “Are you serious? What about little Ji?”

Tang Hongen closed his eyes, “I’m grateful to the Ji family for raising him, spending money and effort to nurture him, but I’m afraid Ji Ya will use him to cause trouble. Being my son or being Ji Ya’s son – he’s an adult now, he can choose for himself!”

What did it mean to be Tang Hongen’s son?

He had just said he wouldn’t see any Ji family members again.

If Ji Jiangyuan kept the Ji surname, then he was a Ji family member.

Unless Ji Jiangyuan changed back to his father’s surname.

“Uncle Tang, isn’t this too harsh? Ji Jiangyuan is unlucky and innocent in all this…”

Xia Xiaolan trembled slightly – he wouldn’t even acknowledge his son, and she was supposed to take his place?

Tang Hongen had his plans. He closed his eyes and remained silent. Xia Xiaolan accidentally glimpsed the back seat, where Tang Hongen was tightly holding Liu Fen’s hand.

Xia Xiaolan also kept quiet.

So even Mayor Tang wasn’t as calm and detached as he appeared – this decision wasn’t easy for him either.

Ji Jiangyuan’s choice?

Xia Xiaolan didn’t know how Ji Jiangyuan would choose. He probably couldn’t do what she did – cutting ties with Xia Dajun without hesitation. After all, she had a different core now, what feelings could she have for Xia Dajun?

Born without attachment, never nurtured – Xia Xiaolan could make a clean break.

Ji Jiangyuan’s situation was different. Disapproving Ji Ya’s actions was one thing, but completely abandoning Ji Ya and switching to Tang Hongen’s side seemed unlikely.

Xia Xiaolan fell silent. Halfway through the drive, Tang Hongen spoke up again. He suddenly called out very formally, “Ah Fen,” paused, then continued:

“Today you attended the wedding banquet with me. Many guests there were friends and relatives of the Ji family, not to mention numerous people from Pengcheng government departments. After today, our relationship is officially public. Ah Fen, I’m truly grateful to you. Grateful that despite your dislike of being in the spotlight, you accompanied me to such an occasion. I’m really happy! After Ji Ya stormed off, I had an impulse to ask you in front of everyone if you would marry me, and when… But I dismissed the thought – it would have seemed like forcing marriage on you, which wouldn’t have been right.”

Little Wang almost drove into a utility pole.

He vaguely felt this was another “learning point” that Grandmother Yu had mentioned, but he couldn’t quite grasp its full meaning.

Xia Xiaolan was dumbfounded – what move was this, advancing by retreating? A subtle marriage proposal?!

Liu Fen was indeed a bit startled.

She couldn’t help but think about what if Tang Hongen had asked her about marriage then, in front of Ji Ya and so many others. She definitely wouldn’t have let Tang Hongen lose face… In that case, she would have been forced to agree.

Although Liu Fen hadn’t put a label on this relationship, in her mind, they were just getting started.

If not for Ji Ya sending the wedding invitation, Liu Fen wouldn’t have wanted to go public so dramatically. To talk about marriage was far too early!

“Thank you…”

Liu Fen’s mind was in chaos, and she found herself thanking Tang Hongen.

Thanking him for his consideration, thanking him for his respect.

She didn’t know that Xia Xiaolan in the front seat was mentally shouting “This is a scheme,” but since Tang Hongen hadn’t actually done it and had clearly explained his thoughts, Liu Fen was quite happy.

Unexpectedly, Tang Hongen tightened his grip on her hand:

“I know I can wait patiently, but I also hope I can do better, to make you set aside your concerns and agree sooner. Ah Fen, I can’t give you such a luxurious wedding, but I can earn you respect. Every penny of my salary is clean, and you can spend it with dignity.”

If Tang Hongen wanted to make money, his position as Special District Mayor could let him rake it in – how much could he embezzle? People offering bribes would wear down his doorstep. But once that line was crossed, it would betray the organization’s trust and go against Tang Hongen’s principles and ideals. On a smaller scale, it would keep his family constantly worried, never knowing when everything might fall apart – how could anyone spend such money comfortably?

At Tang Hongen’s level, he didn’t need to spend money on daily expenses, and this benefit extended to his family members.

While they could live more comfortably than ordinary people, anything more luxurious was out of the question.

Liu Fen thought for a moment, “I can earn my own money, I don’t need to spend your salary.”

Tang Hongen held Liu Fen’s hand and smiled. In middle age, Ah Fen still had a child-like heart. Wasn’t this response telling him that although she was hesitant about marriage now, she wasn’t completely against it?

Tang Hongen believed he would soon have a family again.

Xia Xiaolan sat in the passenger seat, wishing she could plug her ears: schemes, these were all schemes!

However, old Tang had led them through the wedding banquet like a lightning operation. Ji Ya’s luxurious wedding celebration had been ruined – how could the banquet continue now? It must be in complete disarray. This truly was a wedding turned chaos!

After this incident, everyone had seen Comrade Old Tang’s temperament.

“Ji Lin, look at this mess!”

“First, we need to calm Ji Ya down. We shouldn’t just stand here – the bride won’t feel comfortable coming out.”

“Then we’ll take our leave. Your family should discuss this properly.”

“Something urgent came up at work, I’m sorry!”

A wedding turned chaos?

Xia Xiaolan’s guess wasn’t wrong.

From the moment Tang Hongen spoke those words and decisively left, this outcome was inevitable.

“Choose Tang or Ji, but not both” – with Tang Hongen’s attitude so resolute, those not particularly close to the Ji family naturally backed away. Not to mention the Ji family’s friends and relatives, but George had invited many people from various Pengcheng departments. Mayor Tang might not know each of them, but what if he remembered their faces?

Stay at the wedding banquet to drink champagne and eat from the buffet. Even dragon meat wouldn’t taste good now!

One by one, they made their excuses and left.

Even the Ji family’s friends and relatives weren’t steadfast – the Ji family truly wasn’t what it used to be. Seeing Ji Ya act this way, everyone found it quite distasteful – so they all rushed to Pengcheng from across the country to attend her wedding, only to be made into fools. With even a tiny bit of respect for the guests, one wouldn’t ruin their wedding like this!

A middle-aged man who knew both the Ji family and Tang Hongen well patted Ji Lin’s shoulder:

“Old Ji, even if you took this to Old Song to complain, the Ji family would still be in the wrong. Your sister pushed Mayor Tang too far!”