Chapter 15  : Young and Easy to Influence

After Li Xiangrong and Xu Mingzhen chatted some more, Li Xiangrong took Wei Keli back.

Li Xiangrong returned to her seat without saying a word, then sighed.

She knew that the Tan family had already dispelled the idea of pushing Wei Keli and Tan Mo as childhood sweethearts or letting them be together in the future.

Li Xiangrong’s heart was full of pity.

Tan Mo was a particularly good candidate for a daughter-in-law.

She knew everything about her, and, more importantly, there was a good relationship between the two families.

Tan Mo was also the only daughter in the family and was very much loved.

That’s why in the beginning, the Tan family focused on Wei Keli, probably because they knew each other and the two families were close. The Tan family could confidently entrust Tan Mo to them.

Li Xiangrong also pondered over it. The friendship between her and Xu Mingzhen aside, Tan Mo’s dowry would definitely be substantial in the future, considering how pampered she was by her parents and three brothers.

It might be even larger than that of many big families.

If the family was big and there were many children, the daughter might not necessarily get many things for herself.

But Tan Mo was different.

If Wei Keli encountered any difficulties in the future, Tan Mo’s brothers wouldn’t idly stand by.

Although Wei Keli was born to the Wei family, there were too many children in their clan. The Wei family belonged to Wei Zhiqian and his children in the future. Thus, Wei Keli wouldn’t get his turn.

Wei Zhiqian was Wei Keli’s father’s cousin, and they didn’t have the same grandparents.

Today’s birthday party was for Old Madam Wei, who gave birth to three sons.

Wei Zhijian’s father was the second son of Old Madam Wei, and Wei Zhiqian’s father was the third son of Old Madam Wei.

There was a cousin above Wei Zhijian, Wei Zhigong, whose father was the eldest son of Old Madam Wei.

It could be said that his relationship with Wei Keli was even more distant.

If they really were to compare it, Wei Keli’s family background was actually worse than Tan Mo’s.

When he looked for a wife in the future, he couldn’t find anyone as suitable as Tan Mo.

Li Xiangrong had to plan for Wei Keli’s future, so she had her sights set on Tan Mo early on.

Who knew that this kid was so foolish!

He ruined what could have been a good marriage.

Wei Zhijian held Li Xiangrong’s hand and said in a low voice, “Now, both children are still young. Tan Mo is only six years old, so there is still time for Keli to re-establish the relationship between them. To be blunt, she’s a young girl and easy to influence. Let Keli charm her. In the future, if Tan Mo wants to, with her parents’ and brothers’ love for her, they will have no choice but to agree. You don’t have to be discouraged so early on.”

Li Xiangrong thought about it and only then did she feel better again. Yes, there was still much time.

***

Yuan Keqing didn’t have an invitation card, so the hotel naturally did not arrange a seat for her in advance.

There were name cards on the table, and the seats were limited.

Yuan Keqing saw that Tan Mo was arranged to go to the main table, and, once again, she was consumed with envy.

Why did Tan Mo have such good luck? She was bullied by the Qin sisters and had no power to fight them back. However, with her seemingly innocent questions, she threw the Qin sisters under the bus, and she got to go to the main table and be seated with the Wei family.

However, Tan Mo’s original seat was unoccupied.

Yuan Keqing had no place to sit, but she could occupy Tan Mo’s seat.

Although it felt like she was taking Tan Mo’s leftovers, Yuan Keqing could only endure the disgust. She had no choice.

Just as she was about to sit down, she was stopped by Tan Jinyi. “What are you doing?”

Yuan Keqing stood up and put the chair back in place. She turned her head to face Tan Jinyi’s displeased face.

“This is Mo Mo’s seat.” Tan Zhiyi stretched out his hand and pulled Tan Mo’s chair toward him.

Yuan Keqing, who was still holding the chair for support, almost tumbled to the floor.

Tan Jinsheng quickly caught Yuan Keqing to help her stand firm.

Yuan Keqing was pale with shock. “Thank you, Second Brother.”

Tan Jinsheng said coldly, “I’m just afraid that if you fall, people will see and think we are bullying you.”

If there was no one around, he wouldn’t bother to care how badly Yuan Keqing fell.

Yuan Keqing was about to cry from anger. These brothers were bullies!

She was their younger sister, and even if she was a cousin, they were still related by blood.

Why didn’t they like her?

With tears in her eyes, Yuan Keqing anxiously explained, “I don’t have a seat. I was thinking, since Mo Mo went to the main table, there’s no one in her seat...”

“So you came to sit here?” Raising his chin and staring at Yuan Keqing coldly, Tan Jinyi held Tan Mo’s seat tightly. “This seat is for Mo Mo. Even if she doesn’t sit here, we must keep it for her. Even if this seat is empty, no one can sit here. No one.”

Tan Jinqi then joined, “It’s not just a seat, a chair. All things, as long as they belong to Mo Mo, even if she doesn’t want them or throws them away, others shouldn’t even think about getting them.”

Yuan Keqing’s heart was filled with anguish.

Was she someone who gladly took others’ rubbish?

Was she so lowly that she would pick up things that Tan Mo didn’t want?

Clearly, the three brothers were referring to her when they said ‘others’.

She was the same age as Tan Mo, but why were they so unfair to her?

“You came here uninvited,” Tan Jinsheng said matter-of-factly. “That’s why you have no seat.”

Yuan Keqing couldn’t hold it back any longer. Crying, she turned around to find Xu Mingzhen. “Auntie, can’t I sit in Mo Mo’s chair?”

Afraid that Xu Mingzhen would agree, Tan Jinsheng hurriedly said, “Mom, what if Mo Mo comes back in a while? If her seat was given to someone else, where would Mo Mo sit?

“Can’t my cousin still go back to the main table and sit?” It wasn’t that Tan Mo didn’t have a place to sit.

“This is not her seat.” Tan Jinqi straightened Tan Mo’s chair.

To prevent Yuan Keqing from sitting down, Tan Jinyi pulled Tan Mo’s chair.

“I’ll find you another seat.” Xu Mingzhen patted Yuan Keqing on the shoulder and gave her a tissue. “Mo Mo’s seat is reserved for her, and she will sit there when she comes back.”

Xu Mingzhen called over a staff, who added another chair and a set of tableware for Yuan Keqing.

Yuan Keqing finally sat down.

She looked at the tableware placed in front of her at the last minute, and the distance to the tableware on both sides was closer. It was obvious they were placed there at the last minute, and that made her seem like an additional guest, not originally invited.

She lowered her head, and her face was full of envy.

Even if it was a chair or a set of tableware, as long as it belonged to Tan Mo, even if she was not there, Yuan Keqing couldn’t have it.

It was too much!

***

Tan Mo sat next to Wei Zhiqian, and, from a distance, she saw Yuan Keqing crying. She was always crying these days.

She turned in another direction and saw Qin Murong being comforted by others.