novelraw Chapter 549 - 548: The First Order Heir (Part 1)
Chapter 549 - 548: The First Order Heir (Part 1)
Le Tong’s mind was already filled with a jumble of things, and these things were so disorganized that they were hard to sort out in a short time. Adding anything more would only create more chaos.Moreover, Le Tong wasn’t sure if her current state on the verge of collapse could bear the history of her father.
"I don’t want to listen..."
Le Tong turned her face away from the Old Master because she was afraid to see his wrinkled face full of deep sorrow, which would soften her heart.
She wasn’t cold-hearted, but she also didn’t want to force herself.
Before Baobao and Ji Rui occupied significant places in her heart, her father and mother each held half the space in her heart.
The rejected Old Master had eyes full of disappointment, which Yang Sheng, as an observer, noticed.
At this moment, if he really had to pick a side, it would indeed make things difficult for him.
For Yang Sheng, both the Old Master and Le Tong were like the palm and the back of his hand.
Though he found the Old Master infuriating, the old man’s hateful moments had endearing qualities too, and after all, wasn’t he his grandfather?
As for Le Tong, even when he didn’t know of their blood relationship earlier, he would risk offending his life-and-death brother Ji Rui to protect her. Now, knowing she is the daughter of his most respected uncle, Le Tong is the little sister he most wants to cherish. Seeing her in pain also brings him sorrow.
Unable to satisfy both sides, but unwilling to see either of them upset, Yang Sheng hesitated for a while before deciding to use a delaying tactic.
He leaned down to speak softly into the old man’s ear, "Grandfather, if you don’t want what happened to Uncle years ago to repeat, don’t push Tongtong too much now."
The Old Master paused, gazing absent-mindedly at the back of Le Tong’s head for a moment before nodding with difficulty.
"Alright then..."
The old man helplessly turned to look at the two lawyers on the left, "Xiao Zhang, since those two reports have already been verified, you should now include Tongtong as my primary heir. She has both the primary and secondary inheritance rights."
In principle, as a granddaughter, even with rights to the Yang Family inheritance, Le Tong is a secondary heir. The Old Master’s decision meant transferring the inheritance that belonged to her father under her name too.
For most people, such a blessing falling unexpectedly from the sky would be ecstatic enough to drive them mad with joy.
But Le Tong acted as if she hadn’t heard a word from the Old Master.
It wasn’t that she was sulking intentionally with the Old Master; rather, she just didn’t care about these things. Just like the recent transfer of assets from Ji Rui, to her, it wasn’t a pleasant surprise but a burden carrying someone’s intentions.
She didn’t know, though, how surprised Yang Sheng was when the Old Master specifically instructed him to call the lawyers that morning.
"Grandfather, aren’t you afraid they will cause trouble again by adding an heir privately, especially a primary one?"
"Afraid? Most of Yang Family’s achievements were built by me. I can give them to whoever I wish! What does it concern them?!"
"But..."
"There’s no ’but.’ Is there anything else that these old bones of mine can’t bear?" The Old Master grew increasingly resolute.
However, what Yang Sheng couldn’t vocalize was not what the Old Master thought it was. He wanted to say, "But these aren’t what Tongtong wants! What she wants is likely what you can’t give, nor afford to give!"
The scene at hand perfectly confirmed Yang Sheng’s unspoken prediction.
The Old Master looked at Le Tong, whose expression showed apathy, even devoid of the most basic courtesy of appearing pleased, leaving him filled with a complicated mix of joy and sorrow.
Sorrow was realizing that as an old man, apart from the wealth he still held, he had nothing else to offer to make his treasured granddaughter happy or as compensation.
Joy was knowing this treasured granddaughter was unlike her money-grubbing uncles and cousins, having completely inherited her father’s pride, indifferent to his wealth.
The lawyer swiftly followed the Old Master’s instructions and drafted a file on his laptop, handing it to the old man.
Without even glancing at it, the Old Master handed it directly to Yang Sheng, "Sheng, take a look and see if there’s anything to add."
Yang Sheng read through it earnestly and returned it, "Grandfather, it’s all listed as you wished."
The Old Master didn’t take it back, motioning with his mouth towards Le Tong, "Let the girl look at it, see if she has any opinions or thoughts. Anything suitable can be added."
The Old Master’s lenient stance on this document and accommodating attitude towards Le Tong astounded not only the present doctors and lawyers but even Yang Sheng and Ji Rui couldn’t conceal their surprise.
Yang Sheng, the only one in the know, was the fastest to fathom the old man’s mindset.
It’s apparent that his grandfather’s feelings of guilt and remorse towards his uncle run much deeper than anyone, including the grandfather himself, realized. Deep enough to let Le Tong amend his will at her whim.
Yet, Le Tong, on the receiving end of the Old Master’s goodwill, had no intention of accepting it.
Looking at the document Yang Sheng held out to her, Le Tong showed no desire to take it but simply said to Yang Sheng, "Senior brother, you know I don’t need these!"
The Old Master’s heart sank. His greatest skill, or rather his only skill in this life, was making money.
All his relationships could practically be managed and resolved with money with a mere wave of his hand.
But his treasured granddaughter dismissed the only thing he had left worth offering without even blinking...
Then what could he use to earn her forgiveness? What could he use to redeem himself for the wrongs committed against his youngest son?
"Tongtong..." The Old Master could only mutter softly in a humbling tone he had never used in his life, calling out to the granddaughter who carried his youngest son’s blood.
Le Tong looked up, meeting the Old Master’s face, which seemed to have aged ten years in an instant.
The eyes which, yesterday, were sharp and bright, were now filled with overwhelming guilt and unfulfilled sorrow.
Le Tong’s nose involuntarily tingled; if she weren’t his granddaughter, she might have deemed the old man pitiful.
But knowing her father’s trials and tribulations in life were indirectly gifted by this old man, she found it impossible to persuade herself to calmly accept this sudden family connection and immense wealth.