This family dinner was surprisingly harmonious, especially the change in attitude from Uncle’s family towards Ye Cangtian.
Tang Xinwan also seemed to be less prejudiced.
Haitian Pharmaceutical used to be the largest company within the Tang family’s businesses, so it was understandable that Tang Yongchang was jealous of his niece.
Now that the Tang family’s real estate ventures were growing larger, this uncle naturally lost much of his interest in controlling Haitian Pharmaceutical.
The entire jar of aged Bamboo Leaf Green was drained. In his happiness, Uncle drank himself into a stupor and was soon helped back to his room to rest.
The family banquet concluded.
As the servants were tidying up, Old Master Tang looked at Ye Cangtian and Tang Xinwan. "Come to my study for a bit. I have something to discuss with you two!"
"Okay!" Tang Xinwan knew what Grandpa wanted to talk about.
Her trip to Kyoto this time was to find clues about her parents' disappearance, and she hadn't even informed her grandfather beforehand.
It seemed she was in for a scolding from Grandpa today!
The two quickly followed the Old Master to the study.
As expected, after sitting down, Old Master Tang asked with a stern face, "What were you doing going to Kyoto out of the blue?"
Tang Xinwan pouted and didn’t answer.
The Old Master continued, "I know you’re worried about your parents' disappearance, but this matter is not as simple as you imagine!"
Tang Xinwan gritted her teeth. "Grandpa, no matter what, they are my parents. Don't I even have the right to know if they are alive or dead, and what happened to them back then?"
Yes!
For years, Tang Xinwan only knew that her parents were missing, but had no other clues.
She had thought about her parents' disappearance constantly over the years, but due to Haitian Pharmaceutical facing a crisis and her grandfather, the head of the Tang family, falling ill with a strange illness, she was powerless to search for clues.
But things were different now. Her grandfather’s illness had been cured, Haitian Pharmaceutical had gotten back on track, and it was flourishing.
This was why Tang Xinwan had decided to go to Kyoto to investigate. Yet, now her grandfather’s intention was that her trip to Kyoto to investigate clues was wrong?
Ye Cangtian, seeing that the grandfather and granddaughter were about to argue, smiled and said, "Don’t be anxious, Old Master. Xinwan’s trip to Kyoto this time was mainly to establish a branch company there."
Old Master Tang sighed and shook his head. "Don't I know my granddaughter? Establishing a branch company is probably just a way to establish a foothold in Kyoto, making it easier to investigate her parents' affairs later."
Tang Xinwan did not refute this time; that was indeed her plan.
Ye Cangtian gave a dry laugh, realizing the Old Master had already experienced this girl’s stubborn personality.
Old Master Tang looked at Tang Xinwan. "Since you’ve already been to Kyoto, there’s no point in me saying more. You can go out. I want to chat with Ye Cangtian alone!"
Tang Xinwan glanced at Ye Cangtian and then turned to leave the study.
Only Ye Cangtian and the Old Master remained in the study.
The Old Master looked at Ye Cangtian and said, "Xinwan’s trip to Kyoto this time was thanks to you being by her side. However, it’s best not to let her know too much about her parents’ disappearance."
Ye Cangtian couldn't help but ask, "Old Master, did you find something last time?"
The Old Master sighed and shook his head. "I found some leads, but it seems someone didn’t want me to investigate further, which is why I fell ill with that strange disease shortly after!"
Back then, Old Master Tang was also worried about his son and daughter-in-law's safety and went to Kyoto to investigate the clues himself. However, he was ambushed midway and subsequently fell into a coma with a strange illness.
This was something Ye Cangtian had also suspected.
Someone didn't want Old Master Tang to continue investigating, so they secretly planted a Gu poison on him. But why didn't they kill the Old Master?
Suddenly, Ye Cangtian's eyes lit up. He looked at Old Master Tang. "The clues you found, are they related to the Hidden Bureau?"
"You actually know about the Hidden Bureau?" The Old Master was somewhat surprised.
"Not only do I know about the Hidden Bureau, but I also know that my father-in-law is a member of the Hidden Bureau!" Ye Cangtian said with a smile.
He had heard about it from Old Master Xu in the family compound in Kyoto, so he guessed that Tang Xinwan's parents should be members of the Hidden Bureau.
Old Master Tang sighed. "It seems you know quite a bit about Kyoto. That’s right, Qing Shan and his wife are outwardly businessmen, but their true identities are indeed members of the Hidden Bureau."
Very few people knew about this.
Even within the Tang family, apart from the Old Master, not even Uncle Tang Yongchang was aware of it.
Tang Qingshan and his wife went out once a year, ostensibly to investigate markets in other places, but in reality, they were acting secretly as members of the Hidden Bureau.
However, several years ago, after the couple went out, they never returned.
Old Master Tang, having no news from his son for a long time, went to Kyoto to investigate, only to discover that his son and daughter-in-law were missing.
Ye Cangtian pondered for a moment, then said, "Old Master, leave the matter of Xinwan’s parents to me to investigate!"
Old Master Tang hesitated. "But this matter is not that simple."
"Precisely because it’s not simple, only I have the hope of finding clues!" Ye Cangtian said confidently.
He hadn't wanted to get involved in this matter initially. However, he could see now that Tang Xinwan was very persistent about her parents' affairs, and those missing people were his future parents-in-law.
If he didn't investigate, who would?
Moreover, he was now a member of the Dragon Group and had the opportunity to enter the Hidden Bureau at any time. Investigating as a member of the Hidden Bureau would be relatively easier.
Ye Cangtian suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, during the family dinner just now, I heard Uncle say that the family was burgled a few days ago!"
Old Master Tang nodded, then explained, "Yes, we were burgled, but nothing was stolen from the house!"
A few days ago, the Tang family’s old residence was burgled at night, and many places in the house were visited by a thief.
But what was strange was that the thief did not steal a single item.
Ye Cangtian's expression was odd. "If the thief didn't steal anything, either they didn't have time to steal valuables, or their objective was to steal a specific item, and they didn't find it?"
Old Master Tang nodded, then took out something like a half-section of a tree root from his person. He sighed, "I suspect that the thief was after this."
Elixir Root?
Ye Cangtian was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood. This thing was priceless and hard to come by; even a small piece was worth hundreds of millions.
Its effects could be seen from Old Master Tang himself.
Back then, even though the toxins were removed from the Old Master, his bodily functions were almost gone, and his health was very poor.
But after consuming some Elixir Root, his body recovered completely in just one or two months. Now, the Old Master was very robust, and how could outsiders not see it?
Old Master Tang's expression was solemn. "Lately, many people have been inquiring about the Elixir Root in the black market. This item is too precious, so if you still have any, it’s best not to expose it again."
For ordinary people, this was an invaluable treasure medicine that was beyond price.
Last time, at the Old Master's birthday celebration, Ye Cangtian had gifted a piece to the Old Master in front of all the guests. This incident had spread the news of the Elixir Root, naturally attracting the attention of some people.
"I didn't expect this matter to cause trouble for you, Old Master!" Ye Cangtian said with an awkward smile.
"It's nothing!"
Old Master Tang thought for a moment, then said, "I plan to put the remaining portion up for auction."
This was also a way to divert the attention of certain people.
After all, for such a precious treasure medicine as the Elixir Root, obtaining even a piece was incredibly fortunate. Who would have thought that Ye Cangtian actually had more?
Therefore, Ye Cangtian also supported the Old Master's decision to have the Tang family auction the remaining half of the Elixir Root.
He had plenty anyway; he could always give the Old Master another piece another day.