Princess Promotion

Chapter 142: Legitimate and Concubine Status

An Tian sat in the bumpy carriage, but she felt surprisingly calm.

I didn't expect that I would be able to enter the official career so smoothly.

At the same time, An Tian realized that he had to resolve a potential crisis.

If she were still a businessman, any move by the An family would not be a concern for her.

But now, she must deal with this hidden danger.

An Tian spoke slowly, her voice filled with unquestionable determination: "Go to the An Mansion and ask Zhou Pojun and the others to come as well."

When the driver heard the order, he immediately responded respectfully: "I will do it right away, sir."

After the words fell, the coachman waved the whip, and the carriage slowly changed direction and drove towards the An Mansion.

The carriage slowly stopped in front of the vermilion lacquer gate of the An Mansion, and the wheels made a slight friction sound on the bluestone slabs.

An Tian stared at the familiar door through the car window, feeling a complex emotion in her heart.

Zhou Pojun was already waiting outside the door with many guards when they saw An Tian's carriage arrive.

An Tian lifted the curtain of the carriage to signal Zhou Pojun, who immediately turned around and knocked on the door of An's mansion.

The gatekeeper of the An Mansion had never seen such a scene before. A look of panic appeared on his face. He retreated repeatedly and turned around to run into the mansion to report the news.

An Wenbo was reading ancient books in his study. When he heard the news that An Tian had suddenly returned, his hands trembled slightly.

He put down the ancient book in his hand, stood up, and his expression was complicated and difficult to read.

The news that An Tian had entered the court as an official had spread throughout the streets and alleys of the imperial capital. An Wenbo naturally also knew that An Tian was currently a third-rank official of the Sansi Envoy.

And he himself is only a sixth-rank official. It can be said that no one in the An family's ancestors has ever reached An Tian's level.

If this third-rank official position was given to any of his sons or nephews in the An family, the An family would definitely have smoke rising from their ancestral graves and hold a grand banquet for three days and three nights to comfort their ancestors.

Now An Wenbo has no joy at all, only fear and anxiety.

He is not a fool and cannot see the situation clearly. He had such a quarrel with his daughter back then. Now An Tian has gained power and has come to the An Mansion with a grand group of guards.

Although I don’t know why An Tian came here this time, it’s definitely not a good thing.

An Tian slowly got off the carriage, her eyes met Zhou Pojun's. There was no need for many words between the two of them, everything was implied.

Zhou Pojun nodded slightly, indicating that everything was ready.

An Tian took a deep breath, straightened her clothes, and then walked towards the door.

In the main hall, An Wenbo and Madam An sat at the head seats, while Aunt Liu served them beside them. The atmosphere seemed a bit heavy.

An Tian's eyes swept across the hall, but she didn't see An Qing. A sneer flashed in her eyes.

"Where is An Qing?" An Tian's voice echoed in the hall.

An Tian taunted, "When we were at the Zhao residence, you treated me like your sister, but now that you see me back, you don't even come out to greet me?"

Over the years, the open and covert struggles between her and An Qing have never stopped. Now that she has returned to power, An Qing will definitely stay away from An Tian.

Moreover, although the fact that An Tian extorted Zhao Wanqing's dowry had not been spread widely, many people knew about it.

Mrs. An said with an embarrassed look on her face, "An Qing has been feeling unwell lately. He caught a cold and just drank some tranquilizers and fell asleep."

An Tian uttered an "oh" and didn't seem to care about Mrs. An's explanation. She said calmly, "Then bring her up. I want to take a look."

Madam An's expression turned even uglier as she slammed the table and stood up, saying, "Don't go too far. I am your mother no matter what. Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're an official. Filial piety alone shouldn't prevent you from disobeying your elders."

An Wenbo frowned slightly, but he just drank his tea silently without saying a word.

When An Tian heard this, it was as if she had heard a joke. Her laughter was like a silver bell, clear and pleasant, but it concealed a sharp edge.

"Father! Do you think so too?" An Tian asked An Wenbo in a soft voice.

An Wenbo didn't answer An Tian directly, but changed the subject, saying, "You didn't come here to reminisce about the past. Just be frank!"

An Tian had a hint of smile on her lips, and said in a gentle voice, "I believe you also know that your daughter has just entered the official career, and there can be no mistakes in the officialdom. I am sure your father feels the same way!"

An Wenbo naturally heard the threat in An Tian's words. If an official breaks with his family or causes any scandal, it will have a great impact on his career.

An Tian almost said directly that the An family would hold her back and asked for benefits from An Tian.

An Wenbo was silent for a moment. He looked An Tian over, then slowly said, "So you must sever your father-daughter relationship with me and have no further contact with me."

An Tian chuckled and said, "Father, you are a little naive. My last name is An. Even if we have severed our relationship, people who don't know the truth can infer that we are father and daughter just by looking at the word An."

An Tian's voice gradually turned cold as she said, "Unless there is no An family in the world anymore!"

An Wenbo couldn't help but shudder, beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, his pupils dilated instantly, and his eyes were filled with fear and panic.

An Wenbo couldn't believe that An Tian was so cruel.

An Tian turned to Zhou Pojun and instructed, "Go to the backyard and send An Qing off to the west. Father and mother are too sad to see their son die young, so they are retiring and returning home."

Zhou Pojun stepped forward and accepted the order, "Yes, sir!"

An Tian added considerately: "Be careful not to cause any wounds, so that it looks like he died of illness."

Aunt Liu couldn't stand it any longer, and tremblingly said to stop her: "An Tian, how could you become so cruel and crazy, even your own relatives..."

An Tian raised her eyes and interrupted, "You are just a concubine, you are not worthy to talk to me, get out!"

Aunt Liu's tears kept flowing out, and she sobbed and couldn't believe that An Tian would speak to her like this.

Seeing Zhou Pojun really walking towards the backyard, Madam An was so anxious that she no longer cared about etiquette and shouted, "An Tian, if you dare to touch An Qing, I will not let you go even if I become a ghost."

An Tian: "Then you'll probably have to queue up. After all, the entire Meng family is queuing up in the underworld waiting for me!"

As soon as the words fell, both Aunt Liu's crying and Madam An's scolding stopped abruptly.

A gust of wind blew by, and everyone except An Tian felt the chill in the main hall.

An Wenbo stroked his forehead and asked weakly, "What exactly do you want? Will you let the An family go?"

He looked up at An Tian and said, "If the An family had no use to you, you wouldn't have come here today. Instead, you would have asked your men to deal with the An family directly."

From the moment An Tian rose to become a third-rank official, the An family was like an ant that could be crushed at any time in An Tian's eyes.

An Tian raised his hand to stop Zhou Pojun from heading to the backyard, and said with a smile: "Father, I have everything I need now, except a clean family background."

Mrs. An sneered disdainfully, "You are still innocent," but was stopped by An Wenbo's eyes.

An Wenbo couldn't help but sit up straighter: "Do you want to be a legitimate daughter under the name of your stepmother?"

An Tian: "If I want to be the legitimate daughter of someone, with my current status, I still look down on the An family. I want the real legitimate daughter status."

An Wenbo didn't react for a moment. An Tian came here to get rid of her status as a concubine's daughter, but how could she become a real legitimate daughter? She couldn't be reborn again.

An Tian glanced at Concubine Liu and Madam An and said, "My sister An Qing and I were born only a few days apart. Concubine Liu gave birth to An Qing back then."

"Because I was jealous of my mother and wanted to give An Qing a better future, I bribed the midwife and had us switched."

Aunt Liu looked at An Tian in disbelief, her hands trembling constantly: "An Tian, even if you have many complaints and are unwilling to recognize me as your biological mother, you shouldn't slander your own mother with empty words."

Madam An stood up angrily and said, "You are climbing the social ladder, so ungrateful that you don't even recognize your own mother. Are you still a human being?"

An Tian was not disturbed and said, "Mrs. Liu has been in contact with An Qing privately over the years, and An Qing also knows that Mrs. Liu is her biological mother."

An Tian walked to the window, her fingers unconsciously sliding lightly on the windowsill: "An Qing has been living in fear and jealousy all these years. She is afraid that her identity will be discovered, so she has been targeting me since she was a child."

"As they grew older, An Qing and Concubine Liu became increasingly restless. If you walk by the river too often, you'll get your feet wet. One day, I overheard them having a secret conversation."

An Tian pulled out a handkerchief and gently wiped the dust from her fingertips. "So, in order to drive me out of the An Mansion, Concubine Liu and An Qing were afraid that the truth would be revealed. They conspired with An Qing to drug me, causing me to lose my innocence and be kicked out of the house."

An Tian said in a very slow tone, "From then on, An Qing took over my position, and I became a prostitute. Everything I did was just to seek justice. It was An Qing and Concubine Liu who forced me to do this."

An Tian looked at An Wenbo, her tone gentle as if she was asking about something perfectly normal, "Father, what do you think of my script?"

Although An Tian had a seemingly gentle smile on her lips, she inadvertently revealed a chilling madness.