22. Standing while being responsible

Leaving the courtyard, Leng Sa walked towards her home in a cheerful mood, calculating how much of her assets she had left to spend. When she had first woken up, Leng Sa couldn't believe that she, as the Third Young Lady Leng who was engaged to the Fourth Young Master of the Fu family, could be so poor. Besides a few pieces of jewelry and a small amount of private savings, she had almost nothing.

Fortunately, as the heiress of a wealthy family with a business background, her instincts hadn't been completely eroded by her years as a sniper.

She had borrowed some money from her parents and pawned some jewelry. During her time at school, she collaborated with Bai Xi and others to gradually build up a small fortune over the years. However, she earned as much as she spent, and now, all her savings amounted to less than 20,000 yuan. Giving more than 10,000 yuan to Liao Yunting at once was a bit painful for her.

Moreover, she knew that this sum of 10,000 yuan would likely not be enough for Liao Yunting to continue his research on the airplane he had in mind. He would need a significant amount of funding in the later stages.

After all… she was just one of the five people who had been deceived by Liao Yunting, not some chosen one.

But Leng Sa felt that this investment couldn't be reduced; on the contrary, she needed to provide strong support. Liao Yunting was indeed someone with ideas, capabilities, and a degree of reliability.

In this world, not only scientists wanted to reach the skies—she wanted to as well.

After calculating her assets, Leng Sa thought that she could temporarily ignore Liao Yunting and let him fend for himself. She would wait for an opportunity to recruit more talent, preferably partnering with a wealthy individual. Otherwise, her seemingly penniless small investment would not attract any other talents other than Liao Yunting, whose research had failed four times, and was being chased and beaten.

Having spent more time outside than usual, she returned home well past dinner time.

As soon as she walked through the gates of the Leng Residence, Jin Lan, who had been waiting there, approached her with a worried expression. "Miss, why did you come back late?"

Leng Sa raised an eyebrow. "Is something wrong?" She occasionally returned late, and if nothing unusual had happened, Jin Lan should have gotten used to it by now.

She leaned in closer to Leng Sa and whispered, "The Xiao family has sent someone."

"The Xiao family?" Leng Sa paused for a moment. "You mean the Xiao family from the capital, Leng Mingshu's…"

Jin Lan nodded repeatedly. "Yes, Fourth Young Lady's fiancé."

Leng Sa was somewhat surprised. Although Leng Mingshu had been engaged to the Xiao family since childhood, the Xiao family had always been distant. After all, the Leng family was no longer what it used to be, and there were hardly any benefits for the Xiao family's descendants to marry a girl from the Leng family. Leng Sa often wondered why the Xiao family had chosen to engage with the Leng family in the first place. If Leng Sa had not been engaged to the Fu family later on, the Xiao family would probably have forgotten about Leng Mingshu.

Why would the Xiao family come now?

"Old Master wants you to meet the guests when you are back," Jin Lan whispered.

Leng Sa frowned and said. "Duke Xiao is here too?" If it were 20 to 30 years ago, that person from the Xiao family could have been considered the 'Son of a Duke', but in the present day, with the reduction of members in the royal family, even those from duke families had no titles. As a form of respect, others would refer to him as Young Master Xiao, but to inherit the title, he would have to wait for his father to pass away.

"No, only Young Master Xiao and a few of his men came," Jin Lan replied.

Leng Sa contemplated for a moment and nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll go and meet them." The fact that the Xiao family's representatives had come to Yong City at this time didn't seem like they were here for wedding preparation. Their intentions were worth investigating.

"Grandfather."

As she stepped into the hall, she heard hearty laughter. The usually stern and imposing Old Master Leng seemed to be in a good mood.

Seated at the lower end of the room was a young man in his twenties. He had his hair cut short, a well-groomed appearance and still wearing a plain silk long robe. He exuded an air of elegance and grace.

Across from him sat a young woman dressed in an old-fashioned embroidered jacket and skirt adorned with butterfly motifs. Her face was lightly made up. Although she sat gracefully and composed, there was a hint of a blush on her cheeks, and she appeared joyful.

Upon seeing Leng Sa enter, the young man who had been conversing with Old Master Leng turned to the door. Then he smiled at Old Master Leng and said, "Elder Leng, is this the Third Young Lady?"

Old Master Leng glanced at Leng Sa and said, "Indeed, it's the good-for-nothing third daughter of my second son."

The young man smiled and said, "Elder Leng, you're being modest. I've heard that the Third Young Lady entered An Lan University at the age of 15, becoming the youngest student at that time. Indeed, the apple doesn't fall from the tree."

Old Master Leng shook his head. "Why would a girl run off to study outside? What wild thoughts she must have. What's there that she can't learn at home? This is the eldest son of Duke Muze in the capital, and he's also your fourth sister's future husband. Come and greet him properly." Leng Sa strolled into the hall and nodded slightly to the young man. "Hello, Young Master Xiao."

The young man was briefly taken aback but quickly bowed and replied, "Hello, Third Young Lady. I am Xiao Haoran."

Old Master Leng frowned, clearly displeased with Leng Sa's lack of courtesy. However, with guests present, he didn't say much and only asked, "Your school finished at two o'clock. Why did you come back so late?"

Leng Sa blinked and replied, "There was something to do so I was delayed for a while."

Old Master Leng tapped his cane on the ground and said, "What could have delayed you this late? Look at the time now! You're a young lady; it's inappropriate for you to be running around all day!"

In her mind, Leng Sa repeated 'respect for elders and love for the young' three times before responding calmly, "Grandfather, it's only half past five now. There's at least an hour before dark."

Old Master Leng spoke sternly, "As a young lady, you shouldn't be going out at all! Look at your fourth sister; then look at yourself! Don't you know shame after what happened recently? You're running around aimlessly! What's the point of going to school? Starting tomorrow, you will stay at home and wait for your marriage!"

Anger welled up in Leng Sa's eyes as she replied coldly, "It's not like I did anything wrong. What's there to be ashamed of?"

"If you were outstanding enough, why would Fourth Young Master Fu not want you?! If you were even half as good as your fourth sister, why would he fall for that woman from the Zheng family?" Old Master Leng spoke harshly.

F*ck!

Here we go again! Whenever something goes wrong, it's always the woman's fault! Leng Sa had become accustomed to this old man's style for the past three years.

The First Master maintained an extramarital relationship outside, but in his eyes, it was always the daughter-in-law's fault for not being able to manage her husband. If a daughter was beaten up by her husband and returned home to complain, it was because she wasn't gentle and virtuous enough or didn't serve her husband well. If a newspaper reported that a woman had been harassed by a hooligan outside, it was because she lacked self-respect and flaunted herself.

In short, everything was always the woman's fault.

A sardonic smile suddenly appeared on Leng Sa's lips, and she said calmly, "It seems that Grandfather hasn't figured out who should be ashamed. What's there to be ashamed of about me going out to study and doing things openly and legally?"

"What did you say?" he asked.

She raised her chin slightly. "I say, a wh*re expecting a virgin monument1."

"You… you…" Perhaps most people wouldn't understand the meaning of this simplified phrase immediately, but the Old Master Leng, who was well-read, quickly matched it to its source. He turned red with anger and pointed a trembling finger at Leng Sa.

"B*stard!"

"Elder Leng, calm down, calm down," Xiao Haoran, who had been a little embarrassed, quickly consoled him. He also looked at Leng Sa in surprise, clearly not expecting the recently rejected Third Young Lady to have such a temper.