Timeline: Three months after Tang Moyu took over Tang Enterprise.

  Tang Zhelan couldn't remember how many days had passed since she left Shenzhen. She had driven away in her car, leaving everything behind in tears. It wasn't because Tang Moyu managed to kick her out of the company and replaced her as the CEO, but she left knowing that she was useless in her parents' eyes.

  How could she bear to stay with them knowing that they despised her for not being able to hold a candle against Tang Moyu? But did they really expect that she could win against the empress when Tang Moyu had been known as a business prodigy since their younger days?

  Tang Zhelan didn't think she would be able to persist for too long against the empress because she knew her cousin better than her parents. It wasn't easy even for someone like her to take over the management and get the company from Elder Tang.

  If Tang Moyu hadn't come back, obviously, the company would crumble on its own given how corrupted the board of directors was. She might have the highest position in the company, but it was hard for Tang Zhelan to change the ways of the board and wasn't able to pull out the root cause of the problem.

  Perhaps, unlike the empress, Tang Zhelan didn't have enough strong will to lead with absolute authority. It was something she could never have that Tang Moyu was able to pull off. She wasn't as outstanding as her cousin and she had been living in the empress's shadow as long as Tang Zhelan could remember.

  On her way to Lijiang City at the northwest part of Yunnan province, Tang Zhelan pulled her car into a parking spot of a local restaurant to have lunch. She was planning to pay a visit to her butler that had left her two years ago with the intention to look after his ailing grandmother and his young niece who had recently lost her parents in a hiking accident.

  Zhao Feng had been working for her family ever since she was thirteen years old and he was five years her senior. He was the one who was always there to tend to her needs and listened to her grievances. It was a pity that they had to part ways even before she joined Tang Enterprise, making her feel alone more than ever with his absence.

  Tang Zhelan took a seat next to the window where she could see people come and go easily. She winced at the kitsch decor of the place as the seats didn't compliment the wall or the hardwood floor of the restaurant. At least the place was clean enough for someone who needed to eat.

  Once she placed her order and waited for the waitress to return with her food, she checked the time on her phone. She'd received several miscalls from her mother but she ignored them. Tang Zhelan already knew why they were calling her. She knew that if she stayed any longer, the Tang family would arrange for her to marry someone to save their face.

  Tang Zhelan scoffed. As if she would allow someone to control her life. She might not be as smart as Tang Moyu but she wasn't dumb enough to allow herself to sink deeper than she already had.

  When Zhao Feng gave her a call the other week and found out what happened, she could sense the disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e from his tone as he reprimanded her for being reckless. If anything, the worst that could happen was being dumped with all the blame by the management and being sued by Tang Moyu later.

  When Zhao Feng heard about her parents' intention to marry her off, he insisted that she should leave at once, leaving everything behind. Zhao Feng had never been impressed with the Tang family's tradition when it came to their family daughters, but since he was nothing but a servant in their household, he had no right to voice out his opinions over the matter.

  "But I have nowhere to go," Tang Zhelan told him over the phone, laughing at her for being so pathetic.

  Because of her intimidating attitude, she rarely had friends. Her pride also wouldn't allow her to seek them for help as she didn't want to cause them any inconvenience by relying on their help. It was Zhao Feng who suggested to her to come to his place to take a short vacation while she figured out what to do in her life.

  "Come here, Miss Lan and take a break from everything. You sort out your thoughts while you are here. Don't worry about the rest; I'll tend to your needs while you are here," Zhao Feng suggested.

  It took some time for Tang Zhelan to agree with his suggestion. She supposed she could buy a place of her own and start a new life somewhere, far from the influence of the Tang family. At the age of twenty-eight, Tang Zhelan was able to save enough money to sustain her needs in the future without relying on the Tang family.

  Her meal came and she eyed her plate for a moment, suddenly feeling that her hunger had passed the moment she saw what was in it. Tang Zhelan sighed to herself, knowing that if she was to continue her long drive, she needed to eat and rest along the way.

  She could have scheduled a flight for faster travelling but her car was something Tang Zhelan held dearly as it was the first thing she bought with her own money. It was a black Nissan Sylphy that was not only stylish but practical in her opinion.

  Those who knew her would raise a brow but they had no idea that the money she used in splurging for other things was her parents' money, never her own.

  It was for this reason that she was able to discreetly save her own money she could use in case of emergency. Tang Zhelan never thought that this day would come. She might not be an heiress but she was still a miss of a wealthy family where she was pampered and spoiled with material things since she was young.

  Tang Zhelan started to eat and slightly grimaced as her meal came out a little greasy for her liking but with her limited funds, she needed to be wary of her spending.