Chapter 480 - 325: The Miserable Wulan Father and Son

Chapter 480: Chapter 325: The Miserable Wulan Father and Son

As luck would have it, the sons of every influential family in the Imperial Capital had all tagged along!

And the joyous looks on their faces were all too real, as if they were the ones getting married. They enthusiastically yelled, "Young Master Wulan is here for the bride!" while scattering handfuls of Silver Coins to the sides of the road. This drew the already large crowd of onlookers, who swarmed over when they saw the free money. The procession, already massive, was now followed by several thousand people!

The whole scene was chaotic and utterly raucous!

Weddings were supposed to be lively, after all, so Wulan Tuo didn’t sense anything amiss. Even Wulan Xiong and Emperor Li Wu Zhi had subconsciously assumed the same thing just moments ago. With two Sword Emperor Powerhouses personally escorting the procession, could they possibly fail to bring back a girl from the Huangpu Family? And so, they hadn’t stopped Wulan Tuo from going to collect his bride.

Now, things had gotten completely out of hand.

Meanwhile, the members of the Wulan Clan waiting on the other side stared awkwardly at Wulan Tuo’s enormous bridal procession. They were all dumbfounded, completely at a loss for words.

Wulan Tuo’s head was likely spinning from the day’s festive atmosphere, as he failed to notice anything strange at all. The sons of the influential families beside him, however, were all bright with excitement... eagerly anticipating... the good show that was about to unfold!

As the procession reached the main gate of the Huangpu Family estate, the young nobles whipped the atmosphere into a frenzy, tossing out handfuls of Silver Coins that rained down on the crowd. If not for the large number of guards from the Wulan Clan, a riot might have broken out.

Sitting in her room, Huangpu Yue could hear the deafening cheers from outside. She pressed her lips together, a trace of mockery in her beautiful eyes. Then, she suddenly thought of Ling Xiao. ’If the man outside right now were Ling Xiao, how would I feel?’ she wondered, then immediately chided herself. ’How shameless can I be? Why am I even thinking about him? That man seems honest, but he’s actually a huge flirt, surrounded by a flock of beauties. What would it make me if I just shamelessly threw myself at him?’

When Wulan Tuo saw some of his own people crowded at the Huangpu Family’s gate, he couldn’t help but frown. Given his usual profligate nature, he would have started cursing long ago. But today was his wedding day; he had to at least feign some refinement.

He asked, slightly displeased, "What are you all doing here?"

The Wulan Family servants were all trembling with fear. No one wanted to be the one to stick their neck out. If they earned the young master’s ire in his anger and humiliation, it wouldn’t just be a matter of losing their jobs—it would be a matter of losing their lives!

Though Wulan Tuo was usually arrogant and of low character, he wasn’t a complete idiot. Seeing this, he sensed something was wrong. He thought back to the feverish excitement of the young nobles beside him—he hadn’t thought much of it before, but compared to the current atmosphere, it all seemed incredibly eerie.

"You, you tell me! What’s going on!"

Wulan Tuo pointed at a young servant in his twenties. He recognized the man; he was one of his father’s attendants and seemed to be in his favor. He usually held a lot of sway among the Wulan Family’s servants.

"Young Master, I... I... I don’t know." The servant, who was usually glib, was now stuttering and trembling. He kept trying to shrink back, but his back was already against the wall.

At this moment, the once-raucous crowd seemed to sense the bizarre atmosphere here. The noisy chatter gradually died down until, finally, the grand scene of several thousand people fell deathly silent—so quiet you could hear a pin drop!

Everyone instinctively held their breath, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Mounted on a purebred Ferghana horse from the Zichuan Empire, Wulan Tuo clearly felt the young nobles who had just been swarming him quietly retreat, leaving him all alone at the very front. It made Wulan Tuo feel like a crane standing among chickens.

If there wasn’t a problem, Young Master Wulan would have quite enjoyed the feeling.

"Speak! What the hell is going on! Why isn’t anyone welcoming me inside!" Wulan Tuo’s already fragile nerves couldn’t withstand the pressure of the dead silence, and he roared madly at the servants huddled by the Huangpu Family’s main gate.

Just then, the massive, ink-black wooden gates of the Huangpu Family estate swung fully open. Wulan Tuo’s heart relaxed, thinking they were finally opening the gates to welcome him. But to his surprise, he only saw Huangpu Cangran. Beside him stood a bald, burly man with strange tattoos on his head, which gave him a strangely bewitching look. Wulan Tuo couldn’t help but shiver.

"Father-in-law, you... why have you come out personally?" Wulan Tuo asked upon seeing Huangpu Cangran. He then fixed his gaze on the courtyard beyond, only to see that the Huangpu Family’s front yard was completely empty! Where was the slightest hint of a festive atmosphere?

Huangpu Cangran glanced coolly at Wulan Tuo. This marriage was something the Wulan Family had forced upon them through sheer pressure. Ever since Huangpu Yue took charge of the Ling Auction House, the Wulan Family and the Huangpu Family had become as incompatible as fire and water. The marriage contract had long since existed in name only.

Unexpectedly, a move by Huangpu Yue to avoid suspicion gave the Wulan Family a glimmer of hope. They thought her relationship with Ling Xiao was nothing special. If that were the case, then annexing the Huangpu Clan was a logical next step. As a bonus, they could even spite Ling Xiao and shut the mouths of the many who mocked the Wulan Family!

Look! Didn’t you all say Huangpu Yue was Ling Xiao’s woman? Hasn’t she become a daughter-in-law of the Wulan Family now?

"Young Master Wulan, please don’t use such terms so carelessly. I am not your father-in-law. Your Wulan Family is high and mighty; our Huangpu Clan is not worthy. You should go back now."

In the dead silence, Huangpu Cangran’s words carried far. Wulan Tuo froze on the spot. His face went from red to white, then from white to ashen, before finally turning a deep shade of purple. He pointed a trembling finger at Huangpu Cangran and roared, "You... you dare to trick me? This is too much!"

Huangpu Cangran remained unmoved, sneering, "Those are the words our Huangpu Clan should be saying to your Wulan Family!"

With that, he cupped his fists to the surrounding crowd and declared loudly, "Friends! The Huangpu Clan has done business in the Imperial Capital for many years. You all have a clear idea of our reputation, just as you surely have a clear idea of the Wulan Clan’s reputation. My daughter did indeed have a marriage contract with the Wulan Clan once. However, that contract clearly stated that if the children of either family found someone they truly loved, the contract would be void. While my daughter has not yet found such a person, she has realized that the young master of the Wulan Family is not a good match. Furthermore, Patriarch Wulan, Lord Wulan Xiong, has repeatedly slandered my daughter’s reputation in public. This contract has long been null and void! But recently, they have suddenly used their power to pressure my Huangpu Clan, trying to forcibly marry my daughter! Though I, Huangpu Cangran, am not a noble, merely a merchant, I still have my integrity and backbone! I will not stand by and watch my daughter leap into a fiery pit! For those of you who have sons and daughters, ask yourselves: who among you would willingly watch your own child suffer? So today, in front of everyone, I say this: even if the Wulan Family wants to trample my Huangpu Family, as long as I have a single breath left in my body, you will not succeed!"

"You! You... You’re spouting nonsense!"

By now, the blood had rushed to Wulan Tuo’s head, and he nearly fainted from rage. He never imagined that Huangpu Cangran, the head of the Huangpu Family and a leader in the Lanyue Empire’s business world, could so brazenly spout lies and twist the truth. What clause about voiding the contract? Back then, the Wulan Clan was a major noble family; how would the Huangpu Family have dared to propose such a condition? Of course, the truth was that Wulan Xiong had only arranged this marriage because he had his eyes on the Huangpu Clan’s assets. But Wulan Tuo certainly didn’t see it that way.

"Am I spouting nonsense? Hmph. Why don’t you ask everyone around you? Ask them what kind of image your Wulan Family has in the hearts of the Imperial Capital’s people!" Having made his decision, Huangpu Cangran was fearless, his voice cold and challenging.

A sudden burst of laughter erupted from the crowd, followed by more people joining in. Never mind that they had just accepted the Wulan Family’s Silver Coins; when it came to the Wulan Family’s reputation, any random person from the Imperial Capital could go on for three days and three nights. This profligate young master, Wulan Tuo, had bullied dozens, if not a hundred, young women. But because his family was so powerful and his victims were commoners, people only dared to be angry but not to speak out. Seeing someone publicly challenge them today, everyone was secretly overjoyed.

As for the sons of the influential families, they had all retreated to a safe distance. Not a single person stood by Wulan Tuo’s side. His eyes were bloodshot as he glanced left and right, then roared, "Seize this old bastard! Dammit, how dare you play my Wulan Family for fools! I’ll wipe out your entire clan!"

Before the Wulan Family guards could even move, Tiger took a single, light step forward. A tremendous aura suddenly exploded from his body. Fortunately, Tiger didn’t harm any innocents, merely forcing everyone around him to involuntarily stumble backward!

The purebred Ferghana horse beneath Wulan Tuo let out a long, terrified neigh and scrambled backward several steps.

Everyone’s expression changed drastically. No one had expected the Huangpu Family to possess an expert of this caliber. The way people looked at Huangpu Cangran now had subtly changed!

The mix of shock and rage overwhelmed Wulan Tuo. He finally spat out a mouthful of blood and fell from his horse.

Tiger shot them a disdainful glance. ’Too weak!’ he thought. ’Why won’t Quefeng let me fight those two Sword Emperors?’

...

The farce ended in chaos. News that the Huangpu Family had a Sword Emperor Realm powerhouse spread like it had grown wings. In fact, just as Wulan Tuo fainted, Wulan Xiong and Emperor Li Wutong had already received the news. Wulan Xiong stared dumbfounded at the messenger and asked, "What about the two Masters?"

"The two Masters... they flew into the sky with two people from the Huangpu Clan. It looks like... like they started fighting..."

"And then?" Wulan Xiong asked, refusing to give up hope. He couldn’t believe that the Huangpu Family could produce an opponent for two Sword Emperor Powerhouses.

"Then... they never came back..."

"Ling... Xiao!" Wulan Xiong ground out the two words through gritted teeth. His vision finally went black, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, his body slumping to the ground.

...

"What a festival today is! So lively! Thank you for your hospitality, Lord. Come, I toast to you!" Lie Que said with a smile, looking extremely happy as he raised his cup to Ling Xiao. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com. More Chapters are available, support the author, and support official reading!)