"You're too loud!"
SMACK!
Lin Tang's slap sent Hua Fengchen sprawling face-first onto the ground.
"You bastard!"
Hua Tianxiong was furious and imdiately ordered his bodyguard, Xiong Guangfa, to cripple Lin Tang.
Xiong Guangfa was speechless. Are you kidding ? Didn't you see all these weapons aid at Lin Tang? What if they open fire as soon as I approach? Wouldn't I die for nothing?
Seeing Xiong Guangfa's troubled expression, Hua Tianxiong glared at him.
Just as he was about to order his adjutant to have Lin Tang killed, Lin Tang nonchalantly leaned in and whispered mockingly into the adjutant's ear, "How do you know the poison has been completely neutralized? You haven't had your body checked again, have you?"
"You!"
The adjutant's expression changed instantly. He really hadn't checked… Damn it! This bastard didn't actually leave sothing up his sleeve, did he?
"Let in, and I guarantee your safety. Otherwise, you'll have to bear the consequences," Lin Tang threatened openly.
"How do I know you won't try to poison General Xiao?" the adjutant said through gritted teeth.
Lin Tang looked at him as if he were an idiot. "What good would that do ? Besides, you actually doubt General Xiao's strength, thinking his power isn't enough to resist my poison? How dare you look down on him? You've got so nerve!"
"I didn't! Don't talk nonsense!" The adjutant panicked again. He certainly couldn't bear the bla for such insubordination.
Lin Tang then added that poisoning them would be a piece of cake for him, even if he didn't enter the venue. Their worries were completely unnecessary.
"Fine, I'll let you in. But I'm warning you, you'd better behave!" The adjutant had no choice but to compromise and let Lin Tang pass.
Lin Tang hadn't intended to co, knowing it would most likely just be asking for trouble. But Shen Youling had secretly called him. She said she overheard her foster father laughing with an old friend, ntioning that as long as the friend's son was willing to marry, he would guarantee Shen Youling would agree to the match. It would be a way to fulfill an old promise—when they were young, they had gotten drunk together and agreed that once they had children, they would arrange a marriage between them. Unfortunately, Xiao Xuanye had remained single all these years and couldn't keep his promise. It was only now that he had a daughter.
Although Shen Youling felt her foster father was speaking in jest, what if it ca true? She didn't have romantic feelings for Lin Tang yet, but now that she had committed to him, she wouldn't easily change her mind. She didn't want to marry a stranger.
She could only inform Lin Tang of the situation: if no official engagent was announced at today's ceremony, he had to behave and not cause trouble. If an engagent was truly about to be set, they would have to play it by ear.
Naturally, Lin Tang couldn't tolerate anyone else laying a finger on his wife, so he ca.
「Inside the stadium」
"Shen Youling looks so beautiful today!" Lee Encai exclaid, shielding her eyes with her hand as she gazed at the stage in awe.
Lin Tang glanced over and said proudly, "Are you saying she wasn't beautiful before? She's my wife. Of course, she's gorgeous!"
Lee Encai pouted, about to retort, but people nearby had already started scoffing.
"Dude, keep dreaming. As General Xiao's daughter, she'll only marry into a major family of equal standing. We small-tirs are just here for the spectacle."
"Exactly! Even if we harbor a sliver of hope, we shouldn't say it out loud! Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?" another person chid in.
Soone else looked at Lee Encai with an astonished expression. "Brother, is this your sister? Can I be your brother-in-law?"
Seeing his pockmarked face, Lee Encai shivered and quickly clung to Lin Tang's arm. "I'm his mistress!" she said affectionately.
"Oh, uh..."
"Damn!"
"You already have a mistress and you still have the nerve to compete?"
"Aren't you afraid General Xiao will break your legs?"
The surrounding crowd looked on with disdain.
Then, so locals recognized Lin Tang and imdiately called him out, "Lin Tang, you've got so nerve, showing your face here to be an eyesore!"
"What?"
"He's that ex-husband?"
"He really is unremarkable, just like a toad."
"How is he so lucky with won? He just got dumped by Miss Shen and he's already got another beauty by his side!"
"Is she a rich girl, too? This Lin Tang may not have any skills, but he's a master at living off won!"
"Heh!"
As the group chattered, more and more people learned of Lin Tang's identity. Mockery and ridicule followed, making him the center of attention.
Lee Encai felt quite uncomfortable and instinctively hid behind him. Lin Tang, however, remained calm, treating them as if they were nothing but air.
「Backstage」
The most famous etiquette master from the capital was going over the procedures one more ti. "Have you morized everything?" he asked impatiently.
Shen Xin and Dong Mingfeng were dressed to the nines, their faces beaming with pride and honor. The re thought of being able to stand in the sa line as a paramount figure like General Xiao and receive the enthusiastic respects of the entire audience made them tremble with uncontrollable excitent.
"We've got it, we've got it!" Dong Mingfeng nodded eagerly. She didn't dare talk back to the etiquette master. After all, he was hired by General Xiao and seed to have a powerful background himself.
"Good. Make sure you don't make any mistakes later, or the entire country will laugh at you for your lack of manners. It doesn't matter if you two are mocked, but you cannot affect General Xiao's reputation, understand?"
"...Understood."
After parting with the etiquette master, the pair walked out from backstage.
As for Shen Qiushi, he was feeling upset and hadn't co to the stadium at all. anwhile, General Xiao had explicitly forbidden Shen Jiayue and Lu Zizheng from showing up and being an eyesore. If the recognition ceremony didn't require Shen Youling's parents to be present, he would have barred Dong Mingfeng and Shen Xin as well. They were an annoyance to look at.
Dong Mingfeng, still oblivious to how much General Xiao despised her, walked toward the stage, smugly anticipating a warm welco. Instead, she found that Lin Tang had completely stolen the lilight.
"That damn pest!"
"Why is this bastard here?"
Both Dong Mingfeng and Shen Xin were furious. They thought they would never have to interact with the low-born Lin Tang again. Why was he so shaless, haunting them like an unwanted ghost?
Could he be planning to cause trouble during the recognition ceremony? True, with General Xiao presiding, this waste of space could hardly stir up any trouble. Disrupt the ceremony? Him? As if he could! But every single one of his actions will be seen by thousands of pairs of eyes and then spread across the country. Wouldn't that be tantamount to tarnishing Shen Youling's reputation and staining her image? No, we absolutely can't let this bumpkin cause trouble and turn Youling and us into a laughingstock!
Dong Mingfeng's expression turned icy. She strode toward Lin Tang, fighting the urge to curse, and barked, "Lin Tang, an occasion like this is not for a commoner like you! Get out now, or I won't be polite!"
Lin Tang simply ignored her, as if she were just passing gas.
Dong Mingfeng demanded several more tis, but seeing him unmoved, she went to call over the mbers of the Xiao Camp. "Security! Get him out of here! If he resists, break his legs!"
In her mind, as Shen Youling's mother, it was her right to command the mbers of the Xiao Camp.
The mbers of the Xiao Camp were secretly exasperated. Security? Who is she calling security? Is she blind, calling us security?! They stood perfectly still. The adjutant let Lin Tang in personally. Who knows if it was on General Xiao's orders? How could we dare to act on our own authority?
"You..."
Seeing that she couldn't command them, Dong Mingfeng's face flushed with heat. She felt the guests were looking at her as if she were a clown. Humiliated and angry, she tried to pull Lin Tang away herself. "I told you to scram, are you deaf?"
"Encai, take care of her," Lin Tang ordered casually.
"?" Lee Encai was taken aback.
"Yes, you. I've been teaching you for days. If you can't even handle this shrew, then don't bother coming to my room at night anymore," Lin Tang said with disgust.
"Ah? I can't have that!"
Lee Encai's spirits lifted instantly. She leaped forward and struck with a Monkey Fist. The move was surprisingly well-executed, and she easily sent Dong Mingfeng to the ground.
"You little slut, you dare hit ? I'm Youling's biological mother!" Dong Mingfeng shrieked, scrambling to fight back, but she couldn't even touch her. Frustrated beyond words, she just howled incoherently.
Shen Xin tried to help, but Lee Encai held her own against both of them, not giving an inch.
Lee Encai's face glowed with excitent as she gloated. Haha, I've beco a master too! So this is how thrilling it is to beat soone up myself! It seems all that nightly tornt from Lin Tang, all the pain and aching, wasn't for nothing!
"Huh? That middle-aged woman is Shen Youling's biological mother? I thought she was just a staff mber!" soone exclaid.
The revelation sparked a change in the crowd. Many of the young n eyeing Shen Youling had the sa thought. Doesn't that make her my future mother-in-law?
One of them had a clever idea. This is a chance to win her favor! If I do, won't I have a bigger advantage during the selection of suitors?
He decisively stepped forward to voice his support. "You wench, stop! You can't hurt my mother-in-law!"
"Lin Tang, you disrespectful rat! That's your forr mother-in-law! How dare you treat her like that?"
"Unforgivable!"
With one person taking the lead, a second naturally followed. In the blink of an eye, Lin Tang and Lee Encai were surrounded by a large crowd. Others didn't get close but joined in the condemnation.
The entire stadium erupted.
"Holy crap!"
Even Lin Tang was startled. It was the first ti he had been cursed by thousands of people in unison. The overwhelming waves of shouts made his ears ring. He wanted to retort, but with only one mouth, how could he possibly argue against so many?
As the insults grew uglier, even targeting his long-deceased parents and relatives, so people started throwing water bottles and trash.
Lin Tang's expression turned cold. He was genuinely furious now.
"You're courting death!"
He shot to his feet, shielding Lee Encai behind him, ready to teach this rabble a painful lesson.
"Stop!"
Shen Youling quickly approached. The mbers of the Xiao Camp couldn't let her get hurt and imdiately stepped forward to form a human wall, forcefully separating her from the jostling crowd. Because of this, Shen Youling was able to easily reach Lin Tang's side.
Lin Tang reined in his anger and managed a smile for her. "You're here."
Shen Youling, however, was upset and exasperated. She pointed a finger at him, her voice filled with heartache and accusation.
"I was backstage for only a few minutes, and you're already making such a scene?
"I stressed to you over and over not to make trouble unless it was the absolute last resort!
"Did you even take my words to heart? Are you only happy when you've made a laughingstock?
"Lin Tang, I am so disappointed in you!"
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