About five minutes later.
CLACK, CLACK, CLACK.
The rhythmic sound of high heels striking the floor echoed, drawing closer from the second story.
Everyone looked up. Upon seeing the woman in the long black dress descending the stairs, they all lowered their gazes once more.
The woman was about twenty-five or twenty-six, with ordinary looks, but the defiance etched between her brows left a deep impression, especially her narrow, triangular eyes. This kind of person, one could tell at a glance, was not easy to get along with.
Who else could it be but Tang Ziyan?
Walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her was a man in his thirties. His lips were curled in a confident smirk, and he looked down on everyone with an arrogant, condescending air.
"His appearance is acceptable, and his temperant is barely passable." This young man was Tang Yunfeng. After glancing at Chen Yang, he gave a slight nod. "Overall, he'll do."
"He is indeed rather handso. But for him to be with , he is definitely marrying up," Tang Ziyan said with a smile, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, he is marrying up."
Tang Yunfeng was the first to descend the stairs. Tang Ziyan, guided by the middle-aged Tang Ji, slowly stepped into the front hall.
"Esteed guests, please, take the seats of honor."
"Servants, bring tea!"
Long Cangqing and Long Kuang hurried to attend to them while the others bowed, following behind.
Tang Yunfeng sat down with an air of command, picked up his teacup, and began to drink with satisfaction. Tang Ziyan, swaying her hips, held the hem of her dress and made a show of delicately taking her seat. Her eyes were fixed on Chen Yang, scanning him from head to toe as if inspecting a piece of rchandise.
"He is indeed passable."
After taking a light sip of tea, she languidly raised a pale, delicate hand and beckoned to Chen Yang. "Co, step closer. Let this lady have a good look at you."
Long Kuang imdiately chid in, "Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and get closer! You should be grateful that Miss Tang has taken a liking to you!"
"What's with the attitude? What are you trying to show off?"
With that, the young master of the Long Family quickly stood, grabbed the teapot, and poured more tea for Tang Ziyan and Tang Yunfeng. After returning to his seat, he held his teacup with both hands, crossed his legs, and put on an insufferably arrogant air.
Tang Ziyan was quite pleased by Long Kuang's behavior. She playfully brushed her bangs aside, her smile blooming like a flower.
"As far as I know, the Chen Clan has no intention of taking back the descendant of a criminal like you, and your position as Supre Martial Commander will soon be lost. Calling you a 'masterless dog' seems quite fitting, doesn't it?"
Tang Yunfeng then added with a chuckle, "Marrying Ziyan and joining our Southern Pole Royal Family is a stroke of great fortune bestowed upon you by our clan's boundless grace. You should know to be grateful and repay this kindness."
"I can guarantee that after you marry into the family, our clan will promote you to the position of house slave."
BEEP!
A murmur imdiately swept through the hall. All eyes turned to Chen Yang, filled with a mixture of envy and jealousy.
Could this be a blessing in disguise? He couldn't enter the Chen Clan, but he was taken in by the Southern Pole Royal Family. Not only was he being given the hand of the lovely Tang Ziyan, but he would also receive the title of house slave. The term "house slave" might sound unpleasant, but when preceded by the title of a royal family, its aning was entirely different. This was sothing countless people dread of.
"Even I'm a little envious," Long Kuang said with a chuckle, clicking his tongue.
"You have no need to be," Long Cangqing interjected, squinting as he held his teacup. "Our Long Family now has a very close relationship with the Southern Pole Royal Family. We have already been permitted to act as their proxies."
Royal proxies. How could the title of a re house slave possibly compare?
These words sent a wave of shock through the hall. As the crowd reeled in astonishnt, their gazes toward Long Cangqing and Long Kuang filled with unconcealed jealousy.
Overjoyed, Long Kuang laughed aloud. "We are eternally grateful for the grace bestowed by Young Master Zhou. The Long Family will never forget it."
"Doesn't this an our Long Family's status in the Southern Pole Royal Family is even higher than this Supre Martial Commander's?"
Tang Yunfeng blew on the froth of his tea, smiling without a word.
"In that case, shouldn't soone who isn't even a house slave yet kowtow and serve tea to Young Master Long?" a tall, thin middle-aged man asked with a smirk, glancing first at Chen Yang.
Long Kuang froze for a mont.
Tang Yunfeng shot a quick glance at Tang Ziyan.
The tall, thin man instantly understood. He's the young lady's future husband, after all. If he were to kneel in public here, wouldn't it be a slap in her face?
SMACK.
The middle-aged man slapped his own face and apologized profusely. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was being presumptuous."
"Without rules, there can be no order," Tang Ziyan said, waving her hand dismissively, much to everyone's surprise. "My Southern Pole Royal Family has always had a strict hierarchy. A rule is a rule, and no one can break it."
"This… this might not be appropriate, right?" Long Kuang stood up quickly, feigning protest by shaking his head and waving his hands, but his back was ramrod straight and he looked down at Chen Yang with an air of insufferable arrogance. He was clearly impatient to see it happen.
"Go on, pay your respects," Tang Ziyan commanded Chen Yang coolly. "After you're done, co and rub my legs. I think I walked too much yesterday, and they're a bit sore."
Tang Ziyan's words gave Long Kuang carte blanche, making him even more puffed up with self-importance as he looked down his nose at Chen Yang.
Nearby, Tang Ji leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, a smirk playing on his lips that didn't reach his eyes. The rest of the crowd watched with undisguised schadenfreude, their eyes wide.
This was once the Supre Martial Commander! Haha, how interesting!
「At the sa ti.」
News of Chen Yang's visit to the Long Family to et with Tang Ziyan spread through Cangyun City like wildfire, stirring up a storm of speculation.
"The forr War God, the hero of this era, ultimately couldn't escape the ways of the world. After being rejected by the Chen Clan, he's reluctantly marrying into the Southern Pole Royal Family?"
"How pitiful! How tragic!"
Cangyun City, which had gradually cald after the death of the important minister Han Qing, was now in an uproar once again. There were no curses, only endless sighs of lant.
Has the hero reached his twilight? Is the old general past his pri?
For many, this turn of events was a delight to witness.
This was especially true for Zhang Zhi.
As the Clan Leader of a major family and a forr Elder of the Bureau of Secrets, his contact with the Southern Pole Royal Family had yielded results exactly as he had imagined.
Starting today, does this Supre Martial Commander still have the face to live in this world? To fall from grace in a single day, dood to live in obscurity forever after. What a satisfying turn of events.
Zhang Zhi, a man well past seventy, usually spent his days drinking tea and tending to his flowers, birds, fish, and insects. At this mont, he was humming a tune while feeding a pair of turtledoves.
"Sigh!"
A young man beside him, his grandson Zhang Yang, shook his head. "Grandfather, he was once a dominant figure of our generation. I thought he had a will of iron and principles as firm as a pine tree. I never imagined he would be just another commoner clinging to the powerful."
"A man has to survive, doesn't he?" Zhang Zhi laughed heartily. "There's no sha in doing what you must to stay alive."
"It's still disappointing," Zhang Yang said, shaking his head. "He was the goal I was striving to surpass. Now, it feels as though my faith in him has collapsed."
"He's just a despised, masterless dog. What makes him worthy of being your goal?" Zhang Zhi comforted his grandson with a grand wave of his hand, smiling. "From now on, just watch as I make my moves. Your future achievents will far surpass his."
Just as he finished speaking.
BOOM!
A loud explosion erupted from the front courtyard, followed by the sound of frantic footsteps and terrified shouts.
Zhang Zhi spun around, his eyes flashing with a cold light. Soone is causing trouble in my own residence?
"Could it be…"
The thought of the one hundred thousand Martial Guards from Hanyun Valley who had crossed the Eight Hundred Li Hongzhi River made Zhang Zhi's expression change slightly.
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