Chapter 525: The Young Lady Offering a Kiss
Now that Huang Luan’s situation was finally done and over with, Jian Chen’s face had a smile on it. However, his heart knew that everything was thanks to Ming Dong. If not for his intimate connection with uncle Tian, Jian Chen never would have been able to persuade uncle Tian to help him.
Yet Jian Chen was also extremely shocked at the status of uncle Tian. A grand elder of Mercenary City! Although he had no idea just how noble of a position that was in Mercenary City, he could pretty much guess just how prestigious a grand elder was.
Afterward, Jian Chen and Ming Dong both left the mountain peak with the ancestor accompanying them.
After experiencing what he had just went through, the ancestor’s attitude toward Jian Chen and Ming Dong had completely changed. He even unexpectedly accompanied Jian Chen and Ming Dong as they flew through the air. Even his status of being a Saint Ruler had been forgotten with how he laughed and smiled as he talked with them on the way to the villa.
The three finally came to a stop right in front of the center of the halls. At the same time, plenty of Heaven Saint Masters had already begun to gather here from every corner of the villa. After gathering in the halls, everyone knelt down to the ground and cried out, “We pay our respects to the ancestor!” It seemed that on the way, the ancestor had managed to pass a message to a few of them.
“Everyone, stand up and come in. This old man has an announcement to make!” Throwing out his words, the ancestor swished his robes around as he strode into the hall where all the important matters were discussed.
Every single Heaven Saint Master within the Huang family looked at each other before turning to look at Jian Chen who was standing right next to the ancestor. Their hearts shook as if they had started to connect the dots.
The Huang family had lived in isolation for many thousands of years, so the amount of Heaven Saint Masters they had wasn’t a small number. At least thirteen of these Heaven Saint Masters were seeing Jian Chen for the first time. They were all people who held an important position in the family. Only those who had usually remained in seclusion to cultivate or the two representatives of the Huang family had seen Jian Chen before.
Very quickly, everyone gathered in the halls. The thirteen Heaven Saint Masters sat quietly on their chairs on both sides of the hall. Reverently, they looked to the ancestor seated ahead of them. Under the idea of the ancestor, Jian Chen and Ming Dong both sat right next to him in the closest seats possible.
Most of the people there were already clear on Jian Chen’s status as the Imperial Protector of the Qinhuang Kingdom and truly possessed the right to sit where he was. But an Earth Saint Master like Ming Dong seated in such a position caused many people to question just why he was there. However, no one had dared to voice any objections since it was at the request of the ancestor. It was only in their hearts that they tried to guess Ming Dong’s identity or which family he was the young master to.
The ancestor said nothing about the matter and instead moved straight to the main topic at hand. “This old man has called you all here today for an announcement.” The ancestor stopped for a moment as his eyes observed the several individuals of the Huang family with bright eyes. “From here on out, Huang Luan’s betrothment to the Huanggu clan is now absolved. Have someone sent to the Huanggu clan to tell them of this news!”
At the voice of the ancestor, plenty of people began to blanch while a few of them revealed faint smiles on their faces. To them, the only reason why their ancestor would annul the betrothment with the Huanggu clan would be for the reason that he had found an even stronger power to ally themselves with. An Imperial Protector of the Qinhuang Kingdom would be such an example.
“Ancestor, this is an extremely important matter. If we were to unilaterally agree to annul the betrothment, it would be a great slap to the faces of the Huanggu clan. There is no way that they won’t feel dissatisfied with us. This is a situation where our friendship with the Huanggu would become irrevocably destroyed.” An elder spoke seriously.
“Elder Ping speaks correctly. Ancestor, annulling the betrothment is something we should absolutely avoid. Our family has enjoyed several hundred years of friendly relations with the Huanggu clan, and they have taken to Huang Luan with great interest. With this, the Huanggu family’s friendship with our Huang family would be ruined. Please reconsider, ancestor.” Another elder spoke in agreement to not annul the betrothment.
The gleam in the ancestor’s eyes suddenly grew ferocious as he gave a sharp stare to the two elders, “Ping Qiao, Huang Yingran, this old man knows that your relations with the Huanggu clan is quite decent, but this old man has already made a decision. I will not change my mind, and neither will you two say anymore about this.”
The ancestor’s voice was firm and decisive without leaving behind any margin to talk back. This made everyone who heard the ancestor give up on trying to convince him to change his mind.
At this, no one made any more objections. Even those who had decent relations with the Huanggu clan and wished to help them had no other choice but to close their mouths shut.
“I’ve already made up my mind on this. Dispatch someone to let the Huanggu clan know. Be sure to give them some gifts to compensate for this.” The ancestor spoke.
“Yes, ancestor!” Everyone replied.
Then the ancestor made a second announcement. “And now this old man has another announcement to make. From here on out, our friends Jian Chen and Ming Dong will be our most honored guests of the Huang family. Every person must ensure to be on their best behavior without any delay or risk this old man’s punishment!” With that, the ancestor’s voice grew harsh.
These two brats had the backing of a grand elder from Mercenary City, making them people who could not be offended by any means. The ancestor had long since made his decision to do his best to rope these two into his group.
Everyone seated down below was stupefied as they looked in shock toward Ming Dong. They hadn’t expected the ancestor to place so much importance on Ming Dong. Jian Chen was an Imperial Protector of the Qinhuang Kingdom, so he was to be expected to receive such treatment. But Ming Dong’s identity was something that everyone was completely curious about now.
The ancestor had not introduced Ming Dong since he himself did not have much understanding of him. He had only known Ming Dong’s name because Jian Chen had said it before. After the ancestor had finished, Ming Dong had seemed to have gained an extremely high position within the family despite being an outsider. This forced every single Heaven Saint Master to be extremely polite to an Earth Saint Master like Ming Dong, but an act like this was practically unprecedented in their family history.
After the meeting was over, the ancestor did not return to his mountain to cultivate, and instead prepared a banquet to personally receive Jian Chen and Ming Dong. This action of the ancestor yet again caused every single Heaven Saint Master there to drop their jaws wide open in shock. A prestigious Saint Ruler personally receiving an Earth Saint Master was an absolutely fantastic story to hear about on the continent.
Every single individual from the Huang family grew even more curious to what status Ming Dong held as a result. However, they could not directly inquire about Ming Dong and were left to conjecture to themselves in chaos because the ancestor had told them to speak no more about the subject.
Jian Chen did not participate in the banquet and instead bade farewell to the Huang family to walk to Huang Luan’s pavilion. He wanted to personally report the news to her.
Jian Chen walked into the pavilion without obstruction and walked straight up to the second floor. This time, Jian Chen did not smell that same sweet scent from two days ago. That enchanting smell that had intoxicated his senses had completely vanished now.
Jian Chen’s eyes swept around the room before catching sight of Huang Luan’s figure. All he could see was Huang Luan’s figure wearing a black cheongsam similar to the one from two days ago. Still seated by the window by herself, she stared out at the scenery beyond in a daze without being conscious of the environment around her. Even Jian Chen’s entrance had gone unnoticed by her.
Noticing that Huang Luan had not noticed him come in, Jian Chen sighed to himself. He could already imagine just how damaging the news of her being betrothed to the Huanggu family was to her heart. She was practically beside herself as a result; it was a good thing that this problem was now done and over with.
“Miss Huang Luan!” Jian Chen called out.
At this sudden call, Huang Luan was so startled that she jumped up. Her dainty body gave a violent whirl to turn anxiously toward Jian Chen. She knew in her heart that whether or not she would be able to leave this pavilion in joy in the future was solely up to Jian Chen’s words.
Seeing the anxious look on her face, Jian Chen couldn’t help but break out into a faint smile, “Miss Huang Luan, I am very happy to say that your problem is now solved. Your ancestor has already annulled the betrothment between you and the Huanggu clan. You don’t need to be so vexed about this situation anymore.”
Huang Luan’s face instantly went sluggish before quickly being replaced with joy. Her entire body began to tremble and shake violently with emotions as she spoke excitedly, “Re-really? You… you wouldn’t be kidding with me, would you? Has the ancestor truly annulled the betrothment?” In this short time, her heart had been worried without reprieve. Her betrothment to the second master of the Huanggu clan was a curse and a tight shackle that bounded her body and tormented her. Not only did she not wish to be wed to the second master of that clan, she already had someone she loved in her heart. This man in her heart was far superior, far more outstanding, and was practically the living personification of perfection. Right now, these shackles and curses that had been placed on her body had practically vanished — by the one she loved no less. This was something that made her so moved that she couldn’t contain herself.
Although she didn’t know just what method Jian Chen had used to change the ancestor’s mind, her nimble mind understood one thing. If the ancestor was willing to offend the Huanggu clan by rescinding the betrothment, what Jian Chen had done was no minor task.
“Of course it’s true. If you don’t believe me, you can go outside and see for yourself.” Jian Chen smiled.
Two teardrops stole away from Huang Luan’s eyes as she charged straight for Jian Chen like an arrow. With both arms tossed around Jian Chen to hug him, she stood on her tiptoes. Under the stunned eyes of Jian Chen, her delicate cherry-red mouth locked with Jian Chen’s own lips.
