“So you’re the Xie clan’s Young Master. You’re running late. We were all here a long time ago. Please take a seat!”
Xie Yutang went forward with the Ruan family’s Eldest Young Master and sat in one of the seats, while Feng Jiu stood behind him.
“There’s several Young Masters from the Xie family’s direct line. Which rank are you? Why have I never seen you before?” A young man inquired, looking at Xie Yutang doubtfully. He knew several young masters of the Xie family, but he did not recognise the person in front of him.
“I am from the collateral line of the clan, not the direct line.” Xie Yutang said while eating a grape from the small table in front of him. When he remembered that Feng Jiu was standing behind him, he reached for a string of grapes and handed it to her. “Here.”
Feng Jiu looked at him, surprised. When she saw his gesture and noticed how amazed everyone else was, she reached out and accepted it, taking a grape and eating it.
“How’s the taste? Isn’t it sweet?” Xie Yutang asked, picking another grape and munching on it.
“Mm.” She responded and gestured for him to look ahead.
“Are you from the collateral line?” A young man stared at him strangely, then asked the Ruan’s Eldest Young Master, “Didn’t Madam Ruan invite Madam Xie, the patriarch’s wife? Why can a descendant of a collateral line attend?”
In the eyes of these descendants of the direct line, the collateral line was one level below them. All of the people present were direct line descendants, so they were surprised to learn that the Xie family who had come here was from the collateral line.
The Ruan’s Eldest Young Master smiled. “According to my knowledge, the Madam Xie invited by my mother today is the collateral line’s Madam. I heard from my mother that she is an old acquaintance with Madam Xie.” He smiled as he spoke again after a brief pause. “Heroes are born, whether from a direct or collateral line; as long as his talent is exceptional, he will be respected, don’t you think?”
Everyone fell silent for a moment after hearing this, but they all nodded in agreement. “Yes, status is a symbol, but one’s own strength is also very important.” As a result, everyone’s gaze was drawn back to Xie Yutang.
While inspecting everyone, Feng Jiu thought in her heart that the Ruan’s Eldest Young Master’s words could immediately diffuse the situation. These individuals were now assessing Xie Yutang’s cultivation strength. In terms of his strength, Xie Yutang was above average among others of similar age.
People began to converse and address one another informally, and the mood became increasingly more harmonious. Feng Jiu stood in the background and ate grapes. Upon finishing the grapes in his hand, Xie Yutang placed two more fruits in front of her. So, not only did the servant boys standing behind other young masters have envious expressions on their faces, but the seated young masters of the influential clans were also quite intrigued.
“Do you usually treat all of your servant boys nicely, Yutang?” Someone could not help but inquire. From the time he sat down till now, he observed the servant boy behind Xie Yutang eating fruit.
“Of course not, he’s special.” Xie Yutang said.
They couldn’t help but wonder when they heard this, “What makes him special? There’s nothing remarkable about him!”
A young man couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “Hahaha, who said that there is nothing remarkable about him? The servant boy, you see, hasn’t stopped munching since just now. He gobbles up whatever Yutang offers him. How much food has he eaten up? Which servant boy, you say, can eat like him?”
Feng Jiu stopped munching when she heard this and looked up at the young man. The young man felt uncomfortable when looked at in this manner.
