Below the stage, Lin Zhengquan was busy seeing off the drunken guests.
Just as most of the guests had almost left, an elderly man with graying hair suddenly walked out from among the banquet tables.
His face was flushed, and he reeked of alcohol.
“Lin… Lin, my brother!” The old man raised his hand, pointed at Lin Zhengquan, and shook his head as he spoke, “We’ve been brothers for decades.
Today, I’m asking you for a favor, and you have to agree.
If you don’t, it means you’re looking down on me!” The old man’s voice was so loud that it woke up the drowsy crowd.
Even Xiao Minghuang, who was sitting at the head of the table, gradually sobered up and looked over.
Lin Zhengquan frowned slightly, feeling a bit annoyed.
The drunken old man was the head of the Chen family, one of the four great families of Beiyang City, and a cultivator at the Eighth Level of Yongquan, second only to him in strength.
Normally, he showed the Chen family head some respect and called him brother.
“With the Ninth Princess here today, I just hope this guy doesn’t cause trouble.”
As he thought about it, Lin Zhengquan circulated his spiritual power, forcing the alcohol out of his body.
He exhaled a breath of turbid air, stood up, and smiled, “Everyone’s a bit tired today.
Brother Chen, can we talk about this tomorrow? As long as it’s within my power, I’ll definitely help!”
“Tomorrow?!” The Chen family head slapped the table, his neck turning red as he shouted, “I want an answer from you today! Your brother is asking for your help—will you do it or not?!”
Hearing this, everyone present gasped and whispered to each other.
“What’s wrong with the Chen family head? He’s being so rude right in front of the Ninth Princess?”
“Alcohol gives cowards courage.
Let’s see what the Chen family head says next.
Hopefully, he won’t go too far, or this won’t end well.”
Lin Zhengquan didn’t respond, his expression shifting as he hesitated over whether to throw this drunken fool out of the banquet.
At the head of the table, Xiao Minghuang was also startled awake by the commotion and looked at the man shouting in the center of the hall.
“So that’s the Chen family head?” She remembered that in the evil cultivator’s storage pouch, there was a stack of letters detailing the dealings between the evil cultivator and the Chen family head.
The evil cultivator, using the Chen family head’s name, plundered and killed mortals to extract their life force for the Chen family head’s cultivation of forbidden arts, and also acted as a middleman between the Chen family head and the Jinxiang Kingdom, making it easier for the Chen family head to collude with outsiders for profit.
While Xiao Minghuang was thinking, the Chen family head waved his hand and called out, “Yu’er, bring out that pill and let your Uncle Lin take a look.”
As soon as he finished speaking, a young man in his thirties with a fat face and ugly features stepped out from behind him.
His eyes kept drifting toward Lin Wanqiu, who was sitting at the head of the table, with a hint of greed in his gaze.
Lin Zhengquan looked at the young man and asked, “I know you.
You’re Chen Yu, the Chen family head’s son.
What do you want?”
Hearing that Lin Zhengquan recognized him, Chen Yu’s face lit up with joy.
Like he was presenting a treasure, he took a brocade box from his sleeve and offered it forward.
“I heard that Miss Lin was born with blocked meridians and has difficulty cultivating.
I grew up with Miss Lin—we were childhood friends—so I feel deeply for her.”
“After much hardship, I obtained a top-grade Xuan-rank pill, a Bu Yuan Dan, which can strengthen the foundation and clear the meridians.”
“I’m willing to give this pill to Miss Lin to help her clear her meridians and achieve success in cultivation.”
As he spoke, he opened the box, and a rich medicinal fragrance filled the entire hall.
Almost everyone present caught a whiff of the pure scent and couldn’t help but sniff the air.
“A top-grade Xuan-rank pill—such a precious treasure.
Where did the Chen family get it?” No one would believe that a mere junior like Chen Yu, only at the Body Tempering stage, could get his hands on a top-grade Xuan-rank pill.
This had to be arranged by the Chen family elders.
Lin Zhengquan had the same question, but for him, the most important thing right now wasn’t where the Chen family got the pill, but what their goal was.
Lin Wanqiu’s blocked meridians were no secret—almost everyone in Beiyang City knew about it.
Others had offered medicine before, but none had worked.
But this top-grade Xuan-rank Bu Yuan Dan might be different.
The reputation of the Bu Yuan Dan was well known.
It could cleanse the body and strengthen the bones, making it a precious foundation-building medicine.
It could also heal hidden injuries and restore one’s foundation.
With such a pill, even if it couldn’t cure Lin Wanqiu’s blocked meridians, taking it might heal her hidden injuries and help her reach the Divine Sea stage.
If that happened, with greater strength, he could venture into more dangerous places and maybe find a spiritual medicine to clear her meridians.
He looked at the brown pill lying quietly in the brocade box, a trace of hope in his eyes.
Faced with such a spiritual medicine, Lin Zhengquan didn’t accept it right away.
Instead, he rationally asked, “The Chen family is offering such a precious pill—what do you want in return?”
Upon hearing this, Chen Yu looked straight at Lin Wanqiu at the head of the table and said without hiding anything, “I only wish to marry Miss Lin.
I ask for nothing else!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent!
Lin Zhengquan’s mind raced, full of regret.
He should have thrown the Chen family out of the banquet earlier, or they wouldn’t have said something so disrespectful.
But it wasn’t entirely the Chen family’s fault.
The engagement between Xiao Minghuang and Lin Wanqiu was only known within the Lin family.
Since the old lord of Beiyang City died, no one had mentioned it, so none of the other families in Beiyang City knew.
The problem was, why did the Chen family have to bring this up now, right in front of the Ninth Princess?
Wasn’t this a slap in the face to the Ninth Princess? Proposing to someone’s fiancée right in front of her.
Not to mention the Ninth Princess’s status—even an ordinary commoner wouldn’t tolerate such an insult.
If this had happened before, Lin Zhengquan might have politely refused and tried to buy the pill, since a top-grade Xuan-rank pill really might clear Lin Wanqiu’s meridians.
But now, with the Ninth Princess present, he couldn’t show the slightest hesitation—he had to make his position clear immediately.
In a split second, Lin Zhengquan acted decisively!
“Outrageous!”
He glared, shouted angrily, and unleashed the full force of his peak Yongquan Realm aura, almost making it tangible as it pressed down on Chen Yu.
The shout snapped the drunken Chen family head awake.
Seeing his son about to be hurt, he flashed forward and shielded Chen Yu.
In an instant, the Chen family head left a blur in the air, pulling Chen Yu back more than ten steps before stopping.
His face was full of shock and confusion, completely unable to understand why City Lord Lin would suddenly attack and suppress the Chen family’s heir.
The sudden turn of events caught everyone off guard, leaving them puzzled.
“What’s City Lord Lin doing? Even if he doesn’t want to marry his daughter to the Chen family, there’s no need to bully the Chen family’s heir, right?”
“Trying to suppress the Chen family’s young master right in front of the Chen family head—does City Lord Lin want to go to war with the Chen family?”
Hearing the whispers, Lin Zhengquan sighed softly.
To get on the Ninth Princess’s good side, he’d almost torn all ties with the Chen family.
Now, he could only hope the Ninth Princess would truly care for Lin Wanqiu, so his daughter wouldn’t be bullied in the future.
After all, a precious pill like the Bu Yuan Dan—there might not be a second one in the entire Southern Region.
Sure enough, the Chen family head’s face turned extremely ugly, and there was a hint of anger in his eyes as he looked at City Lord Lin.
“Lord Lin, we’ve known each other for years.
If you don’t want your daughter to marry into my Chen family, fine.
But why use your power to bully the weak and hurt my family’s heir?!”
As he spoke, it was as if water surged within the Chen family head’s body, waves crashing, and the surrounding spiritual energy was drawn to him.
The full might of an Eighth Realm of Yongquan cultivator burst forth, as if a fight could break out at any moment.
Faced with the accusation, Lin Zhengquan could only sigh helplessly.
He had suddenly acted, suppressing the Chen family, and there had to be an explanation, but he couldn’t just openly talk about the marriage contract.
The Ninth Princess herself was right here.
For him to bring it up would be overstepping his place.
Just then—
After watching the drama for a while, Xiao Minghuang finally spoke up.
The girl in a bright yellow dress slowly stood, her pretty face slightly flushed, phoenix eyes wide, noble and aloof, radiating authority without anger.
“Master Chen, you’ve got some nerve, don’t you? Colluding with evil cultivators, betraying the country, and now you dare stand before me and not confess everything at once?!”
