Li Hong-Ze's voice thundered.
His words were like blades that struck Lu Cang-Qiong in his heart.
His final threat struck Lu Cang-Qiong like a bolt of lightning and left him dazed.
His face paled and he began to tremble violently. His legs gave way and he collapsed onto the ground.
"Why? Why have things turned out this way?" The old man lay sprawled across the ground like a mindless beast.
His eyes were bright with fear.
He couldn't stop murmuring to himself.
Lu Cang-Qiong had not expected things to turn out this way.
He couldn't believe that a nobody like Ye Fan would turn out to be so important to their country.
The government would resort to executing the entire Lu family to appease the man.
It was then that Lu Cang-Qiong finally realized whom he had offended. What a terrifying enemy he had gotten himself!
Li Hong-Ze stopped yelling at Lu Cang-Qiong.
This was an old man who had one foot in his grave. Li Hong-Ze was worried that the old man might die of fright if he continued yelling at him.
That wasn't what Li Hong-Ze wanted.
He ignored Lu Cang-Qiong completely, turned towards He Lan-Shan and Wu Wei-Tao instead and yelled furiously at them. "Why are you still standing there like buffoons? Get your asses over here and apologize to Mr Chu. You fools! You have a prodigy hidden in your midst and you had no clue at all. You wanted to kill him! You're blind and foolish. You're not fit to run Jiangdong or Yunzhou!"
His voice boomed like thunder. He Lan-Shan and Wu Wei-Tao paled when they heard his words.
They were beside themselves with fear. Horror filled their eyes as they turned and raced towards Ye Fan, desperate to offer the young man their apologies.
"We're truly sorry, Mr Chu. We were blind. We didn't know who you are. We were fools who were deceived by villainous lies. Lu Cang-Qiong was the one who insisted on killing you. We wouldn't have dared to touch a single hair on your head otherwise. We wouldn't have agreed to let the army corner you and ruin your wedding banquet." He Lan-Shan bowed and apologized profusely. He seemed on the verge of tears.
Wu Wei-Tao fared no better.
This wasn't the first time that Wu Wei-Tao had offended Ye Fan. His heart was filled with despair and terror. How he wished he could fall on his knees and beg Ye Fan for mercy.
These two men, who had seemed so triumphant and full of themselves moments ago, had transformed into shriveling cowards cowering at Ye Fan's feet. The air of superiority that they had exuded then had vanished without a trace.
Li Er and the rest were stunned by sudden turn of events.
The crowd around Haiyuan Restaurant had thought that Ye Fan was done for. Like Chen Ao and Li Er, they were equally dumbstruck.
Their eyes had widened to the size of saucers while their jaws had dropped in shock.
Some of them had stopped breathing for a few seconds.
A few minutes ago, Ye Fan had been cornered and would have been killed.
But within the short span of a few minutes, the tables had been turned.
The Xur family had been forced onto their knees. Old Master Lu had collapsed onto the ground and started mumbling unintelligibly like an old man gone mad.
The thought of that sent spikes of pain stabbing at Xur Jun-Lin's heart. Fury and anguish overcame the old general. He spat out a mouthful of blood.
Then, with a loud thud, he fell and crashed heavily onto the ground.
He had come to avenge the death of his grandson. He could not have foreseen that he would lose his life in Jiangdong without having gotten his revenge.
The lavish Haiyuan Restaurant had become his grave.
Yet, Xur Jun-Lin had been wrong. He had not discerned the true source of Ye Fan's power.
He had thought that the source of Ye Fan's power had been their country.
Yet he had been wrong. Ye Fan was the one who was lending their country his power.
Men like Ye Fan didn't need to rely on anyone else. They were their own founts of power.
Xur Jun-Lin's death did not cause a commotion.
He had been an old man who had thought too highly of himself and had tried to abuse his power. He might have done great things for the country in his youth, but he had also been sufficiently rewarded for his contributions. The country had given him his fair share of honor and privilege.
Yet he had committed a big mistake, which had led to his death. He had asked for it. There was no one he could blame for his terrible fate.
Li Hong-Ze did not spare Xur Jun-Lin a single glance. He approached Ye Fan and offered the man his sincerest apologies.
"Mr Chu, I'm terribly sorry. We did not keep our men in line and allowed them to cause you trouble. Don't worry, I'm not going to let things end here. I'll have He Lan-Shan investigate this matter thoroughly. He almost committed a grave mistake. But he's learned his lesson and won't repeat his mistake. I'm confident that he'll do his
best when investigating this matter and that he'll make sure everyone answers for what they've done. Would such an arrangement be to your satisfaction?" asked Li Hong-Ze politely and with the utmost respect. His eyes were smiling.
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