Lin Xuan stood behind Zhang Yuber and Lin Mengde, smiling as he watched Su Mei walk into the room with a ring of jade pendants. Su Mei ignored Zhang Yuber and Lin Mengde, and walked straight up to Lin Xuan, lightly opening her red lips to say: "Doesn't Mr. Lin recognize me? Is everything all right since we parted ways in Baisha County?" Her bright red lips curled into a smile, her eyebrows and eyes full of charm, just like they had never met again after parting ways in Baisha County, and now they were reunited as old friends in this place. The lovely little demon-like Xiaoman also walked in with a hidden smile, bowed to Lin Xuan, and said: "Does Mr. Lin remember Xiaoman?"

  "Su and the young lady are playing a joke on Lin, aren't they?" Lin smiled and invited them to take their seats. He saw Fourth Wife Feng PeiPei and another servant standing outside the pavilion waiting.

  Su Meng then followed Zhang Yubo and Lin Mengde to pay her respects: "Su Meng has seen Lord Zhang and Old Master Lin, today Su Meng's body is slightly unwell, washing up took a bit more time, I've kept Lord Zhang and Old Master Lin waiting for a long time..."

  Lin Mengde looked at Su Mei and Xiao Man, master and servant, with a spring breeze on their faces and hidden emotions in their eyebrows. Although this emotion couldn't be taken seriously, he was indeed surprised in his heart. He thought to himself: Isn't it said that Lin Xuan is extremely annoying to Su Mei? Listening to her tone, today she came over entirely because of Lin Xuan. At this time, there was no leisure to think more, when he entered the Fang Lou and mentioned Su Mei, originally wanting to make a harmless joke with Lin Xuan, never expecting Su Mei would come, now somewhat surprised by Zhang Yuber's favor, only feeling that Su Mei sitting beside him was like a spring breeze, naturally wouldn't spoil the atmosphere by asking her to sing.

  "In September, Su Mei and Lin Gongzi were both in Baisha County when they encountered bandits from Dongting Lake. Both of them had a narrow escape, but many others were not so lucky. Su Mei was fortunate to get away, and later learned that Lin Gongzi also survived the ordeal. She thought she would see him again, but didn't expect it to drag on until today..." Su Mei's red lips parted slightly as she explained why she still attended the gathering despite being unwell tonight. This was of course said for Zhang Yuber and Lin Mengde's benefit, as she wanted to use Lin Xie's name to ransom Little Man back, have Lin Xie keep Little Man by his side to take care of her, and couldn't let outsiders think this matter too sudden, needing deliberate publicity."

  Zhang Yubo, as the left Siku Canjun, had seen the case file of "Dongting Lake bandits invading Baisha County" in September. Although there were some doubts about the case, just looking at the case file couldn't compare to hearing the actual testimony, which was shocking and thrilling. Zhang Yubo and Lin Mengde listened with envy, wishing they had been the ones who encountered the bandits that day, so they could also win the favor of the beauty, Su Mei.

  At this time, the maid who was guarding the door came in and whispered a few words to Su Mei's ear. Su Mei frowned slightly and said to the maid: "Tell them that I have guests tonight and can't keep them waiting for long..."

  "The young master is also sincere, and besides, the face of Young Master Hou and Wang Shaojun, Gu Shaojun cannot be easily denied..." The servant woman's voice was slightly louder as she persuaded Su Mei, "Even if you just go to respond, it would be better?" She then apologetically said to Zhang Yuber, "I'm really sorry, Lord Zhang."

  The young master of the Fang family, Fang Zhi Mei, is the only son of the master of the Fang Mansion. He is a well-known playboy in Jiangning City. Lin Xie had heard of him before but never had the chance to meet him. Su Mei's contract was with the Fang Mansion, so Fang Zhi Mei naturally became her young master. However, since Su Mei was famous for her artistic name in Jiangning and had extensive connections with the city's elite, the Fang family didn't dare to overly restrict her, and they usually treated her with courtesy.

  As for the young master, there is only one hereditary marquis in Jiangning City, Yongchang Hou. The young master naturally refers to the son of Yongchang Hou. Lin Xuan thought that if the servant's mouth was referring to Gu Shaojun, it would be Gu Wudeng's son Gu Siyuan. This young master was probably Yuan Jinsong, whom he had met at Chaotian Station a few days ago. As for Wang Shaokun, there is no clue at all. There are not many high-ranking officials and nobles with the surname Wang in Jiangning City.

  It didn't matter whether it was the young master of the Fang Lou or the young marquis of Yongchang, neither of them were people Zhang Yuber wanted to offend. He smiled and said: "No need, no need, as long as Su's family is convenient for themselves..."

  Lin saw Su Mei's eyebrows furrowed in hesitation, and his heart felt a pang of sympathy. He glanced at the seemingly ordinary maid and said, pressing his hand against the edge of the table, "If you're not happy to attend social gatherings, then don't attend them."

  After hearing Lin's words, Su Mei furrowed her brow and then relaxed it, telling the servant woman: "Go to Young Master's house and tell them that I'm not feeling well today, and since we rarely meet old friends, I don't want to disturb them..."

  The woman glared at Lin Xie with a displeased face and walked out in a huff. Although she was serving Su Mei, she was actually a servant sent by the Fan family. Su Mei was originally the living signboard of the Fan Building and the gathering treasure bowl, and almost couldn't return to Jiangning after being trapped in Baisha County. The Fan family restricted Su Mei from going out of the city to perform and socialize again. Even the maidservants guarding Baiyuan were sent by the Fan family. In recent days, Lin Xie had been sneaking into Baiyuan through the roof to secretly meet with Su Mei, not daring to openly visit her for fear that the Fan family's informants would become suspicious if they saw him too often.

  Lin Yu's attitude surprised Zhang Yuber and Lin Mengde, who did not expect Su Mei to listen to Lin Yu and stay behind, ignoring Fan Xue and Yongchang Xiao Houye. Lin Mengde was afraid that Lin Yu would be seduced by Su Mei's beauty and commit a crime, so he said to Lin Yu: "Speaking of which, the young master of the Fan family has some connection with Yongchang Xiao Houye - the ancestors of the Fan family were originally the servants of the Yongchang Hou Mansion, and this generation of Fan Ding has already removed his humble status, even marrying the daughter of the ninth wife of the previous Yongchang Hou as his wife. However, based on these relationships alone, it is difficult to say that the Fan family can win over and defend such a large industry as Fan Lou..."

  Lin Mengde hinted that the master behind the Fang Lou was actually the Yongchang Hou Fu, Lin Xie listened and smiled slightly, looking at Su Mei with a thought in his mind: If she had followed Fu Qinghe and Qin Chengzu to Changshan Island back then, it might have been much simpler. Since they were all back in Jiangning City now, there was no need to consider those "what ifs" anymore. Was he afraid of offending a few spoiled young masters?

  Zhang Yubo didn't want Su Mei to leave the table either, and laughed as he said: "Let's drink, let's drink. Su, you were just saying that being robbed in Baisha County was a shocking experience, don't stop suddenly..."

  "Hmph... I'd like to see who dares to keep Miss Sumi here..."

  Lin Xuan raised his head to look, and Gu Siyuan, Yuan Jingsheng, and two young men in brocade clothes rushed into the room. The first young man in brocade looked at Lin Xuan with disdain and said: "So it's you again, this blind little beast, coming to pester Miss Su Mei..." He changed his expression and scolded the servant outside the door, "Who was so blind as to let this mongrel in? Throw him out!" Then he bowed to Zhang Yubao and said, "Lord Zhang, I'm sorry to have met you here. This person is not welcome at the Fang Lou, Lord Zhang's banquet today will be hosted by me..."

  Fan Zhi Mei was driving him away from the table, Zhang Yu Bo's heart was naturally displeased, with a gloomy face and not making a sound, suppressing the anger in his heart and not conflicting with Fan Zhi Mei. Apart from Yuan Jin Sheng and Gu Siyuan, he recognized another brocade-clad young man as Wang Chao, the son of Wang Xue Shan, the prefect of Jiangning Prefecture, who was his superior.

  Lin Xie sat there, looking up at Gu Siyuan and the maid hiding behind the crowd, wondering who was whispering to whom. He slowly got up and asked, "Young Master of the Manor, forgive my deafness, what did you just call me?"

  "You blind little bastard, mongrel, do you want to hear it a few more times?" Lord Mu himself had been lusting after Su Mei's beauty for a long time, but he was constrained by his father's strict teachings and Su Mei's reputation in Jiangning, so he didn't dare make a move. However, when it came to Lin Xie, this toad who wanted to eat swan meat, he couldn't help but despise him without anyone else's instigation, and looked down on him with disdain. "Are you going to leave on your own, or do I need to throw you out?"

  "No need for the young master to take action..." Lin Youyan bowed his head, took out the dagger from under the table and tied it around his waist, slowly and carefully adjusting his long shirt.

  Zhang Yubo sighed in his heart, feeling that he couldn't bear Lin being humiliated here.

  Lin Mengde was also speechless, and he decided to get up and no longer stay. Lin Jingxin felt very uncomfortable for Lin Xian in his heart.

  Yuan Jinsuo, Gu Suyuan and Wang Chao stood together with their hands in their sleeves, watching coldly; the maidservant hiding behind the crowd smiled coldly at the corner of her mouth, but she was very pleased in her heart.

  Xiao Man's heart was seething with anger, her jade-like hands propped on the table, ready to erupt at any moment. She couldn't bear to see her idol being slighted by others in the least bit. Su Mei, however, held down her hand, preventing her from speaking out of turn.

  "Alright," Lin Xie adjusted his long shirt, put down his hands and took two light steps to the door of the room. He was still smiling as he said to Fan Zhi Mei, "Fan young master..." Fan Zhi Mei wanted to shout out a loud "get out" to see him off, but unexpectedly Lin Xie flipped his hand and locked onto his throat. Fan Zhi Mei was shocked and subconsciously tried to dodge, but his head only managed to move two inches before he felt his throat tighten, unable to break free, and couldn't even catch his breath.

  Lin Xie single-handedly locked down Fan Zhi Mei's throat, kicked his ankle, and grabbed his hair bun, turning him around to kneel towards the door. Others suddenly saw Lin Xie make a move, Yuan Jinsheng, Gu Siyuan, and Wang Chao subconsciously retreated from the room, two servants who were about to come and chase Lin Xie out wanted to rush in to save their young master, but were kicked by Zhou Pu and rolled far away.

  Lin Bing didn't care about Fan Zhi's wailing, dragged him out of the room, locked his throat with one hand, and made him kneel down in front of the corridor of the main building. He scolded loudly: "I am a dignified scholar with great achievements and a noble son, you are just a lowly servant's son, how dare you insult me with filthy words? Do you know what crime you have committed?"

  No one knew that Lin Xie was so fierce, and even Zhang Yu Bo and Lin Meng De were shocked, and they quickly followed him to the main corridor. Those officials who were drinking and having fun in the elegant room all came out after hearing the noise, surrounding the area from a distance, seeing a young man holding the throat of the young master of the fief and scolding him loudly, not knowing what had happened.

  Lin Yuezhi scolded so severely that Fan Ziyi's throat was locked up and he found it hard to breathe, let alone speak.

  Yuan Jins, Gu Suiyuan and Wang Chao were all speechless for a moment. They thought that Lin Xie's words about Fan Zhimai being the son of a lowly servant were somewhat inappropriate. However, Fan Zhimai was only a superior household with a humble status, and it was indeed not right to be disrespectful towards those with honors and noble birth. Of course, these were all just empty words. If Fan Zhimai had 15 or 16 strong men protecting him, even if Lin Xie insulted him ten times more, the officials would not have taken his complaint seriously. The key was that Fan Zhimai's throat was being choked by Lin Xie, and Lin Xie's evil servant had half-drawn his waist knife, its cold light flashing. Anyone who tried to intervene would have to be careful not to get splattered with blood on the spot.

  Lin Xuan gave a cold glance around the crowd, then turned his head to Lin Mengde and said: "Third Uncle, this lowly servant just insulted my Lin clan. I, Lin Xuan, cannot tolerate this humiliation...the thought of killing him has already arisen..."

  Lin Mengde's heart skipped a beat, Lin Xie's words were meant to bind the Lin family, he couldn't just say that the Lin clan was scolded by someone and it didn't matter. He could only persuade: "Don't hurt the harmony..." Suddenly, he remembered Lin Xie forcing the second young master to kneel at the horse market, and secretly hated him in his heart: This beast is playing this trick again, really fearless! However, there was no way out, Lin Xie had tied them together, and he couldn't wash his hands clean. After understanding, he could only change his tone, "As long as the young master of the fief can admit his mistake, don't hurt his life, my Lin family is also reasonable..."

  Lin Mengde saw this and recognized the situation, so Lin turned his face to look at Zhang Yuber: "Zhang sir, this humble servant's son insulted me with his words. Today I cut off his tongue, what crime should I be charged with?"

  Zhang Yubo's face was unpredictable, he was concerned about the Yongchang Houfu and Wang Xueshan's son, as well as Gu Wuchen's son, but he didn't fear offending Fan Zhi Mei. Earlier, he had also given Fan Zhi Mei a bad temper, and unexpectedly Lin Fu dared to take action against the young master of the Fan Tower in the Fan Tower. He coldly replied to Lin Fu: "Fan Zhi Mei disrespects his superiors and speaks disrespectfully, you should be sent to the yamen for punishment, privately tortured and maimed, fined 10,000 taels! If Fan Zhi Mei can acknowledge his mistake, he will still be publicly punished, stripped of his official title, and imprisoned for three years. He can pay 12,000 taels to redeem his crime! I advise you to consider the consequences before taking private action."

  "Could the young master of the Lin family be mistaken?" Lin Xie burst out laughing and ordered the stunned Lin Jingzhong behind him, "Jingzhong, take out tens of thousands of coins and have them delivered to the Military Affairs Department later!" His left hand still gripped the throat of Fan Zhi Mei, while his right hand reached for the knife.

  The county lord's throat was choked by Lin, unable to admit his mistake, his face turned purple-red, as if he would die with just one more breath. At this time, the guards of the county lord's mansion all surrounded him, and then a hoarse low voice came: "All of you get out... Can I apologize for this villain on your behalf?"

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  PS: This chapter is coming out a bit slower, shamelessly asking for red tickets.