The sudden turn of events had Zhang Yuman and the others completely stunned.
"Why are the people from the Long Family, the Lei Family, and the Fu Family coming to our Hong Family?"
"Isn’t that obvious, they must be here to settle accounts with our Hong Family’s arrogant son-in-law!" Hong Yuting’s mouth curled up, her face full of schadenfreude.
"We’re done for, our Hong Family is doomed now. That son-in-law really is a troublemaker; he has completely offended our Hong Family now!"
Zhang Yuman wailed repeatedly, without any hesitation, she turned and ran. Hong Yuting and Hong Wei also quickened their pace and hurried inside.
They were undoubtedly scared. With such a commotion outside and so many noble families coming to settle scores, they had never witnessed such an imposing scene.
But they had only taken two steps when Long Shaowu from the Long Family and those from the Dragon Sound Pavilion walked in and immediately knelt down in front of Ye Feng.
"Mr. Ye, I hope you can be magnanimous and not hold our past offenses against us small folk!" Long Shaowu’s voice was very loud.
Zhang Yuman’s stepping foot suddenly froze mid-air, her body stiff as if struck by lightning.
"Small folk, the young master of the Long Family actually called himself small folk, and he is kneeling to this worthless son-in-law?" Zhang Yuman doubted whether she was seeing things correctly.
Hong Yuting was also wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief.
However, things were far from over. Following that, the Lei Family patriarch and Fu Zuoxing, the patriarch of the Fu Family, hurried over with several young members of their family. They, too, knelt down before Ye Feng.
"Mr. Ye, please forgive us, our Lei Family was blind and failed to recognize your greatness before, offending you. Please punish us as you see fit!" The Lei Family patriarch begged for mercy.
"Ye Feng, your uncle realizes his mistake. I have been blind, like a flood that washed away the Dragon King Temple and even drove you out of the Fu Family. All of us at the Fu Family regret deeply and have specifically come to apologize today. I hope you can consider your foster father’s position and not hold it against us!"
Fu Zuoxing’s words were tearful, he even went so far as to crawl forward to lick Ye Feng’s shoes.
Ye Feng raised an eyebrow: "Aren’t you disgusting?"
Fu Zuoxing quickly responded: "Yes, yes, Mr. Ye, you are right to chastise me. Moreover, if Mr. Ye is willing, as your uncle, I will give Fu Qing to you to be your maidservant, to attend to you for life."
Long Shaowu said: "Mr. Ye, my grandfather also said that if you are willing, we will betroth Dragon Sound Pavilion to you!"
Dragon Sound Pavilion cast flirtatious glances: "Isn’t that right, Mr. Ye? It was my fault for not seeing clearly before and offending you. If you are willing to forgive me, from now on, I am yours."
All the other large and small noble families also bowed and made their stance clear, the scene was undoubtedly grand and impressive.
Ye Feng sat in his wheelchair, his expression unchanged, as still as an ancient well. He, the Northern Border King, found such a scene trivial.
Once upon a time, as the Northern Border King, he attended a banquet in the imperial capital, where various Noble Clan nobility came to pay their respects, and the scene was even more exaggerated than this.
Yet Zhang Yuman and Hong Yuting, among others, were shocked, especially Hong Yuting, who had a complex and astonished look on her face.
She could hardly believe that this worthless son-in-law she had looked down upon from the bottom of her heart had such tremendous power. Not to mention other noble families, even the beloved daughter of the Long Family, Dragon Sound Pavilion, was willing to lower herself to marry him?
For a moment, Hong Yuting felt a tumult of emotions and was tense all over. Her intuition told her that she had missed an incredibly important opportunity, an opportunity to rise to the top and become a phoenix!
Ye Feng shook his head and said: "All rise. Don’t worry, I won’t punish you. As for your realm, it’s still not worthy of my personal intervention!"
The implication was clear: they weren’t qualified enough for him to personally administer punishment!
Many of Jiangdu’s elite let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
They understood, despite Jiangdu being a large metropolis, it was but a small pond in the eyes of the person before them. He might take an occasional interest in playing in this small pond, but never for long.
After all, for a flying dragon like him, a small pond was ultimately too small, and the water too deep!
Hong Qingyan knew it was time for her to step forward and say a few words, seeing as Dragon Sound Pavilion was still looking at Ye Feng with direct and eager eyes.
"Everyone, please go back. Big Brother Ye doesn’t like the noise!" Hong Qingyan gently stepped forward, her action undoubtedly a display of her relationship with Ye Feng.
Dragon Sound Pavilion initially wanted to say something more, but was held back by Long Shaowu, who had been extensively cautioned by his grandfather before coming here, warning that with such an unfathomable person, it was critical not to be too deliberate, lest it have the opposite effect.
"Then we shall not disturb Mr. Ye’s rest," Long Shaowu said with a cup of the hand before leaving the Hong Family Courtyard.
The rest of the Jiangdu’s elite also left one after another, but before they did, they offered up gifts, a large portion of which were jewelry intended for Hong Qingyan.
Ye Feng did not refuse them, so Hong Qingyan happily accepted them. She didn’t particularly value the jewelry, but she knew that by letting her accept the gifts, Ye Feng was acknowledging their relationship.
Hong Yuting’s heart grew even more sour at this scene. She suddenly regretted, regretted why she had refused her grandfather’s request. If she had agreed back then, to marry this wheelchair-bound guy, she would be the female lead today.
"Qingyan, let’s go back to the Inner Courtyard," Ye Feng beckoned.
"Okay, Big Brother Ye!" Hong Qingyan handed the gifts to the servants and came over to push the wheelchair.
The wheelchair moved slowly past Hong Yuting and the others, Ye Feng’s gaze indifferent, not even bothering to give these people a glance.
However, Zhang Yuman suddenly stepped forward and knelt down unexpectedly in front of Ye Feng.
"Mr. Ye, oh no, our respected son-in-law, we were blind and offensive before, it’s really... like the great flood hitting the Dragon King Temple. Please be magnanimous!"
At this, Zhang Yuman cried out, "Yu Ting, what are you standing there for? Come over and apologize to Mr. Ye at once!"
But Ye Feng called out, "There’s no need!"
Zhang Yuman was overjoyed and said, "Does this mean, Mr. Ye, you have forgiven us?"
Ye Feng smiled faintly and said, "Forgiveness isn’t quite the right word, because from the beginning to the end, you were never in my sight!"
After saying this, Ye Feng slowly moved past them, his gaze straight ahead, never giving them a second look. This wasn’t contempt but indifference; such insignificant people didn’t even deserve his scorn.
Watching Ye Feng’s retreating figure, Zhang Yuman stood there, dazed, feeling a tremendous humiliation. It had taken her great courage to kneel and apologize, yet he had not even looked her in the eye. The feeling rendered her inexplicably powerless.
This inherent disregard was more painful than a slap in the face!
Hong Yuting was consumed by deep despair, feeling as though she had been hollowed out.
"Now I understand why, after Hong Qingyan agreed, grandfather said it was the best decision of her life. It’s because of this decision that Hong Qingyan would gain immense honor!" Hong Wei lamented sadly.