Proud Sword Soaring Clouds

"Miss, please open the door! It’s me. The young master will be here soon, but you still haven’t done your hair or makeup. How can you be like this? If the young master gets angry when he arrives, us old servants won’t be able to bear the consequences!"

Huangpu Yue’s brow furrowed as she listened to the middle-aged woman outside calling him "young master" over and over. An outsider might have mistaken her for one of the Wulan Family’s old crones. In reality, she was one of Huangpu Yue’s own serving women, but Huangpu Yue disliked her immensely. The woman had a mean-looking face and an equally vicious mouth. Before, because of Huangpu Yue’s supreme status in the family, the servant had never dared to direct her spitefulness toward her miss, at most lording it over the other servants.

But ever since the news of Huangpu Yue’s marriage to Wulan Tuo spread, this old servant had grown bold. She no longer spoke to Huangpu Yue with the same caution as before. This was because she would not be part of Huangpu Yue’s dowry entourage!

In other words, she would remain a member of the Huangpu Clan, while Huangpu Yue... would be a daughter married off, like water splashed from a bucket! Once she was with Wulan Tuo, she would naturally become part of the Wulan Family!

"Miss, please don’t make things difficult for this old servant, alright? If the young master gets angry when he arrives..." The sharp-chinned, monkey-faced old servant hadn’t finished her sentence when the door was suddenly flung open, almost making her stumble. Then, she saw Huangpu Yue, her face murderous, staring her down coldly, making her shiver involuntarily.

"M... Miss... I..." The old servant was still terrified of Huangpu Yue deep down; she had just gotten a bit carried away these past few days. She suddenly recalled Huangpu Yue’s exploits from her childhood. To the outside world, the eldest daughter of the Huangpu Clan was a genius of commerce, but within the Huangpu Clan, many preferred to call her a witch!

This was because Huangpu Yue had been frighteningly intelligent since birth. While still in her swaddling clothes, she had overheard several servants plotting to steal from the master’s estate. After the theft occurred, no one could solve the case. Eight months later, just as Huangpu Yue was learning to speak, she pointed out who the thieves were... This incident was classified as a top secret within the entire Huangpu Clan! Everyone involved was sworn to silence!

There is often a fine line between a genius and a monster, and the people of the Huangpu Clan hoped their family would produce a genius, not a monster.

"What about you? Are you from the Wulan Family? Get out!"

Huangpu Yue said coldly, and moved to shut the door.

Who knew where the old servant found the courage, but she suddenly took a step forward, blocking the doorway with a fawning smile. "Miss, this old servant is of course your person, but if we are discourteous to the Wulan Family’s young master and they blame us for it, our... our entire clan will be affected! So... please reconsider, Miss!"

At this, Huangpu Yue suddenly smiled, but that smile sent a chill down the old servant’s spine. "Since when are the major affairs of the Huangpu Clan any of your business? Heh, you seem to have quite a bit of authority!"

"No... I..."

"Get out!" Huangpu Yue suddenly roared, scaring the old servant so badly that she fell flat on her bottom. Then came the BANG of the door being slammed shut.

The old servant looked at the surrounding Wulan Family women, patted the dust off her rear, and stood up sheepishly. She muttered, "What’s she acting so arrogant for? She’s about to become one of them, yet she still has that spoiled-miss temper. Sooner or later, she’ll pay for it!" She had expected her complaints to be met with agreement, but to her surprise, the Wulan women all wore serious expressions and said nothing.

The old servant sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere. She turned her head and saw the Patriarch of the Huangpu Clan, Huangpu Cangran, standing right behind her. She was instantly terrified, her whole body turning ice-cold. THUD. She dropped to her knees and kowtowed desperately, scraping her forehead until it was bruised and bleeding as she wailed, "Master, spare me! Master, spare my life!"

Huangpu Cangran had never imagined that his daughter’s marriage would become a litmus test! It had revealed who in the clan was loyal and who was harboring ill intentions!

He couldn’t help but recall the message Ling Xiao had delivered along with those four people. It was just three simple words: "Keep it quiet."

Only now did Huangpu Cangran understand Ling Xiao’s meaning. Suppressing the rage in his heart, he ignored the kowtowing, begging woman. He swept a cold gaze over the maids and matrons from the Wulan Family and said faintly, "Is this how you behave in the Wulan Family, with no sense of decorum? Can’t you even tell who is master and who is servant? Hmph. If that’s the case, should my daughter marry into your Wulan Family, she’d be bullied to death! All of you, leave. Go back and tell that Wulan Xiong that my daughter... is not getting married!"

Huangpu Cangran’s words were like a giant boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating a huge uproar!

"What? Not getting married? Heavens... Did I hear that right?"

"Patriarch Huangpu, are you serious?"

"Master Huangpu, you must reconsider..."

"..."

Facing the flock of screeching women, Huangpu Cangran didn’t even spare them a glance. ’What is there to say to this lot? A bunch of crows thinking they’re phoenixes!’

With a flick of his sleeve, Huangpu Cangran turned and walked away. Immediately, dozens of Huangpu Clan guards moved to surround the group. They said nothing, merely staring coldly at the women from the Wulan Family.

The Wulan Family servants, who had been incomparably arrogant just moments before, were stunned as the tables turned so drastically. Then it occurred to them: if they were kicked out just like this, the enraged Master Wulan Xiong would skin them alive!

Among them was a matron from the Imperial Palace, sent to the Wulan Family by Emperor Li Wu Zhi himself. Confident in her special status, she had remained silent until now. At this moment, she called out to the departing Huangpu Cangran, "Patriarch Huangpu, are you... truly going to disregard His Majesty’s face?"

Huangpu Cangran stopped. He gave the matron from the Imperial Palace an indifferent glance and said apathetically, "That’s your problem! Just find some other woman to take her place. It has nothing to do with me!"

At this moment, Huangpu Cangran was betting everything on Ling Xiao! As a merchant, he understood that staking everything on one person was a dangerous gamble.

But with great risk came great opportunity! Huangpu Cangran knew better than most the potential of that Marquis! Ever since the Huangpu Clan obtained Ling Xiao’s Secret Technique, their annual profits had already doubled! For such a massive clan, even increasing profits by a tenth would normally be incredibly difficult, let alone doubling them. That was pure wishful thinking!

Watching Huangpu Cangran leave, the matron from the Imperial Palace was dumbfounded. In a short while, the Wulan Family’s young master would be arriving to escort the bride, and with this situation... ’Forget it,’ she thought. ’I’d better report this to Patriarch Wulan immediately and let him deal with the headache!’

At this very moment, the Wulan Xiong residence was a scene of jubilation and excitement. Countless distinguished nobles from prominent families had all come to the home of this new powerhouse of the Empire.

The reclusive martial families and sects were ultimately like a different world from the nobles of the Mortal World; they rarely interacted. But the Wulan Clan had followed the Crown Prince’s lead all the way to his ascension to the throne, and in this, the Wulan Clan had contributed immensely.

Add to that the Huangpu Clan, the Empire’s great merchant family. Though not nobility, few in the upper echelons dared to look down on them, as many nobles had business dealings with the Huangpu Clan.

Now that these two powers were joining in alliance, the number of well-wishers was naturally countless.

Wulan Xiong was currently conversing with two Sword Emperor Powerhouses from the Jingwu Family. Also in the room, seated, was the Emperor of the Empire, Li Wu Zhi!

Li Wu Zhi was dressed in casual attire today—a black robe, hand-embroidered with a golden Blast Flame Lion King. The golden thread was actually made entirely of Gold wire! It was exquisite, magnificent, and extravagantly grand. Even the two Sword Emperor Powerhouses from the Jingwu Family couldn’t help but feel a pang of envy upon seeing it. ’The life of an Emperor in the Mortal World certainly has its enviable aspects!’

Just then, a series of urgent knocks sounded at the door. Wulan Xiong frowned. ’Who could be so ill-mannered?’ he thought. However, with distinguished guests present, he couldn’t very well lash out. In a deep voice, he said, "Come in."

The door was pushed open almost the instant he spoke. One of Wulan Xiong’s trusted men entered with a panicked expression. He was about to approach and whisper in Wulan Xiong’s ear when Wulan Xiong scowled. "Just say it!" ’In front of two Sword Emperor Powerhouses and His Majesty the Emperor, you want to whisper to me? Did a donkey kick you in the head?’

"Master, it’s bad. The Huangpu Family... has called off the wedding," the confidant said, his face a mask of grievance.

"What?"

Wulan Xiong and Emperor Li Wu Zhi exclaimed in unison. The two Sword Emperors from the Lie Family exchanged a glance.

"What exactly happened?" Li Wu Zhi asked, his expression dark. If this was true, it would be a huge joke. The bride in a wedding personally arranged by His Majesty the Emperor was refusing to marry! If word of this got out, he, Li Wu Zhi, His Majesty the Emperor, would become an absolute laughingstock!

"Patriarch Huangpu said our people were ill-mannered and acted arrogantly before Miss Huangpu, and that Miss Huangpu would surely be bullied in our family in the future, but..."

"But what?" Wulan Xiong had actually been hoping Ling Xiao would come looking for trouble. If he could kill him, it would solve his problems once and for all. He never expected a real accident like this to happen, and now he was at a loss for how to respond!

"But our family’s old women said that Patriarch Huangpu never intended to marry his daughter to the young master in the first place, because she still hasn’t even done her hair or makeup."

"Enough!" Li Wu Zhi’s face was ice-cold. In his mind, he had already sentenced the Huangpu Clan to death. "Immediately find a woman who looks similar to that Huangpu Yue, put a veil on her, and don’t lift it. Let’s just get through this wedding first!"

"I don’t think that will be necessary," one of the Sword Emperor Powerhouses from the Lie Family said with a faint smile. "We have enjoyed Patriarch Wulan’s hospitality these past few days. It’s only right that we help him with some of his difficulties. How about this: the two of us will personally make a trip to ’invite’ Miss Huangpu. The auspicious hour is still a ways off, anyway."

"Then, then thank you so much, you two masters!" Wulan Xiong said with a grateful expression, while cursing inwardly, ’Huangpu Cangran, let’s see how your Huangpu Family gets out of this one!’