Quickly Go Invite Young Master Xun!

Chapter 23: Hurry and Invite Young Master Xun!

Bai Yan, Ye Youcai, and Ye Lingdang all stared at Zhen Xiaoren as if he were an idiot.

Bai Yan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He had thought this guy had some formidable background, but it turned out he just had a cousin who was a Brigade Leader.

Did he dare to be so arrogant just because he had a Brigade Leader cousin?

Bai Yan's own father, who used to be a Brigade Leader, wouldn't have dared to be this arrogant.

After all, this was Yongtang, the capital, right under the Emperor's nose.

High officials and powerful figures were as common as blades of grass. To put it mildly, if you threw a brick on the street, you might hit a fifth-rank official.

A Brigade Leader in the Imperial Guard was only a sixth-rank position, utterly insignificant in front of truly important figures.

If you truly offended a big shot, let alone a Brigade Leader, even having a Company Commander backing you wouldn't help.

What was a Brigade Leader, anyway?

Ye Youcai looked at Zhen Xiaoren's foolish demeanor, finding it both amusing and filled with pride as Bai Yan's father-in-law. He spoke slowly:

"Zhen Xiaoren, perhaps you didn't hear me clearly just now?"

"I said, my son-in-law is also with the Imperial Guard."

He deliberately emphasized his words, pointing at Bai Yan:

"This man is Bai Yan, a newly appointed Company Commander of the Imperial Guard!"

"Company Commander? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

As soon as he heard the word "Company Commander," Zhen Xiaoren was instantly terrified, shaking his head repeatedly.

"He's not even older than me, how can he be a Company Commander!"

"If you want to trick this young master, at least come up with a better excuse. Do you really think I'll believe your..."

Zhen Xiaoren's words stopped abruptly before he could finish.

Because he saw Bai Yan take out a token, which clearly bore the words "Company Commander of the Northern Commandery Investigation Bureau."

Bai Yan hadn't worn his Flying Fish Robe or brought his Snow Drinking Saber when he came to the banquet today.

So, outwardly, he looked like a refined scholar.

But now that he had produced an Imperial Guard token, Zhen Xiaoren had no choice but to believe him.

He had seen an Imperial Guard token at his cousin's place before, and it was identical to the one in Bai Yan's hand – the material, the patterns, the seal, all exactly the same. It couldn't be fake.

Besides, no one in this world would dare to forge an Imperial Guard token. If discovered, it was a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family.

"You... you're really an Imperial Guard Company Commander?"

Zhen Xiaoren trembled all over, his teeth chattering, his speech faltering.

Bai Yan toyed with the token, a half-smile on his face.

"You were quite right earlier. The Imperial Guard is the Emperor's personal army. Daring to attack the Imperial Guard is equivalent to treason and punishable by the extermination of three generations of one's family."

"Tell me, how should I deal with you now? Should I just confiscate your property!"

Bai Yan's tone suddenly turned cold, and a chilling killing intent flashed in his eyes.

"My lord, spare me!"

Without a word, Zhen Xiaoren immediately fell to his knees before Bai Yan with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly.

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me!"

"This humble one did not know you were an Imperial Guard Company Commander and offended you. I deserve to die a thousand times over."

"I beg you, my lord, to spare my wretched life, for the sake of my cousin who is also with the Imperial Guard."

"I will never pester Miss Ye again."

"Lord Bai is heroic and extraordinary, and Miss Ye is a beauty of the nation. You two are a match made in heaven."

"It was I, a toad, who dared to crave swan meat. I will never dare again."

Zhen Xiaoren kowtowed repeatedly, about twenty or thirty times, until his scalp was bleeding, but he didn't stop.

As long as Bai Yan didn't speak, he wouldn't dare to stop.

Living in Yongtang, all the dissolute young masters knew one thing: people with a background were not to be trifled with.

He had his Imperial Guard Brigade Leader cousin as a backer, which was why he dared to oppress the Ye family.

But now that the Ye family had an Imperial Guard Company Commander backing them, he had to back down.

What was kneeling and kowtowing? Preserving his life was the most important thing.

This kid is quite something.

Bai Yan narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing within them.

A dissolute young master wasn't scary.

Most ordinary rich idlers are brainless idiots who only know how to bully others with their status.

But this guy could bend and stretch. He didn't hesitate to grovel and kowtow for his life, which made Bai Yan look at him in a new light.

People who can bend and stretch are the most terrifying.

As the old saying goes, one must be able to bend and stretch to be a true man.

Goujian endured hardship and humiliation, and Han Xin suffered the indignity of crawling between men's legs, yet both achieved great things in the end.

They are like venomous snakes in the gutter; they will pounce and bite you the moment they seize an opportunity.

Such people should either be left alone or be completely eradicated, leaving no chance for them to rise again, lest they become a great threat in the future.

Bai Yan had originally only intended to break Zhen Xiaoren's limbs and teach him a lesson.

But now, he had developed murderous intent.

"Attempting to harm an Imperial Guard is a capital offense, but death can be commuted for a lesser punishment."

"You can lie in bed for a few months."

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Yan leaped forward, instantly twisting Zhen Xiaoren's limbs. Then, his sword-fingers darted out like lightning, pressing on the Zhongwan acupoint on his chest.

Zhen Xiaoren was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground with a heart-wrenching wail, which made his four guards tremble with fear.

"Take your young master and get out."

"Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, sir, for showing mercy!"

The four guards scrambled on their hands and knees, kowtowing. Then, enduring the excruciating pain in their thighs, they limped away, carrying Zhen Xiaoren in a sorry state.

Only after they had disappeared from sight did Bai Yan quietly retract the True Essence he had been secretly circulating.

With that finger strike, Bai Yan had injected a hidden stream of True Essence into Zhen Xiaoren's body.

This True Essence would remain dormant and undetectable, but once the time was ripe, it would erupt instantly, causing him to die without a sound, leaving no trace of the cause of death for anyone to discover.

Unless a Grandmaster intervened to expel the True Essence from Zhen Xiaoren's body, he was as good as dead!

"Son-in-law, is... is this alright?"

Ye Youcai stepped forward, a hint of worry on his face.

"The Zhen family has a Brigade Leader behind them. Will this cause you trouble?"

Bai Yan smiled and shook his head.

"It's nothing. It's just a mere Brigade Leader."

He had already beaten a Company Commander during the day, so why would he care about a mere Brigade Leader?

No matter how powerful Zhen Xiaoren's background was, could it be greater than Wang Zheng's behind Zhao Gaozhong?

"It's good that it's nothing."

Ye Youcai breathed a sigh of relief, then his eyes lit up, and he said eagerly, "Son-in-law, let's discuss your marriage to Lingdang. When do you think would be a suitable time for the wedding?"

In his opinion, Bai Yan was a super potential stock, the best of a hundred. The longer he delayed marrying his daughter off, the greater the risk of her being snatched away by someone else.

Bai Yan chuckled, "Father-in-law, you decide."

His parents had passed away, and there were no elders left at home to handle such matters. Having Ye Youcai make the decision was even more convenient.

Ye Youcai nodded and immediately began to ponder, unable to hide the smile on his face.

Zhen Residence.

When the four guards limped back to the Zhen Residence carrying Zhen Xiaoren, chaos erupted.

Upon seeing her son's tragic state, with his limbs broken and unconscious, Zhen Xiaoren's mother burst into heart-wrenching sobs, unable to bear the pain.

"My son, my son! Who could be so cruel as to beat you like this!"

"Master, you must seek justice for our son! You absolutely cannot let that killer go!"

The Zhen family master, with a grim expression, looked at the four guards kneeling before him and asked angrily, "Who exactly beat our young master to this state?"

"What did you do out there today? Tell me everything, clearly and in detail!"

The four guards dared not conceal anything and quickly recounted the entire sequence of events.

When they heard that Zhen Xiaoren had been beaten to this state because of Ye Youcai and his daughter, the Zhen family master was so enraged that he almost bit his molars to pieces.

"Ye family's son-in-law, what audacity!"

"And Ye Youcai, daring to harm my son like this, our Zhen family is not finished with him!"

"Master, no!"

One of the guards spoke tremblingly, "That Ye family son-in-law is an Imperial Guard Company Commander. We can't afford to offend him..."

"So what if he's a Company Commander?"

Master Zhen slammed his hand on the table, his anger boiling over:

"Does being a Company Commander give him the right to injure people without cause? Does he have any regard for the law?"

Even if Bai Yan was an Imperial Guard Company Commander, he would still seek justice for his son.

Another guard said nervously:

"It was the young master who attacked the Company Commander first. Even if we report this to the authorities, we'll be in the wrong."

Although Bai Yan had crippled one of this guard's legs, the guard dared not hold any resentment.

Being able to keep his life after offending an Imperial Guard Company Commander was already a stroke of luck. How could he dare to cause more trouble?

Master Zhen glared hatefully at the guard who had spoken. Although he knew the guard was right, his heart was still seething with rage.

"Are we just going to let this go?"

"My son's limbs are broken, and I can't even get justice for him?!"

Master Zhen slumped back into his chair, feeling a blockage in his chest, making it unbearable.

On one hand, he wanted to avenge his son, but on the other hand, he feared Bai Yan, this Imperial Guard Company Commander.

The guard was right. His son had made the first move, so the Zhen family was in the wrong.

Attacking an Imperial Guard was a serious crime. Bai Yan sparing his son's life was already showing mercy.

If they continued to press the issue, it might bring disaster upon their entire family.

"Master, we can't just let this go."

Zhen Xiaoren's mother screamed from the side:

"That damned beast treated our son like that. If we don't skin him alive and pull out his sinews, I'll never be able to vent my hatred!"

Mother Zhen's face was contorted and ferocious, looking like a vengeful ghost ready to devour someone.

The venom in her eyes made the guards tremble with fear.

As the saying goes, like mother, like son.

Zhen Xiaoren's arrogant and overbearing demeanor today was inseparable from his mother's influence.

An indulgent mother spoils her son; the ancients' words always hold true.

Master Zhen waved his hand irritably:

"Then what do you suggest we do? The person who injured Xiaoren is an Imperial Guard Company Commander. What right does our Zhen manor have to oppose a Company Commander?"

An Imperial Guard Company Commander held a fifth-rank official position in the court.

Coupled with the special status of the Emperor's personal army, even a fourth-rank official would have to show them some respect.

In the face of such a powerful figure, what was their Zhen family?

"Xun'er! Isn't Xun'er working in the Imperial Guard?"

Mother Zhen suddenly shrieked:

"We should ask Xun'er about this! Let him figure out a way!"

Master Zhen's eyes lit up, and he quickly called out to the butler:

"Quick! Go invite Young Master Xun over immediately!"