She felt her pride being trampled mercilessly beneath his feet, shattered to pieces.
Her eyes reddened slightly, and she bit her lower lip hard to keep the tears from falling on the spot.
She stared fixedly at Chen Changqing, wanting to find even a trace of mockery or apology on that calm face of his.
But there was nothing.
Only an unfathomable calmness.
As though refusing a marriage alliance with the True Dragon Clan was nothing more than a trivial matter to him.
That calmness hurt her more deeply than any mocking words could have.
The atmosphere in the hall had already grown tense to the extreme.
Long Gan's fury and Long Ziyue's grief and indignation intertwined into a great net that enveloped Chen Changqing.
Facing this pressure that seemed ready to devour a man whole, Chen Changqing finally spoke again.
His voice remained as steady as ever.
"Clan Chief Long, and Princess, I think you have misunderstood."
"A misunderstanding?"
Long Gan laughed in extreme anger, the dragon's might around him surging even more fiercely.
"You said you wouldn't agree to this marriage, and now you say it is a misunderstanding? Chen Changqing, do you take me for a three-year-old child?!"
He was already on the brink of erupting. Had he not still been mindful of the other's identity as Shu Mountain's Holy Son, he would likely have made his move long ago.
Long Ziyue also raised her head, her reddened eyes filled with stubbornness and confusion.
She wanted to hear exactly what sort of "misunderstanding" he could come up with.
Facing Long Gan's rage, Chen Changqing merely shook his head lightly.
"I have no intention of toying with the Dragon Clan, nor do I think there is anything lacking in Her Highness the Princess."
His gaze turned toward Long