Chapter 217: Chapter 223: Uncle and Nephew "Recognize Each Other"?_1
"Princess Bai Xi...?"
The group of people, originally annoyed by the interruption of their meeting, suddenly became somewhat dumbfounded after seeing the two people not far away.
Making such a commotion at this kind of event was not in keeping with Princess Bai Xi\'s style. She had always left the impression of being amiable and yet dignified and noble to the people of Tianjiang; why would she commit such an impolite act today?
For a moment, Fang Ren and Bai Xi were staring at the group opposite them, both unsure of what to say to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Princess Bai Xi immediately stood up from her seat, straightened her posture, and began, "Sorry, everyone..."
Seeing this, Mu Huanqing quickly walked down from the platform, interrupting her with a smile, "Sister Bai Xi needn\'t worry too much. This isn\'t any important meeting, and moreover, there is no rule here against speaking a bit louder. When I came in earlier, I was speaking much louder than you were."
As soon as Mu Huanqing said this, everyone immediately started to echo her sentiments. After all, in such a setting, it was necessary to give others a way to save face, especially for people who value their reputation.
Then a middle-aged man also spoke up with a smile, "Madame Xuan is right, Your Highness the Princess needn\'t fuss over such a small matter. This isn\'t any formal conference; it was just a few impromptu remarks."
"Your Highness, you are too serious with your apology; if anyone should be apologizing, it should be me for my poor manner of speaking earlier."
…
Seeing Mu Huanqing giving her an out, Bai Xi, without further ado, naturally smiled and said, "As long as I have not disturbed everyone, that is for the best. However, I ought to apologize; I\'ve had a small matter that I did not handle well just now. I hope you will not take offense. Please, continue with the meeting."
Upon hearing this, Mu Huanqing immediately turned to a middle-aged man and said, "Chairman Zhu, do we have any other important matters to announce? If not, I think we can end the meeting early."
What\'s the point of this tedious meeting when my husband is already here?
The man known as Chairman Zhu, upon hearing this, smiled awkwardly and said, "This... it seems we don\'t have any other important matters indeed. What does everyone else think?"
The other middle-aged men and women exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, we\'ve already covered most of the important matters earlier. Continuing further would mostly involve trivial issues, I think we can end the meeting early."
"True, the only things left are coordinating with the Central Area and some of us welcoming the heads of the major guilds. There\'s no need to continue any further."
With their words, the decision to adjourn the meeting was settled.
Aside from the three hundred female soldiers of the Nine Heavens Corps, the scions of the other major families seated here all smiled wryly. How could they dare not comply when Madame Xuan suggested ending the meeting early?
"Wait a moment."
Just as everyone was getting ready to leave, Fang Ye, who had been sitting on the platform, stood up and looked at Fang Ren not far below, wearing a smile reminiscent of a monk.
"Nephew Ren, can you guess who I am?" Fang Ye asked.
"Nephew Ren?"
"Second Young Master Fang\'s nephew? Could it be the prodigy from this year\'s Elixir Competition?"
As soon as everyone heard what Fang Ye said, they were all surprised and stood up from their seats one after another, walking to a convenient spot to observe and cast their glances over.
Including the three hundred female soldiers of the Nine Heavens Corps, they too, at this moment, directed their attention towards Fang Ren, with some who couldn\'t see clearly using True Qi to hover in mid-air, watching this star who was overturning the Elixir Field.
Their interest in Fang Ren was mostly not because of his Alchemy Talent but because in the past few days, Madame Xuan frequently mentioned to them about a very low-key and outstanding young Alchemist she met at Yangming University, and that young man was Fang Ren.
Moreover, from Madame Xuan\'s words, it wasn\'t hard for them to sense her fondness for this talent; they were all extremely curious about what kind of youth could inspire such strong positive feelings in Madame Xuan, who remained unmoved even by gentlemen like Song Mobei.
For a time, the whole scene was almost revolving around Fang Ren.
Fang Ren looked at Fang Ye, who had stood up on stage, and put on a smile, saying, "I have a fresh memory of the lesson that Second Uncle taught me on the night of May 13th, how could I not know Second Uncle?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Ye laughed loudly, "Hahaha, my brother\'s son is indeed outstanding! Talented yet modest, and right upon our first meeting, he flatters his Second Uncle; it truly fills me with surprise and joy!"
"Not at all, it was the class Second Uncle taught that was brilliant, providing me with guidance that allowed me to come here today. Otherwise, I\'m afraid I would still be an incapable student stuck in a small county town. I will remember Second Uncle\'s class for a lifetime!" Fang Ren said with a smiling face.
A sharp pang hit Fang Ye\'s heart; it was clear that this meant Fang Ren would harbor resentment towards him for a lifetime, and it indirectly implied that if it hadn\'t been for his earlier attempt to kill Fang Ren, then Mu Huanqing would not have been forced to leave him, and he wouldn\'t have reached this position today because of his marriage with Mu Huanqing.
The cause of it all was because of his Void Beast!
"My nephew has taken my teachings to heart; this comforts me greatly. Now that the meeting is over, I\'ll take my nephew to have a meal together, so that we can get to know each other," Fang Ye said.
"Some other day for Second Young Master Fang."
No sooner had Fang Ye\'s voice fallen than Mu Huanqing\'s voice rang out in the venue.
She walked gracefully to the side of Fang Ren and Bai Qi, saying, "Today, Sister Bai Xi, Young Master Fang, and I had already made prior arrangements. Although it\'s a bit of a disturbance to you, I don\'t like to change my plans."
As Mu Huanqing\'s words ended, the atmosphere of the entire venue suddenly turned colder, and everyone was puzzled as to why Madame Xuan would suddenly interject in what was clearly a proper uncle-nephew recognition.
Fang Ren then spoke, "Thank you for the kind invitation, Second Uncle, but compared to chatting and catching up with Second Uncle, I\'d prefer to go mooch a meal with Madame Xuan."
Seeing this, another sharp pang hit Fang Ye\'s heart; he was all too clear about the matter between Mu Huanqing and Fang Ren, but it had always been kept private and not made public. If these matters were suddenly made public and Mu Huanqing denied them, in the end, it would appear as if he were slandering Madame Xuan.
"Seems like my nephew doesn\'t want me as his Second Uncle?" Fang Ye said.
"It\'s not that I don\'t want," Fang Ren smiled, "I just think that I didn\'t bring any gifts today, so to recognize each other now would be somewhat hasty. Next time, I will be sure to bring a great gift that will delight you to tears, Second Uncle."
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"Is that right? Then I look forward to my nephew\'s \'great gift\'. But next time, I will also need to prepare a gift for my nephew," Fang Ye said, smiling.
"Would Second Young Master Fang like to receive my great gift?"
Mu Huanqing turned her head, her icy gaze sweeping over Fang Ye.
A bone-chilling coldness relentlessly assailed Fang Ye\'s heart, making his attempt at a smile appear somewhat forced, "Madame Xuan really has a way of joking."
With that, Fang Ye turned to face everyone, saying, "Well, since Madame Xuan and my nephew had prior arrangements, I won\'t impose any further."
He intentionally only mentioned that Mu Huanqing and Fang Ren had an arrangement, without mentioning Bai Qi.