The hall was so quiet for a while that you could hear a pin drop. No one thought that Su Su would admit it. After all, impersonating someone else in such an important wedding was completely different from the mermaid breaking the rules and playing a game with a fake identity. In the game, as long as Su Su's strength was real, his identity didn't matter too much.
But Qi Hanyi's marriage partner is the princess of the Mermaid Kingdom. This is a marriage personally arranged by His Majesty, so how could it be changed at will?
This is why the Mo family thought they could use this to control Qi Hanyi. In Mo Shan's opinion, even Qi Hanyi couldn't shield Su Su in this matter, and might be charged with deception.
But now Su Su frankly admitted that this was just like a game at a gambling table where he was holding a winning card and waiting for the other party to place a bet, but as soon as the other party sat down, he was ready to overturn the table.
Even Mo Shan, who had been planning the whole thing, was dumbfounded, and even regretted that he should not have started the attack so early and pushed the opponent too hard.
Mo Shan took a sip of tea, and the bitter tea aroma calmed his mind. It doesn't matter. Su Su's problem is far more than just a name. Not only is he not Yi Qing, he is not even a mermaid, and even his gender is wrong. He is a male mermaid, and he can neither improve Qi Hanyi's condition nor give birth to offspring for the Qi family. Such an identity is worthless to the Qi family, and the head of the Qi family will definitely not protect him.
Feeling that he still had the situation under control, Mo Shan was about to speak.
Su Su then revealed all his information at once, as if he was exposing himself: "My name is Su Su, and I'm a male mermaid shark."
"Cough cough cough." Mo Shan's trachea was choked by the tea.
Male, mermaid, shark!
Among the guests present, many of the timid ones were so scared that they even dropped their chopsticks, with expressions like, "Who am I? Where am I?" They didn't expect that just attending a party would bring them such a shocking melon. If it were normal times, they would naturally enjoy hearing such gossip, but now the target of the gossip was right here, and he was the most untouchable heir of the Qi family. They no longer had the heart to be a scoundrel, and they just wished they could become deaf on the spot.
Su Su was totally unaware of how big a turmoil he had caused. He raised his chin towards Qi Hanyi proudly. This was just what he liked, revealing other people's cards so that they had no cards to reveal.
Rather than letting people with ulterior motives use it as leverage to target you, it is better to reveal your identity and make plans early.
Qi Hanyi did not stop him, and even tolerantly helped him pick up some food. He had long understood Su Su's mentality of "no one can hold my handle, if I am not well, you will not be well either, let's just fight to the death". Su Su's current reaction was completely within his expectations.
"Mermaid? Can't mermaids transform into human appearance? General Qi, what's going on? Didn't you get Princess Yiqing? You don't look surprised. Did you know his identity long ago?" Mo Shan asked a series of questions, as if he had just learned about this and was so surprised that he didn't know what to do.
Qi Hanyi didn't buy it. He raised his cold eyebrows and asked with contempt in his eyes, "I don't know when a chamber of commerce president has the right to ask about my affairs?"
He usually doesn't like to use his status to bully others. Everyone is the heir of a top family, and each of them runs a different field, so there is no need to deliberately distinguish between high and low. But if we really talk about official positions, the Chamber of Commerce is just a private organization, and the president is just a nominal title, but his identity as an expeditionary general is real.
Mo Shan hit the hard nail, and although he didn't show any sign of it on his face, he almost deformed the chopsticks with his hand.
But he still held himself back in the end. A lack of patience can lead to big plans. He was not the kind of person who would fight for a moment's pride.
"I overstepped my bounds, please don't blame me, General Qi. Yes, this matter will be decided by the Council of Nobles and His Majesty, and there is no need for a businessman like me to worry about it." Mo Shan drank a glass of wine and cheerfully asked everyone to continue eating, as if what had just happened had never happened.
"By the way, before the banquet started, many guests complained to me that their mermaids were difficult to discipline. I have something unpleasant to say, please don't be offended, ladies. After all, mermaids have some animal habits. If they are disobedient, they must be disciplined. Only when they know that they are in pain and afraid will they be obedient."
As soon as these words were spoken, the mermaids who were just enjoying themselves or worrying about Su Su's situation immediately ignored what had just happened and showed angry expressions. Especially the young mermaids who had just married. Although they had many restrictions after marrying into the human world, they still had no worries about food and clothing. Even if their husbands were not the kind of people who loved them, they would at least pretend to be nice for the sake of the nobles' dignity. How could they say such words to their faces? There was no respect at all, as if they were cats and dogs in the cage that could be disciplined at will.
However, what opened their eyes even more was yet to come.
Mo Shan clapped his hands, and five mermaid girls walked to the center of the hall.
Mo Shan introduced: "These are the mermaids that our training center received last quarter. They have now successfully graduated, so we just sent them back to reunite with their husbands. This will also allow all guests to see the results of our training."
After he finished speaking, he made a gesture with his hands, and the mermaids gathered in the center of the banquet dispersed and returned to their partners.
Unlike the mermaids at the banquet, these mermaids did not have any innocence in their expressions, only fear and flattery. They walked to their partners and knelt down obediently like slaves. They lowered their heads, bent their waists, and served dishes to their partners, removing the shells of shrimps, bones from fish, and cores from fruits. They even peeled the melon seeds one by one. They would refill the wine glasses as soon as they were empty. These were originally the work of servants, but they did it with ease and looked happy.
But even with such obedience, some people were still dissatisfied. A member of the Mo family's side branch suddenly got angry and splashed tea on his own mermaid's face: "How can I drink such hot water?"
The tea was indeed boiling hot, and it was still emitting steam. It splashed on the mermaid's face, scalding the girl's entire body and causing her to tremble violently. She bit her lips tightly and did not scream. After pausing for two seconds and wiping the tea off her face, she apologized meekly, "I'm sorry, I was careless and nearly scalded you. Please forgive me."
The mermaid girl next to them couldn't stand it anymore, so she stood up and pulled up the mermaid who kept apologizing. "What's wrong with you? Why are you apologizing to them? We marry humans to be partners, not slaves!"
Then she turned around and glared at the man: "Don't you know to cool the water down before drinking it? You complained about the hotness while drinking it, but you splashed it on your partner's face?"
"No, it's my fault. My husband punishes me and teaches me because he loves me." The mermaid who was pulled away quickly stood in front of her partner, raised her head numbly, looked at the young mermaid who wanted to stand up for her, and shook her head: "I should have cooled the tea before serving it to my partner. It was my fault that my partner took the risk of getting scalded. My partner provides us with food and clothing, we should be grateful and repay each other with all we have. Any negligence is repaying kindness with enmity, which is wrong."
Hearing these words that sounded like a ghost, the faces of the mermaids present turned ugly. Most of them had never been to the so-called mermaid training center, but had only vaguely heard of such a place.
They couldn't imagine what kind of experience could make an innocent mermaid girl become a completely different person in just three months. This place was far more terrifying than they had imagined.
The people present had different expressions. A few looked a little uncomfortable, and one even said he was feeling unwell and left the scene with his merman companion. But most of them watched the excitement without getting involved, or showed some interest, yearning, or had enthusiastic eyes.
"Everyone has seen the effect. As long as mermaids are trained in the right way, they will be obedient to their partners. Of course, the mermaids who come here will have to endure some hardships. If any guest is particularly fond of his own mermaid and doesn't want her to suffer, then don't come and ask."
"But in my opinion, marrying mermaids is a great gift to us nobles. It allows them to come to our imperial capital from their cramped underwater caves and enjoy a good life that ordinary humans cannot enjoy. The only requirement is that they give birth to a child."
"Besides, if it weren't for this reason, mermaids should have been extinct hundreds of years ago. It is our human kindness that has allowed them to live to this day. If mermaids are ungrateful and still point fingers at the people who provide for their lives and protect their families, then they really should be taught a lesson. What do you think?"
Mo Shan looked at the crowd with a shrewd calculation in his eyes, and announced loudly: "The training center is always open to everyone. Interested guests can talk to me privately after the banquet is over."
As soon as he finished speaking, the mermaid girl who had just come out started to make a scene again at the banquet, pointing at her partner, the officer named Zhu who had just started to complain that she was going to study starships, and said, "If you dare to send me to the training center, you will never see me again in your life."
"Threatening your partner is not a good thing to do. Officer Zhu, I have seen many mermaids like your lady. If you can leave her to me, I promise that she will be a good and obedient girl in three months."
The officer surnamed Zhu turned a deaf ear to his partner's scolding and just smiled awkwardly: "Then I'll trouble you, Mr. Mo."
"You dare!" The mermaid girl pointed at her partner angrily. Suddenly, two robots appeared from behind, fixed the mermaid girl on the left and right, and dragged her away from the banquet.
Without even turning his head to look, Officer Zhu thanked Mo Shan earnestly and asked, "How do you think of this reward..."
"Hey, it's too polite to say reward. I, Mo, am not doing this for business, I just want to make friends with all of you talented people." Mo Shan waved his hand and smiled. In his eyes, money is the easiest thing to make, and the connections and power held by these nobles are more valuable. To ask for their favors is more calculating than asking for a sum of money.
Seeing their own kind being dragged away like this, many mermaids showed a sense of pity. However, some of their partners were smugly taking the opportunity to warn their own mermaids to behave better at home in the future, and if they didn't obey, they would send them here.
Su Su was a little depressed after watching enough farce. Is the mermaid who was captured and locked up pitiful? Of course it is pitiful, but who cares about it? Are the fish that were bitten to death by it not pitiful?
"Let's go." Su Su put down his chopsticks, as if he was just here to have a meal: "I'm full."
Qi Hanyi nodded and made a move to take Su Su away, but when they walked outside, they met the housekeeper who tried to stop them. One moment he said there was a program specially prepared for General Qi and hoped he could take time to attend. The next moment he said the master had something to discuss with General Qi about cooperation and hoped he would stay. The next moment he said their shuttle was accidentally damaged and they had to wait a little longer. In short, he was trying every way to delay time.
Until Mo Lin and several people wearing Defense Bureau uniforms surrounded the two of them, Mo Lin took out a parliamentary approval document, glanced at Su Su meaningfully, and read to Qi Hanyi: "The elders' council just passed an urgent resolution that the mermaid Su Su, who pretended to be a mermaid princess, deceived the superiors, fooled humans, and damaged the reputation of the nobles, was first detained in the Mermaid Training Center, and waited for the investigation of the matter to be reported to His Majesty before making a decision."
After reading it, he seemed a little sorry: "Han Yi, I'm sorry, I just got the news from my father and didn't have time to inform you in advance."
He sighed again, "I don't know why you and my elder brother suddenly got into this situation. I think there might be some misunderstanding. Our two families are old friends, and you and my brother are both capable people. You can always solve the problem if you talk it over. As for Su Su, don't worry, he will be safe in our Mo family's territory. I will help you take good care of him."
"The training center, am I going too?" Su Su finally came to life. He thought that after watching the show for so long, the important things finally came. He waved happily at Qi Hanyi, smiling like a child who was about to go on an outing with his friends: "Then I'm leaving. Don't miss me too much."