Seeing Tang Jian and Lin Zao arrive, Yang Yuechan, as the hostess, naturally stepped forward to greet them.
"General Tang, it is a great honor for Yuechan that Madam Tang has taken time out of her busy schedule to attend the flower appreciation banquet hosted by Yuechan."
Yang Yuechan bowed gently to Tang Jian.
"General Tang, please take a seat. My good-for-nothing brother has already been given a good talking-to by our grandmother since he came back last time. I hope you won't mind his recklessness."
"The person you should apologize to isn't me, but the person he hurt!"
Tang Jian replied with a cold expression.
Yang Yuechan paused, then smiled again. "General Tang is right. I misunderstood. In any case, I still need to apologize to the general!"
Tang Jian didn't say anything, just nodded and led Lin Zao past her to sit down.
Yang Yuechan's smile remained unchanged as she continued to entertain other guests, but her eyes were filled with gloom.
There were still many male guests sitting in the seats, and the main seat was still empty. When they saw Tang Jian, they all stood up and bowed.
They greeted each other and then sat down.
Tang Jian wasn't familiar with the people on the field; he'd only met them once, so he didn't participate in their conversation.
The scene quickly formed a small circle: the female guests admired the flowers, the male guests chatted, and Tang Jian and Lin Zao formed another circle.
"The Prince, Princess, and Heir Apparent have arrived!"
Everyone present stood up and bowed.
"Please rise, everyone!"
Old Madam Yang followed Prince Cheng and the others. After they were all seated in the main seats, the banquet officially began.
Grandma Yang first thanked everyone for coming and said a lot of polite words, then suddenly changed the subject and looked at Tang Jian and the others.
"I heard that my grand-nephew Tianba was detained by the General for arguing with him over a private room at a restaurant. I wonder if the General could spare the child for my sake?"
King Cheng and his queen sat in the main seats with unchanged expressions, as if it were none of their business.
The others present began to whisper among themselves as they watched Tang Jian, and their voices grew louder as Tang Jian remained motionless.
"What a despicable person! Once he gains power, he arrests and tortures people over such a trivial matter!"
"Exactly! I heard their whole family came from the village... They really are of lowly birth and don't know any manners!"
As she spoke, a lady waved her handkerchief near her nose, as if some strange smell was bothering her.
Lin Zao's face turned cold, and she picked up a chopstick and casually tossed it over.
With a 'whoosh,' the chopsticks pierced through the handkerchief in the lady's hand and fell to the ground behind her, half of the chopsticks and the handkerchief embedded in the soil.
"Ah!" The lady screamed in fright, her hand still raised to her face, too afraid to move.
Everyone present fell silent, staring blankly at Lin Zao, then at the chopsticks.
"I never expected Madam Tang to have this skill. She's truly a woman of great talent and ability, worthy of being General Tang's wife. Beautiful!"
Princess Cheng broke the silence first, praising and clapping, while Xiao Bao beside her nodded and clapped enthusiastically!
The lady had recovered and wanted to confront Lin Zao, but Princess Cheng suddenly intervened, leaving her in an awkward position and her expression turning somewhat unpleasant.
This was the first time Tang Jian had seen Lin Zao unleash such power. A glint flashed in his eyes, indicating that he still didn't understand her well enough. He glanced at Lin Zao with a smile before slowly turning to look at Old Madam Yang.
"Is Old Madam Yang criticizing me? I do have a question for you, Old Madam. What about your grand-nephew Yang Tianba, who preys on the villagers and forcibly takes women?"
Old Madam Yang's face tightened. Of course she knew what kind of person Yang Tianba was, and guessed that what Tang Jian said might be true. She didn't expect that Yang Tianba would dare to hide such a big disaster from her!
After all, he was sent to Stone Town because he caused a big mess, so he wouldn't have to provoke the wrong people. But he still managed to provoke the wrong people!
If he weren't the only grandson of the Duke of Yang's elder brother, she really would have liked to just ignore him!
Old Madam Yang thought of many things in an instant, but her face remained calm and composed.
"General, you must be mistaken. Tianba has always been a filial and kind child. It seems that you have been misled by the slander of petty people. I wonder who is making up such baseless accusations against him?"
The mockery in Tang Jian's eyes was even stronger.
"I never expected that Old Madam Yang would have the ability to lie through her teeth! Your grandson, Yang Tianbao, beat my sworn brother half to death for no reason!"
"Your grand-nephew Yang Tianba even snatched my sworn brother's pregnant wife to be his concubine! What? Do you think the world is ruled by people surnamed Yang?!"
Tang Jian's words were all exquisite and resounding!
Old Madam Yang's expression changed!
"nonsense!"
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