Rebirth 78, the beginning of the marriage was broken off by the female educated youth

The letter contained more than just information about the whereabouts of the account books.

There's even the truth behind the fire at the Mu family's residence back then?

real or fake?

For a moment, the entire room fell silent, except for gasps of surprise.

However, among everyone, Li Xiangnan was the calmest!

Impossible, absolutely impossible!

That old bastard Shangguan Wuji, he set me up!

He was certain that he couldn't read that letter before Mu Huanying, and that he had overstepped his bounds, which is why he dared to so brazenly whet my appetite!

There's actually nothing inside!

There's nothing there, it's all fake!

It was all a conspiracy by that old scoundrel Shangguan Wuji!

Li Xiangnan used this strong suggestion to tell himself that he must not be fooled.

"Cough cough cough..."

The coughing sound coming from beside him, Song Cijiu, proved that he shared the same view, a frantic suggestion to himself.

Seeing that his own men remained unmoved and even had normal expressions, Shangguan Wuji became more and more agitated as he spoke, even adopting a questioning and angry tone.

"I, Shangguan Wuji, have come to your door today, whether it be a congratulatory gift, an apology, or even just now, risking offending people, to help Brother Du and your virtuous grandson Xiang Nan suppress these ignorant fools..."

He seemed somewhat exasperated, pointing angrily at the ten representatives in the corner, "What is the purpose of this? First, it is for the sake of old friendships; second, it is to settle this matter that has weighed on my father's mind!"

He abruptly turned his head and glared at the ten representatives in the corner who had just been punished and were still reeking of alcohol and humiliation. His gaze was especially fixed on Ye Ruyan and Yan Qinghe, and his tone suddenly turned cold: "The ten families made a huge mistake by coming to our door with account books of dubious authenticity! They deserve to be punished, severely punished! Brother Du did the right thing! I, Shangguan Wuji, am the first to support you!"

These words terrified Ye Ruyan and Yan Qinghe.

“But…” Shangguan Wuji’s tone shifted again, his gaze sweeping over all the guests, “Their mistake was their rash methods and impure intentions! But what they sought, whether it was to confirm the whereabouts of the Mu family’s surviving members or to clarify the ownership of the Mu family’s belongings, was that intention entirely wrong?”

"Damn it, this bastard is trying to reason again!" Wang Defa cursed under his breath. "It's not the thugs that are scary, it's the thugs with culture that are scary!"

"Now, my Shangguan family holds a personal letter from an old friend, following the proper path and acting out of old friendship, simply to fulfill the humble wish of our elders: to see our deceased friend and personally comfort the spirit of our late father in heaven... Is this really an excessive request? Must we be turned away?"

These words were a clever combination of offense and defense, a masterful substitution of one thing for another!

He first elevated his actions to the moral high ground of fulfilling his deceased father's last wish, thus gaining an absolute advantage in terms of reason and emotion!

Then, he cleverly separated his request to see Mu Huanying from the ten families' intention to force him to abdicate.

He is on the right path, and he shares old friendships.

Ten families are reckless and improper.

But in the end, he subtly linked the purpose of the aristocratic family's identification of the person to clarify the old objects with his own purpose of meeting the person and exchanging letters, and even implied that Li Xiangnan's constant obstruction might be because he had something to hide.

Is it true, as the ten suspects, that there's no one in the backyard at all?

Sure enough, these words were like pouring a bucket of cold water into boiling oil!

In the corner stood a family representative who had just been punished and was covered in dirt, wishing he could shrink into a crack in the ground. Suddenly, his eyes lit up!

Zong Wangshan was the first to lose his temper. He was already dizzy from the alcohol, and when he saw that Shangguan Wuji, his powerful backer, not only stood up for him but also spoke so frankly, he immediately mustered his courage and shouted out in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Mr. Shangguan is right! Li Xiangnan, stop making excuses! You say you’re not feeling well, or you’re afraid of disturbing us! We brought our ten family accounts, and you said we were fake, that we were here to cause trouble! Fine, we’ll accept the punishment! But now Mr. Shangguan has brought his father and Old Master Mu’s handwritten letters from back then, openly and honestly wanting to fulfill his elders’ entrustment, so why are you stopping him?”

He set an example, which immediately triggered a chain reaction.

Hou Wanjin immediately followed suit. With a malicious intent, he shrieked, "I think you're hiding something! Saying that Old Madam Mu is recuperating in the backyard? I think that's completely fabricated! You're just making up a pretext to monopolize anything the Mu family might leave behind! Otherwise, why won't you let anyone see her? Not even someone like Mr. Shangguan, who has an old friendship and a token of trust?"

"Yes, I think it's fake!"

"There's no one in the backyard!"

"Li Xiangnan, you need to give me an explanation today!"

"Open the door and let everyone see for themselves whether it's real or fake!"

With one person taking the lead, the other representatives also started chattering away.

The humiliation and fear from before seemed to find an outlet, turning into questioning and coercion of Li Xiangnan.

They dared not do anything to Du Xingyue again, but took advantage of the momentum stirred up by Shangguan Wuji to once again fiercely stab Li Xiangnan!

The guests in the courtyard were all looking at each other and whispering amongst themselves.

Shangguan Wuji's words did indeed sound somewhat reasonable.

The clamor of the ten representatives, though disgusting, also pointed out a question that had been lingering in everyone's mind.

Could it be... that there's really no one in the backyard?

Is Li Xiangnan really bluffing?

However, although they had their doubts, as Li Xiangnan's relatives and friends, they trusted him unconditionally at this moment, and immediately started cursing at the ten representatives.

"Zong Wangshan, I think you're itching for a beating again. You think I didn't pour you enough wine?" Wang Defa cursed angrily.

Song Ziming also shouted, "Old fox Yan, stop your whining behind my back, you'll regret it later!"

Yang Weidong roared, "You surnamed Chen, try saying another word..."

Du Xingyue's face turned extremely ugly.

He never expected that Shangguan Wuji, with just a few words, not only cleared himself of all wrongdoing but also reignited the arrogance of the ten families and forced Li Xiangnan into a corner with almost no way out!

He slammed his cane down heavily, about to forcefully suppress the commotion once again—

"enough!"

Li Xiangnan suddenly shouted.

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a chilling and resolute quality, instantly overwhelming all the noise.

He stepped forward, his gaze as cold as stars, sweeping over the most vocal and boastful men, including Marquis Wan Jin of Zongwang Mountain, before finally settling on Shangguan Wuji's face, which appeared sorrowful but was actually unfathomable.

"Mr. Shangguan!"

Li Xiangnan's voice was eerily calm: "You keep mentioning my late father's last wishes, and I dare not be disrespectful! But you also said that Grandma is a descendant of someone from the past. As a descendant of someone from the past, she has her own rules for that family!"

"Although my Li family is small, we still know about filial piety and ethics! Whether Grandma wants to receive guests, when to receive guests, and which guests to receive should be decided by Grandma herself, or by me, her grandson!"

He looked at Shangguan Wuji: "How can an outsider with an old letter forcefully open the door to an old man's room and disturb his sick body?"

He paused, then his tone turned icy: "As for the ten of you, Elder Du has already dealt with them, and you have all apologized and been punished with drinks! Now, taking advantage of Mr. Shangguan's words, you are stirring up trouble again. Do you think you haven't had enough of Elder Du's drinks?"

The last sentence was sharp as a knife, directly targeting the ten representatives, while also putting pressure back on Du Xingyue.

Du Xingyue immediately understood, slamming his dragon-headed cane down on the bullet with a thud. His hair and beard bristled as he roared, "You damned bastard! You've already forgotten the pain after being punished with wine?! Anyone who dares to utter another fart, I'll make them swallow that wine, jar and all!"

Shangguan Wuji narrowed his eyes slightly.

Li Xiangnan's response was still extremely solid, using filial piety, family rules, and his ailing body as shields, and Du Xingyue's remaining power as a spear, temporarily holding off his offensive.

He was about to speak again, to exert even stronger pressure with reason and emotion.

Just then!

A clear, calm, yet strangely penetrating female voice suddenly came from outside the moon gate.

"The Shangguan family is something else, still as domineering as ever!"

"???"

Who is this?

The entire audience shuddered once more, turning their gazes in unison toward the courtyard gate…