Chapter 284 - 280: Golden Scale Imperial City

Chapter 284: Chapter 280: Golden Scale Imperial City

In the early morning, the sun rose slowly from the eastern horizon, its golden light spilling across the land.

Golden Scale Imperial City, the capital of the country, was incomparably prosperous. The streets bustled with traffic, and dignitaries, nobles, and High-tier Martial Artists were a common sight.

After a long journey, Ye Xing, along with Lieu Nuoning and Lieu Yahan, finally arrived at the Imperial Capital of the Southern Tang Country—the Golden Scale Imperial City.

The Lieu Family was a major, long-established clan, so asking any random person on the street was enough to learn the general location of their estate.

"Nuoning, do you have any close relatives inside the Lieu Mansion?" Ye Xing couldn’t help but ask. He had to be clear about this. If he just dropped the siblings off at the Lieu Mansion and left, they would likely be targeted by that First Madam.

"Yes. My third granduncle is my grandfather’s biological younger brother, and he has always been very protective of us. He would even occasionally visit us in Yongfu Town," Lieu Nuoning said. "I heard my mother say that back when the First Madam plotted against us, it was Third Granduncle who protected us in secret. That’s why we weren’t harmed by her. Otherwise, it probably wouldn’t have been as simple as just being exiled to the countryside."

"Good. It’s best if you have a protector. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t feel right about just leaving you two at the Lieu Mansion." Ye Xing’s gaze shifted. He pulled a pistol from behind his waist and handed it to Lieu Nuoning, saying, "This pistol is for you."

"A pistol?" Lieu Nuoning’s beautiful eyes were filled with confusion. She had clearly never seen such a strange black object before.

"Yes. It’s a very powerful Hidden Weapon. You can use it for self-defense if you’re in danger," Ye Xing said. "Used properly, it can even kill a Martial Artist of the Martial Arts Eighth and Ninth Realms."

"It can kill a Martial Artist of the Eighth and Ninth Realms?" Lieu Nuoning’s eyes widened in a daze. She quickly waved her hands and said, "Brother Ye, this... this must be very valuable."

"Valuable? I have plenty of them." Ye Xing reached out, took Lieu Nuoning’s small hand, and pressed the pistol into it. "If you need to use it, just point the barrel at your target and pull the trigger."

"Oh." Lieu Nuoning nodded obediently, her pretty face flushing red.

Ye Xing immediately led the two siblings toward Duke Lieu’s Mansion.

The Lieu Mansion grounds were vast, with a vermilion main gate flanked by two squads of guards standing watch.

"The young miss and young master are back. Quick, go report to the First Madam." The guard captain at the gate spotted a young man in green robes, a beautiful woman in a purple dress, and a young boy in brocade clothes approaching from a distance. He immediately whispered an order to a guard beside him, who then quickly ran inside the mansion.

At that moment, Ye Xing and the Lieu siblings arrived at the main gate of the Lieu Mansion.

"You two must be the young master and young miss. Please, follow me. The clan Elders have been waiting for a long time," the guard captain said with a fawning smile and a bow.

"Oh, is my third granduncle there too?" the young boy in brocade clothes asked, his big, dark eyes looking at the guard captain.

"He is, he is. All the Elders are inside discussing the young master’s succession to the dukedom. Young master, please hurry and come with me," the guard captain said with a smile.

"Oh, okay." The young boy in brocade, Lieu Yahan, nodded. He and his sister prepared to follow the guard captain inside.

"Wait!" Ye Xing suddenly ordered in a low voice. "Nuoning, Yahang, don’t go in yet. Come back."

Lieu Nuoning froze.

"Brother Ye, what’s wrong?"

Lieu Nuoning’s beautiful eyes were filled with confusion, but she still took her brother’s hand and returned to Ye Xing’s side.

"Young miss, young master, why have you stopped?" The guard captain frowned, looked at Ye Xing, and said coldly, "And who might this young man be?"

"Who I am isn’t important. You just said that all the Lieu Family Elders are inside. Please go inform the third granduncle that Nuoning and Little Yahan have arrived at the Lieu Mansion," Ye Xing said.

"The Third Elder already knows. He was the one who told us to wait here for the young miss and young master’s arrival. Young miss, young master, you should hurry and come with me." The guard captain’s eyes shifted, and he reached out to pull the Lieu siblings along.

Ye Xing took a step forward, directly blocking the guard captain.

"Kid, you dare interfere in the Lieu Mansion’s affairs? You’re courting death." The guard captain’s face turned cold as he swung the Great Saber in his hand, slashing directly at Ye Xing.

The blade whistled through the air with considerable force.

"Hah. Just as I thought."

A cold smile touched Ye Xing’s lips. He lifted his foot and kicked out lightly. The move seemed effortless, yet it was deceptively fast, striking the guard captain squarely in the abdomen.

BAM!

The guard captain let out a wretched cry as his body flew backward like a broken sack, slamming heavily against the main gate.

The other eight or nine guards in the area looked on in horror, their hands frozen on their weapons, not daring to step forward.

Suddenly, at that moment—

"We’re under attack! Assassins are storming the Lieu Mansion! Kill them on sight!" a shrill female voice rang out.

A noblewoman in her thirties, wearing an opulent vermilion hairpin, walked out from within the Lieu Mansion.

At the noblewoman’s command, the hundred or so guards clustered around her rushed out from the mansion. With weapons in hand, they surged forward and surrounded Ye Xing, Lieu Nuoning, and Lieu Yahan.

Every one of them radiated killing intent as they swung their weapons, hacking down toward Lieu Nuoning and the young boy in brocade.

BAM! BANG! BANG! BANG!

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Ye Xing raised his leg and threw out several whip-like kicks, sending the first few guards who rushed him flying. However, more guards kept coming, wave after wave. They aimed most of their weapons at the Lieu siblings, as if they had been ordered beforehand to kill them in the chaos.

"Stop!"

Just then, another voice came from within the Lieu Mansion. It was an old voice, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps. An elderly man appeared at the mansion’s entrance. "All of you, stop this instant!"

At the old man’s shout, the guards at the gate froze. They glanced at the noblewoman, then at the old man, hesitating, unsure whose command to follow.

"Third Granduncle!" Lieu Nuoning and Lieu Yahan looked at the old man with immense joy.

"Yes, Ning’er, Ahang, you’ve finally come." The old man’s face was full of affection as he took their hands. He then turned to the noblewoman and said furiously, "Mrs. Dong, as their aunt, how dare you move against the direct bloodline of the Lieu Family! You—"

"Oh, so it’s Ning’er and Little Hang?" The noblewoman feigned surprise, then paused before quickly plastering a smile on her face. "A misunderstanding, Third Elder, this is all a complete misunderstanding. I thought they were assassins attacking the Lieu Mansion. You know, it’s been nearly eight years since I last saw Ning’er and Little Hang. They’ve grown so much. Come, let your auntie have a good look at you! Ai, if only your mother hadn’t made that terrible mistake back then, enraging the master—"

"You’re lying! My mother didn’t do anything wrong! You’re the one who framed her!" The young boy in brocade, Lieu Yahan, his little face flushed bright red with anger, glared furiously at the noblewoman with his big, dark eyes.

"My, it seems Little Hang holds quite a deep misunderstanding against his auntie. Ai." The noblewoman sighed. "Everything requires proof. If you misunderstand your auntie like this, it will make me very sad."

"Enough. What happened back then was many years ago. There’s no point in dwelling on it now. Mrs. Dong, you know in your own heart whether you’ve done anything wrong," the old man said in a low voice. "This time, Little Hang has returned to inherit the title. As the only remaining direct heir of the Lieu Family, he will inherit the family’s ducal title. Mrs. Dong, you have no objections, do you?"

A cold glint flashed in First Madam Dong’s eyes before she quickly concealed it. She curtsied and smiled. "Of course. How could your niece-in-law dare to have any objections?"