1693 Material Inspection (1/2)
Eight sandalwood chairs were arranged in the visitor's hall of the royal palace.
Helian Tulong claimed the center seat like the last time but Luo Shanhe made no complaints. Instead, he plopped down contentedly to the left of Helian Tulong.
Feng Chongwu and Yun Changxiao seated themselves on the chairs to the right, followed by Yuwen Yuanqin and Ximen Shuoxue.
There were only two seats left but there were three of them – Chen Xiaobei, Ao Liangcheng, and Ling Qingfeng.
Luo Shanhe smiled, ”Childe Liancheng! Childe Qingdeng! Please take a seat!”
Three persons, two seats. Luo Shanhe did not plan to add another chair for Chen Xiaobei. He ignored Chen Xiaobei as if he was invisible to deliberately humiliate him.
Ao Liancheng could not tolerate this. ”Eighth Wangye*, Childe Chen does not have a seat! Please add another chair for him!”
Ling Qingfeng also remained standing.
”Childe Chen? Childe who?” Luo Shanhe sneered. ”There's no place for any random Tom, Dick or Harry in today's gathering!”
”Hey, low-class person! What level are we, and what level are you at? Don't you know your place?” Yuwen Yuanqin hissed. ”If it was not for our respect of Ao Liancheng's face, you won't even be standing here!”
Ao Liancheng was fuming. ”Yuwen Yuanqin! You better show some respect! I'll make you pay for being disrespectful to Childe Chen!”
”Oh? What is the meaning of this?” Yuwen Yuanqin smirked. ”The high and mighty fourth place on the Nine-Zones Leaderboard, Ao Liancheng is locking horns with me for a nobody? Is that pretty boy your gay partner? Why else would you be so worked up?”
”Yuwen Yuanqin! It seems to me that you really are looking to end your own life!” Ao Liancheng's eyes were burning with rage and wrath!
”What a joke!” Yuwen Yuanqin spat. ”This is Saint Duke Starfield! I am the young master of Saint Duke's number one faction! Eighth Wangye is my shishu*! Childe Shuoxue is a good friend of mine! If you so much as lift a finger against me, I will make sure that you do not walk out of Saint Duke alive!”
”You…” Ao Liancheng's brows furrowed.
If they were in Neptune, he would have already killed Yuwen Yuanqin. Unfortunately, they were in Saint Duke which was Yuwen Yuanqin's home ground! He could not kill Yuwen Yuanqin in his own backyard.
”Childe Liancheng!” Luo Shanhe got up from his seat. ”You forfeited from the competition. I gave you a seat on the grounds that you are a friend! But if you don't treat me as one, then we are enemies!”
”I…” Ao Liancheng's heart squeezed inside his chest.
Making Luo Shanhe his enemy in Saint Duke meant making the entire Saint Duke imperial family his enemy as well.
”Childe Chen! Please just sit down! Don't destroy your friendship for me!” Chen Xiaobei quickly said, forcing Ao Liancheng down on the chair. ”Childe Qingfeng, you too. I'll just stand here for the moment. Who knows, someone might give me their seat later!”
”Give you their seat? Why would they?” Ling Qingfeng stared quizzically at Chen Xiaobei but Chen Xiaobei pushed her down to her seat.
Yuwen Yuanqin was very pleased to see this. ”Hey kid, you are very aware of your position as a nobody, huh? Why don't you give us a bark? I'll upgrade your status from insect to pug!”
”Yuanqing! Enough!” Luo Shanhe said. ”Xianzhi Helian… Oh, I mean, Childe Tulong's time is very precious! Let's take care of important matters first!”
Yuwen Yuanqin quickly nodded, ”Yes! Yes! Yes! Take care of proper matters first! Let's not waste Childe Tulong's time!”
Clearly, Helian Tulong was the most prestigious person in the room. Everyone and everything seemed to revolve around him.