The entire Duguo family, from the eldest to the youngest, shared a rather undesirable habit: an extreme protectiveness of their own. Especially Duguo Xiaoyi's father, Duguo Wudi, whose protectiveness bordered on the utterly unreasonable; he was renowned as the most unreasonable rogue in the entire Empire. If anyone dared to bully his daughter, Duguo Wudi was known to immediately mobilize the army for retribution.

Who would dare provoke such an unprincipled rogue capable of casually deploying troops? Jun Moye had the shelter of Old Master Jun, yet Duguo Xiaoyi still dared to discipline him. It wasn't that Old Master Jun couldn't handle General Duguo Wudi; it was simply that whenever the Old Master sought an explanation, Old Master Duguo would invariably step up to meet him, because the General’s penchant for protecting his kin was inherited directly from his own father! Thus, in Jun Moye's memory, the person he feared most was first his grandfather, Jun Zhantian, and second, this Duguo Xiaoyi—no, wait, first was Duguo Xiaoyi, and second was his own grandfather. After all, his grandfather only lectured him and wouldn't truly strike him, but falling into the hands of this young mistress meant certain, thorough beating, and one that would be completely unmerited!

If even Jun Moye couldn't afford to provoke this "giant" figure, then the other wastrels were entirely out of the question!

And now, this little princess of the Duguo family had actually arrived here...

"I have no choice," Jun Xie said, tilting his head and spreading his hands, pointing to the soft, fair little hand still twisting his ear: "Look at my predicament—what choice do I have? If any of you have an idea, feel free to issue the eviction notice yourselves. Just don't let it come from me!"

"What? You don't welcome me? Does this young lady lack coin?!" Duguo Xiaoyi flashed her phoenix eyes, throwing out her coin purse with a jingle, shaking it proudly, and raising her exquisitely shaped eyebrows: "Your auntie has plenty of silver!"

The group of dandies swayed precariously, their faces pale with fright. You certainly have plenty of silver, but the issue is: who dares to win it from you? Whoever wins your silver, your father will show up the next day with the army demanding repayment—and that’s the best-case scenario. If Old Master Duguo is in a good mood and decides to pay our homes a little visit, then... well, will any of us be left alive?

Tang Yuan paid no mind to what they were thinking; his eyes were already blazing with fire: "Stop with the useless talk and quickly return what you owe me! Young Master Jun the Third can't escape now that he's here. You promised me this! A real man stands by his word; without trust, how can one establish oneself between heaven and earth!"

Even for the usually composed Jun Xie, hearing the fat man’s final pronouncement nearly made him spit. For someone of his character and actions to dare call himself a true man—he shouldn't taint the very term!

Among the six youths, the one with a composed expression was Li Feng, the grandson of Grand Tutor Li Shang. The two youths behind him were Li Zhen and Li Lin; they were his sworn brothers. Standing beside him was a slender youth with a thin mustache, his gaze deep and steady—this was Meng Haizhou, the eldest son of the Minister of Personnel, Meng Jianghu, a man known for his considerable talent. The two behind him, Meng Liang and Meng Fei, were also from the Meng family.

Li Feng beamed, "Miss Duguo, your presence honors us; we welcome you all the more! Quick, quick, please come in." He then glanced to the side: "Serve Miss Duguo well! If Miss Duguo is not satisfied, I will skin you all alive!" Turning back, his smile instantly returning, he shot a meaningful look at Meng Haizhou: "Since Young Master Jun the Third has arrived, this joke should end now. Look how anxious Young Master Tang is, sweating already. A man born between heaven and earth cannot go back on his word; return that item to him first."

Meng Haizhou nodded and addressed Tang Yuan: "Grand Young Master Tang, we can give you the item, but that one million five hundred thousand taels of silver cannot be forfeited!" Tang Yuan only cared about retrieving the promissory note; although the sum wasn't small, he didn't take it to heart. Hearing this, he readily agreed.

Jun Xie watched coldly, sneering internally; while Tang Yuan was indeed afraid of this matter, these two men likely weren't without their own scruples! Even if Tang Yuan hadn't invited him, they still wouldn't dare rashly publicize that IOU, because doing so would inevitably provoke the full counterattack of the Tang and Sun families, leading both sides to consider the other mortal enemies, resulting only in mutual destruction! Therefore, this matter, though seeming large, was not that significant once thoroughly analyzed. Their true target was likely himself!

However, once Tang Yuan retrieved his IOU, his concerns in this regard would vanish, making it inevitable that rumors would spread widely, used to strike at the Tang family. This was easily foreseeable.

"What kind of item could make Young Master Tang that anxious? Let me take a look, so I can broaden my horizons!" Duguo Xiaoyi was clearly unwilling to be left out, her curiosity piqued. Seeing Tang Yuan clutching a slip of paper, his face showing immense relief, she grew extremely curious and extended her soft, fair hand.

Tang Yuan’s face twisted miserably, but with lightning speed, he slapped the slip of paper into his mouth, chewed it a couple of times, stretched his neck, and swallowed it, smacking his lips with an air of complete innocence. It was astonishing, given his thick neck, how it could instantly stretch as long as a giraffe's!

"You—fat—pig! You dare play with me? You have some nerve!" Duguo Xiaoyi instantly flew into a rage, brandishing her fists as she pounced, grabbing Tang Yuan by the collar and actually hoisting his nearly four-hundred-jin body into the air, roaring angrily, "Spit it out immediately!"

The other seven people, including Jun Xie, had their eyebrows twitching uncontrollably as they watched. They secretly swallowed several times, their faces contorted, turning pale and blue.

"Ahem, Miss Duguo, that note actually wasn't anything important. Young Master Jun the Third has been grounded by Old Master Jun recently and couldn't come out, so we all missed him terribly. We just made a bet with Fatty Tang: if the note read 'He will come,' then Fatty Tang would eat it, and if Young Master Jun the Third didn't show, I would eat it. That’s all there is to it. Fatty Tang certainly lives up to being a true man; he keeps his word, ha ha." Meng Haizhou forced a dry laugh, quickly stepping in to smooth things over. This man possessed a certain quick-wittedness; in just a few words, he concocted a seamless explanation. If Fatty Tang had truly vomited up the paper and if Duguo Xiaoyi had seen its contents, the matter would have escalated into something truly major!

Jun Xie’s eyebrows lifted slightly, and he secretly glanced at Meng Haizhou, thinking that for this man to concoct such a flawless excuse in such a short time, delivering it without changing his expression or missing a beat, he was indeed no ordinary figure. To be honest, in that fleeting moment, Jun Xie had almost decided to secretly intervene and make the fat man vomit the paper, fully intending to use Duguo Xiaoyi’s hand to ignite this whole storm. However, although Fatty Tang was contemptible, he was still a good friend of Jun Moye. Moreover, Jun Xie was confident that he could easily humiliate the dandies present with just a few moves, so he finally relinquished the idea with some lingering reluctance! But just in case... perhaps he should have... Ahem, ahem...

Duguo Xiaoyi looked at everyone, half-believing, half-doubting. The dandies immediately nodded their heads like chickens pecking at grain: "That's exactly how it was, precisely." Only then did she release Tang Yuan.

Tang Yuan’s face was nearly purple from her grip, and he gagged several times continuously, desperately afraid he would regurgitate the paper wad, but he managed to suppress it.

"Gentlemen, please come inside." Li Feng, as the host of this manor, adopted a posture of welcoming guests.

Jun Xie chuckled, putting on an arrogant and overbearing demeanor, striding inside. He slapped down onto a high-backed chair, his legs already crossed and swinging back and forth. Observing him, he truly looked like a textbook hooligan, exhibiting a thoroughly dissolute posture.

Duguo Xiaoyi’s brow furrowed deeply; she found him instantly displeasing and was on the verge of kicking him a couple of times again.

"You missed me, didn't you? Well, I also missed... your silver," Jun Xie grinned slyly. "How do you want to play? Lay out the terms."

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