Chapter 60 Falling Out

Just a moment ago, both parties were getting along harmoniously, but in the blink of an eye, they had turned hostile.

In an instant, the atmosphere became tense with swords drawn!

"Audacious! This is the Chen residence; it is not your place to act so arrogantly!"

Beside Chen Kun, a steward glared with a face full of fury.

"What of the Chen residence? Does being from the Chen residence give you people the right to physically assault Master Chen's woman?"

Liu Jinyu sneered.

Chen Xuan had kicked a servant to death with a single blow; regardless of who was right or wrong, as long as he kept pressing the issue that the servant had struck Xu Ruolan, they would hold the moral high ground!

Although Xu Ruolan had not actually been hit, that was only because Chen Xuan had intervened in the nick of time.

"Preposterous! When men are talking, where does a woman get the right to interrupt? Furthermore, this woman dared to speak disrespectfully to the family head! A servant of the Chen family was merely teaching this unmannered woman a lesson on behalf of Young Master Xuan!"

The steward rebuked angrily.

Nearby, Chen Kun maintained a chilling expression throughout. He did not stop the steward from speaking; in truth, the steward was simply voicing his thoughts!

Realizing this, Liu Jinyu thought to himself: Chen Kun refuses to speak and instead has his underling do the talking. If Chen Xuan were to lower himself to bicker with this steward, wouldn't that effectively lower his own status?

What kind of status do you even have, that you're worthy of having Master Chen speak to you?

Liu Jinyu immediately fired back, "Did my sister-in-law say even a single thing that was wrong? The Family Head Chen is indeed rather corpulent. Can he really not bear to hear the truth and forbids others from saying he is fat?"

"In broad daylight, you surely can't expect everyone to open their eyes and tell barefaced lies, claiming he has a slender figure, can you?"

"Hahaha!"

The five hundred or so men under Liu Jinyu's command burst into loud laughter.

"Our Chief is right! Fat is fat, and thin is thin. Are people not even allowed to speak the truth now?"

"Even the current Emperor, if she were a plump person, the civil and military officials below would speak bluntly about her physique. What's this? Is your Chen Family Head greater than the Emperor, to the point where people aren't even allowed to speak the truth?"

The waves of ridicule from the five hundred men echoed back and forth, resounding throughout the entire Chen residence.

Chen Kun's expression had turned so dark it was almost greenish. With his status and position, how could he possibly endure being mocked by so many people at once?

"Father, these people are simply asking to be killed!"

Chen Qing's face twisted with ferocity as he fanned the flames from the side. "Why don't we ask the clan elders to step in and slaughter the lot of them!"

Chen Kun immediately glared at him fiercely. As a father, how could he not know what was going on inside his stupid son's head?

Everything he had said to him in the backyard just now had completely gone to waste!

Stung by that glare, Chen Qing immediately lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze. Resentment boiled in the bottom of his heart: The old man is always hesitant and overcautious, he'll never achieve anything great!

If the Chen family were under my control, it would have long since been the premier great family of the frontier!

The war of words between the two sides continued and grew increasingly fierce.

However, it was entirely a proxy war. On Chen Xuan's side, Liu Jinyu provided the firepower, while on Chen Kun's side, his steward argued fiercely, endlessly harping on the fact that Xu Ruolan had called Chen Kun fat, claiming it was an act of supreme disrespect.

"All of you, shut your mouths!"

Just as the two sides were arguing relentlessly, Chen Kun finally reached his breaking point and let out a roar!

In an instant, the people on the Chen family's side fell dead silent.

With their side quieted down, Liu Jinyu's side naturally quieted down as well.

Nevertheless, both factions continued to glare at each other with wide eyes. The air was thick with gunpowder, ready to ignite another verbal battle at any moment.

Chen Kun's face flickered unpredictably; he looked as though he was on the verge of exploding with rage, yet forced himself to hold it back.

At last, he took a deep breath and said slowly, "Young Master Xuan, your woman insulted me, and I can let that pass. But you killed one of my men—that is going rather too far. You need to give me an explanation for this matter!"

"An explanation?"

Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at him with a half-smile. "What kind of explanation do you want?"

Chen Kun reached out and pointed at Liu Jinyu, saying in a deep voice, "Hand this man over to me!"

Liu Jinyu had been shouting the loudest just now, and Chen Kun wanted to get his hands on him to teach him a severe lesson!

Liu Jinyu's heart sank. This old bastard had his eyes set on him!

"I was the one who killed the man, yet you demand my subordinate instead. What is the meaning of this?"

Chen Xuan chuckled outright.

If Chen Xuan were to hand Liu Jinyu over to Chen Kun after the latter had worked so hard for him just now, how would the others view him?

And how would his woman look upon him?

Seeing that Chen Xuan was unwilling, Chen Kun grew somewhat annoyed. The folds of flesh on his face trembled slightly as he suppressed his anger and said,

"Young Master Xuan, as long as you hand this person over to me, I can let everything else go unpunished!"

Chen Xuan had killed one of his men, so he wanted Chen Xuan's subordinate handed over to be killed as well—a life for a life.

Only by doing this could fairness be established, and only thus could the pride and face of the Chen family be preserved.

"If I tell you that I refuse to give him up?" Chen Xuan's tone was indifferent, his stance unyielding.

"Young Master Xuan, don't push people too far! I know you are very strong and capable of killing a chiliarch, but our clan has Martial Master experts holding down the fort. If we truly break all decorum, none of you will walk out of here alive!"

Chen Kun let out a heavy, cold snort.

Hearing this, Chen Xuan burst out laughing instead.

"What are you laughing at?"

Chen Kun frowned.

"Chen Kun, is it? I called you Family Head out of courtesy, but do you really consider yourself the master of the house?"

Chen Xuan's tone abruptly turned icy. "Don't forget, you are merely a member of a collateral branch of the Chen family, whereas I belong to the main lineage!"

"In terms of bloodline, I am far purer than you. The ancestors of the Chen family once decreed that among the descendants of the Chen family, the main lineage is supreme!"

"Anyone who possesses the bloodline of the Chen family, regardless of who they are, must bow their heads upon seeing the main lineage!"

"Chen Kun, are you now trying to climb over my head and act like a tyrant?"

"And you still want to send out a Martial Master expert to deal with me? Go ahead and call him out to try!"

Facing the threat, not only did Chen Xuan not flinch, but his attitude grew even more formidable.

"Father, he is simply too arrogant! This cannot be tolerated!"

Chen Qing gritted his teeth fiercely and whispered into Chen Kun's ear, while his inner voice roared hysterically: What is the old man waiting for? Call out the Martial Master ancestor immediately! Killing these people would be as easy as pinching to death a group of ants!

Chen Kun clenched his fists so tightly that the fury burning within him was reaching its limit!

Yet, he still restrained himself.

Because Chen Xuan was far too calm.

This made Chen Kun somewhat uneasy in his heart. Could it be that Chen Xuan still had some hidden trump card up his sleeve?

Gritting his teeth, Chen Kun spoke in a profound voice, "Since Young Master Xuan is unwilling, I won't force the issue. However, you must accompany me to the Prefect's Mansion to offer a formal apology to Lord Prefect. Surely you can agree to that much."

Chen Kun struggled to maintain his composure, wishing to avoid a complete fallout with Chen Xuan.

"Logically speaking, since they deliberately made things difficult for me, it should be the Prefect bringing people here to offer an apology to me instead."

Chen Xuan shook his head.

Ask him to go and offer an apology?

That was simply a joke.

Zhang Tiancai had been the one to pick a fight in the first place; if Zhang Tiancai hadn't ordered his subordinates to block him from entering the city, would there have been all these subsequent troubles?