The hall of He family was majestic. He Changchun, who was a very status-conscious man, had made sure that all the decorations and furnishings were first-rate, so that n.o.body would deem this hall unbecoming to the patriarch of He family.

But at this time, He Changchun, who had always had a mild look on his face, was consumed with anger. He heavily slapped the young man before him across the face.

He Jin knelt down to the ground with a thud in front of his father. Though He Jin was not really an uncommonly gifted cultivator, He Changchun had never used to hit him, which was why he felt deeply aggrieved. "Father, somebody set me up. I really didn"t touch that woman!"

He Changchun"s face was full of tiredness. Qiao Peiyu, who was standing in fear on the side, kept wiping tears off her face, her heart aching for her son. Seeing the hard slap send He Jin"s head twisting aside, she couldn"t help but spring to his defense in a tearful voice, heedless of the fact that He Changchun was in a fit of anger. "Changchun, you know exactly what kind of person Jin is! How could you believe that your natural son did such a stupid thing! That girl is indeed pretty, but Jin definitely never touched her. She"s undoubtedly doing this for some kind of ulterior motive!"

"What an ignorant woman! You know nothing!" He Changchun burst into rebuke in an undignified manner. "You think I"m angry with him because of that girl?!"

He Changchun heavily smacked his hand down on to the table, the sound of which took aback his wife and his son.

"This idiot dared to attack Li Zong!" What really angered He Changchun was that his son had ruined all his previous efforts. He had been acting so humbly to curry favor with Li Zong, but He Jin had cut the ground from under his feet!

"He didn"t attack him. They were just roughhousing. Besides, Xiao Li didn"t really take offence."

"Xiao Li? Even I don"t dare to call him that. You"re just a countrywoman. How come you are still so narrow-minded after having lived in He family for so many years?!" Ridden with rage, He Changchun failed to curb his tongue. His words brought manifest indignation to the face of Qiao Peiyu. She clenched her teeth and swallowed the insult.

After putting on a smiling face, she gave a chuckle in an attempt to smooth things over. "Indeed, it was ignorant of me to address him as that. I"ll apologize to him the next time I meet him."

Then she added, "Jin is really innocent. Somebody framed him. Changchun, think about it. During today"s dinner, He Zheng"s behavior had been suspicious from the very beginning. Is it possible that He Zheng dislikes Jin, so he deliberately–"

"Shut your mouth!" He Changchun"s face was extremely sullen. Recalling how protective Li Zong had been towards He Zheng during dinner, He Changchun warned her, "You"ve been making mischief between me and He Zheng in ordinary times and I"ve been turning a blind eye to it. But now, Li Zong cares about He Zheng, so you"ve got to curry favor with He Zheng."

He cast a commanding glance at Qiao Peiyu. "No more tricks. If I find out that you try to harm He Zheng...Humph!"

Such was the regret of Qiao Peiyu that she almost vomited blood. She had thought that He Zheng, the son of He Changchun"s first wife, would ended up becoming a laughing stock after she forced him into marrying a man, that Li Zong would look down upon He Zheng.

It had never crossed her mind that things would turn out this way. She had accidentally made a perfect match of Li Zong and He Zheng.

He Changchun turned on his heel and softly said, "Bring that girl here. Let her consult with He Jin and fix a date for the wedding."

"Father! Father! What do you mean?!"

"Changchun!"

He Jin instantly went anxious. Qiao Peiyu was also fl.u.s.tered. "Come to your senses, Changchun."

He Changchun ignored their remarks. "If this disgraceful idiot is unwilling to marry her, he shall be evicted from He family!"

Eyes red with anger, He Jin could barely speak. He looked at Qiao Peiyu, lips trembling, an aggrieved look on his face. "Mother..."

"You really never touched that woman?"

"Even you disbelieve me?! Did you not see her looks? She should feel honored if I hit on her. In no circ.u.mstances would I sleep with her!"

"d.a.m.n it!" Qiao Peiyu gritted her teeth, recalling the couple of previous remarks of He Zheng, which had been made in a weird tone but with an unmistakable intention to add fuel to the tension. If it weren"t for the presence of He Zheng and Li Zong, He Changchun wouldn"t have failed to see this through.

In fidgets, Qiao Peiyu patted He Jin"s hand. "Go back to your room. I"ll try to talk your father out of this."

"No matter what, by no means will I let my son marry a woman from a plain background!"

He Jin wiped the tears off his face and nodded. Before leaving, Qiao Peiyu warned him, "Don"t you ever hook up with any unsavory women!"

He Jin clenched his teeth and silently returned to his room.

The moment he entered the room, He Jin seemed to have become another person. Everything in the bedroom was reduced to pieces as a ferocious look appeared on his face. There was an uncanny, black light emanating from the depths of He Jin"s eyes, making his face an extremely eerie sight.

"If that d.a.m.n woman dies, things will be a lot easier."