419 Ch 419 - Let Me Introduce My Boyfriend!
Lin Ze was the third young master of the Lin mansion. He had inherited one-seventh Azure Dragon bloodline thanks to his mother's fortune.
Under the current circumstances in the Great Dragon Dynasty, human noble families all took pride in intermarrying with the dragon clan to create mixed bloodlines.
This was easy to understand. The Dragon Emperor, as humanity's ruler, was the most noble and powerful symbol in the kingdom's totems.
Possessing dragon bloodline meant a person was already ahead of their peers from birth at the starting line.
Lin Ze's arm strength already matched that of his nine-year-old brother when he was only three years old.
The muscle definition in Lin Ze's arms and shoulders began to show at ten years old. His Azure Dragon genes were starting to emerge, and the spiritual energy in his dantian could even match that of his sixteen-year-old brother.
Lin Ze was only seventeen this year, yet he already possessed Core Formation peak cultivation. Such talent was unmatched not only among his peers, but even many prodigious seniors were no match for him.
Of course, Lin Ze wasn't invincible. He had once been arrogant and ended up getting thoroughly beaten by a white-robed swordwomen at a martial competition, losing all face. But even so, Lin Ze wasn't discouraged, because his opponent was older than him and was also the prodigious sword leader of the Wuji Sect. Lin Ze felt completely convinced by his defeat under her sword. Anyway, who would win in another match was still uncertain when the Azure Dragon genes in Lin Ze's body fully awakened in a few years and he caught up to her cultivation level.
Moreover, this vast land was full of destiny, naturally abundant with many hidden talents.
Lin Ze's real advantage was this:
Those with stronger talent than Lin Ze often lacked his superior family background.
While those with better family backgrounds than Lin Ze often lacked his powerful talent.
Now, looking across the Great Dragon Dynasty's three Grand Tutor mansions, among disciples under twenty years old, probably only Liu Ruoning could match Lin Ze with her innate Mystical Sound Holy Physique!
In fact, Lin Ze had set his sights on Ruoning at a family banquet five years ago.
He had never seen a woman who could discuss swordsmanship with him without losing at dinner.
However, the court was in a factional courtship phase at that time. The Lin and Liu mansions supported different princesses and were political enemies.
Lin Ze mentioned Ruoning to his father after that banquet ended, but his father didn't give a definitive answer.
Lin Ze had thought the Lin and Liu mansions were destined to be irreconcilable, so he and Ruoning were fated to have no connection.
But the old Dragon Emperor died two years ago, and the White Dragon Princess supported by the He mansion and National Advisor unexpectedly ascended the throne. The new Dragon Emperor was young and ignorant, difficult to convince the masses. This naturally led to the previously defeated Lin and Liu mansions reconciling their differences.
So Lin Ze's older brother Lin Li married the Liu mansion's third young lady, Liu Ruoxin that year.
Lin Ze knew his opportunity had come from that moment.
Though his brother was also handsome, his talent didn't match Lin Ze's, yet he could still marry into the Liu family. So with future deep cooperation between the Lin and Liu mansions, the talented Lin Ze was undoubtedly the next marriage candidate to match with the equally prodigious Ruoning with his one-seventh Azure Dragon bloodline.
Sure enough, Lin Ze finally came to the Liu mansion half a year ago to meet Ruoning's parents for the first time through his brother and sister-in-law's introduction.
Lin Ze performed excellently.
Now, both sets of elders had good intentions, and discussions about Lin Ze and Liu Ruoning's marriage had already entered the agenda in both clans at meetings.
Lin Ze naturally came to the Liu mansion banquet with his clan elders tonight on New Year's Day for this matter.
Only...
Lin Ze had been seated at the banquet for half an hour beyond his expectations, but Liu Ruoning's figure was nowhere to be seen at the Liu mansion's head table.
Just now, Lin Ze roughly guessed that Liu Ruoning had run away early tonight because she knew the banquet would discuss marriage arrangements by observing the Liu mansion elder's table-slamming and Liu Yuliang's embarrassed expression.
However, Lin Ze remained calm and unhurried.
After all, Liu Ruoning was also a heaven's favored daughter. Having some personality and temper was normal. Lin Ze himself had been willful and thrown tantrums plenty since childhood.
He could understand Liu Ruoning's mentality as a talented young woman unwilling to become someone's wife.
It was just a pity that Liu Ruoning was born into the Liu mansion. Liu Ruoning could run from the monk but not the temple tonight. This marriage was destined to be no problem as long as Lin Ze could win the Liu mansion elders' approval at the banquet!
As for Liu Ruoning's personal opinion, actually neither the Liu nor Lin mansions cared about it.
"Aunt, honored elders, please calm down."
"Ruoning is still young. Perhaps she encountered some trouble outside, which is why she's been delayed and hasn't made it to the banquet."
Lin Ze couldn't help but stand up and cup his hands, speaking good words for Liu Ruoning when he saw the Liu mansion elder had already slammed the table in fury.
Currently, the Lin mansion as invited guests held the moral high ground because of Liu Ruoning's absence from the main event.
The Lin mansion elders played the harsh bad cop role, so Lin Ze naturally wouldn't miss the remaining opportunity to play good cop.
"I think, how about this. Let me go to bring Miss Ruoning back to the mansion with the shadow guards. Maybe Miss Ruoning really encountered some danger and I could help."
Lin Ze smiled faintly while thinking of this, his bearing fully displaying the grace of a Lin mansion young master.
But the expressions of several Liu mansion elders and even Liu Yuliang all looked somewhat constipated when his words finished.
They looked at Lin Ze being so attentive and couldn't help feeling somewhat unable to maintain composure, as if there was some unspeakable secret they couldn't tell Lin Ze.
"Thank you for the Lin family's kind intentions. Family shame shouldn't be made public. Such crude matters shouldn't trouble Young Master Lin to run errands."
Liu Yuliang sighed heavily, politely declining as the Liu mansion's representative.
Of course he couldn't agree, because the servants had just reported that Liu Ruoning was embracing and nearly kissing the He mansion's young master on Liu Town's streets. If they let Lin Ze go to pick up Liu Ruoning, wouldn't they end up fighting right at the front door?
Tsk...
This truly became annoying now.
Liu Yuliang couldn't help but close his eyes with heavy concerns while thinking of this.
For a moment, Lin Ze sitting on the opposite side of the banquet also raised his eyebrows slightly, tasting something unusual.
It sounded like...
Liu Ruoning hadn't just snuck out, but had done something that made Liu Yuliang extremely ashamed?
"Elder Ming, please go outside and see what happened..."
Lin Ze pressed his index finger's spirit ring under the table while thinking of this, transmitting his voice to a black-robed elder stationed outside the Liu mansion hall through his spiritual sea.
[Young Master, this old man just saw...]
The elder had just begun speaking on the other end of the spirit ring.
But the main hall's door was suddenly pushed open before Lin Ze could hear the rest of Elder Ming's words...
Bang!
"No need to look!"
"This young lady didn't run anywhere. I just went to the bridge to pick up a guest!"
The blue-haired girl in her snow ermine robe spoke with a clear, high voice, gracefully leading a white-robed young man into everyone's sight.
Not only did Lin Ze, who had been transmitting messages through his spirit ring, freeze in expression at these words, but all the elders present from both the Lin and Liu mansions looked completely bewildered.
The place fell silent as death in the Liu mansion's banquet hall.
But even so, Liu Ruoning took a deep breath with encouragement from the young man beside her, mustering her courage to look at her parents at the table and proudly announce:
"Father, Mother! Let Ruoning introduce everyone!"
"This is He Yino I mentioned before! The seventh young master of the He mansion, and also Ruoning's childhood sweetheart who she long ago privately pledged her life to!"
Ruoning's already somewhat embarrassed face couldn't hide a few more shades of red after she finished her introduction in one breath.
Yino, whose arm was linked by the girl beside him, also smiled when her words fell. He first swept the seated crowd with cold eyes, then turned to look at Liu Yuliang and cupped his hands in a humble bow.
"Uncle Yuliang, we haven't seen each other for ten years. You haven't aged a bit."