Dai Mubai deliberately lowered his posture, even going so far as to belittle himself as an incompetent prince. His eyes darted away, not daring to meet Lin Xia's calm gaze, which seemed capable of seeing through everything.
The weight carried by Gengxin City was simply too great. It was so immense that, as a fallen prince, he did not even possess the qualifications to speak with Lin Xia as an equal, let alone oppose him.
At this moment, Dai Mubai only wanted to figure out why Lin Xia had come and then leave as quickly as possible.
Lin Xia looked at Dai Mubai's attempt to appear calm despite his inner fear, and his heart remained completely indifferent.
Ignoring the probing and flattery hidden within Dai Mubai's words, Lin Xia got straight to the point. His voice clearly echoed throughout the silent lobby.
"I came here because of your engagement to Zhu Zhuqing."
Lin Xia turned slightly and looked toward Zhu Zhuqing, who had been standing quietly in the corner. His expression instantly became gentler and more resolute.
Feeling his gaze, Zhu Zhuqing's cold and tense expression softened slightly as well. She took two steps forward and stopped slightly behind Lin Xia's side.
Her beautiful face remained expressionless as she stared directly at Dai Mubai, her determination as cold and unshakable as ten-thousand-year-old black ice.
Lin Xia turned back to Dai Mubai, his tone calm yet carrying unquestionable authority.
"I want to annul this engagement on Zhu Zhuqing's behalf."
Boom!
If Lin Xia's identity had been a thunderclap, then these words were a nuclear bomb detonating directly upon Dai Mubai's pride!
"Annul the engagement?!"
Dai Mubai's complexion changed dramatically in an instant.
The pallor caused by blood loss and shock vanished, replaced by a deep red as blood rushed to his head. Then, because of the overwhelming humiliation and fury, that redness rapidly turned ashen. Finally, his face settled into an almost liver-like purple-black.
Annul the engagement!
And it was the Lord of Gengxin City who had brought his nominal fiancée before him and, in front of everyone, proposed to annul their engagement.
Especially after he had just been beaten into such a miserable state and completely humiliated by an unknown young man!
This was far more than simply tearing up an engagement.
[A/N: Damm Dai Mubai is getting Mc level treatment]
It was as if Dai Mubai's dignity, the honor of the Third Prince of the Star Luo Empire, and the prestige of the Dai Family had all been brutally stripped away and thrown onto the ground, only to be repeatedly trampled and crushed by everyone present, especially Zhu Zhuqing's cold and contemptuous gaze.
An unprecedented fury, burning through his very organs and mixed with the resentment of betrayal, violently assaulted his reason.
Dai Mubai could even clearly sense the gazes of Tang San and Xiao Wu beside him.
After their initial shock, their expressions had turned into those of spectators watching a show, with even a hint of schadenfreude.
The twin sisters, meanwhile, were trembling with fear, their eyes filled with disbelief and a subtle trace of contempt.
"You, City Lord Lin!"
Dai Mubai's voice suddenly rose, becoming sharp and icy, filled with the anger of someone who had been deeply offended.
He desperately tried to use his status as a prince to reclaim the last shred of his dignity.
"Are you joking?!"
He suddenly pointed toward Zhu Zhuqing, his finger trembling slightly from extreme fury.
"You brought her, brought my fiancée here to annul our engagement in front of me?! City Lord Lin! Do you know what you're saying?! Do you know what this means?!"
Lin Xia's expression did not change in the slightest.
Facing Dai Mubai's furious questioning, he merely replied calmly,
"I know exactly what I'm saying. I also know exactly what it means. It is you, Third Prince, who seems not to have recognized the situation yet."
Lin Xia's calm, emotionless attitude left Dai Mubai momentarily speechless, while the fury in his chest nearly exploded.
Dai Mubai took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the urge to immediately summon his White Tiger Soul and fight desperately.
That would be nothing short of suicide.
He knew how terrifying the man before him was. The casual manner in which Lin Xia had crushed his hidden weapons just moments ago had left him without even the slightest courage to resist.
Dai Mubai could only grit his teeth and bring out his final, and only, shield the ironclad law that had remained unchanged for a thousand years in the Star Luo Empire.
"City Lord Lin! It seems you truly don't understand!"
Dai Mubai clenched his back teeth, every word seemingly forced through them. His voice carried a cold attempt to shift responsibility, along with a faint trace of fear that was difficult to conceal.
"Do you think I have the authority to decide this engagement?!"
Dai Mubai desperately straightened his back, trying to make himself appear more confident.
"This is a rule passed down for a thousand years by the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire and the Zhu Family! It is the ironclad law governing the empire's political marriage alliances! It represents the bloodline and loyalty that bind our two great powers together!"
"This is not merely a marriage contract. It is a national policy that concerns the very foundation of the empire!"
Dai Mubai's tone became increasingly impassioned, as though he were a devoted guardian of the empire's sacred traditions.
"Why did you come to me? What use is it to find me?! I, Dai Mubai, am nothing more than a pawn on this board of rules!"
"As for whether this engagement remains or is dissolved, only His Majesty the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, my father and the current head of the Zhu Family have the authority to decide!"
"You came to me to discuss annulling the engagement? City Lord Lin, don't you think you've found the wrong person and asked the wrong question?!"
The more Dai Mubai spoke, the more confident he became, as though he had finally found a lifeline.
His voice even carried a hint of mockery and admonishment.
"City Lord Lin, I know that Gengxin City possesses tremendous strength and enormous influence. But some rules are the foundation passed down for a thousand years! They are the basis of stability for the empire! Even you cannot simply trample upon them, can you?"
"Is it worth challenging the ironclad laws of the entire Star Luo Empire and the Zhu Family for the sake of one woman? Aren't you afraid of the unforeseen consequences that could follow?!"
Dai Mubai spoke with such righteous conviction that he seemed like a loyal subject and dutiful son faithfully upholding the ancestral traditions.
He completely shifted the responsibility away from himself, throwing the entire matter onto the Emperor and the head of the Zhu Family, far away in Star Luo City.
He knew that as long as he raised the banners of "the empire's ironclad laws" and "a thousand years of tradition," he could create enormous resistance for Lin Xia.
Discuss annulling the engagement?
Fine!
But then Lin Xia would have to go to Star Luo City and confront the Emperor and the head of the Zhu Family directly!
That would plunge him into a massive whirlpool involving countless interests and deeply intertwined factions!
Dai Mubai was nothing more than a discarded pawn. This was the perfect opportunity for him to escape. He could even sit back and watch as Lin Xia suffered a crushing defeat in the power struggle at the heart of the empire!
The lobby fell silent once again.
Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.
The ironclad rule governing the marriage alliance between the imperial family of the Star Luo Empire and the Zhu Family?
It certainly sounded like an enormous force.
Was this City Lord Lin really going to challenge such a deeply rooted tradition for the sake of the black-clad young woman beside him?
Zhu Zhuqing's expression became even colder.
Dai Mubai's attempt to shirk responsibility with such sanctimonious words made her feel sick.
He had completely absolved himself of responsibility, blaming everything on the so-called rules, yet he deliberately avoided mentioning how he had once fled in cowardice and left her to face certain death!
Such shamelessness had completely surpassed the limits of what she could tolerate.
Lin Xia quietly listened to Dai Mubai's impassioned "performance."
Only after Dai Mubai had finished speaking, leaving nothing in the lobby but his heavy breathing and the suppressed gasps of Manager Wang in the distance, did Lin Xia finally react.
The corners of his mouth slowly curved into a meaningful smile.
He looked at Dai Mubai as though he were watching a child putting on a clumsy performance in front of an adult.
"Rules?"
---
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