The entire Grand Hall fell into a deadly, suffocating silence. Chen Long had gone too far with the humiliation.
Sensing the tension rising on the table, Gu Chen placed his teacup down gently as his eyes narrowed. A soft, tolerant smile slipped on his face that perfectly masked what he was thinking.
"Cousin Long has a refined palate," Gu Chen said, his voice barely louder than a whisper, "But we at Gu Clan value clarity of mind over taste. Strong wine breeds rash actions. And rash actions have consequences which sometimes might be hard to own up."
"So we prefer to stay... sober."
"Sober my ass!" Chen Long laughed out loud, his body trembling, "That's just an excuse for being weak! You might be strong Gu Chen, but I bet you can't even handle a real drink. Just like you can't handle a real woman!"
As he said so, Chen Long leered at a passing maid, reaching out to grab her wrist.
"Come here, darling! Let this Young Master check your bone structure!" Chen Long said.
The girl yelped out in surprise at she jumped away, trying to get as far as possible from Chen Long.
And just like that, in an instant the bustling in the hall went quiet as every head turned towards Chen Long and Gu Chen.
Even Madam Li frowned as she saw the scene unfold. Her nose scrunched at the sight of the boorish behaviour, and a cold light flashed in her eyes.
But as the elder of the Gu Clan, she could not directly lower herself to intervene in the petty affairs of the younger generation without losing face.
But Gu Fan who had his sight frequently on Madam Li, saw her irritation, he quietly stepped up to the high table, carrying a fresh jade pitcher of spirit wine.
"More wine, mother?" He leaned in to fill the cup placed in front of her. He deliberately stepped closer than a normal servant would even dare to think about.
His chest brushed gently against her shoulder, as under the cover of her robes, his warm hand slid down the curve of her back, his fingers tracing along her spine before resting possessively on her waist.
"Such an eyesore, isn't he, mother?" Gu Fan whispered smoothly directly into her ear, his breath sending a shiver down her neck.
Madam Li's breath hitched at his sudden, audacious touch in front of the entire clan. The straight poker face composure instantly fractured.
"He... He has always been the insolent one. Our clan is nothing in their eyes," she murmured back, her voice barely a breath, desperately trying to keep her tone formal while leaning her weight slightly back against his hand, "Do you want me to take care of this?"
"No. Let the clown perform," Gu Fan replied, his thumb slowly tracing circles on her waist, sending jolts of electricity right to her starving pussy, "I have a use for him tonight. Just sit back and watch the show. I will take care of the trash."
"You can clean up after that." Gu Fan said as his breath blew against her skin.
A familiar, submissive butterfly fluttered wildly in her chest, and an intense itch flared deep in her pussy.
The thrill of him touching her so intimately in public, right under the noses of the younger generation was intoxicating.
She quickly grabbed the wine cup to hide the flushed pink creeping up her neck, giving him a barely imperceptible, adoring nod.
Gu Fan let his hand slip away, retreating back into the shadows, his eyes now locked on Gu Chen's face.
On the table while everyone saw a disrespectful Chen Long, they also saw a patient saint tolerating a boorish guest.
But Gu Fan saw the slight twitch in Gu Chen's eyes, as he watched his finger tapped rhythmically against the porcelain cup.
"He is biding his time," Gu Fan analysed, a cold smirk hidden by the pitcher in his hand, "Classic protagonist move to use the fool as a stepping stone for his own prestige."
A true protagonist never acts prematurely.
In the original novel storyline, Gu Chen would sit there patiently and let Chen Long hurl insults at Gu Clan and let the anger of the Gu Clan disciples boil over.
He would wait until Chen Long inevitably crossed the ultimate bottom line and insult the Clan's ancestors and ask Gu Chen to offer him five Gu Clan female disciples to warm his bed for the next few days he was here.
Only when the honour of the Gu Clan was being tarnished, and they were cornered and humiliated would Gu Chen finally unleash his fury.
With a few righteous words about 'Clan Honour' and 'Punishing the Arrogant,' Gu Chen would have crippled Chen Long in one strike.
And the result? While everyone would be busy cheering him up, he would quietly slip the Spatial ring out of Chen Long's fingers, leaving the Clan elders and the Patriarch to deal with the mess.
And though the elders would have lost their shit, and feared a retaliation from the Chen Clan, the younger generation of the Gu Clan would worship him like a Hero. The boys would be willing to die for him, and the girls would want to spread their legs, wanting to breed his offspring.
But his position in the clan would become unshakable.
Gu Fan could not help but shake his head, 'Remarkable!' He thought.
When he wrote these details, he made Gu Chen look patient and righteous.
But now that he was right in that moment, and everything unfolded right in front of his eyes, it looked like a flawless, cold-blooded calculation.
Gu Chen was farming reputation, using the humiliation of his own peers to build his prestige and gain followers.
Gu Chen wanted Chen Long's arrogance to swell so much that the face slap resonated even more with the Gu Clan members.
But what Gu Chen wouldn't have accounted for was the fact Chen long had already set his eyes on Gu Ling and has one of the girls from the Chen Clan already slip a potent aphrodisiac potion in her drinks.
But it would play well for Gu Chen in the end as well. With Chen Long crippled, the Clan would be distracted, no one to pay attention to Gu Ling, completely vulnerable Gu Ling, desperately begging someone to save him.
And who better to 'heroically' rush in use his pure Yang energy to detoxify the jade-like beauty than her beloved righteous cousin? It was the classic 'hero saving the beauty' trope.
"You lucky bastard!" Gu Fan thought, his eyes glinting with amusement, "Truly worthy of a protagonist."
"More wine!" Chen Long roared, slamming his empty flagon onto the table. "And send a servant who isn't ugly! Why is everyone in this clan so hideous?"
The Head Waiter, a nervous man sweating profusely, looked around frantically. His eyes landed on Gu Fan, who was standing quietly in the corner.
"You!" The Head Waiter hissed, grabbing Gu Fan's arm, not caring one bit that he was the son of the patriarch, "Go fill Young Master Chen's cup. Don't you dare make eye contact. Just pour and leave."
Gu Fan didn't resist, as he merely kept his head bowed low, trying not to laugh out loud, 'Oh? Does this old man think I am pretty enough to serve this fat pig? No wonder Mother fell for my face at once. Hahaha!'
He took the heavy jade pitcher filled with the strongest spirit wine that the head waiter gave him and walked towards the head table.
He did not want to draw Gu Chen's gaze so he took a wide arc, approaching from behind Gu Chen's seat to reach Chen Long's side.
He kept his shoulders hunched like a terrified servant, as his fingers flicked.
The vial of 'Bone-Softening' Poison materialised in his hands out of thin air, and like seasoned assassin, he popped the cork with his thumb and let the colourless, odourless liquid poured seamlessly into the jade pitcher.
Not a single soul noticed as he was done preparing for his next step.
As he stepped up to the table, Chen Long didn't even look at him. The fat pig was too busy staring at Gu Ling, who was sitting three seats away, looking icy and disgusted.
Gu Fan raised the heavy pitcher to pour down the drink for Chen Long, and a cold smirk played on his lips, 'Drink up, pig. In three hours, you will be softer than mud.'
But just as he got closer to the table and leaned in to pour, his foot suddenly caught on something.
"Whoa!" Gu Fan let out a loud cry.
He tripped forward with his hands flailing as the heavy jade pitcher slipped from his grasp and launched through the air like a perfectly aimed projectile.
Everyone in the room felt their breathes held up in their throats.
SPLASH!
The entire pitcher of premium, poison-laced spirit wine emptied directly onto Chen Long's fat head. The red liquid seeped through the pitcher, plastering his hair to his face, drenching his luxurious purple robes and heavy gold chains from top to bottom.
The music in the hall abruptly stopped, and the entire Hall fell into a deathly, horrifying silence as the wine dripped slowly from Chen Long's nose.
Meanwhile Chen Long froze.
His eyes wide open as he looked at Gu Fan with his body trembling in anger, as her eyes turned red.
"YOU BLIND DOG!"