Chapter 98: Hostile Takeover (Part - 6)
"I have no time for an old man," Madam Li looked over her shoulder and gave Gu Ming a dead pan look, "My son is waiting for me."
"What?! Your son?!" Gu Ming frowned," You dare talk about your son when the clan is in such crisis? Have you no shame Li..."
"Shut up you old coot... Say one more word and I will have your tongue ripped off!"
"Why...?! H... How dare you speak to me like that, old third?!" Gu Ming stammered in sheer disbelief because the Third Elder had been his closest political ally opposing Gu Yangtian at every possible opportunity.
But suddenly the man had changed allegiance and was viciously defending Madam Li like a fiercely loyal guard dog. Why?
"Why you ask? The Matriarch just single-handedly saved this entire clan’s from total disaster while you stood in here crying and complaining like a pathetic child," the third elder held his head high and looked at Gu Ming with pity, "So you will address her with the absolute, unquestionable respect she deserves!"
At just like that the Fourth Elder stepped forward as well beside the Third Elder and crossed his arms, glaring murderously at the remaining dissenting elders.
While the clan was in a shortage crisis, Madam Li had secretly gifted both of them and the other elders a massive fortune of one thousand Low-Grade Spirit Crystals and one hundred Medium-Grade Spirit Crystals each over the last one week, which had drastically helped them advance their stagnant cultivations.
But that was not all. She also gave them high quality and rare Qi-Clotting and Burst-Step pills that couldn’t break bottlenecks but served as absolute life-saving treasures.
There was no way after receiving all these gifts and the promise of more the elders are going to side with either Gu Yangtian or Gu Ming.
"Gu Ming, you are blind to see who truly holds the power in this family," The Fourth Elder sneered coldly, utterly humiliating his former friends in front of the stunned Patriarch.
"While you were demanding that her head to be put on a spike, the Matriarch was out securing a lifeline for the clan.
"Those fifty carts outside are directly from the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion, and every single one of them is loaded to the absolute brim with premium-grade spirit herbs, beast cores, and thousands of blank talisman papers!"
"The sheer volume of raw resources sitting in our courtyard right now is enough to keep our alchemy halls running at maximum capacity for the next three to four months without needing a single restock," the Third Elder added loudly so the entire hall could hear.
"So let me be clear Gu Ming. If you dare disrespect her again, we will personally throw you out of this hall and make sure you live the rest of your life as a cripple!"
"Don’t be too overbearing!" An elder behind Gu Ming spoke up, "Just because you managed to get a few things from here, don’t forget who you are talking to."
"Yeah! Gu Ming is the patriarch’s uncle. You can’t disrespect him."
"Even the Patriarch does not dare speak to him this way."
Meanwhile the bitter shouting match between the two factions only irked the Matriarch even further. She wanted to get done with this mess and sleep in the arms of her beloved son.
So she decided to put an end to this. Madam Li casually reached into her spatial pouch and pulled out a heavy parchment.
And with a flick of her wrist she threw the parchment like a missile towards the furious Elder Gu Ming and the thick parchment slammed right into his chest with so much aggressive force that the old man stumbled backward.
"Read the terms carefully, Elder Gu Ming, assuming your old eyes still work," Madam Li ordered with a cold, incredibly dominant sneer, "Manager Su Mei of the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion was willing to give me face during this crisis, and she agreed to help us with our supplies and even grant us a ten-year exclusive Dao-sworn supply oath that absolutely guarantees our alchemy halls will never run dry again."
When they heard Madam Li’s words, the dissenting elders scrambled behind Gu Ming in shock to read the heavy parchment.
They pushed each other to get a glimpse of the parchment and one by one as they read the contents of the parchment their eyes went wide in horror. And they even recognized the official spiritual seals of Manager Su Mei stamped across the bottom of the long-term Dao-oath.
"It means... It means..."
"This... This is impossible..."
"The matriarch has single-handedly solved the entire crisis?!"
"How did you manage to get the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion to give you such massive resources and secure a ten-year exclusive Dao-oath?!" Patriarch Gu Yangtian whispered in absolute shock as he stepped down from his seat and looked at the glowing parchment in Gu Ming’s hands. He then stared at his wife as if he didn’t even recognize the woman standing in front of him.
"Dear husband! That is absolutely none of your concern," Madam Li smiled sweetly at her husband completely dismissing his authority in front of the entire council of elders.
"All you need to know is that while I am in charge of this clan, I will make sure that everyone in the clan is provided for, "As she spoke, taking hints from her words, the elders who came with her quickly flanked behind her in submission.
She then looked around and her gaze slowly swept across the remaining, stunned elders, completely asserting her absolute dominance over the Council Hall.
"Now if anyone else in this room wishes to challenge my seat of power, please step forward right now, or hold your breath till you are dead," Madam Li challenged with a confident smirk, "But know it very well. While I may care about this clan, I don’t care about all of you in here."
Not a single elder dared to speak, and even Elder Gu Ming slowly lowered his head in utter defeat since opposing the Matriarch now was literally suicide that he wasn’t willing to commit.
"Now if you will excuse me."
"I have kept my son waiting for far too long."
