Chapter 183: Chapter 183: Bullying Others with Power
Ye Xuan rested with his eyes closed, waiting for the Heart Gaze Stone to appear.
Meanwhile, Chen Xing and the others were incredibly excited. They eagerly bid on items they liked, but with their limited funds, they failed to win a single auction despite participating several times.
The three didn’t seem to mind, continuing to enjoy the thrill of the auction.
Just then, a figure emerged from the back of the VIP area. It was the same young man from Zhao Gang’s private box, and he had two guards in tow.
He first shot a faint smile toward the Sixth Prince’s private box before walking straight to the pavilion where Ye Xuan and his friends were seated.
SLAM!
Ye Xuan and his friends were watching the auction when a foot suddenly slammed down on their stone table, knocking over all the cups.
This sudden disturbance made all the guests in the VIP area turn and look over in surprise.
"Who are you?"
Chen Xing and the others were snapped out of the auction’s atmosphere, their faces full of anger as they glared at the owner of the foot.
A lavishly dressed young man with an icy gaze spoke coolly. "You lot. Don’t you know this table is my personal seat? How dare you sit here?"
A sinister grin played on the young man’s lips.
"Isn’t that Young Master Chen Ming from Marquis Tianqi’s house?"
"Since when did that pavilion become his personal seat?"
"I thought Young Master Chen Ming rarely came to the VIP area. With his status, he’s usually in a private box with the other young lords and nobles."
"Could it be he has a grudge against them and came looking for trouble?"
Whispers spread through the crowd. Clearly, this Chen Ming was well-known in the Royal City, and quite a few people in the VIP area recognized him.
’It’s them?’ In the VIP area, a young woman in red looked over in surprise. She had clearly recognized Ye Xuan’s group. It was Princess Xiangming.
Chen Xing and his friends were stunned at first, but after hearing the surrounding chatter, they quickly understood what was happening.
"We paid for these VIP seats. How could they be your ’personal seat’?" Chen Xing said coldly.
He wasn’t afraid, but he was confused. He had never met this Chen Ming before, so why was the man picking a fight with them for no reason?
A sneer crept across Chen Ming’s face. "I don’t care about that. This table is my personal seat. Since you dared to sit here without my permission, you clearly have no respect for me. So, what do you think should be done about that?"
A disdainful sneer appeared at the corner of his eyes.
He was here to make trouble; the claim about the seat was just an excuse.
"What should be done? Hmph. We’re sitting in the seats we paid for. What does that have to do with you? You’re being far too tyrannical, don’t you think?" Leng Yingying, who was not known for her good temper, retorted coldly.
"A mere woman like you has a place to speak here?" Chen Ming’s gaze shifted, slowly landing on Leng Yingying. When he saw her icy-cold face and stunning figure, a flash of amazement appeared in his eyes, quickly followed by a flicker of lecherous greed.
At the same time, his eyes swept over to Feng Rouyi, and another flash of awe crossed his face.
’How did these two brats get so lucky? To think they know two such stunning women. Tsk, tsk. That body, that face... they’re ten times better than any of the maids in my mansion.’
Though stunned by their beauty, he just let out a wicked laugh. "Tsk, tsk. I didn’t expect to find two beauties here. My apologies for being so forward. Of course, you two lovely ladies can continue to sit in my personal seat. After a while, you can accompany me for the rest of the auction. If you serve me well... I wouldn’t mind taking you back to the Marquis Mansion to enjoy a night of passion. As for you two," he sneered at the men, "get lost. Don’t ruin my good mood."
The other guests, now noticing the stunning beauty of Leng Yingying and Feng Rouyi, sighed to themselves. ’Those two women are in for it now.’
Chen Ming had a terrible reputation in the Royal City. Backed by his father, Marquis Tianqi, he and his gang of noble cronies ran amok, ruining countless young women from good families. Now that he had his sights on these two, their fate was likely to be tragic.
Only Princess Xiangming watched with a cold smile in her eyes. ’This Chen Ming dares to act so arrogantly in front of *him*? He’s really courting death.’
"How dare you!"
Leng Yingying flew into a rage at his words.
"Tsk, tsk. Quite the temper, aren’t we? But the feistier you are, the more I like it. Tell you what. Since you’re acting so virtuous, I have a few friends who can join in the fun. We’ll make sure you thoroughly enjoy yourself."
"You’re asking to die!"
Unable to bear it any longer, Leng Yingying shot to her feet, grabbed a cup, and hurled it at him.
Chen Ming let out a cold laugh and slapped the cup to the ground. "You bitch! I was trying to be civil, and you dare attack me? Looks like you’re just eager to get started. Men! Break those two guys’ legs and throw them out. The women stay."
"Yes, sir!" The two guards behind Chen Ming stepped forward, advancing on Ye Xuan and Chen Xing.
"Ye Xuan!" Chen Xing looked at him, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
"Both of you, sit down." Ye Xuan, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke.
"Scared now, are you, brat? A little too late for that." Chen Ming sneered, glancing at Ye Xuan with a hint of surprise. He hadn’t expected Ye Xuan to restrain himself even now.
’But no matter how patient he is, he won’t escape a beating from my men.’
But Ye Xuan simply said, his voice calm, "Is this how the Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association treats its guests?"
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly throughout the VIP area, reaching the ears of every guest.
"Wait!"
As expected, the moment Ye Xuan finished speaking, a gray-robed figure shot out from the back of the VIP area.
Chen Ming’s two guards stopped in their tracks and looked toward the speaker.
The man, dressed in the gray robes of a Celestial Cauldron Commerce Association steward, quickly approached. He glanced at Chen Ming and then at Ye Xuan’s group before asking calmly, "What’s going on here?"
Chen Ming sneered. "Steward Luo, you’re just in time. This pavilion has always been my personal seat. Why are these four people sitting in it?"
"Young Master Chen, please calm down. I was not aware of this. Allow me to take a look first. Please, be patient."
Steward Luo said this to Chen Ming, then walked over to Ye Xuan’s group. He carefully inspected the pavilion number, and his brow furrowed.
"Young Master Chen, this pavilion is indeed your personal seat. I have no idea how our staff ended up selling it. This is an error on the auction house’s part. Please forgive us, Young Master Chen."
"Is a simple apology enough?" Chen Ming sneered.
"Well..." The middle-aged steward frowned. "Let me go speak with them."
With that, he walked directly up to Ye Xuan’s group. "My sincerest apologies, everyone. This pavilion is actually Young Master Chen’s personal seat. Someone at our auction house made a mistake and sold it by accident. I will give you a full refund for your seats. Please, would the four of you be willing to give up the pavilion? As for the conflict between you and Young Master Chen, I will put in a good word for you."
The middle-aged steward then turned to Chen Ming. "Young Master Chen, I’ll have them give the seats back to you. Since this is ultimately the auction house’s mistake, I ask that you do not make things difficult for them. Please, retract your earlier command."
Chen Xing and his friends were stunned.
’What is this auction house playing at? They actually want us to give up our seats?’
"Did you hear him? Now scram!" Chen Ming sneered, his eyes filled with mockery and disdain.
The faces of Chen Xing and the others were contorted with anger as they looked to Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan lifted his head, glanced at the middle-aged steward, and asked coolly, "So this is how your auction house handles matters?"
The middle-aged steward’s brow twitched. He nodded. "Is there anything else, Young Master?"
A cold smile spread across Ye Xuan’s face. "What I have to say is this: get the hell back to where you came from!"
’He had seen the whole thing clearly. This Steward Luo was obviously in cahoots with Chen Ming, yet he had the gall to put on this show of mediating?’
The middle-aged steward’s expression instantly turned sour, and his tone became ice-cold.
"Young Master, I hope you won’t make this difficult for us."
The middle-aged steward never expected Ye Xuan to be so ungrateful.
"Make things difficult for you? We were peacefully attending an auction when some mad dog started barking in our faces, and you say *we’re* the ones making things difficult? Isn’t that a bit out of line? Or is this mad dog a pet raised by your auction house?!"
"You damn brat, you’re courting death." Chen Ming had come here looking for trouble in the first place, so while Ye Xuan’s words enraged him, he was also secretly delighted. He shot a cold look at the middle-aged steward.
"Steward Luo, it’s not that I don’t want to give you face. I could have let it slide that they took the wrong seats. But this person dared to spout such arrogant nonsense at me. What’s worse, that woman actually attacked me in front of everyone! If I hadn’t dodged so quickly, I could have been seriously injured! I, Chen Ming, may not like to stir up trouble, but I won’t just stand here and pretend nothing happened after being cursed at and attacked!"
"Men, seize them!" Chen Ming ordered with a savage grin.
"Hold on!" Steward Luo hastily stopped him.
"Is that so?" After stopping the two guards, the middle-aged steward turned his cold gaze on Ye Xuan’s group. "To actually raise a hand in our auction house... I’m afraid that’s against the rules, isn’t it?"
Just as Ye Xuan had expected, he was indeed in collusion with Chen Ming. Chen Ming had only asked him to chase Ye Xuan’s group away and humiliate them, which he didn’t mind doing. However, if a real brawl broke out and word reached the upper echelons of the Commerce Association, he would inevitably face punishment.
