CH 18

Chapter 18: “Swinging a big sword in front of Guan Gong.”

Shi Yunnan’s rhetorical question was neither too fast nor too slow; when it fell into Madam Zhao’s ears, it turned into a ‘deliberate provocation’ .

Madam Zhao’s complexion changed slightly, and the corners of her flat lips obviously showed her feelings.

As the hostess of this banquet, she was held up by many guests from the moment she entered the venue.

But now, out of nowhere, a fresh-faced young man not only spoke for Mrs. Lou, whom she hated the most, but also dared to challenge her?

Mrs. Zhao once again asked about Shi Yunnan’s identity, “Which family’s young master are you anyway? Who are your parents?”

On the sideline, Wen Yibei saw that the atmosphere wasn’t right. Just as he was about to step forward and help speak up, he saw Xie Keyue walk out from the group of guests, “Mrs. Zhao, this is my brother, Shi Yunnan.”

“He just came back from abroad a while ago, so it’s normal that you don’t know him.” Xie Keyue walked to Mrs. Zhao’s side and stood still, his eyes silently locked on the two brothers opposite.

Wen Yibei’s face was somewhat pale, slightly evading the other party’s gaze.

He didn’t have much opinion about this Xie Keyue, who followed his mother into the Shi’s family and became the third young master.

However, as the elder brother, he would naturally favor his own brother.

Thinking of the fact that Xie Keyue was praised to the sky in the Shi family over the years, but Shi Yunnan was left unattended by them abroad, he felt aggrieved for his brother in his heart.

Shi Yunnan let out a short breath, as if he had expected Xie Keyue’s appearance a long time ago.

In any case, he was the protagonist of the original book that came with his own halo, it was the everything-must-go-smooth protagonist halo. A single ‘nightclub downfall’ was indeed difficult to completely take him down.

“Shi Yunnan?” Mrs. Zhao muttered vaguely, then she noticed Wen Yibei on the side and finally reacted.

“Yes.”

Instead of responding, Xie Keyue slightly shifted his gaze to the jewelry, and the pleasant acting soon came, “I think this jewelry is graceful and luxurious, it matches Mrs. Zhao’s temperament just right.”

Mrs. Zhao gently touched her jewelry necklace, her expression was appreciative of Xie Keyue, “Speaking of which, I have to thank third young master and your mother for this amazing birthday gift.”

“Mr. Wen knows music, young master Xie knows jewelry, yet…”

Mrs. Zhao deliberately glanced at Shi Yunnan’s face, and changed her words, “Obviously they are nominal brothers, why is there such a big difference?”

There was no mention of Shi Yunnan in these words, but it didn’t save Shi Yunnan any face.

As soon as people around heard this, they instantly understood——

So the jewelry necklace that Mrs. Zhao loved so much was a gift from Xie Keyue and his mother? These sparkling diamonds are blinding people, the price must be high!

As a result?

Shi Yunnan, who didn’t understand jewelry, talked nonsense, and even said that it was comparable to Mrs. Lou’s small jewelry. He simply didn’t know how to appreciate it and had no insight.

No wonder Mrs. Zhao was full of appreciation for Xie Keyue and was indifferent toward Shi Yunnan.

“Shi family can be regarded as a wealthy family, how did they raise such a second young master who doesn’t know anything about quality?”

“Second young master is nothing more than a title, isn’t it? You ask around, Shi Yunnan is the one who was abandoned, who cares about him?”

“Tsk, shame on him for coming here.”

“That’s right, any smart person knows whom to speak to at this banquet.”

The guests ate melons and watched the show, occasionally letting out a few whispers.

Shi Yunnan listened to these remarks, without showing any embarrassment on his face. He shook the glass slightly, and even took a sip of wine in a leisurely manner.

The closer Wen Yibei immediately stepped forward and once again shielded Shi Yunnan, the ‘target of all’, closely behind himself.

“Mrs. Zhao, Yunnan didn’t say half a word about you just now, you shouldn’t and don’t have the right to accuse him in public.”

Wen Yibei was a graceful and elegant gentleman who almost never had a bad rapport with others, but when it came to Shi Yunnan, his tone was actually a few points tougher than usual.

The implication of his words was suggesting that Mrs. Zhao should apologize in turn.

“Mrs. Zhao, second young master Shi was just being kind and comforted me.”

Mrs. Lou also spoke up, feeling overwhelmed.

“He didn’t mean anything from beginning to end, and he didn’t deliberately dismiss your jewelry as bad. Why do you need to target a child for no reason?”

She only felt that Shi Yunnan was innocent, and for no good reason, was implicated in the fighting between women.

Originally it was just a small friction between words, but as a result, the two sides came back and forth, coupled with the fanfare of the guests nearby, the situation suddenly expanded——

Mrs. Zhao became more and more angry, and couldn’t help but let out a snort, “A child? How old is this child? Let me ask you then, which guest would pick on the hostess of the banquet?”

Another person gloated, “Mrs. Zhao, why don’t you check the guest list again? Some people can’t even afford formal wear, I’m afraid they sneaked by fishing in troubled waters1.”

“……”

The focus of this remark couldn’t be more obvious.

Shi Yunnan looked sideways toward the source of the sound, only to find that it was the young master Wei who badmouthed him at the beginning.

The other party was curbed by Wen Yibei just now, and wasn’t willing to take it lying down, now he found the right time to attack.

When Mrs. Zhao heard this, she suddenly remembered something.

Although this banquet was arranged by the hotel, the guest list was personally selected by her and her husband Zhao Chengru.

The guests invited to attend today, she more or less have an impression. Take these three nominal brothers as an example——

Wen Yibei was the invited guest for the opening performance, while Xie Keyue received the invitation because of this ‘jewelry gift’ .

But the rest of the Shi family, especially this Shi Yunnan in front of her, was completely absent from her inviting memory?

“Go and check the guest list.” Mrs. Zhao asked the waiter on the side.

As soon as these words came out, it was obvious that Shi Yunnan was completely disregarded.

Xie Keyue lowered his eyes, concealing the joy in the depths of his pupils.

Last time Shi Yunnan made him have such a big slip-up in the nightclub, today it was his turn to be humiliated in public and lose face, he finally took his revenge!

Wen Yibei saw his brother being treated like this in public, and in an instant, his face turned red with anger, “Mrs. Zhao, you…..”

“Brother, it’s okay.”

Shi Yunnan lightly squeezed Wen Yibei’s wrist to stop the other party from speaking up for him.

He took two steps forward, his expression relaxed, “Mrs. Zhao, while the waiter goes to check the guest list, why don’t you also check this necklace of yours properly?”

Mrs. Zhao was puzzled, “What do you mean?”

Shi Yunnan glanced at the jewelry necklace in front of her and fluently spoke out, “This jewelry necklace is called ‘Hera’, which is jointly created by two jewelry designers. There is only one in the world, and its value—— ”

“The equivalent of RMB 50 million2.”

The guests in the room heard this price and involuntarily took a cold breath in unison.

It was understandable to buy yourself luxury goods at this price, but it exceeded the quota to give as a gift.

Mrs. Zhao was vaguely surprised, while Xie Keyue unconsciously tightened the glass in his hand. He always felt that Shi Yunnan was going to say something unfavorable to him.

“Although it is said that the family scandal cannot be disclosed, I think everyone already knows that the Shi Group had some financial problems some time ago, and old mister Shi has a strict control over the property of his children and grandchildren.”

“Keyue ah, where did the money for this necklace come from?” Shi Yunnan looked at him with interest, “You mother and son spend money so generously, does the old man know?”

“……”

Xie Keyue’s face changed slightly, and he didn’t reply.

Where did the money to buy the necklace come from? Of course it was his own savings, old man Shi didn’t know this at all.

Some time ago, the nightclub was closed by the authorities, and Xie Keyue was also taken back to the police station for investigation.

Fortunately, he was careful when he became a shareholder. Although the dirty transactions in the nightclub have considerable income, he didn’t ask for a penny, and didn’t even show up in this kind of transaction process at all. He just negotiated with old Feng about the turnover of the nightclub and how to make more money in one stroke.

Old Feng had a good friendship with him, but he was somewhat greedy in his bones, he thought he had taken advantage of him and agreed.

Now that something had happened to the nightclub, old Feng’s squatting in prison was a certainty.

Xie Keyue relied on the relatively clean share transfers to clarify that he didn’t know anything about the shady transactions, and he had a lawyer to mediate…..

In the course of events, he got away smoothly.

Xie Keyue had a lot of large and small investments.

The nightclub accident caused him to lose a stable share of the investment. Naturally, Xie Keyue needed to find another investment to make up for this gap.

It happened that last month he spent money to acquire a small domestic cosmetics company that was about to go bankrupt. He intended to use the famous brand of ‘Zhao’ to sell the products of the small company and make a wave of quick money.

Therefore, Xie Keyue purchased such a jewelry necklace, in an attempt to ‘please Mrs. Zhao’ and then get to know her husband, Zhao Chengru, the boss of the Zhao family.

…

Of course, the guests present didn’t know what Xie Keyue’s true thoughts were. They were nudged by Shi Yunnan’s words, and began to speculate one after another——

“Yes, why do their mother and son still have spare money to buy gifts for others?”

“Come on, is the Shi family really lacking that 50 million? Maybe they just want to use this jewelry necklace to seek financial support from the Zhao family.”

“Let me just say, giving such an expensive gift is definitely to request something in return.”

“None of you are right.” Shi Yunnan shook his head, the smile at the corner of his mouth became more and more indifference, “Because this necklace is a fake, it is not worth 50 million at all.”

As soon as the voice fell, the gasp of the audience rang.

Mrs. Zhao was stunned and seemed to be in disbelief, “What did you say?”

“Yunnan, what are you talking about, how can this necklace be a counterfeit?”

Xie Keyue immediately followed and spoke up, although his speech was a bit anxious, the confidence in his tone was still there.

He did pay someone he trusted to buy it back from abroad, but the price was only a few million, not the sky high price in the other party’s mouth.

Shi Yunnan didn’t look at him, but fixed his sharp gaze on the necklace.

“The real Hera is composed of five hundred and twenty diamonds, with ten giant pearls on the outer-ring. The base is made of 18k rose gold.”

“Every diamond on it is of the highest grade in terms of clarity, color and cutting, which is why its price is created.”

Because the base needed to support so many diamonds, it was very troublesome to make by hand.

Shi Yunnan knew so clearly because the real Hera necklace was one of the pieces that he designed and participated in.

The genuine product was a private collection of a certain foreign actress. The buyer’s name was also engraved on the base. It was impossible to easily change ownership.

That’s why he had a slight hesitation when he saw this necklace just now.

“And this one on you, Mrs. Zhao, the clarity discernible to the naked eye is at most VS23. It is only I or J color grade4, even the cut can only be called average…”

Mrs. Zhao should not be a real diamond collector, in addition to the lights of today’s banquet hall as a cover, no one noticed.

For the crowd, Shi Yunnan’s remarks were too professional and fluent, which not only made it difficult for them to refute, but also somewhat convincing.

“Mrs. Zhao, I originally wanted to save you a bit of face, so I didn’t say it at the beginning, but you don’t seem to appreciate it.” Shi Yunnan retracted his gaze and shook his head.

“Even if it’s a good imitation and worth a certain price, a fake is a fake, it’s not as good as Mrs. Lou’s diamond necklace.”

Shi Yunnan felt that he was not really a good person from the bottom of his heart.

When others didn’t mess with him, he was too lazy to provoke them, but if others were looking for trouble, he didn’t mind striking back to make the other party lose face.

“However, Mrs. Zhao is right in saying that a pheasant cannot become a phoenix.”

Shi Yunnan slowly looked at Xie Keyue, revealing his sarcasm unabashedly, “Some people wear decent clothes and become the wealthy young master in everyone’s mouth, but who knows what kind of rotten idea they have in private.”

“……”

Shi Yunnan’s counterattack was so sharp, like a series of slaps falling down, not giving people a chance to breathe.

Xie Keyue’s composed face sank, he didn’t expect that the other party would make trouble for him under such circumstances.

“No wonder I think this looks so familiar just now, I’ve always felt like I’ve seen it somewhere.”

“It looks like the radiance is a bit worse than mine.”

The rich madams present murmured in a low voice, there was some gloating in those words.

Mrs. Zhao was the most anxious to keep up her appearance. She was laughing at Mrs. Lou for dressing in a petty way, but in the end she was pointed out by Shi Yunnan that she was wearing a fake diamond necklace?

Afterwards, no matter if the necklace was found to be real or not, it was enough to make her lose face right now!

The waiter who was sent to check the guest list ran back hurriedly. He looked at the frozen atmosphere in the whole banquet hall, and cautiously said, “Madam, I’ve checked the guest list…”

“There is indeed no Mr. Shi Yunnan.”

The guests looked at each other, almost dumbfounded by this series of reversals——

My god.

Dare to make trouble for a long time, Shi Yunnan really came to fish in troubled waters?

Mrs. Zhao, who was feeling ashamed and furious, seemed to have grasped something. For the first time, she shouted without any consideration for the situation, “Someone, kick Shi Yunnan out of the banquet hall!”

Shi Yunnan smiled calmly, “Mrs. Zhao, there’s no need to bother your men, I originally didn’t intend to stay here much longer.”

He glanced at Xie Keyue with a smile that’s not a smile, “By the way, I almost forgot to mention that the genuine product of this necklace you’re wearing is, coincidentally, my handicraft.”

“……”

Xie Keyue’s face stiffened, and the bottom of his eyes showed a bit of disbelief.

What?

Shi Yunnan was the designer of the authentic necklace?

If you were brave enough to say the other party was talking nonsense like before, wasn’t it just swinging a big sword in front of Guan Yu5?

Everyone in the audience kept the same idea and watched the play silently.

Shi Yunnan looked at Mrs. Zhao, whose anger had not completely dissipated, but he won the complete victory from the momentum, “Then excuse me.”

Just as he was about to leave the banquet hall, he heard an urgent stop, “Mr. Shi, please wait!”

The real host of the banquet, Zhao Chengru, the chairman of the Imperial Capital Chamber of Commerce, hurriedly pushed aside the crowd and rushed in, his face was very ugly and uneasy, “Sun Chengmin, shut your mouth!”

Sun Chengmin was Mrs. Zhao’s real name.

In the next second, everyone was shocked to find that there was a figure at the entrance of the banquet hall——

“Patriarch Luo? Why did he come here?”

“Mr. Zhao was actually able to invite him? This is a great honor, right?”

Luo Lingsheng slowly approached with his wheelchair, even the sitting posture did not affect his appalling aura.

The whole audience regained their senses from the initial exclamation and unconsciously turned into a silence.

Luo Lingsheng stopped at a distance about three or four meters from the crowd, and his eyes hidden under the lenses were accurately aimed at Shi Yunnan, “Why are you suddenly in a hurry to leave?”