A Clash of Gods - Chapter 118

Chapter 118 Make a Clean Break
In the main hall of the marquis’ mansion, there were many people. One elder sat in each of the eight chairs with carve patterns on the left and right inside. Behind each elder, many people stood, including the old and young, filling the hall.

The third elder lord sat at the head on the left, dressed in brocade clothes and a fur hat. He looked cold on his old face with wrinkles.

The fifth lord was not present, but the sixth lord stood behind the third elder lord with hatred on his face. Qi Yu was next to him and looked cold.

There were two light shelves on each of both sides of the hall with four oil lamps, which lit up the hall.

When Yang Ning entered the main hall, many people inside put their heads together and whispered to one another, and the hall was noisy. As soon as Yang Ning showed up, all the voices stopped, and countless eyes fell on him at the same time. They showed different expressions. The third elder lord glanced at Yang Ning and snorted. Then he raised his hand to stroke his beard and looked calm and cautious.

Yang Ning glanced over them and smiled. “All the elders and lords in the Qi clan came?” He saluted them. “Good day, all the elders.”

The Qi clan was a large clan. There were many offshoots except the lineal families, and almost all of them came from Jiangling, but they followed the old marquis to the capital. The two generations of the Marquis of Honor were the pillars of the Chu State, and all the descendants of the Qi clan had a good shade under a big tree, so they moved to the capital.

The Marquis of Honor might not have given the offshoots benefits, but after all, they were family and worked in the capital as the relatives of the Marquis of Honor, so they would be more convenient. Many of them worked in the governments or did business in the capital.

The third elder lord’s family mainly did business and had much more shops in the capital than the family of the Marquis of Honor, which had only two shops.

When the Marquis of Honor was alive, all the lineal descendants and offshoots from the Qi clan naturally regarded him as the master, but after the old marquis passed away, the third elder lord became the head of the clan and meddled in all the affairs in the clan.

Yang Ning greeted them but nobody replied. A lot of them turned away.

Yang Ning smiled and walked directly to the master’s seat at the head. When he was about to sit down, the sixth lord sneered. “Wait a moment. Qi Ning, why don’t you have a look? All the members in the clan are here and we will have a meeting about the clan today. You dare to sit in the master’s seat?”

Yang Ning ignored him and sat down straightforwardly. All people in the hall discussed animatedly.

“Stop talking. This is the mansion of the Marquis of Honor, my own place. Even if I lie here, not to mention sitting, you don’t have the right to meddle.” Yang Ning leaned against the chair, even with his legs crossed, saying at leisure, “Uncles, you came here at the same time in such a big way. What do you want? All people in the mansion have had dinner, and if you didn’t have dinner, I will have to say sorry.”

After he said that, many people looked angry and some shook their heads repeatedly.

An elder coughed twice and then stated, “Qi Ning, since you are the heir, you should be act like an heir. You are so reckless, and if others know that, our clan…”

Before this elder finished his words, Yang Ning interrupted him. “Excuse me, who are you?”

The elder was stunned, and the third elder lord finally spoke. “You don’t need to care who he is. Most of the elders and lords in the Qi clan have arrived today, and you won’t know everybody.”

“Right.” Yang Ning laughed. “Third Elder Lord, you are the head of the clan, and you cover the sky with one hand and decide everything in the clan, so it doesn’t matter if I know others.”

The six lord heard that and asked in a rage, “Qi Ning, be polite. Do you know the rules?”

Last time he had been beaten by Yang Ning and his head was injured, so he hated Yang Ning to the bone.

“Qi Song, don’t need to say so much.” The third elder lord’s face darkened, and he looked at Yang Ning, asking, “I ask you. Is it your idea to drive Qi Yu and his mother away from the mansion?”

Yang Ning glanced at Qi Yu, to see that the latter stared at him resentfully. He laughed loudly and nodded. “Right, it’s my idea.”

There was an uproar in the hall.

“Qi Ning, your father’s funeral was just finished. As soon as he left, you took actions against your brother. Do you have conscience?” The third elder lord was furious. “You are narrow-minded and intolerant to others. The fame of the Marquis of Honor would be ruined by you.”

Yang Ning waved his legs and asked, “I told them to get out of the mansion before midnight today, and there are only three or four hours left. Third Elder Lord, you brought so many people here. Are you going to ask for mercy for them?”

The third elder lord sneered. “Ask for mercy? Do I need to ask you for mercy?”

Yang Ning asked, “Oh? What do you mean?”

The third elder lord stated coldly, “You made a big mistake, and as the head of the Qi clan, I can’t just stand by. I give you a chance to take back what you said and apologize to them. I will consider that you are young and not sensible and let it pass.”

Yang Ning showed a forced smile. “What if I don’t do that?”

The third elder lord didn’t answer but stood up shakily. He relied on the crutch and looked around. “All the elders and lords in the Qi clan are here today. I will say something in public.” He coughed and then added, “Before Marquis of Honor went to the battlefield that year, he talked with me for one night and told me several things.”

All people looked at the third elder lord, and it was silent in the hall.

“Marquis of Honor was worried about Qi Ning most then. All of you know what he was like in the past, so Marquis of Honor thought if Qi Ning inherited the title, he was ignorant and others would laugh at him. Moreover, perhaps with him, the fame of the Marquis of Honor would be ruined thoroughly.” The third elder lord sighed. “Marquis of Honor wanted Qi Yu to inherit the title, and all of you can see that for the two brothers, Qi Yu is much better than Qi Ning in every aspect.”

The sixth lord echoed loudly, “Right, Qi Yu is clever and sensible, with a good moral quality and talent, but Qi Ning…” He leered at Qi Ning and sneered. “Didn’t he do many things to ruin the family’s reputation?”

Yang Ning just smiled in silence.

“Marquis of Honor told me then. If Qi Ning corrects his errors and makes a fresh start, all people in the clan would naturally try our best to help him. But if Qi Ning is ignorant all the time, Marquis of Honor would let me manage the mansion and help Qi Yu inherit the title.” The third elder lord smiled bitterly. “Qi Ning is the eldest legitimate son, and I can’t bear to break the family rules easily, so these years I wait for him to grow up…” He shook his head. “But the effort is in vain. After Marquis of Honor passed away, he became more objectionable. He looks down upon everybody and doesn’t respect the old or love the young. Now he even acts willfully and wants to drive Qi Yu and his mother away from the mansion. Everybody, you have the judgment and can check if he is right or wrong.”

All people talked about it and most of them denounced Qi Ning. Except few people staying silent, almost all of them supported the third elder lord.

“To hurt the brothers, such a scandal can’t happen in our clan.” The third elder lord was old, but his voice was loud and clear. “And before Marquis of Honor left, he told me that he was worried that some people would bully Qi Yu and treat him and his mother unfairly because he is a concubine’s son, so he asked me to take care of them. As long as I am alive, I won’t allow anybody to act absurdly.”

Yang Ning chuckled. “Third Elder Lord, you said that my father told you. Who can prove it?”

“I don’t need anybody to prove it.” The third elder lord’s tone was forceful. “Qi Ning, I said I would give you a chance. If you apologize to them, I can let it pass for now, but…”

“Then you don’t need to say more.” Yang Ning also looked cold. “I won’t take back what I said. Now I am the decision-maker in the marquis’ mansion, and it is me who want to expel Qi Yu and his mother. If they still stay in the mansion after midnight, I will break Qi Yu’s legs. If you don’t believe it, you can have a try.”

The hall was in an uproar.

“You…” The third elder lord’s face was red out of anger, and he said furiously, “Fine, Qi Ning. In this case, don’t blame me when I show no mercy.” He shouted loudly, “I am the head of the clan. Everybody is here today. I will expel Qi Ning from the Qi clan. From now on, Qi Ning’s family won’t be in our clan.”

After he finished his words, many people turned pale.

Everybody knew that such an aristocratic clan was not ordinary. With the clan’s name, the clan was the base. No matter if it was good or bad, they had the root and source.

If they were expelled from the clan, they would be alone. From then on, they wouldn’t be under the protection of the whole clan. For the normal aristocratic clan, once the family was expelled, it would be almost a fatal blow. Without the clan’s resources and protection, they could hardly move a step especially nowadays.

But the Qi clan was different.

The family of the Marquis of Honor had the title of nobility. Although the marquis’ family needed the Qi clan as the foundation, the Qi clan was prosperous depending on the status and connections of the two Marquises of Honor. If it was in the past, the Qi clan relied on the marquis’ family and would never expel this family.

Even now, although the heir of the Marquis of Honor looked overbearing, after all, he would inherit the title. If he was expelled from the clan, it would be bad news for both sides. The marquis’ family lost the foundation, and the Qi clan had cut off the big tree which provided them with the shade.

However, the third elder lord was the head of the Qi clan and had the right to expel the children from the clan.

It was horribly silent in the hall.

Yang Ning stood up slowly and stared at the third elder lord, asking while stressing each word, “Did you say that you would expel me from the Qi clan?”

The third elder lord also gazed at Yang Ning, with his blurry eyes, stating coldly, “It is nobody’s fault but your own. You would cause trouble sooner or later, and the Qi clan can’t accept you unless you lower your head to admit your fault in front of all the members in the clan. Otherwise, I won’t change my mind.”

Yang Ning looked cold and glanced over, asking, “All of you think so?”

Most of them lowered their heads and didn’t dare to speak.

Yang Ning suddenly took out the Cold Blade and stared at the third elder lord sternly, asking, “I ask you once more. Is this your decision? Won’t you change it?”

Seeing that Yang Ning took out a blade, the third elder lord stepped backward involuntarily. “What…are you going to do?” Then he asked, “Do you still dare to threaten me with a blade? Listen carefully. I will expel you from the clan today. From now on, your family wouldn’t be in the Qi clan.”

“Crack!”

Yang Ning waved his hand and the light of the blade flashed. He had cut off one handle of the chair. All people were astonished and saw that Yang Ning’s eyes were like knives. He scanned everybody in the hall and stressed each word. “From now on, the family of the Marquis of Honor makes a clean break with the Qi clan like this slash and will have nothing to do with the clan. Each of us will make a living and live in peace no matter if we will be rich or poor, alive or dead.”