Chapter 463
Chapter 463
A man wearing royal clothes walked out beside the bride.
“It’s you?” Pang Degong was stunned as he looked at the man. He then shook his head. It does not matter if it was really him. He would first see how the crowd reacts. Pang Degong also stopped an angry looking Pang Shanmin without telling him whose fault it is.
“Why is it him?” Kuai Yue and Cai Mao shared a glance. They both had a bad premonition.
“Impossible! Impossible!” The one chanting this could only be Pang Tong. He had dispatched people to ensure that Liu Mang would not appear. Yet, here he was taking the leading role as though he had long since been Kuai Liang’s guest. He then glared at his men. They raised their hands in reply, signifying that they knew nothing.
Pang Tong forcefully controlled his anger. It was no longer time to be thinking of how Liu Mang appeared here but what Liu Mang intended to do. He needed to see whether the Kuai Family would pick Liu Mang or his four thousand gold.
“Liu Mang Liu Hanyang!” Huang She saw this person and quickly hid himself away from Liu Mang’s gaze guiltily. After a while, he became calm again. Even if Liu Mang knew who attacked him, he would not be able to do anything in Jingzhou.
“Brother?” Kuai Yue looked at Kuai Liang inquiringly but he was then shocked by Kuai Liang’s next action.
“Kuai Liang Kuai Zirou of Xiangyang greets Your Highness!” Kuai Liang immediately knelt down. When he knelt, others would no longer dare to stand. After all, he was one of the most influential people in Jingzhou. Besides that, Liu Mang also had the status of a royal. Even if the Han dynasty was almost over, the people still followed some unwritten rules.
“Military Advisor of Jingzhou, Cai Mao Cai Degui greets Your Highness!” Cai Mao quickly knelt down and pulled Kuai Yue down as well.
“Jingzhou’s Kuai Yue Kuai Yidu greets Your Highness!” Kuai Yue forced himself to shout.
“This common1 Pang greets Your Highness!” Pang Degong wanted to kneel as well but he was stopped by Liu Mang. Pang Degong may not have any position as an official but he was a person so reputable that Liu Biao had to act cautiously. If Pang Degong were to kneel, Liu Mang would be cursed by the entire population of Jingzhou. Besides that, Pang Degong was already old. Liu Mang did not want him to kneel. Pang Degong also did not forcefully continue trying.
“Jingzhou’s Huang She greets Your Highness!”2 Huang She knelt reluctantly. He may be the Young Master of the Huang Family but he was just someone who writes orders. Liu Mang did not like Huang She but he decided to spare Huang She as there was someone else more deserving of his attention.
The only person that did not kneel was Pang Tong. Both Liu Mang and Pang Tong had been fighting against each other relentlessly for a long time. Even though Pang Tong lost the battle at Yangzhou, their fight was not yet over. That being said, Pang Tong had no choice. He could only refuse to kneel if he wanted to show that Liu Bei no longer cared about the Han Dynasty and have declared to be independent.
“Pang Tong Pang Shiyuan of Yuzhou greets Your Highness!” Pang Tong knelt.
Liu Mang smiled at Pang Tong. No matter how hard Pang Tong schemed, he still had to kneel to Liu Mang in the end. His smile made Pang Tong even angrier but Pang Tong was still helpless.
After everyone greeted Liu Mang, he waved his hand and excused them. “Today is a happy occasion for the Kuai Family. It is also a happy occasion for me!”
Everyone was confused. They could understand Liu Mang’s appearance as Liu Mang was close to Kuai Liang. As Liu Mang had his status of the King of Shu, it was also not surprising for Liu Mang to become a witness to the wedding. Yet Liu Mang claimed that this was a happy occasion for him which sounded far-fetched.
“This is a happy occasion for you?” Pang Degong was not connected to any groups and could look at others more calmly. He looked at Kuai Ran and the bride wearing the veil before coming to an understanding.
“Your Highness. This is…” Kuai Yue wanted to say something. Liu Mang had spoken too much as a witness. Although Kuai Liang and Liu Mang were close, it does not mean that the Kuai Family had a favorable opinion of Liu Mang. Kuai Yue could not allow the others present to misunderstand. He wanted to quickly correct Liu Mang’s words and say that the Kuai Family is remaining neutral and that they did not want to interfere.
However, before Kuai Yue could speak, Liu Mang took the bride’s hand.
Everyone became shocked. This was the Kuai Family’s bride. How could she be touched by other men before the Kuai Family brought her home? It was not an era where men and women could simply touch each other even if it was just the hand. If she was already touched in such a public place, how was the Kuai Family supposed to accept her without losing face?
Kuai Yue’s expression turned dark while Pang Tong and Huang She became happy. Liu Mang was inviting trouble. Pang Tong and Huang She wanted Kuai Yue to become hostile and watch the fun. Liu Mang had already offended two out of the four influential families in Jingzhou. If he were to offend the Kuai Family as well, he would place himself in a difficult position.
Just as Kuai Yue was about to break out in anger, Liu Mang led the bride by hand towards Kuai Ran. “Brother Kuai Ran. Today, I give my little sister to you. If you bully my sister, don’t blame me for being harsh!” Liu Mang smiled as he offered the bride’s hand to Kuai Ran.
“What!” The crowd was astonished. The bride was the King of Shu’s little sister?
“Yidu! What is going on?” Cai Mao asked as he looked at Kuai Yue. His friend no longer seemed recognizable.
“I…” Kuai Yue was stupefied by those words. Kuai Yue did not know that his son was getting married. He didn’t even know who his son was getting married to. How was he supposed to explain that? Who would believe him? To begin with, he himself did not know what was going on.
Since Kuai Yue did not explain, Cai Mao started thinking too much, especially about the part Kuai Ran being unfilial. He now believed that Kuai Yue set this up because Kuai Yue did not get angry. However, Kuai Yue only remained silent because of Kuai Liang. As a result, the misunderstanding grew bigger.
“The Kuai Family is going to be related to Yangzhou through marriage!” These were the thoughts of everyone present. As Kuai Ran was the sole heir of the Kuai Family, everything would soon belong to him. Since he was getting married to the King of Shu’s little sister it would mean wanting to join Yangzhou.
“Impossible! Where did this Fake King’s sister come from?” Pang Tong shook his head. He and Liu Mang had been enemies for a very long time. He knew much about Liu Mang and knew that Liu Mang had no sister. Liu Mang also did not come to Jingzhou with a woman.
Liu Mang explained that his wife’s sister and Kuai Ran were close which is why he was invited as the witness. However, his explanation was not clear and he did not even say which wife. His explanation made others certain that the Kuai Family was joining Yangzhou. The others also began to plot and decided to treat Yangzhou for favorably. They had to at least persuade Liu Biao to sell some provisions to Yangzhou.
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Just a commoner. No specific posts.
执笔令 Huang She also stated his job name. Basically the guy who writes/reads the King’s orders. Unfortunately, I do not know the English name for such a job.