Supreme Heir Son-in-law
Chapter 78: The Slap Came Too Fast

"Exactly, how could they have an invitation from the Yun Family? It must be a forgery, or not even theirs," Hu Xue also stood on Zhou Bo’s side and retorted.

Xu Ke ignored their clamor and directly handed the invitation to the servant in front of everyone. The servant flipped through the invitation, carefully confirming it before respectfully returning it to Xu Ke, saying, "I didn’t recognize your status earlier, please forgive our discourtesy. Since you are also a valued guest of our Yun Family, this matter is between your two families; our Yun Family will not interfere further."

After the servant examined the invitation, he first sincerely acknowledged his mistake and then withdrew the security surrounding the two people, indicating that the other’s invitation was genuine. The neutral stance of the Yun Family further suggested that the other party’s invitation carried no less weight, at least on par with the Zhou Family, despite not knowing when such a figure had arrived in Luo City.

Xu Ke didn’t comment on the servant’s obsequious attitude, as such situations are especially common in upper-class society and nothing surprising, just rather unpleasant.

At that moment, Yun Lan, the young master of the Yun Family, having received the news, extricated himself from his current commitments and arrived hurriedly. Yun Lan looked first at Zhou Bo and Hu Xue, and then turned his gaze to Lin Mengyao and Xu Ke.

Zhou Bo and Lin Mengyao were known to him, one from the up-and-coming Zhou Family, the other from the fossilized Lin Family, whereas the people beside them were completely unworthy of Yun Lan’s attention. A first glance leaving no impression meant these two were not important, and hence not worth further attention.

Along the way, someone had briefed Yun Lan about the general situation, and he had made his decision internally. Compared to Lin Mengyao, who was not favored in the Lin Family, it was clear the Yun Family needed to side more with the Zhou Family, possessing boundless potential, although the necessary formalities for reputation and decorum had to be adhered to.

"What happened?" Yun Lan asked.

The servant, who had witnessed the entire situation, succinctly filled Yun Lan in on the developments, adding many details and highlights, including Xu Ke’s invitation allowing companions.

The invitations sent by the Yun Family followed strict protocols. The minimum qualification to receive a Yun Family invitation was being a second-tier family from Luo City, and these families received personal invitations without an option for companions, with a limit on how many invitations each family could receive. Invitations allowing companions were allocated to first-tier families from Luo City, although only one companion could be included. The most prestigious invitations, given to top-tier families from Luo City, had no limitations on the number of companions.

Xu Ke received the second kind of invitation. Normally, this type of invitation was not special, nor worth reporting, but the oddity lay in the family-reception butler not having seen Xu Ke before. While the invitation had Yun Family’s official seal, it had some differences, which is why he specifically informed Yun Lan.

"Sir, could you please show me your invitation?" Yun Lan said to Xu Ke after hearing the servant’s report, having some speculations but not quite certain, wanting to verify the invitation with his own eyes.

Zhou Bo, hearing Yun Lan, immediately became excited, "Young Master Lan, I suspect his invitation is fake. Not only did he injure me, but he also tries to sneak in with a forged invitation. Someone of such vile behavior and poor conduct must not be let off by the Yun Family; make him regret it." Zhou Bo gave Xu Ke a ’you’re finished’ look, his tone excited as if he could already envision Xu Ke and Lin Mengyao’s miserable end.

Unfortunately, no one responded to his excitement; neither of the two main figures in the situation acknowledged him. Xu Ke handed his invitation to Yun Lan for inspection. Lin Mengyao, seeing the situation, became somewhat nervous, gripping Xu Ke’s hand tighter.

"Don’t worry, it’s fine."

Yun Lan checked quickly; as soon as Xu Ke finished speaking, Yun Lan handed the invitation back to Xu Ke, and his gaze towards Xu Ke warmed compared to before, "Mr. Xu’s invitation is in order; it was just some underlings being incompetent, don’t mind it."

"No, how could he actually have an invitation, Young Master Lan, take a closer look," Zhou Bo’s face became ashen upon hearing Yun Lan’s words. He couldn’t accept this outcome. He had just said those things in front of everyone, and now that Xu Ke’s invitation was confirmed as real, how would he face others once this got out?

"Are you doubting me?" Yun Lan glanced at Zhou Bo with eyes as sharp as daggers.

The Yun Family had issued only one special invitation for this banquet, which had been given to Xu Jie. Although Xu Jie was without a family in Luo City, she was practically the leader among Luo City’s first-tier families by her own merits, just a step away from joining the top-tier families. Moreover, backing Xu Jie was the Xu Family of Shangjing, making the Zhou Family insignificant before her; even the top families had to treat Xu Jie with respect.

Although he didn’t know Xu Ke’s identity, the fact that Xu Ke could get Xu Jie’s invitation indicated an unusual relationship between the two. More importantly, the surname "Xu" in Xu Ke’s name inevitably led him to ponder further, elevating Xu Ke’s standing in his mind significantly.

Because of this surname, Yun Lan made a certain decision in his heart, "Since you doubt me, there’s no need for you to attend today’s banquet at the Yun Family, see the guest out," Yun Lan’s last words were directed at the servant beside him.

"No, I didn’t mean it like that, Young Master Lan, this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!" Zhou Bo, being dragged towards the foot of the mountain by two security guards, struggled and explained desperately. He couldn’t afford to be ejected from the Yun Family’s banquet, as long as the Yun Family was present, it meant he would never be accepted again by Luo City’s upper-class society; even the Zhou Corporation would likely be affected, rendering this outcome unbearable for him.

No matter how he struggled, his arms were like being clamped by iron pliers, utterly unable to break free. He could only watch helplessly as the Yun Family Mansion grew smaller in his sight, eventually disappearing altogether.

He couldn’t understand why things turned out this way.

"Need me to have someone escort you too?" Yun Lan said coldly to Hu Xue, who still stood unmoving.

"No, I’ll leave by myself, I’ll go," Hu Xue waved repeatedly at Yun Lan and turned to leave, her movements so swift that it was hard to believe she was wearing high heels at all.

A joke, getting thrown out would be humiliating beyond measure; how could she face anyone in Luo City thereafter? Yet Lin Mengyao was still as detestable as before, holding onto the invitation without showing it, only bringing it out after her embarrassment, just as vile and without a good heart as always.