A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)

Li Er's arrival had caused the hall to go silent.

Due to Yunzhou's proximity to Jianghai and because one of Madam Han's daughters had married into the Qiu family, the Hans knew who were the movers and shakers in Yunzhou.

And the most renowned among them was Master Li Er.

He was an existence who was on speaking terms with Chen Ao!

So, naturally, the Hans found it hard to believe that a personage like Li Er would pay them a visit. Also, looking at his reverent attitude toward Ye Fan and his wife, it was clear to all that he had come to support Ye Fan.

"Good day to you, Master Er!"

"Greetings to you, Master Er!"

After Li Er's arrival, many businessmen in the hall started to pay their respects to him.

After all, Li Er was the top honcho of a prefecture-level city. A person like him would have many means at his disposal and plenty of connections in both the business and political sectors. He was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

It was only natural for the business community to treat Li Er with respect because, oftentimes, businessmen like Shen Jiu-Yi and Chen Qing-Quan would find themselves in need of help from a resourceful mob boss like him.

Li Er nodded in response but did not say anything to them. Instead, he lifted his head to look at Madam Han, who was seated in the seat of honor.

"You must be the family head of the Han family of Jianghai, Madam Han?"

"This is unexpected. To think a small family like yours would have such clout. I could hear your scoldings from outside the house!"

"How dare you tell Mr. Chu to kneel and apologize? You should learn to watch your mouth, madam," Li Er spoke coldly, his words filled with ridicule and disdain.

"Master... Master Er, this is a misunderstanding," Han Hai stammered.

He was afraid of offending a bigwig like Li Er.

"Misunderstanding? I heard it with my own ears and saw it with my own eyes. Don't tell me I was hallucinating?"

"You Hans are really audacious! Do you think Mr. Chu is someone you can afford to offend?"

Li Er yelled and frightened Han Hai so much that the latter paled immediately.

Meanwhile, Mo Wen-Xuan's family all had terrible expressions on their faces. But they dared not say a word.

But Madam Han had seniority because she was older than Li Er. So, even as she was facing his authority, she soldiered on and said: "Master Li Er, I know you are well-connected and there is nothing you can't do in Yunzhou. But this is Jianghai.

Don't you think you are poking your nose into places it doesn't belong?"

"Moreover, Master Li Er, even you can't protect Ye Fan from the person he has offended!"

"That's right. You may be very powerful, but that's only in Yunzhou. This is Jianghai. This is Master Ao's territory. As the saying goes, even a mighty dragon can't beat a snake on its home ground. You must be daydreaming if you think you can protect that good-for-nothing all by yourself!"

Just then, Han Yu managed to gather enough courage to yell at Li Er.

"What if you count me in?"

Bang-

A deep bang rang out. Someone had pushed open the door to the Han's residence.

And when the guests looked outside, they could see several men swaggering toward the hall with their heads held high. The new arrivals were old but energetic, and they looked like men who were used to command.

"This... This is..."

"The head of the Wang family! Wang Jie-Xi!"

"The overlord of Haozhou!"

Damn! Why... why is he here?

The guests in the hall were surprised to see Wang Jie-Xi. And, right away, some businessmen from Haozhou hurried outside to pay their respects.

Han Hai and the other Hans were so shocked that their eyes started twitching.

But Madam Han continued to put up a brave front. She suppressed her shock and, with a livid expression on her face, she screamed, "The head of the Wang family? Wang Jie-Xi? Sure, you have clout. But it is still not enough to shield that trash from Master Ao!!"

Clearly, Madam Han was on the warpath against Ye Fan.

She was an old lady in her seventies so, in her mind, it was not possible for her to lose to a young man like Ye Fan.

"Count me in as well!"

Suddenly, an angry shout rang out in the courtyard. This voice was deep and carried the weight of authority.

And then, once again, the door to the Han's family house was pushed open. The latest arrival was a well-suited middle-aged man who had his hands clasped behind his back. As everyone looked on, he swaggered in through the door with four to five bodyguards in tow.

"This... This is..."

"The kingpin of Jingzhou! The head of the Lei family, Master Lei San!"

Oh damn?

Even Master Lei San is here?

What is happening in Jianghai today?

Just then, a commotion broke out among the assembled crowd and many of them nearly went mad with excitement.

And Lei Ao-Ting, who had earlier defended Mo Wen-Xuan, felt a current of shock run through his body when he saw the middle-aged man.

The young master's eyes bulged immediately, and he stood there as if thunderstruck.

"Dad...dad?"

Lei Ao-Ting was flummoxed.

And Mo Wen-Xuan's family was shocked. Master Lei San's appearance had plunged their hearts into turmoil.

"Master... Master Lei San?"

Earlier, Mo Wen-Xuan and his family had been shocked by the arrival of Shen Jiu-Yi, Li Er and Wang Jie-Xi. But they had not been frightened.

After all, their home was in Jingzhou. No matter how powerful Li Er was, his home ground was in Yunzhou. The lord of Jingzhou was Master Lei San of the Lei family. So Mo Wen-Xuan and his family had not felt afraid of Li Er and the other family heads.

But now, Master Lei San was here.

Mo Wen-Xuan and his family were thoroughly frightened.

The fear began to ferment and sweep through their hearts.

Could it be that they had offended a powerful elite?

"Count me in too!"

And a new wave arose before the previous one had subsided.

Before the waves caused by Master Lei San's arrival had time to subside, another group of visitors stepped into the courtyard.

As the latest arrivals stood upright in front of Ye Fan, they shouted their greetings in unison.

"This...This... This is..."

"Chen Tian-Jiao!"

"The President of the Chen Group in Jianghai? Chen Ao's nephew?"

"Why... Why... Why is he here?"

This time, it was Han Hai's family turn to be flummoxed.

The bosses of Yunzhou, Haozhou and Jingzhou were all here. And now, even one of the top elites of Jianghai had also come.

And the Hans found it hard to believe that he had actually come to support Ye Fan.

Han Hai was bewildered.

The entire hall went dead quiet.

But the storm had yet to subside.

After a short moment of silence, yet another fleet of luxury cars slowly came to a stop outside the Han's residence.

And then, a dozen odd men pushed open the door and trooped into the courtyard.

The moment the door had opened, the assembled crowd could see that the well-suited visitors were all men used to command. When they stepped on the ground of the Han's residence, their footsteps rang out heavily and shook the guests to their cores.

And immediately afterward, one reverent greeting after another sounded in the hall.

"Yang Zi-Hai, the head of the Yang family of Jingyang City, has come together with the leaders of Fenghai to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday! We wish Madam Chu a happy birthday!"

"Luo Hai-Qiang, the head of the Luo family of Xinfeng City, has come to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday!" "Wang Jing-Yu, the head of the Wang family of Luzhou City, has come to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday!"

Their greetings rang out one after another and surged through the courtyard like huge waves at sea. And then, they coalesced together to shake heaven and earth.

Today, the bosses of half of Jiangdong province, of nearly ten prefecture-level cities, had all come to pay their respects to Ye Fan and his wife. All of them had been present that night at Sheng Tian Restaurant. "Chen Ao, the King of Jiangdong and the head of the Chen family of Jianghai, has come with daughter Chen Nan, to celebrate Madam Chu's birthday!"

"May Madam Chu always be youthful and beautiful!"

Boom-

Finally, the arrival of the last guest caused shock waves to ripple through the crowd and plunged their hearts into turmoil.

The King of Jiangdong... Chen Ao. He... He is here as well?!!!

Just then, Han Hai was flummoxed. So was Han Yu. And Madam Han as well. In fact, all the Hans, along with their guests, were flummoxed! They felt as if a whirlwind of destruction had just swept through the place.