Chapter 15: Make Me Apologize to This Trash?

"Shishan, what did you just say? Who seduced the Wanling Pavilion Master?" Shi Muyao demanded anxiously.

She had no idea why the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion had suddenly decided to cooperate exclusively with her. However, accusing her of seducing the Pavilion Master was pure slander.

Mo Qianqian wasn’t in a hurry. Instead, he said, "If the Wanling Pavilion Master heard those words, what do you think he would do? Is there a possibility that you might mysteriously disappear?"

"You..." Shishan’s expression changed. He wasn’t afraid of Shi Muyao and Mo Qianqian, but the Pavilion Master was absolutely someone he couldn’t afford to offend.

If he truly angered the Wanling Pavilion Master, mysteriously disappearing wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. The man could even come directly to the Shi Family to deal with him, and the family would be powerless to stop it.

"Leaving the Pavilion Master aside for a moment, look at your attitude—ordering people around like dogs. If we told the Patriarch that Yaoyao refused to go because of you, what consequences do you think you’d face?" Mo Qianqian looked at Shishan with an amused expression.

"You!" Shishan’s face fell completely. If Shi Muyao truly refused to see their grandfather, or even refused to step forward and negotiate with the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion, and pinned the blame entirely on him, he would inevitably suffer grave consequences.

No matter how slow Shi Muyao might be, she fully understood the situation now. Seizing the moment, she barked at Shishan, "Shishan, apologize!"

"Get on your knees and apologize!" Mo Qianqian added.

"You!" Shishan flew into a rage.

"If you don’t apologize, you can go back and report to Grandfather yourself," Shi Muyao said with a resolute expression.

"You two..."

Shishan seethed with anger, but knowing they had him cornered—and that the fallout of not apologizing would be severe—he swallowed his fury and dropped to one knee. "I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said you seduced the Pavilion Master. I was talking nonsense." With that said, he looked up at Shi Muyao. "Shi Muyao, is that enough?"

"Apologize to him as well. He isn’t the Shi Family’s dog; he is my husband!" Shi Muyao declared.

"You want me to apologize to this cripple?" Shishan was so angry he could barely breathe.

"Go back by yourself then. When Grandfather comes looking for me, I’ll tell him it’s because you disrespected us," Shi Muyao retorted.

"You..." Shishan gritted his teeth and turned to Mo Qianqian. "I apologize to you!"

"On both knees!" Mo Qianqian demanded.

"Mo Qianqian, don’t push it!" Shishan roared.

"It seems your apology lacks even a shred of sincerity," Mo Qianqian observed casually.

Shi Muyao felt that making him kneel on both knees was a bit excessive. However, Mo Qianqian was on her side, and Shishan had insulted him by calling him a dog. If he didn’t kneel, Mo Qianqian might actually attack him. Thinking of this, she hardened her stance and ordered, "Apologize!"

"Fine, you guys are just great!" Shishan glared at them with a ferocious look, a trace of murderous intent rising in his heart as he lowered his other knee to the ground. "I apologize to you!" he repeated, emphasizing every syllable heavily.

"That’s enough!" Mo Qianqian said. "Go get Shi Yan to come invite her. You aren’t worthy! Also, tell Patriarch Shi to convene a clan meeting. Have Shi Yan step down from the Shi Family’s medicinal herb business in front of everyone and hand control over to Yaoyao. Otherwise, the deal is off!"

"You!" Shishan immediately erupted in fury. He had already knelt and apologized, yet the other party still dared to make further demands!

Hearing Mo Qianqian’s words, Shi Muyao was also surprised. However, after mulling it over, she realized his demands made perfect sense. She chimed in, "His words are my words!"

Shishan immediately stood up, fighting the sudden urge to strike them down. But for the sake of the Shi Family’s grand plans, he ultimately suppressed his rage. "Fine! Mo Qianqian, Shi Muyao, you’ve really done it this time!" After spitting out those heavy words, Shishan strode away.

In Patriarch Shi’s courtyard.

Seeing that Shi Muyao hadn’t been brought over, Patriarch Shi demanded anxiously and angrily, "Where is Shi Muyao?"

"Grandfather, Shi Muyao went too far! She said you’re a scumbag!" Shishan said.

"What did you say?" Patriarch Shi flew into a rage.

"No, I didn’t say it. Shi Muyao said it! She said you’re a scumbag. She negotiated the deal, yet you stripped her of her right to participate. And now that something went wrong, you’re looking for her again," Shishan lied, pinning unwarranted charges on Shi Muyao.

"Bastard!" Patriarch Shi slammed the table in anger. "Does she think that just because her cultivation was restored and she hooked up with the Wanling Pavilion Master, she can soar to the heavens?"

"Not only did Shi Muyao insult you, Grandfather, but she also made me kneel to them on the spot! What’s more, they demanded that you hold a clan meeting. They said Shi Yan must publicly announce that she will no longer interfere in the medicinal herb business before Shi Muyao will agree to talk to the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion," Shishan reported further.

"This is rebellion!" Patriarch Shi’s face turned the color of pig liver from pure rage.

"Shishan, are you sure you’re telling the truth?" Shi Yan, who was standing nearby, asked with an ugly expression. She shot him a wary look. Before this, she had never even considered Shishan a rival, even though they were both direct descendants of the Shi Family.

"Shi Yan, it’s true. Shi Muyao really said that. Oh, right, she also demanded that you personally go and invite her. Of course, this was all instigated by Mo Qianqian, who was egging her on, and she listened to him!" Shishan explained.

"Mo Qianqian!" Shi Yan’s eyes narrowed.

"Shi Gong, go convene the clan meeting. Shi Yan, go ’invite’ her over," Patriarch Shi ordered.

"Father..." Shi Gong said anxiously.

"For the sake of the family business, we will grant her wish in the short term. Don’t worry. Once the medicinal herb business stabilizes, I will transfer control back to you," Patriarch Shi assured him.

Though he was furious, he hadn’t lost his reason. Shi Yan was equally angry, but in the end, she obeyed Patriarch Shi’s command and set off to invite Shi Muyao. Meanwhile, Shi Gong went to convene the clan meeting.

Later, inside their room.

"Tell me, why did the Wanling Pavilion Master choose to cooperate exclusively with me?" Shi Muyao asked, still somewhat puzzled.

"Naturally, he values your character and potential. Plus, he wants to cultivate his own faction," Mo Qianqian coaxed. "Think about it. If he worked with anyone else in the Shi Family, would the family treat the Pavilion Master as one of their own? If something happened in the future, would the rest of the Shi Family take his side?"

"No," Shi Muyao shook her head.

"Then what if, one day, you were able to control the Shi Family?" Mo Qianqian asked with a smile.

"The Pavilion Master has done me such a huge favor. If it were me, I would naturally support him," Shi Muyao replied.

"Exactly," Mo Qianqian smiled.

Shi Muyao nodded. It made sense, but she still felt that something was slightly off. Soon, a beautiful and glamorous figure walked into the room.

"You’ve played a good hand, Yaoyao," Shi Yan said the moment she entered. "Making Grandfather convene a clan meeting, forcing me to relinquish control over the medicinal herbs, and demanding that I personally come to invite you."

"Do you disagree with it?" Mo Qianqian chimed in. "If you disagree, you can have Patriarch Shi come and invite her personally!"

Shi Yan’s face darkened slightly. What arrogance! However, to avoid further antagonizing the two of them, she didn’t argue. Instead, she said, "Naturally, I agree. Yaoyao, please come with me!"

"Let’s go!" Shi Muyao didn’t say much else. She took Mo Qianqian and headed toward the main hall.

Soon, in the Shi Family’s main hall, the twenty-odd core members of the family had already gathered. This included Shi Muyao’s parents.

"Mo Qianqian, you cripple, what are you doing here again? Do you think you can just come and go as you please?" As soon as Mo Qianqian walked into the hall, Yang Lan immediately started scolding him. She then glared at Shi Muyao and shouted, "Yaoyao, you foolish girl, why did you bring him here again?"

"There should be a rule prohibiting this cripple from entering the main hall!" another young man chimed in with curses of his own.

"This cripple is a menace! Letting him attend the clan meeting is practically ruining our Shi Family!"

"Not just him! We shouldn’t let Shi Muyao in either!"

"I didn’t expect them to be so thick-skinned. They actually have the nerve to show up to the clan meeting."

"Why don’t the two of you get the hell out of here?"

The crowd erupted in a chorus of insults.