Celestial Night Emperor

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Do You Still Remember This Name?

Chu Qianqiu and Chu Sihai had been waiting for a long, long time.

The two of them stood in the wind, completely bewildered.

’Why isn’t the Night Emperor here yet?’

There hadn’t been a single word from him, and what was more frustrating was that they had no way to contact the powerful figure.

They hadn’t even returned to the banquet hall, terrified of missing the perfect moment to welcome the Night Emperor.

Just then, footsteps sounded from behind them. The heads of the twelve departments who had been attending the banquet were all coming out.

Ah!

A jolt went through Chu Qianqiu, and he hurried to greet them.

He cupped his fists. ”Gentlemen, why are you all leaving? Was the Chu Family’s hospitality lacking in some way?”

The faces of the twelve department heads of Jinling soured the moment they saw Chu Qianqiu.

’We nearly offended Qin Tianxuan, all for the sake of showing up for your Chu Family!’

’The difference in their importance was clear at a glance.’

”Excuse me, but I never said I was attending the Chu Family’s banquet. I was just passing by to visit a superior officer!” Elder Chang, the head of the Police Department, replied icily.

Chu Qianqiu was dumbstruck. ”What... What is this about? The Chu Family must have done something wrong. Please, Elder Chang, point it out, and I will have it corrected immediately!”

Elder Chang said impatiently, ”Let me say it again. I have nothing to do with the Chu Family, so don’t you go spreading nonsense. When did we ever get so close?”

With that, Elder Chang turned and walked away, unwilling to even stand too close to Chu Qianqiu.

The other department heads also scurried away, not bothering to even acknowledge Chu Qianqiu.

Drenched in a cold sweat, Chu Qianqiu desperately blocked the path of a senior member from the Qi Family.

”Old Qi, what is this? We just had tea together the day before yesterday! You... you have to explain this to me!”

The senior from the Qi Family panicked on the spot. ”Shut up! Who had tea with you? Listen to me and listen good: I’ve never had a meal with you, let alone tea. I have absolutely nothing to do with you or the Chu Family.”

Chu Qianqiu was utterly stupefied.

Chu Sihai then turned his attention to Qi Xiangyu, who was trailing behind the group. ”Young Master Qi, have you seen our Chuchu?”

Young Master Qi had been trying to avoid being noticed, but Chu Sihai called him out anyway. His expression changed in a flash, and he shouted, ”Hey, you, with the surname Chu! I have absolutely no designs on your daughter, you hear me? I never pursued Chuchu, I never sent her any gifts! None of that was me!”

As he spoke, Young Master Qi scrambled into his luxury car and sped away with a roar of the engine.

Chu Sihai was left choking on a mouthful of exhaust, his eyes looking like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

’Qi Xiangyu used to be so passionate in his pursuit of Chuchu.’

’How could he change so drastically in the blink of an eye?’

Chu Sihai looked at his father.

Chu Qianqiu looked back at his useless son.

The two of them felt like they were trapped in a nightmare.

”Dad, it’s obvious! All these officials, they came for the Night Emperor! Now that it seems the Night Emperor isn’t coming to our banquet, they’ve all turned on us!”

Although Chu Sihai was slow-witted, his words were surprisingly close to the truth.

Chu Qianqiu slapped his thigh. ”Something must have gone wrong at the banquet to anger the Night Emperor! Come on, let’s hurry back and see what happened!”

Inside the Chu Family’s banquet hall, aside from their own family members, most of the guests had already left.

The hall was vast and empty, creating a desolate scene.

This lavish banquet, so long in the making and pinned with all of Chu Qianqiu’s hopes, had now become the laughingstock of all of Jinling City.

When Chu Qianqiu and Chu Sihai entered and saw the scene, they nearly fainted.

”What the hell happened?!” Chu Qianqiu roared, grabbing the event manager by the collar.

The manager burst into tears, pointing toward the center of the hall. ”It all started after he showed up! I don’t understand it either, but he’s the one who caused all this trouble!”

In the middle of the room, by the main table, the only person remaining was Qin Tianxuan.

He sat there calmly, his hand tightly clutching his mother’s memento: a pair of jade bracelets.

Chu Qianqiu stared wide-eyed, then turned to his son. ”Who is that? Did you invite him?”

Chu Sihai gritted his teeth. ”I don’t know him either! But he came here to cause trouble, and it must have made the Night Emperor think the Chu Family wasn’t serious enough. That’s why everything fell apart!”

Chu Sihai’s words were barely coherent. He was just desperate to find a scapegoat so his father wouldn’t pin the blame on him.

Consumed by rage, Chu Qianqiu strode forward and demanded, ”Who are you?”

Clutching the jade bracelets, Qin Tianxuan slowly rose to his feet.

He slowly raised the jade bracelets. ”Chu Qianqiu. Chu Sihai. Do you remember this name?”

Chu Xinyue!

The two words struck the two men from the Chu Family like a sledgehammer.

They both sucked in a sharp, cold breath.

”Wait, those are the Chu Family’s jade bracelets! Where did you get them?” Chu Sihai suddenly exclaimed.

Qin Tianxuan put the jade bracelets away and asked again, ”Do you remember the name?”

Chu Qianqiu’s gaze trembled, his heart pounding with panic.

’Years ago, with nowhere else to turn, Chu Xinyue had knelt with her young son in the middle of a storm, begging to be taken in.’

’And it was he, Chu Qianqiu, who had hardened his heart and refused her outright.’

’He had shut the poor mother and son outside the main gates, leaving them to their fate!’

’To this day, Chu Qianqiu still did not regret that decision!’

’All he had lost was a dispensable daughter, but in doing so, he had avoided conflict with the young master of the Qin Family and saved his entire family!’

’Besides, Chu Xinyue wasn’t the daughter of his legitimate wife, merely the bastard offspring of a dalliance he’d had.’

’And so, over the years, he had all but forgotten the name Chu Xinyue.’

Now that this old wound was suddenly torn open, Chu Qianqiu flew into a rage out of pure humiliation. ”I don’t know that name, because there has never been such a person in the Chu Family! Are you satisfied with that answer?”

BAM!

The table beside Qin Tianxuan instantly shattered from the force of his strike.

He threw his head back and laughed, his voice shaking the rafters. ”Good! Very good! Chu Qianqiu, since my mother was not part of the Chu Family, then I suppose I’ll have to settle that old debt with you properly!”

What?!

Chu Qianqiu and Chu Sihai cried out in shock, ”You’re... you’re that child from back then?!”