Cleaning House 2

The burly man's attack was sudden, and was of such a magnitude that the two men, his two uncles, did not have the time to prepare to meet it! Du Yikun and Du Leimo barely had the time to give out a loud cry, before Du Yan's sweeping attack knocked both of them off their feet, and sent them flying through the air!

"Hundred Birds Respect the Phoenix*!"

Someone cried those words out loud, as he recognized the third form of the Du Family's Secret Arts. Qin Feng, in the mean time, was enjoying the sight of the two men being battered by the continuous blows that had shot out by Du Yan's fists. While there wasn't really a hundred of them, there were enough to render those two men unconscious for a few days. Not to mention breaking a few of their bones.

The one who had thrown the attack, however, simply stepped back as though nothing untoward had taken place. And there was not a bead of perspiration, or even a trace of exertion, on his brows. As though that chastisement of his two uncles had been done casually. That the two of them had been hardly worth his effort.

"Patriarch. I believe the ones who had any objection to my marrying Yuan Qianlei has been silenced. May I take it then, that the family has given me its blessing? That I may go ahead and plan my wedding appropriately?"

To everyone's surprise, the Patriarch shook his head. "I am afraid that those two were only the ones who spoke up. There were quite a few more that agreed with them, and threw their votes in their favor. So you might have a long task ahead of you, if you wish to eradicate all opposition."

That was enough to send a shudder through the crowd. And there were quite a few faces that had gone as white as paper, when they heard the Patriarch's words. Clearly, those were the ones who had backed the pair who had just been smashed to a pulp by Du Yan's vicious attack. No doubt, they were worried that they would be next!

But Du Yan merely turned around, to look at the Brothers that he had at his back. As if to consult them. There was a wry grin as he faced them, but his square back, which was facing his family, didn't show any of his amusement.

"What do you think? Any suggestions?"

Qin Feng was the first to give voice to his opinion. Du Yan would not have asked if he didn't want to hear something. He doubted that the big fellow would act on his suggestion, but that did not mean that he wasn't going to offer up what he really thought should be done:

"Kill them all! Hack off their heads to make certain that they are dead. Then deal with their women and children the same way."

His voice cut through the crowd like a knife. And even the stoic Patriarch, with his white hair and white beard, opened his eyes a little wider when he heard Qin Feng's words. Du Yan, on the other hand, seemed to be unmoved by the same.

"It would frighten my bride-to-be, I think. If I were to take such drastic measures. And it would take too much effort, if I had to drag them all out of town to do that. And think of all the wailing. It would really be too messy.

"Anything else?"

This time, it was Lin Liushui who stepped forward. "In that case, you might wish to leave them alive. Just cut off their right arms. That should be enough of a punishment, and serve as a warning for any others who have such thoughts."

Then the smiling gallant lifted his fan, as if to hide his smile behind the same. "It would be a far lighter punishment, than if the Yuan Patriarch got his hands on them, for smearing his family's good name. You should know what I am talking about. All those complaints about his family acting like that, and how Yuan Qianlei's behavior had been called into question?

"I don't doubt that he would be more than pleased to do what Brother Qin Feng had suggested earlier. If you granted him leave to take over, and take his revenge."

Du Yan agreed. "That sounds very reasonable. Very well. I do not want to trouble my in-laws with such a small thing. It would make me look petty, and I don't want that!"

Then he turned back, and lifted his hand again, as if about to pronounce his kinsmen's doom. Only to hear a soft creak of a carriage door opening, and a soft, feminine voice calling out:

"Husband dear! Wait a moment, please."

Then a young woman stepped out of the same, into the now blood-splattered street.

It was, of course, Yuan Qianlei.

She looked prettier than before, Qin Feng thought, as she stepped to the front, to take her place beside Du Yan. Perhaps it was the use of those cosmetics that her maids had been telling him about, and how they were worth hundreds of silver pieces at the least. It seemed they were worth their price, if that was the result.

Of course, Yuan Qianlei had already been beautiful, so all that they did was to bring her beauty to the next level. Which was sufficient to silence all of the wailing, and outcries, and force the crowd to attend to what she had to say:

"While it is not my place to comment on how you intend to deal with your family's rebels, you did mention earlier about how you did not wish to upset my sensibilities? In that case, perhaps you will consider sparing them at the moment? For my sake? It would be a little depressing, if they were no going to be around, to celebrate our wedding, don't you think?

"Especially if you kill them all. We would be stuck with a lot fewer wedding presents then."

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*百鸟朝凰