The Gao Clan was one of the Big Four of the Capital City.
Previously the most powerful clan, it had lost its glory and had now dropped to the Fourth Position in the last two decades.
The Clan was headed by Gao Kang - who was more of a businessman than a politician.
But that doesn't mean the Gao Clan doesn't have political power. Rather, in its full glory, the Gao Clan was infamous for having 'puppet ministers' in the Royal Court.
It was only during these times that the Gao Clan had lost its grip due to their recent decline.
However, their business had not faced many repercussions. Especially because their business was mainly real estate.
The Gao Clan had control over the vast majority of lands..
In fact, in the Northern Province, if you pick any random mountain, there's a high probability that it is owned by the Gaos.
And one such range of mountains was what Ye Tian Yun had set his eyes on.
As the Fang Clan's carriage moved through the Purple Spring Street, it burned off heads, becoming the center of attention.
"Is this Fang Clan carriage?"
"Yes, and from the looks of it, this carriage appears to be Second Young Master Fang Yunru's carriage."
"Second Young Master? Is he heading for the Purple Spring Garden?"
"No, no, he is most probably heading towards the Gao Clan."
"Gao Clan? What do you think he is visiting?"
"Who knows? These nobles play their own game. Don't poke your nose too much in their matter or you will lose your whole face."
…
The appearance of the carriage had already created a commotion and it escalated, even more, when the carriage didn't continue on its way, rather it turned towards the main gate of the Gao Clan.
Almost everyone at the scene was surprised and continued to stretch their neck out of curiosity.
When the Carriage turned towards the Main Gate, the guards standing at the gates were also surprised.
One of them immediately went inside to inform the butler and Second Young Master Gao Long.
By the time the carriage had passed through the gates, Gao Long had come out of his manor and was standing to greet the guest.
If it were usual days, or the guest was from some other clan, he wouldn't have bothered much.
But the carriage was from the Fang Clan.
His sister was going to be married into the Fang Clan.
He had to show courtesy and put on a smile while greeting the guest.
However, inwardly, he had his guard high, even though he was quite confused right now.
He couldn't think of any reason for Fang Yunru to visit their clan, especially just one day before the big announcement.
Staring at the income carriage, he slowly whispered to Butler Nu beside him, "Please inform Father about this. I have a feeling we will need him for this meeting."
"I will inform him right now, Young Master," Butler Nu nodded and went straight inside.
Even though the Second Young Master of Gou Clan, Gao Long, had lost his cultivation and had fallen from his grace, the servants didn't dare to mistreat him.
He still held the same prestige in their eyes.
While waiting for the carriage to stop, Gao Long suddenly thought of something and gestured to a guard to come.
"Inform the Fourth Young Master about this."
The Fourth Young Master was Gao Xuan.
He was the youngest of all his siblings, but currently, he was at the front of the succession race.
Unlike other clans, Gao Clan didn't worry too much about the succession because there were no other rivals in front of Gao Xuan.
He had two older brothers and one sister.
The Eldest Young Master was no more in this world, the Second Young Master was now crippled in an ambush, the Third Miss was going to be married off.
This left only the Fourth Young Master at the helm of the younger generation.
Gao Long shook his head and removing unnecessary thoughts, he stepped forward.
The carriage came to a halt and the gates were opened as someone stepped outside.
However, it wasn't the person who Gao Long was expecting.
Rather, it was Fang Chen.
Fang Chen smiled at him and cupped his fists.
"Nice to meet you, Young Master Gao Long."
"Ah," Gao Long smiled and greeted back, "Haha, didn't expect to see you, how have you been? I heard you were injured? You should be resting, why did you take the trouble to come here?"
Fang Chen replied with a smile, "I have something important to discuss with Clan Head Gao, and it's a bit important."
"Oh?" Gao Long was a bit taken aback, "Come in then. Did Fang Yunru also come with you?"
"Yeah," Ye Tian Yun nodded, and pulled up the curtain.
Fang Yunru stepped outside the carriage and simply nodded at Gao Long.
Even though the current atmosphere was quite jovial, however, there was a hidden tension veiled all around it.
Ye Tian Yun didn't care much about it and taking a good look at the Gao Clan Manor, he turned towards Gao Long and said, "Should we head inside? I wish to meet Clan Head Gao urgently."
Gao Long lightly nodded his head, "Yeah, sure. Follow me."
The three of them headed towards the Guest Hall under Gao Long's lead.
The Guest hall was a lavish room with seats arranged at the center and exquisite decorations all around the area.
Gao Long gestured at Ye Tian Yun and Fang Yunru to take a seat and said, "You guys enjoy the wine, I will go and call my father."
Ye Tian Yun nodded at him with a smile and took a seat.
Fang Yunru also quietly sat beside him.
As Gao Long left, Ye Tian Yun lightly nudged Fang Yunru's arm with his and whispered, 'You two were rivals?'
Fang Yunru shrugged, 'Short of. I will explain it to you later.'
Just then, they heard approaching footsteps and soon someone entered the hall.
Ye Tian Yun turned his head and saw someone familiar enter the room.
He let out a slight smile and nodded at the person.
Fang Yunru also smiled and cupped his fists, "How are you, Young Master Gao Xuan?"
The person who had just entered was indeed Gao Xuan.
Gao Xuan lightly nodded, "Ah, just the usual."
Gao Xuan frowned at Ye Tian Yun, but the latter ignored him.
"Have a seat, Brother Xuan," Fang Yunru said.
"Yeah, of course," Gao Xuan nodded and took a seat opposite to them, and asked, "What happened? Is everything alright?"
Fang Yunru reassured, "Nothing much, First Brother wanted to meet Uncle Gao."
The First Brother here was of course Ye Tian Yun. Although in private Fang Yunru called him Xiao Chen, in front of others, he didn't try to belittle him.
Gao Xuan turned his head towards Ye Tian Yun and asked, "First Young Master Fang, is everything alright?"
"Yes, everything's alright." Ye Tian Yun nodded, acting as if nothing happened.
Gao Xuan narrowed his eyes and asked, "Your injuries seem quite serious, you shouldn't have left the Fang Clan."
Before Ye Tian Yun could respond to this, Fang Yunru replied first.
"Well, brother Xuan, if my elder brother wishes to leave the clan, no one in the room can stop him."
Gao Xuan shrugged, "I was just thinking why is First Young Master Fang acting as if I am a stranger."
FanG yunru thought for a moment and asked, "Have you guys met earlier?"
Gao Xuan nodded, "Yeah, I met him a few months ago."
"Oh?" Fang Yunru narrowed his eyes, "Are you in the Gracious Sword Sect?"
If this was true, then Fang Yunru had to inform his uncle about this as soon as possible. Gao Xuan was going to be the next Clan Head of the Gao Clan, and if he was a disciple of the Gracious Sword Sect, then both of these parties were sure to have close ties in the future.
And this was going against Fang Clan's interests since they were enemies with the Gracious Sword Sect.
Gao Xuan had already seen through Fang Yunru's thoughts as he smiled, "Well, I did visit the Gracious Sword Sect to meet a friend, but that was it. I got acquitted with the First Young Master Fang there."
"Oh?" Fang Yunru frowned and glanced at the silent Ye Tian Yun and said, "Well, you know about his injuries, right? He is still in the recovering process."
"Yeah, I guess." Gao Xuan nodded.
Just then Ye Tian Yun suddenly smiled and said, "Or maybe I am ignoring this guy."
Both Gao Xuan and Fang Yunru frowned at Ye Tian Yun.
Fang Yunru was confused, while Gao Xuan didn't show any reaction. It was as if he didn't care much.
Ye Tian Yun already knew about this.
Everyone here was acting. No one was genuinely trying to act sincere.
The Gao Clan hated the Fang Clan.
Not only the latter had been the main reason behind Gao Clan's decline, the Gao Clan highly suspected that the ambush which crippled Gao Long was organized by the Fang Clan.
This suspicion was not a secret. Everyone in the Capital City knew about this.
How could Ye Tian Yun think that the Gao's were happy with his visit?
Just then, footsteps echoed and two people entered the Guest Hall.
The three youngsters stood up.
While Gao Xuan quietly stepped back, Ye Tian Yun and Fang Chen cupped their fists.
"Clan Head Gao."
"Uncle Gao."
Clan Head Gao Kang narrowed his eyes at Ye Tian Yun and then, noticing Gao Xuan, he frowned and said, "What are you doing here? Go back to your courtyard."
Gao Xuan lowered his gaze and left the room.
Gao Long gave a reassuring glance at the latter but didn't say anything.
This small exchange made both Ye Tian Yun and Fang Yunru frown.
'This is interesting.'