The sound of the cane tapping the ground was particularly loud in the silent ancestral hall.
The old master stood up, his face grim, and rebuked, "Are you planning to lay hands on us elders because of one woman?"
Tantai Ye chuckled and twisted his wrist.
"The inner workings of the Tantai clan have long been a肮脏腐朽 (dirty and rotten) shell. Old master, why are you so angry with me?"
As he spoke, he walked to the table and yanked the knife out with force.
The blade grazed Seventh Elder's cheek, frightening him into retreating repeatedly.
"I'm making myself clear today, Lan Murou will be my only wife, Tantai Ye."
"Whether you all acknowledge her or not, she is my wife. Whoever dares to lay a hand on her will have the position of the head of the Tantai clan handed over."
With that, he turned to leave.
The crowd was stunned by his words and spoke indignantly.
"Family alliances mean shared prosperity and shared loss. What nonsense are you spouting? Do you even remember your surname?"
"Remember this, you are Tantai Ye, your surname is Tantai. How can you be willing to let the Tantai clan be subservient to others?! It's simply absurd!"
Someone even blurted out in anger.
"How can someone so infatuated with personal affections be worthy of shouldering the heavy burden of the Tantai clan!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of those from the old master's lineage instantly soured.
Tantai Ye was their only direct descendant from the main branch. These words were a direct insult to them.
Tantai Lie was also angered by this but could say nothing.
This was the reality!
His bastard son was dead set on marrying a comatose commoner woman.
Absurd!
"Such a ridiculous thing has never happened in the aristocratic families. Setting aside her identity, she cannot even wake up now. By the time of the wedding ceremony, the bride's life or death will be unknown, how can we maintain our dignity?"
Tantai Ye ignored these words and looked directly at the clan elder and the old master seated at the highest position, threatening them coldly.
"The Nine Ministers are above the Six Ministries and check the aristocratic families. If they pour all their might, the nineteen branches of the Tantai clan will be uprooted."
Upon hearing his words, everyone's hearts sank.
The old master slammed his hand on the table, his clouded eyes full of killing intent.
"You are insolent! How dare you threaten us!"
Tantai Ye remained unfazed and continued, "Currently, the clan's power is immense, and the Tantai clan is attracting attention. With Li Yan also being enfeoffed as a princess, if we form a marriage alliance with the Duan Prince's Estate, the Dingbei King will inevitably be wary of the Tantai clan, thus suppressing the aristocratic families."
"Grandfather, do you think my status allows me to marry a princess?"
Listening to his hypocritical words, everyone's expressions were varied.
This was truly a case of giving a slap and then a sweet date.
The old master said in a deep voice, "You don't need to deceive us. Your relationship with the Dingbei King is known to everyone in the imperial court. If you hadn't insisted on breaking off the engagement, how could the powerless Duan Prince's Estate produce a princess?!"
"The Tantai clan needs the legitimate daughter of a prestigious family for appearances. A comatose orphan cannot bear the title of the matriarch."
"If you insist on marrying her, she must die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the hall instantly fell silent.
Tantai Ye's expression turned grim. He looked at the killing intent in the old master's eyes and curled his lips coldly.
"Guards."
Everyone looked at the guards carrying boxes, not knowing what he intended to do.
The Great Clan Elder narrowed his clouded eyes, a hint of calculation flashing in his expression.
Tantai Ye directly picked up the dossiers from the box and threw them onto the long table with a clang. Dust billowed, causing everyone to cough and retreat.
"What are you doing?"
Tantai Ye casually picked up a dossier and sneered.
"All of you here, relying on the great power of your aristocratic families, have been corrupt and embezzled, even daring to embezzle military pay. It truly shocks me."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's expressions changed instantly, their hearts filled with apprehension.
Tantai Ye walked to Third Master on the lower right and gently patted his shoulder.
"In the thirteenth year of Jinghe, Third Uncle used my name to falsely report hundreds of thousands of soldiers and embezzled 260,000 in military pay from the central capital."
Everyone was shocked and looked at the military account in disbelief. Those with guilty consciences felt uneasy.
Third Master flipped through the records on the dossier, his face flustered. He glanced at the enraged old master and shrank his neck, not daring to speak.
"In the eighth year of Jinghe, Seventh Elder's son sold official positions and accepted bribes, embezzling nearly hundreds of thousands of taels. Seventh Elder, can you see this clearly, account by account?"
Seventh Elder flipped through the dossier delivered by the guards, his face turning livid with anger.
Tantai Ye continued to walk to the bearded man on the left and threw the dossier at him.
"During the Battle of Pingjing, several of your family's young masters used their military power and positions to privately employ soldiers to build mansions for themselves and engage in large-scale construction."
"In the fourteenth year of Jinghe, to quell the rebellion in Mobei, Fifth Uncle asked me to lead my cousin to the front lines. However, he not only grossly embezzled and accepted bribes but also used public office for private gain, misappropriating public funds amounting to up to 300,000 taels."
The noisy ancestral hall instantly fell quiet.
Tantai Ye slowly recounted the sordid affairs of those present, each one with evidence of guilt.
These old matters were actually unearthed, and with so much evidence collected, everyone was filled with fear.
In recent years, Tantai Ye's power had grown increasingly stronger. He was arrogant and disrespectful, completely disregarding them, the elders.
Now, he even disregarded the faces of the Great Clan Elder and the old master, exposing them in public.
Which official was clean?
The old master had long tacitly approved, turning a blind eye.
Now that he was speaking of it so openly, how could he maintain his dignity?
Suddenly, with a clang, the dossiers were thrown onto the rosewood table.
Tantai Ye's cold voice, tinged with suppressed anger, rang out.
"Does everyone know who collected all these dossiers?"
Everyone was shocked and looked at him suspiciously.
Tantai Ye sneered, "Three years ago, the Dingbei King personally handed them to me. He knows all the sordid deeds the aristocratic families have committed."
Everyone was instantly rendered speechless and fell silent, a sense of unease rising in their hearts.
If these proofs of crime were to be leaked, any one of them would be a matter of losing their heads.
The old master pursed his lips, "What do you want to do? Don't forget, you are the future head of the Tantai clan. Don't do things that harm yourself and others."
"I naturally don't want to do anything to the Tantai clan. I just want to marry her, Lan Murou. If the old master agrees, today, we can all eat and drink in peace."
After all this commotion, it was still all for marrying that woman.
Everyone's faces were grim, but seeing the box of evidence, none of them spoke.
That fiend, the Dingbei King, was fierce and violent. It was probably out of consideration for Tantai Ye that he hadn't taken action against them.
"One last thing I'll tell you all: the Nine Ministers are above me, and the people above the Nine Ministers are my people. I, Tantai Ye, am known for being ruthless and will not show mercy to anyone."
Outright threats!
It was simply too arrogant.
But the others were intimidated by him and dared not speak.
The old master looked at Tantai Lie, whose face was grim, and was furious.
He directly picked up the dossier beside him and threw it at Tantai Ye.
"Shut up!"
Madame Yuehua, seeing her son being hit, wanted to shield him, but the old master's glare made her spine chill, and she dared not move.
Tantai Ye did not dodge. He caught the dossier and threw it back into the box.