Chapter 57: Saving the Scene

  The time was almost up, and Lin Chen and the others sat down at the dinner table. Soon, the servants of the Marquis's mansion brought out some delicious dishes one after another. At the same time, the lady of the Marquis's mansion, Lin Chen, also appeared. She was a noble and elegant woman, with a worried look on her face, blocking Xia Lu, and the mother-daughter pair were whispering to each other in low voices, talking about something unknown.

  "This time, Xia Lu was able to return safely, thanks to Lin Chen," said Nas, Xia Lu's father, at the dinner table, also attracting everyone's attention. Although Lin Chen's previous behavior had left a bad impression on the marquis, after all, Lin Chen had saved Xia Lu.

  "Nowhere, Miss Xia Lu also saved me, I just returned the favor," Lin Chen said calmly with a wave of his hand. After being praised by the Marquis, Lin Chen still had a calm expression, as if he didn't take the Marquis' praise seriously.

  "This guy seems to have seen the world, but he's too rude...", Lin Chen was still calm and collected, without a hint of pride or joy. Nas muttered to himself, disapprovingly, for a noble, someone as rude as Lin Chen would never be looked up to.

  "Someone, bring the things up...", Nas suddenly shouted, a servant carrying a box came over, the servant delivered the box to Lin Chen's front, opened the box, and inside were rows of glittering gold coins, at a glance, there were about hundreds of gold coins.

  "What does 'Marquis' mean?", Lin Chen's face sank a bit as he looked at the gold coins in front of him.

  Seeing Lin Chen dare to put on a face in front of him, Nas's heart also rose with an inexplicable fire. Although he wasn't the most powerful person in the imperial capital, at least everyone should give him some respect. Now, a young whippersnapper like Lin Chen dared to put on a face in front of him, this was no longer something that could be explained by simply being impolite.

  "It's nothing, you saved the little girl, I'll just consider it a favor," As a marquis, although he was not pleased with Lin Chen's reaction, he didn't show it, his face was just slightly colder.

  "Father!", looking at the relationship between Nas and Lin Chen, which had become somewhat awkward, Xia Lu called out anxiously from the side. After all, Lin Chen was invited by herself, if their relationship became awkward, wouldn't it be a loss of face for her? Moreover, if things didn't go smoothly the first time she invited Lin Chen back, would he still come in the future? Her idea of becoming his apprentice seemed even more elusive.

  Upon hearing Xia Lu's words, Na Si's face sank, and he gave Xia Lu a stern glance. His severe gaze made Xia Lu feel wronged, and for a moment, she couldn't speak up. On one hand was her own father, and on the other hand was Lin Chen, who had helped her a lot.

  Looking at Xia Lu, then glancing at Nasi, Lin Chen pushed the box in front of him and shook his head, saying: "I won't accept these gold coins. I helped Xia Lu without thinking about repaying kindness, so let's not mention the gold coins again."

  Anger, he actually took out some gold coins to thank himself. The other party's behavior was already a kind of insult to Lin Chen. If it were someone else, Lin Chen wouldn't say anything and would absolutely leave with a flick of his sleeve.

  However, seeing Xia Lu's embarrassed expression, Lin Chen at least had to consider Xia Lu's face, so Lin Chen didn't blow up, at least this time he had to save face, and it was no big deal if he didn't come next time.

  "The elder gives, I dare not decline. Haven't you heard this saying before?" Just then, a male voice sounded from the entrance of the hall, and a young and handsome man walked in, with a warm smile on his face. He first bowed to Nas, who was sitting at the head of the table, and said elegantly: "I've seen uncle."

  "Haha! Loraque! You're just in time! Take a seat!" Nas said with a bright smile as he looked at the young man who had just walked in, whose elegant demeanor was in stark contrast to Lin Chen's calm and collected expression.

  The man who appeared was none other than the young man whom Xia Lu and Lin Chen had met on the streets of the Imperial City today.

  "Thank you, Uncle and Aunt," she replied elegantly, and only then did Lola sit down next to Xia Lu, making the Marquis couple smile in satisfaction. Only Xia Lu had a disgusted expression on her face, but in front of her father, she couldn't lose her temper, so she could only endure it.

  "You've done something wrong, my friend", after sitting down, Lola directly turned her head around and looked at Lin Chen with a hint of resentment: "As the saying goes, when an elder gives you something, you shouldn't decline. Since your uncle gave you the gold coins, just accept them, otherwise, wouldn't that be losing face for my uncle?"

  "Ah...", looking at Rola's demeanor, elegant and courteous, Nas nodded in satisfaction. Whether it was etiquette or reason, Rola did a great job, worthy of being from a large family. However, while being satisfied with Rola, Nas also took a look at Lin Chen's plain face, and the difference between them became apparent at once.

  When he heard that Lola deliberately made things difficult for herself, Lin Chen's face became even more gloomy. If it was really a gift from the elder, Lin Chen would naturally not dare to refuse. However, could this marquis's offer of gold coins be taken as a general rule? This was simply an insult to himself, putting himself in a position where he only saved Xia Lu for the sake of money.

  "I've said it before, I don't want these gold coins...", still enduring, Lin Chen didn't erupt again. Moreover, the Marquis's insulting behavior towards himself, Lin Chen couldn't clarify and say, otherwise, it would really be a strained relationship.

  "Hmm...", in the face of Lola's words that refusal would be a loss of face, Lin Chen still refused, which made Nas finally unable to hold back a cold hum, expressing his discontent. However, he didn't want to argue with someone younger than him, so he just let out a cold hum without saying anything.

  Looking at the awkward relationship between Lin Chen and Nas, a hint of joy flashed in Lola's eyes, but her face was filled with a sighing expression as she shook her head and said: "I didn't expect that you, this friend, would look down on such a small amount of gold coins. It seems like you're from a big family? Can you tell me about your background?"

  First, Lin Chen was placed at a height where he couldn't see the gold coins, and it was said that Lin Chen came from a large family. Then, Luo La Ge asked about Lin Chen's background again, which clearly meant that Lin Chen would be further embarrassed.

  In the past, whenever someone dared to walk in with Xia Lu, Lola would think of ways to make the other person lose face in front of Nas. As for doing such things, Nas was quite skilled at it.

  "I'm not from a big family! I'm just a commoner!", Lin Chen replied, looking at everyone staring at him, with growing anger in his heart.

  If Marquis Nars was just simply displeased with himself, then this Lola G is deliberately making things difficult for herself, intentionally trying to make a fool of herself, specifically targeting herself.

  "It turned out that you were just a commoner, I was mistaken about you. You didn't even bat an eye at these gold coins, I thought you were some young master from a wealthy family..." Rorag said with a disdainful smile, shaking his head.

  "Hmph!!!", a commoner, actually dared to look down on his own gold coins, Nas's discontent grew even heavier, and he let out another cold hum, A commoner should be humble in front of nobles, let alone himself being the Marquis of High Reach, Nas felt that Lin Chen's behavior was already an affront to him.

  Watching Lin Chen being squeezed by Rola's few words, the relationship became more and more awkward. Xia Lu's heart was anxious, wanting to speak up several times, but not knowing what to say. Rola's eloquence, like his pharmacist talent, was well-known in the empire.

  "Friend, you have the time, so keep practicing. Your current strength is only that of an apprentice swordsman, not even having a primary professional title. As a commoner, if you want to stand out, you can only work hard and cultivate. Don't always think about taking shortcuts, knowing when to stop is necessary." Seeing the timing was almost right, Rolaq pushed the box filled with gold coins on the table in front of Lin Chen again, sneering as he spoke.

  This is a loud slap in the face, and Lora's meaning is clear: you are just a commoner, don't expect to climb up by relying on Xia Lu this big tree, take the gold coins and get out of here.

  "Bang!!!", when had he ever suffered such humiliation? Lin Chen finally couldn't bear it and slammed his hand on the table, his face bright red. Seeing Lin Chen's appearance, Yatse, who was also suppressing a surge of anger beside him, was secretly preparing himself, ready to strike back as soon as things escalated, even if it meant taking action in the Imperial City itself.

  "Not bad! You'd better take the gold coins and leave, Lord Rorag is not only the son of the prime minister but also a core member of the pharmacist's guild. At such a young age, he has already reached the level of an excellent pharmacist." A servant stepped forward, revealing Lord Rorag's identity, hoping to make Lin Chen retreat.

  "How dare you! The Marquis's residence is not a place for you to behave wildly!? Seeing Lin Chen daring to slap the table in front of him, Nas finally found an opportunity to lose his temper and angrily said that there were only a few people who dared to slap the table in front of him."

  As the Marquis's angry words came out, several guards rushed in, about to take action...

  "Hold on!", just as they were about to take action, Rola Gru stopped the guard and picked up the box containing gold coins from the dinner table. He handed it over to Lin Chen and said: "No matter what, this friend is only passing through Miss Xia's place. However, your actions have made my uncle angry. You should just take these gold coins and leave. As a commoner, you probably haven't seen so many gold coins in your lifetime."

  "Bang...", as he spoke, Rolaq deliberately loosened his hand, and the box fell to the ground, with hundreds of gold coins spilling all over the place. Rolaq again wore a troubled expression, saying: "Sorry about that, I didn't hold on tight just now. You can pick up these gold coins yourself, otherwise... you won't get anything..."

  Looking at Lin Chen with a faint smile, Lola Ge waited for Lin Chen to bend down and pick up these gold coins. A commoner, could he really resist the temptation of these gold coins? Lola Ge didn't believe it.

  In his heart, Lin Chen refused the gold coins only because he had greater ambitions and wanted to use Xia Lu's connections to climb higher. Now that things have gone awry, Lin Chen should slink away with his tail between his legs and pick up the gold coins.

  "Report, milord! Taylor, the commander of the Gale Mercenaries, requests an audience," a servant rushed in to announce.

  "Taylor, the commander of the Thousand Men? How did he come?" Upon hearing the report, Nas was slightly stunned and didn't understand how the commander of the Whirlwind Mercenary Corps had arrived. However, as one of the four major mercenary corps, Nas nodded slightly to let people go and invite Taylor in.

  "Rush!!!", the headquarters of the Pharmaceutical Association, a man ran hastily to the front of Mocha Elder and bowed his head respectfully: "Report to the elder, Lin Chen's relationship with the Marquis' mansion has gone awry".

  Briefly telling the story of what happened at the Marquis' residence, Moka Elder was stunned while following Lin Chen's original instructions to refine the magic potion. He then became overjoyed and hastily said: "Quickly call Ropa to go to the Marquis' residence and have him invite Lin Chen over. This is an opportunity; he who has been humiliated should choose to join the Alchemist Guild."

  Mocha Elder couldn't wait any longer, hastily putting down the magic potion he was brewing and quickly walking out: "Forget it! I'll go myself! Let's go!"