What is happening?
Impossible!
In the blink of an eye, the useless son-in-law in their eyes, the scum at the bottom of society.
Had actually become a honored guest of Lü Yunxu.
Watching Li Chonglou rise and board the main stage with Lü Yunxu, Zheng He's expression was one of utter astonishment.
This scene completely shattered his perception.
For a moment, he wished he could find a crack in the ground to burrow into, filled with both shock and fear.
Even those sitting next to him subtly moved their positions, fearing that getting too close would offend the Lü family.
Cai Wen’s mouth hung open in disbelief.
She had never dreamed that her best friend’s live-in husband had such deep ties with the Lü family.
Then why had he asked her for help?
At this moment, she felt like a clown.
Remembering her own words, which had helped Zheng He mock Li Chonglou earlier, her face burned with embarrassment.
She longed to capture this moment on her phone, but alas, all phones had been collected and collectively stored before the event began.
It was said to be for maintaining the quiet and order of the venue.
"Honey, what do we do?" Cai Wen stammered, looking at Zheng He beside her, completely helpless.
With the power of the Lü family, and their close relationship with Li Chonglou, it would be too easy for them to target them.
Her greatest fear now was that Li Chonglou would make things difficult for her.
"How should I know? If it weren't for you, why would I have gotten into such trouble!" Zheng He’s expression was ferocious, his mind in complete disarray.
Given his previous attitude, it was likely impossible to repair his relationship with Li Chonglou.
Moreover, his covetousness for Jiang Yuxin created an irreconcilable conflict.
For a moment, his mind was in turmoil.
He could only silently pray that Li Chonglou would be magnanimous and let him off the hook.
Fortunately, Li Chonglou was too busy to pay attention to the two of them at the moment.
As Lü Yunxu ascended the main stage, his gaze met Tang Xiuzhu's.
"Master Li, have you been well?" Tang Xiuzhu appeared to have regained his initial refined demeanor, but the undercurrent surging in his eyes did not escape Li Chonglou.
Given his nature, he should have been gritting his teeth upon seeing Li Chonglou.
Yet, he was so calm now, which was truly abnormal.
There was only one situation that would cause a person to set aside deep-seated hatred and face their enemy calmly.
That was knowing that the enemy would not live much longer.
Combined with the information Wu Hao had previously sent him, Li Chonglou sneered inwardly.
Sitting beside Lü Yunxu, he deliberately said, "You’ve been thinking of me. Do you still want me to appraise treasures for you?"
As expected, the hypocritical smile on Tang Xiuzhu’s face instantly froze, and his face turned ashen.
The losses from last time had kept him awake all night.
If he hadn't known that Li Chonglou was destined to die today, he wouldn't have been able to sit on the main stage.
"Little bastard, you can be arrogant for a while longer. Today, you will surely die without a burial place!" Seeing Li Chonglou chatting and laughing with Lü Yunxu after speaking, Tang Xiuzhu’s eyelids twitched violently, and he involuntarily looked towards Cao Zhi in the audience.
Coincidentally, Cao Zhi was also staring at Li Chonglou. Upon seeing Tang Xiuzhu’s gaze, he secretly nodded.
He gestured with a mobile phone.
For today's plan, Tang Guanghe had used an excuse to have the venue staff confiscate everyone's mobile phones, and even the surveillance cameras were completely shut down.
The media present had also been bought off.
The purpose was to leave no substantive video evidence.
He only needed to wait until the auction was over to contact the assassins he had already arranged using his mobile phone to carry out the assassination.
It was foolproof!
Today, even the gods could not protect Li Chonglou and Lü Chenggong.
As for Lü Yunxu, Tang Xiuzhu had repeatedly given instructions not to touch her today.
She was his private property.
The small interlude with Li Chonglou was quickly drowned out by the recommencement of the auction. All thirty antique artifacts were sold.
The total value of the bids exceeded the average starting price by double.
The guests were still eager for more, and Lü Chenggong was extremely pleased.
After the closing remarks, everyone was arranged to move to the second-floor hall for a party.
Most people had left, leaving only a few with lingering thoughts who were reluctant to depart. Zheng He and Cai Wen were among them.
After much deliberation, the two decided to seize this opportunity to apologize to Li Chonglou in person.
Li Chonglou himself was not much, but the Lü family was someone they could not afford to offend.
Just as the people on the main stage were preparing to leave,
Cao Zhi suddenly called out loudly, "Li Chonglou, do you remember me?"
"Director Cao, it seems you’ve recovered from the blood you coughed up these past few days." Li Chonglou glanced at him, his expression unchanged.
These words caused Cao Zhi's expression to freeze.
But soon, he grinned menacingly, "Arrogance leads to trouble. Do you think you can be so contemptuous of everyone just because you have some minor skills?"
"Everything has its retribution, and your retribution is me!"
Saying this, he took out his phone and dialed a number.
This scene caused everyone present, except for the Tang father and son and Lu Weishen, to look at each other in confusion.
"Brother Li, let's go. Don't pay attention to him," Lü Yunxu said softly, sensing something was amiss.
Lü Chenggong's deep eyes also flashed with a peculiar light.
They were well aware of the feud between Cao Zhi and Li Chonglou. For him to suddenly cause trouble at this moment was unlikely to be just about verbal taunts.
Could it be?
"Li Chonglou, as long as you live another day, I won't be able to sleep," Cao Zhi shouted menacingly while waiting for the call to connect. "Today, I can finally witness you die before my very eyes."
"No one can save you, not even your patron, the Lü family!"
Upon hearing this, everyone showed signs of shock.
Of course, some were feigning it, while others were genuinely surprised.
Zheng He and Cai Wen were now stunned. They didn't know whether to stay or go.
They had intended to apologize to Li Chonglou, hoping that for Jiang Yuxin's sake, he wouldn't hold a grudge and wouldn't use the Lü family to make things difficult for them.
Unexpectedly, they stumbled upon such a dramatic scene.
This was a murder plot!
Before the two could fully react, Cao Zhi's call was finally connected.
He smugly pressed the speakerphone and instructed, "You can come in now!"
"Soon, you still have two of your subordinates to deal with," a magnetic, deep, and powerful voice came from the phone.
It was Xu Lie!
Lü Yunxu, who had met Xu Lie before, recognized him immediately.
Not only her, but Cao Zhi's expression instantly changed, "Who are you?"
The sudden turn of events disrupted all his plans.
This number belonged to the leader of the assassins he had hired.
How could it have fallen into someone else’s hands?
"Who do you think I am? Prepare your neck for death." Xu Lie's voice was sharp, and two consecutive screams could be heard from the phone.
Cao Zhi's face instantly turned pale.
Even if he were slow-witted, he knew that the people he had arranged had all been dealt with by an unknown expert.
This...
How was this possible?
Not only him, but the Tang father and son couldn't help but change their expressions.
This setup today was secretly orchestrated by them. Cao Zhi was merely a pawn.
They thought it was foolproof, using the pretext of killing Li Chonglou to also slander Lü Chenggong, killing two birds with one stone.
But now...
*BAM!*
As everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the venue doors were kicked open.
Xu Lie, with his broad back and sturdy build, entered the grand hall. The shirt on his upper body was tattered and stained with countless bloodstains.
It revealed his robust and muscular physique, like stone, sending chills down people's spines.
"Chonglou, as you expected, they've all been dealt with!" Xu Lie's words were like a basin of cold water, drenching the Tang father and son and Cao Zhi.
They were chilled to the bone.