Zhao老爷子 heard the words of the people in his family and abruptly stopped, a flicker of desire flashing across his face, yet also a hint of fear. After all, the Zhao family's actions had thoroughly offended Li Xiaotian. It was already a stroke of luck that Li Xiaotian hadn't pursued their transgressions further.
Seeing the老爷子's hint of interest, the speaker quickly added, "Li Xiaotian's wife is, after all, a member of our Zhao family. We are related by blood."
"Moreover, given how excessive our Zhao family's actions were, if Li Xiaotian, with his status, wanted to punish us, the Zhao family's fate would be even more tragic than it is now."
"But he didn't pursue it. This shows that he still cherishes his wife and the blood ties with our Zhao family. As long as our Zhao family shows genuine sincerity in admitting our mistakes, we might be able to mend our relationship with Li Xiaotian."
After this statement, the Zhao family members' eyes flashed with surprise. Perhaps it was true, otherwise, why would Li Xiaotian have let them off so easily tonight?
"Grandpa, I think this is feasible. You know, our Zhao family is quite a powerful family. If we sincerely pledge our allegiance to Li Xiaotian, I believe he wouldn't refuse this 'big cake'."
Zhao Lu's eyes flickered, a different thought forming in her mind. Since she couldn't marry into a top-tier aristocratic family, she had the opportunity to elevate the Zhao family into one!
Zhao老爷子 pondered, the idea becoming increasingly feasible in his mind. To be honest, even if it wasn't feasible, Zhao老爷子 felt he had to try. If it succeeded, their Zhao family would rise. If it failed, could they be any worse off than they were now?
"Then tomorrow, we can contact Fang Yuan and have her probe Li Xiaotian's intentions," Zhao老爷子 instructed, then turned to the rest of the Zhao family, his expression stern.
"There are some things I must make clear beforehand. Li Xiaotian was our enemy. Before this, we all wished for his complete annihilation."
"But from this moment on, we must forget the hatred between us and Li Xiaotian. Only then can we have a chance to gain Li Xiaotian's support!"
"Grandpa, what you say makes perfect sense. As long as we can make the Zhao family a top-tier aristocratic family, what does this bit of hatred matter?" Zhao Lu immediately said with a smile, a complex glint in her eyes, and then continued.
"We can shift all the blame onto those who have passed away, and claim that we were merely forced by circumstances to oppose Li Xiaotian at every turn."
"Haha, good, Lu'er. It's best that you think this way." Zhao老爷子 smiled and nodded, simultaneously giving Zhao Lu a deep look. The ancient saying, 'the most venomous hearts are those of women,' was truly not false!
After all, the Zhao family head, Zhao Tiancheng, had been personally killed by Li Xiaotian. Zhao Lu was Zhao Tiancheng's daughter, yet she could forget the revenge for her father's death and even frame her own father for everything. Such a mindset was utterly malicious.
However, aristocratic families needed such people. Only then would the family grow stronger!
Among the crowd, only the double-armed Zhao Tianlong lowered his head, his eyes filled with hatred. He felt immense scorn for his father's and others' ideas.
Li Xiaotian would absolutely not let the Zhao family go. The Zhao family's desire to latch onto Li Xiaotian was nothing short of wishful thinking.
Just moments ago, Zhao Tianlong had a sudden realization, piecing together many things.
He had secretly investigated Li Xiaotian. The information he gathered painted Li Xiaotian as an ordinary person who had appeared out of nowhere, with no background and no mysterious identity.
However, when Zhao Tianlong was investigating Li Xiaotian, he had also uncovered other pieces of information. For instance, Li Xiaotian's first appearance was in Jiangcheng, where the Ye family, to which Ye Qingmei and her daughter belonged, had subjected them to immense humiliation. Simultaneously, there was a Wang family that intended to extract Ye Qingmei's daughter's heart.
But on the day after Li Xiaotian's arrival, both the Ye family and the Wang family were wiped out.
Of course, Zhao Tianlong hadn't paid much attention to whether small families like the Ye and Wang families were annihilated at first, as to him, both were like ant-like families.
However, afterward, the Yang family in Jiangnan was also eradicated, silently. Not even the Jiangnan authorities reported anything.
Zhao Tianlong had only glanced at this information before and hadn't taken it to heart.
But after experiencing everything tonight, Zhao Tianlong suddenly came to his senses, a bold guess forming in his mind: those families were annihilated by Li Xiaotian!
This was because these three families shared a common trait: they had all bullied Ye Qingmei and her daughter!
And the Zhao family, after giving Ye Qingmei trouble when she first visited, had now, by allying with the Li family, kidnapped Ye Qingmei and her daughter and subjected them to their family's punishment. This had undoubtedly pushed them onto a path of no return, eliminating the only chance for reconciliation with Li Xiaotian.
Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for the Zhao family to hitch a ride on Li Xiaotian's grand ambition now!
Zhao Tianlong's eyes were filled with hatred, hatred for Li Xiaotian, hatred for his own Zhao family members! More importantly, his arms were now crippled, rendering him almost useless. At this moment, everything he saw was filled with hatred!
Li Xiaotian must die! Zhao Tianlong thought darkly. He needed allies, allies who had already become sworn enemies with Li Xiaotian!
The Li family!!
Concurrently, at the old residence of the Li family in the capital, Li Weihai and others returned home filled with anger, quickly summoning all members of the Li family for a meeting.
In the Li family hall, those who had not attended the banquet tonight gazed at the undisguised anger on Li Weihai's face, filled with confusion and trepidation.
"Father, what happened? What occurred tonight?" asked Li Zhi, the Li family head, curiously. He had other matters to attend to that evening and had not gone to the God of War banquet.
"Outrageous! My Li family has never suffered such a profound humiliation! If this revenge is not taken, my Li family is unworthy of being one of the three top aristocratic families of Da Qin!" Li Weihai suddenly roared, startling everyone in the hall.
"Father, what exactly happened?" Li Zhi's expression turned astonished. The God of War banquet tonight was for Long Batian, and Long Batian was on good terms with the Li family. Logically, the Li family's attendance should have been a joyous occasion, so why were they all so furious now?
"Li Zhi, what did your second brother say? When is he bringing his men back to the capital?" Li Weihai asked, not answering Li Zhi's question.
"The day after tomorrow! All the Heavenly Army forces will return to the capital the day after tomorrow. The Dragon King Hall is pushing too hard; second brother has no choice but to lead the remaining Heavenly Army forces back to the capital to seek refuge," Li Zhi quickly replied.
"Good! Good! Very good! When my Li family's Heavenly Army returns, it will be Li Xiaotian's end!" Li Weihai gritted his teeth.