When Ye Chen and Xiao Changkun arrived home, both women were out—Xiao Churan was still at work, and Ma Lan had gone to play mahjong at the card room.


Taking advantage of the quiet, Ye Chen went to his room, took out the Lightning-Struck Blood Dragon Wood, and began absorbing its spiritual energy through the Nine Heavens Scripture. By the time he finished, his entire aura had subtly transformed, and the wood, though dimmed, still retained some pure thunderous energy, making it a useful artifact for future refinement.


That evening, as soon as he stepped into the living room, his mother-in-law Ma Lan immediately let out a cold snort—


“What now? Are you too important to cook? Waiting for me to serve you, is that it?”


Ye Chen smiled awkwardly and explained—


“Sorry, Mom, I was too tired this afternoon and accidentally fell asleep.”


Ma Lan rolled her eyes.


“Oh really? Was it the auction that exhausted you? Or were you tired from setting up Xiao Hailong?”


Ye Chen was momentarily taken aback.


“I didn’t set him up. Where did you hear that?”


Ma Lan snorted again.


“Where else? Your grandmother called and gave me a scolding! She said you not only embarrassed yourself at the auction but also got Xiao Hailong thrown out! Now, thanks to you, our entire Xiao family is banned from Zhenbao Pavilion! Tell me, are you ever going to stop causing trouble for this family?”


Before Ye Chen could respond, Xiao Churan spoke up in his defense—


“Mom, I think Xiao Hailong must have brought this upon himself. Ye Chen isn’t that kind of person.”


Ma Lan slammed her chopsticks down.


“How is it not related? Xiao Hailong said that Ye Chen got the invitation through shady means. When they found out, Zhenbao Pavilion kicked him out too, and now they’ve declared that if any Xiao family member dares to step foot inside again, they’ll have their legs broken! The entire Xiao family has been humiliated because of him!”


Xiao Changkun, who had been silent until now, suddenly snorted coldly—


“Hmph! The invitation was perfectly legitimate! I’m sure Xiao Hailong made trouble on his own and, afraid of being punished by his grandma, decided to pin it all on Ye Chen!”


“You’re still defending this useless bum?” Ma Lan glared at him angrily. “If you hadn’t insisted on going to that auction, none of this would have happened!”


Feeling attacked, Xiao Changkun immediately shut up and focused on eating.


Ma Lan grumbled in frustration—


“That useless waste of space! What kind of skills does he have to get an invitation? And now that he’s offended Xiao Hailong, let’s see how he plans to fix this mess!”


Just then—


A knock on the door echoed through the house.


A deep male voice called from outside—


“Excuse me, is Mr. Ye home?”


Ma Lan immediately tensed up.


She shot Ye Chen a furious glare—


“Great! It must be your grandma sending people to settle the score! Look at what you’ve done!”


Xiao Churan’s expression also became serious as she stood up to answer the door.


Inside the living room, everyone held their breath.


Ye Chen’s face darkened slightly—if his grandmother had come to wrongfully accuse him, he wouldn’t bother giving her any face this time.


Xiao Churan cautiously cracked the door open and asked—


“Who are you, and what do you want?”


Before she could get an answer, Ye Chen quickly stepped forward, pulled Xiao Churan behind him, and coldly eyed the visitors.


“You’re looking for me?”


A middle-aged man in a sharp suit, seeing Ye Chen, immediately bowed respectfully and smiled—


“Are you Mr. Ye Chen? I am the new manager of Zhenbao Pavilion. I just took over this afternoon. Our Pavilion Master deeply regrets what happened earlier today and has sent me to personally bring gifts as an apology.”


Ye Chen raised an eyebrow—


“You’re from Zhenbao Pavilion?”


Xiao Churan, standing behind him, was also taken aback.


The manager quickly nodded—


“Our Pavilion Master was extremely remorseful about how you were treated. He immediately expelled Xiao Hailong and even halted the auction. We failed in our hospitality, and we sincerely hope you can forgive us.”


After finishing his apology, he turned to signal his subordinates.


Several burly men in black stepped forward, carrying large gift boxes, and carefully placed them at the doorway.


Ye Chen glanced over and saw that the gifts were no joke—


✔ A box of limited-edition Yellow Crane Tower cigarettes.

✔ A case of 30-year-old Moutai Feitian liquor.

✔ A pair of Ming Dynasty antique vases.

✔ An exquisitely carved tortoiseshell Go board set.


These gifts alone were worth over a million yuan.


The manager bowed again and said—


“Mr. Ye, our Pavilion Master is currently busy preparing the next auction with Miss Song, so he couldn’t come in person. However, he has instructed me to personally deliver this apology and to assure you that he will formally visit and apologize to you at the earliest opportunity.”


Ye Chen nodded slightly—


“Fine, leave the gifts here.”


The manager then took out two golden invitation cards and respectfully handed them to Ye Chen—


“These are invitations to our newly scheduled auction. Mr. Ye and Mr. Xiao, we sincerely hope you will attend this time. I promise we will not let you down again.”


Then, he took out an exclusive VIP membership card and explained—


“This is our custom-made Zhenbao Pavilion Royal VIP Card. Only ten of these exist, and it grants lifetime access with top-tier privileges. You will receive the highest level of service whenever you visit our Pavilion.”


Ye Chen glanced at the shining gold card encrusted with diamonds.


His voice was calm and indifferent—


“I don’t really care much for auctions. You should ask my father-in-law instead.”


Hearing this, the manager quickly turned to Xiao Changkun, smiling apologetically—


“Mr. Xiao, we sincerely hope you will attend. Please accept this card as a token of our goodwill.”


Xiao Changkun had just snapped out of his shock.


His eyes widened as he stared at the gold VIP card.


As a long-time antiques enthusiast, he knew exactly what this meant—


This was not a card that could be bought, only issued to Zhenbao Pavilion’s top-tier members.


Holding this card meant VIP-level treatment, including free access to all collections, priority purchasing rights, and huge discounts.


This temptation was simply irresistible.


Just as he was about to reach for the card, a hand suddenly shot out and snatched it away!


It was Ma Lan!


Her face was beaming with excitement, and she shamelessly grabbed the two VIP cards, smiling ear to ear—


“Since you’re here to apologize, then fine! I’ll reluctantly accept these gifts and cards. My husband will definitely attend the next auction!”