Published: March 12, 2025
Chapter 423: The Clan Leader's Arrival
Just as Zhao Hai had anticipated, when the Karlqi Family received the news of Zhao Hai's engagement to Meigen, their first reaction was disbelief, followed by anger!
The members of the Karlqi Family were seasoned schemers, well aware of Smith's motivations behind this decision. Smith was undoubtedly protecting Zhao Hai.
Initially, they were determined to deny this engagement, but eventually, they realized that refusing to acknowledge it would mean a complete fallout with Smith. Although Smith was a member of the Karlqi Family, he possessed considerable autonomy. If they pushed him too hard, it would not benefit the family in any way.
Moreover, the Karlqi Family understood that once Zhao Hai was engaged to Meigen, he would effectively become one of their own, adding a new force to the family, which was undoubtedly a good thing.
While the Karlqi Family had ancestral teachings against using women for political marriages, for a large family like theirs, almost any marriage would eventually be tied to political interests, turning into another form of alliance.
Meigen was highly favored within the Karlqi Family, regarded as the family’s little princess. Naturally, the family didn’t want to use her for a political union. However, they still had to consider who she would marry, at the very least ensuring that he was of equal status.
From this perspective, Zhao Hai's status seemed incompatible with Meigen, but if the family refused to acknowledge the marriage, it would result in a loss of credibility and become a laughingstock among other noble families. Similarly, Meigen's reputation would be ruined.
But they couldn't easily accept this engagement either, leaving them in a difficult position. In the end, the clan leader, Smith's father, Randokarlqi, could no longer sit back and decided to personally visit Tianshui City to meet Zhao Hai.
Although Randok was the clan leader, he was also a person who cherished Meigen deeply, so he wanted to see what sort of person Zhao Hai was before deciding how to handle the situation.
Since hearing Zhao Hai's name, he had yet to meet him; all his impressions of Zhao Hai came from reports by Ibel, Smith, and Zhu Wan.
These three individuals shared similar opinions about Zhao Hai. Ibel described him simply as a capable aberrant mage with promising business ventures.
Smith had a much higher evaluation, viewing Zhao Hai as a very intelligent person with strong capabilities and many valuable resources. Most importantly, his strength was unfathomable.
As for Zhu Wan, he had nothing nice to say, considering Zhao Hai a boastful and reckless character.
Taking all three perspectives into account, Randok regarded Zhao Hai as an ambitious and ruthless figure, which fueled his desire to eliminate him.
However, with Smith's maneuvering, Randok found himself in a predicament, leading him to cancel the order for a ninth-level expert to deal with Zhao Hai and instead prepare to meet Zhao Hai in Tianshui City himself.
At this moment, Charlie also received the news. Upon hearing it, he was initially pleased, but then sensed something was off. He was well aware that Zhao Hai had recently clashed with Zhu Wan from the Karlqi Family. How could he suddenly be engaged to the family’s little princess?
Charlie was quite knowledgeable about the Karlqi Family; as a prince vying for the throne, he had to keep a close watch on the old noble families.
He also knew about Meigen. Given that she was essentially the little princess of the Karlqi Family, he had understood that once Duke Ryan moved against her, he wouldn’t last long, as the Karlqi Family would not let him off easily.
Now, the sudden engagement between Zhao Hai and Meigen left Charlie incredulous. He wanted to uncover the truth behind this situation, so he quickly sent a letter to Trazeb, asking him to investigate.
Trazeb, too, was puzzled. Zhao Hai had left in a hurry that day, and he was currently trying to get to the bottom of things. The next day, the news of Zhao Hai’s engagement to Meigen broke, leaving Trazeb in shock. After all, Zhao Hai didn’t seem like someone who was rushing off to get engaged.