The Xiao family of Lanling was a prominent family based on Lanling County, Donghai County, and started during the Jin Dynasty.

When the Yongjia Rebellion moved south, it was placed in the area of ​​Wujin, Jiangning due to its large family, and Lanling County was established in the overseas Chinese, which was known in history as "Nanlanling", so it was called the "Lanling Xiao family".

Outside the ancestral home of Xiao’s family in Lanling, Zhu Pei frowned, and his mood fluctuated with the carriage.

This time he came to Xiao’s family, he came with a mission.

If it cannot be completed, their Zhu family will suffer heavy losses.

After getting off the carriage, the ancient and simple Xiao family house door was imprinted.

Walking past the tall door, the courtyard inside was still vaguely looking at it.

This house is very large, with a wall of several meters high looking extremely majestic.

Looking around, it is quiet and quiet inside, with gurgling rivers, which is quite elegant and secluded in the world.

Before he could enter, Zhu Pei saw three or two servants beside the gate.

Seeing Zhu Pei coming, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him and served to lead the people into the mansion.

Walking into the manor, the lush and dwarf forests on both sides of the road look dark even in broad daylight.

The breeze blows gently, the leaves rustle and the branches sway and shadows, making a leisurely and elegant place.

When the view is wide, two-story wooden buildings appear in front of you. The wooden buildings are simple, thick, elegant and simple.

Zhu Pei came to the front of the building, and the servant asked him to enter the building by himself and turned around and left.

Looking at the wooden building in front of him, Zhu Pei felt hesitant and nervous.

It would be fine if the Xiao family could force the pressure on Yang Fan. If they could not, then the hundreds of years of efforts of their Zhu family would be in vain.

After shook his broad robe, Zhu Pei pushed open the door and walked in.

The hall inside the building is bright and the smooth floor can reflect people's reflections.

There was a seat on the ground, and there were tables for cooking tea, and several people knelt behind the table.

Seeing so many people from the Jiangnan gentry had arrived, Zhu Pei calmed down a little, bowed slightly, and apologized: "The road is long and there is something to be done at home, so please don't blame me."

All of the people here are the people who are the members of the various tribes of the Jiangnan gentry. Even if they are not the leader, they are the mainstay of the tribe.

However, the Zhu family belongs to one of the major clans in Jiangnan. Even though Zhu Pei came late, no one was too concerned about it.

So everyone present said politely: "Brother Zhu, you are polite. Who has nothing to do at home? We have just arrived, Wufang."

Zhu Pei made some polite decisions with everyone and smiled at Xiao Ran, "Brother Xiao, I'm late, sorry. Since everyone comes to Xiao's family to discuss matters, please invite Mr. Xiao out. Only Mr. Xiao can uphold justice for everyone."

Xiao Wan is the contemporary head of the Xiao family in Lanling and is also Xiao Yu's cousin.

In Zhu Pei's opinion, only when Xiao Wan speaks can the Xiao family mobilize all their strength to put pressure on Yang Fan.

If even the owner can't see it, then it would be in vain for them to come to the Xiao family this time.

Xiao Ran smiled at Zhu Pei's words, but did not answer. Instead, he pointed his left hand and asked Zhu Pei to sit down. Then he said, "Brother Zhu, your Zhu family is busy, but our Xiao family is not bad either. The head of the family needs to consider more things. How could you come at the moment?"

Of course, Xiao Ran also knows the purpose of everyone gathering here today.

Although it is a matter of time to invite the head of the Xiao family out, it is not something that Zhu Pei ordered if he wanted to.

Anyway, their Xiao family is also the leader of Jiangnan.

Hearing this, Zhu Pei's smile froze slightly. This was a sarcasm to him for his busy affairs just now!

Since he was here to ask someone this time, Zhu Pei could only hold back his anger and smiled: "Of course, the Xiao family belongs to the high-ranking residence, and there must be many affairs, but we will not come from thousands of miles to come. Could it be that Mr. Xiao will not come out to see us?"

"Besides, what we are discussing this time is also related to the future of your Xiao family. How can we serve you?

Zhu Pei's words have hidden mystery.

It means that everyone is planning the future of the Jiangnan gentry, and it has nothing to do with your Xiao family.

If your head of your family is not invited out, what qualifications does the Xiao family have to be the leader of the Jiangnan gentry, and how can they be worthy of their descendants?

When the two met on the first day of the New Year, they smiled but had a hidden cleverness. The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became subtle.

When Zhu Pei sat down, Xiao Ran looked around the people present and then said in a deep voice: "You are all noble families in Jiangnan. We have had many friendships in the past, and our Xiao family is not pretending to be hypocritical."

"We Xiao family can also guess the purpose of our visit this time. If we have no objection to our Xiao family, if we want our Xiao family to be the first to stand out, then the Xiao family will not agree!"

Everyone in the hall looked at each other.

Everyone came this time to force the Xiao family to come forward and deal with Yang Fan.

However, as soon as they met, Xiao Ran expressed that the Xiao family was not coerced by everyone.

The middle-aged man in a brocade robe was obviously quite dissatisfied with Xiao Ran's words and said angrily: "Xiao Ran, can you represent your Xiao family? If your Xiao family refuses to stand up, how can your Xiao family be the leader of the Jiangnan gentry?"

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall was shocked.

Xiao Ran's face darkened, and he stared at the middle-aged man in brocade robe, and said in a gloomy voice: "Who is the eagle and dog that dares to come to the Xiao family to bark?"

The middle-aged man in Jinpao sneered: "I am a child of the Lin clan in Jiangnan and Lin Bo, the second house manager of the Lin clan."

Lin Bo has always advocated having a good relationship with Zhu, so of course there is no need to be polite in his words.

What's more, before coming, the Zhu family promised that once the Zhu family became the leader of Jiangnan, they would help Lin Bo compete for the position of the head of the Lin family.

Now that Zhu Pei and Xiao Ran are full of gunpowder, they are naturally standing on the side of the Zhu family.

Upon hearing Lin Bo's words, Xiao Ran immediately said angrily: "Little Lin family dares to insult the Xiao family? Do you really think our Xiao family can bully it?"

Lin Bo still sneered: "This time our Jiangnan gentry is in crisis. If your Xiao family only knows how to protect themselves, how can you be worthy of the respect of my Lin family?"

Xiao Ran was furious and shouted directly: "Come on, beat this crazy and rude person out of me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a servant of Xiao family ran in and dragged Lin Bo, who was confused, with his arm on his face.

Lin Bo didn't expect Xiao Ran to dare to be so rude to him, and he made a big fuss.

In the end, only waves of miserable screams were heard gradually moving away.

Xiao Ran was so thrilling that everyone in the hall looked at each other.

Everyone knows that Lin Bo was forced to take the lead by the Zhu family, but unexpectedly, he was beaten out with sticks as soon as he opened his mouth!

This is simply a slap in the Zhu family in the face!

For a moment, everyone's eyes turned to Zhu Pei, wanting to see what Zhu Pei had to deal with it.

Zhu Pei was about to get angry at this time. He really didn't expect Xiao Ran to be so disrespectful.

This was a naked slap in the face, which not only slapped Lin Bo in the face, but also slapped their Zhu family in the face.

Who doesn’t know that Lin Bo is actually the boss of their Zhu family!

Zhu Pei's face turned pale and said angrily: "Xiao Ran, everyone came to discuss important matters. Even if Lin Bo was a little disrespectful to your Xiao family, there was no need to beat the person out, right?"

Xiao Ran glanced at Zhu Pei with a squinting eyes and said, "Your Zhu family may not care about their reputation, but my Xiao family cannot. If anyone does not respect my Xiao family, from now on, my Xiao family will never interact with these people!"

Everyone here said silently and expressed their fear of saying that they did not dare.

Everyone is a person with a clear mind and bright eyes. Of course, it can be seen that Xiao Ran’s intention is to establish the prestige of the Xiao family.

Since you have something to ask for, you have to hold your tail between them, otherwise why should they help you?

What's more, for the sake of his own interests, there is no need to offend the Xiao family for the sake of Lin Bo.

Zhu Pei's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot, but he didn't dare to say anything else. If he really dared to argue with the Xiao family, it would be possible that he would be beaten out. Then that would be really embarrassing.

Seeing that no one dared to refute, Xiao Ran knocked on the case in front of him and said slowly: "Since you are here to discuss the future of the Jiangnan gentry, our Xiao family, as the leader of the Jiangnan gentry, naturally, must listen to everyone's opinions and ideas. Please wait and have a cup of tea to relieve your anger. I will invite the head of the family first..."

After saying that, Xiao Ran turned around and left, making everyone look at each other.

In the attic not far from the second-story building, Xiao Wan, the head of the family, was standing in front of the windowsill, looking up at the distance, motionless, as if thinking about something.

As for most Jiangnan gentry coming to the Xiao family, from the bottom of his heart, he actually didn't want to see him.

Not long after the Huating County auction, these people came to the door, and it was obvious that they had something to ask for.

The most likely thing is that these people want the Xiao family to stand up and lead everyone to resist Yang Fan.

After a series of things and because of Xiao Yu's previous explanation before leaving, Xiao Wanke had no intention of standing up for these people.

What's more, Yang Fan gave the ten shares of the Tang Dynasty Royal Bank to the Xiao family, and they had to consider it carefully.

Although the Xiao family was cheated when bidding for this auction, if the shares were used as a mortgage loan, the Xiao family would not need to pay much money at all.

Now that Yang Fan has almost controlled the entire Jiangnan, Xiao Wanke has no intention of going against Yang Fan openly.

But when these Jiangnan families arrived, the Xiao family had to express their opinions.

After all, as the leader of the Jiangnan gentry, the Xiao family could not watch all the families decline.

Xiao Wan knew very well that with the family of Jiangnan, if all the money for the auction was paid, then there would be no more geniuses in Jiangnan.

Xiao Wan felt very upset when he thought that these Jiangnan gentry wanted to bypass the Xiao family and deal with Yang Fan some time ago.

Even so, the Xiao family could not completely sit idly by.

Therefore, Xiao Wan must re-display the presence of the Xiao family and show the status of the Xiao family.

On the one hand, let these Jiangnan gentry leave aside, which makes these people worried.
To be continued...