A Dish Best Served Cold (The Man In Rage)
Chapter 1874

In a blink of an eye, the Meng family manor became a complete mess.

The wails and groans of pain echoed horribly in contrast to Zhang Zixi's hearty laugh.

Everyone got a nasty shock and was rendered speechless.

All they could do was widen their eyes and stare daggers at the vicious woman before them.

Never had the Meng family felt so ashamed and disheartened before that none of their recruited fighters could defeat a single woman. Their plans were in shambles.

In other words, Zhang Zixi had single-handedly taken the Mengs down.

"Zhang Jiuling... Patriarch Zhang? You are from the Zhang family?"

After snapping back into his senses, Meng Wanjun finally realized something.

His pupil constricted as he tried to recall more about the Zhang family.

They had been inactive for a very long time, to the extent that he had nearly forgotten about the infamous name uttered.

It's all coming back to me now. So, who is this lady?

"But... But why? I thought Patriarch Zhang has never been bothered about affairs like these? Why is he appearing in the picture like a bolt from the blue? Also, I don't understand why the Meng family is the first on the list to be targeted. Are the Zhangs planning a return?" MengWanjun bombarded her with a series of burning questions.

If the opponent was just a regular faction, Meng Wanjun would not be so wary.

However, it was the Zhang family that he was facing now.

No one else knew how powerful the Zhangs were besides him.

They are the one and only prominent family of warriors in Jiangbei! Patriarch Zhang's a Grandmaster, and he's been always regarded with high esteem. Faced with the guardian ofJiangbei, how can I not have ants in my pants?

It was a piece of cake for the Zhang family to destroy the Mengs.

After all, the difference between a somewhat influential family and an extremely prominent family of great fighters was too great.

Any fellow representing the Zhang family, be it a young lady, could effortlessly tackle the Mengs.

If a fight were to break out between these two families, it would be absolutely detrimental to the Meng family.

"Mr. Meng, I've said it once. I come with the objective of reminding you to teach your next generations how to behave themselves. There's a need for them to differentiate between who they can bully and those they can't afford to offend, especially the woman named Qiu Mucheng. If any one of you lays a finger on her, the Zhang family will return the favor multiple folds."

She paused before continuing, "The incident today serves as a stern warning to all of you. I sincerely hope that Mr. Meng won't do anything silly. As for the future, you can rest assured that the Zhang family has no interest whatsoever in gaining more power or benefits in Jiangbei. You can keep your position as Jiangbei's richest man. That's it for now. I have done my job for warning you."

Zhang Zixi's words sent shivers down Meng Wanjun's spine. The rest of the family felt very much threatened too.

It took them a very long time to calm themselves down after she left.

When Meng Wanjun finally snapped back into his senses, he landed a tight slap across Meng Chuan's face.

"What have you bast*rd done? How did you step on the toes of the Zhang family? Are you scheming to destroy the Mengs?" Meng Wanjun questioned in a hostile manner.

Meng Chuan remained silent. The series of events that had happened scared the living daylights out of him.

From Liu Yubing's house to his family manor, everything that Zhang Zixi had said and done gave him extreme heebie-jeebies.

It was only now that he realized how terrifying Zhang Zixi was.

"Dad... I didn't know, Dad. I never knew Qiu Mucheng has connections with the Zhang family. I really didn't know."

Upon knowing how severe his mistake was, Meng Chuan knelt down immediately, bawled his eyes out, and begged for mercy.

"Shut up! Don't give me any excuses. Take a look at your useless self. How could you shoulder the responsibilities of leading the Mengs forward? Had I passed the family to you, it would be very likely for the entire clan to be annihilated."

After lashing out at his son, Meng Wanjun kicked him away and headed to his room.

hater that evening, Meng Wanjun paid the Zhang residence a visit with his son and made him apologize in person.

As a distinguished man in Jiangbei, Meng Wanjun did not enter the gate to meet any of the Zhangs.

Conversely, both father and son kowtowed three times at the gate before leaving.

When they got back to the Meng family manor, the head of the family instantly instructed for all commercial signboards Meng Chuan made for Qiu Mucheng to be destroyed.

Additionally, he had also requested his son to publish an official apology to Qiu Mucheng in the local newspaper.

All in all, Meng Wanjun's plan was to quickly exhaust all means to appease the situation and suppress the blazing anger of the Zhang family.

All that he had done in good faith demonstrated his utmost sincerity toward the Zhangs.

Unfortunately, his actions were like a double-edged sword. Meng Wanjun lost the respect that the local factions had for him when he stooped so low to gain favor from the Zhangs.

Back at the Meng family manor, Meng Wanjun stood alone in the family ancestral shrine. He stared at each memorial tablet before him, and yet he did not utter a word.

Right then, a gentle and good-looking young man, seemingly in his prime walked in.

He was none otherthan MengYilong, Meng Wanjun's illegitimate son who was entangled in the drama to fight for the patriarch's title.

"Dad, our company's shares have been going downhill lately. Several projects that I was determined to get have been snatched away by other local forces in Jiangbei. As a consequence, I've lost close to ten billion," Meng Yilong reported.

Meng Wanjun just kept quiet.

"Dad, don't you think that we've paid too high a price for this? The Zhang family only wanted a promise.

Why do you need to do the extras and even made a trip to their home to apologize?"

Meng Yilong was completely baffled.

Does Dad need to be so scared of the Zhang family?

This is ridiculous! We could have easily suppressed the gossip about Zhang Zixi appearing at the Meng family manor. But now, many others have witnessed them going down on their knees to apologize to the Zhangs. This embarrassing act has made us the talk of the town, resulting in halfofJiangbei's rich and famous social circles to know who we have offended. Rumor has it that the Meng family is on the verge of collapsing!

Meng Wanjun did not respond directly to his son's questions.

Staring at the altar, he pointed at one of the memorial tablets. "Yilong, come over here and pay respect to your Great-grandpa."

Though Meng Yilong had no idea of his father's intention, he did it anyway. He went over to light some joss sticks and then kowtowed a few times.

"Yilong, I haven't shared the humble beginnings of the Meng family with you, have I?"

After a slight pause, Meng Wanjun said, "Although many generations of the Mengs have been residing in Jiangbei, the real watershed in the family history began with your great-grandpa and greatgranduncles. We owe it all to them for setting a solid foundation for the Meng family to gain wealth and fame. They were the ones who transformed an unknown surname into a top authoritative family in Jiangbei. However, they were not satisfied with the achievement. They aimed to be number one in Jiangbei; not just a title, but a solid status recognized by all. In the pursuit of their dreams, they got on the Zhang family's bad sidesand killed one of their direct descendants."

"Then, what happened?" Meng Yilong was merely an illegitimate child who had just been accepted into the family in recent years. Therefore, he did not know much about the family history. "What do you think? There could only be one king. With your great-grandpa trying to challenge the position of the Zhang family in Jiangbei, do you think that the latter would be so kind to let it slide?" Meng Wanjun added, "The same night, your greatgrandpa and great-granduncles received news that the Zhangs sent a representative to get rid of the Mengs. Everyone tried their best to convince your great- grandpa to run for his life, but he refused. He could not bring himself to forego the century-old business established through the efforts of several generations."

"In the end, what did they do?" The story had piqued Meng Yilong's curiosity.

"That night, your great-grandpa and his three brothers committed suicide at the Zhang residence. They used their deaths to exchange peace for the family and protection for their business."

Meng Wanjun pointed at the memorial tablets. "Look over there, the fourth tablet on the first row is your great-grandpa and great-granduncles. Now, do you understand why I did what I did? It's simply because our lives are at stake. The other party holds great power in their hands. Getting on their nerves will only bring tragedy to the Meng family. This isn't a risk our family can afford to take. If your great-grandpa and great-granduncles could sacrifice their lives for the family, there's no big deal for me to lose dignity."