<h4>Chapter 855: The Eight Great Patrician Families Congregate</h4>


    So many pairs of eyes simultaneously cast their gazes at the crown prince and crown prince consort. Friendly, admiring, hostile, and probing gazes intertwined as they converged upon the two people.


    There were even two waves of hidden energy that stealthily rushed at the two people in the blink of an eye.


    Those with weaker focus would certainly stumble from the hidden energy’s impact. That would amount to a breach of etiquette in the pce hall, as well as losing out in front of the eight great patrician families.


    However, it was unfortunate that the one they were plotting against was the crown prince, a figure whose cultivation was as unfathomable as the depths of the sea.


    As a result, two faint sounds of bacsh could be heard, and two figures swiftly bounded away from their seats. The cushions under their butts exploded with a bang at once, and the cotton stuffing flew everywhere.


    The normal people looked over cluelessly, while the cultivators were inwardly apprehensive.


    It was two people from the Hong Family who had made this probing move. Mo Lian already knew the identities of the two people with a sweep of his eye.


    Because of the previous Hong Yaowei incident, he had already ordered people to gather the information of all the people in the Hong Estate.


    These two people were precisely the two sons of the Hong Family’s eldest branch: Hong Riwei and Hong Daowei.


    Suddenly, the sound of uproariousughter could be heard. Duan Yue, who had cocked his head as he looked at those two diposed Hong Family brothers from five or six tables away, clicked his tongue andmented, “Oh my, wanting to plot against someone else with just this bit of lousy cultivation. You’d better take a hike.”


    At this, Hong Riwei and Hong Daowei’splexions instantly flushed into the color of a pig’s liver.


    Mo Lian coldly eyed the two people from the Hong Family before walking forward while holding Qiao Mu’s small hand. Along the way, they had to pass before the royal court’s senior officials and the eight great patrician families’ seats in session.


    The left side was reserved for the royal court’s high-ranking officials and their family members.


    Conversely, the right side was reserved for the eight great patrician families. Of course, there was also a hierarchy to the eight great patrician families’ seating arrangements, as well.


    At the head of the pack were the talisman patrician family: the Mu n; the concealed weapon and reconnaissance patrician family: the Duan n; and the elixirs patrician family: the Qin Estate. Following these families were the patrician family that made a name for itself with its medical expertise: the Dou n, and then the smelting and mining patrician families: the Wu n and the Hong n.


    While the forging patrician families: the Fan n and the Qiao n; brought up the rear.


    That’s correct, even in Qiao Mu’s past life, the Qiao n’s main family was considered one of the great patrician families.


    When the main family’s patriarch, Qiao Dongbo, saw Qiao Zhongbang and his family, he had gone up to greet them.


    However, Qiao Zhongbang didn’t look too pleased.


    Upon seeing Qiao Mu at this moment, Qiao Dongbo excitedly stood up from his seat.


    However, before he could even try to exchange greetings with Qiao Mu, he waspletely interrupted by the Hong Family brothers’ probing attack.


    Qiao Mu’s icy gaze swept over Qiao Dongbo without pausing at all.


    She practically recognized everyone from the main family, but she didn’t want to acknowledge a single one of them at all.


    All of a sudden—


    Qiao Mu’s gaze settled on the people beside Qiao Dongbo.


    More precisely, she had locked onto a 23-year-old man dressed in a white cheongsam who had a gentle smile on his lips.


    Her breathing changed in an instant, so suddenly that it was difficult for Crown Prince Mo not to notice.


    Just like that, her footsteps slowed down, and Mo Lian naturally also stopped, as well. He followed her gaze and saw a young man who nodded lightly back at him with a smile on his lips.


    Qiao Mu’s arctic gaze fixed unwaveringly on the man just like that. This abnormal, deep stare attracted the attention of everyone nearby, even the king and queen who were sitting far away in the chief seats of the main hall.


    Even though the white-robed young man didn’t understand the situation, he still stood up with a smile and greeted the two people with a salute.