After leaving the Golden Dragon Bank, Jiang Qing’e was silent within the carriage. Li Luo followed suit and spoke nary a word, only clutching the suitcase. Who knew what he was thinking.
Eventually, they arrived in front of a manor, within which dotted numerous undulating hills and magnificent pavilions—an awe-inspiring sight.
This was where Li Luo’s parents had constructed the family home of House Luolan.
The four b.e.a.s.t.i.a.l lionhorses stopped gracefully in front of the gates and then the duo exited the carriage.
“This place seems to have become a lot colder and lifeless.” Jiang Qing’e sighed as she stared at the manor.
Back when Li Luo’s parents were still around, this was the administrative epicentre of House Luolan. The bustling activity as people hurried about then greatly contrasted against the decrepit silence seen now.
“House Luolan’s headquarters has long s.h.i.+fted to Xia City, this is just an old manor. I suppose this peace and quiet is expected.” Li Luo smiled.
Whilst the two spoke, some individuals approached the entrance to usher them in.
At the fore was an old man, with a lady right behind him. The old man had a gentle and amiable expression. The lady, on the other hand, wore a face of makeup that accentuated her maturity, providing an attractive countenance. What was most outstanding was her well-rounded figure; her twin peaks were well endowed, much like two completely ripe peaches, a sight that would slay men as they swayed gently.
“Uncle Liu,” Li Luo cried as he ran towards the old man. He was someone who had followed Li Luo’s parents long ago. Nowadays, he stayed to maintain the estate whilst taking care of Li Luo.
Yet Li Luo did not recognise this well-endowed lady and doubts began to arise in his mind.
“Uncle Liu, it has been a long time,” Jiang Qing’e said as she nodded her head before introducing the lady to Li Luo. “This is Elder Sister Cai Wei, my a.s.sistant in Xia City. She has been helping me to arrange the numerous affairs of House Luolan.”
“Greetings, Young Lord,” the mature beauty Cai Wei said with a smiling expression as her eyes sized Li Luo up.
Li Luo nodded in reply. “It must have been hard on you, Elder Sister Cai Wei.”
“Elder Sister Cai Wei will be staying in the City of Southwind for a period of time. She will be taking care of House Luolan’s affairs in the Tianshu Province and will be directly reporting to you in all matters,” Jiang Qing’e explained.
Li Luo was momentarily shocked. Ever since House Luolan’s headquarters relocated to Xia City, nothing much had cropped up within the Tianshu Province and things had been stable since then. Now, in the blink of an eye, why had Sister Qing’e suddenly deployed such a capable individual to a.s.sume control of the situation?
“Has something happened?” Li Luo queried as he sighed deeply.
Jiang Qing’e’s sudden return was clearly unrelated to his upcoming seventeenth birthday tomorrow.
Jiang Qing’e paused in deep thought. Her usual, exquisite expression had turned cold as she strode towards the interior of the manor, Li Luo trailing right behind her.
“Although you’ve been left in the City of Southwind, I suppose you have not heard of the news surrounding House Luolan. I did not speak of these things for fear of affecting you.” As they walked on the light gravel road, scattered light filtered through the leaves of the surrounding trees, bathing their path with warmth, contrasting against Jiang Qing’e’s direct and cold words.
Li Luo nodded. Although he did not take part in House Luolan’s affairs, even a blockhead could guess that with the absence of his parents, House Luolan would be faced with turbulent winds.
Starting a house within the Xia Kingdom was not such a simple task. The most important rule was that one had to have a Duke.
Within the Xia Kingdom were five great houses, and House Luolan was one of them.
Out of these five, House Luolan had the shortest history and had also risen the most abruptly. This was due to both of Li Luo’s parents entering the Duke Stage.
Mysterious Yang Duke, Li Taixuan.
Misty Duke, Tan Tailan.
A house with two Dukes. This was the key reason why House Luolan had catapulted into the ranks of the five Great Houses so quickly. Whilst the rest of the five Great Houses had long established histories, House Luolan was a complete upstart. As a result, this also meant that they had less of a foundation and barely any a.s.sets to speak of, and were thus weaker than the other four by a fair margin.
This was originally not an issue as Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan’s abilities were more than sufficient to cover this gap during this time.
Hence, it was a pity that they both had disappeared.
Losing their two main pillars of support, House Luolan’s strength declined rapidly. At the onset of their disappearance, their reputation still served to deter any unsavory intentions. However, with the pa.s.sage of time, the lack of news regarding Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan had ended up birthing rumors that they had met their demise in the n.o.ble’s War.
House Luolan, as one of the five Great Houses, had numerous businesses under them. This was undoubtedly a fat, succulent piece of meat for any power within the Xia Kingdom. Numerous factions had been eyeing it covetously, drooling at the mouths for a potential bite.
Thus, with the pa.s.sage of time, Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan’s inheritance had been gradually whittled down. A few wolves could barely resist the temptation in these past few years and had taken quite a few mouthfuls.