"That woman can’t be the leader, can she?" Li Jing whispered. "I heard that Lord Lang Man never entrusted an important task to a woman."
"I said, stop talking," Hai Lao reprimanded. Li Jing dropped her head from the scolding.
While Hai Lao said that, he himself wondered the sa thing. Then again, he had heard Xin Rong ntion that she criticized Lang Man on this point in the last Lord’s eting. Perhaps Lang Man took it to heart and began to entrust won with important tasks. He hoped that to be the case. Otherwise, the fact that a woman was their discussion partner would an Lang Man didn’t take these peace talks seriously.
The leading woman from the Commitnt Faction hailed them, "Greetings, esteed mbers of the Devotion Faction. My na is Lan i. I am Lord Lang Man’s seventy-first wife. I’m here to welco you and be your company when you visit our domain. Shall we open the barrier?"
Hai Lao nodded. One of his entourages stepped forward and worked on the words of power on the barrier. The group from the other side did the sa.
While the two sides worked on the barrier, Li Jing whispered to Xin Lie, "Seventy-first? That prick took more wives again."
Despite Li Jing whispering in a lower voice than before, Hai Lao still heard it. He glanced at her, which caused her to lower her head again.
The words of power that the two sides were working on flashed, and a large hole appeared in the barrier. Hai Lao’s team walked through the hole and t Lan i’s team on the other side.
Now that they were face-to-face, they saw that Lan i was even prettier than when they had laid eyes on her from across the barrier. Her eyes were blue like her hair, which draped neatly down to her waist. Her skin was fair without any flaw. She wore a blue dress that complented her hair and eyes.
She smiled at her guests, showing her perfect teeth. Her smile captivated everyone. Even won like Xin Lie and Li Jing couldn’t deny her beauty. They all agreed she was the most beautiful woman they had laid eyes on. No one questioned why Lang Man took her as his wife. Their question was instead about why Lang Man let her et strangers like this. The Lord of the Commitnt Domain was known to be fiercely protective of his wives, after all.
After everyone had introduced themselves, Lan i said, "I believe everyone must be tired from the travel. We have built an estate nearby to host our talks. We nad it the Peace Estate. Everyone, please follow us. Sir Hai Lao and Sir Hai Xuang, please enter this coach."
A large and luxuriously looking wagon was behind Lan i’s team. She gestured for Hai Lao and Hai Xuang to enter. She entered after the two.
Li Jing grumbled when she and Xin Lie were not invited into the coach.
"Don’t be jealous," Xin Lie told her. "We are bastards to begin with. It is already a privilege for us to gain our current status. Rather than complaining about it, we should try harder to improve our status further."
The two groups travelled together for around two hours until they reached an estate that looked like a small paradise. The place was filled with vegetation and trees arranged in pleasant proportion. The estate stood in contrast to its barren surroundings, which were filled only with leafless trees.
Guards wearing blue vests surrounded the estate. They cleared the path into the estate when the groups arrived.
In the middle of the estate was an artificial lake. Next to the lake were a large mansion, a guest villa, and a wide field. Tables and decorations had been prepared in the field with many maids at the ready.
The groups stopped before the mansion. Lan i, Hai Lao, and Hai Xuang exited the wagon.
"We have prepared a feast to welco everyone," Lan i announced. "You should all relax for the remainder of this day. We can talk about the serious matter tomorrow. Co, let us enjoy the feast."
No one objected to the offer. They all followed Lan i to the field.
Food and wine had been prepared on the tables. The musicians began playing their instrunts when the guests entered the field. Hai Lao’s entourage was ushered to the prepared tables, while Hai Lao was invited to sit on the main table with Lan i, which was inside a pavilion right beside the lake.
Hai Xuang sat inside a second, smaller pavilion. He shared the place with Xin Lie and Li Jing. Perforrs and dancers entertained the guests while food and wine were served.
"What do you think the two are talking about?" Li Jing asked, gesturing at Hai Lao and Lan i.
Hai Xuang glanced at the pavilion next door before replying, "Uh... they don’t appear to be talking much."
"Brother Hai Lao is not a talkative person," Xin Lie said. "He is not a good conversationalist unless it is official matters. You heard that lady. She told us to leave the serious discussion for tomorrow."
"Or maybe, he doesn’t dare to appear too friendly to a beautiful woman because he is afraid we will tell Aunt Xin Rong about it," Hai Xuang joked.
"That must be it." Li Jing laughed.
Hai Lao was Dictator Xin Rong’s husband. They were the Devotion Faction’s high-profile couple. Many believed the two married for political reasons, since they rarely showed affection for each other in public, but those close to the couple knew that was not the case. The two were not romantic people, but they deeply cared for one another.
"How about you two stop making fun of others behind their back?" Xin Lie admonished. "Hai Xuang, you were in the coach with that woman. What do you think about her?"
"We talked only a little, but I think she is quite knowledgeable and knows how to carry herself. I can see why Lord Lang Man let her head this important summit."
"Good. Otherwise, we will be here for nothing."
"More wine, sir?" A voice asked.
Hai Xuang turned and saw it was a maid, a middle-aged woman, holding a jug.
"Yes, please," Hai Xuang gave her his cup to be refilled.
While filling the cup, the maid said, "She is magnificent, isn’t she?"
"Huh? Who?" Hai Xuang asked.
"Our lady master," the maid answered, gesturing at Lan i. "She is kind, pretty, and smart. Don’t you think so too, sir?"
The maid’s words caused Hai Xuang to look at Lan i. Sohow, he felt like he had seen Lan i for the first ti. It’s true, she was beautiful, but there was sothing different this ti. He didn’t know how to explain, but it was like he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Sothing was captivating about her."
He only took his eyes off her when she felt soone bump his arm.
"If you keep staring at her like that, soone will start to gossip," Xin Lie said. She was the one who bumped him.
"Ooh... Has our I-don’t-have-ti-for-romance brother finally gained a passion outside of cultivation?" Li Jing teased.
"He better not," Xin Lie said. "You can choose any woman you like, but not that one."
"What are you two talking about?" Hai Xuang chuckled. "I’m not falling for a married woman. Co on, I’m better than that."
"Good. Otherwise, our visit here will result in a completely opposite outco."
*
"How do you like this feast?" Lan i asked Hai Lao.
"It is good. Thank you for the hospitality," Hai Lao replied.
"I’m glad to hear that."
"... I’m sorry to ask, but will you also be the one who will be the primary speaker for your faction?"
"I will. Do you prefer to speak with another person?
"I ant no disrespect, but your lord’s reputation regarding his wives is well-known. I want to make sure that your voice carries weight."
"Please rest assured that it will be. Furthermore, it is only fair that my lord returned the gesture after Lord Hai Di sent his family mbers for this summit. My lord doesn’t have offspring. His wives are his only family. So, this can be said to be the eting between the royal families of our two factions."
"I see. I’ve worried for nothing then. Forgive for my earliest doubts. Allow to give you a toast as a sign of my apology."
"I’m glad we cleared this up." Lan i accepted the toast.
A maid ca over and asked, "Would you like a refill, ma’am?"
Lan i looked at the maid. It was a middle-aged woman. She didn’t think she rembered this maid. Then again, they had hired many new staff to help with this event.
"Yes, please," Lan i handed her cup.
"The handso man in the neighbouring pavilion sent his regards," the maid said.
"Who?" Lan i looked to the pavilion that the maid ntioned. Her gaze t with Hai Xuang’s, who happened to be looking in her direction as well. Hai Xuang quickly looked away like he had been caught doing sothing bad.
"A shy man. It’s adorable, but who wouldn’t wish to be with soone as handso as he? Ah, forgive . This is the rant of an old woman. I will leave you now."
Lan i sipped her wine. Sothing strange was filling her. She never felt this way. It was like an urge. She couldn’t help but look at the other pavilion again. She locked eyes with Hai Xuang’s again. This ti, the two didn’t avert their gaze for a while.
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