Chapter 709: 364 The Old Man (Midnight)
The scene in front of her was more like a palace than a villa. Ran Bowen, with his vast wealth and arrogance, believed himself to be the king of Jiangzhou and spared no expense in building this enormous palace for himself.
The building was designed in a European style, with towers at every corner, the porch and the hall rising high into the sky, forming a tiered skyline. The Baroque-style towers lood majestically in the night.
The staircase leading to the living room was long, the ground beneath it covered in a soft red carpet. The hem of her skirt swayed gracefully over the stairs, the classical Corinthian colonnade seed like solemn soldiers guarding this palace.
The reliefs on the porch complented the golden dragons on the columns, creating a classical and mysterious ambiance.
After thirteen years, Ming Jing once again set foot on this familiar path.
Five feet from the left column was a dent where a bullet had been hidden.
Ran Bowen conducted his business with no regard for consequences, amassing nurous enemies, many of whom were desperate fugitives.
In the sumr of the year Yu Jiang first joined him, as Ran Bowen prepared to leave his ho, he was attacked, and a bullet narrowly missed his head.
It was Yu Jiang’s quick reflexes that saved Ran Bowen, pulling him aside just as the bullet grazed his ear and lodged itself into the column.
After that narrow escape, Ran Bowen further placed his trust in Yu Jiang.
Ran Bowen left the bullet in the column, never ordering it to be removed or the column fixed.
He wanted to see it every ti he left his ho, reminding himself with that bullet.
This na once struck fear across the land, infamous far and wide.
But with the passage of ti, all has vanished with the wind, the mighty reduced to re bones, but the legend he left behind never faded.
All grudges, love, and hatred begin in the past, are born in the present, and end in the future.
Upon reaching the last step, she saw the brightly lit hall before her, filled with people, so sitting, so standing. Among them were familiar faces and strangers, all giving her a peculiar and complicated look.
Following the events of last night, the Qinglong Association was thrown into disarray because of a young girl’s na.
From the highest ranks to the lowest minions, everyone was shaken and couldn’t stop talking about this person. So lanted, so scorned, and so rejoiced in secret.
Ran Bowen used to be their faith, their king.
His death signified the fall of an era and the collapse of their beliefs, leaving them leaderless.
Now, the return of the princess marked the beginning of a new age or the ultimate collapse of their faith. That remained uncertain.
At this mont, as they watched the young girl in white, walking unhurriedly and gracefully amidst a sea of sparks, their hearts were filled with a multitude of complex emotions.
Thirteen years had seen countless changes, people leaving, joining, dying, and being born anew. The past was no more, and the return of the old master held no sway over the new one.
So people stole glances at the man sitting in the main seat, noticing his unchanged expression and even a trace of a smile. They couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking.
Could it be a real recognition of kinship?
Master Xiao was not soone who valued family bonds. In the Ran family, such things were the least necessary.
For a mont, the entire hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
“Little aunt, you’ve finally returned ho.”
As Ran Tengxiao spoke, everyone’s hearts skipped a beat, their backs crawling with chills, feeling a sense of eerie unease.
Everything was in chaos, complete chaos.
The young girl stopped, smiling faintly, “Is this my ho?”
“As the daughter of Grandpa Bo, this is naturally your ho. Co, let introduce you to so of the younger generation.”
Among the three brothers of the Ran family, they each had huge estates but only one child; Ran Boxue had a son, Ran Yang, who was the father of Ran Tengxiao and Ran Tenghui. Ran Bocai had a daughter, Ran Qing. However, after becoming wealthy, Ran Bowen brought the elders from his hotown and rebuilt the family tree, established ancestral temples, and built monunts. He even had a biography written about himself, full of praise and accomplishnts.
Under Ran Bowen’s protection, these elders spent their twilight years in peace. His cousins and other relatives worked in the Qinglong Association, and at first, they knew their place. After Ran Bowen’s death, they ran amok for so ti, trying to take control of the family and even attempted to assassinate Ran Yang, but they failed. After Ran Tengxiao took over, they were subdued through iron-handed thods, obediently doing their jobs without stirring up any more trouble.
“This person, by the order of seniority, should call you great-aunt.”
A man in his thirties stepped out from the crowd, looking rather ordinary but good-natured. He bowed to Ming Jing and respectfully said, “Hello, great-aunt; my na is Ran Lun, and I work in Master Xiao’s Xuanwu Hall.”
Reviews
All reviews (0)