Chapter 529: Chapter 529: Women Competing for Favor in the Harem
So polite?
Ann Vaughn’s eyes revealed a hint of surprise. The way she looked at them was as if she’d seen a ghost. After a while, she returned to the car and drove away from there.
"Did you see the look in her eyes just now? Was she mocking us or ridiculing us?" Levi Lowell frowned, filled with resentment. "Why did you interrupt me just now?"
Leo Lowell’s face always showed no extra expressions. "Or else you’d speak recklessly and offend her?"
"What is she, anyway? Do we need to fear her?"
"But she is the link to whether we can return to the main family and The Shadow Guard. We are being punished, and this is the Family Head’s last chance for us," Leo sharply analyzed, calmly.
Levi still felt unsatisfied. "Didn’t you see those people from the Yin Clan treating her with utmost respect just now? This woman is very likely a pawn buried by the Yin Clan beside the Family Head! The Family Head is just temporarily deceived by her!"
The enmity between the Hawthorne Family and the Yin Clan has existed for a long time, with both sides either hurting each other or on the way to doing so.
Dragons fighting tigers, always at odds.
Yet Ann Vaughn, as the Family Head’s woman, saved the life of the enemy faction’s leader.
How is this any different from betrayal?!
"The Family Head’s private affairs are not something we have the qualifications to intervene in or meddle with. The only thing we can do is to do our own tasks diligently," said Leo. "In fact, Levi, every time you glare at her angrily and have confrontations with her, it gives me a strange illusion."
"What?"
"Like women in a harem competing for favor."
Levi could hardly believe these words came from his own brother. "You’ve changed!"
"You never used to speak for that woman!"
Looking at his brother’s face filled with grief and indignation, Leo felt a bit helpless. "I’m not speaking for her. I’m just reminding you that there’s really no need to target Ann Vaughn."
"The Third Master is about to return to the country. Even if we do nothing, the people from our main family will dislike her presence, so why should we take action ourselves?"
Maintaining neutrality is the way to survive.
The position of Young Madam Hawthorne is not one that a powerless, parentless vine flower could ascend to.
Let alone the fact that she also has close ties with the Yin Clan.
...
While the brothers were busy analyzing and calculating about Ann Vaughn, she didn’t have them in her thoughts at all.
Along the way, she received a call from Ian Vaughn, and after putting on her Bluetooth headset, she pressed to connect.
"Uncle."
"Sweetie," Ian Vaughn greeted her with a smile, "Are you doing well? We all miss you."
Recognizing the concern in his tone, warmth seeped into Ann Vaughn’s heart, making her smile sweeter. "Kenny and I miss you all too. We’ll come to visit once we have time!"
"Did you and Cyrus Hawthorne have an argument?" Ian Vaughn suddenly asked.
What the heck?
Ann Vaughn almost knelt to her uncle. "Uncle, how did you know?"
To be precise, it couldn’t really be called an argument—more like her unilateral cold war.
"Did he make you angry, or bully you?" Ian Vaughn chuckled, not answering but asking instead.
Turning at a junction, Ann Vaughn pretended to be casual as she said, "He wouldn’t let me eat ice cream, which upset me a bit."
Ian Vaughn was silent for a moment, unclear whether he believed her or not, yet didn’t probe further.
"Girls should eat less cold things in winter and be mindful to keep warm," he advised. "By the way, Imperial Glory’s branch in The Imperial Capital has chosen a location, in Aether Tower."
"And I know you have no interest in managing companies. Apart from you being the boss of Imperial Glory, everything else will follow the main company’s approach. However, when it comes to choosing a person to manage the branch, it’s still up to you."
Seeing that Ian Vaughn had arranged everything so she didn’t have to worry about a thing, Ann Vaughn couldn’t help but sniffle, "Thank you, Uncle. I left you a diagram for acupoint massage; also remember to do it daily. I’ll check next time I visit."
Ian Vaughn, as one of the most renowned professors at S University, had a lot on his plate and spent years in the laboratory, having little time to exercise.
Therefore, his cervical spine and lumbar vertebrae had severe issues, and during the worst times, the pain nearly immobilized him.
Ann Vaughn specially devised a set of acupoint massage diagrams for him. Persistently doing these massages daily could improve these symptoms.
"I do it every day, don’t worry." Ian Vaughn chuckled, "I’ve hardly felt pain recently."
"That’s good," Ann Vaughn felt relieved and smiled, raising her eyes to see Villa No. 8 approaching, then she asked, "Uncle, there’s something I’ve wanted to know for a long time."
"Go ahead."
"Your age... how old are you this year?"
Ultimately, Ann Vaughn couldn’t pry the answer from her uncle’s mouth.
With a simple "Men care about their age just like women, darling, don’t ask," he blocked Ann Vaughn from continuing to inquire.
But she was really curious, almost clawing at her heart!
If she were to go out with Ian Vaughn, people would definitely think they’re siblings rather than uncle and niece.
How does he maintain himself like this??
...
In the master bedroom, on the sofa in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.
The man, wearing a bathrobe, leaned lazily on one side, arms casually draped over the sofa’s backrest, holding a glass of red wine, exuding an air of allure and charm.
On the glass table in front of him was a phone, Julian Ford’s voice chattering from it.
"You have no idea how scary this place is. I was just thirsty and took one of their melons, and those two mastiffs chased me for ten miles!"
"This place is really not meant for humans. I’ll likely develop a psychological shadow about flowers and melons for the rest of my life."
"Hello? Bro? Are you listening?"
Perhaps finding him too noisy, the man’s eyes slightly narrowed, speaking in a deep voice, "How is the investigation I asked you to do?"
Julian Ford: ... Didn’t hear his complaints at all!
"Not smooth, the clue stopped at the Dyrrhis River. I went through the villages along both banks one by one and found no trace of Paige Sherman having appeared near there."
Saying this, Julian Ford wanted to complain, "This place is just too remote; even eating a melon isn’t easy."
Being chased such a long way, the melon he finally ate was almost fully digested.
A waste.
"Don’t linger too long, continue tracing along the Dyrrhis River," Cyrus Hawthorne flicked his long fingers, causing the wine in the glass to elegantly trace along the glass wall, forming a beautiful, tear-like crystalline mark.
"Cian, have you considered that maybe the clue your mom initially gave is false, or she might be withholding something," Julian Ford suspected.
Cyrus Hawthorne did not deny it.
For self-preservation, Laura Quinn might hide something; it’s human nature.
Otherwise, he would have to question the truth of everything she said.
"Another point, your mom and Paige Sherman were once very close friends, right? Since she knows Paige Sherman’s whereabouts, why didn’t she inform the Sheridan Family and the Vaughn Family?"