“Big shot? Private property?”
He had made quite an emotional remark, only to find out such a vast estate was privately owned.
What kind of influential figure could possess such a mansion?
Even with his current status – which he didn't quite have yet, but could acquire – he could get approval for something similar based on his merits and standing over the years. But why this person?
“I’m quite curious about what kind of legendary figure this is.”
Mu Hanqi chuckled, shrugging her shoulders. “Who knows? It’s certainly not me. Uh, you know, we’re buying tickets to tour someone’s home. Is all their daily expenditure, their food and supplies, essentially funded by us?”
It did seem that way.
But based on the accessible areas, he estimated that at least two-thirds of the estate remained private.
In this snow-white landscape, the scene before them was so refreshing. He reckoned a truly exceptional feng shui master must have been consulted during its construction.
“Little bridges, flowing water, pavilions and towers. I really like this scenery, Mu Tou…”
As she spoke, Mu Hanqi turned and looked at Ye Longlin with a pleading expression, clearly hinting at something.
Ye Longlin understood her thoughts perfectly. He let out a helpless wry smile. “If you like it, it’s not impossible.”
But Mu Hanqi shook her head, returned to Ye Longlin’s side, and said very seriously, “Mu Tou, actually, we shouldn’t envy others’ lives. Because no matter how good their life is, it belongs to them. Our lives shouldn’t be confined here.
Every family is different. I know you have the ability, but I don’t want that. I just wish for us to have a fixed residence, a warm home of our own.
Maybe this home won’t be large, but it will be very cozy. Maybe it won’t be luxurious, but it will surely be happy. Because with you, I feel anywhere is home. As long as you are there, I feel it’s enough.”
Looking at her earnest and serious expression, which was incredibly charming, he couldn’t help but gently pinch her cheek and smile. “A room for two, three meals through the seasons, and perhaps a cat and a dog.”
This kind of life was also what he yearned for, as such a life had always been absent from his experiences.
For so many years, he had been rootless and adrift.
Alone, he had seemingly become accustomed to it.
Hearing Mu Hanqi’s moving words, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t touched. Perhaps fate arranged for Mu Hanqi to be his salvation, and there was a slight reason for it.
“Sir, Madam, my master invites you both for tea.”
A butler approached, bowing respectfully.
The butler before them was gorgeously dressed in fine silks and brocades, clearly a butler from a wealthy household.
Ye Longlin felt a flicker of curiosity and asked, “Does the owner of this place know I’m here?”
The butler smiled slightly, made a gesture, and led them into the areas not yet open to the public.
Mu Hanqi looked at Ye Longlin with a curious expression, seemingly very intrigued as to why the owner would invite them here. Did they know them, or perhaps, were the people here all-seeing?
The scenery inside was on a completely different level from that outside.
If the outside evoked a sense of idyllic riverside villages, the inside featured ancient-style buildings rising from the ground. These ancient structures were entirely different from those seen outside.
Constructed with purely hand-carved wooden mortise and tenon joints, the entire building had not a single nail. Whether it was the carvings of dragons and phoenixes or the depictions of mountains and streams, they exuded a much deeper sense of ancient charm than the exterior.
Mu Hanqi even suspected that perhaps the Forbidden City had been replicated here.
“This way, please.”
The butler led them to a pavilion by a pond. A person in a light blue robe was facing away from them, and the pleasant zither music emanating from it was incredibly soothing.
As the melody concluded, the woman turned slightly and bowed to Ye Longlin from a distance.
“This humble one greets King Ye.”
It seemed they had indeed encountered someone with far-reaching influence. Even the Kong family had been unaware of his identity, yet the owner of this estate knew.
Yan Zhao is known for its beautiful women, their faces like jade, their beauty resplendent. Their countenances, like hibiscus flowers, one glance could captivate a city, a second glance, a nation.
This saying was not an exaggeration.
Even the princess of Jinling, whose beauty had astonished the entire city, seemed to pale in comparison.
Dressed in blue with black hair, both her attire and hair flowed gracefully, unbound and untied, gently fluttering. Against her upright posture, she resembled a celestial maiden from the nine heavens, untouched by the mortal world.
A dot of cinnabar between her brows astonished all who beheld her.
“Your beauty is celestial, yet how do you, confined within these deep walls, know my identity?”
Ye Longlin spoke slowly, genuinely surprised. He truly hadn’t expected anyone to know his identity.
His question was not without reason. If she had appeared before the public, in a place like Jinling, renowned for its scholars and poets, some rumors would surely have been recorded. The absence of any such tales indicated that this person had never left this estate.
Every smile and glance from the woman exuded elegance and the refinement of a well-bred lady, captivating the heart.
“In ancient times, women born into noble and wealthy families were only permitted to step outside for brief moments with family consent, or perhaps during festivals or days of prayer. How is this grand mansion not like a caged songbird, yearning for the outside world yet bound by cruel reality?”
The woman smiled softly, as if these words were commonplace, betraying no emotional shift.
Ye Longlin remained silent. The butler behind him stepped forward, removed the zither, and then brought forth tea sets.
“This morning, magpies visited my doorstep, and I knew honored guests would arrive. As expected, you two have come.”
Qin Shiyin sat down, gesturing for them to do the same. With a wave of her hand, a clear spring water poured into the teapot, which she placed on a nearby stove and began to heat.
This display of telekinesis, Ye Longlin would not have believed possible without the strength of a mid-grade Dragon Elephant cultivation.
Moreover, he couldn’t discern her power level.
Either she possessed something that concealed her aura, or her cultivation was higher than his.
But the latter… there were certainly individuals, though he hadn’t encountered one yet.
“May I ask why you summoned us, Miss?”
Ye Longlin did not drink the tea. He needed to understand her intentions first, lest today’s meeting become more complicated than a simple exchange of incense and tea.
“Mr. Ye, you may call me Shiyin. My full name is Qin Shiyin.”
Qin Shiyin?
The name seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he’d heard it for the moment.
“Qin Hanlie is my father.”
Her next sentence caused Ye Longlin’s eyes to widen, his pupils dilating in shock.
Something that shocked even him could not be a trivial matter!
“Didn’t he say you were dead?”