Xin Ren stood in front of the building alongside his bodyguards and entourage. A hopeful smile full of trust rested on his face.
His clothes were not made from luxurious or expensive fabrics. Instead, he wore a simple hemp robe, the sa type of clothing that ordinary mortals could purchase from common cloth shops.
The robe was uncomfortable to wear, but the price was cheap. Even so, Xin Ren continued smiling patiently without complaint.
"My lord," one of his bodyguards spoke up, "why don’t you sit down first? You’ve been waiting for Official Ke for a very long ti."
Xin Ren shook his head.
"How could I sit comfortably while Official Ke is working for our people? I cannot, in good conscience, rest while he is still out there and our people still lack grain to feed themselves."
With a sigh, Xin Ren shook his head once again as remorse and guilt clouded his expression.
"It was my negligence, my own failure, that allowed evil infiltrators to sabotage our granary! I should have increased the patrols and guards during that ti!" he said through gritted teeth as blood seeped from his palms where his nails dug deeply into the flesh.
"My lord does not need to bla himself for this!" a feminine voice rang out indignantly.
A woman walked out from the building carrying a chair with her.
"Lady Song!" The bodyguards imdiately stepped aside and opened a path for the woman.
The woman possessed a fierce and independent deanor. With her athletic figure and sharp expression, one might mistake her for a bodyguard rather than soone deserving of the title "Lady."
"Sit." Lady Song placed the wooden chair behind Xin Ren.
"But..." Xin Ren hesitated. He clearly did not want to sit, though his expression also showed that he listened to this fierce woman quite a bit.
"Sit, or I’ll break your legs and force you to sit!"
Faced with that ultimatum, Xin Ren could only obediently sit down on the chair, much to the amusent of his bodyguards and subordinates.
"Listen to , dummy. You don’t need to bla yourself for the damage that bastard brother of yours caused! He definitely sent soone to burn your granary down! He’s trying to create trouble for you in the competition for the heir position!" Lady Song declared indignantly.
"Hmph! If I could defeat all of his bodyguards, I would’ve already stord through his front gate, dragged him out in front of the people, and let him experience their wrath firsthand!" she said with righteous fury.
"Don’t say things like that... We don’t have any proof. If soone were to hear you..." Xin Ren tried to placate the woman.
"If soone were to hear us, then what of it!? Let them hear! Let them know that your brother is a bastard who burned the granary under your managent to undermine you! Let the people know who they should look to when they have nothing to eat, and who they should bla and hate when their families starve!" Lady Song declared defiantly.
"Please don’t bla yourself, my lord," Bodyguard Zhao spoke up. "Open spears are easy to dodge, but concealed arrows are hard to guard against. We stand in the light while evil hides in the dark. Eventually, their sches are bound to succeed."
He continued, "There’s no doubt that my lord has already fended off many of their underhanded thods. But alas..." Bodyguard Zhao let out a sigh.
Lady Song added, "Exactly as Bodyguard Zhao said! Xin Ren, stop blaming yourself. We should be blaming those cowards causing trouble for you!"
Xin Ren said nothing. He rely smiled weakly like a lord who could do little else despite trying his best.
With Lady Song speaking so loudly, the people working under Xin Ren could not help overhearing the conversation as they passed by. In their minds, they already knew who to bla for their family’s suffering.
At that mont, every one of them cursed Xin Hao for the despicable act of sabotaging their beloved and rciful lord, Xin Ren.
At that mont, a man in official robes entered through the gate. It was Official Ke, the sa man who had t Wei Chen earlier.
Xin Ren imdiately smiled and stepped forward.
"Official Ke, you’ve returned! What about the urgent task I entrusted to you?"
Official Ke knelt down respectfully.
"The task entrusted to this official by Your Lordship has been accomplished. The food has already been delivered to the people."
"That’s good, that’s good!" Xin Ren said in relief.
"Moreover, I encountered an interesting guest," Official Ke added with a aningful smile.
"Oh? Tell , who was this guest?" Xin Ren asked eagerly, clearly surprised.
"It was Young Master Wei of the Underworld Palace, the renowned Hidden Ancient Clan that has once again revealed itself to the world!" Official Ke announced.
"Oh? Where is he? Did he co back with you?" Xin Ren asked excitedly. In his excitent, he even personally helped Official Ke rise from his kneeling position.
"This..." Official Ke hesitated before deciding to tell the truth. "Unfortunately, he did not co with us. Out of benevolence, Young Master Wei saw the distress and hardship of our people, so he allowed this humble official to use the Void Shipping Lane first while he remained behind."
Hearing this, Xin Ren was stunned as if he had just heard sothing completely unexpected. However, he quickly regained his composure.
"It’s alright. He may simply be busy with sothing. By the way, can you et in the study? I need to discuss the construction of the new granary with you and figure out how to raise funds for it. As you know, my budget is rather limited," Xin Ren said with a gentle smile.
Official Ke was visibly shaken for a mont before nodding.
"Of course, my lord. I would not have it any other way."
The two then walked into the building together, leaving Bodyguard Zhao and Lady Song standing near the entrance.
"Haaa... that guy always puts his people first. Honest and righteous to a fault," Lady Song said with a long sigh.
"At this rate, he might really lose the competition for the heir position to that bastard Xin Hao!"
"By the way, Bodyguard Zhao, do you know this Young Master Wei Chen?" she asked.
"Huh?" Bodyguard Zhao tilted his head. "Lady Song doesn’t know about him?"
"Why? Is he famous or sothing? I just ca out of secluded cultivation while trying to break through to the Nascent Soul Realm, so I don’t know much about him."
"From the conversation just now, I only know he’s so kind of big shot from a Hidden Ancient Clan and also a benevolent lord. But is he really important enough for Xin Ren to react like the world is ending?" she asked curiously.
She had known Xin Ren for quite so ti, yet she had never seen him show this much excitent about eting soone before.
"I see... if you just ca out of a secluded cultivation session, it’s no wonder you don’t know about him." Bodyguard Zhao nodded in understanding.
"I don’t know much beyond the basics. I only know that he’s the one behind that strange broadcast that has beco popular lately. But the thing that truly made his na famous was what happened during his engagent ceremony with Lady Mo of the Thousand Treasure Pavilion."
Bodyguard Zhao then began telling her about Wei Chen and everything that had happened during that ti.
As Lady Song listened to the story, her eyes widened in surprise before a smile of anticipation spread across her face.
No wonder Xin Ren was showing this much excitent for the first ti.
If Xin Ren could establish a connection and build a friendly relationship with this legendary figure, then the competition for the heir position would practically be in the bag!
And Xin Hao would finally receive what he deserved for all the evil he had done!
"Is that so!? Is that so!? Xin Ren finally has a chance, huh! It’s a good thing that Young Master Wei is benevolent. If it were so other young master from a Hidden Ancient Clan, they wouldn’t care about the lives and deaths of ordinary people!" Lady Song said excitedly.
However, Bodyguard Zhao’s expression remained gloomy.
"What’s wrong?" she asked.
"There’s a rumor that Young Master Wei Chen is a good friend of Young Master Xin Hao. I don’t think it will be that easy for him to support Young Master Xin Ren," Bodyguard Zhao said.
"Ugh! That Wei Chen must be blind! He must have been deceived by that bastard. I’ll find a chance to et him and tell him what really happened!"
With that said, Lady Song turned and sprinted away.
Seeing this, Bodyguard Zhao imdiately beca alard.
"Where are you going, Lady Song!? Are you going to find Young Master Wei Chen!?" he shouted after her. Lady Song was exactly the type of person who was impulsive, hot-headed, and overflowing with a sense of righteousness.
"No! I don’t even know where he is! I’m going back to the Song Clan to ask my brother to help that silly idiot Xin Ren raise funds to rebuild the granary!" Lady Song replied with a smile.
"Also! Protect Xin Ren well! He doesn’t have any cultivation. We don’t know what kind of malicious intentions his elder brother might have," Lady Song instructed.
"That was already my intention, Lady Song," Bodyguard Zhao replied with a bow.
Then she leaped onto her flying sword and vanished into the sky toward the horizon.
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