Lan Sister is set on making the master of Lingyan Pavilion, and with such determination, I can hardly refuse her.
What exactly is Lingyan Pavilion, to be honest, I'm also quite curious.
But now is not the ti to ask too many questions, as I will find out the truth once we arrive. Thus, I take a seat in the passenger side and close my eyes to rest.
After a short while, Xiao Qiang's car cos to a stop.
"Sister Lan, have we arrived?"
I open my eyes and look outside to see an ancient-style clubhouse full of traditional charm.
The entire clubhouse is built in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, grandiose yet infused with scholarly elegance. Such architecture should be very famous in Jinling, yet I have never heard of this place from beginning to end.
Its low profile must be thanks to the efforts of Lingyan Pavilion's insiders.
Hidden in plain sight—nothing could be truer.
"Tsk tsk, Sister Lan, this place is so luxurious, I really don't understand why you don't live here every day," I say.
Just from the outside, it is already so impressive; it's not hard to imagine how luxurious the inside of the clubhouse must be.
Yet Xiao Lan chose to live in an utterly ordinary house right across from mine—this truly baffles .
Hearing my confusion, Xiao Lan gives a bitter smile, casts a aningful glance at , and says, "Silly brother, haven't you heard the saying?"
"To wear the crown, one must bear its weight. I'm just a woman, and as for the pressure that this power brings, heh..."
Seemingly reminded of so unhappy mories, a hint of bitterness flashes across Xiao Lan's eyes. She then smiles at and says, "Alright, let's go inside. I believe the others should be arriving soon too."
"Hm?"
Others? I raise my eyebrows reflexively, guessing they must be important mbers of Lingyan Pavilion.
After all, if today Xiao Lan wants to inherit Lingyan Pavilion, I should at least get to know these people.
Following Xiao Lan into the clubhouse, the two cheongsam-clad beauties standing at the entrance greet us with a respectful curtsy.
Guided by the sound of a guzheng coming from deep within, I see intertwined corridors and a central rockery surrounded by a stream.
The murmuring water, the harmonic blend of instrunts, complented by the cheongsam beauties wandering around. Perhaps Xiao Qiang wasn't wrong—being the master of Lingyan Pavilion is indeed living like an Emperor.
"Miss, you've arrived. Is this the one you spoke of?"
As we walk further into the clubhouse, an elderly man around sixty greets us with great respect.
This man is likely in charge of managing the clubhouse. When he looks at , I smile slightly, nod my head, and thus exchange a greeting.
"Qu Bo, have the others arrived?"
Xiao Lan engages in small talk before turning to more pressing matters.
The old man grimaces awkwardly and says, "Apart from Old Yao, He Si is on his way here, but the rest haven't responded yet..."
Seemingly unsatisfied with this news, Xiao Lan frowns and contemplates for a mont before saying, "Qu Bo, let's go on ahead."
"Yes."
Following Qu Bo through several corridors, we arrive at a private room.
There, I'm surprised to see an old man fiddling with an antique, engrossed in thought.
"Old man, what are you doing here?"
The old man seated in the private room listening to music and enjoying pastries is none other than Uncle Yao!
So the Old Yao that Qu Bo ntioned was him?
Uncle Yao was quite calm, now leisurely throwing a piece of osmanthus cake into his mouth, he said vaguely, "What's the matter, kid, surprised to see ?"
"What do you think?"
Xu Fan glanced at the old man with no good grace, turns out Sister Lan and this old geezer had been keeping this from him for so long...
"Xu Fan, if we were to talk about seniority, Uncle Yao is even above . In the future, when you take over Lingyan Pavilion, if there's anything you don't understand, you can ask him."
Xiao Lan was pondering at the mont, intending to inform Xu Fan of the general situation of Lingyan Pavilion, but before she could elaborate, Uncle Yao interrupted her directly.
"Niece Xiao, you shouldn't rush like this, whether this kid can beco the Pavilion Master of Lingyan Pavilion is still not a certainty."
"This..."
Originally, Xiao Lan had summoned a total of five people today, but now, apart from Uncle Yao and another who was still on the way, there was no news from the other three.
Seeing Xiao Lan's brows furrowed in concern, Uncle Yao patted off the crumbs of the cake from his hand and said to Xu Fan, "You brat, Xiao Lan is handing over Lingyan Pavilion to you because she trusts you. Today, you better not let us both down."
After saying that, Uncle Yao looked towards Xiao Lan.
"Niece Xiao, if you had simply taken over your dead brother's position honesty at the beginning, probably all of these people would be sitting here today."
"Looking at it now, those little bastards don't seem to take you very seriously."
Early in the morning, Xiao Lan had sent off the ssage, but now, there was still no reply, clearly showing no respect for Xiao Lan. Uncle Yao laughed a little and then said, "If you want them to co, it's actually simple."
"Old Qu, go inform those guys who haven't replied right now; tell them niece Xiao plans to pass on Lingyan Pavilion to the person who shows up today, hmph, I want to see which one of them isn't tempted!"
After Xiao Tianfang died, he had handed over the Pavilion Master's token to Xiao Lan. Although Xiao Lan held the token, she had never officially announced taking over Lingyan Pavilion.
As the years passed, Xiao Lan's position was increasingly disrespected. Even several who coveted the position of Pavilion Master of Lingyan Pavilion started to work against her in the shadows, trying to force Xiao Lan to hand over the token.
Chen Longhu was one of them.
The few who hadn't arrived all had a strong desire for the position of Pavilion Master of Lingyan Pavilion. If this news got out, perhaps in less than half an hour, the rest would all be gathered.
Uncle Yao's strategy was indeed clever—Old Qu nodded in agreent, assured him with a sound, and then directly left.
"Miss, I'm late..."
Xu Fan and Xiao Lan had just sat down, when a sound of hurried breathing ca from outside the door, and then they saw soone walking into the private room.
This must be the He Si that Old Qu ntioned, the one who was on the road.
When He Si walked into the private room, Xu Fan was taken aback.
Why is it him?
"Xu, Master Xu?"
The person who had arrived was clearly He Si, which surprised Xu Fan imnsely.
Xu Fan had not anticipated that He Si would also be a mber of Lingyan Pavilion; it seed as if Lingyan Pavilion truly had infiltrated the entire power structure of Jinling.
"Xu, Master Xu, you, how co you are here?"
In terms of surprise, He Si was clearly more intense than Xu Fan.
Not to ntion that this club was very secretive, it was supposed to be a eting for internal mbers of Lingyan Pavilion today, so how could Xu Fan, an outsider, be here?
"Kid, so you know He Si, eh?"
It was unexpected that Xu Fan was acquainted with He Si, and it seed He Si's stance towards Xu Fan was also very respectful.
Uncle Yao chuckled and then asked, "He Si, do you agree with Xu Fan inheriting Lingyan Pavilion?"
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