The Favored Heiress
Chapter 307: She Will be Your Future Daughter-in-law

Chapter 307: Chapter 307: She Will be Your Future Daughter-in-law

Huo Mang’s breath hitched, his expression somewhat solemn, "That’s not so good! She looks too young, do you want to reconsider this? Without your protection, this young lady will have a tough time making her way in the main family."

His words were in no way an exaggeration.

As a top-tier family within Parma, Shang’s clan had undergone years of strife, with over a dozen collateral branches alone. If they were to join forces against the main family, it would be nothing short of a life-and-death struggle.

In such a scenario, what could this beautiful girl do?

If a conflict really broke out, she might end up crying from fear.

In the midst of Huo Mang’s anxious demeanor, Shang Yu stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze deep with amusement, "Huo Mang, don’t underestimate my people."

Huo Mang suddenly looked up, thought for a moment, and still swallowed the words he had on the tip of his tongue.

He resumed pacing towards the door, looking at Shang Yu and nodding, "As long as you know what you’re doing, I won’t ask any more. Let’s meet up tonight, everyone is waiting for you."

"Hmm."

With Shang Yu’s nod of approval, Huo Mang didn’t linger and promptly left the guest house with large, confident strides.

...

Half an hour later, Li Qiao and her companion had finished breakfast, and Wei Ang’s fleet had also arrived.

The journey from the guest house to the old mansion took about forty minutes by car.

At nine fifty in the morning, the Shang family’s main residence came into view.

Compared to the luxurious European-style architecture of the guest house, the old mansion situated on the southwestern coastline had a more ancient and tranquil charm.

Perhaps because of its years of history, the mansion’s Western-style architecture still conveyed an old-fashioned sense of design, and its white walls and yellow tiles told tales of times gone by.

The motorcade entered the old mansion and after driving for another seven or eight minutes, stopped in front of a three-story Western-style house.

By then, Li Qiao had gradually noticed that the Shang family’s old mansion was even larger than the guest house and had its own unique realm.

Artificial lake, ecological garden, recreational area, church, even a horse ranch was spotted along the way.

At this moment, a kindly-faced butler in a grey servant’s uniform was standing at the door to welcome them.

Seeing Shang Yu step out of the car, he immediately walked up with a simple smile, "Eldest Young Master, Sir is waiting for you at the Water Garden."

Shang Yu nodded to the butler, then led Li Qiao and the three assistants into the back yard of the mansion.

The group passed through the long corridor at the back of the mansion and quickly arrived at the fishing platform of the Water Garden.

In front, Shang Zonghai sat leisurely on a wicker chair in front of the fishing pond in casual attire, with a tea set beside him and a fishing rod in hand.

Hearing the sound of footsteps, he slowly turned his gaze, sweeping it over the two individuals, and smiled amicably, "Young lady, we meet again."

Still the familiar opening, Li Qiao approached respectfully, exchanging pleasantries, "Uncle Shang, it’s been a long time."

As she finished speaking, she gave Luoyu a look, who quickly handed over the Venus carry case,

Li Qiao took it and presented it to Shang Zonghai, "It’s my first time visiting Parma, a small gift as a token of my gratitude for your hospitality."

Her words were polite and thoughtful, and it was not difficult to see Miss Li’s respect for him.

Seeing this, Shang Zonghai looked at her with a smile in his eyes, "You’re quite courteous, young lady. What’s inside?"

As she spoke, Li Qiao opened the case in reverse, and the butler immediately took it, glanced inside, and bent down to inform Shang Zonghai, "Sir, it’s a set of mortar and pestle."

Inside the carry case, the burgundy mortar and pestle shimmered in the sunlight.

Shang Zonghai looked at it and seemed very pleased; he waved for the butler to step back, then smiled kindly, "You’re thoughtful. These agate mortar and pestles are hard to come by. Take a seat, there’s no one else here, you don’t need to be reserved."

Shang Yu and Li Qiao took advantage of the situation to sit on the wicker chairs by the fish pond, where the butler set down the suitcase and poured two cups of tea.

After thanking him, Li Qiao picked up her cup and lowered her head to take a sip.

But what appeared to be a simple tea-drinking gesture was actually her using her peripheral vision to covertly survey the surroundings.

In just a few seconds, Li Qiao understood what was at play.

Within the realm of the Water Garden, no fewer than ten people were hidden.

Around the corner of the corridor, behind the rockery, and including the two-story bamboo building not far off, each place concealed someone, likely those secretly protecting Shang Zonghai.

Li Qiao sipped her tea pensively as she withdrew her gaze.

Such stringent security even for fishing in the estate’s backyard was a clear indication of the crises rife within the Shang’s clan.

Just then, a brown notebook was placed on the bamboo rattan coffee table.

Li Qiao lifted her eyelids to see Shang Yu’s dry palm conveniently retracting.

On the opposite side, Shang Zonghai set down his fishing rod and looked at Shang Yu with deep meaning, "Willing to hand it over to me now?"

The man pressed his lips together, leaning against the wicker chair, his lips curling up wickedly, "You have read the scanned version before, now you can read the original to her."

With these words, Li Qiao suddenly realized with a start that he had never handed over the original "The Autobiography of the Stock God" to Uncle Shang, only a scanned file.

Shang Zonghai put down the fishing rod in his hand, picked up the notebook from the table, flipped through it, and then closed it again, "Let’s keep this autobiography with me for now; once I’ve studied it thoroughly, I’ll read it to you both."

In an instant, Shang Yu narrowed his eyes, his fingers tracing the rim of the cup on the table, implying with significant meaning, "You are one of the few who can understand the Parma script, do you still need to study it?"

Shang Zonghai glanced at the brown notebook, shooting a casual look at him, "Don’t you trust your father?"

"I wouldn’t dare," Shang Yu nodded compliantly, but his discerning and playful gaze remained firmly fixed on Shang Zonghai.

Li Qiao had no opening to interject in the exchange between father and son.

In Shang Zonghai’s presence, she always maintained the utmost caution.

The depth of the Shang’s patriarch’s schemes was not something she could yet fully fathom.

The only option was to remain unchanging amidst constant change.

As they were halfway through their tea, Shang Zonghai suddenly turned his head and said to the butler, "Take the girl to the backyard for a stroll; it’s her first time here, and we mustn’t neglect her."

The butler quickly bowed and responded with a smile, looking at Li Qiao and gesturing towards the direction of the stone path, "Miss Li, this way please, I’ll take you to see the church in the backyard first."

Li Qiao knew Shang Zonghai’s intent well; he probably had something he wanted to discuss with Shang Yu alone.

She did not refuse, stood up, nodded to Shang Zonghai, and then turned to follow the butler.

Meanwhile, Shang Yu gave Luoyu a meaningful look, the intent clear—to follow and protect her.

Once Li Qiao was a distance away, Shang Zonghai’s smile faded, and his expression turned a few degrees somber, "Is there something you wish to speak with me about?"

At the moment, Shang Yu bent his knee, crossed his long legs in front, and upon hearing Shang Zonghai’s inquiry, his finger stroking the porcelain cup paused. He lifted his eyebrows to gaze at Shang Zonghai with a low, but astonishingly startling tone, "She will be your future daughter-in-law, the next Matriarch of the Shang’s family."

As the words fell, the surroundings became incredibly silent.

Apart from the sound of the rippling pond water, nothing else could be heard.

Shang Yu’s deep eyes were bottomless, his posture lazy, yet his words were gravely serious and crystal clear.

Shang Zonghai was silent for a long time, so long that both Liuyun and Wang Yue thought the old patriarch might explode in anger. Instead, they suddenly heard his faint laughter, "Shaoyan, after all these years, you have finally done something that pleases me."