Simply Trading

Fortunately, he had the Second Ducal Prince to make the introductions. "Mother, this is Qin Feng, previously from the Heaven Sword School. But he has since left, and calls himself a wandering itinerant cultivator, if you can believe it.

"And Brother Feng, this is my mother. You have met a good number of her family already, including my Maternal Grandmother, so you should not be too surprised to learn that they have been sharing news about you," the Ducal Prince laughed.

Feng Xueli, the only daughter of Lady Xie Nianxue was a beauty. And clearly very young. Rumors of her being s.n.a.t.c.hed away by the elderly Duke when she was barely fifteen years old was certainly believable, now that Qin Feng had laid eyes on her. And she was certainly more delicate and winsome than her formidable mother, whom he had met.

Nevertheless, he could not help but be on his guard. This woman was married to the Duke, and he was the man that Qin Feng was out to fool. So it was important that he didn"t give her the wrong impression, or spoil his own performance later.

So he stood up and dipped into a very proper bow. One that was no less humble as the one that he had thrown at her mother. Who was a bit of a legend thereabouts, he reminded himself, so it would be a little unfair to compare all the women that he would meet to someone like her. Instead, he found himself thinking back to the pair from the Snow Swallow Palace. Especially that one who called herself Xue Ying. The d.u.c.h.ess" mannerisms reminded him of her somehow.

"Ha ha ha. Oh, Young Hero Qin is too polite. Would it be too much for this one to call you Little Feng? Or Feng"er? After all, your age is not too far from Hai"er"s here. It would make things a lot more comfortable, don"t you agree?"

The suddenly stiffening of Li Changhai"s back to his side made it rather clear that this was not the sort of thing that his mother usually did. Then again, Qin Feng told himself a little proudly, how many of his friends had obtained the approval of his Maternal Grandmother? It stood to reason that the daughter would support her mother"s choice, when it came to picking out his companions, didn"t it?

So he had simply laughed, and did not really make an answer. Which should be enough to tell her that he was flattered by the attention, without drawing it out. After all, it might bother the Second Ducal Prince, seated beside him, if his mother were to flatter his friends too much!

Li Changhai, on the other hand, was more than careful serving his mother, and seemed to be genuinely pleased that she had come to support him during this dinner engagement. From the way that he was behaving, it seemed as though he didn"t get too many opportunities to dine with his own mother!

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Perhaps because she had to accompany the Duke of the Westlands for his meals? Which was rather restricted? So much so that even his sons didn"t get to dine with him? Qin Feng had heard something about the strict rules that governed the n.o.ble-born, but he had never expected it to be so strict. Weren"t they bothered that their own children would end up estranged from them?

Little wonder then, that he had heard so many stories about brother plotting against brother, and sons scheming to s.n.a.t.c.h away their father"s place before the latter was dead. If they were going to draw the lines so thickly between the generations, it was no surprise that they had those sort of problems!

Of course, all of that had next to nothing to do with Qin Feng. Besides, he was already in the midst of his plans to run away from this Palace and from the Duke"s influence. So it hardly bothered him at all!

Besides, it was rather pleasant to see the mother and son duo chatting with each other so amicably. She was the daughter of Lady Xie, so he would have to be extra careful about her. And Li Changhai was supposed to be his friend, so he was not going to make any trouble there. All in all, it was easy enough to be polite and warm around those two.

And so he presented himself as the perfect dinner guest.

Too bad that it didn"t last too long.

It was a noise, a little too loud to have been made without purpose, that warned the laughing trio at the table that the main host had arrived. The d.u.c.h.ess and the Second Ducal Prince were quick to move, and rose without making so much a sound from where they were seated moments ago, even as Qin Feng tried to follow their lead.

He was slower of course, and his eyes were too busy taking in the fact that the Duke had only Butler Jin for company, as he stepped into the light. But there was a faint smile on his lips, that looked a little too practiced, too fake, to Qin Feng"s eye.

But such were the ways of powerful people, wasn"t it? So he was not too surprised to see that.

Qin Feng dipped into a bow, even as the Prince and the d.u.c.h.ess moved to greet the Duke. The man was much older than he had imagined, and wore his graying hair in a rather elaborate and gaudy head-dress that was festooned with gemstones. And his moustache was clearly oiled and perfumed. His chin, on the other hand, was clean-shaven. Which was a bit of a surprise. He had expected the man to have a flowing long beard, just like Butler Jin.

"Oho! I see that you have already begun chatting. I trust that Sanlang here has not let our side down? That he has settled you properly in your quarters?"

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