Chapter 939: Managing a Family Is Not Easy
November 17th, Luoyang City, Prince Xian’s Palace.

In the morning, seven or eight maids came to the inner courtyard one by one, carrying water, fragrant tea, wash bowls, rice porridge, cakes, etc. After the leading maid knocked on the door and heard a lazy response from inside the room, she carefully led the other maids to push the door open.

This is not a bedroom, but a study.

Since Xie Xuan took over as the lord of the Xianwang Mansion, he has been working day and night to stabilize the overall situation of Luoyang City in order to deal with the covetous heroes in the martial arts world, appease the stubborn Ling Xiaoxiao, and deter the increasingly scattered disciples. He has spared no effort to protect the family business left by Luo Tianjin. He often stays up all night for days and nights, and the "study" gradually becomes his "bedroom". He spends almost nine days out of ten here, thinking hard and worrying all night.

For countless nights, Xie Xuan sat alone in Luo Tianjin's former seat, looking at his "former master's" writing brushes, inkstones, paintings, and scrolls, sighing and crying. He felt deeply the pain of being "alone" and the sorrow of being "without a shadow".

The maids tiptoed into the study, lined up in a row, bowed to Xie Xuan who seemed to be dozing off, and then dispersed.

Some people opened the windows, some blew out the candles, some swept the floor, some wiped the tables and chairs, some watered the flowers and grass, some changed the incense burner, some sorted out the messy books on the desk, and some put the cups, chopsticks, plates and bowls neatly...

Everything was just like when they served Luo Tianjin. Their movements were light and skillful. It seemed chaotic, but in fact, they were orderly. The whole process was almost silent, for fear of disturbing Xie Xuan who was resting his eyes.

After about an incense stick of time, the maids had cleaned up everything and presented a variety of carefully prepared breakfasts in front of Xie Xuan.

At this point, four or five maids slowly and quietly left the study, leaving only three people. One handed a brocade handkerchief wet with clean water to Xie Xuan, one held a teacup, and one held a rinsing bowl. All three of them nodded their heads and lowered their eyes, respectfully.

"Second Master!"

When Xie Xuan casually wiped his cheeks a few times and was about to raise the cup to rinse his mouth, a dull shout suddenly came from outside the study.

"Come in and talk..."

"boom!"

Before he finished speaking, the half-closed door was pushed open. Then, Lin Fang, covered in blood and holding a steel knife, rushed into the room.

Although Xie Xuan was already the lord of the mansion, some of the "old men" in the Xianwang Mansion still liked to use the old names. Among them, Lin Fangda was the most blatant.

The reason for this is that Lin Fangda has been following Luo Tianjin since he was a child and has been deeply favored by him. His feelings for Luo Tianjin are as deep as the sky. Therefore, in his heart, there will always be only one master in the Xianwang Mansion, and no one can replace him, whether he is alive or dead.

Xie Xuan knew that Lin Fangda was upright and grateful. Therefore, he was not angry at his "rudeness", but felt relieved. Over time, Lin Fangda became the only person in the mansion who could call him "Second Master" regardless of the occasion or status.

"puff!"

Seeing the disheveled Lin Fangda, Xie Xuan, who looked exhausted, could not help but frown slightly, and hurriedly spit out the tea in his mouth, and then ordered the three maids: "You go down first!"

"Yes."

After the maids left, Xie Xuan looked Lin Fangda up and down again and asked hesitantly, "Did you use the knife again?"

"Move!" Lin Fangda snorted coldly and cursed, "If you don't move your sword, you can't stop these bastards who look down on others!"

"Did you see blood?"

"Yes!"

"How many people died this time?"

"Three!" Facing Xie Xuan's questioning, the indignant Lin Fangda spoke boldly without thinking, "Second Master, I can't figure it out no matter how hard I think about it. When the Lord of the Mansion was here, I was the one who collected debts from door to door. All the big and small merchants in Luoyang City welcomed me with a smile, and they were eager to pay me the debts, for fear of falling behind others. At that time, the Lord of the Mansion didn't even have to show up, and these bastards were as obedient as grandsons. Now I don't know what's going on? The business is still the same business, the shopkeepers are still the same shopkeepers, and I am still me, but their attitude is completely different from before. Not only do they no longer take the initiative to pay, but they make all kinds of excuses and denials. If they can't pay, they won't pay, and if they can pay less, they will pay less. It's really fucking that the world is going downhill and people's hearts are not as good as before. If I hadn't killed a chicken to scare the monkeys last night, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to collect a penny from several businesses in West City."

"Things have changed, and the world is fickle." Xie Xuan sighed, "Luoyang City is still the same Luoyang City, but the Xianwang Mansion is no longer the Xianwang Mansion of the past. Do you know how many gangs have emerged in Luoyang City in the past month?"

"I heard Xu Heng and his friends mention that there seemed to be seven families, all from other places." Lin Fangda recalled, "During this period, Xia Sanmen was very busy, working outside day and night, and no one was seen for several days."

"If Xu Heng and his men hadn't been keeping a close eye on it, Luoyang City would have been completely divided up long ago." Xie Xuan said helplessly, "Right now, Luoyang City is full of all kinds of monsters and demons, good and bad people, merchants, civilians, and officials, all want to jump out and seek personal gain. When has such a chaotic scene ever occurred when the Palace Master was here?"

"In that case, why don't you establish your authority?"

"How can it be easy? Do you think those merchants are deliberately against us? In fact, they are also forced to deal with us, and also deal with those bastards who don't know the rules and only know how to ask for exorbitant prices."

"I just don't believe these people are really not afraid of death! We have already uprooted several of them a while ago, why are they still fearlessly coming one after another, and... there are more and more of them?"

"Do you think these people are just street cats and dogs?" Xie Xuan sneered, "No! In fact, every gang that wants to gain a foothold in Luoyang City has a powerful force behind them. These people are just puppets they sent to test the depth of the Xianwang Mansion. If we don't panic, they will temporarily hold back. But once we relax our vigilance or show the slightest panic, groups of tigers and wolves will swarm over and eat us to the bone."

"Who are their backers?" Lin Fang said angrily, "Second Master, why don't you send people to eliminate them one by one? If we don't have enough manpower, we can ask Wudang for help..."

"Forget it! Forget it!" Xie Xuan seemed unwilling to dwell on this topic any further, and waved his hands impatiently, "Since someone has died, we can't just let it go. Ask Su Tang to go to the general's mansion in person and take care of everything. Don't create any more trouble."

"clear."

"One more thing!" Before Lin Fangda could accept the order and leave, Xie Xuan added, "Ask Su Tang to prepare a generous gift and say... I sent it specially to General Luoyang." "This..."

"Go!"

"Ugh!"

With a sigh, Lin Fangda took a deep look at Xie Xuan, whose temples were graying. Without any hesitation, he quickly disappeared out the door without looking back.

In fact, Lin Fangda was not the only one who was unwilling to give in. Xie Xuan was also furious, wishing to chop all those who had evil intentions into pieces.

It’s a pity that he had the will but not the strength, and could only endure the shame and humiliation.

It's not that Xie Xuan is timid or indecisive, it's because he is a "house lord" in name only, and he will be hindered and difficult to do anything. It's already very difficult to barely maintain the status quo in the cracks, how can he have the energy to deal with the backers behind those people?

As for Ling Xiaoxiao, she was just a woman after all. She had long lost her rationality due to her emotions. Now Ling Xiaoxiao only wanted to kill Liu Xunyi. As for the rise and fall of the Xianwang Mansion, she had no time to consider it. Even if she considered it, it was far less thorough than Xie Xuan.

In her heart, as long as Qingfeng and Wudang, the backers, do not fall, the Xianwang Mansion will not decline.

But in reality, the leader of the martial arts world is not the one who has the final say, and the Wudang Sect is not invincible. Qingfeng also has many difficulties, many concerns, and many weaknesses. Therefore, relying on Wudang to support the Xianwang Mansion is not a long-term solution.

It's a pity that the person who is truly in charge of the Xianwang Mansion today is not the vigilant Xie Xuan, but the short-sighted Ling Xiaoxiao.

"Ugh!"

"Why are you sighing so early in the morning?"

When Xie Xuan was looking at the table full of delicious food but had no appetite, Ling Xiaoxiao's voice suddenly sounded from the courtyard, which immediately changed his expression. He subconsciously put down his cup and chopsticks, and his pair of old eyes narrowed slightly, staring at the closed door.

Every time Ling Xiaoxiao came uninvited, it was not a good thing. It also meant that Xie Xuan had to be alert and prepared to fight with her wits and courage.

"squeak!"

Without any greeting, no small talk, and no knocking on the door, Ling Xiaoxiao walked in directly. Under Xie Xuan's strange look, as if hesitant to speak, she walked leisurely to the chair by the window.

"Madam, is there something you want to talk to me about?"

"Liu Xunyi's matter..." Without any extra nonsense, Ling Xiaoxiao lowered her head and sat down, and got straight to the point, "How is your progress?"

"Xie is still investigating..."

"Are you still investigating?" Ling Xiaoxiao teased, "How long do you want to investigate? If I don't ask, will there be no results in eight or ten years?"

"This..." Faced with Ling Xiaoxiao's questioning, Xie Xuan was speechless.

"I'll tell you the clue about Liu Xunyi."

"Oh?" Xie Xuan was secretly shocked, but he remained calm on the surface, "Madam, do you know the whereabouts of Liu Xunyi?"

"His news has long been spread all over the martial arts world, and everyone knows about it. I'm afraid... you, Xie Xuan, are the only one in the world who still doesn't know about it."

Facing Ling Xiaoxiao's meaningful ridicule, the muscles on Xie Xuan's face trembled slightly, and he quickly calculated in his mind, and then a light bulb suddenly lit up, and he decided to take the initiative: "Madam, are you talking about the news from the Northeast?"

"Oh?" Ling Xiaoxiao raised her eyebrows, her tone becoming more and more sarcastic, "Could it be that you already knew about this?"

"Have heard a little bit."

"Since you know, why haven't you taken any action yet? Don't you want to avenge Brother Jin?"

Facing Ling Xiaoxiao's repeated probing, Xie Xuan remained calm and composed, "Madam, it's not that I don't want to avenge the Palace Master, but... I don't want to be led by Liu Xunyi's tricks."

"What do you mean?" Ling Xiaoxiao asked suspiciously, "How do you know this is Liu Xunyi's trick?"

"How do you know it's not, Madam?"

"Of course I know!" Ling Xiaoxiao said solemnly, "This news was sent by the leader of Kongtong, Zhongli Mu, to my father. The martial arts heroes also followed my father's orders to go out and hunt him down. How could it be false?"

"Madam, please forgive me for being so presumptuous! I still remember that at the beginning of last month, the leader of Qingfeng Alliance solemnly told me that he had laid a net to kill Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen within a month. But now, nearly two months have passed, and Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen are still nowhere to be found. This shows that the information of the leader of Qingfeng Alliance... may not be accurate."

……

(End of this chapter)