“Grandmother… he is older than I am.” Claude said in a small voice. He could always keep his patience around his grandmother. But for her to say that Yuanfeng looked younger than him was quite unfair. He had just graduated from college and only turned twenty-three this year! While Qin Yuanfeng and Lily were probably in their late twenties right now.
Qin Yuanfeng was also taller than him, and was wearing a suit. How could his grandmother mistake him for someone younger than him?
“Really?” His grandmother widened her eyes before she let out a laugh. “My… My… Yuanfeng, you should teach my grandson about skincare. Claude… don’t get embarrassed. You should ask him about his skin care regimen. In your generation, this is a crucial matter. Take care of your skin so you don’t look like you are already in your thirties.” She let out another laugh. In response, her grandson smiled and nodded in embarrassment. “He might look like this, but my grandson is a brilliant child.” She said as she smiled.
“He is pretty smart.” Lily agreed. According to Eliza, Claude was close to his grandmother. He sort of grew up in her care as well. However, not having any choice but to limit seeing his grandmother upon going to study in the US. Seeing the young man come back to Luxembourg right after graduating college only meant that he really cared about Madam Luo. “And kind too,” she added.
“He is just like Fred, isn’t he?” Madam Luo smiled before she whispered. “I raised him that way.”
“Of course.” Lily nodded. “So… did you also go to London when Fred left the country?” This time, Lily realised that Madam Luo loved to call her grandfather by his name. So, she chose to call him by his first name, hoping it would make the woman more comfortable in talking to her.
“Yes! I was there… Let me see… Claude… Why don’t you bring me that box in my study? The one with the black velvet cover. It should be under my table.”
“Grandmother… you don’t have a box like that.”
“Really?” Madam Luo fell into deep thought. “Then… as long as it’s velvet. I believe it was black, but I guess it should be blue.” She looked at Lily. “Fred loved that colour a lot.”
Claude stood from his seat. “Please excuse me.” He said and left the three of them.
“Let me tell you a secret.” Madam Luo said mischievously. “I don’t have a velvet box in my office.” She giggled. In the end, Lily and Qin Yuanfeng were not able to stop themselves from laughing as well. “That man thinks that I can’t outsmart him.” She laughed with glee.
“He seems to be quite a charming young man.”
“Of course, he is. I raised him just like Fred.” Pride swelled in the older woman’s eyes. “So… Fred and Lilian… they were a beautiful couple.”
Lily smiled. “Sadly, I was not able to spend a lot of time with my grandfather.”
For a few seconds, Madam Luo turned silent. Then she said, “That is truly unfortunate. Fred was a pretty good man.”
“Then… can you tell us about him and our grandmother?” This time it was Qin Yuanfeng. As someone who grew up without any good grandparents, he was inquisitive about his maternal grandparents right now. Moreover, he could not understand some of Fred’s reasoning in choosing their grandmother over the throne.
Qin Yuanfeng heard stories about their grandfather from Lily, Levi and even Eliza. However, every version of the story seemed different. While Lily barely told him anything about the man, both Eliza’s and Levi’s story were quite unbelievable. He just felt that their grandfather’s decision to leave the throne for a woman was wrong— or at least he would never do something like that.
Women were dangerous.
He had learned this in the most painful way possible. And to be honest, their grandmother Lilian sounded pretty dangerous herself. So… why would their grandfather abandon everything just for a dangerous woman? Was he looking to get himself killed?
Qin Yuanfeng’s reasoning was pretty simple. According to the stories, the Facci Group was not as prosperous before as it is now. At that time, Lilian was nothing but an ambitious businesswoman in the business industry that was ruled by misogynistic men. Compared to his grandfather’s status as royalty, Lilian’s company sounded minuscule.
Of course, he would never blame his grandfather for doing so. After all, if he didn’t go after Lilian, Lily and Qin Yuanfeng would not be here in this world right now. He only wanted to understand his reasoning. That’s all.
“Oh! Lilian… where do I start?”Madam Luo started. “I think she looked scary.” The older woman shivered. “At that time… we were taught how to sew and how to satisfy our men. Of course… a few women learned how to write and read for the sole purpose of learning how to manage a household. You, younger people won’t understand this.” She laughed. “But… Lilian was not like that. Now that I think about it… I doubt she ever learnt how to sew or make pastries.”
Lily raised an eyebrow as the older woman’s description is pretty spot on. Lilian was indeed not like the other women out there in the world.
“But I think… we tend to get attracted to something we are not?” Madam Luo continued. “Lilian was the opposite of the kind and gentlemanly Fred. Ah… Fred, I believe he was studying to become a doctor? Or a businessman? Look at me… being so forgetful about things.” She shook her head. “Anyway… I followed the two in London. And to be honest… I was not there with kind intentions.”
This time the older woman’s face darkened. “I was there to convince Fred to leave Lilian and show him what he was missing by being with her. Well… I started by following Lilian around. Alas… Back then, I was a fool.” Her gaze turned stern as she looked at Lily. “You are a beautiful woman. You should not do the things that I did in the name of love.” A sad smile crossed her lips. “You should never chase a man who already loves someone else… Do you understand me?” She repeated.
