Iris told Long Jufang that she would check her schedule first. After hanging up, she had Ketchup call Jin Liwei. When the call connected, Iris told her husband about the Long elder’s request to meet up.
“Invite him to Dragon Palace,” Jin Liwei said.
“Okay.” She didn’t have any problem with her husband’s suggestion. In fact, she was also thinking the same way.
Both of them didn’t want to risk her meeting anyone they didn’t fully trust outside of their home. Although the twins had already stabilized in her womb, the two of them still felt traumatized by her miscarriage scare. They didn’t want a repeat of that happening ever again. It was safer for her and the twins to stay at home as much as possible.
Jin Liwei added, “I’m finishing up a meeting. I’ll head home soon, love. Tell Long Jufang to come for dinner. I’ll accompany you while you talk to him after we eat tonight.”
“Alright, darling.”
They exchanged sweet nothings to each other, making the spectator Dom giggle like always. Of course, Ketchup who inherited most of her personality from her Uncle Dom followed suit and giggled like a little fool with the big fool. Iris chuckled at the two after ending the call with her husband.
Afterwards, she asked Ketchup to call Long Jufang. Iris arranged the meet-up with the elder at Dragon Palace mansion later at dinnertime.
###
Dragon Palace Home #10.
Later that evening, Long Jufang arrived at the mansion. A driver drove him but he was the only one who entered inside. This was the first time that he was setting foot inside this place. Although he was good in controlling his expression, he couldn’t completely conceal the glint of greed in his eyes as he looked around while following the butler.
The whole place screamed of money. Lots of money, but not in a tacky way. There was a classy elegance in how everything was decorated in the mansion. Nevertheless, there was no denying that almost every single item decorating the place must have cost a fortune.
Aside from the luxury, Long Jufang also noticed the intimidating security staff patrolling the entire property. They stared at him with cold expressions. He felt intimidated but his pride didn’t allow him to show it on his face. His posture became straighter but he still couldn’t remove the feeling of smallness compared to the enormity of the place.
Enormity not only in size and wealth but also in the power of Jin Liwei backing everything in Dragon Palace Home #10.
The butler told him that they were about to arrive at the formal dining area. Before they even reached there, Long Jufang could already hear loud, booming laughter. His heart skipped a beat and his eyes shone in excitement. He recognized the voice.
There were other voices mixed in what sounded like a cheerful conversation but Long Jufang only cared about that one booming voice. He had always wanted to form a close connection with such an imminent figure.
The butler announced his arrival and the conversation stopped. Long Jufang finally saw all the people that he was joining for dinner tonight.
Iris and Jin Liwei, of course. Jin Liwei was sitting at the head of the long dinner table while Iris sat beside him.
At the other head of the long table sat Sir Lu Jianhong. Long Jufang almost couldn’t contain his excitement but he managed to maintain his composure and didn’t embarrass himself.
Beside Sir Lu Jianhong sat his grandson, Lu Zihao. Long Jufang was taken aback by the young man’s huge size and almost suffocating aura. The scar on his face made Long Jufang tremble inside, especially when Lu Zihao stared at him with eyes several times colder than the eyes of the security staff patrolling in the place.
Sitting right beside Lu Zihao was Long Jufang’s other grandniece, Long Jinjing. His eagerness abated a little. The girl was sensible and never troublesome unlike the spoiled Long Xiulan, but he didn’t think highly of Long Jinjing at all because of her illegitimate birth. She was just the daughter of a mere mistress after all. The only good thing about the mother and daughter was that they stayed in their lanes and never brought any shameful scandals to Long Tengfei and the Long clan aside from their very existence.
On the other side of the table sat Iris’ Filipino assistant. Dominic Chua was his name, if Long Jufang remembered it correctly. He heard that he was also Cai Guang’s distant nephew from the Filipino branch of the family.
A middle-aged couple was also present but Long Jufang didn’t recognize them, although he found them a little familiar.
“Welcome to our home, Granduncle Jufang,” Iris greeted.
Long Jufang greeted her back and everyone else, including Long Jinjing, Dominic Chua, and the middle-aged couple, even though he thought that these people were beneath him. He needed to act politely especially since he was in Jin Liwei’s territory. In addition, Sir Lu Jianhong and his grandson were also present. He wanted to leave a good impression on these important people.
The butler guided him to sit on the other side of Jin Liwei across Iris. The atmosphere became more muted compared to the cheerfulness before his arrival. He didn’t mind, though. What he cared about was this precious opportunity to chat directly with the powerful Jin Liwei and the legendary Sir Lu Jianhong.
At first, he failed in having a smooth conversation with Jin Liwei but soon discovered that the younger man treated him better after he included Iris and praised her accomplishments. It wasn’t only Jin Liwei. Sir Lu Jianhong also began to chatting with him after Long Jufang complimented Iris. That was when he discovered that it was actually easy to get close to these men. The key was his grandniece, Iris!
However, he also soon realized that Sir Lu Jianhong had no filter whatsoever and openly spoke his mind without caring for propriety at all.
“Long Jufang, I see that you only care about my beloved granddaughter, Xiulan my girl, but what about my other beloved granddaughter, Jinjing my girl?! Do you have something against my future granddaughter-in-law? Tell me, I want to know!”
Long Jufang’s eyes almost popped out of his head as he looked at the furiously blushing Long Jinjing in disbelief.
He sputtered, “Future granddaughter-in-law?!”
