Unedited
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The Peak
“What do you think?” Zhou Dae Un beamed at Lily, her eyes glimmered with excitement. “It’s silver and gold and glitters — lots of glitters.”
“I like it!”
“You do?”
“Yes!” Lily laughed as she eyed the twelve-foot tall Christmas tree near the stairs in the mansion. It was big, probably the biggest that she had in her own home. And just as Zhou Dae Un said, the tree seemed to sparkle from the lights that reflected the silver and gold accessories that Zhou Dae Un painstakingly arranged with the help of the twin attendants. “Thank you! This is — it looks really good!”
“I told you she will love it.” Zhou Jingren’s voice echoed behind them. He walked towards Lily, hugging her from behind and kissing the back of her head. “It looks wonderful, mother. Thank you.”
“You are very much welcome!” Zhou Dae Un smiled. Since that incident with Bei Tian, Zhou Dae Un and even Zhou Jingren’s father had been coming to Hong Kong to accompany them from time to time. “Well… this is not done. I mean, look at the stairs. I have to put on the lighting and garlands, of course, stockings and presents!”
“You are planning to put presents on the stairs?”
“Of course!”
Lily nodded. “Alright then. I am so excited to see the finished look!”
Zhou Dae Un immediately went back to her decorating as Lily and Zhou Jingren went to the balcony of the mansion to enjoy the view of the city lights. “Here, I got this for you.” Zhou Jingren uttered as the two sat on the wrought irons chairs.
“The Luxembourg Royal Family?” She opened the magazine and started reading its contents. “Asnae Royalties.” She read.
“I figured you would love to read that.” He uttered as he accepted a coffee handed by one of the twins. “They live a complicated life.”
“And the public,” Lily uttered. She then thought of Eliza and her gloomy smile. “And tiring. Imagine always smiling for the camera and paparazzi.” To her, having this kind of life is just like the life of actors but more complicated as they are working for the state. They don’t give entertainment to people but act as a model for their citizens.
She started reading about their profiles, hobbies, favorite colors, and even their favorite brand of tea. “This is very detailed.”
“It’s a magazine that can only be bought in Luxembourg. Not bought really, more like given free for its citizens. Christmas edition.”
“Oh.” Lily stared at Duke Philemon’s spread. “Hey… you know in China how emperors have a lot of mistresses? I mean concubines? Do you think the Royals do that too? I mean secretly?”
“Probably.” Zhou Jingren answered.
“That would mean a lot of illegitimate children no?”
“Hmmm.”
“And drama,” Lily added.
“They would probably keep that a secret. That could cause a big scandal.”
“I know,” Lily said. “Well… the Grand Duke agreed to introduce me as a family friend. Not a part of their family. I had to insist on doing this. He wanted to introduce me publicly as someone from the Royalty. He was pretty insistent at first.”
“That will only complicate things.”
“I know! I mean… they already removed my grandfather. Introducing me as a Royal could complicate things, as it means they will put his name back in the registry. I have made my research about this matter before. Just like most Monarchy in Europe, they are also following Salic Laws. Adding my grandfather might mean that he is not the true king but only a regent.”
“And you — you will be the Queen.”
“Precisely. Salic Laws do not really care if the ruler is a man or a woman. As long as they are legal to rule they could have the throne from the regent.” Lily shrugged. “Managing a company is already so complicated and tiring. I wouldn’t want to involve myself in the matters of an entire country.”
Zhou Jingren nodded. So far, Lily has been approaching the situation in a very logical way. “So he insisted on announcing you as someone from the Royals, even if he knew the Salic Laws? Isn’t that a bit… suspicious?”
“I thought so too. But… think about it… do you think his children will agree to pass the throne to me? Prince Leandro is the next King. That is something that every citizen in Luxembourg knows. So, I thought, maybe there are some laws that I am not aware of. I didn’t ask any questions as I don’t want to make it sound as if I am interested to know about it.” She continued reading the magazine.
“And did you tell him that you are going to return the Moon Rock?
“Nope,” Lily said. Another reason for her visit is to return the rock personally to the Grand Duke. She figured that the rock belonged to the Royalty of Luxembourg and she was not one of them. Lily wanted to assure everyone that she is not planning to become one of them. After all, Leandro and Mikaela are humans. They might have shown warmth in their meeting, but Lily is still unaware of what they really think behind her back. People are fickle.
Lily does not want to cause any misunderstandings between them. So far, Lily is already contented in their current relationship and she would not want to change that just because of a small misunderstanding. “I want to give it to the Duke in front of everyone. That rock is worth millions, and it looked pretty old. They should put it in a safe place somewhere.” She said as she thought about Grandma Ye’s moon rock on her jewelry box. For some reason, Lily had been convincing herself that it was all a coincidence. However, after Mrs. Brooke’s words, Lily’s own mind had been working nonstop to connect the non-existent dots — a task that she found almost impossible to solve.
“Oh before I forget, Fernando called me. He said he and Li Shanshan won’t be able to join us for Christmas dinner. He said they will spend Christmas with his adoptive father’s family. But he promised that he would be here for New Year.”
“You know…. I am wondering.” Lily lifted her head away from the magazine in her hand. “Just who was Fernando’s friend here? Why is he calling you instead of me?”
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