Lu Fan was taken aback, his thoughts churning.

Why did the old butler tell him all this?

The Huang family had known about Old Master Gu's appearance all along, and Lu Fan also knew they would find out.

That's because over the years, the other party has never given up monitoring and controlling him.

With great power comes great responsibility, and this reflects Elder Huang's apprehension towards Lu Fan, his abilities, and his strength.

That's why this elderly man, whose days are numbered, reacted so strongly when Lu Fan showed even the slightest sign of losing control.

They might even begin laying the groundwork within the Nangong family, grooming a new successor, without ever truly breaking ties with Lu Fan. Old Master Huang intends to have the Nangong family replace Lu Fan and take over the majority of his fortune.

This is also what Lu Fan finds most intolerable; for him, not falling out with Elder Huang is tantamount to falling out with him.

Those assassins who were released by Huang Lao's men became Huang Lao's bait and scapegoats, so Lu Fan told them that they had shot themselves in the foot.

The assassin, convinced that Old Huang was behind it all, recklessly charged forward seeking revenge.

Even though they were successfully wiped out, Huang Lao still held a grudge against them.

The Wang family behind them also suffered as a result.

But what Lu Fan didn't expect was that Old Huang only found out about Gu Ying's matter now.

Perhaps he already knew, but only now thought of using this information. What is Old Huang trying to do?

Lu Fan was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

But before he could say anything, the old butler continued:

"Perfect timing, the Huang family also has a little Y who they plan to send out for some experience."

"Old Master Huang doesn't trust anyone else, but Mr. Lu has never disappointed the old man in his work."

"So the old man still prefers you to take over this matter. What do you think, Mr. Lu?"

After rambling on for so long, the old butler finally got to the important matter that had brought up the phone call.

Lu Fan naturally understood the deeper meaning behind his words: what did he mean? If he really wanted to discuss things, he wouldn't be in this attitude.

Seeing Gu Ying come to his side, Old Huang was afraid that Gu Ying might really have ulterior motives and collude with outsiders to rip him off.

Prior to this, Lu Fan had not had any in-depth contact with Elder Huang's core interests.

As a result, the appearance of Grandpa Gu or Gu Ying made this old man, who had been sitting calmly on the sidelines, unable to sit still.

Lu Fan had long harbored the desire to break free from the Huang family's influence, and his original plan was for this purpose.

Now, he's the one sitting back and watching the tigers fight, which makes Lu Fan sigh that the world is developing too fast, and even a promising young man like him can't keep up.

Despite his thoughts racing, Lu Fan didn't hesitate for a moment before directly refusing, "This... isn't that inappropriate?"

The butler seemed to have anticipated that Lu Fan would refuse.

He chuckled, but his tone was extremely oppressive:

"Mr. Lu, please don't be so quick to refuse. I can't explain this to the old man, can I?"

"Oh, we can't exactly tell the old man that you, Mr. Lu, didn't accept the Huang family's offer, but instead became too close to the Gu family's girl."

Every time the old butler chuckled, the hairs on Lu Fan's body stood on end; it was utterly disgusting.

He pretended to be embarrassed and said:

"This girl from the Gu family, you mean Gu Ying, right?"

"It was the old man who told me to go and get involved with the Gu family and their affairs without worry, but the Wang family interfered and caused the killer to commit the crime."

"I just followed the old man's orders and came all the way from Jinghai City to Nanshan."

Did they go to the city? It was all to deal with the Wang family.

"As for Gu Ying from the Gu family, I've only met her once or twice. We didn't get along, and I have nothing to say to a girl like her."

Lu Fan made all excuses, since he was now certain that the emperor was far away and Huang Lao's surveillance of him had long lost its former authority.

And even if it's found out, so what? He and Gu Ying really don't have any further contact.

It was agreed beforehand that Lu Fan would only resume his cooperation with the Gu family after the Gu family had dealt with the successor of the Nangong family.

The Nangong family is now quiet, with no news of a successor or even Nangong Qun.

It's clear that the person in question is still alive and kicking, so what excuse would Gu Ying, or even the Gu family patriarch, have to discuss cooperation?

Lu Fan reluctantly agreed, partly because he genuinely didn't want to take on any members of the Huang family and didn't want to end up like Xu Wenlin, serving as a pawn for a spoiled brat.

Secondly, since he lives far from the emperor's reach, there's no reason why he should listen to whatever Huang Lao says.

So, after the Wang family was gradually devoured, Lu Fan didn't get much of a reward and now he has to do hard labor for Old Huang?

The old steward seemed to have figured it out as well, feeling that it was really unreasonable to just drive the donkey to work without providing any fodder.

His smile softened a little, and he said to Lu Fan:

"The past of the Huang family is settled, but what kind of compensation to give Mr. Lu is still up for discussion."

"How about this, I'll go ask the old man again to see if he has any plans he forgot to mention to me. His memory isn't what it used to be, so please don't take offense, Mr. Lu."

Lu Fan also chuckled:

"Whether it's old age or not, Steward, you're really confused!"