As soon as the two stepped into the He Mansion, they were immediately shocked by the scene before them.
The He Mansion's originally extremely luxurious layout now looks desolate. The red-painted columns neatly arranged in the corridor have now faded their gorgeous color and look very old, obviously having fallen into disrepair after a long period of time. The carefully trimmed exotic flowers and plants are now overgrown with weeds and look messy. Even the Mingjing Pond that was once crystal clear has now become turbid, and a foul odor can be smelled even from far away. The willow catkins clouds, which cost the district so much material and financial resources, were searched for in every possible way, and now there is no trace of the thousands of koi.
The contrast between the prosperity and splendor of the past and the decline and desolation of today is even more desolate.
Although Lu Ming didn't have much affection for the He Mansion, he couldn't help but feel emotional when he saw this scene. The current status of the He Mansion was probably not even as good as that of ordinary noble families. Without a backbone, the He Mansion was just a shaky high-rise building that could turn into ruins in an instant.
A trace of pain flashed across He Qingqiu's eyes. He stopped where he was and looked at everything in front of him, feeling sad.
The servant lying on the ground was about to raise his head and curse, but in the next second he suddenly opened his eyes wide, his lips trembled, and after a long time he burst into tears: "Master! Master! You are finally back!"
He Qingqiu took two steps forward, helped the servant up, and carefully identified his appearance. He Qingqiu looked at the man in his late thirties, and the confusion in his eyes gradually turned into excitement: "Are you Xiaojun?"
The servant nodded with tears in his eyes, then suddenly took a step back and kowtowed hard towards where He Qingqiu and He Qingci were, crying and begging, "You two young masters have come a long way, and I shouldn't disturb you now. But now the He Mansion is being bullied, and the nobles often come to cause trouble for the He Family, and do the most humiliating things. Almost all the servants in the He Mansion have fled, and several elders have passed away one after another. Now the He Mansion is in disarray. I beg you two young masters to restore the prestige of the He Mansion and let those nobles taste the bitter fruit!"
He Qingqiu sighed, helped the servant up, and said, "Why didn't you inform us when the He Mansion became like this?"
Xiaojun's expression suddenly changed when he heard this, and he said in surprise: "More than ten years ago, after the head of the family disappeared without a reason, the two young masters left the He Mansion one after another. Not long after, the He family lost in the clan refining competition, and the major families took the opportunity to secretly unite to suppress the He family. The elders vaguely felt that the momentum was not right, so they released the He family's unique message butterfly every few days, hoping that the two young masters could come back to take charge of the situation earlier. But for several years, there was no news about the two young masters, and even the masters sent out to look for the young masters disappeared without a reason. Could it be that the two young masters have never received any news from the message butterfly?"
Lu Ming and He Qingqiu looked at each other, both of them had a blank look in their eyes, and it was obvious that they didn't know about this.
Xiao Jun gritted his teeth and said, "Yes, those clans must have secretly intercepted all the message butterflies in order to completely suppress the He family. Now that I think about it, those masters have also been ambushed."
Lu Ming frowned and said, "Even if someone intercepted the letter midway, it shouldn't happen to every letter."
He Qingqiu said with a gloomy face: "There must be a traitor in the family who secretly leaked the news in the He Mansion to outsiders."
Xiaojun's face changed, his lips moved, and he seemed to be hesitant to speak.
Seeing Xiaojun's expression, Lu Ming thought that he might be hiding something, so he quietly observed. He Qingqiu asked anxiously, "What about mother? How is she?"
Xiao Jun looked at He Qingqiu, his expression changing again and again, and finally he gritted his teeth and said, "Madam, she remarried!"
He Qingqiu's face turned pale, his lips trembled, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he dropped his shoulders weakly.
Seeing this, Lu Ming couldn't help but sigh in his heart. This woman has always been cruel and ruthless. When the He family was about to collapse, she quickly found another family. With her beauty and the support of the Liu family, it would not be difficult for her to remarry.
Lu Ming walked forward, patted He Qingqiu on the shoulder, and said calmly: "We will think about this later. Now the clan refining competition is about to begin. If the He family wants to regain its former status, we must win the first place in the competition. There is a traitor in the He Mansion. I think the major families have already known that you and I have returned to the He family to take charge of the overall situation. You and I need to be more cautious in what we say and do and plan for the long term."
He Qingqiu heard this and forced a smile, saying, "Brother, you are absolutely right."
Lu Ming nodded, turned to Xiao Jun and said, "At 1:00 pm, have everyone come to the He Family Ancestral Hall. I have something to tell you."
Xiaojun immediately answered yes and hurried down to deliver the message.
Lu Ming looked at the listless He Qingqiu and scolded him with a gloomy face, "The He family is trapped in this situation. As the second young master of the He family, you don't take the brunt of it and try to find a solution. Instead, you act like this for whom? Your loved ones will be hated and your enemies will be happy. Is this the result you want?"
He Qingqiu was stunned when he heard this, and his eyes were slightly dazed when he looked at Lu Ming. He looked at his elder brother's jade-like face, and suddenly a myriad of emotions surged in his heart. Time seemed to go back to that evening twelve years ago. His elder brother, who was bullied by everyone, seemed to have suddenly changed. His former cowardice and forbearance seemed to have completely erupted at that moment. That pair of bright and tenacious eyes made him dare not forget for a moment in the past ten years. It was like a blazing flame, and looking into it for a moment could burn people.
The fire in those eyes had not gone out even at this moment. It was so beautiful and dazzling that he couldn't help but feel ashamed at just one glance.
He Qingqiu quietly clenched his fists, suppressed the regret and guilt in his heart, smiled with relief and said: "Don't worry, brother, Qingqiu will not let you down."
A prodigal son can never be bought with money. Lu Ming felt relieved when he saw that the once arrogant boy had changed his character and was gradually walking on the right path.
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At a quarter past seven in the morning, everyone gathered in the He family ancestral hall.
There were hundreds of people in the He Mansion, but now only a dozen or so are left. In addition to the loyal servants, there must be traitors who secretly pass on information.
Lu Ming looked around at everyone and said in a deep voice: "The He Mansion is in danger now and will be destroyed at any time. Thank you all for your loyalty and willingness to stay and help the He Mansion at this critical moment. Please accept my thanks."
Go ahead and speak, Lu Ming clasped his hands together and bowed.
Old Liu, who had lived in the He Mansion for many years, immediately had tears in his eyes and said excitedly: "Young Master, why do you say that? When I first entered the He Mansion, I was still an ignorant boy. Now many years have passed, and the boy has become old. The He Mansion has long become my home. Even if the sky collapses and the earth collapses, or even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire, I swear to stand by the He Mansion until my death."
At that moment, several servants of the He family expressed their loyalty. Lu Ming said, "The He family will fight against the major families of the Weapon Refining Sect in the future. You can imagine how difficult the road will be. If anyone wants to leave the He family, they can go to Xiaojun and get ten high-quality crystal stones each. It is enough for you to live for the rest of your lives. This can be regarded as compensation from the He family to you."
The whole hall suddenly fell silent. The servants who had just expressed their loyalty looked at each other, and many of them showed their desire for the top-grade crystals. That was ten top-grade crystals. Even if they stayed in the He Mansion for their whole lives, they might not be able to earn so much money.
When Old Liu saw this scene, he immediately shouted angrily, "Who was it that said that he would never leave the He Mansion and would stand together with the He Mansion? Now, you are going to leave for the sake of just ten high-quality spirit stones?"
He Qingci gave Mr. Liu a calming look, then smiled at everyone present and said, "Judging from the situation, no one is at fault. Qingci will never blame anyone. You can collect your money and leave."
As soon as He Qingci finished speaking, several servants hesitated for a moment, then stood up and said, gritting their teeth, "Master, please forgive me for my death. I have an old mother and children to support at home. I dare not abandon everything and fearlessly die."
He Qingci nodded and said softly, "You are the breadwinner of the family, so there is nothing wrong with doing this. Please go to Xiaojun to get the money and leave."
With tears in his eyes, the servant knelt down, kowtowed several times, then took the money and left.
When the other people present saw that there was real money to be received, they kowtowed to He Qingci, took the money and left the hall.
After a while, except for Lu Ming and He Qingqiu, there were only five people left.
Old Liu was so angry that he was shaking all over. He said angrily, "What a bunch of money-hungry dogs and slaves."
He Qingqiu smiled and said, "Don't be angry, Mr. Liu. You don't need to have too many subordinates. Loyalty is the best."
Old Liu sighed, wiped away the tears from his eyes, looked around, and said with emotion: "What the Second Young Master said makes sense, but when I think of the hundreds of servants in the He Mansion in the past and the few left now, how can I not feel sad."
After hearing this, He Qingqiu's eyes also showed a look of attachment, but in the end he just sighed softly and didn't say anything more.
Lu Ming laughed and said, "Mr. Liu is wrong. I'm afraid we may not be able to keep all five of them."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Liu's expression changed and hesitantly asked, "What does the young master mean?"
The smile on Lu Ming's face slowly disappeared, and a murderous aura suddenly overflowed from his body, covering the entire hall after a moment. A strong sense of oppression suddenly swept towards everyone at an extremely fast speed.
Everyone present was so overwhelmed by this powerful pressure that their expressions changed drastically, their faces turned pale, their bodies began to tremble involuntarily, and they could hardly stand.
Everyone was horrified, their legs could no longer support them and they fell to the ground. Their minds went blank for a moment. At this moment, only one thought was echoing in their minds: the young master had already reached the stage of distraction! What on earth had happened in just over a decade!
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