That night, at the Helis family's house.
Since Miss Lacy from the Carites family is going to visit tonight, the Helis family has made all kinds of preparations. Normally, they should have gone to the door to apologize, but Miss Lacy sent a message saying that it was unnecessary and she would visit in person tonight.
The gate of the courtyard was open and the clean and soft carpet had already been laid. Because they heard that Loran Hill liked quietness, the Helis family did not invite other guests. Only their own servants and guards were neatly lined up in the courtyard.
The door of Qi Yehua's carriage opened, and Loran Hill was wearing a black dress, which was rare. The pure black dress formed a sharp contrast with her fair skin, and the black lace hem and cuffs also added a strange charm to it. She got out of the carriage, and even her shoes were black leather shoes, and on top of the shoes were pure white silk stockings.
"Ms. Lacy from the Carlites Chamber of Commerce has arrived~"
As the servant at the door shouted, some melodious music suddenly sounded on both sides of the courtyard. About 20 violinists stood on both sides of the carpet, plucking the strings, and the soothing violin sounds rang out, like butterflies flying among the leaves.
Loran Hill's blue eyes swept over them lightly. These violinists were dressed gorgeously, had skillful techniques, and their faces did not look like locals. They must have been temporarily hired by the Helis family. They were really thoughtful.
With a slight sigh in his heart, the door of the Helis mansion opened, revealing a brightly lit hall. The head of the family, Hoss, and the eldest daughter, Melu, stood at the door to greet him.
"Welcome Miss Lacy, we have been waiting for you for a long time."
The slightly bald head of the family, Hoss, led Loran Hill into the hall, first asked him to sit down, then clapped his hands. Girls in dance dresses came in from the side door. One row wore red dresses, and the other row wore blue dresses. They held up their long skirts and turned their skirts with every step they took. The silver patches on the skirts sparkled under the light. Then another burst of music sounded. This time, not only did the 20 violinists outside the courtyard sit down to play, but there was also a pianist and a dozen wind musicians in the hall.
Following the beat of the music, the dancers sometimes stood on tiptoe and sometimes twirled their skirts, forming a huge concentric circle on the dance floor of the hall. Then, as the music changed, they formed a huge flower, with blue and red petals sometimes blooming and sometimes closing. Finally, as the music ended, the dancers on the outermost circle knelt on their backs, the ones in the middle leaned their bodies, and the ones in the inner circle raised their arms like pistils.
Loran Hill sat on the sofa on the steps. In front of him was a coffee table with some fruits and iced juice on it.
It was indeed a rather excellent dance, and she was slightly impressed, but that was all. Having seen all sorts of light and shadow effects and large-scale dance performances with hundreds of people in the technological age, she wasn't exactly surprised. But she still gave the Helis family some face, and gave a slight compliment.
Hoss, the head of the Helis family, seemed very happy, thinking that the performance he paid for had achieved results, and that Loran Hill just didn't show it out of modesty.
Seeing her father's expression, Melu secretly shook her head. When she first met Miss Lacey, she only thought that her appearance was unparalleled in the world. Later, Lacey decided to establish a new joint project with other chambers of commerce, which woke her up. The subsequent assassination made her even more afraid of this beautiful young lady.
I really don't know how this Miss Lacey grew up. I have never heard of her reputation, but she is very skilled in business methods. It can be seen from the recent series of performances of Carites. There is even a tendency to surpass Angus's reign. Not only has she not declined, but she has the potential to soar from the ashes.
But business is a matter of experience. I've never heard of anyone from an academic school achieving great success; it relies more on talent and insight. This is what perplexed Melu. Besides, Lacey's skills were definitely not weak. She felt she was at least Sequence 4, she guessed.
While thinking about how to face Miss Lacey, Melu saw her father's self-satisfied and silly look, and her head began to ache slightly.
Hoss is indeed a good father and a good parent, but as the head of the family he is not smart enough. When the old head of the family was in power, he could often give advice, but after his grandfather passed away, the eldest daughter Melu took on the role of the family's think tank.
But a daughter is a daughter after all, there is a limit to what she can do, and the power in the Chamber of Commerce is gradually dispersed by several other uncles, making it difficult to get rid of them.
"Niece Lacey, your father and I were very close back then. We often drank together. This time, it's my fault for not managing the guards well. I hope you don't mind."
Her father actually wanted to cover it up so easily. Meilu widened her eyes slightly in disbelief. That was an assassination, and the other party almost lost his life. If things go wrong, the two families will go to war again.
"Although you were once friends with us, Carites, that happened a generation ago, so I'm not entirely familiar with it. Furthermore, the guards of the Helis family drew their swords in the street, nearly killing me and causing the entire Chamber of Commerce to fall apart. Do you think an apology like this will suffice?"
As expected, Lacey refused such an easy reconciliation because it was tantamount to an insult.
"This... Niece Lacey, no, Miss Lacey, you mean..." Hoss was a little confused. Wasn't there a smiling and cheerful atmosphere just now? Why did it suddenly become like this?
"Father, you are tired too. Let me do it." Meilu stood up and bowed slightly, then walked to her father and persuaded him softly.
Hoss was somewhat self-aware and knew that his daughter was smarter, so he simply let go, saying that he was a little sleepy, and then let Melu and Lacey talk.
With Hoss gone, only the two young ladies, Lacey and Melu, remained in the vast hall. A light rain began to fall outside the hall, dripping steadily from the eaves and hitting the marble steps. The fine, drizzling rain obscured the view outside, making it appear hazy. Occasionally, a sea breeze blew, diffusing the raindrops, some drifting into the hall, bringing a slight coolness.
Melu fiddled with the charcoal fire in the stove, then refilled Lacey's cup with hot tea and sat down to resume the conversation.
"I'm very sorry, Miss Lacey. What happened that day was due to our negligence in management, which led to the guards being bribed by outsiders."
"I know." Lacey held the teacup, her hair falling on her pure black dress, and said with unexpected certainty.
"So, what I want to ask is, what exactly is the stance of the Helis family? Do you stand with us, the Carites, as you have in the past, or do you wish to remain neutral and keep to yourself? Or have you already decided to stand against us?"
Lacy's transparent blue eyes stared directly at Merlu, leaving her no room to dodge.
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