Chapter 1489: Don’t Beat Around the Bush
Vallarino's face turned serious. "Mr. Xiao, I can swear to God that I feel regret from the bottom of my heart after hearing this news."
Xiao Peng really wanted to ask him, "You talk nonsense to God all day long. Will your God slap you in the face when he finds out? Didn't you almost laugh out loud when you heard that just now?"
Shelfina quickly changed the subject: "Xiao, what are the losses there? This flood was terrible. Not long after we left France, the water level of the Seine River rose, causing flooding in many areas along the river."
Xiao Peng said, "It's not so bad. My men told me that the entire Orange Garden is flooded with more than 50 centimeters of water. It has now become a swamp."
"Is it that serious?" Shelfina exclaimed.
Valarino also interrupted at this time: "Oh my, this loss is too serious!"
Although his face showed concern this time, Xiao Peng wanted to slap him no matter how he looked at him! He waved his hand and said, "It's not as serious as you think. My bodyguard Walter and butler Alfred led the people in the manor to minimize the losses. Even if there is any damage, I have insurance and the insurance company will compensate me. However, the situation of the garage cannot be confirmed yet."
"Garage? Why can't we confirm it?" Shelfina asked in confusion.
Xiao Peng explained, "You probably know that Orange Gardens was once the residence of the Dutch royal family. So, there's an underground structure there, built to withstand nuclear bombs. But no one's ever used a nuclear bomb on me, so when they were renovating the house a while ago, they turned that underground structure into an underground parking lot. They told me it was waterproofed, but the whole garage never flooded, so I don't know what's going on inside."
"Your house has underground fortifications?" Vallarino asked in shock.
Xiao Peng shook his head. "It used to be an underground fortification, but now it's just a parking lot. I have a lot of cars, after all, and it wouldn't look good if they were all parked in the yard."
After hearing this, Shelfina asked, "Do you have a hobby of collecting cars?"
Xiao Peng continued to shake his head: "Of course not. I just buy them sometimes just for the sake of spending money and put them there, just like the pile of watches in my room. My employees drive those cars more often than I do - you see, I always carry the cars I like, right?"
Shelfina was about to speak when Valarino spoke up: "The terrain in the Netherlands is really too low. It can't withstand the next rain. I think such losses will happen frequently!"
Xiao Peng couldn't hold it in any longer. "Valalino, why do I feel like you're just asking for trouble? Are you happy if I pay you out? I've already told you that the insurance company will cover any losses. Besides, to me, those things are just personal possessions and aren't expensive. A luxury car that others would spend their entire lives to acquire is like buying an egg to me. Do you think I'd feel bad about those things?"
Seeing Xiao Peng's anger, Valarino hurriedly said, "Xiao, you misunderstood me. How could I possibly gloat over someone else's misfortune? What I meant was that the terrain in the Netherlands is too low, and similar disasters are very likely to occur. You should be prepared in advance!"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng said angrily, "How can I prepare in advance? Move the buildings in Orange Garden, fill the land and build a mountain, and then move Orange Garden back?"
Vallarino hurriedly shook his head. "No, no, no, how is this possible? The workload is too huge! But I have another suggestion."
"Any other suggestions?" Xiao Peng asked, "For example?"
"For example, you go live in the mountains!" said Valarino.
Xiao Peng almost cursed out loud: "Are there mountains in the Netherlands? I moved to the mountains? Why don't you say I moved to the moon? Valarino, why do I feel like you're just here to pick a fight with me?"
After saying this, he stared at Valarino with his eyes, as if he would beat him if Valarino said something wrong!
After hearing this, Valarino wanted to explain, but was frightened by Xiao Peng's eyes and could not speak.
Seeing this, Shelfina walked straight to Xiao Peng and took his arm without caring whether Vallarino was there or not. "Xiao, don't be angry. This guy just can't talk. Otherwise, we wouldn't be getting divorced, right? Vallarino, stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want from Xiao Peng!"
Vallarino finally came to his senses. He took a deep breath to calm himself down and said to Xiao Peng, "Xiao, let me introduce myself. You should know my mother's family, but you may not know my father's family. My father is from the House of Savoy. Mr. Xiao, since you often visit Europe, you should know about the House of Savoy, right?"
After hearing this, Xiao Peng said without hesitation: "I don't know! Don't talk to me about family bloodline or anything like that. In our country, only dogs talk about bloodline. Just say what you want to say, don't beat around the bush!"
Although he claimed to be unfamiliar with the House of Savoy, how could he not know about them? There were Savoy Hotels in major European cities. September marked the end of the European social season, and the Savoy dinners during that period were the most important gatherings for the European nobility. Almost all European nobles were proud to be invited to a Savoy family gathering.
Why is the House of Savoy so powerful? Their ancestry can be traced back to the Holy Roman Empire through marriage—which isn't a big deal, really. Almost all the major European families are related to the Holy Roman Empire. Their greatest achievement: unifying Italy.
Italy used to be composed of many small countries, such as the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Kingdom of Sicily, the Kingdom of Naples, the Republic of Venice, the Duchy of Milan, the Duchy of Savoy, the Republic of Genoa, etc. It was King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy who completed the unification in 1861 and formed today's Italy.
However, the Savoy family also suffered a lot. When the Italian monarchy was overthrown in 1946, the direct descendants of the Savoy family were expelled from Italy, and the last Italian emperor Umberto II and all his male descendants were prohibited from returning to Italy. Their direct descendants have been living in countries such as Switzerland and Portugal.
Although the family's business activities were flourishing, they could not return to Italy. It was not until 2003 that the Savoy family was able to return to Italy after the law was lifted. The first thing they did after returning was to restore the monarchy. Unfortunately, it has not been successful to this day.
Huh? Now that I've calculated the timeline, I've figured out why Shelfina married Vallarino: it was a political marriage between a wealthy man and a royal family, but after seeing the hopelessness of the Savoy restoration, they divorced.
Political marriages are often just a joke.
But why did he come to find me?
I can’t figure it out!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
