First Meeting

Two days later, the outskirts of the city, Gayn Manor.

As an ancient noble family with a long history, although Gayn Manor could not expand lavishly due to its sparse population and had declined due to the mediocre abilities of its recent generations of heirs, it remained one of the most beautiful manors in the entire royal city.

The clock tower, the gardens, the streams—passed down from generation to generation, the exceptionally capable stewards managed the manor beautifully. In the entire royal city, no family dared to claim their manor was superior to the Gayn Family's, except for the royal family itself.

Unlike other manors, the Gayn Family's manor had a unique characteristic. Different from the Hundred Flowers Kingdom's general preference for vibrant and fragrant roses, it possessed a traditional Crimson Cloud Empire aesthetic.

Walking in from the main gate, camellias of red, purple, white, and yellow lined the path, forming different mounds. There were even rare multi-colored camellias. It was currently their peak blooming season, and surrounded by purple hibiscus and thorny crabapples, they presented a unique beauty.

Perhaps due to its relatively sparse population, Gayn Manor, unlike other manors, did not have an excessive number of maids. Everyone had their daily tasks and was busy all day long.

Of course, while they were busy with their work, the manor's owner, the head of the Gayn Family, Eddie Gayn, had benevolently allowed those whose jobs were specialized to not have to receive guests, only needing to focus on their assigned tasks.

This was quite rare in the Hundred Flowers Kingdom. Traditional noble maids often held multiple roles, and a maid capable of handling multiple tasks was also a part of a noble's honor and heritage.

Maids who only performed one specialized task were typically only seen in the manors of nouveau riche families who had recently acquired wealth.

But for Eddie Gayn, who had slammed on the brakes and executed a sharp turn for the Gayn Family just before the abyss, this was nothing—in order to make money, he had already trampled on nearly all of the Gayn Family's thousand-year traditions anyway.

After passing the camellia mounds, they reached the chrysanthemum section. It was not chrysanthemum season, but from the uniquely shaped leaves and branches, one could easily distinguish about three types of chrysanthemums.

Liu Tian did not research them thoroughly, so he could not identify these flowers further.

Next to the chrysanthemums were planted a row of large rhododendrons. It was currently their blooming season, and the elegant rhododendron flowers emitted a refreshing fragrance into the air.

"Brother Tian, look, the leaves of these rhododendrons have thorns, and they feel so comfortable and ticklish to touch." Alice jumped under a rhododendron tree, gently stroking the soft, velvety thorns on its leaves. The girl's pure and joyful smile complemented the flowers, making it hard to tell whether the flowers or the person were more beautiful.

Clearly, although Alice also liked flowers, she was particularly fond of these soft, velvety thorns.

"The cultivation requirements for these plants are at least vastly different, if not completely opposite. How did you manage to grow them?" Liu Tian, who didn't have much of an aesthetic sense, felt comfortable but was more curious about something else—how did Gayn Manor manage to grow these delicate plants, which had such inconsistent cultivation requirements, so well?

"I'm not sure about that!" Alice tilted her head. "Butler Gimon manages this whole manor. It seems like they have some secret formula. Once you sprinkle it, it can ignore most of the planting conditions? My sister said that selling the finished product of the secret formula is also a major source of income for the family..."

What kind of black technology is this? Sprinkle it and it ignores the planting conditions? Imagine if this was used for farming!

Subconsciously, Liu Tian had this thought in his mind, but before he could ask, Alice immediately shut him down as if she had foreseen it:

"It seems the cost is a bit high. When I asked my sister if we should use this effective secret formula to grow something, she said that if we used it for farming, we'd earn less than we spent. It's too much of a loss. It's only profitable if we hype it up and trick other nobles," Alice said, tilting her head and tapping her cheek with her finger.

"Indeed, people who value appearances are the easiest to make money from," Liu Tian nodded, even gritting his teeth slightly. If it weren't for those vain people driving up the prices of antiques so high, where would he have needed to spend so much money to find the Origin Point last time?

As the two chatted, they soon walked past the garden and arrived at the main building. In front of the main building was a clearly meticulously designed fountain. The water was clear, and the pool was about half a meter deep, covered with round, dark pebbles. Small fish swam leisurely under the warm sunlight, occasionally darting a short distance and creating ripples.

Alice and Liu Tian's private conversation came to an end here. Tia Gayn, who had received the news, had been waiting at the gate for a long time. Upon seeing Alice and Liu Tian arrive, Tia walked out a few steps to greet them.

Unlike their meeting late at night before, Tia was clearly meticulously dressed this time. She wore a light makeup on her face, her lips a vibrant crimson. Her simple white tea dress was unadorned, with a small tulip pinned to her chest. Following the tulip down, her deep cleavage was visible, leading to a slender waist that could be held in one hand. Without a petticoat, the white tea dress subtly revealed her alluring curves and long legs. Her stunning figure was almost impossible to conceal, truly befitting one of the two golden flowers of the Hundred Flowers Kingdom.

Unlike Alice, who inherited her mother's black hair and black eyes, Tia inherited her father's, possessing hair as red as blood and eyes like rubies. This created a striking contrast with her white tea dress.

This was clothing typically worn only by family members and very close friends. Knowing Liu Tian was coming, why would Tia choose this outfit to meet a stranger?

Did she not understand the implications, having been immersed in social circles for so long? Or did she have another intention?

"Hello." Tia gracefully extended her hand. "Although it's not our first meeting, I am Tia Gayn, the third daughter of the Gayn Family. As Father and my elder brother are still on their way back, I am temporarily in charge of Gayn Manor. Please bear with me if the hospitality is lacking."

"Hello." Liu Tian extended his hand and shook hers lightly. "I am Liu Tian. Judging by your words, Miss Tia seems quite knowledgeable about the customs of the Crimson Cloud Empire?"

"My mother was originally a noble daughter from the Crimson Cloud Empire," Tia said with a slight smile. "So I have some understanding."

"I have prepared about a thousand antiques related to the Lost Empire. Mr. Liu, haven't you had dinner yet? Perhaps we could discuss while we eat?" Seemingly having a good impression of Liu Tian, Tia invited him enthusiastically.

"Alright." Although he felt a vague sense of strangeness, it wasn't malicious, so Liu Tian agreed.