After returning to the Lin Family, Lin Yanluo went straight to the ancestral hall to request an audience with her father, the true head of the Lin Family, Golden Core True Person Lin Yonghua.
Only a few incense candles burned in the ancestral hall. Fragrant wisps drifted from the golden incense burner at its center, gradually calming Lin Yanluo's heart.
"County Head Su won't budge?"
Seated on a Meditation Cushion directly before Lin Yanluo was a handsome young man of extraordinary bearing. His eyes were half-closed, and his voice was calm.
Lin Yanluo bowed and briefly described the setbacks she had encountered while delivering the gifts. Then, with concern, she said:
"Father, Su Youlin is no simple man."
"In my view, he's not refusing petty gains because he's utterly selfless. It's because he's after something much bigger!"
"I suspect he's focused on suppressing the pirates to build up his record and get promoted quickly. Once he reaches a certain level, he'll show his true fangs!"
Lin Yonghua replied evenly:
"I saw that too."
"If our new County Magistrate wanted a million Spirit Coins for something else, we could just give it to him. But if he wants to spend it on suppressing pirates, I'm absolutely unwilling."
"If the pirates were gone, how would the price of the tea we ship to Fa Continent and Bai Continent go up?"
"If the pirates were gone, what would happen to the export trade of the Liuyang Sect and the other Cultivation Sects, not to mention the remaining three Great Families?"
Lin Yanluo wasn't surprised in the least by her father's words.
As a core member of the Household, she knew all too well what Longcheng County's local power brokers got up to when they colluded with one another.
They were simply keeping bandits