"Yes, or is it that Xiaonian doesn’t want his grandfather to meet the witch?"
"It doesn’t matter. Grandpa has met her before."
Wen Nian shrugged his shoulders.
The witch of Ryan Castle... Tang Xiaohua said she had never heard of her. Not in her past life nor in this one; she had been to many places, yet she never knew there was a small island called Ryan Castle in Country G.
The situation became increasingly perplexing to Tang Xiaohua.
Wen Nian glanced at the time and called Manager Tong over to inquire about Qu Yu’s progress.
When Manager Tong returned, Qu Yu was following behind him.
Wen Nian had informed Qu Yu earlier that Wen Liangyu and the Vice President were present, so Qu Yu was not surprised. He greeted them in order and then stood in front of Wen Nian,
"Sir, I have already arranged for the witch to be taken to the drawing room."
"Good, thank you for your efforts."
Wen Nian stood up, patted Qu Yu on the shoulder, and said,
"Let’s go meet the witch together and ask her to bless our Country G’s land and people."
He straightened his clothes, turned to Tang Xiaohua, and said, "Guard Tang, follow me."
Even if Wen Nian hadn’t specified, Tang Xiaohua would have followed on her own. The witch of Ryan Castle... she was just too curious!
She never knew Wen Nian was superstitious.
Bai Qiantan moved closer to Wen Nian and whispered, "Just remembering to bring your Tang Xiaohua; you don’t care about your fiancée..."
"Do you need caring? You handle yourself so effortlessly in any situation; isn’t caring for you superfluous?"
"Hmph... But it seems... this Tang Xiaohua doesn’t really care about you that much."
Wen Nian gave her a glance but said nothing.
Bai Qiantan chuckled, "But who would be happy being treated as a substitute?"
Tang Xiaohua walked about a meter behind Wen Nian, with the Vice President and Song Xiangqiao following. Song Xiangqiao’s eyes were almost glued on Tang Xiaohua!
Wen Liangyu and Bai Cangqiong walked leisurely at the back...
"Earlier, the old man mentioned... Mr. President and Mayor Song’s late daughter were... childhood sweethearts?"
Bai Cangqiong asked, skeptical.
"Xiaonian grew up in the Ruicheng Military District, living just across from Mayor Song’s family. The two kids played together since they were little."
"Oh... that’s really a pity..."
Bai Cangqiong sighed and then glanced at Tang Xiaohua walking ahead, probing,
"And the guard accompanying His Excellency..."
"That guard looks very much like Song Lili. Xiaonian probably assigned her to his side to irritate me."
"Why would he want to irritate you?"
"Xiaonian has always believed that Song Lili’s death was my fault."
Wen Liangyu didn’t mind explaining,
"Chairman Bai, rest assured, Xiaonian may be naive at times, but he would never do anything inappropriate. You can trust him with Qiantan."
"I am completely confident in Mr. President’s integrity and character."
They walked and talked, laughing along.
When they reached the drawing room.
The witch was facing a painting on the side wall.
She wore an impressive headdress made of exotic bird feathers, her hair, black and white mixed, was braided into two thick plaits hanging down her back.
Her dark red long dress made of thick cotton and linen fabric had a black upper part with totems painted on the shoulders, cuffs, and chest.
The shoes she wore were entirely different from theirs, seemingly made from woven grass and wood, with thick heels making a clear, crisp "tap tap" sound on the smooth floor that wasn’t unpleasant to hear.