The story of a bullied daughter's rise to power

The servant fell silent upon hearing this. The Luo family was a formidable force, and there were many who wished to become its master. The young master had endured countless assassinations along the way; it was a rare achievement for him to survive. Now, he was suffering from a serious illness. His life depended on whether the King of Hell was happy or not.

It is precisely because of this that the young master has been unable to truly inherit the Luo family.

Arriving at Lanqinglou, the man put his folding fan into his sleeve. Seeing this, the servant said, "Sir, would you like me to put it away for you?"

"No need." Luo Qiushen answered firmly.

When Luo Qiu entered the lobby, he happened to see the shopkeeper carrying a chessboard and chess pieces and preparing to go upstairs. Seeing it was him, he hurriedly said, "Sir, our boss has been waiting for you for a long time."

"I told you that woman had bad intentions towards you, right?" the servant whispered. Luo Qiushen simply stared at the chessboard, his eyes expressionless. He followed him upstairs.

"Boss, that young master is here."

Outside the door, the shopkeeper's voice made Situ Yaorao's eyes light up. She quickly put Xiao Hei aside and said, "Please let him in."

When Luo Qiu went deeper, Situ Yaorao was holding a wine jug, with two wine glasses placed steadily. The shopkeeper placed the chessboard on the table and then respectfully withdrew.

Luo Qiushen looked at Situ Yaorao, dressed as a man today, and was a little puzzled. Don't women generally like to dress themselves up to look their best? Although she looked good like this, why did she dress like a man?

Everyone in the capital city knows her identity, right?

"I heard that you like playing chess. Would you like to play a game with me?" Situ Yaorao asked with a smile.

"Do you know who I am?" Luo Qiushen was asking her, but he was already certain of the fact. Situ Yaorao didn't deny it either. "Otherwise, sir, how free do you think I am to be so patient with someone who wants to buy my fruit wine and break my rules? If this happened every time, wouldn't I be so busy as hell?"

"What do you want?" Luo Qiushen asked out of habit. There were only two kinds of people around him: those who wanted him dead, and those who wanted to use him to gain something.

Situ Yaorao did have something she wanted, so she said, "Let's keep it secret for now. When you're willing to give it to me, I'll bring it up."

"Well, let's play chess." The man said, grabbed a handful of black chess pieces, and was about to put them on the chessboard.

"Black moves first, young master, proceed directly." Situ Yaorao interrupted the man and spoke slowly. Luo Qiushen didn't object. Before taking action, he liked to first understand the opponent's strength. Before understanding the opponent's strength, he would accept any opportunity that was beneficial to him.

Situ Yaorao was actually not very good at playing chess, but she had to do it in order to pass the time and to cater to the interests of Mr. Luo Qiushen.

Luo Qiushen's chess skills were superb. It didn't even take him a quarter of an hour to make Situ Yaorao lose three games.

Situ Yaorao doesn’t know how to play chess, but that doesn’t mean she likes to lose. She immediately became angry.

Just when she was about to explode, she heard the man's clear and elegant voice, slowly speaking: "Let's not play chess anymore." This sentence made Situ Yaorao feel embarrassed: "Sorry, I'm not good at chess."

"How can you play well if your mind is not on the chessboard? I came here to accompany you because I want fruit wine. Not for you to accompany me."

The man's tone was very calm. Although he didn't mean any harm, it was a little cold. Perhaps it was because he was already used to being spoken to like this? Situ Yaorao thought to herself and smiled. She dropped the chess piece and resumed her usual behavior. She leaned back in her chair, took Xiao Hei in her arms, and caressed him intermittently. With a gleam in her eyes, she looked at the man and asked, "Well, I have something to say. If you want fruit wine, there are many ways to get it. Why did you have to come to Lan Qinglou? Why did you have to get it from us?"

"Interesting." The man did not throw away the chess pieces like Situ Yaorao did, but played chess by himself. In his left hand was Situ Yaorao's white chess piece, and in his right hand was his black chess piece.

"Interesting?" Situ Yaorao frowned.

"Ah, interesting. The other day, I heard someone mention Lan Qinglou's fruit wine. It's said that the wine here is only available in the shop, and it's incredibly difficult to buy outside. In fact, Lan Qinglou has never actively sold its fruit wine. Therefore, the fruit wine sold at auction has long been priced sky-high. So, I'm a little curious. How long can Lan Qinglou persist?" The man spoke slowly, his chess moves graceful. He looked pleasing to the eye, and no matter how harsh his words were, it was hard to get angry.

Of course, this person does not include Situ Yaorao.

If she liked someone who wanted to break her rules just because he thought it was fun, then she was a fool! If it weren't for the Seven Star Grass, she would have kicked him out by now. But unfortunately, he had the Seven Star Grass that she wanted most.

So, he could only endure it. He said, "Young Master, you really have a bad taste. So, in your opinion, is this fruit wine good or bad?"

"Both." said the man.

"What do you mean?" Situ Yaore looked at the man in confusion.

The man slowly said, "You said it was a good deal, but you didn't break the rules of Lan Qinglou. You gave it to me privately. You said it was not easy to get, and I only got the fruit wine after coming to Lan Qinglou. Whatever you say is fine."

"So, sir, are you satisfied with this result?" Situ Yaorao asked with a smile.

"Fortunately, there's no such thing as satisfaction or dissatisfaction. I thought I would be very interested, but in fact, it's nothing more than that." The man's tone was light, with a hint of loss.

Upon hearing this, Situ Yaorao raised an eyebrow and asked, "Sir, are you disappointed?"

"No. I just thought they'd be interested." Luo Qiushen didn't know what his mindset was when he came to Lan Qinglou. He'd grown accustomed to the intrigues of the Luo family over the years. From the initial backstabbing to the subsequent ability to bite back, how much he'd paid, perhaps only the past would reveal. After all, even he had almost forgotten.

But after this period of adjustment, he began to lose interest in everything. As the heir to the Luo family, he had to learn to take everyone into account. If he wanted to calculate everyone, he had to be more far-sighted than anyone else. He had indeed achieved this. However, living too transparently had taken away the joy of living.

In this world, some people live with ease, some live happily. Some live in pain. His life, however, was dull. After hearing about the Lan Qinglou, he was curious. What kind of place could one be so unafraid of power and so uncoveted by wealth? But after arriving, he realized he hadn't cared at all. The so-called care he had given it was just his perception.

He couldn't even fool himself.

So, when he came here today, he had some reservations, but with the mentality of getting things done, he stayed. Playing this meaningless game of Go, he looked at the woman's shrewd yet calculating smile.

"Sir, if you've lost interest, why did you come?" Situ Yaorao was truly baffled by this man. She always felt that Luo Qiushen wasn't as overbearing as she'd imagined, but rather, filled with endless loneliness.

"Because you wanted me to come. Also, I'm curious about how the Crown Princess planned to trick the Seven Star Grass from me." The man spoke bluntly. Upon hearing this, Situ Yaorao felt embarrassed...