The Count’s Palace wasn’t situated in the heart of the city but was instead a large manor like castle located separately twenty miles away from Xuanwu City.
Shen Lang stood from a distance gazing at the beautifully crafted manor. His heart shook, jarringly amazed by its magnificence. With his current status as a village boy, it’d be impossible for him to enter unless he was born of noble blood.
The Xu Family, however, was a powerful family in Xuanwu City, but even then, they can only enter the manor two or three times a year. At most, only the Count’s butler would receive them.
The Xu Family’s House, it was large and big but nothing compared to the Count;s Palace resting grandly before him.
Several hundreds of years back, the history of their fiefdom stretched out over 5,000 square kilometers long and wide. Later, because of ongoing political turmoil, the forming of the great empire, and state reforms, the Jin Family’s land was stretched thin.
Though it shouldn’t matter much even now.
They still held enormous land and they were still the supreme ruler of Xuanwu City.
The Count’s Palace’s manor covered over a thousand acres long. It had its own fields, farms, orchards, wineries, and so forth.
The manor stood atop on a two or three hundred meters high mountain and stretching over a hundred meters wide. The walls were thick and sturdy, the defense much greater than Xuanwu City’s walls.
Enemies would find themselves stumped.
If a war breaks out and Xuanwu City fell, so be it. No big deal.
But if the Count’s Place fell, then Xuanwu City’s a goner.
At this time, Shen Lang stepped inside the gates of the manor for the first time since reincarnating into this world. He could see hundreds of miles of history… and it was utterly beautiful.
… … …
Jin Mulan unloaded her silver armor hugging her figure, leaving only a tight-fitting snakeskin suit gracefully showing her shapely figure. Her devilishly enchanting body, it looked more amorous and rosy. Her twin peaks and round buttocks seemed ready to burst out of her clothing.
She’s practiced the art of fighting year round. She’s taller than most men and there seemed to be no one who can match the strength of her thighs. She’s full of absolute strength and beauty. Her slender figure was made for fighting. And her curves, it’d cause others to fall apart and melt like soft jelly.
She was a beautiful flower.
If living was the epitome of life, then she was life itself. If she was the moon, she truly shone the brightest, daring to unveil the darkest nights. She was a gem, a treasure, no… a goddess made in heaven. The sort who was so disarmingly aware of her beauty, how it caused many to fall for her beck and call. She’s beautiful, simple, and ever so complicated. She was the kind women loved to hate for she stood as the epitome of what they wished they could never be.
A goddess she is indeed.
It’s no wonder she had many suitors.
Taking off her snakeskin suit, Jin Mulan’s alluring figure walked into the bathroom. Each time she returned home, the first thing she’d do was take a hot bath. It was peaceful and it cooled off her head, giving her mind peace, quiet, and time to think.
After her bath, she put on a tight fitted men’s clothing and went to greet her parents.
She liked wearing men’s clothes. It made her feel more heroic, cool, and beautiful.
“Greetings father, mother,” she bowed.
The Count’s study room wasn’t grand as outsiders would expect. It was simple and plain but it had everything one would need for furthering their knowledge. Their books here resting peacefully had hundreds of years of history behind it. Truly is exquisitely noble.
Most of the books here have lasted more than a hundred years.
Count Jin was in his fifties, more or less but nevertheless, his youthful aura remained. He was a cool and elegant gentleman with a soft and gentle temperament but behind those eyes, there stands a cool gaze ready to penetrate the hearts of the people like a sword.
His martial arts level was high enough, stronger than most others. Though most of the time he wasn’t found sleeping with a sword. That didn’t suit his image. Instead, he had a book glued in his hand year round.
He’s a high-ranking man but seldom wears fine brocades. Rather, he’s found wearing cotton or linen clothings too often. He seldom wears gold and silver. The only thing found was a piece of respectable jade jewelry tied around his waist.
“Ah, dearest daughter, you’re back? How was it this time?” Count Jin asked.
“It was good,” Jin Mulan nodded. “I haven’t caused the Jin’s name to lose face.”
Count Jin bellowed in laughter. “That’s good. You did well, Mulan.”
He looked at his daughter, emotions both loving and complicated. Then, he sighed softly. “If only your useless little brother has even a third of your martial talent, then I wouldn’t be so afraid of having no successors to follow me. What a pity…”
“Father, is the situation very bad?”
“Very bad!” Count Jin choked. “The Great Yan Empire is carrying out a new policy that’ll affect its territories. Yue State is of no exception. The King’s will is clear. The new will replace the old. The old nobles like myself will be stripped of their feudal military power one after another. Aristocrats like us, dear daughter… we’ll eventually chip away into the dust. In such turbulent times like this, why is my heir so incompetent that he’d only destroy the foundations our Jin Family toiled for hundreds of years? How then can I face my ancestor’s after death?!”
Remembering this, Count Jin gnashed his teeth. Fury and deep anger overcame him all too suddenly.