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After a reluctant farewell to the white horse, Cai Bo'an and his entourage, led by Lei Yongxiang, arrived at the manor. From afar, they could hear shrill screams coming from the main hall; all the manor's servants and maids scattered in fear. Entering the hall, they found a dozen or so people occupying it, account books piled high on the table. A burly man was hurling insults at a refined middle-aged scholar, the profanities so vulgar they could fill a book.

Cai Bo'an stood with his hands behind his back at the hall entrance, listening for a while. "Is that Sun Guang?"

Cai Zhonghe replied, "It is him."

Who was the one being scolded?

Lei Yongxiang said, "It's Manager Zhou who helps me manage the ranch. His name is Zhou Peng. I know nothing about business, so I rely entirely on Mr. Zhou to manage it for me."

Cai Zhonghe laughed and said, "When I heard that Brother Yongxiang managed the ranch so well and made a lot of profit every year, I was astonished. It turns out he has a treasure in his hands."

At this moment, the people who were shouting in the hall noticed them. When they saw the Cai Bo'an brothers being fawned over, Sun Guang and the two stewards and servants he brought with him hurriedly got up.

Sun Guang's arrogant expression subsided slightly. He strode over, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "Grand Enforcer, Fourth Lord, what brings you two here?"

Cai Bo'an's face darkened, becoming even more sinister and chilling than when Lord Bao was handling a case. "Whose orders did you take over Tianyi Ranch? The Lord's orders? Or the Madam's orders? Do you have any warrants or anything like that? Show them to me."

Sun Guang was taken aback for a moment, then immediately said arrogantly, "It's neither the Lord's order nor the Madam's order. I'm here to take over Tianyi Ranch on my elder brother's orders, and the warrant is here."

Cai Bo'an's deputy, Fang Runmin, came over, grabbed the ranch, and presented it to Cai Bo'an with both hands. Cai Bo'an took it, examined it, and said coldly, "Sun Guang, your brother Sun Yue ordered you to take over the ranch. Whose orders were you on?"

"You obeyed? You obeyed?" Sun Guang was intimidated by Cai Bo'an's imposing aura, his arrogance vanished, and his mind calmed down a bit. After stammering for a while, he hurriedly said, "I obeyed the lady's orders."

Cai Bo'an shouted, "Nonsense! How dare you impersonate the Madam and engage in such dirty and corrupt activities! Seize him!"

Fang Runmin pounced on Sun Guang and slammed him to the ground. Sun Guang roared and barked wildly, but Fang Runmin squeezed him with his large hand, and Sun Guang rolled his eyes and could no longer utter a word. The two stewards and more than a dozen servants that Sun Guang brought were shocked and rushed over to attack, but they were all easily dealt with by Cai Bo'an's six fierce warriors.

Cai Bo'an ordered, "Take them to the dungeon first, and when we return, escort them back to the fort together and hand them over to the fort lord for punishment according to the fort's rules."

After taking Sun Guang and the others away, Lei Yongxiang's anger subsided. At that moment, members of the Cai family, accompanied by Madam Cai and Zhou Yanhua, entered. Lei Yongxiang invited them to sit down. After they were seated according to their social standing, maids brought tea and snacks. Qing Jianyue took the fragrant tea, squinted her eyes, took a sip, and then popped a piece of pastry into her mouth. Mmm, delicious!

"It's been a long time since I've seen Sherry. How is she doing?"

Grandma Cai began by giving the opening remarks. As soon as she spoke, Lei Yongxiang responded respectfully and politely, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

"Thank you for asking, sister-in-law. I've been thinking that Shirley is doing quite well these days. She even mentioned you a couple of days ago. I didn't expect you to come here so soon."

Grandma Cai glanced at her husband with captivating eyes and smiled gently, "I haven't seen Xue Li in so long, I miss her terribly. I heard my husband was coming to Tianyi Ranch, so I came along. Yanhua, what are you standing there for? Don't you even greet me?"

Zhou Yanhua stood up and said shyly, "Greetings, Brother Lei."

Lei Yongxiang stood up and exclaimed in surprise, "Is that Yanhua? It's been three years since I last saw her. She's even more beautiful now!"

A vibrant blush spread across Zhou Yanhua's cheeks, her watery eyes gazing at him tenderly, her charming and lovely appearance enough to drown any hero in those two deep pools.

Lei Yongxiang was startled and quickly looked away. Zhou Yanhua also lowered her head and gently sat back down, while Grandma Cai smiled with considerable satisfaction.

Qing Jianyue blinked and swallowed a small pastry. He finally understood why Cai Bo'an had brought his wife and sister-in-law along. It turned out that while persuading Lei Yongxiang to come out of retirement, he was also casually discussing a marriage proposal.

Cai Zhonghe gave a concise yet detailed report on the current situation facing Lujiabao, with measured intonation. Afterwards, Cai Bo'an recounted Lu Qingcheng's strategy. Lei Yongxiang listened quietly, remaining silent for a long time.

Cai Bo'an said excitedly, "When I recommended you to the lord of the fort, he was overjoyed to hear it was you. He said that when Yongqing was the third lord of this fort, he defeated the bandits who attacked the fort seven times. He was both wise and brave, and his fame spread far and wide. His deeds are still talked about today. Therefore, the lord had no doubt that I recommended you to be the third lord. The lord said that with Yongqing's talent, he believed that his younger brother Yongxiang would certainly be more than capable of the job."

Lei Yongxiang listened silently, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and he smiled coldly, "Three years ago, my brother died suddenly at Baishi Manor, and I was also unjustly expelled. My reputation is long gone."

“Yongxiang and Yongqing’s deaths have nothing to do with the Lord of the Fortress,” Cai Bo’an advised. “Three years ago, you were forced to leave by Liu Jianhua and Tong Sen, not because of the Lord of the Fortress. At that time, the Lord of the Fortress was alone and powerless, and the time was not right to protect you. Now it’s different. The time is ripe, and it is a great opportunity for you and me to revitalize Lu Family Fortress.”

Cai Zhonghe stabbed in like a sharp knife, "Brother Yongxiang, don't you want to avenge your brother, don't you want to deal with those three villains, Liu Jianhua, Tong Sen, and Sun Yue, and vent your anger?"

“Brother Bo’an, I am very grateful for your care over the years. But what about me?” Lei Yongxiang smiled dejectedly and sarcastically. “Let’s get straight to the point. I’m really tired of that scheming life. These past few years, raising horses here has made me lazy, and I’m afraid I’ll be hard to control.”

Cai Bo'an angrily said, "Yongxiang, what's wrong with you? Are you planning to stay here and raise horses?"

“Raising horses and being a groom isn’t such a bad thing. I’ll take my leave for a moment; I’ll have Steward Zhou make the arrangements.” Lei Yongxiang left without looking back. No matter how Cai Bo’an called him, he ignored him.

Cai Bo'an said angrily, "This kid, he's still as stubborn as ever, he hasn't changed at all."

Cai Zhonghe frowned and remained silent, turning to look at Qing Jianyue. Good lad! Holding the pastries, he ate with relish, not forgetting to share the meat filling in the cakes with his beloved little fox.

Chapter Five: The Beauty

As dawn broke, Qingjianyue rose and ran joyfully towards the rising sun, as free and unrestrained as an eagle spreading its wings. The white fox, too, stretched its graceful and powerful physique, running bravely and nimbly, its calls echoing its master's calls.

The servants and laborers, who had been busy since dawn, all stopped their work temporarily, their faces beaming with joy, as they followed the two shimmering spirits, a human and a fox, until they disappeared into a golden forest.

At Kiyomi Tsuki's shout, the white fox leaped into the air, making several aggressive pouncing and killing motions. Suddenly, it alertly twitched its beautiful ears, blinked its golden eyes, and darted away like lightning.

Kiyomi Tsuki put her finger to her lips and whistled a loud, clear whistle. The white fox quickly turned its beautiful head back.

"Little fox, where are you going? Are you trying to slack off? You should know that the reason I train you to do these tasks every day is to make you more qualified to be the Fox King in the future."

Unexpectedly, his lesson didn't make the white fox obediently return to continue its morning lessons. It let out a cry, flicked its tail, and dashed off again. Kiyomi Tsuki, puzzled, quickly gave chase.

Against the backdrop of azure sky and golden trees, a young woman appeared dreamlike, wandering alone, lost and forlorn. Her figure was slender and graceful, perfectly proportioned, and she wore an elegant white silk robe, its wide hem trailing on the ground, like a pure, pristine lily of a secluded valley.

A profound sorrow and grief shrouded her beautiful, ethereal face, as if nothing in this world could bring her joy anymore. Because of this sorrow, she neglected to comb her long, glossy black hair, letting it cascade over her snow-white silk robe, while she repeatedly murmured two phrases.

"The silkworm spins silk until its death, and the candle burns until it is ash."

Qing Jian Yue abruptly stopped running, her two dark blue eyes flashing with surprise. "What a beautiful woman!" The white fox cried out, its golden eyes filled with the words, "The Fox King loves beauty, the Fox King loves beauty." Qing Jian Yue circled the beauty, scratching her head. "Something seems off!" The white fox cried a few more times, a flash of silver light, and pounced at the white-clad woman's feet. Qing Jian Yue cautiously took a few steps closer. "Hey, beautiful sister, good morning."

The young woman in white seemed to awaken from a dream, her infatuated gaze slowly shifting to him. "Who are you?"

Kiyomi Tsuki's face beamed like a radiant sunflower. "My name is Kiyomi Tsuki."

"Kiyomizuki?" The young woman in white asked, bewildered as if in a dream. "Where is this?"