...

Meanwhile, as Wu Dianshan was sighing, the couples of the Shouzhe and Mingyuan families had already skillfully divided into two groups.

Wang Shouzhe and Wu Mingyuan sat together. The two sat side by side, with smiles as gentle as spring breeze and rain, engaging in superficial pleasantries.

Liua Ruolan and Gongye Qingrui sat on the other side, beginning their diplomatic exchanges as ladies. It wasn’t difficult for the two charming and mature ladies to find common topics.

"Sister Qingrui, your skin is so smooth, as white as snow, and your hair so dark and beautiful. Do you have any secret?" Liua Ruolan displayed another side of her as the wife of a noble family, gentle and graceful, her smile as pleasant as the spring breeze.

At this moment, she was a completely different person from the imposing female War God wielding a sword.

She had no choice, as her great-grandson was a boy~ No matter what, this time it was their Little Princess who suffered a big loss.

"Little Sister Ruolan, you may not know, our Anbei Guard is constantly plagued by wind and sand, with a dry climate. Only my bullheaded husband would volunteer to take that barren land as a fief." Gongye Qingrui glanced at Wu Mingyuan from afar with a hint of reproach before continuing with a cheerful laugh, "A few years ago, my hair was all dry and splitting. Thankfully, Princess Consort Zhenzuo often sent me [Ice Skin Jade Moisturizing Cream], [Soft and Moist Green Silk], and other precious products to nourish my skin and hair, which helped me recover."

Ruolan chuckled at this and smiled, "Sister Qingrui, you may not know, but these products are all produced by my Wang Family. If you find them effective, I’ll send you a special supply every year."

"Really? That’s wonderful, little sister Ruolan, you’re my savior..."

"Sister, don’t be so polite~ I also have some exclusive formulas, not available in mass production, when..."

"Friendship" between women can sometimes blossom incredibly fast and without reason. Within a few exchanges, the two had already become quite close, as if they had been good sisters for decades.

On the other side, Wang Shouzhe and Wu Mingyuan had also gone through a round of mutual appreciation, officially entering the next round of further mutual appreciation.

This is how communication works between those in power: after meeting, they first engage in a round of mutual appreciation to build rapport before discussing serious matters. Sometimes, for important matters, one round of mutual appreciation isn’t enough, requiring several more.

There’s no way around it.

After all, at their level, any decision they make would impact the safety, honor, and disgrace of hundreds or even thousands of clan members. Thus, unless absolutely necessary, they would never openly oppose someone.

Negotiations, too, are never done in one go but involve a round or multiple rounds of careful probing.

An experienced leader can discern the other’s disposition, outlook, and psychological bottom line through mutual dialogue (probing), adapting their strategy accordingly in light of the situation.

And Prince Anjun wasn’t in a hurry to discuss serious matters precisely because of his caution. His understanding of Wang Shouzhe and the Wang Family primarily came from Tianyan’s information and judgment, which inherently carried its biases and limitations.

The Changning Wang Family was very likely to become his in-law, and Wang Shouzhe was an ally he wanted to win over. Without personally seeing and chatting with them and gaining an in-depth understanding, how could he hastily make a decision?

After all, it concerned the lifelong happiness of his little daughter. If the family values of the Changning Wang Family didn’t meet expectations or the information was misleading, he would rather find another way to smooth over the situation than agree to the marriage.

"Patriarch Shouzhe, this tea is quite good, seems somewhat similar to the Immortal Tea from Uncle Grandpa’s house," he praised endlessly as he sipped the tea.

Prince Zhenzuo Wu Dianshan’s mouth twitched slightly.

What does "seems similar" mean? This was clearly the Immortal Tea he had someone purchase from the Cold Moon Immortal Dynasty...

Feeling wronged, he glanced sorrowfully at Wang Anye, who stood obediently and innocently like a little quail among the adults.

It’s all that kid’s fault~ He shouldn’t have competed with that rascal in lure fishing back then, which resulted not only in losing face but also in losing two taels of Immortal Tea to him.

That Immortal Tea was likely taken to serve Grandfather Wang Shouzhe, which then wound up in Wu Mingyuan’s mouth.

Was it easy for him, Wu Dianshan, to get some Immortal Tea?

"Since Prince Mingyuan likes it, if you don’t mind, I still have another tael here," Wang Shouzhe said, pulling out a delicate tea canister and placing it in Wu Mingyuan’s hand.

It turns out it was indeed my Immortal Tea... 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Wu Dianshan’s pupils shrunk, his heart bleeding as he made a secret vow. He would ensure to practice his lure fishing skills diligently. Someday, he would avenge the past transgression and clear Shouzhe’s storeroom in the Endless Abyss.

He had to admit, the treasures in that kid’s storage ring were dazzling, leaving even a Prince like him envious.

"Ah, well... since it’s a gift from Patriarch Shouzhe, I’d be rude to refuse." Wu Mingyuan also seemed to appreciate the Immortal Tea greatly, happily accepting it.

This whole operation left Wu Dianshan secretly rolling his eyes.

"Patriarch Shouzhe, here is a jar of [Purple Jade Immortal Nectar] for you, but it’s not the original version," Wu Mingyuan said, extracting a jar of wine as a return gift, "The [Purple Jade Immortal Nectar] from the Cold Moon Immortal Dynasty is a rare treasured liquor. However, it’s too expensive to drink comfortably, so after much effort, I introduced the Purple Jade Immortal Grape Vine, and after a lot of work, successfully transplanted it onto a small piece of top-grade spiritual vein, thus managed to create this imitation of Immortal Nectar."