As Keith had informed her, the representatives of Qin Sect did arrive at the First Estate in the morning. And Rouxi, who had been expecting them, came out to receive them.
"Mrs Demiliore," A beautiful lady, who looked to be in her mid-twenties and was leading the group, smiled and greeted her with a slight bow, and her address immediately put the Child of Destiny at ease. "My name is Qin Ruolan, ninth daughter of Lord Qin Zhijian, and I am here to congratulate you and Lord Demiliore on your marriage."
The moment the Rouxi heard that she was Qin Zhijian's daughter, she was stunned, and it was because Zhijian was the Ancestor of the Qin Clan and the oldest Mortal God in the world.
She had only just learned his name last night from Rebecca, and now she was standing before the daughter of the Great Ancestor.
However, she still smiled and drew her hand forward to the lady.
"Rouxi Demiliore née Qin." She gave her name, and Roulan happily shook hands with her.
Rouxi's instincts told her that the lady in front of her was not a normal person, and when she heard a voice from behind, she was even more certain of it.
"Well, well, consider me impressed. I was not expecting a Princess to come and meet me early in the morning."
Keith walked out of the front door, and Roulan, together with the four men behind her, who were all wearing black Tang Suits with golden highlights, bowed to him.
"Lord Demiliore."
"Princess," He smiled at her, ignoring the rest, and he heard a ping in his mind as soon as their eyes met.
{Ding! A person with high Luck and Talent has been detected!}
{The System requires the Host's permission to use 100 Fate Value to check on Qin Roulan's information.}
Keith remembered that Qin Roulan's name was only mentioned once in the Plan of Destiny that he had read. She had ascended from this world before Qin Feng had returned to his homeland, and she was considered one of the Strongest Elders of the Qin Sect.
However, it seemed like there was much more to her.
"Granted. Show me her info."
{Initialising Host's Request...}
{Ding!}
[Subject: Qin Ruolan]
[Potential Heroine of Destiny]
[Age: 41]
[Race: Ashaya (Esper)]
[Status: Ninth Daughter of Qin Zhijian. Princess of the Qin Sect. Strongest Elder of the Qin Sect.]
[Cultivation Rank: Primal Desolation (Primal Harmony)]
[Special Physique: The Blank Physique]
[Esper Ability: Illusion]
[Cultivation Talent: Indigo]
[Strength: 22]
[Constitution: 22]
[Speed & Reflexes: 25]
(10 is the average limit for Cultivators in the Primal Desolation Realm.)
[Charm: 93]
[Fate Value: 3967]
{Qin Roulan was born to Qin Zhijian and his maid and lover, Qin Lanlan. She is Zhijian's favourite child and one of the reasons why he still stays on Gaia. Born with an astonishing Cultivation Talent, she reached the pinnacle of the Five Mortal Realms at the age of 13, and she has been stuck in the Primal Desolation Realm for 28 years now. It won't be long before she reaches the Completion of Primal Harmony and leaves this world to meet her mother again, something she has been looking forward to since the day Qin Lanlan left Gaia...}
The System provided him with a brief account of Roulan's life.
"Potential Heroine of Destiny?" He frowned.
{The Child of Destiny she is intended for has not been born yet, Host. The Plans could always change. Therefore, she is not a Heroine of Destiny right now.}
"So, she is not marked?"
{No, Host.}
The answer made him smile and he looked into the pink eyes of the girl who was curiously looking at him.
Keith had this gut feeling that Leilah did not just want him to come here for Rouxi and Feifei, but for Roulan too.
This girl was likely going to Ascend in the coming few weeks, and she was someone with great potential that he was very much interested in.
"No gifts?" He playfully asked, which caught them off-guard, and Roulan felt a little embarrassed at his words.
The girl debated if she should make an excuse or tell the truth, but considering how her father had asked her to be extremely mindful when she met Keith, she decided to come clean.
"We did intend to bring you a gift, Lord Demiliore. However, a certain greedy Mortal God decided to take everything that we had on us when we visited him yesterday."
"Qin Feng? Isn't he part of your Family?" He smiled, making her more uncomfortable.
"Some people lack respect for their Elders and Blood, My Lord. And yet, they are family, and we must bear with them."
"Only if they are worth it," He shook his head. "You only bore with his impudence because he was stronger than you, and a Mortal God who could prove to be a great asset to your family."
Roulan furrowed her brows at his words and nodded her head, not denying them.
"The Qin Sect is immensely pleased that you have married the Blood of our Family. And we would like to host you in our Sect whenever you have the time to visit us. We apologise for coming empty-handed today, and we will give you a suitable Wedding Present as per the Tradition of our Family when you visit our home."
"How's my Grandfather?" He asked, changing the subject.
"Your Grandfather is enjoying his time in Shangri-La. Sir Caesar is in great health too." She smiled.
"I see. Thank you," He nodded, "Please, come inside."
The five members of the Qin Family could not help but sigh in their hearts when they saw the stark contrast between the hospitality they had received last evening and today.
Keith never once tried to assert his dominance over them and neither did he feel any need to remind them that they were not equal.
He joined them with Rouxi at the breakfast table and engaged each of them in a polite chat about their Sect and their lives.
They knew that he was likely showing this hospitality to them because they had taken care of his Grandfather for nearly a year now. But still, they could not help but look down upon Qin Feng, who was their Blood and had no serious grievances with the Sect either.
The petty Mortal God had run from the Sect after his cousins had bullied him when he was a young boy, and it seemed like he still bore a grudge against them over a childish spat.
At the end of their meal, Roulan finally brought up the topic that Rouxi was expecting.
"Mrs Demiliore. Your father was born in Qin Sect and was a member of the Qin Family. And since you are his daughter, you are our Blood."
"He was expelled."
"Which he deserved," Roulan did not hesitate as she replied to Rouxi's comment. "Did your father ever tell you why he was expelled from the Clan?" She asked.
The Child of Destiny frowned at her words and nodded in reply.
"How much did he tell you?" She asked.
"He told me that he trusted the wrong person, and because of that an innocent person lost his life."
"Yes," One of the men at the table nodded to her words.
"Your father unknowingly helped in the killing of an innocent man, thinking he was protecting his best friend. And later, he even lied before the Elders, testifying in favour of his best friend. I was there that day and I was the one who expelled him from the Sect." Roulan revealed to her, and Rouxi surprisedly looked at her.
The incident happened nearly thirty years ago, and she wondered how old Roulan was at that time to head the Hearing with the Elders of the Sect.
"We don't blame children for the Sins of their Parents, and though expelled, your Father was still allowed to keep the name Qin, which he did. Before he left the Clan, he requested that his future children must not be blamed for what he did and if they proved to be worthy enough, they should be accepted back into the Clan."
Rouxi raised her head and looked right into Roulan's eyes, and even though Feifei was not by her side to confirm it, she could tell that the Princess was not lying.
She was not blind and could see that these people greatly respected and feared Keith, and this meant that they were unlikely to lie to her in his presence.
"Are you here to invite me to the Clan?"
"Yes," Roulan nodded her head. "We were going to pay you a visit next year, but since you have married Lord Demiliore, we decided to come here earlier than we planned. We would like you to come to the Sect with your Husband and write down your name in the Book of Qin. Of course, there is no compulsion, and if you don't wish to be considered a part of the Clan, we won't insist on it."
"I wonder if you would have been so lenient about it if I was not married to Keith."
"No, we wouldn't have been as lenient," Roulan shook her head, and gave her a blunt but honest answer. M"If you were still single and refused to be part of the Qin Clan, you would have not been allowed to keep and use the name Qin again."
Rouxi narrowed her eyes at those words, and the Princess did not shy away from the gaze.
"Rules are rules, Mrs Demiliore."
"And you are not bending the rules now?" She smiled.
"We are helpless." The blunt honesty in her answer surprised her again, and Keith just smiled and kept eating his meal.
"I will visit the Sect with my husband when we have time to write my name in the Book of Qin. It was what my father wished for, and I shall honour his wish."
Keith excused himself for a few minutes once he was done eating, and when he returned, he offered a red envelope to Roulan.
"I would like the Qin Family to attend the Wedding on Friday. This is for Lord Qin..." He told her, and she curiously looked at the envelope as she accepted it. "I will be expecting an answer when I see you again."
"I will deliver it to my Father." She promised and then took her leave.
Rouxi curiously looked at Keith after they saw the guests off.
"What was in the letter?"
"I told Qin Zhijian what gift I want for us."
"What's that?" She raised her brow.
"Qin Roulan." Keith smiled as he watched Rouxi's eyes widen in surprise. "She's special."