My Fiancé's Scandals Never End, So I Married His Uncle Instead-Chapter 94: A Master Who Thinks Nothing of Money

The butler replied, "Just now, the Chief Perfumers from Aurelian and Valois simultaneously received a phone call. They looked very grim and asked me to bid you farewell on their behalf. They’ve already departed."

The Lowell Family and the other two super-powerful perfumery families were geographically distant, but as rivals who had competed for years, they always paid close attention to one another’s movements. The slightest stir from one side could create a butterfly effect, bringing unexpected consequences for the other two.

Adeline Lowell took this very seriously. "Go inform the department heads. Find out what happened to them immediately."

The butler took his leave to carry out the order.

A few minutes later, the butler returned with news that could be considered neither good nor bad:

"The SS-rank base on the Sapphire Shores in southeastern Morellia was purchased an hour ago by a mysterious, wealthy individual from the East. I hear the Aurelian and Valois families are furious."

Adeline Lowell’s hand, holding her teacup, paused.

Over the past couple of days, while visiting for professional exchanges, the Chief Perfumers from the Aurelian and Valois families had also gossiped a bit. Adeline knew that both families coveted a massive base on the Sapphire Shores. The land was vast, with ideal soil and water. Expert analysis had confirmed it was perfect for cultivating several nearly extinct, top-tier perfume ingredients. However, the price was exorbitant, and the two families kept sabotaging each other. As a result, they’d been fighting over it for half a month, with neither side able to close the deal.

Adeline Lowell had, of course, been sorely tempted as well. But the Lowell Family’s influence didn’t extend overseas; there was no way they could compete with those two old Morellian families. All they could do was regretfully watch from the sidelines.

She never would have imagined that while the two rivals were locked in combat, a third party would swoop in and snatch the prize.

As far as she knew, the base’s asking price was nearly a third higher than its market value. Both families had deep pockets, but they weren’t fond of being played for fools. They were so certain that no one besides each other could possibly compete with them that they just kept stalling—until the prize they thought was in the bag slipped through their fingers overnight.

"Can you find out who bought it?" Adeline Lowell was in high spirits. Adopting an ’if I can’t have it, neither can my enemies’ attitude, she sighed softly. "I was worried that with the support of that base, the Lowells would gradually be unable to keep pace with those two. I never expected such a sudden turn of events."

The butler shook his head. "We don’t know who it was. Only that it’s someone with money to burn. They acted swiftly and decisively, throwing down a price ten percent higher than the asking price and signing the contract on the spot."

Adeline Lowell fell silent for a moment. "They signed the contract that cleanly? I recall the local government has regulatory treaties for this sort of thing..."

"Apparently, the buyer is an extremely influential figure. Not only did the government not obstruct the sale, but they even dispatched a special team to help process the contract. That’s why it all happened so fast the two perfumery families couldn’t even react."

The butler’s words made Adeline Lowell fall silent for a few more seconds.

"Alright, let me know if there are any updates on this matter." Adeline Lowell waved her hand. "You may go."

After the butler left, Adeline Lowell finally turned to Silas Norwood with an apologetic smile. "My apologies for neglecting you, Chairman Norwood."

Silas Norwood’s gaze was still fixed on Celia Sterling.

Immersed in a field she loved, the young woman’s eyes were bright, and she looked thirsty for knowledge. She seemed to be glowing.

His gentle gaze remained on her for a long time. It was unclear if he had even heard the conversation between Adeline Lowell and the butler. Only when Adeline addressed him directly did he slowly pull his eyes away from Celia.

He lowered his gaze to the tea Adeline Lowell had personally poured for him. "President Lowell, would you be interested in discussing a small business deal with me?"

Adeline Lowell’s expression tensed slightly. Glancing at the bustling teaching environment, she extended an invitation, "The reishi grass in our private courtyard is a famously precious variety throughout the Perfumery Guild. I wonder if Chairman Norwood would care to adjourn there to admire it with me?"

Silas Norwood slowly set down his teacup, his voice noble and detached. "Alright."

The courtyard’s reishi grass was cultivated in a highly private greenhouse. There wasn’t much of it, but every plant was an exceptionally rare variety. It was likely the place the Lowell Family used for cultivation experiments. Beside the greenhouse stood an elegant, classical-style white jade pavilion. The surrounding view was open and clear. Silas Norwood and Adeline Lowell sat facing each other, with several bodyguards standing behind him, never leaving his side.

Adeline Lowell glanced at the bodyguards. "Rest assured, Chairman Norwood, it’s very safe here."

"I bring bodyguards not just for safety, but to avoid being alone with a woman," Silas Norwood said in a casual tone. "I have a girlfriend, after all."

Adeline Lowell looked at this man who was so principled even when his girlfriend wasn’t present. ’What incredible luck Miss Sterling has,’ she thought with a sigh, before getting down to business:

"What was the business deal you mentioned earlier, Chairman Norwood?"

"Cece is very fond of the atmosphere at the Lowell Clan Academy," Silas Norwood began. "I hope those eighteen masters can continue to teach Cece until she no longer requires their instruction."

If it had been anyone else, Adeline Lowell would have thrown the word "shameless" right in their face.

Her expression turned a little sour. "As you said, Chairman Norwood, this is the Lowell Clan Academy. For all these years, aside from the special privilege we’ve granted Miss Sterling these past two days, we have never opened it to any outsider."

If it weren’t for Kian Sterling, even these past two days would have been impossible.

’And now here’s Chairman Norwood, making such an outrageous demand and erasing any time limit,’ she thought. ’He looks like such a noble and proper gentleman, but to think he could be such a bully in private.’

"Since I said I wanted to discuss business with President Lowell, I naturally don’t expect those masters to teach for free." Silas Norwood either ignored her sour expression or simply didn’t care.

Adeline Lowell refused apologetically. "The Lowell Family was facing some difficulties before, which the Ninth Master has already helped us resolve. The teaching arrangement for these two days was also a condition negotiated with the Ninth Master. At present, the Lowell Family has no need of your assistance, Chairman Norwood. As for long-term instruction, please don’t bring it up again. Perfumery is the very foundation of the Lowell Family. Casually sharing our heritage with an outsider would violate the precepts of our ancestors."

"You don’t lack anything?" Silas Norwood said slowly. "What about a base?"

"The Lowell Family has endured for centuries; we have plenty of bases. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself, Chairman Norwood."

Silas Norwood’s expression remained calm. "What if it was the SS-rank base on the Sapphire Shores we were just discussing?"

Adeline Lowell froze. The Lowell Family did have bases, but there were several nearly extinct medicinal herbs that, besides having long growth cycles, had extremely strict requirements for soil and climate. The Lowells currently only had one very small base that met the cultivation conditions. For the family as a whole, it was a drop in the bucket. And from what she knew, the base on the Sapphire Shores was a hundred times the size of their own...

Her eyes, filled with probing suspicion, fixed on Silas Norwood:

"Chairman Norwood, are you in a position to make decisions about that base?"

Silas Norwood didn’t answer the question, instead stating his offer directly:

"Ten years of rent-free use of the SS-rank base on the Sapphire Shores. In addition, I will provide the Lowell Family with one set of the twelve most precious raw perfume essences every year. If you don’t agree, President Lowell, I will make the same offer to the Aurelian or Valois families. As far as I know, the old masters in those two families are no less skilled than those of the Lowells."