Dou Xiangling knows that people abroad do not value family ties as much as people from China do.

In particular, Ian had replaced the original successor of the Count and it was normal that the Count and Countess would feel uncomfortable deep down inside.

However, she could also see the hardships Ian had to suffer in the Count’s Mansion.

Dou Xiangling pulled his hand and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t be upset because of their cold attitude. To me, they are merely your family members and since they dislike you, there’s no need for me to go out of my way to like them.”

Even though Dou Xiangling did not mention any words such as affection or love, everything she said was due to her understanding of him. Ian felt happy at her consideration and pulled her into his embrace as he said, “Xiangling, it’s great that I was able to fall in love with you.”

Having said that, he brought her to the palace.

The King treated Dou Xiangling amicably and he also gave them his blessings. In particular, before they left, he said, “There are many talented people in the Dou Family and both you and Ian are a good match.”

Upon hearing this, Dou Xiangling smiled. “Thank you for your kind compliment. You are also a wise monarch and you will surely lead Country M to progress even better.”

“Haha… I’m old now. It’ll still require the younglings to lead Country M to an even brighter future. Ian is one of them.”

At the mention of this, the King laughed and said, “It just so happens that I have nothing scheduled tomorrow. I wonder if the two of you would be welcoming for me to attend your dinner banquet?”

“Of course we are willing,” Ian and Dou Xiangling hastily replied.

“Hahaha… that’s great.”

After Ian and Dou Xiangling took their leave, a young man walked out from one side. “Royal Father, I don’t understand; why did you mention going to Ian’s dinner banquet?”

Even if it was a dinner banquet for an engagement, it was not necessary for a King to attend.

In particular, Ian had overthrown the original Count’s successor. Supposedly, the King would feel even more cautious against him. After all, in the Country, someone like Ian would be considered to be too ambitious and thus, one should be wary of him.

The King shook his head and disagreed with his point of view. “Justin, you’re still too young. The current global tide has changed. Do you know why other countries are becoming increasingly fearful of China?”

“Because they possess even more advanced technology and many of those technologies have caught up to those of the superpower countries.”

“You’re wrong. It’s because they have talented individuals.”

“Is Royal Father talking about Lu Jingye and his wife?”

“Yes.”

“Lu Jingye and his wife are indeed very powerful, but I don’t think they can dominate the situation worldwide.”

The King shook his head again and he started to feel worried. “You’re really too young still. You have to learn from your elder brother in this aspect.”

Even though his eldest son was considerably violent and he was more fond of his younger son, it was a fact that the younger one was inferior to the eldest in the aspect of politics.

Justin was a little unhappy about how the King was comparing him with his brother. “Eldest brother has been in politics for many years and I only just came into contact with this aspect. Obviously, I would not be as good as him.”

“This has nothing to do with how long you have been in politics. You have to throw away your prejudices and self-opinionated ideas and truly accept talented people and show them respect. Ian was able to overthrow his elder brother and stop the Count from saying anything. He has sufficiently proved his abilities. More importantly, the woman Ian is going to marry is from the Dou Family.”

“Aren’t the Dou Family a scholarly family?” At the mention of this, Justin suddenly went silent. He recalled that the Dou Family was not only a scholarly family, but they were also Zi Yi’s family. As long as they maintained a good relationship with the Dou Family, it would be equivalent to having a good relationship with Lu Jingye and Zi Yi.

“Royal Father, I know what to do now.”

Justin revealed confidence as he said, “I will foster a good relationship with Ian and the rest.”

After Justin said that, he headed out to chase after Ian and Dou Xiangling.

However, it was out of his calculations that the Eldest Prince, Andre had already ‘coincidentally’ bumped into Ian and Dou Xiangling outside the King’s room when Justin was having a conversation with the King.

“Ian.”

The Eldest Prince came up to them with a smile on his face.

Ian introduced him to Dou Xiangling. “This is the Eldest Prince, Andre.”

Andre came up to both of them and said, “I didn’t expect to bump into you here.”

Having said that, he turned to Dou Xiangling and asked, “And who might this beautiful lady be?”

“She’s my future wife, Dou Xiangling.”

“Hello, Miss Dou.”

“Hello, Prince Andre.”

Andre’s smile deepened and he extended an invitation to them. “Ian, what are the both of you doing here? Why don’t you head over to my palace and have a cup of coffee?”

“No need. Xiangling and I have things to attend to.”

“What a pity… but I heard that you are planning to hold a dinner banquet tomorrow. I wonder if I would have the honor to attend?”

“You’re welcome to attend.”

“Haha. My guess is that this dinner banquet is for your engagement. I will arrive on time and offer you two my most sincere wishes.”

“Thank you.”

Both of them exchanged a few more words, before Ian left with Dou Xiangling.

The Eldest Prince stood in the corridor and did not leave right away. It did not take long before Justin came out of the King’s room.

When he saw the Eldest Prince standing there, his brow wrinkled indiscernibly.

“Justin, what a coincidence to bump into you here. Are you also here to find Royal Father?”

“Yes. I just came out from Royal Father’s room. However, Royal Father is tired and he is currently resting.”

“It seems like I came at a bad time. I originally had something to discuss with Royal Father.”

The Eldest Prince continued standing there and talking to Justin. Even if Justin wanted to chase after Ian and Dou Xiangling, he could not do so. He got a little anxious and said, “Big Brother, I have something on, I’ll be making a move first.”

“Wait a minute.” The Eldest Price looked at the obviously anxious Justin and smiled gently.

“Is there anything else?”

“I just so happen to have something I need your help with. It’s related to national construction. You should follow me and make a trip.”

“But…”

“Let’s go. Royal Father previously mentioned that you will be participating in politics. Don’t tell me you think participating in politics is just listening to other people’s opinions?”

Since the Eldest Prince had said so, Justin was not in a position to say anything else and he could only follow him.

By the time they separated from each other, it was already an hour later. Looking at Justin who left in a hurry, a chilly glint streaked past Andre’s eyes.

“Eldest Prince,” his attendant said to him, “The Fifth Prince should be heading out to look for Ian. Should we stop him halfway?”

“No need.” A sharp glint flashed past the Eldest Prince’s eyes and he motioned for his attendant to move closer. “The Countess isn’t fond of Ian very much and naturally, she would not like Miss Dou. Go and…”

…

“Miss Zi, it’s really a pity that you are not in the architectural designing industry.

Zi Yi and Yi Lanke were standing in front of a building and this was Yi Lanke’s fifth time expressing his regrets. “If I were to design such a building, I would definitely think of it as an impossible task. I didn’t expect to be enlightened after receiving guidance from you.”

Zi Yi said with a smile, “I don’t have time to get involved in architectural design. Besides, Mr. Yi Lanke’s professional abilities are also superb.”

“No, no, no, I don’t think that my skills are good at all when I’m here. There are many different types of craftwork that I am not aware of.”

It would be a joke if the news that an architect did not know his craftwork got out. However, Yi Lanke really did not understand a huge portion of the craft design here.