Compare to the complicated layout of Duke Haijin's Residence, Marquess Li's Residence was much easier to understand. The Duke knew his way around the large estate even though it was his first time there. Duke Haijin, after all, was a skilled tactician, so he knew his way around a lot of places.
Striding into the main hall, the Duke smirked when he saw the Marquess drinking tea in the master seat so oblivious to his surroundings. An elderly woman, whom one could assume was the Marquess' mother, sat beside him with the same clueless expression. Marquess' sons were also sitting nearby - some looked bored, others looked nervous.
"This is quite the welcome"
The Marquess nearly spit out his tea when he saw the Duke at the entrance. No one had announced the Duke's arrival. The elderly woman's small eyes widened at the sight of the handsome young man - completely understanding why her granddaughters were infatuated. The Marquess' sons abruptly stood with the sudden feeling of inferiority. Even though they were close in age to the Duke and were sons of the Country's Marquess, the gaps were still wide.
"Where are the servants?" The Marquess scowled.
Just as the Marquess finished asking his question, a group of maids and servants rushed in utterly flustered. Laughing, the Duke strode in while holding onto his Wang Fei's hand.
"Marquess Li people are quite amusing, standing around like fishes, opened mouths with no words"
The Duke chuckled while he sat his Wang Fei first before taking the seat beside her. His personal servant then came to his right and whispered something into his ear. After a simple nod, the Duke sat back unconcernedly. With the quiet servant and the group of intimidating guards standing behind the Duke, the air suddenly became dense.
"Marquess Li, it's quite rude not to serve your guest some tea" The Duke spoke with a light grin. "Such a benevolent master you are. This Duke can only admire such kindness for I cannot tolerant insolence servants in my estate"
Immediately, the Marquess was red with embarrassed and glared at his useless gawking servants and maids. At the same time, he hated the young man for pointing out the clear difference between their people. While the Duke's people stood tall, calm, and proper, the Marquess' people were truly like a bunch of fishes - only knowing to eat.
"Get the Duke his tea" The Marquess spoke sharply while trying to maintain his posture. "Now"
The maids realized the Marquess' controlled anger and quickly left. Moments later, a pretty maid returned and stood trembling before the powerful, stunning man. Seeing the Duke up close, she couldn't stop the tremor, and so, the tray shook in her hands. The Duke took the cup without a glance at the maid and handed to his Wang Fei.
"Ruyi" He took her small hand and carefully set the cup in it.
The maid stared at the Duke, frozen at the sight of the smile he gave to his Wang Fei. When the Duke turned back to the empty tray, he scowled.
"Surely, Marquess Li isn't stingy with tea?" The Duke looked at the Marquess with a weary expression, ignoring the gawking maid. "Is it custom in the Marquess' household for guests to share one cup of tea?"
The maid face went red and then white. She apologizes profusely before rushing off.
"Really Marquess Li" The Duke smirked at the sight of the Marquess' silent anger. "As the master of a household, you cannot be kind to these type of servants. It promotes laziness, and in the end, they will eat you out of your estate"
The Duke mercilessly lectured the man nearly three generation older than himself and the country's Marquess. The Marquess was old enough to be his father - his grandfather even, but the Duke continued to attack as if the old man wasn't his senior, his father-in-law.
Marquess Li gripped on the arm of his chair, biting out a smile to thank the Duke for his suggestion.