A pair of finely dressed servants led them through the courtyard and into the reception hall. Xiao Zai couldn't stop noticing how impressive the entire estate was. The walls were filled with priceless tapestries and calligraphy scrolls of very high quality. In every direction hung a virtuous painting depicting bucolic nature scenes.
It only served to increase Xiao Zai's dissatisfaction. How could a Minister have an estate that could rival in luxury with the royal palace?
They found the Minister waiting for them in a room adjacent to the reception hall, surrounded by countless beauties.
Xiao Zai couldn't hide his displeasure at the sight. The Minister of Works was a middle-aged man, rail-thin, with a long, reedy moustache clinging to his upper lip by sheer willpower, and yet he was surrounded by young omega concubines half his age -- at the bare minimum, many looked younger.
