Chapter 27: Playing Matchmaker for the Young Couple

After the Ruan siblings departed, the members of the Vane family headed upstairs to their respective rooms.

Arthur Vane was still preoccupied with the idea of knocking Alaric Vane unconscious and delivering him to Seren Thorne’s room. Once upstairs, he summoned the butler and lowered his voice: "Go find me an iron bar. The thicker, the better—the kind that can knock a person out with a single strike."

Mr. Edwin: "?"

The thicker the better? Are you sure you just want to knock him out and not beat him to death?

He cautioned, "Mr. Vane, a one-hit knockout is only a hundred percent successful in movies. In reality, it’s a low-probability event. Furthermore, if you hit someone with an iron bar, there’s a high chance you won't knock them out, and instead, they’ll retaliate or sue you for damages."

Hearing this, Arthur became a bit troubled. "Then what should we do? Do I have to hire kidnappers to bind Alaric and pack him off to Seren’s bed? Alaric studied Sanshou before; he was once the district champion. I’m afraid that instead of catching the bird, the kidnappers will end up with broken legs."

At this point, Arthur sighed heavily. "Sigh, sometimes having a grandson who is too excellent is actually a disadvantage."

Mr. Edwin: "..."

I suspect you are humble-bragging.

Knowing Arthur's ultimate goal, Mr. Edwin joined in the brainstorming and soon came up with a plan.

"If you want the Young Master to go to the Young Mistress, it's actually quite simple. You just have to leave him with nowhere else to go. You can burst the water pipes in his room. Once everything inside is flooded and uninhabitable, he’ll have no choice but to go to her."

Arthur's eyes lit up, thinking this was a fantastic idea. If the household items got soaked, they could be dried and used again, and there was no need to worry about a blunt blow causing a fatality. The cost-performance ratio was extremely high.

"Alright, go do it now. Remember to handle the other guest rooms as well, so that brat doesn't just move into another spare room. Once this is successful, I'll give you a bonus equivalent to two months' salary."

Upon hearing this, the old butler’s eyes sparkled. His monthly salary was fifty thousand; a two-month bonus meant a hundred thousand. Driven by the incentive, Mr. Edwin rolled up his sleeves with gusto. "Rest assured, sir. I will definitely get this done—and done well!"

With that, he grabbed his tools and set to work.

When Alaric emerged from the study, the rooms on the second floor were already flooded. A significant amount of water was spilling into the hallway and trickling down to the first floor.

He frowned, happening to see Mr. Edwin coming out of a guest bedroom. He asked, "What happened? Why is there water everywhere?"

Mr. Edwin sighed and said, "The water system in the old manor has fallen into disrepair. A pipe burst on the second floor, and many pieces of furniture have been flooded."

Alaric glanced at the toolbox in Mr. Edwin’s hand and asked coolly, "Are you sure it’s disrepair and not intentional sabotage?"

Mr. Edwin coughed. "Of course it’s disrepair. There is no reason for me to lie to you. I’m carrying these tools because I was about to go fix the pipes."

Alaric offered no further comment and went to check the master bedroom. Finding the bedding and the sofa completely soaked, he turned back to the butler and asked icily, "The water hasn't even reached ankle-depth yet. How did it manage to soak the bedding and the sofa?"

Mr. Edwin maintained a straight face. "The pipe burst, and the water sprayed quite high. It just happened to splash the furniture."

Alaric sneered, "Heh."

Mr. Edwin gave a dry laugh, "Haha."

Alaric knew perfectly well that without the old man’s authorization, the butler would never have dared to do this. He didn't make things difficult for Mr. Edwin and instead went straight to knock on Arthur Vane’s door.

When the door opened, he glanced inside and saw that Arthur's room was perfectly dry, without a single drop of water.

He got straight to the point: "Did you tell Mr. Edwin to flood my room?"

Arthur played dumb. "Flooded? What’s flooded? There shouldn't have been any flash floods recently, right?"

Watching the old man play the fool, Alaric said expressionlessly, "My room is uninhabitable right now. I’ll be squeezing in here with you tonight."

His tone was clearly an announcement rather than a negotiation. Arthur had originally intended to take a roundabout route, but seeing that this kid was stubborn and unyielding, he simply laid his cards on the table: "Tonight, you have only one choice, and that is to go to Seren’s room and make things right with her. If you try to squeeze in with me, I’ll spit phlegm onto the bed so you can experience the 'refreshing' sensation of intimate contact with it."

Alaric: "..."

You win.

He didn't argue further with the old man, turning away to leave, intending to stay at a hotel.

Arthur saw through his intentions instantly and spoke up leisurely: "If you dare to stay outside tonight, I’ll take that leftover medicine Seren used last time and put it in your dinner tomorrow, sending you straight to her bed. If you go to her tonight, you can still just have a pure chat under the blankets. If you eat something you shouldn't later on, you'll be entirely at her mercy."

Alaric paused, gritting his teeth. "You’re ruthless."

Arthur snorted proudly. "Haven't you heard that the older ginger is more pungent? I usually don't bother bickering with you out of love for the youth. Did you really think this old man was afraid of his own grandson?"

With a dark face, Alaric turned around and knocked on the door of Seren Thorne’s room.

Watching Alaric enter the guest bedroom, a smile finally appeared on Arthur's face. Little brat, you’re still a bit too green to fight with your grandfather.

As Arthur hummed a tune and prepared to go back inside, the butler walked over and said, "Sir, a few pipes seem to be beyond repair. We might need to call someone to take a look."

"Call them. We might as well replace the entire water delivery system. Those pipes have been in use for many years anyway."

"Then the expenditure..."

"I’ll transfer it to you now. I’ll send the bonus along with it as well," Arthur said with a grand wave of his hand, pulling out his phone to make the transfer.

Mr. Edwin rubbed his hands together expectantly, waiting for the hundred-thousand-dollar bonus to arrive so he could take his wife on a trip during the National Day holiday.

However, in the next moment, Arthur’s phone notified him that the balance was insufficient to complete the payment. Arthur wasn't in the habit of keeping money in payment apps; the funds were usually deducted directly from his card.

He frowned and called customer service immediately. As a bank VIP, his private customer service was available twenty-four hours a day.

After he explained the situation, the representative quickly provided an answer: "Mr. Vane, according to the system, your bank card was urgently frozen five minutes ago. The operator was your direct relative, Mr. Alaric Vane. If you have any questions, you can ask him."

Hearing this, Arthur gnashed his teeth.

That brat! He settles his scores on the spot without letting them sit overnight!

Hanging up the phone, Arthur met the butler’s sparkling eyes. He coughed and said, "I’m a bit tight on cash right now. Go to the finance department for reimbursement on the water system; Alaric should approve it."

The butler asked tentatively, "And my bonus?"

Arthur was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Edwin, you’ve been with me for so many years. You should know that I am a man of my word."

Mr. Edwin: "?"

"So?"

Arthur coughed. "Lend me some pocket money first. Once I have some breathing room in a while, I’ll pay you double the bonus."

Mr. Edwin: "..."