The Return of the lost Lotus Flower

Chapter 7

Senlin Shao Sect Leader Office: Shao Shui/ Hongzhen Pov.

Shao Hongzhen pauses in front of the door and takes a moment before he enters the room dusting off any dust left off on his robes. He also fixed his hair a bit after noticing the few strokes of wild hairs poking out onto his face.

Once he is satisfied, he gently knocks on the door to inform his arrival "Sect Leader it's me Hongzhen. May I come in?"

Just as soon as he finished asking for permission a voice replies to him "Of course"

The door then magically opens revealing a huge stack of paperwork decorating the room from head to toe. Shao Hongzhen could barely see the man sitting at the desk which was also buried deep in paper. He takes a glance at some of the papers stacked right next to him immediately recognizing the imperial seal of not only the Northern and Western Court but also the Southern Court as well.

The man immediately halts whatever he was doing at the moment when he senses the young man approaching him "Ah Hongzhen I'm sorry for the mess. I've been trying to clean things up as much as I can but every time I do another stack keeps coming in and..." The man carries his head and groans

Shao Hongzhen looks at the man with pity especially after when he notices the dark mark underneath his eyes and paleness in his usual tan skin indicating how long he's been stuck inside the office without a single wink for the past couple of days. He wonders if he'll have to deal with things like this once he comes back from his great journey and officially inherits the Western Ducal Liu Estate. Although he does not mind his work as a head disciple, it did not mean he wanted his workload to be suddenly doubled no quadrupled like this. Well, his father said that the title was really all just in name and that the Liu Clan has not been involved in the imperial court's politics since his retirement as the imperial guoshi of the Western Kingdom.

Even before then they were rarely involved preferring to take a neutral stance in politics instead of actively supporting one side or creating one themselves which they were fully capable of. Despite so, the Liu Family Clan commanded a large amount of respect and influence both from the Western Imperial Clan and the Aristocratic factions for their individual clan members' historical contributions to the Western Region Society.

Although the Liu Clan itself was largely indifferent and uninterested in the matters of the imperial court, they had a history of producing some of the most talented members ranging from all different types of professions to scholars, craftsmen, artists, officials, cultivators, inventors, and etc. Even the most ordinary members of the clan were considered highly above average in some ways. This is why the Liu Clan is endlessly flooded with marriage and alliance proposals from other noble clans who want even a fraction of that bloodline in their family hoping to one day have an heir worthy to their names.

Unfortunately for them though just as must the Liu Clan was famous for their member's amazing talents they were so known for their extremely bizarre and eccentric personality. His father was only one of many of those examples. So far, Shao Hongzhen has not met a single Liu Family Clan Member that was remotely normal even by moral standards. They were all weird in one way or another to an excessive degree that even his father admitted that they were all batshit lunatics (him being the worst of them all of course).

So it came as to no surprise to anyone in the imperial court when the Liu Clan suddenly named him as heir to their estate. While naming an adoptive child as heir was not rather rare in the aristocratic society, it was not a common occurrence especially when that said person was a former slave. But well it was the Liu Clan so yeah... expect them for making one of the weirdest decisions. Of course, many were against it especially the purist faction citing how they could let a former slave illegal or not taint their pure bloodedness or whatever bullshit that was until the entire Liu Clan shut their mouths up quite literally...