Chapter 6: Shen Family Head

Theriault followed Shen Zheng through the small city. He hadn't expected an estate to look like this. It seemed as if he was in a whole separate city, not a residence in Beijing.

"It's been renovated many times," Shen Zheng said, noticing Theriault's awed look. "The Shen family gets bigger each generation, so we expand every time… Seems we'll need to renovate again sometime soon…"

Theriault didn't know what Shen Zheng meant, but nodded and played along while looking at the children playing.

'I never expected the families to be like this…' He thought to himself as they came up to a large building.

"We're here," He said, knocking on the double doors and looking back at Theriault. "I hope you don't have any bad intentions with my granddaughter."

Theriault scrunched his eyes, giving a confused look. "I just want my property," He said confidently, earning a distasteful look from the elderly.

"Do you always speak of people that way?" Shen Zheng said, a slight edge in his voice before the double doors whipped open.

"Ah, father," An Asian man with black hair said, smiling brightly as he glanced over at Theriault.

"This boy requests a meeting with the head over a... personal matter." Shen Zheng explained, looking again at Theriault distastefully before excusing himself.

"Huh, so you need to talk to the big boss huh," The man said with a smile, giving off a relaxed vibe.

"Yes, it's pretty important I get what's mine," Theriault said, a neutral expression on his face as the man nodded.

"Ah, I remember I did the same, though my parents forced me into it... Was very nerve-wracking requesting a council with Shen Lim at that time." The man droned on.

"Uh, sir?" Theriault interrupted, "May I see the family head now?" He asked, not wanting to hurt the man's feelings, but he wanted the lingjing figurine as soon as possible.

"Ah yes!" The man yelled out, "My fault lad, I forgot that everyone only cares about my wife and not me!" The man yelled, an angry expression coming to his face as he stormed off, leaving Theriault alone outside the large building.

"Come on in," He heard a voice say. A woman dressed in a maid's uniform appeared in front of him with a smile on her face. "She's been informed of the reason for your visit and is waiting for you now," The maid finished, hurrying him through the double doors before shutting them.

Theriault looked around as he was led through the dark corridor, noticing many paintings of Shen Yi, and others depicting family history.

He couldn't make sense of a lot of the tapestry he saw as he passed. Not knowing how to read Mandarin it just looked like nonsense.

"She's quite excited, she never expected Shen Yi to find someone herself; please excuse my mistress's enthusiasm..." The maid said as she pushed open a large door, revealing a grand room with a throne at the end of it.

Sitting on the throne, Theriault recognized a woman that he'd seen in some of the paintings, assuming she must be the head and Shen Yi's mother.

"Greetings," Theriault said as he walked up, stopping a good distance from the throne as the woman looked down at him, her face blank.

'If this is excitement then I'd hate to see her when she's bored,' Theriault thought as he waited for a response.

"So..." The woman spoke, her voice smooth as honey as she leaned forward and locked eyes with Theriault. "What is your business here young American?" She finished.

"I have come here to discuss my property, I was told I would need to speak to you for it to be handed over to me peacefully... I'd much rather not have to fight for it," Theriault explained, relaxing a bit.

She wasn't what he was expecting from a family head. As far as he had been told, the family heads were supposed to be the strongest and most dangerous in a family.

"I see... Your property? You're already at this point with my daughter?" The Shen Family head said, her eyes cold as she glared down at Theriault.

"Uhh..." The boy said, wanting to ask her what she meant. "Yes?" He finished, still a bit confused by her words.

"I see..." The Shen family head said as she stood up, picked up her white gown, and walked down the steps, only stopping once she stood in front of Theriault.

"Thank the gods!" She yelled, wrapping her arms around Theriault as her eyes filled with tears. "I thought I would need to force her into a marriage and find some random boy, thank you, thank you!"

Theriault stood there in shock, surprised at the sudden mood change. A second later her words registered in his head. "Marriage?" He asked confusedly, taking the woman's hands off of him and looking down at her.

"Well yeah, that's what you're here for correct? To ask to marry my daughter?" The family head replied, still smiling even though the tears in her eyes hadn't gone away.

That's when it all dawned on Theriault, the reason he was talking to the family head, the real reason everyone was acting so weird, the reason Shen Yi's grandfather had reacted with such hostility when he'd said he only wanted his property.

They all thought he meant to marry Shen Yi. So when he said his property, they must have thought he meant the amber-haired girl.

"Ah, no no, I meant the Fenghuang artifact that she's stolen from me, I was told I would need to take it up with you to get it back," Theriault quickly explained.

"Oh..." The family head let go of Theriault, a frown coming to her face as she turned, walking back up to her throne.

"Well... No, the meeting is adjourned," She said, sighing a bit as she slouched on her throne, disregarding Theriault's presence.

"What?" Theriault said, looking at the head in surprise.

"I said no you can't have the figurine, it is now the property of The Shen Family, so no, if that is all you have come for then this meeting is over, my maid will escort you ou-"

Theriault rushed forward, stopping only inches from The Shen Family's head as he practically growled. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" He yelled, and he would have continued too if four sets of hands hadn't grabbed onto him and thrown him back away from her.

"You dare show hostility to the mistress?" A man said, dressed in butler garb and holding a traditional Chinese Qiang, a spear.

Theriault landed on his feet, his polite demeanor gone as he pointed at the family head. "I have been quite lenient with your daughter, if I knew this entire family was so unreasonable I would have killed her at the airport!" He yelled, widening his eyes as a sword pressed against his throat.

"Watch your tongue son, you are threatening important people..." A man said, standing behind Theriault with his sword behind his back, pressing softly on the boy's neck.

"I understand why you are upset, but with no backing... The artifact wouldn't be safe in your hands," The Shen Family head said, sitting up and returning to her professional demeanor. "I've been informed of the importance and have decided that it is best to be kept in the Shen family's hands..." She finished, looking down at Theriault as the boy glanced at the three bodyguards in front of him and also eyed the blade against his throat.

"Unless..." The woman continued, a smile coming to her face. "No, no I'm sure you wouldn't want that," She finished, waving away the thought.

"What?" Theriault said, trying to find a way out of this situation.

The Shen Family head smirked. "It's simple, the Fenghuang artifact shall remain under Shen family care... but what if you joined the Shen family? I could easily designate you the keeper, then we'd both get what we want..."

Theriault's face went blank. "So..." He said after a while, "You're blackmailing me."

Theriault raised his hand, grabbing the sword at his throat with the tips of his fingers and pushing it away, sweeping the legs of the man out from under him and kicking him away in one swift movement.

"I quite dislike blackmail," Theriault said as he tugged on his tie, smiling toward the woman.

"It's not so much blackmail as it is an ultimatum," The Shen Family head replied quickly, raising her hands to stop the guards from attacking Theriault.

"My little Shen Yi is 19 years old, heir's and heiresses are usually married by 17 years of age to ensure the continuation of their bloodline..."

Theriault raised his hand, "Don't get me wrong, your daughter is very beautiful, but I'm just not interested," He said, putting his hand down and turning away.

"I expect the Lingjing figurine in my possession by the end of the day-"

"How about this," The Shen Family head interrupted, standing up and once again walking down the steps toward Theriault. "We have something we both want. You marry my daughter, and I'll gladly give you the phoenix key, as much of a loss it would be to us, at least you'd technically be part of the family..."

Theriault paused. "So, you guys know about it too?" He asked, not acknowledging her offer.

"The Phoenix key? Of course, the divine key that grants the user immorality and other unknown abilities... It's documented in the book of Saberhagen, but there are no known users."

Theriault cracked a smile. "That's because the only ones who ever used it stole it... Saberhagen never documented a user because his uncle stole the key from him shortly after he made it, it was also one of the first keys with the power of a god sealed into it..."

"You seem well informed," The Shen Family head said, stepping closer.

Theriault ignored her statement, turning back toward her. "So... I marry your daughter and I get my property? It just doesn't seem fair to me," He said, putting his hand on his chin as if he was thinking.

He certainly didn't want to marry anyone, but then again... It would be a peaceful solution to getting his property, instead of fighting, and probably having to kill an entire estate.

"Ah... I see, what else do you want?" The woman asked, realizing Theriault was trying to negotiate.

"It's my understanding that each family has authorized one member to be on the council... I want to go as a representative to the next meeting."

There it was, Theriault smiled to himself. It was always a part of his plan. After France, once he had gotten his hands on the Phoenix key, the next step was getting access to a council meeting.

It was as if everything fell into place on accident, sure, he'd have to do something slightly inconvenient, but the risk vs. reward was much too high for him to care.

"Hmm... Well, that may be difficult, as we aren't like most families when deciding who the council representative will be for the year... We have a way of doing things..."

Theriault shrugged and turned away, causing the family head to widen her eyes. "Wait! I can't give you the spot, but I can put your name as a nomination for you to compete with the other nominees..."

Theriault stopped, his eyes practically shining as he turned and smiled. "Is that so?" He said, walking up to her quickly, causing the family's head bodyguards to flinch toward them.

"Then you have a deal Miss Shen Bo," Theriault whispered in her ear, saying her name.

Shen Bo widened her eyes as Theriault grabbed her hand. "I look forward to joining your family mother..." He said, smirking and kissing the back of her hand.

Shen Bo had misjudged the boy with his first impression; he was a natural negotiator, ignoring any inconveniences to get what he wanted... and if he wanted something, he got it.

That was Theriault's motto, he could use his frail appearance to his advantage, and now, as he walked away from the head of The Shen Family, he was one step closer in his journey to get The Master Key...

'Just who is he?' Shen Bo thought to herself as she dismissed her bodyguards, sitting back on her throne and thinking. Had she been too rash? Should she not have let the impatience get to her?

Even though she couldn't see how, Shen Bo felt as if she'd been played. "Theriault..." She said aloud, looking at the closed door where Theriault had long left from. "What an interesting boy."

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