Chapter 48: The Pursuer of the Ice Beauty

  As soon as Zhang Hainuo entered the Lübeck estate, he was captivated by the scenery. Autumn had passed, and the large areas of grassland presented a solemn withered yellow color, but their vastness and flat terrain still allowed people to imagine the breathtaking scenes here in spring and summer. Occasionally, on the undulating hills, several tall old oak trees were planted, and their lush branches were like giant umbrellas. In more distant places, large areas of birch forests had already made preparations for winter.

  The main building of the Lübeck estate is a medieval castle, quite common in Europe, situated on a high ground overlooking the surrounding landscape. The carriage had to drive for five minutes through the estate's gate before reaching the entrance of the castle. In comparison, Zhang Hainuo's Finke estate could only be called a "small farm". The carriage he was riding in looked somewhat elegant, but it was rented for 200 marks per day - the only carriage in the Finke estate had long been worn out, and the stable had been used to store miscellaneous items for many years.

  Walking in the magnificent buildings, Zhang Hainuo was both curious and surprised. He could finally understand the emotions expressed by Haino in his diary. The Fink estate was not as good as one corner of the Lübeck estate, and the gap between the two families' economic strength and social status was self-evident.

  While waiting for the servant to report, Zhang Haino stood with his hands behind him admiring the oil paintings hanging on the walls. He had never studied art, nor had he researched how to distinguish between good and bad paintings, but in such a nearly luxurious hall, the paintings that were hung must be of great value, perhaps one of them would be enough to buy his Fink estate.

  Despite this, he stood here and would not feel a bit inferior or small, because he was not utilitarian, and also because of the naval lieutenant uniform on his body and the medals on his chest. For more than a year, various experiences in the German Navy have brought him many things, experience, friends, honor and confidence, that baptism by blood and fire, that heroic passion between life and death and fate, as well as the coldness of sending enemies into the abyss, are not something that can be experienced in civilian life.

  Merchants can earn money, but money cannot buy honor.

  The master of the house did not intend to test Zhang Hainuo's patience, and after a few minutes, the servant wearing a black suit and white gloves reappeared in front of him. The servant's attire was not much better than that of Hastings, but Zhang Hainuo thought his old steward looked much more pleasing to the eye.

  "Baron, this way, please!"

  After entering a magnificent large room, Zhang Hainuo finally saw his legendary "fiancée", a beautiful woman with golden hair. Her facial features and skin were of the highest quality, her curly noblewoman hairstyle matched her slightly long and angular face shape, showing off a beauty that was completely different from Anna's. She sat on a large sofa, wearing a pink off-the-shoulder floor-length dress, her height was unknown, but judging from the lines revealed by her upper body, her figure should be pretty good.

  In the room, apart from this elegant lady, there were three other men, all of whom were about Zhang Hainuo's age. They were all dressed in bright and shiny clothes, some sitting and some standing. The one who was standing had a neat and tidy two-sided parting, with a fairly good-looking face that could score around 80 points. The one sitting on the chair had a short braid tied up, giving off an artistic air, and his appearance could also score around 80 points. As for the one sitting on the sofa, he was dressed in the most expensive clothes, had the most arrogant expression, and had the fairest skin, with a shiny big bun on his head - just by looking at him, you could tell that he was the highest-ranking among the three of them.

  No surprise there, he's probably the noble from Berlin that Hastings was talking about.

  As soon as Zhang Hainuo entered the room, the three men cast him a cold glance. As for his "fiancée" Feina, she just looked at him calmly, as if the person in front of her was not her fiancé but an acquaintance she was half familiar with.

  "This is Baron Heinrich von Funkenstein! I've long admired your name, and today I finally get to see you in person - you're indeed a talented individual!"

  The opening speech was given by the big backer, and Zhang Hainuo did not feel very surprised. On the contrary, he had already grasped the "tone" of this place.

  Zhang Hainuo walked calmly to the center of this spacious room, where a fire was burning brightly in the fireplace, making the whole room warm and cozy. It's worth noting that it was only October, and the navy usually didn't provide heating until November. Before speaking, Zhang Hainuo scanned each person present with a calm gaze.

  Fenna didn't evade his gaze, and her eyes still didn't contain much content, no adoration, nostalgia or reverence, but Zhang Hainuo also couldn't see any disdain, contempt or scorn in them. Those eyes were like a calm blue lake, without a single ripple.

  Zhang Hainuo ignored the little white face that could score 9 points for its appearance, and instead politely bowed to the lady first, asking:

  "Miss Fei Na, hello! It's an honor to see you again!"

  "Good day, Baron!" The voice was as calm as his eyes, only the cherry-like mouth seemed to be tempting.

  Falling in love with such an "iceberg beauty", Zhang Hainuo thought that his "previous life" was really pitiful.

  The little white face next to him saw that Zhang Hainuo was ignoring him, and his face couldn't hold up. However, making a scene like this would be unbecoming of him, so he curled up his right fist and put it to his mouth, clearing his throat with two "coughs".

  "Oh, Miss Fei Na, aren't you going to introduce me to these gentlemen?" Zhang Hai Nu said this as if he hadn't heard the pale-faced man's words at all. He caught a glimpse of the guy's face turning blue and white from the corner of his eye, and it made him want to laugh.

  The iceberg beauty's small mouth moved again, but this seemed to have little killing power on Zhang Hainuo.

  "This is Baron Eberhard von Friesche, Senior Commissioner of the Imperial Ministry of Industry!"

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, the Iceberg Beauty first introduced this young man with a ponytail.

  Xiaobai adjusted his collar and stood up from the sofa, he wasn't much taller than Zhang Hainuo, but his build looked more robust.

  "Nice to meet you!"

  He did not refuse to shake hands with someone who had the same baronial title and a military position, but he proudly added: "My father served as deputy to Count Albert, Minister of Imperial Industry!"

  Zhang Hainuo hasn't been in this era for long, but he still knows that the position of this little white face's father is actually equivalent to the Deputy Minister of Germany's Ministry of Industry, it's just that under a constitutional monarchy, the heads of various departments are not called ministers but rather ministers.

  His father was a small head of the Ministry of Industry, and it was not surprising that he became a senior commissioner of the Ministry of Industry at such a young age. Unfortunately, his words did not increase his weight in Zhang Hainuo's heart, nor did they intimidate his "competitor", but instead brought contempt and disdain from the other party.

  Zhang Haino despised several types of people in his life, and those who ate their ancestors' food but thought they were superior were among them.

  "This is Randolph Klu?, heir of the Klu? Corporation!"

  The handsome young man with a standard 2-8 partition hairstyle nodded to Zhang Hainuo, and among the three people, only his hairstyle and clothes made Zhang Hainuo feel comfortable.

  "As for the last one with a rather artistic temperament, Fiona introduced: 'This is Uriel von Hellenberg, the third son of Baron Hellenberg, the steel industry giant!'"

  They are all the young masters of industrial giants, no wonder they would hang out with the son of the deputy minister of industry. Zhang Haino thought to himself, are these two guys here to help Xiao Bailian build momentum or are they both pursuing Feina?