After touring the entire mansion, Zhao Ling realized this place was practically a small palace, covering an area of five to six thousand square meters.
The main building of the mansion had three floors, including a main hall for meetings, a side hall for receiving guests, as well as gardens, artificial hills, and a training room.
Not counting the servants' quarters, the master's main bedroom and side rooms alone totaled dozens, and the mansion was regularly maintained and cleaned, ready for immediate occupancy.
This was quite normal since this mansion was the royal residence of Snow Night before he ascended the throne.
Still, Zhao Ling hadn't expected Snow Night to be so generous—to give him such a large royal residence and even allow him to renovate it at will. He was very satisfied.
Judging by the mansion's size, decoration, and grade, Zhao Ling figured that if he wanted to buy such a palace, it would cost at least hundreds of thousands, maybe even over a million gold soul coins.
But trying to buy a royal residence was basically impossible.
From the fact that Snow Night gave him an annual salary of 5 million gold soul coins without blinking, Zhao Ling knew the royal family was certainly not short of money and would never sell the mansion.
After finishing the tour, Zhao Ling saw the attendant off as he drove away in a carriage. He then glanced around the huge mansion with satisfaction and nodded.
"Didn't expect it at all—just arriving in Tiandou Imperial City and I already got to freeload such a mansion.
Back when I first crossed into Douluo Continent, forget about freeloading a mansion like this; even staying in a hotel for a few days was impossible. Strength really is the hard truth."
Returning to the courtyard, Zhao Ling found Ah Yin, Bo Saixi, and Liu Erlong gathered around him.
"Husband, this mansion is really nice. How much did you spend to buy it? Or did you rent it?" Ah Yin's eyes sparkled as she looked at him. She had never seen such a huge, luxurious palace with such a vast land area belonging to them. It felt like a dream.
"Rent it?" Liu Erlong chuckled, covering her mouth and pointing at the plaque above the main gate.
"Yin'er, do you know whose mansion this originally was? This was the residence of the current emperor before he took the throne. If it wasn't the emperor himself giving it to him, who would dare rent it out?"
"Wow... so this was Snow Night Emperor's original mansion. No wonder..." Ah Yin suddenly understood and gave Zhao Ling a thumbs up.
"Husband, you're amazing—did nothing and got such a big mansion for free."
"Did nothing?" Bo Saixi laughed and ruffled Ah Yin's hair.
"Yin'er, you're a little naive. Do you know why Prince Xue Xing invited us to enter the palace together? I'll tell you: the Tiandou royal family wanted me and Zhao Ling to become their royal retainers.
I refused immediately, but Zhao Ling agreed and even promised to save the newborn crown prince three times. Otherwise, do you think Snow Night Emperor would have given him such a mansion?"
Hearing this, Ah Yin looked at Zhao Ling with surprise. She never expected a title Douluo like him to be willing to become a royal retainer and protect the newborn crown prince three times.
No wonder Snow Night Emperor was willing to gift such a huge mansion—it was essentially a trade for the safety of the country's crown prince.
Thinking about it, the mansion was just an object. Compared to the safety of the crown prince, Snow Night's deal wasn't a bad one at all.
"I really didn't expect that as soon as we arrived in Tiandou City, you two were already targeted by the royal family. But this isn't bad—it solves our housing problem."
After pondering, Ah Yin tiptoed and kissed Zhao Ling on the lips softly, soothing him, "Husband, you've worked hard..."
"Worked hard? What's hard about it? It's just a few times saving the crown prince, no big deal. We got this mansion for free, 5 million gold soul coins a year, and the royal family even gave us the national treasure. Why wouldn't we be happy about it?"
Zhao Ling lowered his head and gently kissed Ah Yin's forehead, smiling without a care.
"Oh, there are many rooms in this mansion. You all pick whichever you like."
This was only natural for Ah Yin, but it surprised Bo Saixi and Liu Erlong.
Bo Saixi was stunned because originally she came to the mainland searching for Tang Chen's whereabouts, but now it seemed she was gradually forgetting that main purpose.
She lied to herself that she was waiting for Zhao Ling to tell her Tang Chen's location.
But deep down, she knew the real reason: compared to Tang Chen, who might have become a puppet somewhere, she just wanted to stay by Zhao Ling's side.
Even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn't suppress the growing affection and attachment she felt for Zhao Ling.
Especially since those feelings increased day by day, making her feel sweet yet confused.
She understood that maybe soon, even if she found Tang Chen's whereabouts, she wouldn't want to find him anymore. She'd just want to stay by Zhao Ling.
So in the end, Bo Saixi nodded and went with Ah Yin to choose rooms they liked.
Liu Erlong stood there conflicted, and Zhao Ling looked at her curiously.
"What's wrong, Erlong? Aren't you going to pick a room you like?"
"No, no..." Liu Erlong bit her lips and hesitated before saying,
"Well... my home is right here in Tiandou City, so I can go back anytime..."
"Silly girl, your home is your home. It's not hard for me to set aside a room for you in this big mansion. Come on, go pick a room with them."
Zhao Ling gently flicked Liu Erlong's smooth forehead with a tender voice.
Only then did Liu Erlong stop hesitating, tiptoe to kiss Zhao Ling's right cheek, and then joined Ah Yin and Bo Saixi to choose their rooms.
Zhao Ling rubbed his cheek and smiled foolishly.
Soon after, a sharp, capable-looking middle-aged man hurried over, bowing repeatedly.
"Master, I'm the butler here, Qian Liu. You can just call me Liuzi. I'm here to ask if you and the ladies have had dinner? Should I send someone to the kitchen to prepare some food for you?"
Zhao Ling suddenly realized that he and the three ladies hadn't eaten dinner yet, so he nodded.
"Yes, we need food. We haven't eaten yet. Please arrange it."
"Understood." Butler Qian Liu quickly left. He planned to gather all the servants tonight to instruct them to take good care of this master.
He had heard this master was a title Douluo, and now a royal retainer, a distinguished guest of the emperor.
If he didn't treat this master well, it would be worse than offending a royal family member. He didn't want to die an unclear death because of offending him...