The negotiations went smoothly.
The Wang family broke the engagement while the Lu family earned a plot of premium land in the inner Liang City, much closer to the power center of the Liang Province.
They also earned a few nominations to enlist as civil servants at the Provincial-level.
Other than that, the Lu family pocketed three talisman shops, two grocery stores, and a pharmacy.
They couldn't get cattle and horses, but they were promoted to silk and luxury goods furnishings in the new Lu family compound at a value close to fifteen thousand gold pounds.
Lu Yuan then and there explained that other than himself, only his sons and their direct blood descendants will move into the new compound.
Furthermore, they can only bring their main wives if they had concubines, and only the children between the ages of five and sixteen from across the entire Lu family can live inside the new compound.
After they reach sixteen years old, according to their natural disposition and respective talents, they will be dispatched between the various industries of the family.
After arriving at the new compound, Lu Yuanchen will liaise with the Lu family members that were left behind, the other three Lu siblings will enlist as officials under the Empire, while Lu Yuan will focus on nurturing the younger generations of the family.
Lu Yuan was very concerned about the education and upbringing of the younger generation.
The elders had plenty of protests and complaints, but Lu Yuan ignored them all with an imposing manner.
Effective immediately, three days after the Wang family's procession left, Lu Yuan began preparations for departure.
Himself, his Red Martials, his four sons, their principled wives and children.
As for the branch families, regardless of surnames, all children at five and six years old were brought along, leaving behind the older ones.
It couldn't be helped, their thoughts had already begun to form and they might have been under some negative influence from the earlier atmosphere in the family.
This time, Lu Yuan was sharp and decisive with his actions. Understating that he can seek longevity through the Martial Dao, he decided to set the family straight from the beginning.
He has plans to build the Lu family into a formidable clan in the future, so the foundation must be as sturdy as possible.
Like that, despite the protests and displeasure of his sons and clansmen, Lu Yuan used iron methods to reshuffle the family from the ground up.
Preparations for departure lasted an entire week, and not too few servants had been executed ruthlessly during those days for their wagging tongues.
After a few heads hit the ground, the efficiency increased. Everyone realized that the Old Master was serious about the reforms this time, and many thought it had to do with how Lu Yin was treated.
Alas, they could only bow and accept the arrangements for now.
A month later, the Lu family finally settled in Liang City, the Provincial Capital of the Province.
Striking while the iron is hot, Lu Yuan sent his second, third, and fourth sons to the District Office of the Inner City, and relying on the Wang family's connections, he secured each of them a seventh-rank provincial position in commerce, agriculture, and education respectively.
He told them to consider the favor from the Wang family exhausted and not be in close contact with them anymore, because they will soon face difficulties from above.
"Why?" Asked the confused second son, Lu Yuanyu at the time.
Lu Yuan looked at his confused sons impassively and said, "The Wang family was a family of scholars and ministers for generations. Alas, heaven took their Old Master and Lu Yin's father from them, leaving a bunch of short-sighted fools.
"Heaven compensated them with a genius in Wang Miao, but instead of further ingratiating themselves with the Court, they decided to lean on the powerful Sects.
"Yes, this will elevate their status in the short term and bring them unseen benefits, and if their daughter can become an immortal decades later, the family will rise.
"However, how many decades and centuries does a family have? Do you think the Empire lacks powerful cultivators and resources? Don't they have their own immortals?
"The Emperor's gaze will soon descend on the Liang Province and similar regions to check if the Sects are poaching his subjects, and it won't end well for those with close ties to the Sects."
Lu Yuan didn't elaborate further. If this wasn't as clear as it could get, then his children can go and seek their own death.
In any case, using money to solve the marriage problem might seem like selling one's dignity from one perspective, but it was also an act of severing all connections from a higher perspective.
Lu Yuan moved in a hurry because he had a feeling that the Wang family's good days were numbered.
Soon, they won't have the time to help themselves, let alone keep their promises to the Lu family.
The four brothers were immediately enlightened, understanding that the Wang family's fall was their opportunity to rise, but this opportunity was fleeting.
However, their father saw right through the smokes and mirrors into the essence of the matter and acted swiftly.
Actually, only the Wang family, lost in their joy of receiving an Immortal's favor, and a few other families with limited perspective felt either joyful or envious.
Some larger families with deeper heritage and wider influence have already noticed the Wang family's act of seeking death.
Some even took notice of Lu Yuan's actions, motives, and situational awareness to seek fortune from disaster.
After all, Wang Miao was under the telescope and by extension, Lu Yin and his family.
Lu Yuan expected plenty of interested parties to extend an olive branch soon, and he was keen on accepting.
The Wang family is a sinking ship, and if he couldn't find a suitable backer soon, their small Lu family would be swept by the tides as collateral unless they found a new ship to carry them.
In the depths of the new Ancestrall Hall, Lu Yuan cleared his mind, relaxed his muscles, and began to go through the Taiji Eight Trigrams, trying to find that fleeting sense of perfection while waiting for things to develop outside.