Mr. Bennet made a guess. "They probably can't reach Master Percy, so that's why they came here."
Old Master Mallory frowned and said, “What troubles are they bringing here? How am I supposed to help them solve the problem? What can I do for them? Well, I guess Percy must have slipped away.”
Old Master Mallory did not stand up for them when the Johnston family first got into trouble. It was because he thought the Johnston family would be capable enough to survive the crisis this time, but he did not expect that they would come looking for him the next day.
It seemed like what Percy said about the Johnston family was true. They were not as powerful as they expected.
Mr. Bennet saw that the old master was getting impatient and asked, "Old Master Mallory, should we let them in?"
"They're already at the entrance. How can I not let them in? Just let them in," said Old Master Mallory.
Mr. Bennet went to open the door and led the Johnston family to the garden.
The people who came today were the father of the person in charge of Johnston Corporation, Nick Johnston, as well as the daughter of the Johnston family who was engaged to Percy, Madison Johnston.
Mr. Bennet came over and welcomed them when he saw them get out of the car. He said, "Old Master Johnston, Ms. Madison, welcome."
Nick nodded his head with an arrogant expression on his face and asked, "Is Master Percy at home?"
"Master Percy? He went to the office early this morning. He's not at home," answered Mr. Bennet. They had indeed come to look for Percy. He reckoned that they went to Percy's office before this.
Madison said hurriedly, "We went to Mallory Corporation, but they said he didn't come to the office today."
Mr. Bennet understood at once and answered, "Perhaps Master Percy had something else to do. Mr. Johnston and Ms. Madison, you probably know that Master Percy runs the company alone now. He often has some tasks that he needs to personally handle, so he had to move here and there. Hence, it's normal for him not to be in the office at times."
Nick knew the reason deep in his heart, but he chose not to expose the butler. Even though Percy was not at home, Old Master Mallory should be here. Then, he asked again, "Yes, that's true. After all, it's not easy for him to run a big company like Mallory Corporation. It'll be much easier for him after Madison marries him. She can help him to manage the company."
Mr. Bennet looked down, lowered his head, and replied immediately, "Yes, indeed." Although he agreed with him, he could not make the decision. Nick could not be bothered about that and asked, “Then, is Old Master Mallory at home today? I'd like to discuss something with him."
“Yes, Old Master Mallory is here. Please come in." Mr. Bennet led them into the house.
Old Master Mallory had already asked the maid to make some tea. There was a sweet smell of tea in the air when the two of them entered.
Madison's eyes brightened, and she sat down opposite Old Master Mallory with her father, Nick.
Nick was the younger generation when he was in front of Old Master Mallory, so he took the initiative and greeted, "Old Master Mallory, it's been a while. How are you feeling lately?"
"Thank you. I'm old but I'm still doing great." When Old Master Mallory saw how calm Nick was, he did not point out their motive for coming here. He cracked a joke with him.
Then, Madison said, “We're glad to know that you're healthy and strong. Is this chamomile tea? I didn't expect you to like chamomile tea. Oh, my friends gave some to me. I'll bring it over tomorrow so you can try some of it."
Old Master Mallory enjoyed drinking tea, but he refused to accept any gifts from the Johnston family now. "Save the trouble. They're for people who know how to appreciate tea. If your friend gave you chamomile tea, that only means that you enjoy drinking tea too. So, save it for yourself. I have enough here. I won't be able to finish it if you give it to me. Come on, try my chamomile tea. Bennet, pour the tea." Text content © .
Mr. Bennet heard him and nodded his head. Then, he poured tea for them.
Nick noticed that Old Master Mallory had yet to mention the Johnston family's matters. He was a little anxious. He thought that the old master would take the initiative to ask about it.
However, it looked like he was the naive one.
Nevertheless, he still had a way not to take the initiative to mention the trouble that the Johnston family was in now and have the Mallory family help them.
Mr. Bennet served him a cup of tea, which interrupted him when he was about to say something. Nick smiled, took it from him, and took a sip of tea.
It was a good tea, but he was not in the mood to enjoy it.
The tea was swallowed into his stomach without being tasted. Nick took the opportunity to say, “Old Master Mallory, I came here today to discuss something with you."
“Oh? What's the matter?" Old Master Mallory still did not speak about it.
Nick could only go for his second plan. “Well, Percy and Madison have been engaged for quite some time now. I'm wondering if it's time for them to get married and spend their days together happily?"
Old Master Mallory was a little startled. Nick was not asking for help from the Mallory family but proposed such a suggestion instead.
In the end, no matter if it was asking for help or asking Percy to marry Madison, his purpose was to help the Johnston family survive the crisis this time.
There was no doubt that Nick wanted to use Madison's marriage to Percy to tell everyone that the Mallory family was siding with the Johnston family. If anything happened to the Johnston family, the Mallory family would back them up and support them.
Old Master Mallory smiled. He did not expect Nick to be so cunning. He did not beg for his help but came up with this trick instead.
Nick noticed that the old master was not saying anything. He considered that he was not someone who could be easily fooled either. He said, "I've gotten a professional to select a wedding date for them. I've also given him the two's birth dates. He told me they're a match made in heaven. As for the wedding date, the fifth of next month is the most auspicious, making it the perfect day to get married. Previously, we've already announced their engagement to the media. I suppose we should strike while the iron is still hot and shorten the distance between them by letting them get married right away. That way, Percy's life will be complete once he settles down and starts his family."
Old Master Mallory only thought of laughing when he listened to Nick. He looked at Madison and asked, “Madison, what do you think about this?”
"Grandpa, I like Percy a lot. And I'm willing to listen to my father,” Madison said bashfully. Marrying Percy was always something she wanted to do. Also, it was to help the Johnston family to get over the crisis. It was killing two birds with one stone.
Now, the Johnston family had no choice but to get a loan from the bank if they wanted to overcome the crisis. However, the fact that they had made bad investments had been exposed to the public. Only a few banks were willing to loan money to them. Hence, they would need the Mallory family to back them up so that their plans could work.
They were not counting on the Mallory family to solve the crisis for them with money. It would be enough if they could just use the Mallory family's reputation.
Old Master Mallory replied, "It's their matter, so we should leave them to make the decision. I can't decide on behalf of Percy. Besides, getting married on the fifth of next month? What's the rush? Johnston Corporation is facing so many crises now. How can you possibly have the time to prepare for a wedding? I think we can discuss the wedding later after you've finished dealing with your company's affair."
"But, the fifth day of next month is an auspicious date for marriage. The professional mentioned that the couple will enjoy a lifetime of abundant wealth if they get married on that day. It's hard to get such an auspicious date again," Nick replied hurriedly when the old master rejected him. Elders were superstitious. He was going to seize the opportunity to make the old master agree to his plan.