Chapter 160 - Terrances Mansion (1/2)

Zhang Heng finally got a few days off for himself. It appeared that news about the brothel incident had spread throughout Nassau. Whenever anyone wanted to mess with the Jackdaw’s pirates, they would have to first consider if they could beat Zhang Heng’s wealth. From then on, his conflicts lessened dramatically, and he didn’t need to waste more time dealing with troubles like that.

These days, Zhang Heng would spend most of his time sparring with Anne. He would also tend to a vegetable farm that he had started as well.

Zhang Heng was glad that he was now living in a tropical country. All the tomatoes, carrots, and cabbages that he planted in the ground were all ready for harvest when he returned from his voyages. Proper care wasn’t even required as the weather here would take good care of his vegetables while he was gone for a month or two.

As compared to training for combat, Anne was not interested in farming. Most of the time, she would sprawl lazily on the chair outside the house and watch Zhang Heng tend to his crops. The incident that night was akin to a rock dropping into a lake. There were ripples at first, but calm quickly returned after a little while.

Anne did not change the way she treated Zhang Heng, not to mention that she did not look as if she was in love as well. The only thing that changed was the frequency of Anne’s sparring requests. Perhaps it was her very own way of showing her love to him.

….

Five days later, Zhang Heng visited Terrance’s mansion with Anne and Billy. Although it would seem that he faced no potential threats there, it would still be inappropriate for the captain of the Jackdaw to go there alone. Malcolm didn’t organize his banquet in the town of Nassau. Instead, it was located on a plantation somewhere near the center of the island. The land belonged to him, and that was his place of residence as well.

Unlike the wooden houses on the northern shores, Malcolm’s mansion was made out of stone, and it was designed with an adaptation of Baroque architecture. However, stones were not available on New Providence Island. Malcolm had to import those stones from somewhere else. One could only imagine how much a single stone would cost. He even went as far as hiring two Italian architects, taking three long years to build the mansion. This was his first time exposing his mysterious abode to outsiders.

“Well… it appears that this guy has done very well for himself over the years!” exclaimed Anne while staring at the giant statues of Apollo and Daphne in front of the mansion.

“This is exactly why he organized this banquet. He wants to let everyone know that they too can earn big bucks if they work with him.”

Zhang Heng had Malcolm all figured out in his mind.

“I think he’s managed to achieve his agenda,” said Billy.

He turned around, only to see every guest standing with their mouths wide open as they stared in awe at the large statues. A man appearing to be a butler stood at the entrance at the mansion and checked the invitation that Zhang Heng brought with him.

“Welcome to the Terrance mansion. I wish the three of you a pleasant time.”

After that, he rang the bell that he was holding. At the ring, three maids clad in black approached them. They seemed really young, about 16 to 17 years of age.