Chapter 87 This is a different price

"Eek?" Xie Mianmian found her hands empty; Xie Huaijin had taken the rice cake and placed it on a high branch.

"Just feed it to the birds. They're not as noisy as you."

Xie Mianmian crossed her arms, tucked her hands under her armpits, and pouted, "Mianmian knows what that evil monk is all about."

Hurry up and comfort me, and I'll tell you everything.

"Oh, after the Dali Temple finishes its trial, they'll know everything."

"That's different. It concerns the palace. How could the Dali Temple..." Realizing she had let something slip, Xie Mianmian quickly covered her mouth.

"Hmm?" Xie Huaijin narrowed his long, narrow eyes, reached out and picked up the child, and took a piece of rice cake from the food box. "Tell me, and I'll give you some to eat."

Xie Mianmian clasped her hands together slightly and whispered in her third brother's ear, "The ancient prescription of the evil monk is said to be related to a noble person in the palace."

"Is that all?" Xie Huaijin swallowed the rice cake in one gulp, making the child so angry that he kept punching his chest.

Xie Huaijin felt the child's ticklish movements and gazed thoughtfully at Bai Yun's back. "Demon monk, in the palace, whose person are you really?"

In a magnificent courtyard, the man lay back in a chair, idly tossing fish food into the pond.

This attracted koi of all colors to surface, creating splashes of water.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, the man said, "They were caught so quickly. How boring, so incredibly boring."

Suddenly, the man sat up straight. "Hey, the Rejuvenating Pill is alright. Go ahead."

The man casually waved his hand behind him and lay back down.

A few days later, Xie Mingyi went to Fohua Temple again to ask for a peace charm, and then went to the Jingyun River to visit her father. Accompanying her was Xie Mianmian.

Upon arrival, the carriage stopped, and Xie Mianmian was lifted down by her father's large hands.

The child took out a good luck charm from her bosom, which her second sister had given her not long ago. "Father will surely be safe and well, and everything will go smoothly for him."

"Oh, good! Good!" The tense face of Xie's father relaxed into a smile. After talking to the well-behaved child for a while, his mood brightened up.

Mr. Xie led them into a tent, inside which was a large wooden table covered with blueprints scattered haphazardly.

Mr. Xie said excitedly, "Mingyi, that young man He you introduced is really good. Young people are so clever."

He took a blueprint and gestured for Xie Mingyi to look at it. "The mechanism in this sketch is ingenious. It can not only effectively prevent moisture and theft, but also take into account the situation of earthquakes, and its earthquake resistance is also excellent."

"He also has many other ingenious ideas. The sluice gate can be built soon, and after that, the Grand Canal will not easily flood, whether it is a rainstorm or an earthquake."

Mr. Xie nodded with emotion, saying that this was a great thing for the country and its people.

Xie Mingyi smiled faintly, "It's good that I can help Father. I promised that person a lot of money, and Father can't let me break my promise."

Father Xie flicked his sleeves behind him and said, “I am certainly not a stingy person.”

Just then, someone rushed over and called out to Xie's father. He looked apologetically at his two daughters and then left.

Xie Mingyi led the child away from the tent, intending to wander around. The scenery here was beautiful, with shady trees.

As if she had seen something, Xie Mianmian gestured for her second sister to look not far away, where a person was sitting next to a tree.

"Second sister, it's Brother He."

They lifted their feet and walked towards Hechuan.

He Chuan was sitting under the shade of a tree, carving a piece of wood with a small knife. The wood carving was gradually taking shape, seemingly in the form of a woman.

"What is Young Master He doing here?" A smiling voice rang out.

He Chuan quickly stood up and hid the wooden carving in his sleeve. "No, it's nothing, Miss Xie. What a coincidence."

"I've heard everything from my father. You deserve a lot of credit for the blueprint design. Congratulations!"

He Chuan scratched the back of his head. "I'm just doing my bit to help Governor Xie."

Xie Mingyi looked at He Chuan's wrinkled clothes and his scarred fingers, and sighed inwardly. It was really hard on him to leave such a young boy alone in such a complicated environment surrounded by wolves.

He had no relatives or friends here, and no one would take care of him. An earthquake was also coming soon, and Xie Mingyi was a little worried. After all, she was the one who dragged He Chuan into this.

Xie Mingyi took out the amulet that originally belonged to her and handed it to He Chuan, saying, "I hope this amulet will protect you, young master."

He Chuan hurriedly wiped his hands on his clothes, then bowed slightly and accepted the amulet with both hands.

Even though he knew it wasn't what he thought, he couldn't help but think, "Ah, could this be the legendary... token of love?"

That's fine.

He Chuan blushed more than anything.

The little girl Xie Mianmian looked around boredly. Then, she spotted a busy little figure on a branch. Xie Mianmian recognized it as a squirrel.

She walked to the tree branch and looked up, her eyes fixed on its bushy tail, which swayed back and forth.

The little squirrel spotted Xie Mianmian. It was very agile and quickly ran up the tree trunk to the child.

It sat upright, its legs bulging in rounded arcs, and said, "Mianmian is good."

"Hello, little squirrel." Xie Mianmian also half-squatted down.

"If Mianmian can give me something to eat, I can tell you some news, chirp chirp chirp."

Oh, Xie Mianmian reached into her sleeve and after a while, pulled out a walnut. It was given to her by her third brother, who told her to eat more of it so she could become a smart child.

Xie Mianmian held a lone walnut in her hand. It was hard as a rock. Would the little squirrel like it?

Is this okay?

"Chirp chirp chirp! Great, the mouse likes it very much!"

The little paws hugged the walnuts to their chests, rubbed them a few times like treasures, and almost couldn't resist showing their front teeth to bite into them.

Seeing that the little squirrel was so happy it was almost carried away, Xie Mianmian urged it, "What news is it? Tell us!"

"Two months later, some people said that Mianmian was a scourge to the country and the people and would arouse public anger."

"What?" Xie Mianmian's eyes widened. She was just a little kid, and she never did anything bad. How could this be?

"Do you know what exactly happened?"

"Chirp chirp chirp, this is a different price."

But before Xie Mianmian could continue rummaging through her pockets, the little squirrel suddenly ran away with the walnuts in one hand, disappearing without a trace.

Xie Mingyi, who was talking to He Chuan, noticed that something was wrong with the child. She had a sad face and seemed a little upset.

"Mianmian, what's wrong?" Who bullied you again in such a short time?

Xie Mianmian looked up, her eyes brimming with tears, "Mianmian, what kind of bad child is this? Don't bully Mianmian, boohoo."

As the child was talking, suddenly, large tears rolled down his cheeks as if they were free.

Not knowing what had happened, Xie Mingyi and He Chuan frantically tried to comfort her.

"No, that's not true. In my second sister's eyes, Mianmian is the best child in the world!" She's just a little mischievous at times.