Chapter 73 Relics

That day, after having afternoon tea with Tan Qingying, we went home separately.

Xie Yutong sat in front of the dressing table, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade pendant on her earlobe.

The cool touch made her slightly dazed, and her mind began to uncontrollably search for clues about her mother's jade cabochon necklace.

Xie Yutong's father was a nouveau riche who rose to prominence by riding the wave of the times, and he wore a Rolex on his rough wrist.

Her mother came from a scholarly family and was a well-educated lady who was well-versed in poetry and literature.

The two seemed to come from completely different worlds; one was like the everyday life of ordinary people, and the other was like the bright moon in the clouds.

In their youthful, impetuous, and passionate years, they were deeply attracted to each other's distinct qualities.

The father couldn't understand the mother's beloved Wuthering Heights, but the sincerity of a young man brought the two together.

There were also times when they were extremely sweet.

During their honeymoon, at a top jewelry auction, to please his beloved, his father spent millions to buy his mother a set of jadeite cabochon necklaces.

When the necklace was presented to the mother by the staff, the lustrous luster of the jade instantly illuminated the entire venue.

Against the backdrop of jade, her mother's fair face revealed a fleeting, delicate shyness.

When Xie Yutong was a little girl, the most vivid image in her childhood memories was her mother teaching her to read music while wearing that set of jade jewelry in front of the piano, with seven shimmering jade cabochons swirling around her mother's neck.

But the good times didn't last long. The father gradually revealed his true nature, keeping mistresses and fathering illegitimate children.

My mother had a strong personality and carried the pride and self-respect of a scholarly family.

She couldn't turn a blind eye to her husband's infidelity like other wealthy wives.

After countless arguments and disappointments, the mother resolutely chose to break with the father.

The once inseparable couple's relationship has now broken down.

The perfumes her father brought back became increasingly mixed in scent, and the jade pendant her mother wore around her neck never appeared again. Xie Yutong had no idea where her mother had taken it.

After Xie Yutong came of age, her mother resolutely moved out of this home filled with painful memories and retired to a quiet village.

There, her mother spent her days surrounded by mountains, rivers, and fields, reading and writing poetry, far from the hustle and bustle of the city, and also far from the harm caused by her father.

After the mother left, the father seemed to have broken free from his constraints and was enjoying his so-called "freedom" to the fullest.

Their marriage existed in name only, just an empty shell.

Xie Yutong used to visit her mother frequently in her early years.

But as she grew older, she gradually became blinded by the glitz and glamour of the city.

The glitz and glamour of life and the social obligations of high society drew her deeply into it.

Her personality is becoming more and more like her father's, pursuing fame and fortune and indulging in vanity.

After getting married and having children, the琐事 of family life and social obligations meant that she could only visit her mother a handful of times.

Until that day she still doesn't want to think about, she cruelly abandoned her daughter Lu Yao, who had been diagnosed with intellectual disability, to her mother.

At that time, she was overwhelmed by feelings of shame and disgust.

She felt ashamed for giving birth to such an "abnormal" child and disgusted by Lu Yao's empty, lifeless eyes and unresponsive appearance.

After leaving Lu Yao behind, she turned and left without a trace of regret.

Her mother looked at her reproachfully, as if to say that she had not fulfilled her responsibilities as a mother.

"This child is only three years old," the mother said softly.

Enraged, Xie Yutong slammed the diagnosis record on the table. It was shocking: Lu Yao's eyes were vacant and unfocused. She did not respond to sound or touch, showed no joy, anger, sorrow or happiness, had no attachment to her family, and even lacked instinctive reactions such as hunger or pain.

“This is not a normal child. She has no normal human emotions at all. Sometimes I get chills when I look into her eyes!” Xie Yutong’s voice was sharp and piercing, echoing in the courtyard.

"Sigh," the mother sighed, "It's not like we don't have the money to hire a nanny. It's better for children to grow up with their parents. Why do you have to leave them to this old woman like me?"

"Mom, I'm having a new baby, a normal baby. She'll be the brightest pearl, our proudest little princess. We can't tolerate a freak in our family!"

A sharp sound shattered the tranquility of the courtyard.

The look in her mother's eyes at that moment was more suffocating than any scolding—it was filled with so much disappointment.

“Look at you, you don’t act like a mother at all, actually calling your own flesh and blood that you carried for ten months a freak.”

The mother and daughter parted on bad terms, and since then, Xie Yutong has never spoken properly to her mother again.

Because of the estrangement between them, her mother's inheritance was not explained to her.

In her later years, my mother lived a simple and frugal life, and resolutely refused to accept my father's money, leaving behind only the quiet house in the mountains and a small amount of savings.

Xie Yutong was hoping to find the valuable jade necklace among her mother's belongings. She searched every corner of the courtyard, but only found a few yellowed poetry collections and a box of worthless silver jewelry.

That jade necklace, which my mother once cherished, vanished without a trace, as if it had evaporated into thin air.

If Tan Qingying hadn't reminded her, Xie Yutong would have forgotten about this method altogether.

Let's consult the oracle about the whereabouts of that jade necklace.

Perhaps that anchor who can glimpse the secrets of heaven can truly speak for the dead and tell her the whereabouts of the chain.

After much deliberation, Xie Yutong finally searched for the streamer named [千年刚通网] that night.

Admittedly, she knew that the streamer was prone to overcharging, but as Tan Qingying said, even if the streamer asked for 10% more, it was still better than letting eight-figure jewelry go missing without explanation.

Upon entering the live stream room, the first thing you see is the streamer's aloof face.

Xie Yutong had heard of her for a long time, but this was the first time she had met her in person.

In the live stream room, the streamer's face was shrouded in a hazy halo, and the outline of her eyebrows and eyes seemed to be deliberately blurred, but her delicate features could still be seen, and her Taoist robe made her look like an immortal.

Xie Yutong's heart skipped a beat, and she had a very strange feeling.

Unable to decipher her own feelings, she could only suppress them and listen to the anchor speak with a troubled mind.

She didn't rush to give a reward, after all, this streamer had extorted 80 million from their family.

Xie Yutong is always shrewd. Unless she is certain that she will be chosen as the lucky person today, she is not willing to give this streamer another penny.

Surprisingly, I actually drew her name.

"What would you like to ask, you with the ID 'Rain Hitting Banana Leaves'?" Lu Yao chuckled as she saw that everything was going according to plan and Xie Yutong had indeed taken the bait.

Xie Yutong opted for a video call, as she has always been a high-profile person.

In the video, she sits gracefully on a sofa in a luxurious living room, with a dazzling crystal chandelier behind her that illuminates her face, making her look radiant and beautiful.

She looked smugly at the barrage of compliments in the comments.

Wow, what an elegant and wealthy woman!

Wow, this is the charm of a mature woman!

"I want to ask about the whereabouts of a set of jade jewelry." Xie Yutong straightened her back, her voice clear and confident. "It belongs to my mother, but it disappeared after she passed away. It's worth eight figures, and I hope the host can do a divination to help me find it."

When she mentioned "eight figures," Xie Yutong deliberately raised her chin slightly, glanced at the comments, and felt a sense of satisfaction as she saw the screen instantly filled with exclamations.

[Wow, eight figures! Just for a set of jewelry. I'm so envious watching this live stream!]

Wow, an eight-figure jadeite piece! I can't imagine how beautiful it must be! I really want to see it.

I once saw an eight-figure jade cabochon at an auction; it was absolutely stunning, blinding me.

Eight-figure jewelry items lying around carelessly? That's outrageous!

"Such a valuable item," Lu Yao's voice carried a hint of sarcasm, "your mother didn't properly explain it?"

Xie Yutong's smile froze instantly, and she was speechless for a moment.

She couldn't bring herself to say how she had disdainfully dumped the burden of her mentally challenged daughter onto her mother, and how their relationship had become estranged ever since.

She couldn't even bring herself to say it: her mother was attending Fashion Week in Paris when she passed away.