After the three finished their conversation, Huo Jinning also finished tidying up and came downstairs.

"Come on, Ningning, eat your breakfast while it's hot!" Zhao Qiuying greeted her warmly, then turned to Aunt Zhong beside her and said, "Aunt Zhong, quickly bring out breakfast for Ningning."

Huo Jinning glanced at Aunt Zhong and thought to himself.

[So she's Aunt Zhong? The one who trafficked in antiques.]

However, at this moment, Zhao Qiuying was in an uproar—it turned out that the seemingly ordinary Aunt Zhong was actually a criminal who trafficked in cultural relics!

She staggered slightly; if she hadn't caught herself on the table in time, she probably would have fallen to the ground in front of everyone.

Huo Jinning was so focused on observing Aunt Zhong that she didn't notice her mother's unusual behavior beside her.

The father and son sitting on the other sofa also felt a pang of anxiety, but fortunately, they maintained a relatively calm demeanor.

Trafficking in cultural relics is a serious crime, and could even be punishable by death!

The crowd pondered to themselves, finding it hard to connect this unassuming woman with criminal activity.

As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover.

After Huo Jinning sat down, she seemed to be eating quietly, but she actually had a lot on her mind.

[What's even more infuriating is that this couple actually sold precious cultural relics belonging to China abroad, making huge profits from it.]

[Now, their son lives a luxurious and comfortable life in a foreign land.]

Isn't this built on the foundation of harming national interests?

[Damn it.]

[And each time, they were always taken out on Huo family merchant ships.]

Our family is so unlucky.

[This afternoon, there were more than a dozen cultural relics on this merchant ship that was about to set sail.]

How should I put it?

Upon hearing this, Huo Nanchu turned and left without saying a word, clearly to investigate.

"Aunt Zhong, your cooking skills are truly superb! The food is simply delicious. By the way, do you have any children at home?" Huo Jinning asked casually.

"Ah, there was one once, but he didn't make it to adulthood..." Aunt Zhong replied softly, her expression slightly forlorn.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Zhong, I didn't know about this before." Huo Jinning apologized, feigning sincerity.

[You're quite the actor. If I hadn't already known the truth, I probably would have been fooled.]

[You should be awarded an Oscar!]

[In terms of acting skills, you're far superior to me.]

“Miss, you don’t need to blame yourself. So much time has passed, and I’ve already come to terms with it,” Aunt Zhong comforted her.

“Miss, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go and get back to work.” Aunt Zhong seemed somewhat afraid of Huo Jinning’s gaze, as if the other woman knew everything about her.

"Oh, okay, you go ahead and get busy!" Huo Jinning replied obediently.

[What should we do now?]

How can I possibly remind my older brother or father?

[If we don't catch them this time, they'll run away and go find their son, never to return.]

[Tonight, they will pack up the last batch of cultural relics, which will be shipped out of the country in two weeks.]

Upon hearing this, Huo Shan and Zhao Qiuying exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves, "Them? So there must be other people involved besides them."

Who could it be?

[Among those people pruning trees outside, one was Aunt Zhong's husband.]

The news surprised the two of them, but it also raised more questions—"But there are so many people here, how can we be sure which one it is?"

[By the way, it's someone named Hu Da.]

[Once we leave tomorrow, they'll probably follow suit, claiming they're resigning and going back to their hometowns to retire.]

[Actually, they went to the third house at the west end of Changliu Village in Xiaotan Town. There was a basement there, and they would put the cultural relics there each time and then take them out on the Huo family's merchant ships.]

While eating, Huo Jinning pondered the entire course and development of the matter.

She thought the plan was flawless, since no one would specifically investigate a former maid, let alone a maid in a villa that wasn't usually frequented.

After obtaining the names of the two key figures, Huo Shan immediately got up and went out to take action.

"Immediately arrange for people to keep a close watch on Hu Da and Aunt Zhong. Under no circumstances should they step out of the villa!" Huo Shan ordered his bodyguards with a serious expression.

"Yes, sir!" the bodyguards responded in unison.

"Mom, where did my older brother and Dad go?" Huo Jinning asked absentmindedly, picking at the rice grains in her bowl with her chopsticks while looking around for her parents.

After she finished her meal in a flash, she was surprised to find that two people were missing from the house.

Zhao Qiuying glanced at her daughter, then lowered her voice and said to her, "Someone reported that there are contraband items on our family's boat, and your older brother has already gone there to deal with it."

She was afraid her daughter would worry, so after much thought, she decided to give her some information.

"Oh, really?" Huo Jinning's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and a hint of barely perceptible excitement even showed on her face.

"Well, you absolutely mustn't go around talking about this kind of thing, after all, it's not something to be proud of," Zhao Qiuying solemnly instructed, somewhat afraid that Huo Jinning would find out they could hear her thoughts.

"Don't worry, Mom, I won't say anything." Huo Jinning cooperated by putting a finger to her lips to indicate that she would keep quiet.

However, at this moment, her heart was already in turmoil:

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