Chapter 2 Old Stories.
Inside the huge villa, the piercing screams of "vengeful spirits claiming lives" from a Cantonese film echoed through the air.
Accompanied by the old-fashioned singing style of the old-fashioned projector, the echoes struck the eardrums.
The child kicked his toes and ran back to the house. The Filipino maid in an apron put the silver tray that had fallen to the ground aside and chased after the young master while begging him to be kind, saying that she couldn't keep running like that.
Clanging sounds came from the room. When the young master ran back, he was already wearing new equipment, his chubby little hands gripping the laser sword, and he took a step forward.
A child's cheerful, innocent voice broke through the eerie background music as he brandished a sword hilt with one hand on his hip: "State your name!"
Zhu Qing got a clear look at the young master's face.
The child is about three years old. His soft, naturally curly hair is styled into an adult shape with hair gel. Because he has been playing around, a strand of unruly hair hangs down on his forehead. His eyes, which are as bright and clear as black grapes, are pretending to be fierce.
The sword was deflected by Zhu Qing with one hand and fell to the ground with a dull thud.
He looked down at his palm and mumbled in a childish voice, "When did Daddy buy a new shield..."
Zhu Qing observed the child discreetly.
The child's features are exactly the same as those in the childhood photo that Mr. Sheng included in his autobiography.
In recent years, Hong Kong media have made increasingly bizarre speculations about the heir of the Sheng family. Some fortune tellers have even hinted in special interviews that Mr. Sheng spent a lot of money to change his fate through feng shui arrangements, but he was never destined to have a grandson.
If this child is truly Mr. Sheng's grandson, why hide him?
Zhu Qing asked tentatively, "Is your father Sheng Wenchang?"
The young master clearly knew exactly how important his father was, and proudly put his hands on his hips: "Are you the bodyguard my dad sent?"
It's been reported in tabloids that the Sheng family is small, and Hong Kong media always talk about the so-called inheritance dispute between the first and second wives, using headlines like "Two Beauties Fighting for the Throne."
But unexpectedly, a third child has now been involved.
This has never been made public before.
A voice came from not far away: "Miss and Master are back..."
Zhu Qing turned to the side, her gaze following the handle downstairs.
The young master, not receiving a reply, said: "Behave yourself, I'm interrogating you!"
The child was blocking her view, so she took a step to the side.
The young master of the Sheng family had never been treated like this before; his head was practically steaming: "Hey—"
Zhu Qing looked past him and said, "Quiet."
After waiting for so long, instead of seeing the new bodyguard being respectful, the young master was ordered around, and he was so angry that he yelled.
Fire her! Let Daddy fire her!
...
As the antique clock struck the hour, the Filipino maid, Marissa, coaxed and tricked the child into returning to the house.
As Zhu Qing looked down the teak spiral staircase, she happened to see her second son-in-law handing his suit to the housekeeper.
"I'm so sorry, there's a problem with the inscriptions on the two elders' tombstones, and they need to be changed."
Chen Chaosheng, the second son-in-law of the Sheng family, has a refined and scholarly appearance. He wears a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his nose and has a tired look on his face.
During the conversation, he took off his glasses and rubbed his temples, displaying a humble and polite demeanor.
"The construction of this house took a long time. From the start of construction, it supported several construction teams and had many workers coming and going..."
"After the construction was completed, we waited through two rainy seasons before moving into the hillside. The skeletons in the fireplace, to be honest, were an undeserved disaster for the Sheng family."
Zeng Yongshan had long heard that the second son-in-law of the Sheng family was a charming man, so she cast a curious glance at him and snuggled up to Zhu Qing's side.
"This Mr. Chen has won the Best Son-in-Law Award in the Hong Kong Weekly for three consecutive years," Zeng Yongshan muttered in a whisper. "Miss Zeng has really struck gold!"
Zhu Qing used the edge of her notebook to block Mo Sir's sharp gaze.
Zeng Yongshan touched her earlobe guiltily and gestured to thank her new colleague for covering for her.
Mo Zhenbang: "Mr. Chen, when was the last time you used the fireplace?"
“Last Christmas Eve,” Chen Chaosheng wiped the lenses in his hand, “the renovation team suggested replacing it with an intelligent constant temperature system, but my father is traditional and insisted on keeping the cast iron pattern. I never thought that secret would be hidden in the pipes for so many years.”
“In any case, this place has become a haunted house.” He sighed. “On the way back, Peishan was still racking her brains, trying to get the auction house to take inventory of the collection.”
If the new colleague doesn't respond, Zeng Yongshan will switch to gossiping with an older colleague.
"I heard that the second young lady was incredibly beautiful when she was young!"
"After all, she's one of the top three in the Miss Hong Kong pageant, and the judges have sharp eyes... However, she's still young."
It is said that the eldest daughter, Sheng Peirong, is an iron lady in the business world, while the second daughter, Sheng Peishan, was born for the camera.
Even now, television stations still frequently rebroadcast segments of Sheng Peishan's beauty pageant performances from over a decade ago.
"So why did you stop working in this line of work?"
"She's still being suspended by wires at four in the morning. Is it really worth it for the second young lady to suffer like this? They could live off the rent alone for ten lifetimes!"
"No wonder everyone is scrambling to be the heir."
"I'm definitely betting on the second young lady. This time, the second son-in-law has been working tirelessly for the master. As for the eldest young lady... she didn't even receive a condolence payment!"
Zhu Qing turned around and looked at the family oil painting at the corner of the stairs in Yu Guangli's eyes.
Two gilded chairs were placed side by side. Sheng Wenchang and Qin Lizhu sat in the center without a doubt. In the back row, the eldest daughter of the Sheng family, wearing tortoiseshell glasses, stood on the right arm with her husband. The second daughter of the Sheng family was obviously closer to her birth mother. She leaned slightly forward and playfully put her arms around her mother Qin Lizhu's shoulders. The second daughter's husband, Chen Chaosheng, looked at her with a smile.
Zhu Qing slowly walked to the oil painting.
Sheng Peirong, the eldest daughter of the Sheng family, is rumored to be ruthless and decisive. As early as a decade or two ago, there were rumors that Mr. Sheng intended to groom her as the successor of the group. However, a single painting does not reveal the assertive style of the person depicted; instead, her eyes appear somewhat dim.
Judging from the age, the young master on the third floor did not exist when this painting was created.
Strangely, according to the overall layout of the painting, there is a clearly empty space on the left side of the eldest daughter of the Sheng family.
"Who is this position reserved for?" Zhu Qing asked.
Everyone turned their attention to the oil painting.
Chen Chaosheng, who had been talking eloquently, suddenly fell silent. Just as he was about to choose his words, he heard the elevator doors open.
"It's a child from the Sheng family." A gentle female voice came, accompanied by the sound of a wheelchair rolling across the floor.
When the Second Miss Sheng from the oil painting appeared, Zeng Yongshan was almost speechless with astonishment.
Unlike her innocent and carefree demeanor, she seemed like a completely different person more than a decade later. The outside world has always speculated about why Sheng Peishan quietly withdrew from the entertainment industry after participating in the Miss Hong Kong pageant, concluding that the wealthy heiress's participation was merely a hobby…
However, no one expected that when she reappeared, the second young lady, who had been raised in a greenhouse since childhood and had never known the hardships of the world, would be sitting in a wheelchair.
Chen Chaosheng stepped forward, put one hand on his wife's shoulder, and gently stroked the tip of her nose: "You have a headache but you don't go back to your room to rest, and you're so disobedient."
"Don't worry." Sheng Peishan's smile was gentle and serene as she held his hand back reassuringly. "I'm much better."
The couple's every gesture was perfectly in sync.
Following the second son-in-law's instructions, the maid brought over a cup of hot tea and then took a blanket to cover Sheng Peishan's knees.
Mo Zhenbang noticed that the half of her skirt was empty under the cashmere blanket.
“She was my niece.” Sheng Peishan turned her gaze away from the painting and continued to explain to the police, “She passed away when she was six months old.”
She lowered her eyes and said softly, "Daddy said this position is reserved for the children who haven't come home yet."
That was the Sheng family's nightmare.
Chen Chaosheng put his arm around his wife's shoulder and said, "That's an old story from twenty years ago, and it has nothing to do with this case."
“Since we’re not going to talk about the past, what about the current situation—” Zhu Qing raised her eyes, “like Young Master Sheng in the children’s room.”
Sheng Peishan's teacup fell back onto the gilded bone china plate, and even the teaspoon was straightened by her husband.
The officers were taken aback, but pretended to be calm, lest Inspector Mo think they were slower than snails when it came to investigating the case.
Mo Zhenbang also looked surprised.
Before the battle for the family fortune has even begun, a young master has suddenly appeared. It's likely that the paparazzi will spread rumors that the septuagenarian is still as sharp as ever, and that a hidden prince is lurking in the mountains.
...
On the third floor, the young master sneaked out from the stair railing, about to perform a slide act, when he heard his sister's words.
He stopped going down the slide, put his hands on the handrails, and looked down.
There were many outsiders in the house, and the only one Sheng Fang recognized was his bodyguard.
The bodyguard neglected his post and instead of staying by his side, he looked at oil paintings in the living room.
Children only vaguely understand what adults are saying.
The Filipino maid, Marissa, spoke only mediocre Mandarin, and could only understand the general meaning, but she still knew to cover the young master's ears when sensitive words were mentioned.
Marissa's hands are chubby.
The young master's ears were covered, but there were still gaps.
Chen Chaosheng's expression turned cold.
"Who knows why the skeletons are here? That's your job as a police officer."
"Please be mindful of the Sheng family's privacy when handling this case, officer. If it attracts media attention, I will definitely go to the Police Complaints Department to demand an explanation."
Marissa gasped.
Even a three-year-old child who hears about bones hidden in a fireplace will have nightmares in their sleep.
"When my parents-in-law were alive, they protected my younger brother like a fortress. The Sheng family has already lost a child and doesn't want to go through that again."
Marissa gasped again.
Thank goodness the young master didn't ask what it meant to lose a child; a three-year-old would scream at night if he heard that.
“Young master, it’s time to go back to your room and watch cartoons.” Marissa said anxiously, “These are not things for children to listen to.”
During her time at the Sheng family, Marissa had already figured out the rebellious young master's temperament.
The more you try to stop him, the more he'll cause trouble.
Marissa stood there awkwardly, trying to block the child's view with her large body.
"Marisa, what is a niece?"
Marissa had no idea how complicated these family relationships were.
She touched the back of her head, thought for a while, and then shook her head.
The young master squatted down in a small ball, his hands supporting his chin, pondering the question with a puzzled look.
How could someone as smart as him be stumped?
It was at this moment that Zhu Qing seemed to notice the burning gaze and looked up.
Their eyes met, separated by three flights of spiral staircases. The young master stood up, chin raised, exuding an air of superiority.
Amidst the dazzling gold and glitter, the poor young policewoman's frayed, water-stained trouser legs, wrapped in protective shoe covers, stood out starkly and seemed out of place.
The child vividly remembered being defeated by the female bodyguard; if someone downstairs hadn't interrupted, he might have been thrown over her shoulder.
We must fight back; if we can't win, we must verbally attack back.
He racked his brains to recall the most authentic and ruthless words from his life experiences.
Char siu bao! Stinky tofu! Slugs!
The young master's round face resembled a pineapple bun, with a fierce-looking smirk on his lips.
He crossed his arms in a condescending manner, mimicking the gangsters from Temple Street on TV, and was about to speak—
Zhu Qing turned her head away.
Half-Mountain Gangster: ...
I'm so angry I'm going crazy!
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