Chapter 3 Sherlock Holmes
When Xie Mingyi heard her younger sister's words, her heart melted; she felt both sad and happy.
What saddened Xie Mianmian was that, in her eyes, this family was a crumbling, dilapidated castle in the air; what made her happy was that the child was willing to speak his mind.
No matter how naive or clumsy Xie Mianmian's excuse seemed to her, Xie Mingyi felt a part of her heart being soothed and comforted, and her feelings were complicated.
Xie Mingyi chuckled, "Are two kisses enough?"
"Three...that's fine too." Great, I can trick one more person, but Xie Mianmian felt a little guilty. She only needed two, and she was being greedy.
A faint fragrance of orchids wafted over, and Xie Mingyi kissed her younger sister on both cheeks.
That's all? Xie Mianmian was a little disappointed.
Then, Xie Mingyi kissed Mianmian's forehead tenderly. Judging from the child's nightmare at noon, she was very afraid of their death. Xie Mingyi didn't know why, but she still wanted to give her as much security as possible.
"Xie Mianmian, I hope you are safe and happy, be a happy child, don't think too much, okay? We, your older brothers and sisters, will take care of everything."
"Okay." Xie Mianmian said, her face flushed. It was strange, she felt warm all over, but she would take good care of her family!
"How about moving in with my second sister from now on?"
Overwhelmed by the surprise, Xie Mianmian said "okay" again, feeling quite pleased with herself.
"Alright, Second Sister, have the servants put things away. Go and have some fun."
Xie Mianmian skipped and hopped off to find her third brother.
In the open space of the courtyard, a young man dressed in silver-white martial arts attire was practicing swordsmanship, thrusting, stabbing, slashing, and pointing with swift and fluid movements.
Xie Huaijin caught a glimpse of a small pink figure out of the corner of his eye. With a sweep of her long, powerful legs, she created a gust of wind, causing the flower petals that had been cut by the sword to flutter up from the ground.
The boy's originally dull and practical swordsmanship became gorgeous, his clothes fluttering in the air like a swimming dragon.
As the dance ended, the wind ceased, and a sharp sword pointed directly at Xie Mianmian. On the blade rested a pear blossom bud.
Xie Mianmian then snapped out of her daze and clapped her hands excitedly, "Third Brother is so amazing! You'll definitely become a mighty general in the future!"
Xie Huaijin sheathed his sword, placed a pear blossom in his younger sister's hair, and said with a smile, "Then I'll accept your kind words, little sister."
Unfortunately, with a father who is the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner and an elder brother who is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, the Xie family will not, and will not allow, to have a third person of high rank and power.
He was just a playboy who rode around the streets on horseback.
"What brings you here, Mianmian?" The boy asked, half-squatting with a smile in his eyes.
"I want a kiss from Third Brother," Xie Mianmian said sweetly, holding up two fingers. "Two."
With a tense little face, she added seriously, "To save our home."
Xie Huaijin laughed heartily upon hearing this, "My dear Mianmian, you're so adorable." With that, he gave her two big kisses on her cheeks.
He ruffled the little girl's hair. "Mianmian, remember, you can't let any man other than me kiss you, understand?"
"Can't my elder brother and father do it either?"
“Hmm…” Xie Huaijin actually started to ponder, “Father is fine, but elder brother is not.” Thinking of that cold-faced, ruthless man, Xie Huaijin shook his head.
"Our Mianmian likes to act cute now, that's great." The big hand continued to ruffle her hair.
Xie Mianmian ran away quickly, "Third Brother is bad!"
She didn't dare to go to other family members anymore. It was strange; they would always say things that were hard for her to understand, but they would make her feel warm, like drinking a cup of honey water, sweet and comforting.
Xie Mianmian found three of her usual maids, tricked each of them into giving her two kisses, and then secretly sneaked into the kitchen—to find candy.
"Xiaotong, would you like some candied fruit?"
"Anything sweet is fine."
Xie Mianmian secretly took three candied fruits and squatted in the corner, munching away with her little mouth.
Suddenly, Xie Mianmian heard a rustling sound coming from the stove, and she looked up.
It was an adorable little white mouse, squatting down, munching on a red date with its paws, and saying, "Mianmian, at three-quarters past the hour of Chou, someone will bury a voodoo doll under the osmanthus tree, chirp chirp chirp."
Xie Mianmian: !
This is what Xitong meant by the passively triggered animal prophecy!
Xie Mianmian slowly handed over a candied fruit, saying cautiously, "Hello, here, have this. Do you know who did this?"
The little mouse quickly tucked the red dates into its cheeks, then gently took the candied fruit with its little paws and began to busily nibble on it again.
"Mianmian is good, but women who wear purple are bad!"
"Good boy, come back to Mianmian next time you want to eat."
Xie Mianmian stretched out her short fingers and clumsily stroked the mouse's head.
A woman in purple? But many of the maids in the manor wear purple.
Xie Mianmian's delicate brows furrowed.
She now felt a sense of urgency to protect her family, and said in a serious tone in her childish voice, "Xie Mianmian, bodyguard number two, you are responsible for waking me up at three-quarters past midnight."
System: ...Stop messing around.
Xie Mianmian patted her small chest.
"Xie Mianmian's bodyguard number one, commence the operation!"
She mimicked her elder brother Xie Linyuan's cold and stern expression when reviewing case files, frowning as she hid in a corner, scrutinizing the woman in purple in the mansion.
Some of the nannies and cooks suddenly felt a chill down their spines, but when they turned around, they found nothing amiss.
Unbeknownst to them, behind the pillars, under the tables, beside the walls, and in the bushes, a small figure moved nimbly, its rear end sticking out, coldly watching all the women in purple.
After dinner, Xie Mianmian was washing up when Xie Mingyi scolded her, "Xie Mianmian! Where have you been all afternoon? We couldn't find you anywhere. Granny Wang practically turned the entire Xie mansion upside down."
"Mianmian is observing bad guys in the mansion!" This was a serious matter for her; she was protecting her family. Xie Mianmian felt a little wronged.
Xie Mingyi tried to calm herself down, constantly telling herself: I need to communicate well with my child, I need to communicate well with my child.
"Okay, did Mianmian catch the bad guy?"
Xie Mianmian shook her head.
"From now on, you can have someone follow you wherever you go, okay?"
Xie Mianmian nodded.
When it was time to sleep, Xie Mianmian didn't cry or fuss and fell asleep quickly. Xie Mingyi breathed a sigh of relief; children aren't hard to take care of after all, she just fell asleep peacefully.
At 3:45 AM (丑时三刻).
"Xie Mianmian, get up."
The child remained motionless.
"Xie Mianmian, you've caught a bad woman!"
Xie Mianmian sat up straight in one smooth motion, forcing herself to open her eyes despite her drowsiness.
She slipped off the bed without disturbing Xie Mingyi, put on her shoes, grabbed a jar of honey from the table, and slipped out through the crack in the door. Her movements were fluid and effortless, as slippery as an eel.
In the back garden, under the osmanthus tree.
Xie Mianmian clasped her hands together, pondered for a moment, and said softly, "Little ant, you're busy moving house, help Mianmian find some things~ find the voodoo doll and the secret letter from the Northern Rong in the study."
Slowly, a rustling sound came from the ground. The orderly army of ants marched in, splitting into two rows. One row crawled under the osmanthus tree, while the other row turned towards the study.
Soon, the ants pulled out a package full of mud. Xie Mianmian opened it and was startled to find a terrifying voodoo doll covered in silver needles.
After a while, a letter was brought over by the proud ant soldiers. Xie Mianmian couldn't read very well. "Little Bucket, can you help me take a look? Is it a secret letter from the Northern Rong?"
"Yes, host."
Xie Mianmian took a deep breath, finally finding the culprit who had framed their family.
She poured some honey on the ground and said in a childish voice, "Thank you, little ants, for helping Mianmian find the bad stuff. I'll give you an extra treat tomorrow!"
After the ants finished licking the honey, they started to draw patterns on the ground, sometimes blooming flowers, sometimes vivid and fierce cats. Xie Mianmian clapped her hands as if she were looking at a comic book, exclaiming how amazing it was.
"Please help me move them to a very, very deep underground place and bury them."
Xie Mianmian didn't understand. She only knew that if no one could see these things, then they should be hidden away, deep underground, where no one could find them.
Behind Xie Mianmian, a cold light flashed, and a woman in purple slowly approached with a dagger in her hand.
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