The girl stood in the middle of the courtyard and motioned for the three of them to sit down.
Xiao Nanhui noticed that there was a stone chair next to the stone table, which was high up, so even if the child sat down, his line of sight would not be below theirs.
Xiao Nanhui and Ding Weixiang looked at each other, only Su Wei looked calm.
"Has the Patriarch ever offended anyone? Or has he done anything to offend anyone?"
The little girl sighed and poured three cups of tea on the stone table.
"I have an enemy. I know too many of its secrets, so it wants to kill me. My people and I have fought it for many years, but we haven't been able to completely get rid of it. It's just that it has found new targets in recent years and has temporarily put me behind it." The other party paused, but his hands continued to move. "I wonder what brings you here, sir?"
"What is the purpose of the Patriarch setting up the Yueyuan formation?"
The little girl finally put down the prop-like teapot in her hand, and the last bit of childish smile on her face faded, leaving only a slightly calculating coldness at the corner of her mouth.
"You and I already had a secret fight a year ago. There's no need to beat around the bush now, right?"
"If the Patriarch is willing to speak directly from the beginning, it will naturally save a lot of trouble."
"Last time I lost a chess move, but this time it may not be the same. The Shen family will never show mercy to the fat sheep that come to their door."
"I've heard that the Huozhou Shen family is a wealthy and powerful family, and that their head, Shen Shi'an, possesses the aura of a man capable of riding the wind and waves. But now it seems he's being unfair, treating the guests he invited to his house like livestock."
Chen Shi'an was not annoyed. He placed his two small, fleshy hands under his chin and tilted his head to look at the man in front of him.
"Now that you're asking me for something, even if I get some advantage with my words, what difference does the outcome make?"
The man didn't answer and changed the subject.
"Does the Patriarch know that there was once a brocade called the Heavenly Ribbon?"
"But even if something in the legend existed, what good does it do?"
Su Wei did not respond immediately. He casually took out the thing from his sleeve and held it gently in his hand.
The old plain belt coiled in the man's palm, like a poisonous snake that had just woken up from hibernation and was about to spit out its tongue at any time.
"If I come here this time, it is to discuss the price of this Heavenly Ribbon with the Patriarch. What do you think?"
Shen Shian's expression finally changed, but he quickly regained his composure.
"It's just a piece of tape, not worth a penny."
The man wrapped the ribbon around his fingertips, seemingly examining it closely.
"Perhaps it's not the ribbon itself that's valuable, but the message left by the weaver."
Chen Shi'an's expression became even colder.
"It can only be considered valuable if you can understand the information contained in it."
"The belt is in my hand. If I want to explore it, I can spend some time on it. If I don't want to explore it, I can just use it as a bundle of firewood and burn it."
"You..." Chen Shi'an suddenly stood up from the stone chair, but the anger only flashed across his face for a moment, followed by a coldness several times greater than before. "Everything has a price. If you want to get something, you have to pay something. I wonder what price you are willing to pay for the prophecy in this tapestry?"
"How true and false is this so-called prophecy? How can I know what the Patriarch's words are worth to me?"
Chen Shian smiled silently.
She waved casually, and the rabbits gathered towards her in twos and threes. She picked up one at random, placed it on her knees, and gently stroked its fur.
"When the Xishen clan buys and sells furs, they like to show the goods to customers first. They cover the entire fur with oilcloth, leaving only a palm-sized hole for the customer to appreciate. If they like it, they pay a high price for it. If they don't like it, they won't know the entire fur's appearance or have any other thoughts. This is fair to both buyers and sellers. If you don't mind, please spend a cup of tea and listen to my story."
Su Wei was silent, so Chen Shi'an started talking.
"In ancient times, worshipping gods and divination by sorcery were extremely popular in Chizhou. Among these was a rare and unique divination method, used only by kings in times of extreme danger or hardship, or when the nation's fortunes were in turmoil. They would assemble the entire nation to search for two of the most prestigious diviners, have them sit in separate rooms, and simultaneously divine a single event. If the divinations were largely the same, they would be recorded together. If there were significant discrepancies, the predictions would be recorded separately and preserved. This method is called 'Different Histories, Same Divination.'"
"Legend has it that a hundred years ago, when the Niehyun Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, the Qu family was secretly invited out of seclusion to hold a ceremony at a place where mountains and rivers ended, where the final Yishi Tongzhen ceremony was held. Two families responded to the call, each using dreams as the basis for their prophecies. One family used warp and weft as drawings, weaving a prophetic book that could only be deciphered by members of the family. The other family burned bones to form words, sealed in a vessel, and could not be opened until the right opportunity arose. Afterwards, the two prophecies were carefully preserved by the Tian family at that time, hidden from the eyes of the world."
"However, shortly after that prophecy, both families descended from diviners met with misfortunes. The Su clan rebelled, upending the long-held equilibrium. The traditions of witchcraft and deity worship perished with the fall of the ancient nation of Nie Xuan. The Burning Bones family, blinded by the power of the gods, became relentless victims on the altar, their numbers gradually dwindling and their lives became difficult. The Brocade family, implicated by the change of dynasties, was secretly tipped off by reports that the fallen princess of Nie Xuan had entrusted her orphan to a member of their clan, leading to the complete destruction of their entire clan overnight..."
Xiao Nanhui's heart began to beat wildly as the other party told her the last part of the story. She remembered that Su Wei had never told her about the old case concerning the troubles left over from the previous dynasty on the way to Huozhou, and she asked almost without thinking.
"Are you saying that when Qiu Feiyu fled to the North, he had a child with him?"
Chen Shi'an loosened his grip and the rabbit on his knee jumped away.
"Girl, the hole in the oilcloth is only so big. If you want to put your hand somewhere else, you'd better wait until the money and goods are settled."
Xiao Nanhui was choked. She looked at the half-grown girl, and suddenly her hair stood on end. Perhaps the person before her was not as young as she looked.
Price, what exactly is the price she is talking about?
And at this moment, Chen Shi'an's gaze had already fallen on Su Wei's wrist.
"I've heard that the relics of a great monk can cure all kinds of poisons and are a rare medicinal ingredient. I wonder if you would be willing to part with this string of Buddhist beads and let me have them?"
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