Chapter 140
It was a clear day, and the sun shone through the carved window lattices of the Huo family's old house, casting patches of light and shadows on the ground.
Huo Changfeng leaned against the shiny black car, his arms folded across his chest, his expression calm, his eyes gently looking at Mu Qingxuan.
"Don't worry, everything is up to you."
Mu Qingxuan nodded, her heart filled with warmth.
She looked inside the house from time to time, waiting for Yao Jinglan.
Time passed by minute by minute, but Yao Jinglan still didn't show up.
Mu Qingxuan frowned slightly, walked to the door, and called softly, "Grandma, are you done?"
The room was silent, and there was no response for a long time.
In the room at this moment, Yao Jinglan was standing motionless in front of the dressing table, staring at the jade pendant in the wooden box, with complex emotions surging in her eyes.
There is nostalgia, anxiety, and more importantly, an indescribable sense of loss.
Hearing Mu Qingxuan's call, she shuddered, as if awakened from a long memory, and replied with a trembling voice: "Coming."
Yao Jinglan slowly stretched out her hand, gently closed the wooden box, and carefully put the box into her arms, pressing it tightly with her fingertips.
She took a deep breath, straightened her navy blue cheongsam, straightened her back, and pushed the door open.
Huo Changfeng started the car and drove steadily on the street.
Inside the car, Mu Qingxuan looked at Yao Jinglan's tense profile and seemed to want to say something but stopped herself several times.
Yao Jinglan kept looking out the window, her eyes wandering and her brows slightly furrowed.
Soon, the car stopped in front of a grand teahouse.
The vermilion pillars of the teahouse are carved with exquisite auspicious cloud patterns, and the gilded plaque "Qinfang Pavilion" shines brightly in the sun.
As you step into the teahouse, the blue bricks paving the floor have an ancient luster, and the walls are hung with ink paintings of mountains, rivers, flowers and birds with a profound artistic conception.
The mahogany tables and chairs are neatly arranged, the celadon tea sets on the tables are exquisite and elegant, and the aroma of tea lingers all around.
The corridor on the second floor is carved with lotus patterns, and the gurgling water below can be vaguely seen in the hollows. The tinkling sound and the soft guqin music are intertwined, adding a bit of elegance.
The moment the carved wooden door was pushed open, the halo of light from the gilded palace lantern poured down.
"Finally you guys are here!"
Ni Yeping walked forward quickly. He was wearing a dark blue Zhongshan suit and was dressed very solemnly.
"Qingxuan girl, Changfeng." Ni Yeping greeted the two of them one by one.
His gaze passed Mu Qingxuan and fell on Yao Jinglan's figure wrapped in a plain cheongsam, his eyes shining.
"This comrade is Hong Guo's daughter-in-law, right?"
Yao Jinglan stood at the threshold, her silver hair loosely tied up with a sandalwood hairpin, and the light blue blood vessels were faintly visible behind her ears.
Her eyes swept over the red rope around Ni Ruolan's neck, her Adam's apple rolled slightly, and finally she just nodded.
The house suddenly became so quiet that one could hear the lingering overtones of the guqin music played downstairs.
"You want to adopt Qingxuan as your granddaughter?"
Yao Jinglan spoke straight to the point. Her voice seemed to be squeezed out from the deepest part of her chest, with a barely perceptible hoarseness at the end.
Her hands were still clutching the hem of her cheongsam, the dark-patterned fabric wrinkled at her knuckles.
Ni Yeping's eyes were instantly filled with smiles, and even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes seemed to relax a little.
"That's right! Qingxuan is smart and has a connection with our family..." He took a half step forward tentatively, "I don't know what you mean, comrade..."
"I don't agree with this matter."
Yao Jinglan spoke coldly, interrupting the other party's words with a firm tone.
Her back was straight and her body was thin, but she exuded an unquestionable toughness.
The air suddenly froze.
The smile on Ni Yeping's face froze. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. His Adam's apple rolled up and down a few times, and in the end he just stared blankly at Yao Jinglan.
Mu Qingxuan's eyelashes trembled violently and she looked at Yao Jinglan in disbelief.
After all, it was Yao Jinglan who agreed personally and asked her to make the appointment with Ni Yeping.
Mu Qingxuan's brows were twisted into a knot, her eyes roaming back and forth on Yao Jinglan's expressionless face, and her nails unconsciously pinched into the soft flesh of her palms.
The air in the box seemed to freeze suddenly, as if a silver needle falling to the ground could be heard clearly.
Yao Jinglan sat upright on a mahogany chair, her back straight, her silver hair glowing coldly under the light, but her cloudy eyes were filled with emotions that Mu Qingxuan could not understand.
"Can I see what you have around your neck?"
Yao Jinglan suddenly spoke, her voice hoarse but clear, her eyes fixed on Ni Ruolan.
As soon as these words were spoken, Ni Ruolan's hand, which was holding the teacup, shook violently, and the tea splashed out, leaving dark marks on the plain white tablecloth.
She subconsciously clenched the red rope on her chest, and her Adam's apple rolled restlessly.
After a brief stalemate, Ni Ruolan bit her lower lip and glanced at Ni Yeping who had a serious expression.
Thinking that the person in front of her was Mu Qingxuan's grandmother, she finally nodded slowly, her voice weak: "Of course."
She reached out and pushed aside the silk collar. When the red rope was pulled out, the navy blue jade pendant dangled down, emitting a gentle luster under the warm yellow light.
Mu Qingxuan's pupils suddenly contracted and her body leaned forward unconsciously.
Unlike the quick glimpse last time, this time she saw the entire jade pendant.
The carved patterns on the jade pendant, the slight wear on the edges, and the unique color all perfectly overlapped with the scenes deep in her memory.
She could almost confirm that it was almost exactly the same as the one she saw in the box in Lotus Village.
Just as Mu Qingxuan was stunned, Yao Jinglan's hand covered with age spots slowly reached into her lapel and took out an antique wooden box.
The surface of the box is engraved with twined branch patterns, and the edges and corners are polished to a shine.
She placed the box gently on the table, placed her fingers on the lid, paused slightly, and then slowly opened it.
As the wooden box was opened, everyone's eyes were instantly focused on the box.
A half-broken jade pendant lay quietly, the rough texture at the broken end fitting perfectly with Ni Ruolan's.
Ni Yeping overturned a chair with a "crash", and the hem of his navy blue Zhongshan suit swept across the sandalwood table filled with snacks.
The blue and white porcelain plates collided with each other in the violent vibration, making sharp and crisp sounds.
He staggered to the table, holding on to it with both hands, his eyes wide open almost popping out of their sockets.
He stared at the broken jade pendant in the box, his Adam's apple rolling up and down but he couldn't speak.
Ni Ruolan covered her mouth and let out a suppressed cry.
Huo Changfeng's back straightened instantly, and the muscles under his suit were as tight as strings.
He glanced sideways at Mu Qingxuan beside him, and a trace of worry flashed in his deep eyes.
Huo Changfeng's bony hand quietly covered the back of her cold hand, silently comforting her.
Yao Jinglan sat upright on a carved mahogany chair, her back as straight as a pine tree.
She swept her eyes across everyone's shocked faces and said in a deep voice, word by word, "The reason why I don't agree to you adopting Xuanxuan as your adopted granddaughter..."
"It's because you are originally blood-related grandfather and grandson."
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