"I was just guessing before,"
Ji Qian explained, "I just checked. The red string I gave her earlier is still on her. Logically speaking, she shouldn't be completely powerless to fight back. I guess she encountered a ghost somewhere after returning to her room, and her yang energy was broken."
"After returning to the room?" Xu Qi frowned, carefully recalling what happened a few days ago: "Didn't we check each room one by one? Logically speaking, there shouldn't have been any oversights."
"That's not necessarily true. What if there's a ghost hiding in some nook or cranny of that room that we haven't discovered? There are precedents for this."
As Ji Qian spoke, her eyes unconsciously drifted towards Nora, and the implication in her words was quite obvious.
"Impossible!" Unexpectedly, Nora quickly refuted Ji Qian's guess: "The red rope you put out is very effective; ordinary ghosts cannot avoid it."
Ji Qian didn't investigate the loopholes in Nora's words, but continued to ask, "What happened in the room she stayed in?"
"This... I haven't heard them mention it."
Logically speaking, this question shouldn't be difficult, but Nora's answer was vague. Ji Qian noticed that Nora's head tilted to one side as she spoke, which meant she was subconsciously resisting the question.
Seeing that Nora couldn't provide any useful clues, Ji Qian glanced at the 'orc' squatting on the ground and fixed her gaze on Earl Lanruer.
Ever since his 'orc' origins were revealed, Count Lanruer has been in a state of silent wandering.
Sensing Ji Qian's gaze, Count Lanruer raised his head, his noble face now filled with dejection, even the golden hair on his head seemed to have dimmed considerably.
After a long silence, seemingly unable to withstand Ji Qian's scrutinizing gaze, Earl Lanruer resignedly said:
"...I only heard it from the servants when I was a child. About fifty years ago, my grandfather's first wife hanged herself on the balcony of that room."
"His first wife?"
Ji Qian turned to look at Nora, who shook her head, clearly having never heard of this before.
“Yes,” Earl Lanruer nodded. “That lady died less than a year after marrying my grandfather. Because her death was not respectable, my grandfather kept the news a secret. I only found out when I was a child, by chance, overhearing the servants talking.”
Do you remember exactly what they talked about back then?
"I don't remember very clearly. I was too young at the time, and I heard it before going to bed. I fell asleep after hearing just a few sentences."
Ji Qian nodded, silently noting down Count Lanruer's words, deciding to ask Wang Yingying about it properly after she woke up.
Han Mengyao pushed open the door and came in, holding copper coins and disposable chopsticks she had found in the self-heating hot pot.
Ying Xu followed behind, carefully holding a porcelain bowl in his hands. Ji Qian looked closer and noticed that his forehead was covered with beads of sweat.
"What's wrong with Ying Xu?"
"What?! Oh, I almost forgot about that!"
Hearing this, Han Mengyao turned around and realized that Ying Xu was still carefully holding the porcelain bowl. She quickly stepped forward to take it from him, while also explaining the situation to Ji Qian:
“We said we wanted to find a porcelain bowl, preferably a domestic one, and Director Liu brought out this one, which is said to be an antique.”
"antique?"
“Yes,” Han Mengyao placed the porcelain bowl on the table beside her, pointing to the blue-green carved gold pattern on it:
"Director Liu said this is an antique bowl from several hundred years ago, and it seems to have some connection with the Queen at that time. It is now worth 700,000 British pounds, which is about 6 million RMB."
"More than 6 million?!"
Ji Qian held her breath and carefully retreated to her original position. Only after making sure she was far enough away from the porcelain bowl did she exclaim in surprise.
Looking at her pathetic state, Mi Yesi subconsciously let out a soft snort:
"That's not worth much."
Before she finished speaking, Mi Yesi secretly glanced at Ji Qian. Seeing that the other party had obviously not heard her words, she was secretly relieved, and even a little disappointed.
"Are you sure you can knock this thing? It won't break if you touch it, will it?"
Xu Qi held the chopsticks he had just received and gestured around for a long time, but he didn't dare to tap them.
"No problem, this kind of bowl is very sturdy."
Han Mengyao picked up the porcelain bowl, tossed it high into the air amidst Ji Qian's horrified expression, and then caught it steadily.
“I have a set of tableware at home that is about the same age as this bowl. We sometimes bring it out to make up the numbers when we have family gatherings.”
Is Sister Meng speaking a less common language? I don't quite understand.
【“6 million bowls,” “I have a set at home,” “Just using it to make up the numbers”—what kind of niche terms are these?!】
【Sister Meng is awesome!】
[Does Sister Meng need a pet? Someone who's been to university and runs home when it rains.]
[I'm a graduate student, I'll go first!]
[No internal competition allowed!]
[Such a simple and unpretentious way of showing off wealth, woman, you've caught my attention. (adjusts glasses)]
I'd heard rumors that Han Mengyao had an unusual background, and today it's confirmed.
I have a feeling that Mi Yesi's family background is quite good; you can see how casually she treats that bowl.
Isn't she from the countryside?
Have you heard of Mijia Village? This small village has an annual output value higher than some second-tier cities, and the Mi family is the richest family in the village!
What have I done to deserve this? That a group of princesses and young masters would risk their lives for me to see?!
Don't say that. Look at Xu Qi and Ji Qian, they came from an orphanage, and they're doing just fine.
What's Ying Xu's family background like? Is he also a rich kid?
[In short: A missing father, a mother who died young, a chronically ill grandmother, and a broken man]
[Really? I always thought Ying Xu came from a well-off family because I watched his performances.]
[I knew it! If someone really came from a wealthy family, they wouldn't have dropped out of school in their teens to pursue a career in the entertainment industry!]
[This is such a tragic, powerful, and beautiful woman in the new era! I feel so sorry for her!]
[Furthermore, I heard that Ying Xu signed an extremely long 15-year contract with the company, and the penalty for breach of contract is exceptionally high; it's practically like he's sold himself into servitude!]
Now I finally understand how the male protagonists in those old novels felt.
Even with Han Mengyao vouching for him, Xu Qi still didn't dare to approach the bowl, so Han Mengyao had no choice but to take over the task of banging on the bowl.
"I'll light the red thread in a bit, and then you start banging on the bowl, Sister Meng. Keep banging until I tell you to stop."
After instructing Han Mengyao, Xu Qi turned to look at Ji Qian. Ji Qian quickly presented the orc's fingernails and hair that she had just collected with both hands, her posture extremely respectful.
Xu Qi was clearly used to Ji Qian's service and didn't react much, while Ying Xu and Mi Yesi were marveling at it.
Xu Qi put the orc's fingernails and hair into the porcelain bowl, and then placed a red rope with copper coins already strung on it on the bowl.
Amazingly, the copper coin, which should have fallen due to gravity, remained steadily suspended in the center of the porcelain bowl, as if the red threads on both sides were being pulled back.
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