The next morning, Miao'er made an unprecedented trip to the courtyard house, taking the initiative to find Qinghe, and Qi Rong came with her.
At that moment, Qinghe was searching for something in the courtyard. When he saw Miao'er come, he asked, "When you came, did you see my fox? The red one, the very beautiful one."
Miao'er shook her head and pulled Qinghe, saying, "There's an auction at the charity fair today, come with me to watch it."
Qing and the fox, who were focused on finding her, were not very interested in the auction and declined, saying, "You and Young Master Qi should go instead."
Upon hearing the words "Young Master Qi," Qi Rong's smile widened rather than diminished, indicating that she was still harboring resentment about yesterday's events.
Miao'er insisted, "Come with me, there are lots of fun things to do and delicious food to eat, you'll definitely like it."
Qinghe's attention wasn't drawn to the delicious food; instead, she felt that Miao'er was acting strangely. In the past, when Qinghe didn't want to go somewhere, Miao'er wouldn't mind and would leave with the other maids. Why was she acting like this today...?
She looked at Qi Rong: "What did you do?"
Qi Rong turned to look at Miao'er.
Miao'er realized she couldn't hide it any longer, so she said, "I don't have a pass to enter the righteous arena, but I still want to go in, so I asked my senior brother for help. But he made a condition: he said if I go, he will take me with him."
Qinghe let out an "Oh," her voice almost rising to the heavens, and glanced sideways at Miao'er: "Blatant exploitation."
Miao'er chuckled and shook Qinghe's arm: "The auction is so much fun, just go!" She leaned close to Qinghe's ear and whispered, "Anyway, we don't have to pay. If you see anything you like, we'll have our senior brother buy it for you."
With such a wealthy person right beside them, Qinghe thought it was a good idea and immediately agreed.
"But what about my fox? If it comes back and doesn't see me, it will be sad."
Upon hearing that Miao'er was helping her find a solution, Qi Rong's expression changed, and she said, "It seems you really like that fox."
Qinghe: "Of course, animals are different from humans. They are simple-minded and have no ulterior motives. They eat when they are hungry and sleep when they are tired. Humans are much more complicated. Their minds are full of conspiracies and schemes, and they are always looking for someone to settle scores with."
As she said this, she looked directly at Qi Rong, as if she were implying something.
Qi Rong touched the tip of her nose. Well, it seems that this matter of settling accounts is not going to be resolved.
Qinghe glanced at Miao'er, who was still racking her brains, and sighed, "Forget it, I'll just find it myself when I get back."
Miao'er was overjoyed and pulled Qinghe to leave.
The door behind him creaked open, and Shen Xun rubbed his glasses, looking like he had just woken up, his voice still hoarse, "I'm going too."
Miao'er was somewhat surprised when she first met Shen Xun, not expecting that a seven or eight-year-old child would live in the manor.
Qi Rong, on the other hand, had a somewhat complicated expression. He looked at Shen Xun and narrowed his crimson eyes slightly.
Shen Xun was also looking at Qi Rong, his drowsiness disappearing as he gradually became more awake.
Previously, when they were in the pavilion, the two had not interacted. Qi Rong's gaze was entirely drawn to Qing He, and it was only today that she truly began to examine him.
A moment later, Qinghe stepped aside to block Qirong's view and asked Shenxun, "Are you going too?"
Shen Xun nodded his little head: "Staying here is too boring."
Qinghe looked at Miao'er, waiting for her answer.
There were no children in the manor originally, and the youngest was already thirteen years old. When Miao'er first saw Shen Xun, she thought he was very cute. She squatted down in front of Shen Xun, pinched his little face and said, "Tell your sister what your name is, and I'll let you go, okay?"
Shen Xun glanced at Qing He, who was trying his best to maintain his composure and not burst out laughing.
Acting cute is shameful, but it works. Shen Xun smiled and said in a crisp voice, "Sister, my name is Zhu Xun." He pointed to Qing He and said, "This is my mother."
The air seemed frozen, deathly silent.
Miao'er opened her eyes wide and looked at Qinghe, exclaiming in surprise, "You actually have a son!"
She looked closely at Qinghe's face, seemingly unable to understand how a sixteen-year-old girl could have an eight-year-old child. Wouldn't that mean she was twelve years old... or was the other party suspected of lying about her age?
Her original intention to amuse the child vanished, and Miao'er squatted down, lost in thought.
Qi Rong stared at Qing He without saying a word, her usually smiling face now showing a hint of restraint.
When Qinghe, the direct victim, saw Shen Xun's malicious gaze, she knew he had no good intentions. Sure enough, the next second he uttered a shocking statement. She suddenly remembered that when she was recruiting servants in Luochuan City, she said that Shen Xun was her son. Now that she thought about it, she had really shot herself in the foot.
The culprit behind all this, Shen Xun, acted as if nothing had happened, blinking his large, dark, and bright eyes and emitting a silvery laugh.
As if afraid others wouldn't believe him, and to prove it, he took short steps and rushed towards Qinghe, calling out, "Mommy, hug me."
Qinghe clenched her fists tightly. If it weren't for the people around, she probably would have slapped Shen Xun away.
She bent down and looked at Shen Xun with a terrifying gaze that seemed to want to devour him. She pinched Shen Xun's delicate cheeks with both hands and pulled him away forcefully. "My good son, your mother can't carry you. You'll have to walk by yourself!"
After saying that, he pushed Shen Xun aside, turned around and left the courtyard.
Shen Xun rubbed his sleeves, looking somewhat at a loss, and asked the dazed Miao'er, "Why is Mother angry? Did I do something wrong?"
Miao'er: "...Maybe she thinks you eat too much and are too fat."
Shen Xun: "But I'm not fat, and I don't eat much."
Miao'er was eager to end the topic, so she casually said, "That's because you're too short."
Shen Xun: "..." That hurts.
...
The charity venue was a place similar to a meeting place. People entering and leaving needed to have a pass, which was issued by the organizer. Only one hundred passes were issued each time.
For wealthy merchants, the triennial auction is indispensable. The auctioned items are extremely rare treasures. Even if they are not of much use to the buyers, they are still good collectibles, as they are a concrete manifestation of economic strength.
People like Qi Rong, with their large family and great wealth, are among the most powerful even among wealthy merchants. Coupled with their profound cultivation, they are sought after by many. As soon as they entered the arena, many people came to greet them, and their words were full of flattery such as "I am honored to have you here."
Qinghe was a little puzzled. Logically speaking, the people here are all rich and powerful. A casino owner shouldn't be causing them to act like this. Could it be that Qi Rong has other businesses?
Seeing through Qinghe's thoughts, Qi Rong used her fan to shield the two of them and said, "There's nothing I can't do, only things you haven't thought of."
Qinghe raised an eyebrow. "Really? Then I wonder if you're even capable of doing the accounting?"
Qi Rong: "..."
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