Chapter 479: Incident
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling didn’t let them stay in the Qi Residence for too long. How could living here compare to living outside? Hence, the next day, she got someone to clean up the small residence on Qixia Street and let them move there on the third day.
As soon as Fan Zijin returned, he’d bought a large courtyard on Qixia Street to conduct business as well as facilitate the transmission of secret news. After Mu Yangling took over his business in Jiangnan, she bought a small courtyard next door for convenience.
After all, the people coming in and out of the room next door were all unfamiliar men, so it was not convenient for Mu Yangling to handle matters there.
It was convenient for Teacher Liu and the rest to move to the small courtyard. They could just move the things in her study next door and add some household items.
After making these arrangements, Teacher Liu would study in peace. From time to time, he would go to some teahouses where scholars gathered. Fan Zijin would give him some test papers and reference answers during his half-monthly break.
These things were hard to come by, so Teacher Liu was extremely grateful.
Qi Haoran felt that Fan Zijin treated Teacher Liu too well, so he asked Fan Zijin if he was up to no good again. Smiling, Fan Zijin said, “Teacher Liu is quite talented and has a good character. Besides, he worked with Ah Ling previously. What do you think about me completely turning him into Big Brother’s man?”
Qi Haoran thought for a moment and said, “Let’s be cautious.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll grasp the rhythm. By the way, has the authentic item arrived?” Fan Zijin looked at Qi Haoran with bright eyes.
“Not yet, but it’ll arrive in the next two days.”
Fan Zijin’s eyes darted around and he lowered his voice. “If I replace it with a fake one…”
“Is there a counterfeit that can deceive the Chen family?” Qi Haoran asked curiously.
“…” Fan Zijin choked and said faintly, “Then say that what Big Brother got is fake. You don’t know anything about antiques, so it’s reasonable for you to receive a fake…”
Qi Haoran jumped up and roared, “No, am I the kind of person who goes back on my word and does these sort of sneaky things?”
“You’re not, but I am, alright?” Fan Zijin shouted back. “As long as you can leave behind the authentic piece, I’ll take the blame.”
Qi Haoran’s face flushed red. “Isn’t it just a darned memorial? Is there a need to steal it like this? Other than that thing, tell me what else you want. I’ll get it for you.”
Fan Zijin looked up at him in disdain and said, “You can’t even see the value of good things. Do you know how to tell the authentic from the fake? If I say that I want the ‘Sage Laozi’s Painting’, can you find it for me?”
“The Sage Laozi’s Painting?” Qi Haoran tilted his head. “The one drawn by Zhong Yao?”
Fan Zijin sat cross-legged on the brick bed and took a sip of tea. He snorted and said, “Yup. It’s been lost since Emperor Gaozong’s era. Can you find it for me? If you can find it, I won’t stop you from giving the Chen family ten real copies of the ‘Emperor Shizong’s Admonishment Memorial’.”
However, Qi Haoran was already holding his head in distress. “This thing sounds so familiar. I seem to have seen it before.”
Stunned, Fan Zijin hurriedly threw down the teacup in his hand and looked at Qi Haoran eagerly. “I’m in charge of your spoils of war. Did you see them at Big Brother’s place? Think about it, think about it carefully.”
Qi Haoran frowned and thought about it carefully, but he could not recall anything for a long time. Fan Zijin was so angry that he could not help but kick him, thinking that Qi Haoran was just lying to him to make him stop pestering him about the “Emperor Shizong’s Admonishment Memorial”.
In the end, Fan Zijin left angrily.
Qi Haoran returned home with a frown. He felt that he had indeed seen this before, but he did not have a deep impression of it.
Seeing that he was frowning, Mu Yangling asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“I’m thinking about the Sage Laozi’s Painting.”
Mu Yangling blinked and asked, “Why are you thinking about it?”
“I feel like I’ve seen it somewhere before, but why can’t I remember?”
Mu Yangling coughed lightly and said, “Isn’t that one of the betrothal gifts you gave me? Then, I moved it into the storeroom as a dowry? Why are you asking this?”
Qi Haoran’s mouth fell open. He finally remembered that when he was choosing a betrothal gift for Mu Yangling, he had almost emptied Big Brother’s storeroom. In the end, although he had put the things back, Big Brother had included many items on the gift list later on. The Sage Laozi’s Painting was among them.
Qi Haoran swallowed his saliva and asked, “Is that the real thing?”
“It should be real.” Mu Yangling was not very sure either. “They were all snatched from the Jin Kingdom’s nobles. They wouldn’t collect fake ones, right?”
Qi Haoran touched his chin and felt that the possibility of it being authentic was higher. He smiled at Mu Yangling.
Mu Yangling waved her hand and pushed the face in front of her away. “If you have something to say, say it. Don’t try to get close to me.”
Qi Haoran touched his nose and said, “Ah Ling, let’s give that thing to Zijin. He’s going crazy thinking about that ‘Emperor Shizong’s Admonishment Memorial’ now. I wonder if it will affect his exam mood.”
Mu Yangling said nonchalantly, “Sure, but the item is in Jingzhao Prefecture.”
She wasn’t obsessed with antiques. In her opinion, as long as these things didn’t go overseas, they would probably be better in anyone’s hands than hers because they loved it. Although she liked it, it wasn’t to the point of love. Only by converting antiques into money would she know their value.
Qi Haoran obviously thought so too. He immediately wrote a letter to Fan Zijin happily and told him the good news. However, he also said in advance that this item was snatched back from the Jin people and he had yet to verify its authenticity.
Then, he asked Fei Bai to send the letter to the villa.
At this moment, a loud shout came from Eldest Master Chen’s study. Chen Cheng ran out barefooted with disheveled hair. Grabbing the old servant’s collar, he glared at him with widened eyes and an angry voice came from his throat. “Tell me, who has entered my study?”
The moment Chen Qian entered, two servants grabbed his arms and sent him all the way to Chen Fang’s study. He knew that things were bad!
When Chen Sheng saw his son, he rushed forward as if he had seen an enemy. He raised his hand and was about to hit him when he heard his son shout miserably, “Father, I’m your son!”
Tears streamed down Chen Qian’s face. Chen Sheng’s raised hand didn’t lower. In the end, he could only turn him around and kick his butt. He scolded, “Are you my son? You’re an enemy who’s here to collect debts from me! Why did I give birth to such a prodigal son like you? Tell me, who bewitched you to steal my things? I’m going to kill him, kill him!”
Chen Qian lay on the ground obediently with his butt sticking out. Now, his father was only kicking his butt. Anyway, his father couldn’t bear to use too much strength. So be it.
After hitting him for a long time, Chen Sheng saw that his son was only howling and showed no signs of admitting his mistake. He was so angry that he paced around the house. In the end, he grabbed a feather duster and gestured at his back twice. In the end, he still couldn’t bear to do it. He could only raise his hand and hit him. Chen Qian screamed.
In the end, Chen Qian didn’t feel much pain. On the other hand, Chen Sheng’s hand was swollen from the beating. He sat on the ground and saw that his son refused to tell him where the item was now. For a moment, he felt sad. He turned around and crawled over to hug his father’s leg. He cried, “Father, you have to stand up for your son. Look at your grandson. He’s digging out my heart.”
Chen Fang looked at his son in disdain. He couldn’t bear to beat his son up, but he was willing to make things difficult for his father.
Frightened by his father’s loud cries, Chen Qian hurriedly crawled up on his knees and said, “Father, I didn’t lose it. I took it to exchange for something…”
“Prodigal son, can you exchange that thing? Tell me, which bastard fooled you?”