Chapter 49: The Rich Cow Dung
The chandelier cast a warm glow as the family sat at the dining table.
Ruan Ying seemed to be in a particularly good mood today. she was slowly arranging her napkin while Gu Zhi, beside her, was focused on cutting her steak.
Despite the bad things that had happened, they tacitly avoided mentioning them. Ruan Yi felt an incomparable attachment to the warm atmosphere of the family being together.
But she always felt that such moments might dissipate with just a light touch.
Ruan Yi’s spoon, scooping the coconut milk sago, paused.
She looked at her mother opposite her. The curve of her mother’s lips was deeper than usual, and even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were upturned.
“Mom, you’re in such a good mood today?”
The curve of Ruan Ying’s lips stiffened slightly.
“It’s just that my spirit has been better recently, and my appetite has improved along with it.”
The recovery of her spirit was only secondary. Primarily, it was because Xiao Chen… simply gave too much.
The first batch of investment funds from NovaVoy had already arrived.
He had even, with hidden meaning, sent a collection of top-tier custom jewelry for his future mother-in-law.
It wasn’t just one or two items; it was a whole collection. Ruan Ying wouldn’t accept them; if he and Xiao Yi didn’t work out, these would all have to be returned.
Ruan Yi saw her mother’s happy appearance, and her heart felt soft. She didn’t even notice when a dinner plate carrying a lingering warmth was gently pushed in front of her.
“Xiao Yi, speaking of the engagement with the Shen family, there’s no need to worry yet. There will be a way to solve it. However, Xiao Yi might want to interact more with… suitable people.”
Ruan Yi: Did anyone mention the engagement?
“Why did Mom suddenly bring this up? Suitable people? I really can’t find any.”
Ruan Ying suddenly covered her mouth and coughed lightly, her tone carrying a bit of unnatural probing.
“Xiao Yi, what do you think of someone like Xiao Chen?”
The small spoon fell into the coconut milk bowl. Ruan Yi was choked by the sago and coughed while patting her chest, her eyes turning red from the effort.
“Sister, slow down.”
Scorching breath pressed against her ear. The man’s palm had already covered her back, gently patting along her spine.
His other hand quietly took hold of the hand she was using to pat her chest, his finger pad lightly stroking her wrist.
Gu Zhi lowered his eyes to wipe the corner of the girl’s mouth. His eyelashes concealed the emotions in his eyes, but something was churning beneath the submissive surface.
“Mom! If you’re going to use an analogy, at least pick a decent one!”
Hearing her mother’s words, Ruan Yi was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, almost bristling. She pulled her hand back from Gu Zhi’s palm and gestured urgently as she spoke.
“Me and him? It’s simply a fresh flower stuck in cow dung! Even if he’s a very formidable and rich pile of cow dung, cow dung is still cow dung!”
Ruan Ying paused, wondering if this was a compliment or an insult.
“We’re eating. You child, stop talking about dung. No matter how you look at it, Xiao Chen is a professor.”
This is the ‘teacher filter’ Chinese parents have, isn’t it?
But Ruan Yi only knew that Fu Jingchen was a complete, unpredictable psycho. It seemed her mother really had been fooled by the gentlemanly act he put on.
Although she couldn’t figure out what medicine Fu Jingchen was selling in his gourd, could it be that since he couldn’t be a stepdad, he wanted to be a brother-in-law?
He was using her and Mom as a ladder to reach Gu Zhi!
The more Ruan Yi thought about it, the angrier she got, her cheeks puffing out like a pufferfish.
A suppressed light laugh came from beside her. The man’s slender finger reached over and gently poked the girl’s puffed cheek, his finger pad touching her delicate skin.
With that poke, the little pufferfish deflated. Ruan Yi’s cheeks instantly sank. She glared at the brother beside her and wildly swatted his hand away.
“It’s fine if you don’t help me speak, but you’re even playing with my face!”
This complaining appearance, however, looked increasingly pampered and cute in the man’s eyes. He smiled and chimed in, “Mom, Sister’s personality and Mr. Fu’s really don’t mesh. Let’s not make things difficult for Sister.”
The man covered her hand under the table, squeezing gently to comfort her. Ruan Yi immediately straightened her back as if she had found an ally.
Ruan Ying looked at the two children speaking in tandem with some helplessness.
“Mom is just asking. If someone can be like Mom is to you—if, under the premise of being in love, you find a man capable of handling everything for you—it would be a good choice.”
Ruan Yi looked into her mother’s eyes, which were filled with concern. Suddenly, her nose felt sore. “Where is such a person…”
She gently took Ruan Ying’s hand and also reached out to take Gu Zhi’s fingers beside her, the warmth of her palm quietly transferring.
“Mom, I have you and Ah Zhi; that’s enough. Why would I want to be so many people’s ‘baby’? Being Mom’s baby is enough for me…”
“Fine. Be my baby. I really can’t win against you two.”
Though Ruan Ying’s words were chiding, the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but turn up. Finally, she could only pick up her porcelain cup to hide her smile, concealing the indulgence in her eyes.
As for Xiao Chen, he’ll have to rely on his own efforts.
The girl’s spoiled behavior was once again met with indulgence, making the atmosphere increasingly warm.
A maid carrying a gilded tray approached and placed a porcelain bowl by Ruan Ying’s hand. The sweet scent of bird’s nest and donkey-hide gelatin, mixed with the smell of yellow wine, spread out.
Ruan Yi was full. Just as she was about to leave the table, she noticed the navy blue uniform pause for a moment.
Under the maid’s falling bangs, her dark eyes quickly swept in Ruan Yi’s direction. That extremely fast glance happened to be caught by Ruan Yi.
This was one of the relatively new servants.
“You, wait.” Ruan Yi lightly grabbed the maid’s wrist. Without using force, she felt the pulse thumping violently under the other’s skin.
Ruan Ying’s fingers hovered at the edge of the bowl, her movements freezing.
Ruan Yi recalled Shen Xun mentioning that since he could know about Fu Wang’s existence, there must be someone else’s eyes and ears in the Ruan house. It was inevitable that Fu Jingchen also had someone.
This girl’s face was unfamiliar. Was she Shen Xun’s person or Fu Jingchen’s?
Before the truth of her mother’s test reports was revealed, Ruan Yi thought that even if there were so-called spies, at most, it would be that psycho Fu Jingchen using them to collect daily photos of Gu Zhi for his “handicrafts.”
When the biggest suspect, Fu Jingchen, entered the Ruan house, Ruan Yi had investigated the recruitment details and family relationships of all the servants. Not a single thing was amiss.
She even checked their bank flows and couldn’t find a trace of abnormality.
But she hadn’t thought about Shen Xun’s connection with the servants. The Shen and Ruan families had been close in the early years; if there were his people, it would be very hard to find out.
Whether it was Shen Xun or Fu Jingchen, wanting to use her mother to “forcefully love” Gu Zhi… either one made sense…
Who exactly was hiding in the shadows?
Ruan Yi looked down at the bird’s nest in the bowl. The frequency with which her mother ate tonics shouldn’t be particularly high, but what if? She didn’t trust anything now.
“Mom, don’t eat it yet. Send this for testing.”
Ruan Yi let go of her hand, and the maid stumbled back half a step.
“Eldest Miss, I made the bird’s nest strictly according to the requirements. There is absolutely no problem!”
The maid’s eyes were red, and her voice carried a sob.
“If you don’t believe me, you can ask Auntie Zhang in the kitchen. From the soaking onward, she and I watched over this bird’s nest personally…”
Ruan Yi looked at the girl’s pale face and tried to soften her tone. “Don’t be afraid. It’s just a routine spot check.”
Before she finished speaking, the butler had already stepped forward quickly. The bird’s nest was taken for urgent testing on a silver tray.
Three hours later, the bird’s nest testing report was spread out on the coffee table.
The bolded words “Upon testing, no drug components or harmful substances were detected in this sample” made Ruan Yi’s eyes ache.
Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
Ruan Yi listened to the pitter-patter of the rain on the French windows. She felt all the blood in her body rushing to her head.
The old ones couldn’t be remembered clearly, and the new ones couldn’t be found. Ruan Yi covered her head, the feeling of dizziness intensifying, and took a deep breath.
Moonlight leaked through the gaps in the kitchen blinds, casting mottled dark shadows on the countertop.
“I’ve really had eight lifetimes of bad luck…” The maid gripped her rag, her voice still trembling.
“Today was my first time making tonics. I even had to learn on the spot how long to stew the bird’s nest. How did I end up in this mess? The Eldest Miss suddenly acting like that scared me to death; I thought I was going to be framed!”
Another older maid was peeling an apple, the blade winding a spiral shape out of the skin.
“Sister Fan took leave today. Usually, she handles these things.”
She suddenly stopped her movements, the blade reflecting a dark shadow.
“But speaking of which, it really hasn’t been peaceful in the house recently. Both Madam Ruan and the Eldest Miss are acting strange…”
“Who says it isn’t so!” the maid muttered in complaint.
In the pitch darkness, a gust of wind passed through the hallway outside the kitchen door.
A shadow, wrapped in the night, silently took in the entire conversation inside the room.
A moment later, it turned and melted into the darkness, leaving only the moonlight leaking through the gaps in the blinds.
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