Chapter 11: An Intimate Conversation

“Qingya, why don’t you stay at our place tonight? It’s just next door, not far at all,” Jiang Yuanshan invited.

Uncle Wangcai’s home was only about ten meters from mine, so if anything happened, I could rush over immediately.

“Thank you, Uncle Yuanshan!” Liu Qingya expressed her gratitude, then followed me, my father, and several elders back to my house.

After a few days away, I didn’t expect to return so soon.

Liu Qingya slept in what used to be my room, while I took my grandfather’s old room. As for my father, after his falling out with my grandfather years ago, his room had been converted into a storage space.

It was a bit cramped but livable.

Before Uncle Wangcai died, he had told me that the quarrel between my father and grandfather wasn’t as simple as it seemed on the surface. I was quite curious about this myself.

If it wasn’t just over failing to secure an antique, then what was the real cause?

Unfortunately, Jiang Yuanshan remained tight-lipped, making it difficult to extract any information from him.

Everything had to be uncovered by me.

I resolved that no matter what happened tomorrow, I would drag a few people to the ancient tomb to take a look.

“Knock knock knock…”

Just as my mind was swirling with thoughts, a sudden knock on the door broke the silence.

Outside, Liu Qingya’s voice came through. “Brother Jiang Chen, are you asleep?”

“No!” I replied, quickly putting on my clothes and opening the door.

At that moment, Liu Qingya looked a bit worn out. She brushed back her hair and said, “I can’t sleep tonight. Can I talk with you for a while?”

“Come in,” I said, stepping aside to make room.

She wore a loose short-sleeved shirt, revealing a perfect figure. I was slightly taller than her, and a glance revealed something I shouldn’t have seen.

Two words came to mind: Big, big, big! And fair, fair, fair!

I swallowed hard. I have to admit, Liu Qingya’s elegance and voice were unmatched by any village girl.

Back in high school, I was in the liberal arts class, which meant plenty of girls around.

But none of them were as beautiful or as graceful as Liu Qingya.

“Brother Jiang Chen, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”

She sat on the edge of the bed. I felt awkward sitting beside her, so I found a stool and sat opposite her.

“What is it? Go ahead,” I said.

Her visit surprised me. She was usually reserved, rarely opening her heart to anyone.

“Before my father died, a group of people often came by. They wanted to buy something from him, but he refused. Those people were quite a mixed bunch. I once asked my father to call the police, but he said it would be useless dealing with them,” Liu Qingya explained slowly.

“After my father passed, they came again, offering twenty million to buy that item from me.”

“I don’t know what to do now. If I don’t sell, I worry they’ll keep pestering me. But if I sell, it’s my father’s legacy—I’d feel like I was being unfilial.”

“At first, I suspected my father’s death might be connected to them. But after Uncle Wangcai’s accident, I sensed something was off. Both my father and Uncle Wangcai were so healthy—how could something like this just happen out of nowhere?”

I thought it might be something else, but no. It seemed Liu Qingya believed that group was behind both their deaths.

“The thing you’re talking about—is it a brass box?” I asked.

“How do you know?” Liu Qingya was surprised.

How could I not know? That brass box was snatched from me right before my eyes by Li Yiran.

Yet, that box was worth twenty million. It truly astonished me.

Such a valuable item, and Li Yiran only planned to pay me a hush money of two hundred thousand—what a miser.

“Sell it. That brass box isn’t really your father’s, and keeping it will only bring trouble sooner or later,” I advised. “If you sell it, at least you’ll be out of this mess.”

“As for your father’s death, I suspect it might be related to the box, but probably not those people. If you want to investigate the cause of death, you can come with me tomorrow.”

I didn’t mention the box had already been stolen. I didn’t want Liu Qingya to think I had taken it. Besides, breaking into the study without the owner’s permission was wrong.

“Brother Jiang Chen, have you found any clues?” Liu Qingya stood up and took a step closer, pressing for answers.

A faint, pleasant fragrance wafted from her, not overpowering but rather delightful.

“I can’t be sure. We’ll have to take it one step at a time,” I replied.

Everything was tangled like a thick fog.

And I was struggling to find my way through it.

…

That whole night, I talked with Liu Qingya.

At first, I could keep up, but by five in the morning, I simply sat on the edge of the bed, leaning against the blanket as we chatted.

By the end, I was so exhausted, I just fell asleep like that.

Liu Qingya rested her head on my leg and fell asleep too.

The next morning, I was awakened by the sound of the door opening.

Someone had come in but, seeing the scene before them, didn’t say a word and quietly closed the door behind them.

It was the door closing that roused me.

As I was about to get up, I realized something was resting on my legs.

It was Liu Qingya, still asleep with her head on my lap.

After hours, my legs had gone numb.

At that moment, Liu Qingya also woke up, embarrassed, brushing her slightly tangled hair.

“I’ll go freshen up first. If you’re going to search for clues, you have to take me with you!” she insisted.

“Alright,” I nodded, trying to ignore the numbness in my legs.

After Liu Qingya left, I hurriedly stomped on the floor to revive my legs—they felt completely numb.

“Once you’re up, come over and eat something,” came a voice.

Shortly after Liu Qingya left, there was a knock on my door. Jiang Yuanshan’s voice came from outside.

There was no doubt my father had found out that Liu Qingya had stayed over last night.

The person who came in earlier, groggy and quiet, was probably him.

“I’m coming!” I responded, then hurriedly tidied myself before opening the door.

Outside, breakfast was already prepared—just a bowl of porridge and two boiled eggs.

Simple, but that was what we had.

“Today, stay in Uncle Wangcai’s yard and help out. Don’t wander around. Your uncles and I will be digging the tomb pits,” Jiang Yuanshan said, unusually assigning me a task. “There are plenty of people digging, but not enough hands in the yard.”

When someone here dies, they’re usually buried in the ancestral graveyard.

My father and the others had a heavy task today—digging two tomb pits.

According to Master Zhang Jiaqian, it was best to bury Uncle Dazhuang and Uncle Wangcai as soon as possible.

One, to prevent further incidents.

Two, since it was summer, if the burial was delayed, the bodies could start to decay.

Uncle Wangcai had only just passed yesterday, but Uncle Dazhuang’s body had been sitting in the coffin for several days already.