Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 139 Are you kidding us?

The smell of medicine? In other words…

Du Desheng's heart was pounding, and he wished he could rush into the house immediately and find his lover.

Du Anrao ignored Qin Shouye's argument with the village chief and looked up at the second-floor staircase as if he sensed something.

"Can't people live on the second floor? My grandfather has bad legs and rheumatism, so he might not be used to living on the first floor."

"No." Unexpectedly, Qin Shouye was extremely insistent on this matter.

"My grandmother is sick and is recuperating on the second floor. She cannot be disturbed. Your activities are limited to the first floor; you cannot go upstairs."

Du Anrao raised an eyebrow and scoffed, "So, we spent all that money and we can't even choose a room we like? After all that searching, we still have to stay on the first floor. What's the difference between this and staying anywhere else?"

Xi Jingyue could tell from Du Anrao's change in expression that the person they were looking for was on the second floor, and promptly replied, "Isn't that right? You even asked us if we were sincere. Is this your way of treating guests with sincerity?"

"Don't be angry, that's not what he meant..."

Before the village chief could finish speaking, Qin Shouye interrupted his explanation with a dark expression.

"Take it or leave it. You just have a few bucks, what are you so arrogant about? This is my house! I'll just return your money if necessary."

Qin Shouye's attitude changed rather quickly. He had been acting like he loved money more than anything, but the moment he mentioned going upstairs, he immediately changed his tune and even gave up the money. It was hard not to suspect that there was some shady secret upstairs.

Just as the atmosphere downstairs was tense and delicate, and Du Desheng was about to lead his men upstairs, a woman's voice suddenly came from upstairs.

"What's that noise? Don't you know people upstairs are sleeping?"

Du Anrao subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound and saw a plump woman in her forties or fifties. Upon closer inspection, he realized she was quite overweight.

Ah, is this the nanny who was seduced by her ungrateful adopted son?

Du Desheng and others: What?!

All eyes immediately turned to the obese woman, who weighed at least 200 pounds, their expressions subtle.

[I didn't realize this adopted son... had such heavy tastes! He could actually do that! Indeed, those capable of great things can endure what ordinary people cannot. Someone like me, a lowly, unambitious nobody, could never possibly humble myself like him.]

The onlookers: "..." That's true, but you, this lazy bum, have done far more than him!

When they looked up again and saw the woman, the three of them were speechless.

Okay, they admit that they're not exactly people who can do big things either.

[Hmm? So there's a hidden story behind that ungrateful adopted son sending Grandma Qin to this godforsaken place.]

Hidden secrets? And secrets they don't know about?
Du Desheng and Du Junyan exchanged a glance and simultaneously pricked up their ears.

As for Xi Jingyue, who joined halfway through, although he wasn't entirely clear on the cause and effect, it didn't stop him from enjoying the show.

The hidden story Du Anrao spoke of was simply that after Miss Qin's adopted son, with the help of the nanny, schemed to obtain Miss Qin's property, he failed to find a priceless authentic Wu Daozi painting that she had collected in her early years. The adopted son had long coveted this painting, intending to use it to curry favor with a powerful figure in hopes of gaining a great opportunity, but little did he know that Miss Qin had a backup plan.

In a fit of rage, the adopted son unleashed a torrent of anger on Miss Qin and nearly laid a hand on her.

Du Desheng was startled, and then started grinding his teeth again.

Miss Qin endured imprisonment and torture under her adopted son for a period of time, but still did not relent. In addition, some members of the family noticed their movements and began to covet the painting.

Forced by circumstances, they sent Miss Qin to this remote, isolated mountain village, and even had the nanny come with her, ostensibly to take care of her, but in reality to monitor her and try to extract the whereabouts of the painting from Grandma Qin.

No wonder I could smell medicine as soon as I entered the house. That ungrateful wretch still doesn't know the whereabouts of the painting and doesn't dare let Grandma Qin die like this. Once he finds out where the painting is, or gets information through other channels, Grandma Qin will be useless...

Naturally, just as described in the original story, she was left to fend for herself and died from her illness.

[This adopted son is utterly heartless; he even gave the nanny a knife. Just in case someone else finds this place before Grandma Qin agrees to give her permission and gets the painting before him. He'd rather destroy what he can't have than let someone else have it—it's truly pathological!]

Du Desheng's heart skipped a beat. He was once again glad that he had chosen to come with Du Anrao out of caution, instead of rushing over on his own after only hearing the beginning.

Otherwise, given his personality, he would definitely have brought his men to kill her the moment he learned of her whereabouts and taken her away using the most forceful means.

But if that were to happen, the nanny would inevitably mistakenly believe that they were there to steal the Wu Daozi painting whose whereabouts were unknown, and thus might take action against her lover.

If he didn't know beforehand that the nanny was carrying a knife, could he really have kept his lover unharmed? The answer is undoubtedly no.

After wasting half his life, he finally found his lover, only to witness her murder just as he was about to get her back. Du Desheng couldn't imagine what crazy things he would do.

Those who could hear Du Anrao's thoughts were still shocked that the nanny was carrying a weapon. The only bodyguard, Uncle Amin, who was unaware of the inside story, looked at the old lady who suddenly ran out with a furrowed brow and a tense expression.

"Didn't you just say he lived alone? It's one thing to have a grandmother upstairs recuperating, but who is this guy anyway?"

In their line of work, the biggest taboo is having too many unpredictable strangers around the employer, and the village chief's concealment clearly touched a nerve.

The nanny was also very wary of the group of people who had suddenly appeared in her home: "What's going on? Who are these people? What are they doing here?"

The village chief looked embarrassed and explained the purpose of Du Anrao and the others' visit to them. However, the nanny's face darkened immediately after hearing the explanation, and she turned around and lashed out at Qin Shouye.

"How could you agree to let them stay overnight? Have you forgotten the master's instructions? The old lady needs to rest quietly! She can't have contact with outsiders. You've brought so many outsiders home all at once. Are you ignoring the master's words?"

Qin Shouye's face turned quite ugly after being subjected to her barrage of accusations.

She resented this stupid woman for daring to criticize her in front of so many people, making her lose face, and was also afraid that she would actually call and complain to someone.

You know, his parents are working for that uncle right now. If they find out he messed things up, they'll beat him to death when they get back!
"I'll return the money to them right now and tell them to get lost."

Du Junyan and the others were amused and annoyed: "Are you playing us? Do you really think we can be summoned and dismissed at will?"

(End of this chapter)