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

Chapter 140 If you had this ability, why didn't you say so earlier?

The atmosphere inside the room instantly became tense, with neither side willing to back down.

The village chief hadn't expected things to develop this way. He secretly groaned, but still had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward to act as a peacemaker.

"Don't be angry, don't be angry. This was indeed my oversight. I didn't confirm things with Shouye beforehand. But now that things have come to this, could you both compromise for my sake?"

How can we each take a step back?

“Shouye, you’ve already taken the money, so you have to agree to let people stay overnight. As for Miss Du and the others… Grandma Shouye needs to rest and recuperate upstairs, so you should stay on the first floor and not try to go upstairs again. It’s a small matter if you disturb her while she’s recuperating, but what if the old man’s health is weak and he catches the old lady’s illness? You certainly wouldn’t be happy about that, would you?”

As the saying goes, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Even though the nanny was unhappy about having a few more people in the house, she had to give the village chief face. She glared at Qin Shouye and reluctantly agreed.

"Then, for the sake of the village chief, let's not do it again."

Du Anrao and the others were still looking for an opportunity to sneak upstairs, so they naturally wouldn't leave at this time and agreed.

Both sides wore expressions of dissatisfaction, clearly unhappy with the outcome.

After all that commotion, Du Anrao and the others lost their interest in soaking in the hot springs. In addition, the old man was getting on in years and was tired after a long day of travel, so after settling in, they all went back to their rooms to rest.

Qin Shouye had just received a windfall and had just been humiliated by the nanny in front of so many people. He desperately needed to go out and find some fun to improve his mood. Seeing Du Anrao and the others enter the room, he turned around and went out.

In reality, Du Anrao and the others did not sleep after entering the house, but instead kept a close eye on the movements upstairs.

Sure enough, around eight or nine o'clock, there was a commotion upstairs; the nanny had gone downstairs to heat up the old lady's medicine.

Even through the door, Du Anrao could hear the other person's disgruntled complaints: "That old hag, so stubborn, making me suffer here with her. Once she spits out that painting, I'll see how I deal with her!"

The voices faded into the distance, and Du Anrao guessed that she must have gone into the kitchen, so he quickly opened the door and came out.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she opened her door, the other two doors next to it also opened.

"What are you..."

Du Anrao peeked in the direction of the nanny and gritted his teeth, saying, "There's no time to explain. I suspect there might be some secret upstairs, maybe even some trafficked women and children being held there. You wait here, I'll go up and take a look."

Those who already knew the inside story: "..." We'll pretend we didn't see it, but that's a good excuse. If anyone asks later, we'll just say that!

“It’s too risky for you to go alone. We’ll go with you. Ah Ming, let’s go.” Du Desheng had been waiting impatiently for a long time. As soon as he heard Du Anrao say this, he immediately ran upstairs with his cane, his legs and feet were so nimble that he didn’t look like an old man in his seventies or eighties.

Before Du Anrao could even say that it wasn't dangerous for him to go up alone, but that this whole group of people was likely to hold him back, Du Junyan dragged him up the mountain, leaving him quite helpless.

Well, Grandma Qin has just experienced betrayal by her relatives. Without seeing her great-uncle, he might not be willing to believe that a stranger like her would follow her. The nanny will only be gone for ten or twenty minutes at most to heat up the medicine. They must hurry and seize the opportunity.

The layout upstairs was similar to downstairs. As soon as they went upstairs, they heard a soft cough. Following the sound, they quickly found Miss Qin's room. They pressed the doorknob, but it was locked!
“This…” Du Desheng’s expression changed slightly.

[This nanny is really cautious; she even locked the door when she went downstairs to heat up some medicine!]

"What should I do?" My lover is just a wall away, and I'm really unwilling to give up like this.

"How about we try kicking it open?"

But the door was clearly a solid wooden door, exceptionally sturdy, and all eyes turned unanimously to the bodyguard captain. Amin: "..." I really thank you all for thinking so highly of me!
That's what he thought, but he could also see their eagerness, so he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give it a try!"

Under the expectant gazes of everyone, Amin mustered all his strength and kicked out.

A loud bang was heard, the door didn't budge, but the person's face was contorted.

Du Junyan and the others felt very sympathetic upon seeing this: "You can tell us if it hurts."

"...No, it doesn't hurt."

[Tsk tsk tsk, a real man, never complaining of pain, awesome!]

The surrounding crowd: "..." My little darling, stop acting silly now!
"Who's upstairs?" The commotion upstairs indeed caught the nanny's attention.

Seeing that someone was about to catch up and cause trouble, Du Anrao knew something was wrong. Without thinking, he quickly stepped forward and turned the doorknob. With a snap, the seemingly indestructible stainless steel handle bent into a ball and became a pile of scrap metal in a short time.

Everyone: "!!!"

The victim, Ah Ming, was utterly devastated: "..." Why didn't you say so earlier? My leg!

After a simple and brutal unlocking process, the door opened with a click, revealing the old lady who had been under guard for a long time inside.

Because of her illness, the old lady looked somewhat haggard and her spirits were not very good, but the elegance, composure, and gentle scholarly air that was ingrained in her very being still immediately caught everyone's attention.

Du Desheng had imagined countless times the scene of reuniting with his lover after a long separation, but when he actually saw her, he realized what it meant to feel apprehensive about returning home.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to Bianjing City forty or fifty years ago, and turned back into that penniless young man with only his sincere heart to offer.

“Yanqing…” Just calling out this name seemed to take all of Du Desheng’s strength. His eyes reddened as he gazed at his beloved, whom he had lost and then regained, with an almost greedy look.

Time flies, things change, and the years have brought them not only long waits and torment, but also appearances and makeup that are almost completely different from what they remember, with no resemblance whatsoever.

Even so, the two lovers, who had never forgotten each other, recognized each other immediately.

Grandma Qin trembled upon hearing Du Desheng's soft call. She timidly sized up the old man before her and cautiously called out, "Asheng?"

It seemed as if they were afraid of being refuted, or perhaps afraid of waking up from this beautiful dream they had been living for so many years.

"It's me, it's me, it's me, Asheng! I've come to find you!" Du Desheng, clutching the comb he always carried, rushed to his lover's side.

When Grandma Qin saw the comb, she finally recognized the person in front of her. Her eyes filled with tears, and she complained in a rare moment of vulnerability, "Why did you take so long to come?"

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, it was my fault. I'm too late and made you wait so long."

The reunion of lovers separated for many years is certainly touching, but in such a moving moment, it is inevitable that some people will be oblivious to the situation and come to spoil the fun.

"What are you doing here?"

(End of this chapter)