I just wrote a love poem, how did that make me so powerful?

He turned to look at Xiao Mingyuan.

"Old Xiao, do you have any food on you?"

Xiao Mingyuan paused for a moment, then patted the pouch at his waist.

"What do I need to check?"

Xu Qing glanced at him.

"I saw you secretly hiding several pieces of osmanthus cake from Zhuangyuanlou at the last poetry gathering. I don't believe you didn't take any today."

Xiao Mingyuan touched the back of his head, then suddenly realized what was going on and rummaged through his pockets, finding a package of oil paper.

Upon opening it, I found two neatly arranged osmanthus cakes inside, golden and soft, with the sweet aroma of osmanthus honey spreading in the evening breeze.

"You really know me. I would have forgotten about it if you hadn't mentioned it."

Xiao Mingyuan chuckled.

"I really like this kind of food. I took a few pieces after the poetry gathering the other day and enjoyed them very much. I took a few more pieces from the banquet tonight to have as a late-night snack."

Xu Qing took the oil paper package and held it up towards the dark figure. Regardless of whether the figure understood, he spoke.

"Eat fewer crabapples; they're very sour and not good for your stomach."

He broke off a piece of osmanthus cake, placed it on the table in the backyard, and took two and a half steps back. He then squatted down.

"Here, have some, it's sweet..."

Xiao Mingyuan chuckled beside him.

"Haha, what's the point of telling him that? He doesn't understand human language, unless..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

The dark shadow crouched on the rooftop, staring at the direction of the oil paper package for a long time.

Then slowly slide down the tree trunk, landing on all fours.

He took a step forward and paused in front of the osmanthus cake.

It carefully broke off a piece with its paw, smelled it, and then licked it.

Then I took a small bite.

After chewing a couple of times, his eyes suddenly lit up, and then he stuffed the whole piece of osmanthus cake into his mouth.

With his cheeks puffed out, he wolfed down the food.

After finishing one piece, it broke off another, and quickly ate the second piece as well.

After finishing eating, it licked its paws with lingering satisfaction, then looked up at Xu Qing and then at the oil paper package in his hand.

It slowly extended a claw and beckoned twice in his direction.

By this time, everyone had realized that it was actually a monkey.

Su Man whispered something to him.

"Judging from his tone, it seems like he wants more."

Xu Qing turned the oil paper package over to show it, "It's gone..."

He then spoke to the monkey.

"If you still want to eat, wait here tomorrow."

Xiao Mingyuan muttered to himself.

"What can it possibly understand when you say this to it..."

The monkey sat there staring intently at Xu Qing, then slowly shook its head.

Xiao Mingyuan's unfinished words stuck in his throat.

"Seriously, Monkey King, you can understand that?"

Xu Qing couldn't help but laugh.

Su Man grinned and glanced at Xiao Mingyuan.

"Young Master Xiao, they understand."

Xiao Mingyuan still didn't believe it, so he took half a step forward and pointed at the monkey.

"You hairy beast, you can understand human speech?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the monkey bared its teeth at Xiao Mingyuan, slapped the ground with its two front paws, and made as if it was about to pounce forward.

Xiao Mingyuan was startled and quickly shrank back behind the guard, peeking out half his head and saying something.

"Oh, I'm complimenting you."

Xu Qing smiled and shook his head, looking at the monkey.

"Stop fooling around. The delicious food was given to you by this older brother. Don't hurt him."

"Who's his brother? I'm not that beast..." Xiao Mingyuan protested, but then stopped.

He was afraid that if he said anything more, the monkey would really attack him.

Xu Qing then made another suggestion.

"Alright then, since you insist on eating it, you stay here and don't move. I'll have someone get you some osmanthus cake. Do you want some?"

Upon hearing this, the monkey plopped down on the table, placed its two front paws on its knees, and nodded frantically.

Su Man covered her mouth and laughed out loud, then quickly gave instructions to her attendants.

"Go quickly to Zhuangyuanlou and have Cui'er bring back a few packets of osmanthus cakes. Go and come back as soon as possible."

He turned to Xu Qing and said.

"Would you like to get something else?"

Xu Qing nodded.

"Bring me a packet of hawthorn pills, in case too many will upset my stomach, and also some water."

The monkey sat on the table, tilting its head to look at Xu Qing. The wariness in its eyes had disappeared somewhat, replaced by a curious scrutiny.

Xu Qing took half a step forward, trying to get a little closer.

The monkey immediately shrank back half a foot, arched its back, and let out a low growl from its throat.

That look clearly showed they were on high alert!

Xu Qing immediately stopped and spread her hands.

"Don't be afraid, I mean no harm. I just want to get to know you. We'll have plenty of time together in the future."

The monkey stared at him for a while before the sound in its throat slowly disappeared. He sat back down and raised his paw to scratch his neck.

Just as he scratched his neck.

Xiao Mingyuan's eyes suddenly narrowed.

The monkey had something tied to its neck with a thin rope, the end of which was tied in an exquisite knot, and a beautiful stone hanging below the knot.

However, it was not clearly visible in the twilight, only faintly glowing with a warm light.

It definitely doesn't have the texture of an ordinary stone.

It's at least some kind of gemstone!

Su Man also caught a glimpse of it, but she didn't say anything. She just exchanged a glance with Xiao Mingyuan, and neither of them made a sound.

……

The attendant, being a trained martial artist, quickly arrived with two packets of osmanthus cake, a packet of hawthorn pills, and water.

Xu Qing opened the oil paper package, took out two pieces of osmanthus cake, placed them on the stone slab, and took two steps back.

Without hesitation, the monkey jumped over, grabbed a piece, and stuffed it into its mouth, chewing it with a crunching sound.

After eating a few pieces, he let out a burp and looked at Xu Qing again.

Xu Qing took out a hawthorn pill from the paper package and handed it over.

"You've eaten too much. This helps with digestion, otherwise your tummy will feel uncomfortable."

The monkey took it, brought it to its nose and smelled it. It probably thought the sweet and sour smell of hawthorn was acceptable.

It put the hawthorn pill in its mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

Xu Qing handed over another bowl of water.

"Drink some water. You've eaten so much, you're thirsty."

The monkey nodded, took the bowl, and drank it all in one gulp. After putting down the bowl, it patted its belly, gave Xu Qing a thumbs up, and made a short squeak.

Xu Qing paused for a moment when she saw the gesture, then couldn't help but laugh.

Even Su Man was taken aback. She looked at the monkey with an indescribable look in her eyes.

The monkey looked again at the oil paper package on the ground.

Xu Qing pointed to it, "Take these back and eat them too."

The monkey's eyes lit up, and it grabbed the oil paper package, then waved goodbye to the group.

Then he turned around, took a few steps to the well opening, jumped in, and disappeared silently below the well.

The edge of the oil paper package flashed briefly at the edge of the wellhead, but was quickly carried away.

The courtyard quieted down. Xu Qing turned to look at Xiao Mingyuan and Su Man. Their eyes met briefly in the night, but no one spoke first.

Xiao Mingyuan first led away his bodyguards and Su Man's two attendants.

"You guys go and keep watch at the door, don't let anyone in."

The three of them responded and retreated to the front yard.

At this moment, Xiao Mingyuan turned around and looked at the broker.

Upon seeing this, the broker shuddered. He sensed something was wrong…

Unwittingly, the legendary black shadow turned out to be a monkey.

If the information is leaked...

Very serious consequences!

The most direct consequence is that the owner of the yard will definitely raise the price back to the original level and sell it as a normal house.

They might even force a price increase just because there's a monkey that can speak human language.

If a monkey can be trained to such a level, who knows how much money it could make if it went to perform magic tricks!

Are they planning to kill me to silence me?