Imperial Treasure

Chapter 513 - 337: Fuan Orphanage, Rainy Tea House

Chapter 337

Sui Yi, who had been examining the bottle, briefly lowered her hand and looked up at him, "I’ve looked over your information and have a clear understanding. Since I invited you here, it means I approve of your approach. Just keep doing what you’ve always done."

Uncle Fu was taken aback, then joy appeared in his eyebrows, "They say it’s a stroke of great luck for a steed to meet a Bo Le, and although I am no fine horse, I am fortunate that Miss Sui is my Bo Le. I thank you here, Uncle Fu."

Sui Yi just smiled and said nothing.

Soon the old woman came in, her face showing happiness: "My son is over at the school and is rushing over now. Can you wait a bit... "

"Of course," Uncle Fu was in high spirits, becoming increasingly gentle and kind.

Seeing this, the old woman felt confident that the deal would not fall through. She was overjoyed and began to chat with Uncle Fu. The old woman wasn’t very cunning and revealed the bottle’s origin without reservation. It was only when it came to her husband that she seemed a bit more sorrowful.

Suddenly, a cool voice interjected,

"What did you just say?"

Eh? Both the old woman and Uncle Fu turned to look at Sui Yi, whose expression was too calm. Her eyes, however, were deep and dark. They had a piercing quality that unnerved the old woman, causing her to stutter, "What...?"

"Madam, you just mentioned... where did your husband work?"

"Oh~~ at Fuan Orphanage... He was a helper there. After a big fire at the orphanage, my man barely escaped alive... The only thing he had on him was this bottle. Not long after, he passed away, and I’ve kept the bottle by my side as a memento. Later, I thought that this bottle ought to be valuable..." At this point, the old woman began to feel somewhat embarrassed, for the item had come from the orphanage and arguably didn’t belong to her family. But that was a long time ago...

She explained further: "That orphanage didn’t have any rules, and no one came looking for it. Maybe everyone was gone, no one to care for it, I suppose. Besides, no one paid for my husband’s medical expenses, so I thought I wouldn’t return this thing. I had to keep a safety net for my family... It’s just a shame about those orphans..."

"Fuan?" Uncle Fu sighed, "I heard about that incident back then; it even made the newspapers. There were no survivors, and it caused a huge uproar at the time. I don’t know how it was handled later..."

It had been over a decade. Back then, information wasn’t as readily available as it is these days; without the internet, fewer people paid attention, so it might have just faded away.

"Big sister, you just said you live nearby, do you know what’s become of that place now?" Uncle Fu asked.

"Eh, don’t get me started. I don’t know if it’s taboo or what, but that place has been desolate for a while. There used to be around thirty to forty households living there, but now one by one, they’ve all moved out."

"Just because of the orphanage?" Uncle Fu was surprised.

The old woman found the subject difficult to broach, and only after Uncle Fu reassured and prompted her, did she speak, "I won’t hide it from you; that place is unlucky. Don’t say we are superstitious... Anyway, after that incident at the orphanage, we all said it was the work of a fierce ghost. Otherwise, how could such a big place not leave behind a single soul? Even my man... Afterwards, the orphanage was ominously quiet every day, and night after night, terrifying sounds could be heard... It terrified us immensely, and then incidents began to occur."

"What incidents?"

"What else could it be..." the old woman lowered her voice.

"It attracted a ghost!" Her expression turned cryptic, "The first household had someone die unexpectedly by suicide, falling from the third floor right in front of the building. Then there was the one who went mad, who chopped up his parents along with his son and daughter-in-law... Then there was the young girl who got into a good university jumping into the river... Anyway, within less than a year, out of over thirty households, there was always some mishap. Even the luckier ones suffered financial losses; their lives just got worse and worse... Later, a teacher came to look and said that the orphanage was filled with malevolent spirits and that the living shouldn’t stay near it, or they would meet with misfortune. Many people moved out, preferring to rent in even worse places than staying there. If it weren’t for my family being too poor and my son needing to go to school, if we moved, we’d have nowhere to stay. I also thought that since my husband was gone, and my son lived at school, an old woman like me even if something happened, wouldn’t have much to lose. So, I’ve lived there all these years... Now there’s only five or six families left... It’s really desolate."

"Ah~~" Although Uncle Fu believed in science, his line of work in antiques did make him a bit superstitious; therefore, he didn’t criticize the belief in ghosts and spirits but could only sigh. However, when he turned to look at Sui Yi, he saw that the young boss’s expression seemed somewhat distant, as if she was lost in thought...

Could she have been scared?

"Sui..." Uncle Fu was about to call Sui Yi when her phone rang; it was Yhan Qingwu.

"Alright," Sui Yi replied and hung up her phone. Then she stood up and said, "Uncle Fu, you handle this... I need to leave ~~"

"Oh, okay," Uncle Fu walked Sui Yi to the door. Just then, a man of average height ran into the shop, brushing past Sui Yi. He paused upon seeing her, then proceeded towards his mother after a moment’s hesitation.

With the arrival of the person, Uncle Fu didn’t see Sui Yi off any further...

Ah Guna picked up an umbrella and opened it for Sui Yi, leaving one after the other.

Once in the car, Sui Yi thought Yhan Qingwu’s invitation was very timely.

Otherwise, she might have asked the old woman even more questions and fallen deeper into temptation.

Earlier, as she listened casually from the side, she had some doubts about the bottle. It wasn’t that she questioned its origin or authenticity, but she felt like she had seen it somewhere before, a faint impression in her mind she couldn’t quite place...

Until, in the conversation with the old woman, she heard a particular phrase.

Fuan Orphanage...

A name seemingly etched into her brain.

Ah Guna, sitting in the passenger seat, was silent. After hearing the car engine start, he said, "I should go learn... to drive this thing,"

It seemed he was still not used to Sui Yi driving while he sat beside her.

Sui Yi didn’t look at him, "Alright... let’s go to Rainy Tea House now."

Her words were somewhat ethereal, like the drizzling rain outside, pattering incessantly.

——————

Rainy Tea House, in the Provincial City, a name denoting drizzle.

Tea, distinguished and elegant.

Rainy drizzle, Qing Wu and hazy.

Rainy Tea House was undeniably a place of refinement and also a gathering spot for the famous figures of Jiangdu Province.

However, unlike those clubs or hotels, for decades, Rainy Tea House had been walking the path of elegance. The women here were indeed beauties, but each one could play the zither and compose poetry, capable of discussing romance without vulgarity, and if there was charm, it was not flaunted.

This could be seen from the dignified and pretty smiles of the qipao-clad women as soon as Sui Yi walked into the tea house.

Those coming and going were either cultural intellectuals or the offspring of wealthy or official families, each person maintaining a fine appearance and good manners.

Ah Guna didn’t follow this time, he stayed in the car. In his words, since both Sui Yi and Yhan Qingwu were women, his presence would only add to the awkwardness. To protect them, it was enough to stay in the car.

It wasn’t long after Sui Yi entered that she saw Yhan Qingwu.

The latter had previously asked Sui Yi to come for tea. Sui Yi had agreed readily, and now here she was, truly for the sake of drinking tea.

"The tea at Rainy is rather good. Try this ’Pelican Moon’ cup," Yhan Qingwu gestured to the cup in front of Sui Yi. Sui Yi tasted a sip, sweet with a bit of astringency, slightly bitter aftertaste, yet somewhat sweet again...

"Not bad," Sui Yi slightly smiled, and Yhan Qingwu also smiled charmingly. Her beautiful fingers prepared the tea as she asked, "Have you thought about which school you want to attend?"

"Not yet..." Sui Yi looked at Yhan Qingwu, "What about you?"

"Me?" Yhan Qingwu tapped the table surface lightly with her fingers and smiled, "I don’t have to take the college entrance exams."

"As I understand it, since your freshman year of high school, several well-known schools have offered you early admission," Sui Yi said indifferently.

"It seems my deskmate knows me very well," Yhan Qingwu’s eyebrows and eyes were delicately shaped, typically reserved and elegant, but when she smiled, there was the bright beauty of a blooming flower, and her temperament was even more attractive than her appearance. Thus, such a smile could indeed light up the surroundings.

However, it was obvious that her deskmate was not too moved by such beauty, perhaps due to being equally beautiful herself... Yhan Qingwu scrutinized the person across her, a light curve forming on her lips: "If nothing unexpected happens, I’ll probably go to the Capital City ~~ or stay in France."

France?

That person had been to France before, it seemed.

Sui Yi nodded, "If you go to France, be cautious."

"Yeah," Yhan Qingwu responded, and then suddenly said, "You seem troubled."

Sui Yi, who was drinking tea while looking at the scenery outside, turned her face, her eyes shimmering, "What makes you say that?"

Had her emotions become so evidently projected?

"Just because you don’t show it, doesn’t mean I can’t see it..." Yhan Qingwu slightly frowned, "Deskmate, your heart isn’t here with me."

Sui Yi was speechless, then chuckled. Just as she was about to say something, she saw Yhan Qingwu’s expression change slightly, seemingly displeased.

Then, she heard a voice coming from behind her.

"Miss Yhan, you’re back... Lucky for me to come to Jiangdu, otherwise, I would have missed you... A year apart feels like a decade~"

The man’s voice was frivolous, casual, slightly high-pitched and arrogantly indifferent, clearly not someone of good nature.

Without turning to look, Sui Yi knew this person was not alone, while Yhan Qingwu had already quietly explained, "Someone from Nanjing I met a year ago, we have some business relations with their family... His family has some foundation in Nanjing ~~ but the person himself.."

You know ~~ such a look in the elegant Yhan Qingwu’s eyes now seemed playful and agile. The man’s gaze grew fixed for a moment, then he glanced over Sui Yi’s back, suddenly taking interest.

A woman invited by Yhan Qingwu would certainly not be ordinary!

Ignoring Yhan Qingwu’s cool demeanor, he called out directly, "Miss Yhan has a friend here too, what a coincidence. I’m hosting today, so this miss..."

As he stepped forward, upon seeing Sui Yi’s face, he was dumbstruck. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit qidian.com to cast your votes for recommendation and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)