"Hmph, no way, absolutely not!"
Regarding this doubt, Tang Xiaowan didn’t directly ask further but switched to a new topic.
"Grandma, who painted that painting?"
In fact, she had already had an answer in her mind; she just wanted to confirm it further.
Could it be that guy Leng Lingxiao?
With his floral shirts, his casual deanor, trying to look like an artist, he used to co to i Garden to visit grandma often. It just might be him indeed.
Hmm, very likely, a friend beyond age!
Her large eyes twinkled as she awaited the revelation of the answer.
Tang i tapped Tang Xiaowan’s nose and said, "That’s right, what you’re thinking is correct; it’s painted by Leng Lingxiao. Lately, he’s been coming over often to see grandma, bringing food or other necessities; he’s been quite diligent."
This guy really kept his talents hidden, not only able to make money but also quite artistic!
But this bringing food and other necessities?
So the two tis he snuck into my room, it wasn’t to see but to bring supplies to grandma, taking the opportunity—indeed, quite the opportunity!
"Why is it him bringing stuff, not Old Li?"
Seeing Tang Xiaowan’s surprised face, Tang i smiled without responding and pulled her over to sit down on the sofa.
Logically speaking, as the housekeeper of i Garden, Li Fugui has been with Tang i for quite so ti. How could such a huge secret be entrusted to an outsider?
Tang Xiaowan found it abnormal!
She boldly guessed that either Leng Lingxiao had so unique skills that others couldn’t replace, or there was suspicion toward Li Fugui, not daring to entrust him with important tasks.
"Grandma, does Leng Lingxiao know martial arts, the kind that cos and goes without a trace?"
"There’s a secret passage that goes from here to grandma’s bedroom, and also directly to the bamboo forest outside; it’s very safe, no one will find out."
"No wonder he’s always able to avoid the caras; it’s because of this!"
"Old Li is a good man, don’t judge him by..." Tang i paused, handing an apple to Tang Xiaowan, "If there’s anything Leng Lingxiao can’t attend to, just let Old Li handle it."
Tang Xiaowan smiled and nodded, "Old Li picked up this ti when I ca back; he really gets things done quick!"
After saying that, she took a big bite of the apple.
"Wow, so sweet! This is from Huahua too, not too shabby!"
"Huahua, do you rember him?"
Tang Xiaowan then realized she had just used Leng Lingxiao’s nickna and not his full na.
Thus, she gave a silly smile and shook her head, "No, I don’t rember anything anymore. He told not long ago that we’ve known each other for 15 years. Actually, I saw the words ’Huahua’ in my diary... Then when I saw the Lingxiao Flowers outside my bedroom, I thought of him, and when I asked, it turned out to be true."
Having said all this, Tang Xiaowan’s mood suddenly dropped; although her mouth smiled, her heart felt very sad.
She didn’t know what she was like in the mories she had lost.
Whenever she asked about the past, whether it was Leng Lingxiao or others in i Garden, everyone seed to deliberately evade the topic, although Li Zishen did say so things, it was hard to tell what was true.
Gradually, Tang Xiaowan stopped asking.
Now that grandma was back, as if from the dead, that was more important than anything; the rest would just fall into place.
As her grandmother, Tang i could see through Tang Xiaowan’s thoughts and, with a smile, said, "Tangtang, after you finish your apple, I’ll take you to experience the secret passage. Want to go?"
Upon hearing this, Tang Xiaowan’s eyes lit up, opened wide with excitent, "Wow, that’s great! Let’s go, let’s go now! I’m so excited, I want to experience it right now."
Tang i shook her head, amused.
She thought to herself, it would be nice for Tangtang to continue living this way, simple and free.
Let the rest be bygones!
Then, she took Tang Xiaowan’s hand and headed for the innermost compartnt.
"Aren’t we going that way?"
Tang Xiaowan pointed to where she had just entered, but suddenly realized that the secret door had sohow already closed.
Her eyes widened in shock!
"Grandma, look, over there..."
"It’s alright, don’t worry about it. It will close automatically. Grandma will take you through another exit to get familiar with this environnt."
Tang i continued to lead Tang Xiaowan forward without even looking back.
"Oh, I see, you gave quite a scare!"
Another secret door?
My goodness, even a front and rear entrance!
Tang Xiaowan thought to herself but didn’t ask out loud. At this mont, she wasn’t truly interested in experiencing anything, nor did she care whether the secret passageway led to the bedroom or to the bamboo forest?
She just wanted to pull her grandmother back up to the surface.
They hadn’t seen each other for two months, having gone through too many trials and tribulations, and it had been a long ti since she felt this sense of ho that belonged only to her and her grandmother.
"Tangtang, put on trousers tomorrow, don’t always wear skirts; autumn is coming."
"It’s okay; it’s not cold in Qingcheng."
"When will you go back to Jin City?"
"No rush, no rush. You went to such lengths to bring here... don’t you want to spend a few more days with , your precious granddaughter?"
"Of course, I do!"
Tang i smiled thoughtfully.
The space in the secret passageway was limited, but it was wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
However, to Tang Xiaowan’s surprise, there were lamps spaced intermittently throughout the passage, and they weren’t voice-activated but manually operated, which was very primitive, and the lighting wasn’t very good.
Including ventilation, it also required manual operation.
Tang i told her that sotis, what seed to be very advanced technology or gadgets were not as safe and reliable as these rustic thods.
Tang Xiaowan understood and nodded in agreent.
"Grandma, does this secret passage connect to the sa one I used to avoid assassination?"
"No, that one doesn’t even count as a secret passage; it was just a hiding spot for playing hide and seek and evading Leng Lingxiao when you were little. It’s a very small space."
"Does he know about it?"
"Silly girl, of course, he knows. But it wouldn’t be fun if he found you right away, right? He was just playing along with you to make everyone happy."
"Oh, I see!"
They chatted as they walked, and halfway through, they passed a narrow set of stairs that only allowed one person through at a ti, which was very cramped.
Tang Xiaowan followed closely, afraid of being left behind.
A few minutes later, they finally erged.
Indeed, the endpoint of the secret passage was at the westernmost end of the second floor of the villa, the bedroom where Tang i had previously stayed, which was the one with an oil painting on the ceiling.
After the secret door closed, Tang Xiaowan quickly turned off the chandelier, wall lamps, and bedside lamp.
She had been too excited when leaving earlier and had forgotten about it, but now with her grandmother next to her, she felt it was inappropriate, worried that others in i Garden might discover them.
Using the faint light from the outside window, Tang Xiaowan pulled her grandmother over to lie down on the mahogany bed and chat.
To Tang i, this was an unnecessary precaution; whether the lights were on or off didn’t matter, but Tang Xiaowan’s caution was very reassuring for her.
"It’s getting late; you should sleep now."
"Grandma, why did I lose my mory, and who attacked ? Are these related to the planned car accident and staged death?"
The questions that Tang Xiaowan had wanted to ask all along, she finally voiced.
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