How he could say nothing while holding such a big box was a puzzle to her! It was not invisible for heavens sake.
"Open it." She said calmly.
Muyang blinked like a confused sheep.
"Honey, open the box." She repeated in a sweet voice.
He sighed and tilted his head. "It’s just puzzles." He admitted in a reluctant voice. "One thousand and one puzzles. We both know that you are a hater when it cos to my puzzles. And these ones are from another world. I really want to keep them."
She rolled her eyes and turned away from him. She was not a puzzle hater, as he claid. The problem with her husband was that once he started a puzzle, he did not want to do anything until he figured it all out.
He once went two days without eating or sleeping for this very reason. He did not just put puzzles together, he obsessed over them.
And when Mingzhe joined him, it beca worse. They would sit and stare at those puzzle boards like dogs trying to figure out if a chicken thigh plushie was real chicken or not.
"Does this an I can keep them?" he shouted to her back.
"Yes." She shouted back.
Muyang sighed again, in relief.
Back at i i’s breakfast party, two unexpected guests had showed up. A woman nad Feng Niannian and her daughter Pang Lucy.
Feng Niannian was madam Feng’s younger sister that she had not seen in over three decades. Her sister had moved to the Arican empire with her husband many years ago and they never returned even once.
Madam Feng had not heard from her sister in twenty five years. Her arrival at the party had surprised her.
None the less, Madam Feng invited them to sit down and introduced Jingzhe and i i to her sister. "This is my son Jingzhe and my daughter-in-law, Jun ilin."
Feng Niannian looked at i i with a look that could only be described as unimpressed. But she maintained it with a smile. "Mmm, nice to et you. Congratulations on winning your little horse race."
i i’s eyebrows arched. Little!!! This woman was clearly looking for a fight. But as the student of diplomacy that she was, she smiled and replied coldly, "Thank you. While you are here in the empire, I will take you to the royal courts track and let you ride the sa course I rode for three hours. Since it is little, I think you will be able to do it with ease."
Jingzhe snorted.
Feng Niannian’s face cracked a little. She clenched her hands.
Lucy placed her hands on her mother’s shoulders. "Sister, my mother does not know how to ride horses."
i i fake gasped. "Oh, I thought she was an expert because she called the Vermillion derby a little horse race. I did not know that she was just carelessly sharing her opinion. My offer still stands. I am willing to give you horse riding lessons if you desire."
"You will be doing no such thing." Chi Lian chid in as she took a seat on the empty chair by the table. "The Sydney cup horse race in Australia will be held next week. You signed up for it. Rember?"
Mingzhu joined them, jumping up and down. "Australia, Australia, we are going to Australia." She sung.
Madam Feng carried Mingzhu, smiling with a dotting look on her face. "And this is my granddaughter Mingzhu." She turned Mingzhu to face Feng Niannian. "Do not ss with her. She is our little general and a princess."
Feng Niannian took off the bracelet around her wrist and handed it to Mingzhu. "Call grandma."
Mingzhu looked at her mother. Her eyes seed to ask, should I take it or not?
i i pushed Feng Niannian’s hand back. "Sorry, as per the rules of the royal family, Mingzhu cannot accept jewelry that has been worn by anyone other than or a mber of the royal family."
"For safety reasons." Jingzhe added. "Also, the gold on the bracelet is actually copper. Aunt, you should throw that away rather than wear it. Such things are not good for your health."
Feng Niannian’s face cracked again.
The air beca awkward.
Pang Lucy gasped. "Fake gold!! I cannot believe that we were cheated. I bought this bracelet for half a million dollars."
Her voice was so loud, like it was her intention for everyone to hear. What she did not realize was that most of the people there had so skills in recognizing real and fake jewelry.
They could see that all the jewelry on Lucy and her mother’s bodies was fake. But, they had been polite enough not to say anything because the won were madam Feng’s relatives.
They looked troubleso, but who did not have a troubleso relative or two back at ho?
Madam Feng handed Mingzhu to Chi Lian, stood up and smiled tensely as she looked at i i and Lady Chi. Her eyes lifted to the rest of the guests who she could tell where holding back their laughter and judgent for her sake. "I apologize everyone, I have to step away for a mont. Please enjoy the rest of your breakfast. For anyone that has not tasted the new truffle and blackcurrant cheesecake, find so in the oven."
Chi Zimo and Ringo dashed for the house imdiately.
Madam Feng took her relatives away.
As soon as they left, Chi Lian shook her head. "What do you suppose they are here for?"
"Nothing good." Jingzhe answered. He tapped his chest. "Mother-in-law, don’t worry. I will make sure that they do not cause trouble for i i and Mingzhu or anyone else in the family including my mother."
He looked in the direction that they had gone. If not for his mother gesturing to him with her eyes that he should stay put, he would have followed her.
"Daddy, daddy, I want to eat ice cream cones." Mingzhu tugged on Jingzhe’s hand.
He left with her and this left Chi Lian and i i alone at the table.
i i’s mind was still on the visiting mother and daughter pair. "They must be facing financial difficulties so they have co over looking for help."
Chi Lian agreed. "Given the revelation of Madam Feng and Jingzhe as the owners of Huaqi cakes and their status as billionaires, it is not surprising that so long lost relatives are coming out of the woods. If the Mo’s were shaless enough to want a piece of the pie, what about soone nad Feng?"
i i frowned. "Do you think they want shares, jobs or to open their own branch of Huaqi in Arica?"
Chi Lian had observed sothing else which so people had missed, including her own daughter. "That and more."
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