"Five hundred pieces... Aunt's heart was pounding wildly. These silk fabrics were rich in variety, including satin, brocade, and gauze. The workmanship was exquisite, and the patterns were beautiful. Aunt had visited many silk shops and had a sharp eye. Any of these silk fabrics were better than the expensive ones sold in those shops.

And there were five hundred of them, all so expensive and exquisite... Aunt felt like she had been hit by sudden happiness.

Xu Lingyue was no less interested in clothes than her mother. Throughout history, women have always had a special affection for clothes.

Xu Lingyin, who was secretly eating alone while her parents and sister were not paying attention, was not included. She was still a child.

"I'll go help!" Uncle Xu couldn't sit still anymore and got up, rushing outside.

Xu Qi'an stood by the carriage, discussing how to solve the Sangpo case with Song Tingfeng before going to play at the Official Brothel Sector.

"Speaking of which, there are twenty-four courtesans in the Official Brothel Sector, but I've only slept with Fu Xiang. I'll have to visit them one by one." Xu Qi'an said expectantly.

"You... Aren't you in a relationship with Fu Xiang? You should be redeeming her now." Song Tingfeng stared at him strangely.

"You..." Xu Qi'an also stared at him strangely, unable to understand why ancient people always liked to use public property for personal use.

Well, the status of a concubine was only slightly higher than that of a slave. Perhaps in their eyes, redeeming a courtesan was equivalent to buying a girlfriend who couldn't speak or eat and survived on air alone.

And courtesans wouldn't leak air.

A wife and a concubine were different concepts and couldn't be compared... But in Xu Qi'an's opinion, redeeming a courtesan was the same as meeting a rich and well-dressed object during a blind date who claimed to be selling clothes outside... There were still differences in values and thoughts.

Xu Qi'an shook his head and didn't want to continue this topic.

"Uncle, don't move these." Xu Qi'an saw Uncle Xu come out to help and quickly shouted.

When Uncle Xu looked over, Xu Qi'an threw a small box weighing sixty catties with one hand and said, "You move this."

Uncle Xu reached out and took it, feeling that it was quite heavy. When he opened it... What blinded my dog eyes?

Aunt was infatuated with the beautiful satin in the front hall, touching it here and there, her beautiful face couldn't help but overflow with a smile.

Xu Lingyue's small hand was pressed on a piece of silk, feeling its silky and smooth touch, and her teenage heart was pounding.

Smack!

Aunt slapped her hand away and said displeasedly, "Don't dirty it."

Xu Lingyue whispered, "What is mom happy about? These things were given to big brother by the emperor, not yours."

Deadly blow!

Aunt gradually lost her smile. After a moment, her elegant and beautiful face forced a stiff smile. "Um... I'm still pretty good to your eldest brother, right..."

Even she didn't have the confidence to say that.

Xu Lingyue nodded, "Um, pretty good. Big brother is the money-losing goods you raised."

"You little brat!" Aunt poked Xu Lingyue with a finger, causing her to stumble.

At this moment, the mother and daughter saw Uncle Xu coming in, holding a box in a daze.Auntie greeted them while holding her skirt, "What is in the master's hand?"

Snap...snap...Uncle Xu opened the box, covered it up again, and looked at his wife, "Did you see it?"

"I didn't see it..."

Auntie, who was once a maiden, had never seen so much silver or even gold in her 36 years of life, now that she had three children.

Uncle Xu had never owned so much gold before.

...

"My throat is dry, and I'm tired after a day's work. I haven't had a good cup of tea."

"Sit down, Ning Yan. Auntie will make some for you."

...

"I want to eat steamed eggs."

"Auntie will ask the kitchen to make them for you."

...

"Don't you have any milk?"

"Yes, yes, Auntie has the freshest milk here."

At the dining table, Xu Qi'an sat proudly while his usually arrogant auntie took care of him attentively. If Xu Qi'an wanted to eat steamed eggs, Auntie would have them made for him. If he wanted tea, Auntie would brew it for him. If he wanted milk, Auntie would give it to him...trying to make up for the damaged relationship between aunt and nephew.

"Auntie, this is not sincere. I want to eat the eggs that you made yourself." Xu Qi'an hummed.

...Auntie bit her lip and forced a smile, "Auntie will go make them for you."

When the steamed eggs came, Xu Qi'an ate and said, "Hey, there are a lot of dirty clothes thrown into the yard next door. As an unlucky orphan like me, I can only wash them myself."

...Auntie gritted her teeth, "Ning Yan, you're being too polite. Auntie treats you like her own child. Auntie will wash them for you."

Xu Qi'an felt relieved, and the obsession that had been pressing on his heart finally dissipated.

"Uncle, why don't we sell this house and buy a bigger one in the inner city?" Xu Qi'an suggested.

Auntie's beautiful eyes lit up with excitement.

Sell the house...Uncle Xu glanced at the furnishings in the hall and suddenly felt a little sentimental, "This is our ancestral home. Can we just sell it? Your father and I grew up in this house."

"If you don't want to sell it, then don't. Eight thousand taels of silver is enough to buy a more spacious house in the inner city." Xu Qi'an raised his glass and drank, then suddenly said, "Uncle, did you have a child with another woman?"

"Pfft..." Uncle Xu quickly turned his head down and sprayed all the wine on Xu Lingyin's face.

He had intended to spray it on the ground, but the little girl was too short, and he sprayed it directly on her head and face.

Xu Lingyin was stunned and didn't know what she had done wrong. She bravely didn't cry, licked the wine off her face, and found it tasted bad, then burst into tears.

Uncle Xu glared at his nephew, who spoke without thinking, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Uncle's expression didn't show any guilt or shock...Auntie's face didn't show any suspicion or astonishment...Xu Qi'an, who was proficient in facial psychology, made a judgment.

The action taken subconsciously when one is least prepared is the most in line with their inner thoughts.

Xu Qi'an first ruled out the option that he was Uncle Xu's illegitimate child. He had a reason to think that way. When he was young, Uncle Xu's colleagues would visit and point to Xu Qi'an and ask, "Is this your son?"Or pointing at Xu Erlang and saying, "Your daughter is really beautiful."

What does it represent? It represents the facial resemblance between Xu Qi'an and Xu Erlang.

From a genetic perspective, they are related by blood.

"Are you joking? I have never seen my biological parents before, and I look so much like my uncle." Xu Qi'an shrugged.

"By the way, Auntie, have you met my mother?"

Auntie replied, "Of course I have. When your mother was pregnant with you, I took care of her for a while. Your mother was so gentle, unlike you..."

She stopped herself just in time, almost instinctively scolding her nephew.

"What about your older brother?" Xu Qi'an lowered his head and ate the steamed egg, observing his uncle out of the corner of his eye.

Xu Erlang was stunned for a moment before reacting, "Then you are my son."

He reminisced, "Your grandparents died early, and we brothers depended on each other to grow up. Your father was more talented than me, but unfortunately died in the Battle of Shanhaiguan."

Xu Qi'an did not ask any further questions, quickly solved his food and left the 500 pieces of silk and satin in the main house, carrying the box full of gold ingots back to the small courtyard.

Gold was not safe at home. With so many colleagues in the Nightwatcher yamen witnessing it in the afternoon, if anyone had malicious intentions and broke into the house to steal it, it would only harm Auntie and his little sister.

"Wei Yuan said that Nightwatcher will secretly protect and monitor the vicinity of the Xu family for a long time to prevent the Daoists of the Di clan from seeking revenge. This will also deter any Nightwatchers with ulterior motives..." Xu Qi'an leaped over the high wall and put the box into the broken pieces of the ground book.

......

After taking a bath, the fragrant Auntie sat on the bed, tilting her head and wiping her black hair with a handkerchief.

Xu Erlang sat cross-legged on a small stool not far away, practicing breathing exercises.

"You practice every day, but I haven't seen you make any progress." Auntie rolled her eyes coquettishly.

Hoo~

Xu Erlang exhaled a long breath, opened his eyes, and although he was refreshed after practicing his breathing exercises, there was a deep sadness in his eyes.

He had long reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, and no matter how much he practiced, his Qi would not increase. However, the door to the Soul Refining Realm remained firmly closed.

"Master, if you break through to the next realm... can you get promoted?" Auntie straightened her full chest and stretched her waist.

Xu Pingzhi "Hmm"ed, "Of course."

Auntie finished drying her hair, took off her embroidered shoes, sat sideways on the bed, crossed her long legs, hugged the pillow in her arms, and complained, "That brat Xu Ningyan is so proud. If it weren't for the silk and satin and the inner city mansion, I wouldn't have put up with him. I'd spray him with dog blood..."

As she spoke, she sighed, "I didn't even realize how grown up he had become."

When she took him from her husband's hands, he was as small as a kitten.

"Knock, knock, knock..."

The sound of knocking on the door came, and Xu Qi'an's voice came from outside, "Uncle, I forgot to tell you something."

Auntie was startled and quickly put down the bed curtain, shrinking into the quilt.

Xu Pingzhi got up and said, "Come to the study."

"No need, Uncle. Just come out to the door and I'll say a few words and leave." Xu Qi'an said.Auntie held the blanket and eavesdropped from behind the curtain while the uncle and nephew spoke quietly for a while. When her husband came back, he slammed the door shut.

"What are you talking about? Did he secretly give you some private money?" Auntie poked her head out from behind the curtain and glared at Xu Pingzhi.

Suddenly, she froze when she saw her husband's slightly red eyes and moistened eyes.

"My lord?" Auntie was at a loss and called out in confusion.

"I have finally waited for hope..." Xu Pingzhi closed his eyes and whispered, "The hope of reaching the Divine Realm."

Auntie pursed her lips tightly.

...Is it Ning Yan?

...

Xu Qi'an returned to the small courtyard, feeling a touch of inspiration. He paused at the door for a few seconds before gently pushing it open.

He walked to the table as usual, lit a candle, and the slender flames bloomed with a dim halo, driving away the darkness and coating the room with a layer of orange.

On the bed sat an old Taoist with white hair, wearing a hairpin but still with messy strands of hair hanging down. His features were profound and his expression was peaceful.

"You're here." Xu Qi'an greeted him with a smile.

"I'm here." Taoist Master Jin Lian nodded and smiled in return.

"You shouldn't have come." Xu Qi'an said in a low voice.

Taoist Master Jin Lian was surprised, "What do you mean? Didn't we agree to meet today?"

...No, I'm just playing around with a trope, like Gu Long! Xu Qi'an shrugged, "Just joking with you, Taoist Master."

"How is the case of Sangpo going?" Taoist Master Jin Lian didn't mind, after all, members of the Heaven and Earth Society had strong personalities and quirks.

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and said, "This case is very complicated and involves too many forces. I have found many clues, but they are all scattered. To be honest, I have been a police...catcher for so many years, and I have never encountered such a difficult problem."

When you're just trying to make great content at pawread.com .

We usually rely on surveillance! He added in his mind.

He then told Taoist Master Jin Lian all the clues he had collected and his own speculations. Since joining the Heaven and Earth Society, he and Taoist Master Jin Lian had established a preliminary trust and felt that the other was a good ally. Moreover, the Sangpo case had nothing to do with Taoist Master Jin Lian's interests.

"Hmm, do you suspect that the Northern King is the mastermind behind it all? He made a deal with the northern demons and the Witchcraft Church in the northeast and is trying to seize the throne?" Taoist Master Jin Lian frowned.

"So he blew up the Sangpo case and released the First Generation Supervisor." Xu Qi'an said.

"What do you think, Taoist Master?" Xu Qi'an asked in return.