1108 Perplexed and Smitten 168 (1/2)
”Portraits? Whose?”
”The elders of our family have been trying to search for the people in the portraits for a very long time, but to no avail. We only found one of them in the past couple of decades, and another one a few years ago.”
Yin Shi asked curiously, ”Grandpa, just who are they?”
”One is Jin Qingyan and the other is An Xiaoning.”
Yin Shi's eyes widened in shock, and he asked, ”What? It can't be. Ancestor Yin Cun existed centuries ago. It's a new era now. Could it be a prank?”
The patriarch scoffed and said, ”Prank? Our ancestors found those portraits three centuries ago. I've kept this to myself for three decades, ever since I found out about Jin Qingyan when he was still a child. I've been worried that the two of them would carry their memories from their previous lifetime over to this one.”
”Grandpa, why did our ancestors leave behind those two portraits and the letter?”
”I have no idea. They didn't state the reason, but it seems like An Xiaoning is investigating us now. I'm afraid she has recalled everything from the previous lifetime. Don't forget what her profession is. If the Yin family offended her back then, her purpose would be to take revenge on us now. That's what I'm most afraid of. We're no match for An Xiaoning and Jin Qingyan now. Ever since I found out that she's checking up on us, I've been ill at ease.”
”Grandpa, why don't we just go to A City and directly ask her why she's checking up on us? Wouldn't that be better than worrying blindly about it?” said Yin Shi, whose heart grew heavy.
”No. I asked you here because I wanted to talk to you about it, so that you can prepare yourself mentally. You've always had a brilliant mind. You can help me analyze the situation and what we can do about it.”
”Do Uncle and Cousin know about it?”
”No, I didn't tell them about it. Your uncle and cousin are busy with the family business. I haven't told them yet.”
Staring at his grandfather, Yin Shi said, ”Grandpa, I'll assign a few bodyguards to you.”
”What for? This is not a place where anyone can enter easily. Outsiders who don't belong to our family will definitely be trapped in the spell that I had placed in the yard. Hence, you don't have to worry. Even if An Xiaoning comes here personally, she would have a hard time breaking my spell given how inexperienced and young she is.”
The patriarch's face grew sullen the moment he said his piece.
”Bad news.”
”What's wrong, Grandpa?”
The patriarch exited before he could even put on his shoes.
As soon as he opened the door, he took a few steps back continuously. An Xiaoning showed up abruptly at the door.
An Xiaoning had changed the initial plan at the last minute. She initially did not want to meet the patriarch at all and simply wanted to get her hands on the item that she was looking for.
However, she decided to change her mind all of a sudden.
Yin Shi, who had just put on his shoes, got a great shock the moment he saw An Xiaoning entering and closing the door after herself.
”Ms. An, what are you doing in our home?”
”Nothing, just dropped by for a visit. Sir, you don't have to worry, I didn't plan to see you at the start. However, I decided to have a good chat with you after breaking the spell and overhearing the conversation between you two. It's better for all of us.”
Having experienced a lot in life, the elderly patriarch managed to calm himself down after panicking for a while. ”Please come in and have a seat, then, Ms. An,” he said.
An Xiaoning sat on the edge of the bed while Yin Shi stood beside his grandfather.