The Favored Heiress
Chapter 365: Huizai is One of the Seven Sons

Chapter 365: Chapter 365: Huizai is One of the Seven Sons

About half an hour had passed when the discussion meeting ended.

Li Qiao went to the tea room to wash cups and, looking at Lian Zhen who was making coffee beside her, asked, "When will the exchange conference be held?"

She had only just found out that Renhe Laboratory’s application materials had passed the review of the scientific research institute and successfully made it into the exchange conference.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly, but Li Qiao remembered that the vice-chairman of the Medical Council was Shang Qiongying.

This time in Parma, when Shang Fu had her misfortune, she never showed herself once.

The classic sacrifice-the-pawn-to-save-the-chariot tactic.

At that moment, Lian Zhen, stirring his coffee with a spoon, answered with warm eyes, "It should be in the middle of July, so there’s about half a month left."

Li Qiao nonchalantly raised her eyebrows and continued washing the cups, her gaze, however, became much more distant.

The South Sea Conference was also half a month away.

A coincidental clash of scheduling.

...

Shortly after, Li Qiao, holding her cup, returned to the laboratory. Just as she opened the information about the exchange conference, her phone rang.

She glanced at the caller ID and stood up to go to the corridor.

It was Tang Yiting.

Tangtang hadn’t replied to the WeChat message she had sent in the evening, but now she was the one to call.

The moment the call connected, Tang Yiting asked with a thick nasal voice, "Qiaoqiao, have you returned to South Sea?"

"Yes, I have." Listening to her continuous sniffing, Li Qiao frowned. "What’s wrong with you?"

After drinking two sips of water, Tang Yiting slapped her thigh and opened up, "It’s nothing. I just have a cold, just woke up.

Qiaoqiao, you have no idea how miserable I am. Not to mention being kidnapped in Parma, later I was also swindled by my cousin’s friend.

When will you be free? Can we meet tomorrow? Let’s go see a fortune-teller to have a divination. I suspect this is an unlucky year for me."

Li Qiao rubbed her forehead and shook her head with a light sigh, "I’m busy tomorrow morning, but I can in the afternoon."

"Okay, then I’ll come find you tomorrow afternoon. Then you’ll listen to me recount my adventure in Parma."

While speaking, Tang Yiting coughed and, at the moment she hung up, sneezed twice.

Damn Huo Ming, she would be at odds with him for the rest of her life.

...

The next day, Li Qiao wore a black T-shirt and jeans, and got into a Mercedes-Benz G-Class heading towards South City Old Street.

Today was the third anniversary of Huizai’s death.

She arrived at Uncle Zhong the Ninth’s funeral parlor, where beneath the sign of black background and white lettering, the rolling shutter door was already raised.

Li Qiao parked her car by the roadside, and as she walked in she looked around, expecting to see her senior Mo Qi helping in the shop, but instead, she saw Jiugong squatting by the shelf as if looking for something.

"Teacher?" Li Qiao called out as she stepped forward.

Jiugong turned his head without surprise, greeting her with affectionate eyes, "Girl, you’ve arrived."

Having not seen him for a long time, Uncle Zhong the Ninth looked to be in good health; although his wrist was still wrapped in a bandage, his complexion was rosy, not as frail as before.

Li Qiao walked over to squat in front of him, reaching out to stop him, "What are you looking for, Teacher? Let me help you."

"No need, I’m almost done." While speaking, Jiugong found a small brown incense burner from the bottom of the shelf, holding it with one hand to blow away the dust on top before handing it to Li Qiao, "Here, take it."

Li Qiao’s gaze flickered, she accepted the incense burner with a slight frown, her voice slightly lower, "Teacher, do you still remember?"

Jiugong was about to stand up, leaning on his knees, but Li Qiao hurriedly supported his arm.

He spoke, "I had nothing to do today and thought I’d come by the shop to loaf around. It was only when I saw the calendar that I remembered, every year on this date you go up the mountain, so I also prepared some offerings for you in advance."

Li Qiao helped Uncle Zhong the Ninth to a seat near the cashier’s desk, looking at the small incense burner in her palm, "Thank you, teacher."

Even though Jiugong spoke lightly, Li Qiao was well aware that he had come back specially to prepare things for her.

At that moment, Uncle Zhong the Ninth rested his injured wrist on the table and rolled the dust off the tips of his fingers, "Alright, no need to be so formal with me. Everything is in that black bag by the door, go early and return early."

Li Qiao turned to look, nodded as she took out her mobile phone, and scanned the WeChat QR code at the cashier’s desk. Before Jiugong could stop her, a payment notification sound came from his pocket.

——WeChat payment of twenty thousand yuan received.

Uncle Zhong the Ninth sighed, grown accustomed to it.

He knew that even if he hadn’t come today, Li Qiao would have paid after picking up the items.

It had been two consecutive years, and each time it was twenty thousand yuan.

After paying, Li Qiao put her phone back in her pocket and looked at Jiugong, "Did you come from the boxing gym, teacher?"

"Yeah, the young Fu Family lad dropped me off," said Uncle Zhong the Ninth as he stood up, nodding towards the store’s entrance. "You take the things and come back quickly. Don’t worry about this old bag of bones.

It’s not far from the association, and I was planning to go there anyway. My hand is healing nicely; I’ll be able to start taking jobs again in a while."

Uncle Zhong the Ninth urged Li Qiao out of the door, and she didn’t delay any further. She put all the items into the trunk and drove towards the Western Hills.

At the same time, on the main road of South Sea City, a luxurious Rolls Motorcade was stopped in front of the red pedestrian crossing.

Luoyu, sitting in the passenger seat, received a message, looked at it briefly, and promptly turned back, "Boss, there’s news from the laboratory building. Miss Li left in the morning and then went from South City to the Western Hills."

In the back seat, Shang Yu leaned back in his chair and slowly lifted his eyelids, his deep gaze unfathomable.

The vicinity of the Western Hills was rarely visited by people and was part of the undeveloped areas of South Sea. The mountains were even more primitive and desolate than South Sea Mountain.

What is she doing there?

...

At nine-thirty, Li Qiao arrived alone at the Western Hills.

The surrounding wilderness spread out, the undeveloped city area permeated with dilapidation and desolation.

Li Qiao got out of the car, carrying the black bag from the trunk, and walked into the dense forest following the overgrown path.

Since it had rained just yesterday, the vegetation still held droplets of dew.

Li Qiao passed through the dense jungle and winding trails, and soon reached a spot halfway up the hillside.

In a gently sloping area ahead, some dappled light fell just right on a stele.

In the quiet forest, there was a stele and a grave Li Qiao had erected and created by hand.

It was Huizai’s cenotaph in South Sea.

Li Qiao stood before the grave, set down the black paper bag, and gazed fixedly at the epitaph for a long time before she lowered her eyes and silently took out a towel and mineral water from the bag, carefully wiping the gravestone.

Huizai, one of the Border Seven Sons.

Three years ago, he died at the border, twenty-five years old.

By age, Huizai was the eldest.

That year, Li Qiao was nineteen.

In that last riot, she saved Nan Xin, she saved all the captured people, but she could not save Huizai.

He died a gruesome death, nearly reduced to bones.

When Li Qiao arrived at the scene, all that was left of Huizai was an arm, severed by bandits, lying forlornly in the ravaged battlefield.

If she hadn’t insisted on rescuing those captured tourists, perhaps... Huizai wouldn’t have died alone.

It was also then that Li Qiao unintentionally saved Jing Ruian, the second son of the Jing Family.

But from that moment on, she lost the eldest of the Border Seven Sons.