The Favored Heiress
Chapter 733: My Love, Shang Shaoyan

Chapter 733: Chapter 733: My Love, Shang Shaoyan

As night fell, two black jeeps drove out of the factory and headed straight for the Border Slum Kiln.

After roughly an hour’s drive along the southeastern line of the border, a few dim streetlights illuminated the winding path ahead.

Poor People’s Kiln was located near the continuous hills, built against the mountains, with terrain that provided a natural defensive advantage.

Behind these hills lay the Primitive Forest, where Li Qiao had encountered Yun Lih years before.

Most of the structures in the Poor People’s Kiln were bamboo houses scattered across the hills.

Ah Chang drove the car close to the entrance, flashed the headlights twice, and immediately someone came out to remove the wooden barrier.

Li Qiao sat in the back seat, silent. After three years away, she could still discern the changes in the Poor People’s Kiln, even through the darkness outside the window.

The high-performance off-road vehicle wound its way up the mountain road, and after another twenty minutes, Ah Chang slowed down in front of a row of bamboo gates and pulled the handbrake, "Miss Qi, Master Yan, the old gentleman is waiting for you."

Li Qiao put on her fisherman’s hat and got out of the car after Shang Yu, one after the other.

Mo Jue ran over from behind, his expression slightly astonished, "Ancestress, where is this place?"

"Follow me in," Li Qiao replied calmly, took Shang Yu’s hand, and pushed open the bamboo gate to enter.

Ah Chang and Luoyu stood guard outside the door with Liuyun. The temperature in the forest was slightly lower at night, and as the wind blew, the shadows of the trees swayed, adding a mysterious hue to the atmosphere.

There were no lights around, only the outlines of each bamboo house could be vaguely made out from the light seeping through their walls.

Luoyu asked Ah Chang in a low voice, looking at his solemn expression, "What is the usual source of income for the Poor People’s Kiln?"

As they had driven past earlier, there seemed to be a patch of tin roofs and dense housing, with narrow alleys and living conditions and facilities far from optimistic.

The lady is very wealthy, why hasn’t she financed any improvements?

At this moment, Ah Chang looked at Luoyu with a profound gaze, his lips pursed, and he said something astonishing, "We have two jade mines at the border of the back mountain with Myanmar... "

Luoyu and Liuyun: "..."

How the hell can this be called Poor People’s Kiln, it’s clearly a Jade Kiln.

...

Meanwhile, in the living room of a two-story bamboo building, a floor lamp cast a thick, warm yellow light.

Li Qiao and Shang Yu sat down at the table, with Mo Jue sitting next to them, occasionally taking in the interior decoration of the bamboo building.

He hadn’t expected the bamboo building, which looked quite simple from the outside, to have a different world inside.

All modern amenities were available, and the carpets on the floor seemed to be special products from Persia.

Mo Jue’s eyes roamed, initially thinking that the second uncle he had never met was a refugee.

Now it seems that there is more than meets the eye.

As he pondered, a series of light footsteps were heard, and a woman dressed plainly with a scarf on her head emerged from the back room.

She carried a tray of local fruits from the border, placed them on the table, her eyes bright, and bowed respectfully to Li Qiao, "Mr. Mu will be here right after his medicinal bath."

Li Qiao nodded, "Thank you, Aunt Liu."

"Don’t mention it," Aunt Liu said, glancing at Li Qiao and nodding towards Shang Yu before quickly leaving the living room.

After she left, Mo Jue picked up an unfamiliar fruit to smell, not daring to eat something he hadn’t seen before, and casually put it back.

Shang Yu, ever sparing with his words, leaned against the armrest and his gaze fell on Li Qiao’s face, as if no one else could attract his attention.

Suddenly, accompanied by a few light coughs, Mu Aoxian hurriedly walked out from the back room.

Li Qiao rose to her feet, approached, and bowed slightly, "Teacher."

Mu Aoxian, now over fifty-eight, with grizzled temples and a still erect figure, had bright eyes, but his facial contours had relaxed too much, and there was a slight concavity in the skin on the left side of his cheek.

It was a side effect of a full face plastic surgery.

Years ago, he had escaped death by faking it, undergoing facial reconstruction to live a changed life.

Mu Aoxian looked at Li Qiao with a look of tenderness, patting her arm, "Why the sudden return, without even a heads-up?"

"It was a last-minute decision," Li Qiao said with a smile, turning to Shang Yu and presenting her open palm, "Teacher, my love, Shang Shaoyan."

Li Qiao rarely introduced Shang Yu so directly.

Not as husband, not as fiancé, but as a lover.

Mu Aoxian walked past Li Qiao and looked straight at the tall and handsome man.

Shang Yu gave a slight nod, "Mr. Mu."

Mu Aoxian approached him, took a few careful looks, then smiled and said, "Good boy, I even attended your full-month celebration, and now in the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so much. How has Big Brother Shang been recently?"

Li Qiao scratched her ear, feeling quite odd.

After a brief exchange with Shang Yu, Mu Aoxian returned to his seat and then noticed Mo Jue.

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, and Mo Jue instantly got the message, straightening her posture and politely calling, "Second Uncle."

Mu Aoxian was taken aback, looking at Li Qiao, "She is...?"

Mo Jue introduced herself seriously, "Second Uncle, I’m Mu Jue, my mom is your sister."

Mu Aoxian was startled, his expression showing significant turmoil.

Li Qiao curved her lips, patiently narrating Mo Jue’s origins, and at the end, looking at Mu Aoxian’s incredulous face, she nodded lightly, "She really is Mu Jue."

Mu Aoxian gazed deeply at Mo Jue, then covered his eyes, remaining silent for a long time.

After a while, he shakily lifted his teacup with a hoarse murmur, "Little Jue is still alive, if the second sister and brother-in-law knew, they would be so happy..."

Shortly after, Mu Aoxian asked Aunt Liu to come in and take Mo Jue outside for a stroll.

Li Qiao had no idea that her late-night visit was meant to avoid attracting too much attention.

As a result of Mo Jue, it took less than half an hour for the news of her return to spread throughout the entire Poor People’s Kiln.

In the living room at that moment, Mu Aoxian sighed, "Your eldest sister is very clever, she didn’t bring back those pieces of evidence to the Mu Family, she must have put them somewhere no one would think to look.

You have to be very careful on your trip to the British Imperial, the Xiao family has great power, and in recent years, they have secretly pulled in a lot of influential people, don’t act rashly under any circumstances, safety comes first."

As soon as his voice fell, Shang Yu’s phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

He took it out, said a solemn apology, nodded at Mr. Mu as a gesture, and then stood up and left the room.

Watching his tall figure retreat, Mu Aoxian’s gaze became elongated with memories, "Years ago, Shang Zonghai and your big brother were friends sworn through life-threatening situations, they always talked about arranging a marriage between their children, I thought it was a joke, but I didn’t expect you two to really be together. Is Shang Shaoyan... is he good to you?"

"Very good," Li Qiao said, observing Mr. Mu’s profile. Scenes from the past flashed through her mind. After a moment, she pursed her lips and, curling her fingers, called out softly, "Second Uncle, don’t worry."

The term "Second Uncle" brought a redness to Mu Aoxian’s eyes.

He struggled to breathe steadily, swallowing hard as he took a while to compose himself, then pushed the fruit on the table towards Li Qiao, "Your second uncle is powerless; I couldn’t find the evidence to overturn the Xiao family. Don’t blame me, I... I’ve done my best over the years."

Li Qiao felt a pang of compassion, looked away and picked up the teapot to refill his cup, "You won’t be blamed, just take good care of yourself, I will handle the rest."

Mu Aoxian nodded with relief, speaking hoarsely, "I’ve written down a few addresses for you, all places where your eldest sister used to live in the British Imperial. You can visit them when you have time."