The Favored Heiress
Chapter 734: You Have No Heart

Chapter 734: Chapter 734: You Have No Heart

About ten minutes later, Shang Yu returned.

Mu Aoxian had regained his composure, sitting at the desk with his palm stroking his knee, staring out the window at the night sky, lost in thought.

Li Qiao, on the other hand, was looking at a sticky note, deep in thought.

Seeing Shang Yu, Mu Aoxian stood up and waved him over, "Shaoyan, come here for a moment."

Li Qiao lifted her eyelids and met the man’s gaze, inadvertently curling her lips into a smile.

Mu Aoxian led Shang Yu through the corridor and stopped on the balcony outside the bamboo building.

After a moment, he leaned on the wooden railing with one hand and pointed through the dim light towards the jungle, "At the junction of the mountain and the Myanmar Border, there is a mine that once produced Emperor Green. I had it closed years ago. Now it’s yours... consider it a gift from your second uncle upon our meeting."

Shang Yu put one hand in his pocket and glanced sideways, "Have you discussed this with Qiaoqiao?"

Mu Aoxian looked back at the man, a faint smile appearing on his face, "What I give to you, I don’t need to discuss with her."

"If Qiaoqiao agrees, I have no objections," Shang Yu said in a low voice, his lips curling up slightly.

The smile on Mu Aoxian’s lips stiffened, and he then chuckled, "You already know..."

Shang Yu turned to look at the mountain, his gaze profound and distant, "She won’t accept, and neither will I. Please keep it for yourself."

Mu Aoxian’s gaze paused, his expression gradually becoming inscrutable, "Giving you this mine is partly a meeting gift and partly Qiaoqiao’s dowry.

I’ve watched her grow up and I only hope she lives a good life. This world is full of temptations, and I don’t want to see her get hurt."

Shang Yu looked into Mu Aoxian’s profound eyes, his voice deep, "You’re overconcerned. With or without this mine, I wouldn’t harm her. Besides... my life belongs to her."

Mu Aoxian didn’t speak, studying him for a long while before finally nodding, "That’s good to hear. I hope you keep your word because if you let her down..."

Shang Yu looked down, a smile forming on his lips, "There won’t be such a day."

...

That night, as Li Qiao had said, Mu Aoxian really did let them stay overnight at the Poor People’s Kiln.

It was past nine at night, and Li Qiao and Shang Yu walked hand in hand along the narrow paths of the Poor People’s Kiln.

Mo Jue, Liuyun, and Luoyu followed behind in the dim light, barely able to discern the blurry outlines of their surroundings.

Suddenly, a high-intensity searchlight lit up from the center of the Poor People’s Kiln, followed by the illumination of all the street lights, lighting up the entire hillside as bright as day.

Luoyu and the others looked around, and only now did they realize that the Poor People’s Kiln was too large to see its limits.

The Poor People’s Kiln occupied the southeastern edge of the border, having been taken under the old gentleman’s control over twenty years prior, becoming an independent fortress, and yet wealthy enough to rival countries.

Only those who had never set foot here would think it was a place of poverty and destitution...

At that moment, Li Qiao looked expressionlessly toward the direction of the lighthouse. The streetlight above illuminated her cool features, her expression tinged with a hint of helplessness.

Clamorous footsteps approached from all directions, and the narrow alleys were filled with a cacophony of voices.

Luoyu and Liuyun immediately became alert, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

Mo Jue looked admiringly at the Poor People’s Kiln now brightened by incandescent lights and then pointed in surprise at the searchlight’s location, "Sis, sis, it’s over there! Beneath the searchlight, in the square, there’s your photo. I just saw it. It’s a huge picture."

As Mo Jue spoke, she looked expectantly towards Li Qiao, resembling a rustic who hadn’t seen the world.

Li Qiao sighed, looking at Mo Jue with a loss for words, what a dear sister she was.

In less than a minute, a shadowy crowd emerged from the narrow alleys, numbering no less than twenty.

There were men and women shouting "Sister K!" and "Junior Sister!"

Li Qiao looked up at the sky, took Shang Yu’s hand, and headed deeper into the hillside, during which she phoned Mu Aoxian, "Teacher, please ask Aunt Liu to tell them to go back."

"Aren’t you going to meet them?" Mu Aoxian’s voice held a chuckle, clearly unsurprised.

Li Qiao quickened her pace, replying indifferently, "Next time, perhaps."

She didn’t plan on staying at the border for too long, and once she met with that group of people, she wouldn’t be able to leave the Poor People’s Kiln for three days.

A quick glance earlier, and she had already seen several senior brothers bringing over kegs of beer.

They must be crazy.

...

Li Qiao brought Shang Yu back to her secluded bamboo house surrounded by dense forests, which was exceptionally serene.

Upon entering, a whiff of fresh scent wafted through the air, and everything was spotlessly clean, clearly just tidied up.

A teapot sat on the wooden table, Li Qiao poured two cups of tea, handed one to Shang Yu, and asked, "What did the teacher say to you just now?"

The man leaned against the back of his chair, took the teacup and set it down, pulling her arm to bring her in front of him with a deep and teasing voice, "He warned me not to let you down."

Li Qiao was momentarily lost in thought, flashing a faint smile, "The warning was superfluous."

Shang Yu slightly lifted his gaze, pinching her chin with his thumb, "So confident?"

"Would you?" Li Qiao countered instead of answering, her doe eyes shimmering like beautiful jade.

The man circled his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace, his palm sliding down the back of her neck as he sucked on her lips, "Wait and see."

That night, Li Qiao and Shang Yu fell asleep in each other’s arms until dawn.

But the Poor People’s Kiln was decidedly a sleepless night.

Countless people holding kegs and cans of beer lamented how difficult it was to have a drink.

So, the next morning, as Li Qiao, ready to return to the Border Factory, stepped out of the bamboo house, she saw several kegs, cans of beer, bottles of foreign liquor, and two roasted lamb shanks scattered haphazardly down the steps.

Each item had a note attached to it.

Li Qiao walked down the stairs to pick one up and read—

"Sis K, do you still remember A-ming by the lighthouse?"

"Junior sister, do you still remember the names of the first, second, and eighth senior brothers?"

"Sis K, I can’t solve this math problem, help please!"

"Sis K, try the roasted lamb shank and tell me if there’s too much cumin on it..."

More than twenty notes, all with similar messages.

Li Qiao looked down at the kegs of beer, pursed her lips, and chuckled to herself.

At that moment, Shang Yu walked out of the bamboo house, leisurely rolling up his sleeves. His gaze swept the objects on the ground and darkened, "Who sent these?"

Li Qiao raised an eyebrow, "Some senior brothers and a few friends."

The man glanced at the notes in her hand and could vaguely tell from the handwriting there were more men than women.

Shang Yu pressed his lips together, striding down the steps with his handsome face expressionless, "Let’s go."

The Poor People’s Kiln is no place to stay for long.

Li Qiao glanced at him with an almost-smiling look, replaced the notes on the kegs, stepped out of the courtyard of the bamboo house, and saw two off-road vehicles already waiting by the roadside.

Before leaving the Poor People’s Kiln, Li Qiao called Mu Aoxian to say goodbye and expressed that she would return after everything was over.

Mu Aoxian sat on the balcony rocking chair, watching the almost two dozen men and women weeding in the yard, responding with a smile, "Then I’ll wait for you to come back and meet with them again."

The eldest senior brother, closest to Mu Aoxian, overheard and shouted out, "Junior sister, you’re heartless."

She had returned, yet she didn’t even drink with them!

In that case...

The eldest senior brother’s eyes flashed, he grabbed a handful of weeds and moved to where the other senior brothers and sisters were huddled, murmuring and concocting a plan.