Her eyes scanned the scenery outside from the window of the car she was in. The uneasiness in her heart grew with antic.i.p.ation as the seconds pa.s.sed by. She needed to know the truth about her youngest daughter even if she had to face that conniving daughter of her deceased sister.
Sun Ruying had long loathed that woman, and yet now that Sun Meixiu had been long dead, her daughter had taken her spot to spite her. Seeing her own daughter Qiyan despise Lu Xinyi to the bones reminded her of her days with Meixiu, except the latter was sweet and delicate, unlike Lu Xinyi.
The car stopped at the entrance of Imperial Residences, and two guards knocked on the driver’s window for a compulsory identification and their purpose.
Her driver turned to her and explained the situation.
“Madam, we’ve arrived, but I have to apologize. Madam Shen’s instruction is for you to walk your way to their residence.”
Sun Ruying raised a brow. Madam Shen? Did they mean that old matriarch of the Shen family? It seemed that Lu Xinyi was able to get along well with the other members of the Shen family for them to pamper and protect her like this.
“Forget it. I’ll walk then. Tell me where I can find the Shen Residence where Lu Xinyi is staying!” she demanded.
“Madam, are you sure you can take the walk? It’s quite far from here,” one of the guards asked her.
“Just tell me how to get there. I’m in a hurry.”
After giving her the directions, Sun Ruying scoffed and opened the door by herself. She walked away, aware of the prying eyes behind her.
How dare Lu Xinyi treat her like this? She was a daughter of the Sun family, and yet that vicious woman wanted her to walk like this? That guard wasn’t lying when he said that the Shen Residence was far from the entrance. It took her fifteen minutes before she arrived in front of the huge mansion of the Shens.
She placed a hand at the column beside the gate to catch her breath. If she wasn’t so desperate to find Qiushan’s whereabouts, she wouldn’t endure this shame from Lu Xinyi.
It was winter, and the cold breeze that hit her body made her s.h.i.+ver. The thick coat covering her lithe body wasn’t enough to keep her warm.
As she tried to compose herself, Sun Ruying saw two men coming her way from the other side of the gate. The younger man looked familiar to her. She remembered seeing him with Lu Xinyi during the stockholders’ meeting. This man was Lu Xinyi’s bodyguard.
The Fu siblings stopped. Fu Shuren greeted her politely, his hand clasped behind his back.
“Madam, our Miss is expecting you. Please follow us inside.”
Fu Rui opened the gate and let the old woman step inside. His expression was one with annoyance. Anyone from the Sun family p.i.s.sed him off. Whenever a Sun person was after their mistress, they were always up to something.
Had Shen Yi not found out that Feng Zexian was after Lu Xinyi, the b.l.o.o.d.y Wolves’ suspicion wouldn’t be confirmed. It wasn’t the first time that Lu Xinyi was followed by a stalker. Most of the time, Fu Rui and Zhang Qing were the first ones to notice their presence. They usually consisted of paparazzi or entertainment reporters, trying to take an exclusive scoop about Lu Xinyi and the infamous President Shen.
However, for the past week, there was a strange group of men following her. At first, they thought that it was another group of reporters trying to spy on their Young Madam; but their actions alarmed Fu Shuren as the pattern of their surveillance was commonly used for kidnapping.
This was why as the head security personnel of the Shen family’s young madam, Fu Shuren, strategically changed the arrangement of their group. Zhang Qing was a better fighter than Fu Rui so she replaced him as her close bodyguard while keeping Jiao Jiao as Lu Xinyi’s personal attendant.
Fu Rui stepped aside and let Sun Ruying inside the Shen family’s premises. His eyes caught several hidden guards in the area, probably added by Qiao He that morning. Since they found out about Feng Zexian, the elite guards of the family were more active, keeping a watchful eye to any movement.
Sun Ruying clutched her coat, her teeth chattering from the coldness. She cursed Lu Xinyi in her heart while forcing herself to calm down and endure. She followed Fu Shuren closely; behind her was Fu Rui, watching her back with hawk-like eyes. There was something amiss with the two, but she couldn’t point out what was wrong.
Looking around, she saw the simplicity and elegance the place held. The front yard was as huge as what the Sun family had, but what surprised Sun Ruying was the almost maze-like landscape set in front of the main house. One could easily get lost if they weren’t familiar with it.
The Fu siblings brought her to a huge greenhouse behind the mansion. The warmth of the place gave Sun Ruying temporary relief from the harsh coldness of the weather inside. At the center of the greenhouse, there was an eye-catching fountain. Beside it, Lu Xinyi was sitting, sipping the tea Jiao Jiao poured on her cup.
“Miss, the ginseng you planted started to grow well, but why did you have to grow one yourself?” Jiao Jiao asked curiously as she stood beside her mistress.
“Why don’t you take a seat while we’re waiting? Aren’t you tired standing all day?” Lu Xinyi motioned her to the seat across her.
“I wouldn’t dare, Miss. Standing isn’t as bad as what I’ve done before.” The young woman flushed slightly.
“Ah, that ginseng, I really don’t know how long it’ll last this time. I forgot how many times I tried growing some, but it always fails every time. As to why I want to plant it, no special reason. Ginseng isn’t only used for its medicinal properties, but it’s also something I could use as a cash crop to help earn an income in the future.”
“Miss, your guest has arrived.” Zhang Qing’s voice informed Lu Xinyi.
Lu Xinyi turned her head towards Zhang Qing and saw her aunt standing between the Fu siblings.
“Auntie, you took so long to visit me. Please take a seat.” Lu Xinyi lifted a hand and gestured Sun Ruying to sit across her.
Sun Ruying sat without a word and looked around them.
Contrary to other greenhouses she’d seen before, the greenhouse within the Shen’s premises was filled with crops and not flowers. It wasn’t super fancy or even that big, but it was enough to get one started on a self-sufficient lifestyle.
On their right side, there were ginseng and different kinds of herbs. On the other side were different kinds of herbs ready to pick up. Earlier, she had seen spinach, tomatoes, and cuc.u.mbers along the way. Behind Lu Xinyi, she could see some lemons and chilies that were still unripe on their branches.
Lu Xinyi stared at Sun Ruying’s face intently. The sole reason she agreed to meet her was to find out the truth behind her mother’s untimely death.
“I appreciate that you like my greenhouse, Aunt Ruying; but let’s not beat around the bush. Tell me what happened to my mother, and I’ll tell you where Qiushan is.”