I Got Together With the Fake Heiress - Chapter 99

Wen Yimeng quickly realized something was wrong. “Is there a problem with this wooden carving?”

Wen Yunqing cradled the carving in her hand and slowly nodded. “A curse rune is carved onto this. If someone stays near the carving for a long time, it will cause subtle, slow, and irreversible damage to their body.”

Wen Yimeng blinked, her expression instantly becoming solemn. “The person who placed the carving here intended to target Grandmother! Is it those same people who are behind this mischief again?”

Wen Yunqing reassuringly squeezed her hand. “Most likely them. They haven’t given up.”

Wen Yunqing temporarily put the wooden carving away. Then, using the excuse of helping with the cleaning, she carefully inspected the entire house. She found wooden carvings with similar effects in the storage room and the guest room. Judging by the script carved on the base, all three carvings should have been made by the same person.

“Can you have the Special Affairs Department trace these people?” Wen Yimeng’s mood was severely dampened by the discovery of the three carvings. “Bad people like this should be in prison.”

Wen Yunqing nodded. “I’ll mention this to Mu Kuan later and ask him to keep an eye on their movements.”

She would give him a heads-up, but Wen Yunqing didn’t intend to tell Mu Kuan the specifics of what she planned to do. As soon as she got concrete information, she would go and eliminate the root of the problem.

In truth, Wen Yunqing could mostly guess the outcome. Even if Mu Kuan investigated the matter, he wouldn’t find any concrete evidence. After all, the Special Affairs Department and the Association had recently concluded a temporary exchange of interests. Unless a major incident occurred, Mu Kuan probably wouldn’t disrupt this balance.

Because the carvings were found before any harm was done, and there was no definitive evidence proving the Association members were behind it, legally, the Association could only be considered a suspect, and the Special Affairs Department could only ask them to cooperate with the investigation.

Looking at the increasingly heavy snow outside the window, Wen Yunqing had to change her original plan. She simply tidied up her room and decided to stay overnight to see if the snow would melt by tomorrow.

Wen Grandmother was quite happy to hear that the two were staying. Finally, the house would feel a little more lively.

“Yunqing, you used to love snow when you were little. Just watch the snow for now, and I’ll handle dinner,” Wen Grandmother shooed them out of the kitchen, leaving herself alone.

Before Wen Yimeng could offer to help, the sliding door of the kitchen partition was closed.

Wen Yunqing shrugged helplessly. “Actually, Grandmother is quite a good cook. If she wants to do it, just let her.”

Wen Yimeng glanced at the kitchen and let Wen Yunqing lead her away. “Does it rarely snow here? Is that why you liked watching the snow?”

“Not rarely. There are usually three or four heavy snowfalls a year,” Wen Yunqing recalled. “They say a propitious snow promises a good harvest, and if it snows, the harvest next year will be good, which would lessen Grandmother’s burden.”

The harvest? That made sense. If young Yunqing lived with Grandmother, the source of income would likely have been agricultural produce.

“But we do have subsidies, and compulsory education doesn’t cost much,” Wen Yunqing steered the conversation. “But when I was in high school, my teacher planned to recommend me for a student aid program after my college entrance exam results came out.”

Wen Yunqing recounted her high school life based on the memories she possessed. Although her pockets were often empty, her life hadn’t been terrible.

Wen Yimeng’s attention shifted quickly, and she tried to construct the corresponding scenes based on Wen Yunqing’s descriptions.

“Then should we visit that teacher tomorrow?” Wen Yimeng asked.

“Hmm, if there is still snow accumulation tomorrow noon, I will stay here for a few more days and go see the teacher,” Wen Yunqing said. “Anyway, we won’t be able to rush back.”

“We will probably have to stay for a few days. It’s snowing heavily tomorrow as well, and it won’t stop until tomorrow night,” Wen Yimeng said. Fortunately, the internet here was decent, allowing her to check the weather forecast smoothly on her phone.

“Then let’s stay for a few more days,” Wen Yunqing said, looking at the view outside. The snow had been falling intermittently for five or six hours, and there was already a depth of about half a palm’s thickness of snow everywhere the eye could see.

“Alright, I’ll let the class president know in advance.” Wen Yimeng switched to WeChat and communicated with the class president who organized the reunion.

The class president replied quickly, first expressing concern about their safety, and then said it was fine. Since his birthday was after the New Year, he was inviting some classmates over, and they could meet then.

And so, after Wen Yimeng skipped the class reunion, she was once again invited by the class president to his birthday party.

Of course, the difference between the two events was quite significant. The class reunion was naturally held under the guise of classmates, but the birthday party was an invitation under a different title—for instance, the future heir of a certain company inviting Wen Yimeng and Wen Yunqing to attend his twentieth birthday celebration.

“Sister Yunqing, are you home?” A slightly childish voice rang out. A girl who looked about ten years old appeared at the door. She tentatively poked her head in, and only walked in after seeing Wen Yunqing.

“Sister Yunqing, this is something my mother asked me to bring to you.” The little girl was holding a bamboo basket, raising the item with some effort.

Wen Yunqing quickly searched her memory for information about the little girl: Wen Mei. She lived with her mother in the back part of the village. Her father passed away three years ago in a work accident while working outside. Although there was compensation, relatives took half of it, leaving barely enough for the mother and daughter to live on.

“Xiao Mei, what did your mother ask you to bring?” Wen Yunqing stood up from the sofa and helped lift the small bamboo basket.

“Eggs. These eggs were just laid recently; they are very tasty,” Xiao Mei said, looking up at Wen Yunqing. “Sister Yunqing, thank you for tutoring me before. I am now in the top ten in my class.”

“Xiao Mei is so great.” Wen Yunqing naturally patted her on the head, then accepted the small bamboo basket. “Perfect, I have something to give you too.”

Putting the small bamboo basket on a nearby table, Wen Yunqing selected a vitamin combination gift set that wasn’t particularly expensive from the items she had bought.

“This is my New Year’s gift for you,” Wen Yunqing handed the gift set directly to Xiao Mei, then pulled a finished Peace Talisman (Ping’anfu) from her pocket. “This is your reward. You can keep it under your pillow.”

Xiao Mei hesitated and didn’t reach out. “Mom said I shouldn’t take anything from you, Sister Yunqing.”

“This isn’t just from me. It’s from both me and that sister over there,” Wen Yunqing said, pointing to Wen Yimeng.

Wen Yimeng smiled at the cue and chimed in. “Yes, this is from Yunqing and me. It’s a return gift. I really love eating eggs.”

Xiao Mei was still hesitant, but Wen Yunqing acted quickly, stuffing the Peace Talisman into Xiao Mei’s pocket and hanging the gift set on her arm.

“We won’t be back for the New Year, so happy New Year in advance, Xiao Mei,” Wen Yunqing said with a smile, quickly putting distance between them and closing the door on the little girl, preventing Xiao Mei from having the chance to refuse.