Chapter 268 - Hei Yao
"There's no need for that," Yin Jiujin said. "The Min Family sent me an invitation. I don't have to rely on others to go wherever my girl wants to go."
Everyone could tell that Min Qinglan did not intend to say that at the beginning.
If it were anyone else, Yin Jiujin wouldn't have such a huge reaction. However, this person was Yin Jiujin's mother.
How could Yin Jiujin feel good when she minded Yan Jinyu so much? Even if Min Qinglan changed her mind in time.
Yan Jinyu tugged at his sleeve, and Yin Jiujin's expression finally softened.
"Grandpa Yin." Yan Jinyu skipped over Min Qinglan and greeted Yin Shuguo with a smile.
To be honest, she did not care about Min Qinglan's attitude towards her at all. Anyway, she had been frightened once. Even if Min Qinglan wanted to find trouble with her, she had to think twice.
Yin Shuguo looked at Yan Jinyu deeply. Seeing that she was still smiling, as if she didn't mind what Min Qinglan wanted to say, he nodded. "Yes, it's good that you're back."
"It's almost the new year. Don't stay outside at this time."
"Yes, Brother Nine is already on his annual leave. He won't be very busy now and we will stay in the Yin Family."
Yin Shuguo frowned slightly and said in disapproval, "What do you mean by staying in the Yin Family? You're staying at home."
Yan Jinyu smiled apologetically, "I misspoke."
She nodded at Qin Jianjia with a smile as a form of greeting.
They actually didn't discuss it with Qin Jianjia before this and Qin Jianjia actually cooperated so well. Even when facing the Yin Family, she said that she was the one who pleaded for Qin Bailu.
She was indeed someone who treated Yin Jiujin very well.
"Dinner is almost ready. Come and sit here for a while. You can return to your courtyard after dinner." Qin Jianjia was very good with words. She said, "your courtyard." This suited Yin Jiujin very well.
Yin Jiujin nodded. "Alright."
He held Yan Jinyu's hand and walked over to sit down.
Qin Jianjia instructed the servant at the right time, "Make a cup of tea for Second Young Master and warm a bottle of yogurt for Miss Yu."
After giving the instructions, she smiled at Yan Jinyu. "I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I specially called Aunt Cheng to ask. Aunt Cheng said that you're not picky with food, but you seem to be especially biased towards yogurt. I got someone to prepare it at home. When you want to drink it, get the servants to warm it for you. The weather is cold, and it's not good for your body to drink it cold."
"Alright, thank you, Sister-in-law." Yan Jinyu smiled sincerely.
She thought to herself, Qin Jianjia is indeed the mistress of the household. Other than caring for her from the bottom of her heart, she is also considerate in all aspects.
After dinner, the two of them returned to the Azure Garden.
The two of them watched television in the living room. No one was busy with anything else. Yin Jiujin sat while Yan Jinyu lay on his lap. It was almost time for bed, so Yin Jiujin sent Yan Jinyu to sleep. He said that he had something to do at the last minute.
Yan Jinyu didn't ask further and returned to her room to sleep.
As for Yin Jiujin, he sat in the study for a while before getting up and leaving Azure Garden for Elegant Court.
He deliberately avoided Yan Jinyu to meet Feng Yun alone.
Elegant Court.
Yin Jiujin didn't tell him in advance, but Feng Yun left the door open for him. The charcoal fire in the room was still burning, and the tea was still boiling.
It was as if he had expected Yin Jiujin to come.
Feng Yun smiled warmly and said to Yin Jiujin, "Sit."
Yin Jiujin walked over and sat down opposite him. He glanced at the tea that had been placed in front of him. "You seem to know everything without leaving your house. It made people rather wary."
"If your expression changes even a little when you say this, I might believe you. Have a cup of tea first. This is tea that I picked and stir-fried myself. Try the flavor."
Yin Jiujin snorted softly. "Your life sure is carefree. Why don't you find a remote mountain and live in seclusion?" Yin Jiujin had persuaded him a few times in the beginning when Feng Yun didn't leave the house. However, after he remained like this, Yin Jiujin would always speak with sarcasm whenever he came to Elegant Court.
Feng Yun was not affected by him at all. The warm smile on his face remained unchanged. "How can the remote mountains be as good as this place? I don't have to worry about food and clothes here."
"What's the difference between you and a parasite who leeches on his family?"
"That's right. I'm the parasite of the family."
"…" Yin Jiujin.
Feng Yun chuckled. "Don't behave like you've eaten explosives the moment you come to my place. Let's get down to business. Do you have something to ask me?"
Yin Jiujin glanced at him coldly and raised his teacup to take a sip. Only then did he slightly suppress the anger he felt from Feng Yun's nonchalant attitude.
"Other than those three people, was there anyone else who was on good terms with Little Yu'er on Ghost Slaughter Island?"
"You met Hei Yao." An affirmative tone.
However, Yin Jiujin couldn't help but clench his fists.
It seemed like it.
Although he was a little drunk that night, he was not someone who would forget things after sobering up.
He remembered everything that happened that night clearly.
His little girl had obviously shown mercy to that person and Hei Yao was actually speaking to his little girl in a very familiar tone.
He even said she was still soft-hearted.
Hmph, what did it have to do with him whether the young lady was soft-hearted?
He made it sound like he had experienced a lot with the young lady. It was really annoying.
"I just found out that he's still alive."
Feng Yun said, "Just as I expected. Since I can find out that he's alive, he's going to show up. If he wants to show up, he definitely would go and see that girl first…"
Yin Jiujin stared at him with his dark eyes. Feng Yun smiled and corrected himself, "He definitely would go and see your fiancée first."
Only then was Yin Jiujin satisfied. After realizing what Feng Yun was saying, his face darkened. "What do you mean by definitely going to see Little Yu'er first? He's an enemy, not a friend. What's there to see!"
"Your tone is so jealous. Jin, you've really changed a lot."
"Don't just be jealous. I don't believe you can't figure out the reason with your brain."
Yin Jiujin snorted coldly.
He was really jealous, but he was not stupid. Even if he did not investigate in detail, he could roughly guess it. Otherwise, he would not have appeared here.
He just wanted to find out how important that person was to the young lady. He actually made the young lady hold back on him again and again.
Although the young lady's heart was indeed soft, she would never show mercy to her enemies. She would definitely not show mercy to those who had betrayed her.
Hei Yao was an exception.
From their conversation that night, it was not difficult to guess that Hei Yao was still alive. It seemed like the young lady had deliberately held back.
Otherwise, Hei Yao wouldn't have said that he was also surprised that he was still alive.
"Yu'er was only two years old when she arrived at Ghost Slaughter Island. Do you know that?"
Although he already knew that, Yin Jiujin's heart still skipped a beat when he heard it again.
"No matter how smart a two-year-old child is, it's very difficult for her to survive when she just arrived at the ruthless Ghost Slaughter Island, not to mention that she seemed to be injured when she first entered Ghost Slaughter Island."
"Of course, I don't deny that she was indeed very capable later on, but in the beginning, she was only a helpless and injured two-year-old."
"If there's no one to protect her, she wouldn't have lived to learn how to protect herself."
"Although she mostly relied on her brain to avoid danger, there are still times when she can't save herself with her brain."
"Two years old. She was considered one of the younger ones on the island."
"In that kind of environment where everyone is for themselves, and we're all children, they'll pick the smallest and weakest to bully. She can still handle one or two people, but what about 10 or 20?"
Yin Jiujin was shocked.
"She's indeed not a soft-hearted person, and she has never been a busybody. Just as she said, it's a coincidence that she once saved me. However, she really values relationships and righteousness. She has protected those who helped her once by chance, such as Xi Fengling and Huo Siyu, to the end. Hence, not to mention the person who saved her countless times during her weakest period."
"On Ghost Slaughter Island, as far as I know, the people she trusts the most are Min Rufeng and Hei Yao. Hei Yao should be the first person she trusts on Ghost Slaughter Island. Perhaps in her heart, her trust in Hei Yao exceeds Min Rufeng's."
"You know that I…"
At this point, Feng Yun paused. He was probably thinking about what happened back then.
He quickly recovered. "You also know that I left Ghost Slaughter Island long ago so I don't know what happened to them after that."
"Ghost Slaughter Island was destroyed by Yu'er and the three of them. Hei Yao wasn't among them. There's only one possibility, and that is that Hei Yao betrayed her." Feng Yun didn't say "betrayed them", but "betrayed her."
It was obvious that when he was still on Ghost Slaughter Island in the early years, Yan Jinyu was the only one that Hei Yao supported.
Yin Jiujin fell silent after hearing that.
He knew that. He had heard the young lady say the word "traitor" that night.
"However, you don't have to worry too much. If Hei Yao really wants to harm her, he won't appear in front of her so openly. I'm nurtured in the same manner as Hei Yao. We're both groomed as the right-hand men of the next generation 'Ghost Slaughter' so I've had a lot of contact with him."
"Based on my judgment, he was actually more protective of Yu'er than Min Rufeng in the early years. Perhaps, the reason why he betrayed her was because he had no choice…"
Before Feng Yun could finish speaking, Yin Jiujin interrupted him coldly, "Betrayal is betrayal. There's no reason that he had no choice!"
Feng Yun fell silent.
Yes, Jin had also been betrayed by the person he trusted the most.
"No matter what, Hei Yao shouldn't have any intention of harming Yu'er this time. Based on my guess, he's more like here to deliver news to Yu'er."
Yin Jiujin's eyes darkened.
He thought so too.
He said that the young lady shouldn't die at the hands of others before they met again. He even said that he wasn't the only one who was alive at Ghost Slaughter. It seemed like he was saying something ruthless, but he was actually telling the young lady who her enemies were.
Hei Yao's status on Ghost Slaughter Island was considered high. Since he had personally sent the message, there must be someone who was more capable and of a higher status than him among the living.
Hence, even if he didn't say it explicitly, the young lady could definitely guess it.
That night, he had seen through Hei Yao's intentions and saw that the girl had no intention of killing him, so he had not attacked.
No matter how jealous he was, he could not deny the fact that the young lady cared about that person.
Since he was someone the young lady cared about, the young lady would not feel good if he really killed him.
"From your expression, it seems like I was right."
Yin Jiujin stood up. "I'll get going first."
"Jin."
Yin Jiujin stopped in his tracks.
"Don't interfere in the matters between Yu'er and Hei Yao anymore. Let Yu'er handle it herself. You just have to ensure that she's safe and sound during the process."
"You don't have to say anything!" Yin Jiujin turned back. "If you have the time to interfere in other people's business, why don't you use it to control yourself? It's just a courtyard gate. What's the big deal about it?"
Without caring about Feng Yun's reaction, he left without looking back.
Feng Yun's smile faded slightly and he lowered his eyes a little.
No one could see the emotions in his eyes.
In the Azure Garden.
When Yin Jiujin returned, Yan Jinyu had already fallen asleep.
He lifted the blanket and lay down before pulling her into his arms.
With Yan Jinyu's alertness, she naturally had already sensed that he was here. However, she didn't open her eyes. She snuggled into his embrace and asked quietly, "Brother Nine, are you done?"
"Mm-hm."
He hugged her tightly. "Go to sleep."
Yan Jinyu fell asleep very quickly, but Yin Jiujin couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
He was still concerned about Hei Yao.
However, he was more grateful than concerned.
He was grateful that he protected the girl when she didn't have him and the ability to protect herself, so he could meet the girl later.
However, he was also a little angry.
Since he had gained the young lady's trust, why did he betray her?
Why did all these people from Ghost Slaughter Island like to betray people so much?
Of course, he wasn't referring to his girl.
Liu Junqing was from Ghost Slaughter Island and had betrayed him.
Hei Yao was someone the girl trusted and had betrayed her.
They had no choice?
There was no such thing as having no choice!
If it were him, he would never betray someone whom he trusted with his life!
He was shocked when he heard that the young lady had destroyed Ghost Slaughter Island. It was obvious how difficult it was to accomplish this.
She must have planned for a long time.
Since Hei Yao was someone she trusted, he should know her plan too.
Fortunately, Hei Yao's betrayal did not deal a fatal blow to the girl. Fortunately, Ghost Slaughter Island was destroyed by them in the end.
Otherwise…
He felt a lingering fear just thinking about it.
He hugged her even tighter.
***
Three days later, it was the Min Family's birthday party.