Chapter 87

Chapter 87

"087"

Soon, Lu Ao found out.

Xiao Lancui was waiting for that border farming painting.

In the fourth year of the Dali reign, of all the paintings and calligraphy Xiao Lancui had lost to the outside world, only this border farming painting remained.

He had sent people to retrieve it, but that county magistrate had passed away early, with no family or descendants, and the painting had long since vanished without a trace.

Unexpectedly, it appeared here.

Lu Ao confirmed at a glance that this was indeed Xiao Lancui's authentic work.

The auctioneer displayed the scroll, and the banquet hall, which had been quiet, suddenly buzzed with commotion.

Plain and simple—that painting was way too eye-catching.

Approximately 20 meters long and 2 meters wide, it meticulously depicted the ancient farming season. The kicker was the date in the inscription—it was from the Dali era—plus a seal stamped with the name Xiao Zixian.

"The author of this painting is Xiao Zixian," the auctioneer's voice rang out through the mic to every corner of the room. "That's right, the same Xiao Zixian who's been the hottest topic of debate in historical circles lately!"

Xiao Lancui took his time with his soup, eyes fixed on the auction stage.

The auctioneer was exceptionally excited. "Most of you probably haven't heard this name, but his background is anything but ordinary. Regarding his origins, there are currently two mainstream theories in historical circles. One is that he was the imperial tutor of Emperor Yingzong of Li, and his whole family—ten generations—was wiped out for ticking off the emperor."

Lu Ao's face went dark.

Then the auctioneer's next line put him in a better mood.

"The other theory holds that Xiao Zixian was Emperor Yingzong's lover."

Lu Ao stole a glance at Xiao Lancui, and sure enough, Alan's brows knitted slightly as he set down his soup spoon.

Lu Ao leaned close to Xiao Lancui's ear. "What's the matter, bro?"

Xiao Lancui glanced at Lu Ao, then quickly looked away. "Soup's too salty."

The banquet hall got rowdy with waves of laughter. The auctioneer had warmed up the crowd and became even more enthusiastic. "This ain't made-up garbage—plenty of records show the Tyrant Emperor Yingzong was gay, or at least bi."

Lu Ao tracked every flicker of expression on Xiao Lancui's face. That soup really did seem salty—Xiao Lancui's face didn't look too good.

More likely, it was pure disgust.

At the same time, the auction began. Whether it was real or not, the auctioneer had already spun the painting into a mysterious story with a juicy hook. The opening bid was one million.

The first bid came from a young voice. "1.1 million."

Lu Ao's dark eyes narrowed. That voice—it was Qi Ying.

So Qi Ying had shown up too.

At the same time, he felt Xiao Lancui looking at him. He snapped back to normal, smiled as he turned, and quickly came up with an excuse. "Bro, you want this painting?"

Xiao Lancui stayed quiet. When the bidding hit 2 million, he broke into a slow smile. "Yeah."

Lu Ao threw out a bid. "Three million."

Jumping a million in one go naturally turned heads. Lu Ao slowly spun his bidding paddle in his hand.

The next second, the guy across from him raised his paddle.

Lu Siye spoke.

"5 million."

The whole hall erupted. The bids were jumping so fast even the auctioneer couldn't keep up.

Only their table stayed cool. Fu Chen kept eating his food, and Huo Shenan kept sipping his iced Coke.

Lu Siye stared at Xiao Lancui, but Xiao Lancui ignored him, just staring blankly at the auction stage.

Lu Ao went to raise his paddle, but another voice cut in first. "Eight million."

This time, every head swung toward Qi Ying again. Fu Chen also looked over and suddenly blurted out, "Hey, isn't this dude from school?"

Huo Shenan replied, "Qi Ying, history grad student."

Fu Chen's mouth was empty, but he kept chewing anyway, then whipped his head toward Xiao Lancui. "Hey, Classmate Xiao, you don't also know Qi Ying, do you?"

Xiao Lancui answered with silence.

Fu Chen almost cursed, biting the words back at the last second. He grabbed a big forkful of mixed veggies and shoved it in his mouth, chewing hard.

Lu Siye raised his paddle again. "20 million."

The banquet hall was in full swing now. Qi Ying stopped bidding. The auctioneer was also getting excited. "Any more bids? Twenty million, going once..."

Lu Siye looked at Lu Ao. "Keep bidding," he sneered. "I'll go all the way with you!"

Lu Ao's hand twitched, but he didn't lift the paddle. He set it down, blew off Lu Siye's taunt, and shot Xiao Lancui a sly wink.

Xiao Lancui never actually wanted the painting. Lu Ao knew him too well—he was just jacking up the price to screw Lu Siye over.

Xiao Lancui wasn't just on the Grand Secretariat—he was the de facto Minister of Revenue. Every last cent had to go where it counted.

Not to mention, a painting like this—Xiao Lancui could crank out a hundred copies without breaking a sweat.

Of course, there was another big reason Lu Ao stopped: he'd never let one of Xiao Lancui's paintings stay out in the wild. If Lu Siye bought it, then it was his—and Lu Ao would get it back sooner or later.

Lu Ao dropped out. Lu Siye snorted coldly and knocked back a big gulp of his drink.

Meanwhile, Xiao Jingli had been getting hammered too.

His table was all old friends and business partners—unavoidable schmoozing. After downing another glass, Xiao Jingli kept watching Xiao Lancui. Then, out of nowhere, Xiao Lancui got up and left.

Xiao Jingli's heart slammed. He put down his glass and shot to his feet. "Keep going, guys—I gotta take a call."

Xiao Lancui headed upstairs, took the elevator to the fifth floor, and let himself into room 5011.

A knock came at the door a moment later. "Who is it?" Xiao Lancui called out.

A polite male voice replied, "Hello, room service. Got some fruit and drinks for you."

Xiao Lancui played it cool, turned on the shower, shut the bathroom door, and went to answer.

Sure enough, there was a uniformed service attendant outside. He pushed a small cart and glanced inside. Xiao Lancui opened the door fully, letting him in. "Put it on the coffee table."

The attendant stepped in, quickly scanned the room as he set things down, then arranged everything and left. "Have a pleasant evening."

The attendant exited, pushing the cart toward the elevator. After a few steps, Xiao Jingli emerged from around the corner.

The attendant said, "He's alone in the room, but there's water running in the bathroom—can't be sure if someone's showering."

Having learned his lesson last time, Xiao Jingli was more cautious now. He didn't barge in right away; instead, he whispered to the attendant.

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and a tall man carrying a paper bag walked past. Xiao Jingli fell silent as the man quickly reached room 5010, opened the door, and went inside.

Only then did Xiao Jingli continue. He pulled out his phone and opened a photo—a candid shot of Xiao Anfeng boarding a ship, snapped by one of his men.

Xiao Anfeng had worn a mask to avoid him. Xiao Jingli said, "Keep a close eye on him. Tell me the second he comes out."

Meanwhile, Lu Ao climbed through the window and easily reached the adjacent room, 5011.

Xiao Lancui was waiting. Lu Ao handed over the paper bag. Just as Xiao Lancui reached for it, Lu Ao yanked it back and hugged it to his chest.

His handsome face scrunched up in a frown. "Brother, let me do it."

Xiao Lancui said flatly, "With your build, who would you fool disguised as Sun Xiao?"

Lu Ao fell silent. Xiao Lancui reached into his arms for the bag, but Lu Ao pressed down on it, then grabbed Xiao Lancui's hand, his thick brows knitting in frustration. "Too dangerous. I won't allow it."

Xiao Lancui tilted his face up to look at him. Lu Ao grew even more reluctant. "Even if you look at me like that—"

The next second, Xiao Lancui rose on his toes and gave him a light kiss on the lips. "Be good."

He was about to pull away when Lu Ao caught his waist, leaned in, and kissed him deeply, the kraft paper bag squeezed between them rustling. Only when Xiao Lancui was almost out of breath did Lu Ao finally let go.

He nuzzled Xiao Lancui's nose. "Be careful."

Xiao Lancui breathed softly, a faint flush spreading across his pale skin from the lack of oxygen. He nodded and asked, "Did Sun Xiao leave?"

Lu Ao released Xiao Lancui's waist and finally handed over the bag. "Yeah. The speedboat's fast—he'll hit the harbor in an hour."

Xiao Lancui nodded, took Sun Xiao's suit out of the bag, and headed to the bathroom.

When he came out, his hair had been trimmed a bit and styled like Sun Xiao's. His build was similar to Sun Xiao's, though leaner, so the suit fit well enough. With the mask on, he looked nearly identical to the Sun Xiao in that candid photo from behind.

It was almost 11 p.m., and fireworks were already going off outside—the show was starting. Xiao Lancui did one last check and was about to leave when Lu Ao hugged him from behind, gently kissing his earlobe. "If there's any danger, make a sound. I'll be there in a flash."

Xiao Lancui lowered his eyes to the hands wrapped around his waist and nodded.

He opened the door and stepped out. A few steps later, the attendant with the cart followed.

He entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 6th floor. The attendant stepped in too. His finger still hovering over the buttons, he glanced sideways at the attendant, who smiled and said, "I'm going to the 6th floor too!"

Xiao Lancui pulled his hand back.

The ride was quick. Under the attendant's watchful gaze, Xiao Lancui walked to room 608 and knocked.

Xiao Liqin opened the door and let him inside.

The attendant watched the whole thing, quickly pulled out his phone, and texted Xiao Jingli. "Room 608. There's another man inside."

"Where is he?" Xiao Liqin watched Xiao Lancui take off his mask and jacket, his brows furrowed. "You only get one shot. Mess around again, and you won't see a single cent."

Xiao Lancui casually tossed the suit jacket onto the sofa, ran a hand through his hair, and smiled faintly. "What's the rush? He's on the ship—he can't run. As long as I get what I want, you can take him anytime."

Xiao Liqin said coldly, "The equity transfer takes time. Once I see Anfeng, the Xiao Corporation is yours. I'm a man of my word."

Xiao Lancui was about to speak when there was a knock at the door.

"Hello, is Mr. Xiao here?"

Xiao Liqin frowned at Xiao Lancui. "You?"

Xiao Lancui said flatly, "I'm not the only Mr. Xiao here, right?"

Xiao Liqin's face darkened as he went to answer the door.

The moment it opened, a fist slammed into Xiao Liqin's face. "You bastard!"

Xiao Jingli shoved Xiao Liqin aside, stormed in, and quickly shut and locked the door. Seeing Xiao Lancui standing there, he wrinkled his nose and started searching. "Fengfeng!"

Xiao Liqin took the hit to the bridge of his nose. His nostrils burned, and two streams of blood gushed out, splattering his chest. Pressing his nose, he turned and walked toward Xiao Jingli. "He's not here."

As he approached, he caught the sharp stench of alcohol on Xiao Jingli's breath.

Xiao Jingli ignored him. Soon, he spotted the mask and jacket on the sofa—he recognized them as Xiao Anfeng's instantly. He yanked at his tie, pacing anxiously around the room, still ignoring Xiao Liqin, shouting, "Fengfeng, come out. Come home with me right now."

Xiao Lancui suddenly spoke to Xiao Liqin. "I'm leaving."

Xiao Liqin was still dealing with his nosebleed, but he quickly grabbed Xiao Lancui with his other hand. Afraid Xiao Lancui might back out, he hinted, "Wait. Let me handle this, and I'll go with you."

Xiao Lancui stayed put.

The next second, Xiao Jingli grabbed Xiao Liqin and demanded, "Where did you hide him?! I raised him—he's mine! Hand him over now!"

Xiao Liqin hadn't been ready earlier, which was why Xiao Jingli had landed that hit. Now he pried Xiao Jingli's hand off with one arm, his eyes dark. "We all see you as a father. At your age, you should know better. Stop looking for him."

"No blood ties—what father?!" Xiao Jingli was beyond provoked, his face flushed red. "I'm telling you, his father loved me, and he'll love me too! Tell me—where did you hide him?! If you don't, I'll kill you!"

Xiao Jingli, drunk and furious, slapped Xiao Liqin across the face. "Talk! Talk, goddamn it!"

He swung another punch at Xiao Liqin, who caught it, his face turning ashen as he called out to Xiao Lancui. "Get me something to tie him up with."

Hearing this, Xiao Jingli kicked hard at Xiao Liqin's shin. Xiao Liqin let out a muffled grunt. The two were roughly the same height, and their scuffle sent the room into chaos. Xiao Jingli caught sight of Xiao Lancui and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xiao Lancui, I've raised you all these years—you owe me at least once! Where the hell have you two hidden Fengfeng?"

In the chaos, his sharp eyes caught Xiao Lancui glancing toward the balcony.

This suite had a balcony overlooking the sea.

"Fengfeng!" The balcony was right there. Overjoyed, Xiao Jingli dragged Xiao Liqin over. As they neared it, he maliciously slammed Xiao Liqin's head against the glass door.

Xiao Liqin's skull throbbed with pain. He'd been holding back in his counterattacks, but now the pain took over. He grabbed Xiao Jingli's arm in reverse.

The glass door slid open easily.

In the struggle, Xiao Liqin flung his arms out hard, sending Xiao Jingli crashing toward the balcony railing, his face still carrying a smile and blood.

A faint *crack*.

Xiao Jingli flew over the railing and vanished into the darkness in an instant.

Then—

*Thud!*

*Crash!*

Two sounds in quick succession, then silence.

Xiao Lancui's long lashes fluttered twice, barely perceptible.