Yixiong turned his gaze towards Gongxi. The old man was looking around the room where they were now. His eyes then fell on a painting hanging on one of the walls there.

"Isn't that Mr. Shangguan Yonglei's painting?" Gongxi said. His forefinger was pointed at a painting depicting a landscape of a swamp.

"You mean this 'Green Swamp' painting?" Yiren asked.

"Green Swamp?" Gongxi turned to Yiren. His eyebrows rose.

"We don't know what the title of the painting is. So 'Green Swamp' is the title we gave it." Yixiong smiled.

Green was the dominant color in the painting. Actually, the color was more accurately referred to as a combination of green and blue. The painting itself was a landscape painting depicting a swamp that seemed quite shallow. Many plants covered the edges and the middle of the swamp. There was a towering mountain in the background of the swamp.

"How do you know this painting is the work of Mr. Shangguan? There is no signature on this painting," said Yiren. "We don't even know who painted this painting."

"I saw it when the painting was almost finished. The painter was Shangguan Yonglei. I still remember it well. It happened about forty years ago. At that time, I had recently started working for Mr. Mingzhu's family. Shangguan Yonglei was a friend of Mr. Mingzhu Caihong's grandfather." said Gongxi.

"It turned out that he painted it himself," said Yixiong. "He never mentioned that at all."

"Do you know Mr. Shangguan Yonglei?" Gongxi asked.

"He was the owner of this house," said Yiren. "I mean, the old owner. The new owner is his nephew."

"His nephew? Is he Shangguan Gongsi?"

Yixiong was surprised. Gongxi turned out to be acquainted with the owner of this house and his nephew.

"Are you a friend of Mr. Shangguan?" Yiren asked.

"No. He was a friend of Mr. Caihong's grandfather. I don't know whether they can be called friends or not. However, what I clearly see is that there was quite an intense interaction between them. Several times I have taken Mr. Caihong's grandfather to meet Mr. Shangguan. At that time, Mr. Shangguan's elder brother worked far away, so he left his son with Mr. Shangguan."

Yixiong tried to remember. He was sure that he had not seen any of the Mingzhu family presented at Mr. Shangguan's funeral. Even as Yixiong recalled, there were no bouquets from the Mingzhu Family.

"Are they not friends anymore?" Yiren asked in a low voice.

"I don't know, sir. But I get the impression that they agreed not to see each other again. I don't know why."

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"Didn't you hear something from your other friends? I mean, the other Mingzhu family employees?" Yixiong asked.

"Their mouths were tightly shut. So I never knew the truth either. It's just that there was once a Mingzhu family employee who accidentally let out a word. At that time, I happened to be near him when he was talking to someone. I forget who the person he spoke to was. He said that the Mingzhu family and the Shangguan family have already got their share."

"Got their share? What's this about?" Yiren's face changed. From his face, Yixiong was sure that Yiren was very curious and wanted to know more. Something he felt, too.

"I don't know either, Sir! But they mentioned the words 'gold and silver relic of the ancestors'. After that, the person he spoke to mentioned about 'it is kept in a secret place whose entrance must be unlocked by solving riddles'. or things like that. It was a long time ago, so I couldn't remember the exact words."

Yixiong and Yiren looked at each other. The information was completely unexpected.

Too bad we have to move out of here soon. Interesting things like this need to be investigated further.

"But, Gentlemen, please don't tell anyone about this," said Gongxi.

Before this, had this old man ever told such things to outsiders? There is no way this is the first time he leaks such things.

"Also, don't say that I was the one who told you." The old man continued his words.

If we won't tell anyone, we definitely won't mention his name.

"Okay, Sir! You don't have to worry," said Yiren, laughing.

Oh! I can't be so sure about this.

"You have to keep your mouth shut, too." Gongxi approached Pinghe.

Pinghe smiled. "Sir, don't worry." Those were the only words that came out of his mouth. That person looked so quiet. Or maybe he just didn't want to talk much.

Hopefully this person is trustworthy enough.

Then, while waiting for Qiuzhen to finish preparing dinner, Yiren, Yixiong, and Gongxi engaged in a lively conversation. Gongxi shared his experience while working for the Mingzhu Family. The things the old man told me were very interesting indeed.

"There must be a lot that you can put into a book if you decide to write a memoir in the future," said Yiren.

"I am not well educated. I don't know how to make writing interesting," said Gongxi.

"Actually, it doesn't really matter. As long as the material is interesting, I think most people can tolerate the style of language you use," said Yiren.

"But I really don't know how to make correct sentences," said Gongxi.

"You can hire a ghostwriter," said Yiren.

"What's that?" Gongxi asked.

"Ghostwriter is a person who helps someone write a book. Many people can't write a book for various reasons. For example, because they are too busy or maybe not good at putting together words. Now, the ghostwriter then helps people to put their ideas into writing." Yixiong explained the meaning of the term to Gongxi.

Gongxi nodded. "But there are many things I can't say. There are also things I can say, but with the Mingzhu family's permission."

"In that case, just write things that are safe and allowed by the Mingzhu family," said Yiren.

The look on Gongxi's face showed a hint of interest in the idea. But he said nothing. Yixiong understood that there was a lot the person had to consider.

"Dinner is ready!" Qiuzhen shouted from the kitchen.

Just in time! I'm already so hungry!