Ah Da felt like crying without tears, sensing that her Spiritual Power was fading; it was no longer enough to maintain her normal physical condition.
It turned out that the Spiritual Power she had accumulated over the past few days was only enough for a short while, making Ah Da extremely frustrated.
This also indirectly indicated that she couldn't leave this place at all and had to absorb enough incense every night because her Spiritual Power came solely from the incense's essence.
But now...
Ah Da looked at her little short legs and short hands, feeling both angry and helpless. She could neither jump nor fly; there was no way she could light the incense herself.
"Sigh..."
It was all because she had been too focused on playing just now. Now, she could only wait for that man to come back—he would probably light the incense at night.
When Qin Yu arrived at the old mansion, the old lady was watering the flowers with a kettle, closely followed by two servants—one holding an umbrella and the other fanning her with a hand fan.
Seeing Qin Yu, the old lady's eyes instantly brightened. She handed the kettle to someone else and hurried over, "Yu'er, I've been eagerly waiting day and night, and finally, you've come to see grandma."
"Grandmother." Qin Yu approached and greeted her respectfully, his emotions showing no ripples.
The old lady looked at her tall and handsome grandson choking up; this child should have grown up carefree and cheerful, but the reality was...
The Qin Family had wronged this child.
Thousands of worries and words ultimately turned into a single sigh, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back."
"Mother."
Qin Huaiming walked over with his wife, Li Family, smiling at Qin Yu, "Qin Yu is back too? That's right, the family should be together during the New Year."
Qin Yu snorted ambiguously, "Indeed, I should be back, especially since certain matters are better solved in private, keep family shame hidden, right, Uncle?"
The fake smile on Qin Huaiming's face stiffened. He knew more or less what Qin Xiu had done and had tacitly allowed it because Qin Xiu had been quite astute.
Mentioned by Qin Yu now, he couldn't help but curse this rascal for being more arrogant than before, not giving any regard to him as an elder, but was helpless against him now.
In just a few years since he came back, he had sidelined him. Now the Qin Group was entirely under Qin Yu's dictation.
The pup had grown into a wolf, truly troublesome.
However, Qin Huaiming was an old fox and would not confront Qin Yu directly at this moment, putting himself at a disadvantage. He forced a smile, "Of course, the family's reputation is most important. I am pleased for you and for your father; your parents would be relieved if they knew."
Mentioning his parents, Qin Yu's face turned slightly cold, "You needn't worry about that, Uncle."
Seeing that sparks were about to fly, the old lady glared at Qin Huaiming, interrupted him, and pulled Qin Yu away, "Ignore him; come, let's go inside. It's rare for you to come back; I have so much to tell you."
Qin Yu walked alongside the old lady, entering the house together.
Qin Huaiming watched their retreating figures, his face growing darker. Li Wenjiao, with her slender figure, leaned against him, her hand soothing his chest, cooing, "Husband, what's there to be angry about? No matter how powerful Qin Yu is, he's alone now; we surely don't need to fear him, do we?"
"Back when Qin Jingming was at the height of his power, we managed to turn the tables; today Qin Yu is just a paper tiger."
"What do you know?" Qin Huaiming glared at Li Family, "That kid also doesn't know what he did abroad, he just managed to seize power at Qin Group when it was in crisis. Who knows who might have been helping him? Even today we don't clearly understand our enemy. If everyone were as foolish as you, I would have been dead and buried long ago."
"What… what should we do?" Li Family nervously asked. She was just a parasitic flower depending on Qin Huaiming for survival, only knowing how to spend money, with no understanding of power struggles, "If Qin Yu stubbornly refuses to let go, when will our Qin Xiu be able to return to Qin Family?"
Qin Huaiming narrowed his eyes, his nostrils flaring with anger, "Return to Qin Family? Did you see Qin Yu just now? Does he look like he wants to reconcile with us?"
"What about Qin Xiu?" Qin Huaiming suddenly asked.
Li Family shook her head, "I don't know, I haven't seen him since this morning, he might have gone out again."
"All he ever does is indulge himself in eating, drinking, and merrymaking. If he had shown even a bit of drive, Qin Group wouldn't have ended up in Qin Yu's hands!" Qin Huaiming cursed and left Li Family alone as he entered the room.
Li Family stomped her foot in anger, "Always blaming the son, as if you ever got anything out of Qin Yu."
At dinner, the grandmother kept talking to Qin Yu, who occasionally responded but without much enthusiasm. Qin Xiu felt a bubble of anger watching this, almost grinding his teeth. The grandmother was so obviously biased, failing to treat everyone equally.
Grandma kindly advised: "The company matters are plenty, but you must remember to rest properly, don't wear yourself out."
Qin Yu nodded faintly.
The grandmother didn't mind and kept talking non-stop from start to finish. She knew Qin Yu's temperament; ever since childhood, he had been quiet and reserved. After Jingming's tragic death, he became even more reticent, like encased in a thick layer of ice, unreachable by anyone.
Thinking of this, the grandmother couldn't help but bring up another matter.
"Being busy with work is one thing, but you're not getting any younger. Some matters also need consideration. Even if not settling down, you might start looking for a close companion."
Qin Yu didn't respond, and the vast dining table fell into a sudden silence, all eyes landed on him.
Qin Yingying, with her pigtails, blurted out, "That's not right, big brother isn't that old. My brother is a year older than him, grandma are you confused?"
These words caused a ripple effect. Li Family almost dropped her chopsticks, wishing she could jump over and gag her younger daughter's mouth. She hastily cleared her throat twice as a reminder and glared at her, "Eat your meal, is it your turn to talk?"
Qin Yingying pouted her small mouth unhappily: "I didn't say anything wrong, isn't my brother older?"
Qin Yingying was Qin Huaiming and Li Wenjiao's younger daughter, just started middle school, in her rebellious phase. Grown pampered and spoiled by Li Family always indulging her, Qin Yingying had grown into a spoiled and straightforward character, resistant to discipline.
"Shut up…" Li Family was frustrated, turning her head only to see Qin Huaiming staring at her, his comment mocking, "So this is your well-taught child, don't you know about keeping silent while eating and sleeping?"
Li Family, feeling aggrieved, "I…"
Seeing her father's stern face, Qin Yingying felt a bit scared and slowly lowered her head.
Grandma saw all this and remarked subtly, "What Yingying said isn't wrong, it's just that your brother… who knows when he'll settle down."
Qin Family, a notable clan different from other noble families, followed the principle of 'strict outside, relaxed inside' set since the forefathers. Simply put, always uphold the family's dignity and honor outside, while internally, no strict rules applied, and they interacted like any other common family.
Thus, the grandmother had always been dissatisfied with Qin Xiu's indulgent behavior and scandalous rumors. He changed women as frequently as clothes and once recklessly held a debauched party, which ended in a mishap only resolved by Qin Huaiming's intervention. This incident had alarmed the grandmother, and since then, Qin Xiu had somewhat reined in his behavior. Now, being brought up again by the grandmother, Qin Huaiming felt disgraced.
As if once again being pointed at and criticized for his lack of parental guidance.