The Aloof Lord's Mysterious Wife
Chapter 242: Brothers Always Stand Before Sisters

Chapter 242: Brothers Always Stand Before Sisters

Nanli scrutinized him seriously and said, "At least my second brother has money. What about you?"

"..." Xie Beihan decided to keep quiet. Competing with Chu Shuo in terms of wealth? Few people in the Capital could match him!

However, the smell of the sweet pastries made Xie Beihan’s stomach growl with hunger. Nanli moved the plate away. "These were made by someone else personally. Do you really want to eat them?"

Knowing he had no right, Xie Beihan just pouted and said, "I have money. I can go out and buy something to eat."

Nanli shrugged, indicating he could do as he pleased.

Despite his words, Xie Beihan didn’t go out. Instead, he asked Nanli about their departure time.

"We’ll leave tomorrow," Nanli replied.

"That’s good. I also need to return to Shouling County and continue my duties," Xie Beihan, ever the responsible one, said. "Sixth sister, are you planning to use the teleportation talisman to return?"

"Do you think teleportation talismans can be drawn so easily?" Nanli said. "Without a major reason, I won’t waste a teleportation talisman."

Xie Beihan said, "I thought you might be eager to return quickly to see the prince."

"I miss him, but priorities are priorities. Since we haven’t found He Wen yet, I can’t go back to the capital just yet," Nanli said with a serious expression. "It would be great if we could find some trace of him on our way back."

Thinking about the thousand taels he had been swindled out of, Xie Beihan gritted his teeth in anger. "He definitely shouldn’t get away with it! But if he’s determined to hide, finding him will be tough."

Nanli looked at him deeply. "You don’t understand people like him. They make quick money through scams. Once they spend it all, they won’t settle down to earn money honestly. They’ll just use the same tricks to make more money."

Xie Beihan was somewhat skeptical but kept it to himself.

To find He Wen, they needed to plan their return route carefully. Nanli took out a map and studied it closely for a while before squinting her eyes. "Hmm, I know which way to go."

Xie Beihan was puzzled. From Ruyang to Shouling County or the Capital, there was only one official road. Other paths were not only roundabout but also difficult to traverse. Was there really a choice of routes?

Nevertheless, since he was accompanying his sixth sister, he would follow her lead.

The next day, they prepared to depart. Fan Jiang personally came to see her off. With a glance, Fan Shizhong understood his father’s intention and quickly brought a wooden box forward.

Fan Jiang said, "The princess has not only helped my daughter achieve justice and ensured my grandson’s early rebirth but also saved my entire family from a great calamity. Our gratitude is beyond words, so please accept this humble gift as a token of our appreciation."

Fan Shizhong, fearing Nanli might refuse, was about to speak when Nanli had already reached out to accept it, smiling broadly. "Thank you, thank you."

She opened the box slightly and saw not only gold ingots but also a stack of silver notes underneath. She was thrilled!

Her smile widened as she closed the box and said, "I knew Old Mr. Fan was a straightforward man. So, I’ve also adjusted the Feng Shui of your residence. As long as your family members behave well, your fortune will prosper, and your descendants will thrive."

Fan Jiang, convinced of her genuine abilities, expressed more gratitude.

Nanli got on the carriage and instructed the Fan family not to see them off further. They could leave the city on their own.

Fan Shizhong nodded, discreetly glancing at Xie Beihan behind them, then stepped aside to bid Nanli farewell.

Xie Beihan felt a chill down his spine and only got into the carriage after they had left the city. As expected, Nanli was counting the silver notes inside.

Realizing her true motive for riding in the carriage was to count the money, he commented, "Sixth sister, the Fan family truly is a century-old household, generous indeed."

At a glance, the stack of silver notes was worth several tens of thousands of taels. Adding the dozen or so gold ingots, he thought, his sixth sister’s trip had definitely paid off.

"Not bad," Nanli replied. "The Fan family has accumulated a lot of virtue from their ancestors. Even if they had only given me a hundred taels, I would still have helped them earnestly."

Xie Beihan couldn’t help but sigh, "You really went all out, getting up early to help the Fan family adjust their Feng Shui layout."

"That’s not all. I also set up a peach blossom formation for the Fourth Miss," Nanli said casually as she put away the counted silver notes.

Hearing this, Xie Beihan’s face fell, and he couldn’t help but speak in a slightly sour tone, "Did she ask you to do that? See, she’s desperate to get married."

Nanli rolled her eyes at him. "I didn’t even see her today. It was Lord Fan who requested it. The Fourth Miss’s marriage has been delayed for a long time. As a father, wouldn’t he be anxious?"

Xie Beihan sat quietly beside her, not saying anything more.

Nanli didn’t care what he was thinking. She asked him to extend his hand and then drew a suppressing talisman on his palm with her Tianxing pen. "You need to draw this talisman every three days. It consumes a lot of my energy."

Xie Beihan’s mouth twitched, "Sixth sister, I understand. But I don’t have much money on me right now. Once we return to the Capital, I’ll..."

"It’s clear you don’t understand," Nanli said helplessly. "I’m telling you to be careful in the future and not to mess with these strange things casually. There are always people out there who are more skilled than you. If something happens again, I might not be able to save you, and you could lose your life."

Xie Beihan felt a warm surge in his heart. He hadn’t expected his sixth sister to care about him genuinely and not just for money. It was clear their relationship had deepened, and he felt he was now on par with her own brothers.

With a look of deep emotion, he declared, "As a brother, I will always stand in front of my sister, never letting her get hurt! Even if I lose my life, I will have no regrets!"

Nanli looked at him for a moment. Although she found him a bit foolish, she couldn’t deny she was touched. She sighed softly, "Alright, don’t bother me. I’m going to read."

She needed to find a way to break the death curse.

---

The Fan family had narrowly escaped disaster. As the head of the family, Fan Shizhong was grateful to Nanli for her assistance and also thankful for their ancestors’ protection. With the calamity over, he continued his usual duties at the yamen.

One day, as soon as he returned to the yamen, a constable rushed in, looking flustered.

"Sir, there’s been a murder!"

"What?" Fan Shizhong was shocked. Under his jurisdiction, Ruyang City rarely had murder cases.

"It’s a massacre, sir. You must come quickly," the constable urged.

A massacre? Fan Shizhong was both shocked and anxious as he hurried to the scene.

The small house where the massacre occurred was home to a family of five, plus an elderly servant, all of whom were dead. The coroner was already there, examining the bodies. He reported that they had all died during the night, each with a fatal wound to the chest. The wounds were bloody holes, looking extremely gruesome.

Besides the elderly servant, the hearts of the five family members had been removed.

Fan Shizhong was furious, "The murderer not only killed but also took their hearts. What could he possibly want to do?"

The constable speculated, "He didn’t take the old servant’s heart, possibly because it was too old. Could the murderer be refining some kind of elixir?"