After all, it was a matter of the inner residence, and Zhang Jian couldn’t inquire directly. However, he was quite curious, and he felt this might be an opportunity to break the ice.
As the sudden changes affected the family banquet, everyone’s enthusiasm gradually waned.
But Madam Qi Wan still extended an invitation to Zhang Jian.
Zhang Jian did not refuse.
This time, he came to celebrate his grandfather’s birthday, and he didn’t just bring a gift for the occasion, naturally including gifts for his uncles and aunts as well.
Before coming, Zhang Jian had deliberately spent a hefty sum to purchase many fashionable items in the Commandery City.
They turned out to be useful now.
"Brother Jian, there’s no need for such formality!"
At this moment, Madam Qi Wan glanced at the gift boxes being presented, inside which were many of the latest cosmetics, fine silks, and a piece of centennial ginseng.
It was obvious that a lot of thought had been put into this!
A slight smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
She was quite the connoisseur, aware that centennial wild ginseng was a rare and excellent supplement, especially for martial artists on the path of body forging.
The Qi family hailed from a military lineage, and such centennial herbs were extremely scarce resources.
Besides her three daughters, she also had two sons.
Zhang Jian smiled and said, "It’s just a token of my respect. Every time Second Uncle comes to Fengxi, he takes good care of me. Mother instructed me long ago that when I visit the Qi family, I must first call on Second Aunt!"
Madam Qi Wan nodded. Her eyes were extremely bright but appeared somewhat authoritative. Zhang Jian understood that with such an astute and strong-willed mother, no wonder his two cousins were exceptionally clever and had learned various self-preservation methods early on.
At this moment, Zhang Jian did not proactively mention the matter of marriage alliance. Such things were not suitable to bring up now, also he was not in a rush regarding this matter.
But after some thought, Zhang Jian mentioned the incident during the family banquet.
"Second Aunt, I heard my cousins discussing earlier that Eldest Aunt seems to have been feeling unwell?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Qi Wan’s eyes slightly narrowed. She glanced at Zhang Jian and then sighed, "Sister Zhou’s illness has only appeared in the past two or three years. People who eat grains are inevitably prone to various diseases. However, you must not spread this matter. Your grandfather does not like people to talk about it!"
There was a hint of the strange and a mocking smile in her eyes.
Zhang Jian’s expression flickered. Although he had just entered the residence, he had some understanding of the Qi family’s situation. Ever since Eldest Uncle Qi Yuanwu entered the Imperial Guard, the status of the main family had been incomparably stable, marking him as the assured next Qi Clan Leader.
Now, with the future Lady of the Qi Family manifesting madness, if word got out, it would undoubtedly incite much discussion, potentially affecting the Qi family’s reputation and the marriage prospects of the Qi women and young masters.
With Madam Qi Wan’s warning, Zhang Jian temporarily extinguished his desire to meddle.
At this moment, Madam Qi Wan also called out her two daughters to greet Zhang Jian, along with two young boys under ten years old, who looked very proper and were quite endearing.
"Greetings, Brother Zhang!"
"Brother Zhang, do we have gifts too?"
The two young girls were delicate and shy, but the one who spoke was Qi Yuzhu. Zhang Jian found it a bit amusing and said, "Of course, you do!"
He took out two exquisite hairpins from his sleeve. These hairpins were different from the other gifts he prepared, each embedded with an emerald or ruby, remarkably beautiful.
He also prepared gifts for his two young cousins: renowned calligraphy tracings and a fine set of brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone!
The two girls looked at them, immediately recognizing their value. Qi Yuhua tried to stop Qi Yuzhu from accepting. However, Qi Yuzhu’s eyes sparkled, and she looked towards Madam Qi Wan. Only after gaining her approval did she gladly accept them.
After all, she was still a young girl at heart. Although usually strictly taught by Madam Qi Wan, her innocence and liveliness could not be concealed.
Qi Yuhua, being a bit older, seeing her younger sister accept, could only helplessly accept as well while slightly bowing.
"Yuhua thanks Brother Zhang!"
"Little Sister Yuhua, you’re too kind!"
Zhang Jian glanced at this delicate cousin of his. Although she seemed to always lower her stance, he knew that deep inside, she was strong, merely hiding her brilliance behind this facade.
Zhang Jian found it a bit strange. For someone born into a prominent family like the Qi family, especially as a legitimate daughter, to not be raised spoiled and presumptuous was already commendable. Why was she so cautious and prudent?
In the inner residence, Zhang Jian couldn’t stay long; after leaving the gifts, he left the second branch.
Just as he was leaving the back courtyard of the second branch, Zhang Jian’s eyes suddenly moved.
His exceptionally keen Divine Thought had detected a presence of Spiritual Mechanism in the garden beside the corridor.
The subtle undulation of Spiritual Mechanism was extremely faint. If not for Zhang Jian’s exceptional Divine Thought, he might not have detected it.
He stepped closer to the adjacent corridor. The servants behind him did not know why this young master suddenly changed his path but thought he was merely curious and thus followed along.
Zhang Jian noticed a large flowerbed nearby and, on the other side, an expansive artificial lake filled with lotuses.
The Spiritual Mechanism was coming from the flowerbed beside him. At this moment, the Ten Thousand Realms Spiritual Consciousness Ball in his Divine Thought slightly fluctuated, and he heard two melodious voices.
His ears twitched as he looked towards a rockery.
At this moment, two whispering voices reached his ears.
"Sister, what do you think that old woman was doing just now? Why did she bury that iron canister beside us? It’s filthy and disgusting! It’s very uncomfortable!"
"Sister, endure it for a while. That must be an evil thing! That Granny Zhang is very malicious, marked by Heterodox Techniques. We must not let her detect us, or it could be dangerous!"
Those were two bright red water hibiscuses.
They hid their Spiritual Mechanism, appearing exceptionally lively.
Have they become spirits?
Zhang Jian was slightly surprised but pretended not to notice!
But he was pondering the information he received from these two hibiscus demons.
"Iron canister?"
Zhang Jian’s brow furrowed slightly. In his mind, a type of Heterodox Technique emerged!
Nightmare Town!
Since ancient times, the Nightmare Suppression Technique had been a form of curse prevalent among the common folk. Extremely vicious, the cursed suffer misfortune at best or lose their life at worst, insidious and hard to defend against.
However, if it was the Nightmare Suppression Technique, it indeed could bypass the protection of the Dragon and Tiger Qi, as it was one of the few Yin Poison Techniques capable of bypassing the Dragon and Tiger Qi, specifically targeting the noble.
Zhang Jian did not expect that just by wandering around, he would stumble upon this discovery.
But he didn’t act rashly, simply expressing his intention to walk around the Qi household, while letting the servants do as they pleased.
He feigned passing by the two water hibiscuses, sensing a hint of tension from them, fearing that he might pick them and cost them their lives.
This evoked a sense of sentimentality in Zhang Jian.
Many demons were not as formidable as imagined.
Some were not even as strong as ordinary people.
Zhang Jian had no intention of arguing with these two insecure little demons. In the dark, however, he saw someone wiping tears on the edge of the flowerbed.
It was a tall, graceful figure.
He had seen her not long ago.