tkworld Chapter 191: Jade Plaque
Chapter 191: Jade Plaque
Riley Perry took a bite of the mandarin fish and could immediately tell it wasn’t like the fish commonly found in markets. The meat was much more delicate, tender, and fragrant, with no fishy taste whatsoever.
"This is delicious. This fish must have been expensive, right?"
"If you like it, I can have some delivered to you regularly."
Riley quickly refused. "Oh, you don’t have to go to all that trouble. I’m really not a picky eater."
Since returning, she had been indulging in modern cuisine and wasn’t too particular about the quality of the ingredients. After all, having gone three hundred years without those spicy and savory flavors, even the poorest ingredients tasted unbelievably fresh.
"Don’t be so formal with your brother. These ingredients are nothing, really."
"I’m not being formal," Riley said. "I’m usually so busy with work, I’m not sure I even eat at home twice a week. The ingredients would just go to waste if I don’t have time to cook them."
"That’s an easy fix. I’ll give you the number for the farm. Whenever you need something, just call them yourself and have it delivered."
This time, Riley didn’t refuse.
She could sense it—her brother was being good to her, in his own cautious way.
And she would accept this kindness.
She happily polished off most of the fish, a bowl of duck blood soup with vermicelli, and more than half of the other two dishes. As for the plate of stir-fried vegetables, she only took one bite before leaving it alone.
’After all, what vegetable could possibly taste as good as meat?’
After dinner, Riley went to clear the table but was stopped by Warren, who took the dishes into the kitchen to wash them himself.
SPLASH. The sound of running water echoed from the kitchen. ’Compared to a brother like Warren,’ Riley thought, ’have I been a little too cold toward the Valentines?’
Back in her room, she retrieved a jade talisman from her storage space. It was a practice piece made by some Array Master. It would instantly activate a protective shield if the wearer was attacked. While its life-saving function was trivial in The Cultivation Realm, in modern society, it could guarantee her brother would live safely to the age of eighty—as long as he didn’t try to shoot himself in the temple every day.
That afternoon, she had heard from Iris Weldon that her brother was a special forces soldier who undertook missions of the highest-risk category. This gift was perfect for him.
The sounds from the kitchen stopped. Warren asked from outside, "Riley, are you going out again tonight?"
Riley hurried out to answer, "No, I’m staying in. I’m going to look over my script for a bit, then get some rest."
Warren breathed a sigh of relief. "What time is your audition tomorrow morning?"
"Nine o’clock, at Caelus Tower."
"I’ll come pick you up at eight, then."
"You’re going to come with me to the audition?"
Warren nodded. "I have seven days of leave. You don’t think I’ll be in the way, do you?"
Riley quickly shook her head. "Of course not." She then held out the jade pendant. "Here, wear this."
Warren took it at once, a hint of delight flashing in his eyes. "For me?"
Riley nodded. "Can you keep it on you at all times?"
Warren nodded solemnly. "I can! Don’t worry. I promise I’ll never take off anything you give me."
’He was the only one in the family who had received a gift from his sister.’ He could barely contain his joy.
So, without even glancing at the pendant’s material or design, he put it on right in front of his sister, handling it as if it were a priceless treasure.
It wasn’t yet eight o’clock when Warren returned home.
The moment he stepped into the living room, he heard his cousin’s chirpy voice. "Auntie, I heard you had a guest over today?"
Iris Weldon said nothing, but Dawn York, for once, decided to speak. "My, you’re well-informed. Who’s your informant? For a supposedly well-bred young lady to be prying into another family’s affairs all day... if word gets out, will you have any reputation left to speak of?"
"And this is a military compound. If you can plant informants here, it’s easy for people to start thinking you’re a spy."
The main branch of the Valentine Family lived in the military compound, whereas the second branch lived in a villa outside. For Whitney to show up at their door in the evening asking about something that had just happened that morning meant she had a very well-placed informant.
Whitney Valentine’s expression soured. ’She wished she could roll this cousin of hers into a ball and throw her into outer space. Dawn was so irritating, always lecturing people with a stern face like some old-fashioned governess. Whitney had no idea how her aunt could stand it.’
"That’s right," Iris Weldon chimed in. "Why are you always prying into our family’s business?"
Whitney’s expression darkened. Just then, she saw her cousin enter and immediately rose to her feet. "Cousin, where have you been? Why are you back so late?"
’Oh,’ Warren thought. ’So she even knows I’m on leave. She wouldn’t have asked that otherwise.’
"Is it late? It’s only eight. Why, did you need something?"
Whitney put on a pitiable expression. "Joy Lee mentioned you were home today, so I just came to see you. Cousin, are you on leave?"
"Yes. It’s not a vacation, though. I took special leave. We found my sister. I just got back from seeing her."
With that, he stared intently at his dear cousin. And he wasn’t the only one—the entire family of three was watching her reaction.
Whitney’s expression froze for a second. ’But I got rid of her... how could she have been found?’
Her fleeting expression did not escape the eyes of Iris, her son, and her daughter. It confirmed their suspicions.
When the child first went missing, no one had paid any mind to Whitney Valentine. After all, she was only five or six years old at the time. What could a child possibly understand?
They assumed a kidnapper had simply opened the door and taken the child while the mother of the second branch family was unwell.
But later, when the kidnapper was caught, he stated that he had found the child in the hallway. Although his original intention was indeed to steal a child, there was no reason for him to lie about this fact.
Riley had been an exceptionally smart child. Other children might start walking at one year old and only begin speaking slowly after that, but their baby had started calling for her parents at just over nine months old. By her first birthday, she could already express her needs clearly. Plus, she was exceptionally obedient. If an adult told her not to wander off, she would dutifully stay put.
So, for her to suddenly appear in the hallway on her own was highly problematic.
Later, it was Dawn who had brought it up: their aunt from the second branch had been gravely ill at the time. She had hemorrhaged from a miscarriage and couldn’t even move. Because of that miscarriage, she lost the ability to conceive, which was why the second branch only ever had one child: Whitney.
Therefore, it was impossible for their aunt to have opened the door.
Whitney, on the other hand, was a different story. That child’s eyes were full of calculation. They suspected she had been jealous of her younger cousin, and knowing full well how chaotic the hospital was, had driven the little girl out of the room.
It was because of these suspicions that the main branch of the family had never been particularly warm to Whitney over the years. Dawn, in particular, would immediately switch into lecture mode every time Whitney tried to get close to her.
"You found our cousin?" Whitney said, recovering. "How come none of you mentioned something so huge? If I had known, I would’ve come to keep her company."
Warren pursed his lips and said nothing. Dawn shot Whitney a sidelong glance. "The way you’re so easily flustered, how did you ever become a Dragonspire socialite? Not that we needed you to come over. Our family still hasn’t had enough time with our sister. You can get in line."