"Brother Su Qian, I've finished kneading!"
With Shen Baozhu's efforts, a twisted clay strip appeared in front of Su Qian.
Looking at the oddly - shaped clay strip, Su Qian's eyebrows knitted. He thought for a moment and said, "It has a bit of... Baozhu, what did you knead?"
Holding the clay strip, Shen Baozhu was extremely delighted. "It's a dragon!"
"A very imposing dragon! Can't you tell, Brother Su Qian?"
Learning that it was a dragon, Su Qian visibly let out a sigh of relief. He praised, "Wow, as expected of the dragon kneaded by Baozhu. It's mighty and imposing, truly extraordinary!"
"Look at this dragon's lithe body, flexible claws, and the aura of a divine dragon swaying its tail. I haven't seen you for a while, and your kneading skills have improved so much, Baozhu!"
Shen Baozhu was very happy. She carefully held the "divine dragon" in her hands. "Wow, then I must have made progress."
Hearing their conversation and looking at the "divine dragon" that was hard to look at, the Dragon King felt a hint of distaste in his heart. It was so ugly.
Shen Baozhu was a bit tired. She put the "divine dragon" and the Qingyun Sword together, then went to wash her hands and eat pastries.
In contrast to the Qingyun Sword, the "divine dragon" looked even more unsightly.
[Baozhu, this king thinks the body of the divine dragon is too thin. Why not add more clay?]
Hearing this, Shen Baozhu didn't care about eating pastries anymore. She picked up the "divine dragon" again and generously added a large lump of clay.
But the result was unexpected. The "divine dragon" became short and fat. Looking at the fat clay loach, the Dragon King was almost crazy.
But according to his experience in the past two days, the number of his remarks was almost reaching the limit. By then, this可恶的 magical artifact would limit the number of times again.
The Dragon King was extremely irritable. He flicked his tail.
The gift from the little cutie must be displayed at home. But if those old fogeys saw it, his face as the Dragon King would be gone!
Su Qian also noticed Shen Baozhu's actions. He was surprised and asked, "Aren't you going to eat the pastries, Baozhu?"
Shen Baozhu was still fidgeting with the "divine dragon". "Baozhu wants to make it look better!"
So Su Qian watched as the "divine dragon" changed from a fat clay loach to a long and thin strip, and then to a multi - legged centipede. He had a feeling of "just as I expected".
Su Qian quickly held Shen Baozhu's little hand and said euphemistically, "Baozhu, I also want to knead a divine dragon. How about you take a look at mine first?"
The clay ball rolled back and forth in Su Qian's hands and soon turned into a majestic dragon, with its head held high and its claws strong.
Su Qian brought the little dragon in front of Shen Baozhu and introduced it. "Baozhu, this is the dragon's horn, and this is the dragon's body..."
With the little dragon as a template, Shen Baozhu seemed to have got a cheat code. The "divine dragon" in her hand gradually took shape.
Although it was still not as delicate as Su Qian's little dragon, one could already see its general shape, and it had a bit more liveliness and cuteness.
The Dragon King was shocked and puzzled. He could hardly believe that this was kneaded by the little cutie.
Shen Baozhu also noticed the difference between the before and after of the divine dragon. She said dejectedly, "Sure enough, I still need Brother Su Qian to knead with me."
"Baozhu kneaded it very cutely. Refine it a bit more, and it will be even better." Su Qian said sincerely.
When Shen Baozhu kneaded clay figurines by herself, she always liked to give full play to her creativity. But when there was an object in front of her and she copied it, she could knead it very well.
With Su Qian's company, Shen Baozhu quickly kneaded a lively and cute little dragon. Her confidence soared, and she buried her head in kneading the Qingyun Sword again.
...
Under the setting sun, Ming Shu rushed back to the mansion. He whispered a few words in Shen Heqing's ear, and Shen Heqing's face darkened slightly.
Su Qian's elder sister was named Su Yue. She had married into the countryside earlier.
Learning that a high - ranking official in the city wanted to see her, Su Yue was extremely excited. She got on the carriage with Ming Shu without even packing her things.
When they arrived in the capital, Ming Shu mentioned Su Qian, but Su Yue's expression changed. She insisted on getting off the carriage.
Since she was Su Qian's elder sister, Ming Shu could only arrange for her to stay in an inn first.
Ming Shu told the whole story and said in a low voice, "My lord, on the way, I met Aunt Hongshen. She said that those black - clothed men had confessed."
More than a decade ago, there had been bandit troubles outside the mountains in the capital. Many people wanted to get credit and rushed to suppress the bandits. The court couldn't decide who to send and delayed for a few days, but the bandits became more and more rampant.
It was not until a general from the border passed by and suppressed the bandits casually.
The people who had tried to assassinate Su Qian were the escaped bandits.
After escaping by luck, the bandits got married and had children. They lived in peace for more than a decade. Until more than ten days ago, the former bandit leader found them and asked them to kill Su Qian.
Hearing that it was related to the bandits, Shen Heqing couldn't help frowning. "I heard from my grandfather that the former bandit leaders had all been suppressed. How could another one appear?"
"The suppressed bandit leaders were the first and second leaders. There was also a third leader among the bandits. It was this third leader who wanted to assassinate Young Master Su." Ming Shu's voice suddenly became a bit lower. He whispered, "My lord, there's something wrong with this Su Yue!"
"When I invited her to get on the carriage, I only said that I would take her to see her younger brother. Su Yue happily got on the carriage. But until we reached the city gate, I met an acquaintance, a guard, and casually mentioned Young Master Su. Then she insisted on leaving."
Shen Heqing had a bit of a headache. "Tell Su Qian about this, and then find someone to investigate Su Yue and that bandit. I originally thought it was that elder brother, but now it seems that it may also be related to Su Yue."
"Remember to be tactful, or Su Qian will cry again."
Shen Heqing's prediction was right. After Ming Shu told Su Qian about this, Su Qian's eyes were slightly red, and there were tears in his eyes. He looked extremely pitiful.
Seeing him like this, Ming Shu's tone became even more euphemistic. He only said that something had gone wrong on the way and that Su Yue had been placed in an inn.
Su Qian hung his head and listlessly kneaded the clay lump in his hand.
"Does Brother Su Qian really want to go out and see his elder sister?" Shen Baozhu was a bit curious.
Su Qian hesitated for a moment. First, he shook his head, then nodded. "Not really. Actually, my relationship with my elder sister is not very good. She is sixteen years older than me, and we don't have the chance to meet on weekdays."
"But my elder sister is the only relative I have left in the world. I want to see her before I die. If possible, I also want to see my elder brother."
Shen Baozhu still remembered what Shen Heqing had analyzed yesterday. She repeated it. "Is it possible that the elder brother wants to harm Brother Su Qian for the family property?"
Su Qian shook his head. It wasn't that he trusted his half - brother, but that his elder brother had no reason to harm him.
"Brother is not that stupid, Baozhu. You don't understand."
This remark successfully annoyed the little girl. She said angrily, "Baozhu is very smart. Of course I understand!"
Su Qian paused, hesitated, and then said, "Then shall I tell you, Baozhu?"
"It's like this. Although I'm not as good as Brother Heqing, I'm already a scholar and have a reputation. Most importantly, I'm young and have a great chance of passing the provincial examination. My future is very bright."
"Before my mother passed away, she called my elder brother and me to her bedside and wanted to divide the family property equally. It was my elder brother who refused. He proposed to leave all the family property to me. He just wanted some money and only hoped that I could remember his kindness in the future and promote him after I got a high - ranking official position."
"Moreover, I have a reputation and can be exempted from taxes. Brother has no reason to harm me."
Then Su Qian looked at Shen Baozhu expectantly. "Do you understand, Baozhu?"