Chapter 135: It’s Them
When Xu Youyou bid on the jade pendant at the auction, she had kept all the relevant transaction documents.
He Zhilian immediately looked extremely grateful and said, “Miss Xu, there’s no need to go through all that trouble. A photo will suffice.”
Xu Youyou was quick in her actions. Although she didn’t know exactly what use a partnership with the He family would serve, she still immediately called her housekeeper, Zhang Jie, asking her to take photos of all the materials and send them.
He Zhilian wasn’t concerned at all about the auction price marked on the documents being 20 million yuan. After receiving the materials Xu Youyou sent, she immediately forwarded them into a small group chat called “He Family Future.”
Within thirty seconds, the group chat was in an uproar, with several people even posting dozens of crying emoji stickers.
Xu Youyou smiled and said, “Speaking of which, your family is an antiques family. Don’t you usually keep an eye on auctions? Otherwise, you should have noticed this jade pendant much earlier.”
Many people attended the auction in Shanghai, and Xu Youyou had even met a few familiar faces there that day.
He Zhilian responded, “We do pay attention to auctions, but the Qilin Jade Pendant has this ability. Until it has fulfilled its mission, it will always avoid people like us, only arriving in the hands of the destined person.”
“For example, my third cousin was supposed to go to this auction, but coincidentally, his wife had an argument that day, and he had to spend the day comforting her, so he didn’t attend.”
Xu Youyou suddenly remembered an old matter involving the jade pendant: “I seem to recall that someone in your family had entrusted Mrs. Cen Mingzhu to find this jade pendant.”
He Zhilian nodded and said, “The Cen family is deeply involved in the jewelry business, and they have dealings with my third cousin’s maternal side. It’s not surprising that someone entrusted her to look for this pendant. But she certainly didn’t explicitly say who was searching for it, right?”
Xu Youyou nodded, recalling that Cen Mingzhu had only vaguely mentioned it, and she had thought a buyer would appear soon. However, after waiting for a while, no one showed up.
He Zhilian explained, “According to the rules, anyone who intends to compete for the position of family head cannot openly inquire about the Qilin Jade Pendant. But privately, it’s a different story.”
“However, the Qilin Jade Pendant only acknowledges the most capable members of the He family’s younger generation. Even if someone stumbles upon some information, as long as the jade pendant is unwilling, that information will be concealed, intentionally or not.”
The more Xu Youyou looked at the pendant, the more reluctant she felt to sell it to the He family.
At this moment, Cen Mingzhu, who was in Shanghai, was looking at new jewelry designs for the upcoming season when she suddenly slapped her forehead.
“Ah, the jade pendant! I almost forgot to inform He Lao San.”
Cen Mingzhu had always been sharp, but this time she felt strange about her poor memory. She shouldn’t have forgotten such an important matter for months.
After hurriedly calling He Lao San, she found that the other end sounded somewhat disappointed, but he still tried to maintain his composure:
“Thank you for the reminder. Is the buyer a young woman named Xu? She spent 20 million yuan to win the bid?”
Cen Mingzhu was startled: “You’ve already seen her?”
“My cousin has seen her. She’s already bought the jade pendant.”
He Lao San’s voice was hoarse, and Cen Mingzhu could sense his disappointment even through the phone.
“Isn’t it good that your cousin bought it? By the way, why is this jade pendant so important? It seems like everyone in the He family is looking for it?” Cen Mingzhu asked curiously.
When she received this commission, the person who made the request had offered a price she couldn’t refuse.
Now that He Lao San knew the news, the price was no longer valid, and Cen Mingzhu felt more and more annoyed at her poor memory.
Although He Lao San lost the competition for the family head position, he would never betray the He family. He casually made up a reason, saying, “That jade pendant was my grandmother’s favorite treasure. She was very upset when she lost it, so we’ve been trying to find it.”
Cen Mingzhu didn’t think much of it and comforted him: “It’s good that your cousin found it. The He family’s children are all filial. Your grandmother will be very happy when she finds out.”
After hanging up, He Lao San’s disappointment was still evident on his face. However, his mother, who was beside him, said, “It’s just a jade pendant. Even if He Zhilian finds it, does that mean your grandfather will let a little girl become the family head? You’re the eldest grandson. The family business will surely be handed over to you!”
But when these words were spoken, both He Lao San and He Father looked at her with disapproval.
“The He family never discriminates between men and women. Mom, don’t say things like that. Grandpa will be upset if he hears it,” He Lao San muttered.
He Mother furrowed her brows, “Girls will eventually marry out. We can’t just let the whole He family be her dowry. If Zhilian becomes the family head, I’ll definitely cause a scene!”
He Father said firmly, “I’ll be the first to support Zhilian becoming the new family head! If you cause a scene, I’ll divorce you!”
He Mother widened her eyes in disbelief, staring at her husband as though she had seen a monster.
He Lao San knew the consequences of picking the wrong side: “Mom, after you and Dad divorce, I’ll still call you Mom, but I won’t fight Zhilian for the position of family head.”
He Mother was furious, but she still compromised: “You all speak in riddles. You use me when you need help, and kick me aside when you don’t! Fine, I won’t fight for it. But it feels like I’m begging you all to become the family head!”
Such arguments played out in several small households within the He family, but no matter how much others tried to stir things up, no one seemed intent on continuing the fight for the inheritance.
He Zhilian quickly made the payment. Before the auction even started, the large sum had already been transferred to Xu Youyou’s account.
What was even more surprising was that this was after-tax money, and He Zhilian’s finance team even provided Xu Youyou with a freshly issued tax certificate.
This made He Zhilian the second person, after Lu Jingyao, to transact with Xu Youyou using post-tax income.
Seeing this real cash flow, Xu Youyou finally understood the He family’s determination to cooperate and admired He Zhilian even more.
Lu Jingyao hadn’t expected that by giving up space for just a few minutes, he would lose his closest position by Xu Youyou’s side.
He Zhilian, sticking close to Xu Youyou, had completely taken over the spot, even pushing He Zhitian into a corner. Anyone who didn’t know them might assume they had been friends for years.
“Miss He, does your family have any antiques for sale?” Lu Jingyao asked, feeling uncomfortable with He Zhilian’s proximity and wanting to move her away.
He Zhilian smiled and replied, “All the items we are auctioning have already been registered.”
After brushing off Lu Jingyao, He Zhilian immediately leaned closer to Xu Youyou, “Youyou, you’ve been with me this whole time, but you haven’t had a chance to properly explore the other auction rooms. Let me show you some other pieces. An old gentleman has brought a Ming Dynasty phoenix crown encrusted with emeralds.”
Xu Youyou was truly intrigued.
Lu Jingyao couldn’t help but frown. As someone not from an antiques family, he couldn’t compete with insiders when it came to such information.
He Zhilian took a triumphant glance at him and firmly secured the position on Xu Youyou’s right side.
However, after just a few steps, they bumped into the Gu siblings, who had just come out of the lounge.
Gu Yujie looked lazy, with a satisfied expression on his face.
Gu Xueying’s eyes were red and looked like she had been crying.
He Zhilian narrowed her eyes, sizing up the two siblings.
He Zhitian, seeing his enemies, was furious and tugged at He Zhilian’s sleeve, complaining, “Sister, it’s them! They bullied me!”
