Soon, the two arrived at the villa entrance.
Min Ziqiong's mother, out of breath from exhaustion, plopped down on the doorstep.
Min Ziqiong's father exclaimed, "Careful! Don't drop that thing!"
He then rushed forward and snatched an object from his wife's embrace.
It was the snuff bottle they had intended to auction off earlier!
In the sunlight, the snuff bottle glowed with a translucent emerald hue. One could faintly discern a slender bamboo plant intricately carved on the inside, its leaves lifelike, exuding a vibrant, dewy freshness.
This snuff bottle was an extremely rare inner-painted piece!
This technique involved using specially crafted brushes to paint on the interior of the snuff bottle, achieving a transparent, exquisite, and subtly powerful effect.
A fine inner-painted snuff bottle commanded a high price.
If the material used was precious and the artist a renowned master, the entire snuff bottle's value could skyrocket, fetching tens of millions not being uncommon.
The snuff bottle in Min Ziqiong's father's hand was clearly of that caliber.
Crafted from top-grade imperial green jade, it featured inner paintings by the master Zhou Leyuan, a renowned artist from the Xianfeng era.
It had always been a treasured heirloom of the Min family, never displayed publicly.
If not for the desperate need to raise one hundred million yuan in ransom, Min Ziqiong's parents would never have considered parting with it!
What they hadn't anticipated was that the snuff bottle, which they were confident would fetch over thirty million, ultimately failed to sell, with its starting bid of five million going unmet!
It was a ridiculous turn of events!
"A bunch of blind fools, they deserve to stay poor!" Min Ziqiong's father muttered, caressing the snuff bottle with lingering indignation.
Min Ziqiong's mother retorted angrily, "You old fossil, is that snuff bottle more important than me in your eyes? You're upset I almost dropped it! I'll rip your mouth to shreds today!"
"No, no, wife, listen to me..."
Just as the couple was about to erupt into a scuffle, Min Ziqiong's voice cut through the tension. "Dad, Mom, you're here?"
"Why are you standing at the door? Come in!"
Hearing this, Min Ziqiong's mother temporarily let her husband off the hook, huffing, "I wouldn't dare to come in. A villa worth billions, I'm afraid I'll dirty someone's floor and can't afford to pay!"
Min Ziqiong's face instantly turned awkward.
"Wife, what nonsense are you spouting! Did you forget what you promised me earlier?" Min Ziqiong's father quickly pulled his wife aside.
He then subtly hid the snuff bottle in his chest and put on a cheerful facade. "Xiao Qiong, we didn't come for anything in particular... it's just..."
"Um... it's just..."
"We miss Nannan!"
After a long pause, Min Ziqiong's father managed to come up with an excuse.
"After all, we've watched Nannan grow up since she was little. It would be false to say we have no feelings for her. A few days ago, she experienced a misfortune, and we hadn't had a chance to properly see her before you took her away."
"So, your mother and I came today primarily to see Nannan, and also to discuss a few minor matters."
Hearing her father's words, Min Ziqiong hesitated. "Nannan is in class right now. Why don't you come in and wait?"
"Wait? Wait for what! We don't have time to wait! Let me tell you directly..."
Min Ziqiong's mother finally lost her patience and was about to reveal their true intentions.
Just then, a small figure came rushing over – it was Nannan!
Somehow, Nannan had sensed her grandparents' arrival, ended her cultivation, and run out.
"Nannan!" Min Ziqiong's father, who truly doted on his granddaughter, rushed forward and embraced her.
He almost dropped the snuff bottle he was holding.
Min Ziqiong's mother, however, let out a cold snort and scrutinized Nannan. "Following a rich boss really treats you well. In just a few days, this little girl has gained some weight! Are you still going to deny it? Are you still going to say the owner of this villa isn't the man who hurt you?"
"If not, why would he be so good to you and your daughter? Is he after your aging beauty, or your daughter born out of wedlock?"
"..." Faced with her mother's barrage of questions, Min Ziqiong was speechless.
Just as she was about to explain, Nannan suddenly pointed at Min Ziqiong's mother and made babbling sounds.
She accompanied her sounds with gestures.
"What's wrong with Nannan?" Min Ziqiong's father asked in surprise.
Min Ziqiong, however, stared intently at Nannan's gestures and, with a look of shock, translated what the child was trying to convey: "Grandma... is... a monster?"
"Nannan, don't talk nonsense! It's rude!" After translating, Min Ziqiong quickly reprimanded Nannan.
At the same time, she tried to placate her mother.
But it was too late.
Upon hearing the words "Grandma is a monster," Min Ziqiong's mother exploded in fury.
Her face contorted, she glared at Nannan, hurled curses, and strode menacingly towards the child.
Vaguely, she indeed seemed like a wild spirit or a monstrous creature enraged and ready to devour someone!
Seeing this, Nannan was terrified.
She let out panicked cries of "Ah, ah, ah," her small hands waving frantically.
Her fingers formed a gesture – it was the exorcism pose from the show "Balala the Fairies"!
Witnessing this, Min Ziqiong's mother grew even more enraged.
"You mother and daughter are truly terrible! One conspires with outsiders to harm her brother, and the other calls her grandmother a monster! If I had known, I should have strangled you both to death back then! We wouldn't be implicated by you two, ruining the entire Min family's reputation!"
"Yes, strangle you both! After strangling you, the Min family's reputation will be restored! The Min family's misfortune will also be banished!"
"For the Min family, for Xiao Qing, I will strangle you both!"
Min Ziqiong's mother, appearing deranged, her eyes flashing with a sinister and cold light, lunged towards Nannan!
Intending to strangle Nannan to death!
Seeing this, both Min Ziqiong and her father were terrified.
They desperately tried to intervene, but for some reason, Min Ziqiong's mother possessed extraordinary strength.
Their combined efforts could not hold her back!
Just as Nannan was about to meet her end at Min Ziqiong's mother's hands, a dazzling golden light suddenly burst forth from Nannan's body.
The next second, Min Ziqiong's mother was thrown backward as if struck by electricity!
*Thump!*
Min Ziqiong's mother fell to the ground, her eyes rolled back, and she went still.
"Wife!"
Min Ziqiong's father quickly put Nannan down and rushed to her side.
Min Ziqiong seized the opportunity to pull Nannan into her embrace.
"Nannan, don't be scared, Mommy's here..." Min Ziqiong comforted her daughter.
However, Nannan's face showed no sign of fear. Instead, she gestured with her hands, indicating that the monster on Grandma was gone, defeated by her.
Min Ziqiong looked incredulously and skeptically at her mother lying on the ground in the distance.
It seemed... a certain unsettling aura had indeed left her mother.
Though she still appeared as a shrewish woman who refused to yield, she at least seemed more human now.
Her mother's previous demeanor had been entirely devoid of humanity, resembling a vengeful ghost!