"What branch?"
A'xiao burst into laughter upon hearing this, declaring grandly, "Ouyang Kai is our young master, and his father is Ouyang Zhaofeng, the fortress lord of our Ouyang family!"
"Old Patriarch Jin, I advise you to think twice before you act. If you dare to touch our young lady, the Fortress Lord will not let you off!" A'da warned closely.
Old Master Jin's expression changed dramatically, his eyes suddenly contracting as he scrutinized Su Ding from head to toe.
"You are Ouyang Zhaofeng's granddaughter?"
The Ouyang family had resided on the island for generations. Apart from special departments that engaged in external trade, no one else, including the fortress lord, ever left.
More than twenty years ago, an organization developed a drug that caused many deaths. If not for Fortress Lord Ouyang Zhaofeng's decisive action in sending people to eliminate them, the matter would not have been resolved so quickly.
And Fortress Lord Ouyang was an even more mysterious figure than the Ouyang family itself, with almost no one having seen him.
Therefore, when Old Master Jin heard that Su Ding was colluding with the Ouyang family, he never thought of the higher echelons of the Ouyang family. In his mind, only certain organizations within the Ouyang family could interact with the outside world.
"That's right, Old Patriarch Jin, Miss Su Ding is indeed the little princess of our Ouyang family!"
A'da affirmed.
Old Master Jin looked at Su Ding, then at A'da and A'xiao. After a long silence, he said, "If what you say is true, prove it to me. Contact the Ouyang family immediately and have them come to the Jin family to pick you up."
Upon hearing this, A'da immediately called Ouyang Kai, but none of his calls were answered after several attempts.
Helplessly, he sent a text message for help.
"Our young master didn't answer the phone, but as long as he sees the message, he will come to save us," A'da explained.
Old Master Jin narrowed his eyes, weighing the credibility of their words.
If they were indeed people from Fortress Lord Ouyang's side, then he really couldn't act rashly. Ouyang Zhaofeng was not a simple man, and there was no need for him to make an enemy of him.
"Only when he comes to pick you up can I believe what you are saying."
Old Master Jin paused and added, "For the next few days, you will stay at my Jin family. Rest assured, I will not do anything to you until your identities are confirmed."
"We will not be separated from the young lady!" A'da said urgently.
"Unless we die!" A'xiao said warily, glancing around.
Su Ding also spoke up, "Old Jin, I'm truly not lying to you. Jin Ye can also testify. He has met my uncle. I don't know what misunderstanding you have with the Ouyang family, but we can talk. There's no need for impulsiveness."
Old Master Jin contemplated the entire sequence of events.
Su Ding's identity was indeed questionable, and he was unsure whether she belonged to Fortress Lord Ouyang's people or that organization.
"Alright, confiscate their weapons and take the three of them to the side courtyard," Old Master Jin finally decided, unwilling to take any risks.
Verifying their claims would only take time.
And for now, as long as Su Ding was in his hands, there was no shortage of time to wait for the truth.
A'da and A'xiao were reluctant to hand over their firearms, but a direct confrontation would only put them and their young lady in a dangerous situation. Moreover, they had already sent a message to their young master and believed they would soon be able to escape.
Thus, the three were escorted to the side courtyard.
At the entrance of the side courtyard, Old Master Jin also assigned four bodyguards to take turns guarding them, prohibiting them from leaving.
Naturally, all their signals were also jammed to prevent them from colluding in their accounts or exchanging information.
At the same time.
Jin Xiao looked at the two children and said, "Your Aunt Su Ding has something urgent today and cannot come."
"Impossible!"
Jin Xiaoxi immediately retorted, "Mom promised me she would come, and she will! Grandpa Xiao is lying, Grandpa Xiao is lying!"
Jin Xiao found it difficult to deal with this child, but thinking of his father's instructions, he had to lie, "Be good, Xiaoxi. Su Ding just called and said she'll come another day."
Jin Xiaoxi snorted and directly took out his small phone to call Su Ding.
Ring, ring, ring...
The call wasn't answered for a long time, and Jin Xiaoxi became increasingly unhappy. "Even if Mom can't come, she'll tell me. What's going on?"
Tang Tang, beside him, also rested his chin on his hand, looking puzzled.
Suddenly, Jin Xiaoxi stood up, "I'm going to find Mom! Mom must have encountered danger to not be able to come!"
What was initially a guess terrified Jin Xiao, almost making his face change color.
Just then, Old Master Jin, leaning on his cane, walked in slowly, his expression somewhat solemn. "What's wrong?"
"Grandpa Xiao said my mom isn't coming," Jin Xiaoxi said indignantly.
"That's right, she's not coming."
Old Master Jin said heavily, feeling a bit helpless, having forgotten that Xiaoxi would be so difficult to handle.
He exchanged a glance with Jin Xiao and said to Xiaoxi, "Be good, Xiaoxi. Your Grandpa Xiao isn't lying to you. Your mom will come when she's finished with her business."
He then said to Jin Xiao, "You come with me to the study."
Seeing Old Master Jin's troubled expression, Jin Xiao quickly replied, "Okay, Father."
After the two elders left, Jin Xiaoxi's small face remained full of anger. He persistently redialed Su Ding's number but could never get through.
"Under normal circumstances, Mom must be in trouble!"
With his previous experiences, Jin Xiaoxi had become very sharp.
Under normal circumstances, Su Ding would have explained to Jin Xiaoxi, but her breaking her promise without even calling was very strange.
Jin Xiaoxi immediately ran upstairs, wanting to ask his father for clarification.
However, at the entrance of the fourth-floor staircase, two bodyguard uncles stood guard, saying that his father was handling official business and no one was allowed to disturb him.
The bodyguards only obeyed Old Master Jin.
Helpless, Jin Xiaoxi had to retreat.
"What exactly is going on? Dad is still busy with work at this hour, and Mom doesn't know where she is?"
He clenched his little fists, his small face drawn tight.
"Grandpa Jin has Aunt Ding Ding's scent on him," Tang Tang suddenly said.
Hearing this, Jin Xiaoxi immediately looked at Tang Tang, "Tang Tang, are you serious?"
Tang Tang wrinkled his little nose and widened his eyes, nodding, "Mm-hmm!"
Tang Tang's senses had always been sharper than others, a trait Jin Xiaoxi had recently discovered. And Tang Tang never lied, so it seemed Grandpa Jin had indeed met Mom.
Combined with the reactions of Grandpa Jin and Grandpa Xiao earlier, something was definitely being hidden from him!
Jin Xiaoxi stared in the direction of the study for a long time. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind, and a plan quietly surfaced.
If he did this, would he be able to find out where Mom was?