Chapter 1238: The Underground Palace, Ji Yingjie is the Chief Designer

"Yes, that's right, it's me, genuine and authentic." Ji Yingjie stuffed her face, not forgetting to roll her eyes at her niece and niece-in-law.

These two idiots.

They even claim to be the smart ones with high IQs in Jiangzhou, yet they couldn't even find her.

People, you know, have to rely on themselves at all times; others are just unreliable.

Ji Yingjie grumbled inwardly; it wasn't that she didn't dare to say it, nor was she embarrassed.

It was mainly because she was too hungry, her mouth was occupied, and she had no time to talk.

Sheng Hanyu and his wife rushed home at top speed, both wearing the same expression—faces full of astonishment, and within that shock, there was also surprise!

This expression was the same as the children's when Ji Yingjie suddenly popped up at the Sheng Family.

Shi Youxuan: "Aunt, where have you been all these days? You had us worried to death."

"Hmph! What's the use of just being anxious? You still didn't find me, did you? I heard that in order to find me, you even stopped caring about the children?" Ji Yingjie, now full, leaned back on the sofa and picked her teeth with dental floss.

"It's not that I'm criticizing you, looking for me is right, but you have to use the right methods; you can't just bump around like headless flies... It's a good thing I'm smart and escaped on my own. If I were even a little bit dumber, I would have died of old age in that place waiting for you to save me..."

She wore a look of complete composure, not answering the question directly, but instead berating the couple head-on.

If it were any other time, Sheng Hanyu wouldn't indulge her bad habits and would definitely turn around and leave.

But he didn't leave now.

Because he was too curious; he wanted to know how she escaped.

Where was she locked up?

You have to know, in order to find Ji Yingjie, the couple had used every resource they could possibly mobilize.

They had conducted rigorous investigations through all formal and informal channels; let alone a person, even a fly wouldn't have been able to leave Jiangzhou without escaping their notice.

Within Jiangzhou itself.

The surveillance footage from these past days was pulled, and they conducted searches using the Tianyan System and intelligent facial recognition.

High-tech methods weren't all; they also posted missing person notices in major media outlets and even in the streets and alleys, trying to attract tips from the public with high rewards.

High rewards were effective, but they attracted quite a few scammers.

Every day, dozens of people tried to defraud the reward money with false information.

After Shi Youxuan vetted them one by one, she bundled them up and reported them to the police; those who needed to be detained were detained, and those who needed to be fined were fined!

When others lose their loved ones, they are already anxious and upset; using such things to scam money is something that cannot be indulged, and they must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others.

If they get a taste of success, those kinds of people will only become more excessive next time.

There were many calls every day, but not a single one was useful. Where exactly was she hidden?

It wasn't just Shi Youxuan and her husband; even their think-tank friends and all the top professionals hadn't found a single clue.

And then, she suddenly appeared.

It was as if she had popped out from underground.

Ji Yingjie became more and more spirited as she spoke, especially when praising herself; she simply couldn't stop.

Shi Youxuan couldn't listen anymore and interrupted her aunt: "Alright, stop the nonsense. Tell us quickly, how did you escape? Where were you locked up all these days?"

Ji Yingjie widened her eyes and put on airs: "Ji Youxuan, is that how you talk to your elder? Is this the upbringing of the Shi Family? So lacking in manners; it really won't do if you weren't raised in the Ji Family from a young age..."

Shi Youxuan interrupted her again: "If I lack manners, it's also what your husband taught me. Your husband and children still don't know where they are being held and haven't been rescued, yet you are here chattering away. Is that appropriate?"

This sentence worked.

Ji Yingjie immediately changed the subject: "What did you ask just now? Say it again!"

Shi Youxuan:...

So she hadn't been listening to anyone else at all, just focused on showing off.

So she repeated it again: "How did you escape, where did you escape from, and was the person who kidnapped you Qi Heng?"

Mentioning Qi Heng, Ji Yingjie's expression, which had just calmed down, became colorful again.

But unlike the excitement from before, now it was filled with indignation: "It was him who kidnapped me, that bastard, that son of a bitch who has the guts of a bear and a leopard—he even dared to kidnap me? And he still has the nerve to want my Ji Family Treasure?"

"There are plenty of people eyeing my Ji Family Treasure; who does he think he is?"

"If it were easy to make someone from the Ji Family talk, there probably wouldn't be anything left of the treasure by now. These little bastards don't want face, they only want money..."

Shi Youxuan and her husband looked at each other helplessly.

Sheng Hanyu conveyed through his eyes to his wife: "Why is she so talkative? Should we remind her?"

She signaled to her husband: "Forget it. She probably hasn't spoken to anyone these past few days and is stifled. Let her talk; consider it a vent. Once she's done venting, she'll say what needs to be said."

So the couple listened quietly and didn't interrupt her this time.

This time, Ji Yingjie didn't ramble on forever; she was satisfied after scolding for ten minutes or so.

She suddenly calmed down and continued to answer Shi Youxuan's question: "I was locked in the Underground Palace beneath the Marsh by Qi Heng. Escaping was easy; I designed most of the palace, and there are exits that no one else knows about except me..."

It was still rambling, with a large amount of self-aggrandizement mixed into the facts, but she did explain the ins and outs.

Shi Youxuan and her husband learned that their guess was indeed correct; Aunt was indeed taken away by Qi Heng.

But she wasn't taken out of Jiangzhou; she was hidden in the Underground Palace in the Marsh!

That place—it wasn't that they hadn't thought of it, but they hadn't searched it. Thinking about it now, they really regretted it.

The reason they didn't search it was because that place had been developed for many years and had become one of the most famous tourist attractions in Jiangzhou.

People went to visit in an endless stream every day, and because there were too many tourists, ticket purchases had to be limited.

Could a place like that hide someone?

Facts proved—it could!

This was the first time Shi Youxuan knew that not everything had been developed; there were still undeveloped areas.

And her aunt had been hidden by Qi Heng in the undeveloped area. It was very secluded, completely isolated from the outside, and quite large. As long as enough supplies were stored, there was no problem hiding inside for however long.

It was precisely because it was too secluded that he felt that place was fine.

He didn't even send guards, only installing surveillance and a video phone in the place where Ji Yingjie was being held.

The surveillance was for convenient monitoring, and the video phone was for communication.

Every day, Qi Heng would call several times on schedule to ask Ji Yingjie about the Treasure, and he would spend the remaining time brainwashing her.

He preached that freedom is precious, that wealth is an external possession, and that one brings nothing into this world and takes nothing out of it.

Ji Yingjie scoffed at this; if wealth is an external possession, why was he racking his brains so hard to get the Treasure?

A knife cannot carve its own handle.

Qi Heng was left speechless by Ji Yingjie's retort, and later, the phone calls became non-visual.

Not only were they non-visual, but they were also time-limited!

As long as Ji Yingjie spoke for more than three minutes, the call would be disconnected and could not be reconnected for two hours.