Beta Morgan quickly glanced at Alvin Morgan, whose expression had darkened, and cleverly said, "Miss Sinclair, if you want to thank someone, thank my master! He's the one who told me to do it!"
Aurora Sinclair blinked, turned to look at Alvin Morgan for a moment, then picked a beaded bracelet from her bundle and handed it to him.
Standing nearby, Arthur Lockwood could clearly tell that Alvin Morgan's mood had improved considerably.
His handsome, almond-shaped eyes crinkled with a smile as he looked at Aurora Sinclair. "This is good stuff. It's very valuable, so you shouldn't just give it away to anyone."
Aurora Sinclair looked at him, her eyes filled with confusion. Alvin Morgan held the bracelet and patiently explained the value of the wood and craftsmanship. He even used Arthur Lockwood's original bracelet as a comparison to show her the difference in their worth.
To make her understand its importance, he used Arthur Lockwood's family as an example, saying that Arthur's grandfather had nearly gotten into a fight over this bracelet, causing a major stir in Kingsford.
Arthur Lockwood: ...
'A stir? Is he really going to put it like that?'
'All his grandfather did was overspend by a huge amount, nearly bankrupting one of the Lockwood Family's smaller companies, right?'
After Alvin Morgan's "lesson" concluded, Aurora Sinclair nodded woodenly, bent down, and picked out several small cloth pouches, handing them to him.
Without even looking, it was obvious they all contained similar handcrafted items.
Beta Morgan: ...
Arthur Lockwood: ...
'Alvin "The Great Swindler" Morgan, you magnificent bastard!'
'He just got his hands on hundreds of millions worth of artifacts with just a few sentences?'
Alvin Morgan was uncharacteristically stunned. As he met Aurora Sinclair's clear, innocent gaze, he let out a sudden laugh.
After a moment of silence, he gave her another deep look. "Why are you giving them all to me?"
The other two also looked on curiously, wondering inwardly if it was because of Alvin Morgan's devastatingly handsome, ascetic-looking face again.
He wasn't wearing sunglasses this time, so his entire face was completely exposed to Aurora Sinclair.
'Even they felt a little awkward staring at him for too long, let alone a girl like Aurora Sinclair who'd grown up in the middle of nowhere?'
'Don't tell me Alvin Morgan is about to rack up another love debt?'
Just as they were thinking this, Aurora Sinclair's slightly halting voice sounded.
"Master told me not to cause trouble!"
"..."
"CLANG—"
With a crisp sound, the coffee cup in Arthur Lockwood's hand dropped to the table. He buried his face in his arms, his whole body shaking as if he were having a seizure.
Beta Morgan looked away, trying his hardest to suppress his laughter. It was the first time he had ever seen the expression on his master's face crack.
The bundles—the so-called "source of all trouble"—sat nonchalantly on the table between the two of them.
Half an hour later, Beta Morgan solemnly placed three A4-sized sheets of paper in front of Aurora Sinclair. "Miss Sinclair, please sign here and add your thumbprint. This is a custodial agreement for the items between you and my master. It's in triplicate—you keep one copy, my master keeps one, and the last one goes to Young Master Lockwood, who will act as the witness..."
Beta Morgan rattled on and on, explaining every clause of the agreement to Aurora Sinclair in detail.
"Miss Sinclair, are you clear on all the terms of the agreement? Consider these items entrusted to my young master for safekeeping. If you wish to retrieve them, you can contact my young master at any time using the contact information on the agreement."
Aurora Sinclair nodded and obediently signed her name and pressed her thumbprint.
Alvin Morgan took the agreement from Beta Morgan and glanced at the signature at the bottom.
The characters were elegant and neat, written in a standard Slender Gold-style script. It was obvious she had practiced extensively.
Just before they deplaned, Aurora Sinclair took out three pieces of yellow Talisman Paper from her cloth bag and gave one to each of the three men.
She instructed them solemnly, "Keep it with you."
The Talisman Paper was just ordinary yellow paper. On it, a traditional character was casually drawn in red ink, with the words "safe travels" written in small script below.
It looked like a cheap trinket meant to fool people.
Arthur Lockwood was baffled.
Beta Morgan looked astonished.
Alvin Morgan clutched the Talisman Paper, his expression darkening slightly as he scanned the people around them.
"You will forget everything that happened with Aurora Sinclair on this plane!"
Everyone: ...
***
The car that came to pick up Aurora Sinclair was another black sedan, driven by an older man.
Sue Quinn was very surprised to see him and asked politely, "Butler Sinclair, what are you doing here? You could have just sent Lawson for a small matter like this!"
Butler Sinclair gave her a faint glance, his presence naturally authoritative. "You're getting more and more out of line! Can't you see the young miss is carrying so much? Are you all blind?"
Though his words were directed at the black-suited bodyguards beside him, the criticism was clearly aimed at Sue Quinn.
Sue Quinn secretly gritted her teeth and reached for the small bundle Aurora Sinclair was carrying, but Aurora dodged her.
She immediately retorted, full of self-righteousness, "The Second Miss doesn't let anyone touch her things."
Butler Sinclair sized up Aurora Sinclair impassively. She looked so much like the late Second Master.
'Especially her eyes. The more I look, the more they resemble his. The Old Master must be afraid to see her, afraid it will remind him of the Second Master!'
Composing himself, he made a welcoming gesture to Aurora Sinclair. "Second Miss, your things can go in the trunk."
The Sinclair Family had sent three cars in total. Two vehicles for the bodyguards flanked Aurora Sinclair's sedan, one in front and one behind, creating an imposing procession.
After leaving the airport expressway, they headed straight for the ring road, flanked on both sides by bustling skyscrapers.
Twilight had fallen, but the city outside was still ablaze with light. The streets were choked with traffic, and lights of every color painted Kingsford in a picture of extravagant prosperity.
Aurora Sinclair's vague childhood memories slowly began to sharpen...
***
At that moment, the Sinclair Villa at Cinderfoot was unusually lively. The driveway was packed with so many luxury cars it looked like an auto show.
A black Ferrari pulled up stylishly in front of the Sinclair Villa. A servant immediately rushed over to open the door. "Fourth Master—"
The man who got out had sharp, dashing features. He wore light purple sunglasses, a patterned shirt, black casual pants, and had one hand in his pocket. He casually tossed the keys to the Sinclair family servant.
"Is your master late?"
"Not at all. The Second Miss's plane was delayed! Butler Sinclair just went to pick her up."
"Where's the Old Master?"
"In the study!"
Tanner Sinclair glanced at a few familiar cars parked by the entrance and remarked teasingly, "Quite the big turnout today!"
***
On the second floor of the Sinclair Villa.
The eldest master's wife, Hailey Gordon, was complaining to Jade Sinclair, "Third Sister, I really don't know what the Old Master is thinking! It's just for the college entrance exams, right? Does he really have to bring that monster home to live with us? She hasn't even arrived and she's already causing trouble at the airport! If she comes back, the Sinclair Family won't be big enough for all the chaos she'll cause!"
Jade Sinclair simply smiled without a word. Years of being a daughter-in-law in the Quincy Family had long since trained her to remain poised, whether praised or insulted.
She picked up her teacup and took a light sip. "She is the Second Brother's daughter, after all. If the Old Master hears you talking like that, Sister-in-law, he'll be angry."
Hailey Gordon was a daughter of Kingsford's Gordon Family, making her marriage to a Sinclair a match between social equals. But Jade Sinclair had married into the Quincy Family—one of Kingsford's Great Families of power and influence. Even though she married a man from a branch family, the Quincy name was still one the Sinclairs looked up to, and her own status had naturally risen with it.
Because of this, Hailey Gordon felt somewhat inadequate in front of her powerful sister-in-law, but she didn't want to seem inferior.
"Third Sister, there's something you don't know. Our Stella is taking the entrance examination for the Kingsford Calligraphy and Painting Association tomorrow. That's a huge deal, and I'm just worried that the rumors about Aurora Sinclair are true and that she'll affect Stella!"
As Hailey Gordon said this, she couldn't hide the pride on her face. She had given the Sinclair Family a son and a daughter, both of them exceptional individuals. Her daughter, Stella Sinclair, was especially known in Kingsford as a prodigy. She had started learning calligraphy and traditional painting at the age of six and had received high praise from the teachers at the Calligraphy Association.
One had to understand that the Sinclair Family had made its fortune in real estate speculation. They were rich, but their foundation was shallow.
In a place like Kingsford, full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons, the Sinclair Family's heritage was simply too weak. They had barely squeezed into the upper-class circle and remained a peripheral family, completely unable to access the true power brokers in the core circle.
Therefore, starting from Jade Sinclair's generation, the Sinclair Family began to place special emphasis on the cultural education of their descendants. With the exception of Aurora Sinclair, all Sinclair children had to undergo various forms of elite education from a young age.
Stella Sinclair was a prime example of this success. Her calligraphy and traditional painting skills had earned praise from the teachers of the Kingsford Calligraphy and Painting Association, which gave the Sinclairs hope of entering true high society.
Because of this, even Jade Sinclair, who had married high into a branch of the Quincy Family, couldn't help but think highly of her eldest niece.
If Stella were to one day catch the eye of a young master from one of the core Great Families, Jade's own standing in her husband's family would naturally improve as well.
A glint flashed quickly in Jade Sinclair's calm eyes. "In that case, just let Stella focus on her preparations. It's best she doesn't meet with Aurora Sinclair, just in case she gets tainted by bad luck!"
"But what about the Old Master?"
"I'll talk to him!"
Jade Sinclair stood up and hurried away.
A smile of a successfully executed scheme spread across Hailey Gordon's face.
She rose gracefully, all traces of her earlier deference gone, and made a call to Stella.
"Stella, darling, you don't need to rush over anymore!"