Misty Rain of the Old Times

After sobering up considerably, Gao Jingming belatedly realized that he had probably caused trouble. He glanced at Chen Xuan speechlessly. What a mess this was! He, a top scholar, had actually turned his family upside down. If word got out, everyone would laugh at him.

He looked at Madam Gao cautiously and asked worriedly, "Mother, are you all alright?"

Only now did he feel a little scared. He had a full understanding of the effects of the fog array. He could only imagine what his family would face if they were trapped in it. His mother, such a steady person, was holding a hairpin and looking like she was fighting for her life. If anything happened to her, he would be willing to die for her.

Madam Gao was furious upon hearing this, and said angrily, "I'm perfectly fine, I wasn't scared to death by you two. You two brats, you're both married and have established careers, over forty years old combined, yet you still act so recklessly and without any sense of proportion. Is this acceptable? Get over here now, if your skin itches, I'll loosen it for you."

"Mother, listen to me, we didn't mean it," Gao Jingming said anxiously, his face flushed. He was already in his twenties and about to get married, but he was still being scolded by his mother. If word got out, he would be too ashamed to face anyone.

Chen Xuan wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Knowing he had done something wrong, he hesitated and didn't dare to go over. He said weakly, "Please calm down, sir. It was our fault. If we get sick from getting angry, we'll be in big trouble. Well, there's a reason for this. Actually, it's the young master..."

Before he could finish speaking, Gao Jingming glared at him angrily, his eyes seeming to say, "Ah Xuan, are you even human? Why are you making me take the blame now?"

Chen Xuan exchanged glances, implying that someone had to take responsibility rather than both of them being punished. He added, "Don't worry, they won't kill us."

Upon receiving the signal, Gao Jingming was almost speechless; having such a brother was simply the worst luck imaginable.

Seeing the two of them exchanging glances, Madam Gao almost laughed in anger. They wanted to take the blame and escape alone, didn't they? No way! Neither of you will get away today!

"Fine, fine, you two have grown up and become independent, huh? You don't listen to me anymore, do you? If you won't come over, I will. Let's see who dares to run away today!" she said through gritted teeth, and strode towards the two of them.

Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming's faces fell; well, they were doomed.

Madam Gao, who is usually such a virtuous and dignified person, has now abandoned all decorum, which shows how angry she is.

It's really a bit much that the two of them did this. They should have given us a heads-up. They made a mess of the house. What kind of behavior is that?

Well, it's not like she'll kill anyone anyway, so let her vent her anger. Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming stood obediently, even more so than when they first went to school.

"Why can't you go play somewhere where there's no one around? Why do you have to turn the house upside down like this?" Madam Gao stepped forward and grabbed Gao Jingming's ear, scolding him. She was still terrified by what had happened before, and the more she talked, the angrier she became. Luckily, nothing serious happened. If it had been an outsider targeting them, the whole family would probably have been in trouble.

"What excuse can I possibly make now?" Gao Jingming cried, on the verge of tears. "Mother, I was wrong. I'll never do it again. Be gentle, your ear's going to fall off!"

"Now you know it hurts? Where were you before?" Madam Gao sneered.

Chen Xuan could tell at a glance that Gao Jingming was faking it, and he did it quite convincingly, just like the real thing. A dignified top scholar, a 21-year-old prefect, actually cooperating with his mother's performance—it was incredibly amusing.

So Chen Xuan couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

Seeing this, Madam Gao chuckled to herself, knowing full well that her son was trying to make her happy. However, she glared at Chen Xuan with a stern face, grabbed his ear with her other hand and twisted it precisely, saying irritably, "And you, Xiao Xuan, how dare you laugh? How can you be so shameless after all this? If we don't discipline you, you'll be flying high!"

If Chen Xuan tried to dodge, how could the old lady possibly succeed? She had no choice but to cooperate obediently, immediately baring her teeth and jumping up and down, saying, "Ouch, ouch, ouch! I know I was wrong, I'll never do it again!"

Gao Jingming, whose ear had also been twisted, looked over and said resentfully, "Ah Xuan, you're saying the words I already said."

"You dare to talk back? Looks like I didn't twist your ear hard enough," Madam Gao said angrily as she turned around and twisted his ear harder.

With Gao Jingming's current cultivation level, he naturally wouldn't feel much pain, but he weakly said, on the verge of tears, "Mother, I didn't talk back."

"Still saying you didn't?" Madam Gao was unreasonable and domineering, twisting his ear almost once.

Chen Xuan laughed again, adding fuel to the fire: "I heard that, young master is talking back, and he's still not convinced, pinch him."

"Xiao Xuan, you're getting cocky. Just like Ming'er, you're trying to drive me crazy," Madam Gao said, feigning anger, and increased the pressure again.

Actually, after realizing that things weren't that serious, she felt relieved and wasn't really angry. She just thought that if she didn't make a show of it to teach them a lesson, who knows what they might do in the future.

Both of them were children he had watched grow up. Even though Chen Xuan was brought back from outside, he had developed feelings for them over the years. He treated Chen Xuan almost like a son, only lacking official recognition. They were both his flesh and blood. Even though he knew that he would not hurt them much if he used all his strength, he still couldn't bear to really twist them.

From the very first words she uttered after emerging from the fog, one could tell how much she cared about the two of them. She asked about Gao Jingming first, then Chen Xuan, and finally Gao Jingyu.

It's not that Chen Xuan is being ranked ahead of Gao Jingyu's biological daughter, but this subconscious behavior reflects Chen Xuan's importance in her heart. "I was wrong, really wrong, my ears aren't even my own anymore," Chen Xuan tried his best to cooperate with her.

While Madam Gao was reprimanding the two of them, Gao Jingyu had already sat down leisurely to the side, drinking tea and watching with great interest.

As a family, you can do whatever you want behind closed doors.

However, it must be said that she has not felt the warmth and ease of home for a very long time. Since marrying Prince Qing, her life in the Prince's mansion has been anything but fraught with danger, and everyone has to live behind a mask. Where is the feeling of home?

However, she was not a sentimental person, and such thoughts vanished in an instant. Her gaze swept over Chen Xuan, and she felt a surge of emotions.

Thirteen years ago, his mother took him back home. Who could have imagined that thirteen years later, he would achieve the cultivation of a Grandmaster? To put it bluntly, as long as the Gao family doesn't do anything to dishearten Chen Xuan, and as long as he is there, the Gao family will stand firm!
What made her smile was that this was a grandmaster-level expert, yet he was so obedient to her mother. No one would believe it if they told others; he was probably the only one of his kind in the world.

'They've all grown up. My younger brother has achieved great success at the young age of twenty-one, and will be twenty-two after the New Year, already holding the official position of prefect. As for Xiao Xuan, he is a grandmaster-level expert whom no one dares to ignore or neglect. Our Gao family is truly blessed by the heavens.'

A few months ago, after Chen Xuan slaughtered the Wu family and killed the Grandmaster-level expert Wei Wuyai, Gao Jingyu learned about Chen Xuan's strength through various channels and guessed his true power, thus extinguishing any unrealistic fantasies he might have had.

Firstly, a Grandmaster is not someone she is qualified to recruit, even with her family connections. The emperor treats such a level with respect and dares not force anything. Secondly, Chen Xuan's unscrupulous style of doing things also made her give up on the idea. If it backfires, it would be a loss.

It's good as it is now. He cherishes the friendship he's shared over the years. Even if he does nothing, as long as the Gao family doesn't hurt his feelings, he can rest easy for the next one or two hundred years.

An eighteen-year-old grandmaster? Too young. As long as he's around, who would dare to mess with the Gao family?
At this moment, two more people walked in from outside the door. Master Gao brought Zhou Jinlin in. He was stunned for a moment when he saw this scene. After many years as an official, he quickly understood what was going on, completely relaxed, smiled and treated it as a show.

Although Chen Xuan had been in the Gao family for many years, he had only met Chen Xuan a few times and they were not familiar with each other. So no matter how unreliable the two children were, he did not take advantage of his status to discipline them. It was more appropriate for his wife to do it.

Lord Gao has an air of official authority between his brows. He is now a prefect, and if he can seize the opportunity, he can go further and become a powerful regional governor!

He's in his forties and has already gained some weight; he's probably only a bowl of rice away from being fat.

After sitting down, he watched with amusement as Madam Gao reprimanded the two of them. Gao Jingyu poured him tea, and he asked, "Yu'er, were you both alright before?"

"Father, it's alright. It was probably just a formation, nothing dangerous. It was just a false alarm," Gao Jingyu said with a light smile. Even though she was a ruthless princess, she was still respectful and obedient in front of her parents.

Zhou Jinlin stood obediently to the side, watching his uncle being scolded by his grandmother. Startled and still frightened, he said, "I couldn't see or hear anyone just now! It scared me to death! I even called for help, but no one answered. What happened to Uncle and the others? Why is Grandma so angry?"

"Jinlin, talk less. Don't meddle in adults' affairs," Master Gao said with a smile, patting his head.

Chen Xuan, whose ear had fallen into Madam Gao's hands, looked at Zhou Jinlin and thought to himself, "This is the eldest son of Prince Qing. I heard the good news of his birth when I first went to the Gao family. It has been thirteen years since then. He is already a big boy."

Upon hearing this, he winked at Zhou Jinlin familiarly and said, "Didn't you see? Your uncle looks younger, being scolded like a grandson. So do I."

Zhou Jinlin didn't know Chen Xuan, but he had heard of him. Chen Xuan took the initiative to talk to him, and Zhou Jinlin didn't know how to respond for a moment.

In front of the younger generation, Madam Gao stopped and withdrew her hand, but she slapped Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming on the back of the head one by one, and said in an annoyed tone, "Do you know what you did wrong?"

"We know, we know, we won't do it again," the two said almost in unison.

Nodding, Madam Gao, who wasn't particularly angry to begin with, let them go and walked towards the table. Just as the two breathed a sigh of relief, she suddenly turned back and asked, "What did you do wrong?"

"Forehead……"

The two looked at each other, unsure how to respond.
At this moment, Master Gao spoke up to smooth things over, saying, "Alright, alright, they're just children, they don't know any better. It was just a false alarm, let's just let it go."

“They’re all grown up and have their own families now, and they’re still such immature children. Sir, you should just spoil them,” Madam Gao said, shaking her head, but she stopped worrying about it.

After sitting down, she turned around and chuckled, "Am I that scary? Don't think I don't know you're all just pretending to cheer me up. What are you all standing there for? Come sit down and tell me what's going on, causing such a commotion in the middle of the night."

...(End of chapter)