Misty Rain of the Old Times

"Good brother, please forgive me, Qian Ning will never dare to do it again," the little princess pleaded in a soft voice after a long while.

Knowing when to stop, the two snuggled together, basking in each other's warmth and fragrance. Chen Xuan asked, "When did Qian Ning arrive?"

His hands were still wandering, so the little princess reached out and pressed them down. With her eyes half-closed and cheeks flushed, she lazily said in a nasal voice, "I've been here for a while, but seeing you were still sleeping, I didn't want to disturb you. But you wouldn't wake up, so I wanted to tease you. But as soon as you opened your eyes, you started bullying me. Humph, you're bad."

There was no danger, so Chen Xuan naturally had no reason to be on guard; otherwise, how could he allow anyone to get close so easily?

He couldn't bear to put it down and stopped fiddling with it, savoring the taste: "I thought you'd appeared in my dreams after not seeing you for a few days. You've delivered yourself to my doorstep. You're my future wife, so who else would I bully if not you?"

"Who's your wife? Brother Xuan hasn't married me yet," she said reproachfully, adjusting herself to a more comfortable position while clinging to Chen Xuan's arm.

She meant, "Marry me quickly, then you can bully me however you want." Chen Xuan understood. He rested his chin on her head, half-closed his eyes, and said, "Did Steward Hua tell you I bought a house here?"

"Yes, I found out when I got back from the palace yesterday. It was too late to come over, so I came to check on things today." She nodded. Steward Hua must have told her about this right away.

Chen Xuan immediately understood. The little princess couldn't wait to see her future home. Girls are shy, so Chen Xuan didn't tease her. Instead, he said proudly, "Qian Ning, let me tell you, this house only cost five thousand taels of silver. We made a killing!"

The little princess was secretly pleased, thinking to herself, "You only just realized that? I specially picked this out for you!" She smiled brightly and said, "That's a real bargain! I asked Steward Hua and learned that this house was originally intended for the eldest son of the Wei family, the heir to the family fortune. It was only completed this year, but before they could move in, the Wei family split up and scattered. So, this house, along with other properties, was sold off at a low price. Due to the limited scale, no one in the general public dared to buy it, so the Ministry of Revenue acted as the agent. I never imagined it would end up in Brother Xuan's hands."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan immediately understood the intricacies of the situation. The little princess had probably gone to great lengths, but it was also a matter of chance, and it couldn't be considered a forced takeover.

No wonder the huge mansion was empty, with no nameplate on the gate; it turned out to be a new home that the owners hadn't had time to move into yet.

Yesterday, he took a quick look around and barely went inside any of the rooms. The outside was covered in snow, so much so that Chen Xuan was so careless that he didn't even realize that no one had lived there.

"My luck is just unbelievably good," Chen Xuan said, playing along with her smug act.

He said he would marry her next spring when the flowers bloom, but there wasn't enough time to rebuild a manor worthy of the little princess. With this manor, the problem would be solved.

She thought Chen Xuan hadn't realized the key point, and was secretly pleased, thinking to herself, "Brother Xuan is so carefree, how could I manage without planning things out for you?" She smiled and said, "It seems Brother Xuan has a special connection with this place."

However, Chen Xuan feigned distress, saying, "But the house is too big. Decorating and renovating it will cost a lot of money. Besides, it's just the two of us, Roujia and I, and there's simply not enough room. It's too lonely."

The little princess, who had been planning this all along, propped her head up and said with great interest, "Brother Xuan, you can leave this to me. I'll have the Ministry of Works repair and decorate it, and I guarantee it will be beautifully decorated. Don't worry about the money, Brother Xuan, have you forgotten that you have a lot of money stored with me? It's enough. The Minister of Works is paid, and he's just sitting around doing nothing anyway. He can just pay for the materials; it won't cost much. And then... and then Brother Xuan will marry me, and the house will be lively, won't it?"

As she was talking, she noticed Chen Xuan looking down at her with a mocking expression. She immediately bumped her head against him and protested, "Brother Xuan, you're so mean! You're playing a trick on me. Are you deliberately trying to make fun of me?"

"No, no, then it's settled. You'll be in charge here. You can make it however you like. It's our future home," Chen Xuan quickly coaxed.

At the same time, he felt a pang of regret, realizing that he had finally secured a life of luxury. Unfortunately, his teeth weren't strong enough, so he could only marry a princess and live in a grand manor, making do with what he had.

Hearing him say that this would be their future home, the little princess blushed even more, looking expectant yet reluctant, and said, "I just saw that Brother Xuan was all alone and had no one to help him, and I have some free time, so please don't overthink it."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say," Chen Xuan said happily. He had previously said that marrying her would make his family more lively, but now he was embarrassed.

Immediately afterward, the little princess's expression changed drastically, and she stood up anxiously, saying, "It's all over, it's all over, it's all doomed!"

"What's wrong? Quickly cover yourself with the blanket, be careful not to catch a cold," Chen Xuan asked in surprise, pulling the blanket over her.

The little princess turned around, tears welling in her eyes, and said, "Brother Xuan, get up quickly! Father is waiting. I'm sure I'll be punished later. What should I do?"

"What? Uncle... he's here too? Qian Ning, why didn't you say so sooner?" Chen Xuan quickly stood up, both amused and exasperated.

She rolled her eyes at him and said shyly, "I completely forgot about how you bullied me just now."

Thinking that so much time had already passed, a little longer wouldn't matter. He figured the old emperor certainly wouldn't give him a friendly look anyway, so Chen Xuan wasn't in a hurry. He slowly got out of bed and said, "It's alright, I'm here. At worst, my uncle will beat me up. I'm thick-skinned, and I'm shameless too."

Since things had come to this, the little princess decided to throw caution to the wind and straighten her appearance, saying, "Even if Father punishes me, I will go with you." Then, blushing, she glared at Chen Xuan and said, "It's all your fault; you've ruined my clothes."

At this moment, her cheeks were flushed and her clothes were disheveled. She looked alluring and charming. Her glance didn't seem like a reproach, but rather like a seduction, which made Chen Xuan's heart flutter and his mind wander. If the old emperor hadn't been waiting, he would have been tempted to tease the little princess again.

Previously, Chen Xuan had made quite a few unwanted advances towards her, exploring her secrets. Except for the last one or two steps, he had taken full advantage of the little princess. Moreover, Chen Xuan was fully certain that the little princess had the legendary figure of Ultraman Tiga, the kind where you couldn't see her toes when she looked down.

"Who can resist my beautiful Xiaoxianning?" Chen Xuan said, still feeling a little unsatisfied.

Faced with his intense gaze, the little princess was a little frightened, afraid that he would do something bad again. She quickly got up and ran away, straightening her clothes and asking, "Brother Xuan, you don't even have a mirror here. I can't see anything wrong like this, right?"

She was naturally beautiful and didn't need makeup. After their playful antics, she wasn't wearing any makeup. After tidying herself up, she looked perfectly normal, except for her bright, moist eyes.

After dressing, Chen Xuan looked her over and nodded, saying, "Except for her face being a little red, she looks fine."

"You still dare to say that?" she retorted, then her eyes lit up and she added, "We can just go outside and grab a handful of snow to freeze it."

Chen Xuan said speechlessly, "It can't be that bad. Could it be that my room is too warm?"

"That's right, I just realized that there's no charcoal fire in Brother Xuan's room, so it's not cold at all," she said, speechless.

"Of course, with my cultivation level, how could I let you suffer from the cold after realizing you were here?" Chen Xuan said after getting dressed, "Let's go, don't keep Uncle waiting."

"You're the one who's not in a hurry. You're the one who's worried about Father waiting too long. What will you do when Father gets angry?" the little princess said irritably.

Today she wasn't dressed in such a glamorous outfit, but rather in a silver-white long dress that, while seemingly thin, actually provided excellent warmth, ensuring she wouldn't freeze in the dead of winter. However, she also wore a red hooded cape when she went out.

The small courtyard outside the gate was empty, with only palace maids and guards waiting at the entrance. Chen Xuan could sense that there were at least two or three hundred guards throughout the manor, both overt and covert, and some people were even hiding on the rooftops. When the old emperor traveled, safety was definitely the top priority.

But what is he here for?
It would have been cold outside, but the little princess standing next to Chen Xuan didn't feel the chill at all. She reached out and caught a snowflake, saying, "Brother Xuan, it's snowing again."

"Let's build a snowman and play with it later," Chen Xuan said with a smile, walking side by side with her.

At this moment, Xia Mei, accompanied by two palace maids, came over at the door and bowed, saying, "Your Highness, Young Master Chen, His Majesty is in the reception room."

As he spoke, he felt both nervous and moved. He was probably the only one in the world who would dare to leave His Majesty out of the picture and instead fool around with the princess.

Xia Mei knew they had been fooling around before, but she could tell that they both adhered to their bottom lines.

"Greetings, Commander Xia. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Let's go," Chen Xuan nodded.

Not finding the little girl, he turned to ask, "Where's Roujia?"

The little princess turned around and smiled, "Brother Xuan, are you talking about your personal maid?"

"Hmm, you've met?" Chen Xuan asked with a smile.

She said, "I've met her. She's a nice young girl, just a bit too timid."

After a moment's thought, Chen Xuan said, "She comes from a humble background and hasn't seen much of the world. Qian Ning, you didn't bully her, did you?"

"No way! She's Xuan-gege's bedmate, how could I possibly bully her? In Xuan-gege's mind, am I the kind of domineering and unreasonable person? We get along quite well, and I even gave her a gift," she said, dissatisfied.

Chen Xuan's face darkened, and he said speechlessly, "What bedmate? Qian Ning, don't talk nonsense. Where is she?"

Having already learned from Steward Hua that Chen Xuan had never 'bullied' Su Roujia, the little princess covered her mouth and chuckled, "It's only a matter of time. I agree. I'll help Brother Xuan find some lovely women later, so the whole family will be lively. Right now, she should be with Father Emperor, right?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan was almost dumbfounded, staring in disbelief as he said, "Qian Ning, do you want to listen to what you're saying?"

“Is there anything wrong with that? Brother Xuan is all alone, so naturally he should have more children. I… I can’t have many children on my own, so it’s necessary for Brother Xuan to find some sisters to share the burden. I can help you find some,” she said matter-of-factly.

Chen Xuan's lips twitched, and he felt numb. He used to only fantasize about such things, but now the little princess seemed to be serious.
On second thought, it makes sense. In this era, carrying on the family line is a major event, and the little princess thinks so too. Only with many offspring can the bloodline continue. If the population is small, an accident could cause the lineage to end.

Speechless, Chen Xuan didn't take it seriously, but then became a little worried about the little girl. A country girl living with the old emperor—she'd probably spilled all his secrets… (End of Chapter)