Misty Rain of the Old Times

When Chen Xuan and his group arrived at the main hall, the scene they had expected—the little girl being interrogated like a criminal—did not occur.

The once empty main hall was now lit with charcoal braziers. The old emperor, dressed in gray casual clothes, sat on a small stool, with Eunuch Wang, dressed in black casual clothes, behind him.

Su Roujia sat on a small stool next to the old emperor, poking around in the charcoal brazier with a small stick. She pulled out a few roasted beans, which were a little hot to the touch, blew off the ash, and handed them to the old emperor, saying, "Uncle, have some. They're delicious. Back when I was at home, we couldn't go out in the winter, so I would sit around the charcoal brazier and roast beans to pass the time."

"Alright, alright, you eat too. There are four, how about we each have two?" The old emperor chuckled as he took the pills, giving two to the little girl. He then unhesitatingly popped the two he had into his mouth as Eunuch Wang hesitated to speak.

Su Roujia nodded and took it, eating happily and chewing loudly.

At this moment, the old emperor had a kind and gentle face, showing no trace of imperial majesty. He chatted happily with the little girl, clearly like a grandfather and granddaughter enjoying family time during the winter.

Chen Xuan was a little incredulous at what he saw. What if the little girl broke one of his old teeth while feeding the old man roasted beans?
The old emperor grew increasingly frail, his hair and beard turned snow-white, his vitality waning, and he was nearly at the end of his life. Chen Xuan estimated that he had at most six months left to live. His lifespan was nearing its end, and there was no cure; medicine would only hasten the loss of his life force.

He exchanged a glance with the little princess, who seemed to have never imagined that her father, the emperor, had this side to him.

Chen Xuan hurried forward and bowed casually, saying, "Uncle, you've arrived! Why didn't you let me know beforehand? There wasn't even a proper welcome. Please don't take it to heart."

Politeness is for outsiders; Chen Xuan has always been this casual with his own people.

"Is Master rested well? Would you like me to cook now? I'll go make you some tea right away," the little maid said, looking up as she got up.

However, the old emperor stopped him, chuckling, "Why do you care about him? Let's talk about our own things. Sleeping in broad daylight, that brat is getting lazy as a pig."

Although the little girl felt happy getting along with the old man, just like her grandfather had been, her husband was more important, and she insisted on getting up to say something.

But the old emperor turned around and glared at Chen Xuan with all sorts of displeasure, saying, "If I waited for you to entertain me, I'd probably die of anger. Didn't I already send Qian Ning to call you...?"

Old Deng paused for a moment, then suddenly felt a surge of anger rush to his head. His eyes blazing with fury, he stood up, wielding his stick, and charged at Chen Xuan, gritting his teeth and saying, "I'll beat you to death today, you bastard!"

He was an old man, and he had seen more of life than Chen Xuan had ever had a meal. When he saw his precious daughter's watery eyes, he knew exactly what was going on. He was sure that the brat had taken advantage of her.

Well, I'm here enjoying the cold wind, and you pig are actually robbing my little cabbage over there! This is outrageous!

"Hey, hey, why do you hit people so easily?" Chen Xuan turned and ran away. He knew perfectly well why Old Deng was angry. He was in the wrong, and if he couldn't afford to offend him, he could at least avoid him.

Despite his age, Old Deng still possesses considerable skill. He is agile and can even fight, proving that he is not in serious trouble. If things continue like this, he should not suffer for the rest of his life.

The furious old emperor wanted nothing more than to beat him to death. He gritted his teeth and said, "You brat, don't run away! I won't be satisfied until I beat you to death today!"

"I'm not stupid, do you think I'll just stand here and let you beat me up? Don't do anything reckless, this is my house!" Chen Xuan shouted as he ran.

The old emperor sneered, "Your home? You dare call this place your home? Do you dare to retaliate?"

Chen Xuan couldn't refute this. The entire Jing Kingdom belonged to him, and who would dare to say a word against it?
Eunuch Wang was on tenterhooks, but secretly delighted. Only Chen Xuan could make His Majesty show his true self without any reservations.

Su Roujia was dumbfounded. How could things have escalated like this over a mere disagreement? She stood up nervously and said, "Master, please stop fighting. Uncle, please slow down, the snow is slippery."

The little princess was already used to such scenes and knew that the two were keeping their distance. Her father would not really hurt Xuan-gege, and Xuan-gege would not let her father suffer any harm.

'Serves you right for bullying me, now you're scared, aren't you?' The little princess snorted inwardly, then went to Su Roujia's side, took her hand, and smiled, "Roujia, don't mind them. They're always like this; they fight whenever they see each other, but it'll stop soon. It's alright."

"But..." The little girl was still a little worried. Her master and uncle were obviously serious. With such heavy snow, they were already jumping around.

He pulled her down to sit, and the little princess said nonchalantly, "It's nothing. Were you roasting beans just now? I've never done this before. Can you teach me?"

The little girl didn't know the identities of the little princess and the old emperor. She only thought they were her master's friends and elders. Although she realized that their identities were not simple, she didn't think too much about it. That's why they got along well. Otherwise, let alone feeding the old emperor roasted beans, she probably wouldn't dare to breathe loudly.

The old emperor and the little princess had such keen eyesight that they could tell at a glance that the little girl came from a humble background, which was why they didn't reveal her identity to avoid frightening her.

She glanced over worriedly. Since this pretty lady said everything was alright, then it should be fine, right? She also liked this easy-going lady. So she sat down and said, "It's actually very simple. Just put the beans in hot ash. That way they won't burn. Once the outer skin cracks, they're ready to eat. They're very fragrant."

The little girl taught diligently, and the little princess learned diligently as well. It must be said, the two beauties got along well and really looked like sisters. However, the little princess, who had never done anything like this before, soon had dust on her face.

Chen Xuan's personal maid, out of love for the princess, naturally adored her and truly treated her like a sister, since they both revolved around the same man.

In this era, a man's personal maid was usually associated with a concubine, while a woman's personal maid was part of her dowry.

The little princess was not jealous at all; on the contrary, she felt sorry for Chen Xuan. Her brother Xuan was such a person, yet he only had one little girl. It was so unfair. In her social circle, all her peers had a bunch of beautiful maids at a young age.
Both sides were busy with their own things. After a while, the little princess ate the beans she had roasted herself. They weren't particularly delicious, but the joy she experienced was something she had never felt before.

Meanwhile, Chen Xuan and his group calmed down. Old Deng only needed to stretch his muscles a little; too much of a good thing can be bad.

In the end, he still got beaten up. Old Deng gave him a few light taps with a stick, just to appease him. He deserved to be beaten for bullying someone's daughter, and he even got a bonus. If being beaten up meant he could bully the little princess once, Chen Xuan estimated that Old Deng would be exhausted.

Chen Xuan was speechless. He was scolded by Madam Gao yesterday and by Old Deng today. So he came to the capital just to get beaten up?

After his exercise, the old emperor looked refreshed, his complexion even becoming rosier. Chen Xuan helped him over, pretending to grimace, and said, "This junior was almost beaten to death by my uncle. Are you satisfied now?"

"I get so angry just looking at you, I really want to beat you to death," he said angrily.

Chen Xuan shamelessly said, "How about you beat me up again?"

"You're making things less exciting," the old emperor said irritably. Chasing after someone and beating them up is not the same as Chen Xuan obediently taking the beating.

Sitting down by the charcoal brazier, the little princess handed him a few roasted beans, saying, "Daddy, try some, I roasted them myself."

She didn't address him as "Father Emperor" because she didn't want to frighten Su Roujia for the time being. Chen Xuan would explain later, so there would be a buffer period.

With a broad smile, the old man accepted the gift, saying with great relief, "Our daughter really knows how to care for her father." "Take it easy, old man, don't break any of your old teeth," Chen Xuan said with concern.

The old emperor, crunching on roasted beans, glared at the little princess and complained, "Look at this brat, all he does is annoy me!"

"Oh dear, Father, don't take it to heart. Brother Xuan is just concerned about you; he's just not very good at expressing himself," the little princess comforted him.

"Tsk, our little princess can translate," Chen Xuan said, joining in the roasting of beans. He then asked in a daze, "What wind blew Uncle here today?"

The old emperor turned around and looked at him with disdain, saying, "You brat, I won't beat around the bush with you. When are you going to propose marriage?"

"Huh?" Chen Xuan was completely dumbfounded. How did the topic suddenly veer off here?

Upon hearing this, the little princess blushed instantly, stood up shyly, and said, "I'm going to see what Brother Xuan's new house is like. How about you come with me, Roujia?"

Su Roujia glanced at Chen Xuan, and as he nodded, she stood up and said, "I'll take my sister to see him. Actually, we only arrived yesterday, so I'm not familiar with the area yet."

Suddenly discussing marriage, no matter how willing she is, the little princess will definitely feel embarrassed and choose to avoid it and run away. Actually, her heart is almost jumping out of her chest. She is shy and expectant, wondering how they will discuss it.

After they left, the old emperor looked at Chen Xuan and gritted his teeth, saying, "What, brat, you're not happy?"

"I'd love to, I'd love to! I've had this idea for a while now, but I didn't know anything about it, so I was completely lost and couldn't make up my mind," Chen Xuan said, scratching his head.

Old Deng thought to himself, "That's more like it. If you dare to start something and then abandon it, I'll drag you down with me even when I die."

But he said with disdain, "You're an unreliable kid. If I hadn't brought it up myself, were you going to keep dragging this out until I die?"

“No, I promised Qian Ning I would marry her next spring when the flowers bloom,” Chen Xuan blurted out.

Upon hearing this, Old Deng instantly flew into a rage, wanting to hit someone again. He glared and said, "You two are utterly outrageous! How dare you secretly pledge your lives to each other behind my back?"

With an awkward smile, Chen Xuan said, "Uncle, you've misunderstood. Please calm down. It's not like we've secretly pledged our lives to each other; we just haven't had a chance to propose yet."

Worried that he might get angry, Chen Xuan quickly added, "Uncle, actually, our situation is rather special. I really don't know where to begin. Should we follow the common people's procedures or the royal etiquette?"

Upon hearing this, Old Deng's heart softened. This kid may seem reckless, but he's actually a pitiful person, all alone and having to rely on himself for everything. He has no one to discuss important matters like marriage with.

Although she felt somewhat sorry for Chen Xuan, it didn't mean she would give him a friendly look on the surface. She said irritably, "Just give me his birth date and time. I'll have the Imperial Observatory check the time and choose an auspicious day. The Ministry of Rites will handle the arrangements. You don't need to worry about anything. Just pick up Qian Ning on that day."

It was a seemingly casual remark, but the underlying complexity was incredibly daunting. He had taken into consideration that Chen Xuan was all alone, so he simply took care of things on his own and didn't even bother to explain.

"Is that even possible?" Chen Xuan's eyes lit up. "So I don't have to worry about anything. All I need to do that day is send someone to bring Qian Ning back in style, and that's it?"

That's exactly what happened, but the old emperor just wanted to punch someone when he heard it, and sneered, "You wish!"

I knew there was no way such a good thing could happen. Chen Xuan said hesitantly, "Then what should I do? Just tell me what kind of problem you're going to give me."

"I should have beaten you to death just now," Old Deng said speechlessly, having been rendered speechless by him. "I've taken care of everything for you, shouldn't you show your appreciation?"

"What does that mean?" Chen Xuan didn't react for a moment.

Old Deng was worried for him and flew into a rage, saying, "A dowry? You think you can get my precious daughter for nothing? Do you want me to make it sound like I'm selling my daughter?"

"Oh right, right, I was so excited that I didn't think of that for a moment. Let me think, what kind of betrothal gift would be appropriate? Elixirs? Secret martial arts manuals? Antiques and paintings? You don't lack any of those, do you?" Chen Xuan, having come to his senses, racked his brains to think of an appropriate betrothal gift.

Seeing this, the old emperor was both amused and exasperated. He waved his hand and said directly, "I heard that you gave Gao Jingming a set of miraculous formations yesterday?"

You found out in just one night?
So that's what we were waiting for.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Xuan shook his head and said, "No, that's just a little trinket that I play with. I can't present it as a betrothal gift."

The old emperor knew what he wanted to know, and there were few things in the entire Jing Kingdom that could be hidden from him. He naturally understood the wonder of that fog array. Upon hearing this, he hissed inwardly. An array that could easily trap even a master of innate cultivation was nothing more than a joke in your mouth.

If you can trap one, you can trap a whole group!

Considering Chen Xuan's cultivation level, it was indeed nothing. He pondered for a moment and said, "I won't make things difficult for you. Just one set of Misty Array will do, but it must be better than the Gao family's. Don't worry, I won't take advantage of you. The dowry I give you will make you as happy as a grandson."

Since they specifically requested the Fog Array, it must be useful. Chen Xuan nodded and said, "Then thank you very much, Uncle."

“Yes, give it to me,” Old Deng said, reaching out his hand.

Chen Xuan said, half-laughing and half-crying, "I can't produce it right now either. I'll have to refine it myself later. Don't worry, I have experience, and I don't lack materials. It won't be long before it's even better than the Gao family's."

"Am I in such a hurry? I'm talking about your birth dates and times. How can I arrange a wedding date for you without your birth dates and times?" the old emperor rolled his eyes.

Realizing he had misunderstood, Chen Xuan felt embarrassed and his eyes darkened as he said, "I don't know either."

At this moment, the old emperor opened his mouth, feeling inexplicably sad. He patted Chen Xuan's shoulder and said gently, "It's alright. Let's count from the day you were pulled out of the water. After all, you've been given a new lease on life. I'll make arrangements here later. You're an adult now, the pillar of the family. Everything depends on you. I don't have many days left to live. Don't blame me for being heartless and unable to protect you from the wind and rain."

Hearing this, Chen Xuan felt a warmth in his heart.

He wasn't surprised at all that the fact that he was pulled out of the water was discovered.

...(End of chapter)