Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 487 They're really going all out!

The pre-dawn commotion disturbed my peaceful sleep all night; I won't be able to get any more rest.

Chen Xuan got up listlessly, pushed open the door and saw that the once quiet and dark mansion was now brightly lit. It was the middle of winter and it was still dark. These people must have rushed here in the middle of the night.

There was no one in his courtyard for the time being. Perhaps the little princess didn't want to disturb his sleep. However, Su Roujia's room next door was empty, as the excited little princess had already dragged her away to plan.

Scratching his head, Chen Xuan thought to himself, "So I'm all alone now?"

Just as he was feeling sentimental, a group of more than ten people carrying lanterns filed in. Leading them was a little princess wearing a neat light blue dress, followed by a little girl wearing a printed cotton-padded jacket.

As soon as the group arrived at the small courtyard, most of them took tools and began clearing the snow.

The little princess, however, pointed and suggested, "This courtyard will be converted into guest rooms, planted with pine and bamboo, so guests will feel comfortable. The rooms should be nicely furnished, preferably with calligraphy and paintings, and some swords as decorations on the walls, so guests won't be bored."

“Yes, Your Highness, we have a blueprint for this, but we need to carefully select the decorations,” a person dressed in dark blue official robes replied while holding a pen and ink, nodding and taking notes. He looked to be at least a junior official in the Ministry of Works.

The little girl next to her followed suit and took notes diligently, but she seemed extremely reserved and somewhat restrained after learning about the little princess's identity.

Nodding, the little princess looked around and said, "Oh, right, the paint under the eaves is too bright. We should repaint it, making it more subdued, and then make the windows bigger so they let in more light, which will improve the lighting inside..."

The little princess was enthusiastically planning the renovation of the place, while Chen Xuan, disheveled, leaned against a pillar and watched with great interest. It was quite interesting, I must say. I guess the little princess had been planning this day for a long time, as she spoke eloquently and logically.

After a short while, she had almost finished planning everything inside and out. Taking advantage of this break, Chen Xuan greeted her, "When did Qian Ning arrive? Is it really necessary to come so early? Didn't you get any sleep?"

Hearing this, she noticed Chen Xuan and waved to him, saying, "Good morning, Brother Xuan! I hope I didn't disturb your rest? It's still early, you can continue sleeping. I'll take them somewhere else."

After saying that, she turned and left without hesitation.

Chen Xuan was stunned. He thought to himself, "Wow, this woman is so focused on decorating her home that she doesn't even care about her future husband."

"Oh, Master is awake. Do you want to continue sleeping? If not, I'll go get you some water right away," the little maid asked, not forgetting her duty.

Before Chen Xuan could say anything, she was dragged away by the little princess, who kept saying, "Roujia, don't worry about him. Let him handle it himself. We need to plan everything out today. There are still many places to go, especially the backyard, which is of utmost importance. Time is tight and the task is heavy..."

As they walked away, their voices grew softer, and Su Roujia turned back to give Chen Xuan a helpless look.

What could she do? Although the master was important, the mistress of the house would have to listen to him in the future, especially since she was a princess. Even though the master said he was marrying a princess, who knew whose orders the family would follow in the future? It was better to go along with her.

A group of people came and went in a hurry, leaving Chen Xuan dumbfounded. "Little princess is so enthusiastic, does your old man know? She was forcibly taken away yesterday, and she brought a group of people to start work before dawn today."

Fine, let them be. It's easier for Chen Xuan. He wouldn't mind if they demolished the house, let alone renovated it.

I found myself to be the most idle one, but I didn't mind. I quickly washed up and started practicing the Qigong exercise as dawn broke. This was my daily routine without fail.

Fortunately, the little princess brought her chef team with her, otherwise she wouldn't even have been able to have a hot meal in the morning.

After a quick breakfast, the little princess dragged Su Roujia away to do other things, and Chen Xuan couldn't bring himself to tell them to rest.

Early in the morning, the snow in front of and behind the huge mansion, even on the roof, was cleared away. Chen Xuan didn't know where the group of people had taken the cleared snow, and all sorts of materials were being transported over one after another.

The manor, which was quiet and deserted just two days ago, became bustling with activity early this morning.

Chen Xuan took a closer look and noticed that the various materials brought in were not ordinary items. He even suspected that the little princess had directly plundered them from the national treasury. Well, the national treasury probably wouldn't have been involved, but Old Deng's private treasury was a different story...

Anyway, it's none of his business. The whole manor is under construction, it's unbearable to stay here. We can't dampen the little princess's enthusiasm, can we?

So Chen Xuan took some time to return to Yang County and promised the old emperor that the betrothal gifts should be prepared as soon as possible. A set of battle flags could be exchanged for a beautiful princess as a wife, not to mention the dowry. It would be a huge profit, so he had to be proactive.

After retrieving the materials and returning to his residence in the capital, Chen Xuan found a quiet garden and began to work on refining array flags. He was already quite familiar with this craft, but he didn't have much white cloud wood left from the last time, so he had to take some time to go to Misty Marsh to ask Old Man Crane for some more.

This time, Chen Xuan is preparing a large-scale operation with a total of thirty-six battle flags. Once deployed, the formation will cover an area of ​​ten miles. The old emperor did not hesitate to marry his little princess to him, so he must please his father-in-law.

The set given to Xiao Gao was a practice piece. To say that he was treated differently was a bit true, after all, it's human nature to have different levels of closeness. But then again, Xiao Gao and the old emperor are different, and the purpose of the mist array is different. As long as it's enough, that's fine. Anyway, given Chen Xuan's relationship with Xiao Gao, if he ever feels it's not enough, he can just ask, and Chen Xuan will find the time to get him a bigger one.

The large fog formation, with thirty-six array flags, is something Chen Xuan can easily complete two or three a day with his current proficiency. With adjustments made, it should be finished in half a month. He aims to deliver the betrothal gifts to the old emperor before the grand court assembly, as Chen Xuan estimates that the old man will find them useful.

It's just that Chen Xuan's skill in formations is not good enough right now. Otherwise, he could have expanded the range of the formation by deducing it himself. Now, he can only follow the steps and do it properly.

After working until the afternoon, Chen Xuan had already forged two battle flags. The little princess finally found him in the corner of the garden, looking tired but still excited, and called out, "Brother Xuan, what are you doing hiding here?"

“I can’t be of much help anyway, so I’ll stay out of the way to avoid causing trouble. How’s Qian Ning’s planning going?” Chen Xuan turned around and smiled.

A palace maid promptly set out a soft couch, a warm stove, and curtains. The little princess sat beside it, propping her chin up, and said, "The general plan is almost finalized, but we still need to discuss the specific details. We need to keep an eye on things from now on so that we can correct any unsatisfactory aspects promptly."

"Why not just leave this to the people below?" Chen Xuan chuckled.

She objected, saying, "How can that be? This is our future home; of course, I have to personally oversee it!"

The old emperor had already discussed marriage with Chen Xuan yesterday, and now she no longer avoids the topic.

"Alright, just let me know if there's anything I can help you with. You look a bit tired, why don't you take a rest first?" Chen Xuan said with some concern.

They are precious and elegant people, and it's really hard work for them to be busy with all this.

She nodded and said, "I'll rest here for a while and then go check again to make sure I don't make a mistake. By the way, Brother Xuan, what are you doing?"

Exhausted, he yawned and then noticed a piece of red-hot metal in Chen Xuan's hand.

Chen Xuan, who was forging the flagpoles, shook the scorching metal in his hand and laughed, "Isn't this preparing the betrothal gifts? We're counting on these to marry you off to your uncle."

"Isn't it hot? Never mind, Father Emperor sold me off so easily? Humph, I'll settle the score with him later. I didn't mean to say I wanted Father Emperor to make things difficult for Brother Xuan, don't misunderstand. I'm going to rest for a bit, I won't disturb Brother Xuan anymore," she said, curling up on the soft couch beside her like a kitten, then opening her eyes and warning, "Brother Xuan, don't do anything naughty while I'm asleep."

"Am I that kind of person?" Chen Xuan asked, both amused and exasperated.

She rolled her eyes at Chen Xuan, her expression clearly saying, "You are."

After working for most of the day, she was really tired and soon fell into a light sleep.

Seeing her sleeping peacefully, Chen Xuan put down his work and looked at Xia Mei and the others not far away, saying, "Why didn't you try to persuade her? She's been busy since before dawn, look how tired she is."

“Young Master Chen…Son-in-law, please forgive us. We have repeatedly advised Her Highness to rest, but she is in high spirits and simply won’t listen,” Xia Mei said helplessly.

It wasn't that he was blaming them; he knew that once the young princess was determined to do something, no one could stop her. So he stood up and said, "I don't think Qian Ning will wake up anytime soon. I'll take her back to rest first. Let's not let her get sick over something so trivial. You guys keep an eye on things here."

"Then we'll have to trouble you, son-in-law," Xia Mei nodded and breathed a sigh of relief. The prince wouldn't listen to what they were saying, but they couldn't ignore Chen Xuan's words, could they? Sending him to the princess's residence, he couldn't possibly come back at night, could he? The two weren't married yet, so it was fine during the day, but they had to be a little more discreet at night.

With a smile, Chen Xuan said it was nothing, and then left silently with the little princess. She was asleep and had no idea that they had moved to a different location.

Upon arriving at the princess's residence, Chen Xuan informed Steward Hua, who escorted her to her boudoir and instructed someone to look after her before preparing to leave and return to his own residence.

As he left, Chen Xuan couldn't help but kiss her cheek. The little princess was quite alert even in her sleep, muttering, "Brother Xuan, stop bothering me."

After handing her over to the people of the Princess's residence, Chen Xuan overheard people talking in a corner of the residence as he left. Hearing what they were saying, Chen Xuan couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

They were talking about Ning Guiliang, one of the eight great talents of the former Jing Kingdom. In recent days, rumors have circulated that he has painstakingly prepared one hundred works of art, but refuses to show them to anyone, not even his close friends. He has also refused numerous offers of high prices to buy them, which has become a source of amusement.

Upon hearing this news, Chen Xuan couldn't help but slap his forehead. He had been so busy these past few months that he had forgotten about the deal he had promised him.

"Good lad, you're really going all out for a pair of iron kidneys! You've actually produced a hundred pieces in just a few months? Alright, since they keep their promise, I can't go back on my word either. I'll quickly make some magic pills to complete the transaction."

Collecting meaningful traces of an era was a plan Chen Xuan had long ago. Even if it was just a casual remark at the time, since the other party had accomplished it, Chen Xuan was determined to fulfill his promise...

(End of this chapter)