Misty Rain of the Old Times

"What happened?" the little princess, who had overheard the conversation, asked, puzzled.

Not being an outsider, Chen Xuan briefly described the situation.

Upon hearing this, the little princess asked if she should do something, but Chen Xuan shook her head and then asked Gao Jingming, "How did you find out?"

He said, "Last night I told my sister about the situation, and she told me not to worry about it, that the wedding was the priority, and not to let these trivial matters affect my mood. This morning I found out that my sister sent someone to tell the Jiang family about it last night. Old Master Jiang was furious and said he would give an explanation. Then he came over in person before dawn to apologize."

After a pause, Xiao Gao continued, "Through the Jiang family's meticulous investigation, we learned that Jiang Huaichuan encountered Wu Junyao's older brother, Wu Junhao, on his way here yesterday. The two exchanged a few pleasantries, and the problem likely arose at that time. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Wu Junhao was responsible; he handled it very cleanly."

"They can't even handle this simple matter properly, and a mistake has occurred. Jiang Huaichuan has been punished and placed under house arrest. The Jiang family's apology was sincere, but they lack evidence. They can't openly do anything to the Wu family, but Old Master Jiang has stated that he will definitely make the Wu family pay the price, as it has already become a feud between the two families."

After listening to his explanation, Chen Xuan nodded. The problem originated from the Jiang family, so it should be resolved by them. There was nothing wrong with that. As for how to make the Wu family pay the price, that would depend on the Jiang family's subsequent actions.

A sinister blade was delivered to the Gao family. If they weren't careful, something terrible could happen. How could the Jiang family not show sincerity? Chen Xuan didn't bother to find out the specifics of how they would apologize. In any case, the Wu family was going to be in big trouble. When military families get involved, it's impossible to do things without bloodshed. The Wu family would lose at least a few important members, and they might even suffer a devastating blow that would leave them destitute!

If the Wu family dares to do such a despicable thing, they should be prepared to pay the price. As long as we know who did it, we don't need any evidence. We can just launch a retaliation.

But that's the Jiang family's business. Even if they've already apologized, after something like this happened, if they don't make things difficult for the Wu family so the Gao family can see their sincerity, they'll definitely have trouble sleeping and eating in the future.

In other words, the Gao family doesn't need to do anything; they can just wait for the results. If the Jiang family doesn't take a stand, many of those who came yesterday will take advantage of the situation and target the Jiang family once they learn that the Jiang family has made such a mistake.

Therefore, the pressure was put on the Jiang family.

"Are the Wu family members out of their minds? Didn't you see how many people came here to curry favor yesterday? How dare they do something like this?" Chen Xuan said speechlessly. How brain-dead must they be?
Gao Jingming shook his head and said, "Jealousy drives people crazy. Once people lose control of their emotions, they're capable of anything. Maybe they think they're getting away with it."

At this point, Gao Jingming paused for a moment. There was nothing he couldn't say about his relationship with Chen Xuan, so he said frankly, "Actually, it's because my sister is a threat to the Queen's position. My brother-in-law even privately told my sister that he wanted to depose the Queen and make my sister the Queen. However, deposing a Queen is impossible without a good reason, so it hasn't been implemented yet. It's very likely that the Wu family took this risky move because of this."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan felt relieved. Queen Qing was the Wu family's greatest support. If Gao Jingyu were to take away her position as queen, the Wu family would be devastated. In that case, it wouldn't be surprising if they did something crazy.

Don't underestimate the position of Queen. If Prince Qing were to ascend the throne in the future, she would be the Empress, her son the Crown Prince, and eventually the Emperor. Faced with such a future, who would be willing to give it up? Even if there is only the slightest possibility, they would try every means to eliminate Gao Jingyu, this threat.

Gao Jingming's wedding is an opportunity. Once the evil blade falls into Gao Jingming's hands and commits murder, the Gao family will be finished. Even if they have Chen Xuan, a grandmaster, as their backer, what good will it do? They can't just silence the gossip.

If the Gao family falls, Gao Jingyu will have no one to rely on. Can she still covet the position of queen?
Some things are understood by everyone but not spoken. In fact, Chen Xuan played a crucial role in this. Prince Qing wanted to make Gao Jingyu his queen, so he naturally wanted to tie the Gao family together and indirectly bring Chen Xuan into his camp. Even if Chen Xuan was not used to anything, this family connection was a bargaining chip.

Anyone who aspires to great things is not a fool; they will try every means to bring everything that is beneficial to them to their side. Sometimes, just a name can play a crucial role!

In short, if things continue normally, it's only a matter of time before Empress Qing is replaced by Gao Jingyu. The Wu family has no other choice but to resort to underhanded tactics. If they can't do anything to Chen Xuan, they can certainly do something to the Gao family. Once the Gao family's reputation is ruined, the problem will be solved.

With a flicker of thought, Chen Xuan asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"No need, Ah Xuan, just pretend you don't know," Gao Jingming said, shaking his head.

The matter was discovered and nipped in the bud by Chen Xuan. The Wu family should be the ones who are worried. They are now being targeted by the Jiang family and are too busy to care about anything else.

Nodding, Chen Xuan didn't dwell on it anymore. He was happy to have some peace and quiet and didn't care. He didn't know if it was Gao Jingming's attitude or Gao Jingyu who made him say that.

On second thought, this was a family matter, a power struggle between Gao Jingyu and the Queen. No matter how good the relationship was between Chen Xuan and the Gao family, he was still an outsider and it was inappropriate for him to interfere.

On the other hand, the Wu family really made a terrible mistake, losing both their wife and their army. Gao Jingyu is not stupid; if she had handled things well, her position as queen would have been secure. In fact, she was giving them a helping hand, and Prince Qing was looking for an excuse to do so.

At this moment, a thought suddenly popped into Chen Xuan's mind: Could Gao Jingyu be behind this? Of course, she wouldn't harm her own family, but she would definitely not hesitate to bring down the Wu family. She could scheme against Leng Bing, who was like a sister to her, so what else wouldn't she do?
We must understand that this is a critical period. At most, we have six months left. Once the overall situation is settled, it will be too late.

Even if it's just a wild guess, if it really was Gao Jingyu's doing, then this woman's methods are truly ruthless.

Why think so much? Don't make yourself have a brain...

After a brief exchange, it was already broad daylight. Gao Jingming said, "Let's see what the Jiang family does next. We'll leave it to them. And Ah Xuan, if you don't have anything to do, don't wander around. You need to help me with the wedding reception. Guests will be arriving soon, so I'll go to the door to greet them."

"Alright, you go ahead with your work," Chen Xuan said with a smile, leading the little princess into the Gao family home to find a place to pass the time while waiting for the auspicious hour. Soon, guests began to arrive one after another. Given the little princess's special status, Chen Xuan didn't want to take her to join the crowds, so he simply found a private place for her to stay.

Gao Jingming's wedding will take three whole days to prepare. The first day's guests are his colleagues, classmates, and friends, with whom he has only a casual relationship. The second day's guests are all high-ranking officials and dignitaries, most of whom have come to curry favor with him because of Chen Xuan.

Today is the main event, the day Gao Jingming will hold his wedding ceremony. Some of those who came in the past two days will come to witness the ceremony, but the main guests today are Gao's relatives, such as aunts and uncles. Relatives are expected to come and receive red envelopes as a wedding gift. Given the current prestige of the Gao family, even if those relatives don't know Chen Xuan, they will travel thousands of miles to attend. Many probably set off a month in advance.

If relatives don't come on such days, the relationship will gradually fade.

Chen Xuan was not familiar with Gao's relatives. He had hardly ever left the Gao family since he was a child. He had only seen a few of Gao Jingming's cousins ​​occasionally. After going to Liuyu Academy for seven years, he had forgotten what they looked like.

As time passed, Gao Jingming's grandmother came, his uncle came, and his other uncles and aunts also came...

There are quite a few relatives. The Gao family's ancestral home is in Yang County, and most of the relatives are in the south. I guess these relatives rarely travel far from home. Many of them are probably visiting the capital for the first time in their lives, so they all bring their families, a whole bunch of adults and children.

Even the wealthiest people in the mountains have distant relatives, let alone the Gao family's current prosperity. Relatives and friends alike are trying every means to attend this wedding.

Although Chen Xuan wasn't familiar with the Gao family relatives and didn't need to mingle with them, he had to step forward with Mr. Yushan's arrival.

When they were young, they received the same treatment as Gao Jingming and were taught by him. Although they were not officially master and disciple, they were master and disciple in reality.

Mr. Yushan is still in a wheelchair, but there is no trace of his former dejection between his brows. He is full of vigor and high spirits. His apprentice, Gao Jingming, has become the top scholar in the imperial examination and is famous all over the world. He has no regrets in life.

It took him more than twenty years to travel the road from Lanfeng County to the capital. Back then, he went to the capital to take the imperial examination with great ambition, but ended up returning with a near-death experience. Now, because of his apprentice's wedding, he has finally completed the journey he had never finished before.

"Student Chen Xuan greets you, sir. You've arrived!" Chen Xuan stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

He was personally recommended by Gao Jingming, and upon hearing this, he said cheerfully, "Xiao Xuan, it's been a while. How have you been?"

"Thank you for your concern, sir. I am doing well," Chen Xuan said with a smile, turning slightly to say, "Come, Qian Ning, this is Mr. Yu Shan."

The little princess was aware of the relationship between Mr. Yushan and Chen Xuan, and immediately bowed gracefully, saying, "Junior Zhou Qianning greets Mr. Yushan."

Chen Xuan's elders are her elders. Today she is out in casual clothes, so from Chen Xuan's perspective, she should naturally be treated with the respect due to an elder.

Mr. Yushan was not familiar with the little princess's situation. After all, he had always stayed in the south. To put it bluntly, as a "primary school teacher," how could he have so many channels to learn about the royal family's situation, let alone dare to take the initiative to inquire?

So even though he knew the name of Princess Fuyao, Zhou Qianning, he didn't connect it to the girl in front of him. He accepted the greeting calmly and looked at Chen Xuan, speechless, and asked, "Xiao Xuan, who is this?"

“Sir, Qian Ning is my fiancée,” Chen Xuan said directly. Although the little princess was a little shy, she did not avoid the topic.

Upon hearing this, Mr. Yushan was taken aback, then happily exclaimed, "Great! Great! Xiao Xuan, you're not young anymore. This is wonderful news! You must invite me to your wedding banquet on your auspicious day!"

He was able to teach a disciple like Gao Jingming, so he was certainly not a pedantic person. Therefore, Chen Xuan did not feel there was anything wrong with bringing his fiancée to such an occasion.

Suddenly, someone jumped out from behind and said, "Ah Xuan, long time no see!"

"Lin Zi, Tai Yun, Ling Feng, Xue Yu, you're here too?" Chen Xuan asked in surprise.

Behind Mr. Yushan, Zhou Lin, Luo Taiyun, Deng Lingfeng, and Tian Xueyu all stepped forward.

Deng Lingfeng, already a seven-foot-tall man, said cheerfully, "Of course we have to come to Jingming's wedding! How about it, are you surprised or not?"

"Great! We're going to have a good drink today. No one can escape. We won't leave until we're drunk!" Chen Xuan said cheerfully.

After many years, the 'Five Tigers of Yang County' have reunited... (End of Chapter)