Misty Rain of the Old Times

It really is her, Zhang Lanlan.

Even though more than ten years had passed, Chen Xuan still recognized her at a glance. Even though she had changed a lot, Chen Xuan would not make a mistake. When the two of them were brought to Jinxia County in a carriage, she was already more than eight years old. Now he could still see 50% of her original appearance.

Now she is no longer the timid little girl, but a beautiful woman with a radiant face and a maternal glow, wearing silk and pearls.

There was a flash of reminiscence in his eyes. Chen Xuan still remembered the first words they said to each other. He asked her what she was holding in her hand, and her answer was nothing.

After communicating with her, I learned that her name was Zhang Lanlan. Her brother could not afford the dowry to marry a wife, so her family discussed and sold her. She said that she did not hate her family, but her eyes were dimmed.

At that time, Chen Xuan borrowed needle and thread from her to make a simple compass in an attempt to remember the direction of the human traffickers' hideout, but it was of no use.

Over a decade later, everyone's life has taken a completely different path. Erdan, once a bandit who would rather die than do evil, has now returned to Yang County. Zhang Lanlan has already reunited with her father, married, and had children. Meanwhile, he has made rapid progress in martial arts, achieving the status of Grandmaster...

It turns out that she has always been in Jinxia County and has never left.

Wait, she was over eight years old at that time, and people outside said that she had found a husband five years ago. Thirteen years have passed, and she is only twenty-one years old, which means she got married at the age of sixteen?

He glanced at Uncle Zhang beside him. Coming from a low-income peasant background... well, it was something he could do. What could Chen Xuan say about it? It was already an established fact.

"Now that I see that you are living a happy and fulfilling life, with a father to be filial to, a husband who loves you, and a son and a daughter, and your life is perfect, then I can put my worries to rest," Chen Xuan murmured in his heart.

Zhang Lanlan came out from the inner room holding a chubby baby in her arms, who was curiously looking at the new world he had just arrived in. In fact, a baby who is only one month old has little vision and perceives his surroundings more through hearing.

Beside Zhang Lanlan, a simple-looking man was supporting her, his eyes full of concern.

Zhang Lanlan's husband doesn't look particularly good, he is just average looking, a little over 1.7 meters tall, a bit plump but not fat. Judging from his features he is an honest and decent man without any cultivation foundation.

To be honest, if it comes to looks alone, he is not worthy of Zhang Lanlan, just like a flower stuck in cow dung. After all, Zhang Lanlan and Chen Xuan were both locked up and sold separately back then. She has been good-looking since childhood, and now she is even more beautiful. When the couple stands together, the man is just a background foil.

Chen Xuan probably understood why the Zhang family, which was backed by Dongdaolou, wanted to recruit such a son-in-law for Zhang Lanlan. They wanted someone who was honest and dutiful. If he was too smart or too handsome, they wouldn't be able to live together for long. After all, when a smart man "marries" into the Zhang family with a background like Dongdaolou, who wouldn't have unrealistic ideas?

It's better to be honest and live a peaceful life, which can save you from a lot of trouble.

"Greetings, Madam Zhang, and this big brother, I am honored to meet you. I learned that your family has a new baby boy, Qilin, and I have the audacity to come and ask for a drink. I hope you won't laugh at me," Chen Xuan said, standing up and bowing.

He didn't say his name and didn't even intend to acknowledge her because there was no need.

Now that Zhang Lanlan has her own family and lives a happy life, why should I bring up the past and disturb her peaceful life?

Meeting old friends and seeing them doing well is enough to comfort the past, so why disturb the clear breeze?

What Chen Xuan wants to see most is that she lives a good life. Nothing else matters, right?

"Thank you for your courtesy, sir. I am a guest here. It is a great honor for me to be invited to sit at your table. If the hospitality is not good enough, I hope you will forgive me." Zhang Lanlan looked at Chen Xuan and then looked away, turning sideways and bowing slightly.

Of course she remembered what happened back then. How could she forget such an experience? But she didn't recognize Chen Xuan. After all, he had changed so much that her memory was not good enough to connect the current Chen Xuan with the old one.

In fact, what Chen Xuan didn't know was that after the Zhang family became rich ten years ago, Zhang Lanlan also asked Dongdaolou to help find Chen Xuan's whereabouts. After all, they shared hardships, but they just couldn't find him. The wife of the head of Dongdaolou owed Uncle Zhang a favor, but not to Chen Xuan, so she didn't pay much attention to the search, and gradually the matter was left unresolved.

When Zhang Lanlan was a child, she fell into a fire pit and was rescued in just two years. She has never suffered any hardship or loss, but she has received special training in those two years. Her etiquette is impeccable, unlike Uncle Zhang, who lacks temperament.

She was the son-in-law who lived with the family, and she was the one in charge, so she took the initiative to speak to the guests. Otherwise, for a normal couple who did not have a very good relationship, the woman would not easily meet guests, and it was the man who came forward.

After she spoke, her husband nodded at Chen Xuan and smiled awkwardly, "Thank you for your courtesy, sir. Enjoy your meal."

This person is not a very smart one. He doesn't talk much. After he finishes speaking, he looks back at his wife and son. He is very honest and dutiful.

"Then I'm so sorry to bother you," Chen Xuan bowed again, then looked at the baby in Zhang Lanlan's arms and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mrs. Zhang is so lucky to have such a child. He will surely be a dragon among men in the future. I have a humble request. Would you be so kind as to allow me to hold him and share in your happiness? I know this is too presumptuous. If it's inconvenient, I'll just ignore it."

Uncle Zhang beside him didn't think much of it when he said this. Instead, he was happy. He thought that since he was a scholar, it was a blessing for him to like his grandson. Maybe hugging him would even help him learn from his talent. Chen Xuan's move was indeed a bit presumptuous. After all, he was a complete stranger and didn't know where he came from. He didn't say a word and wanted to hug the child right away. What if he was a bad guy?
Zhang Lanlan recalled her childhood experience of seeing many abducted children in the cellar. Now when a stranger wanted to hold her child, her first reaction was unwillingness. She subconsciously hugged the child tightly and looked up at Chen Xuan, wanting to refuse. But facing that sincere gaze, for some reason she couldn't say no.

Her husband looked at Chen Xuan in silence, without thinking much. He just felt that this handsome little brother liked his child, but he did not say anything. Everything came first for his wife.

At this time, people from several tables around looked over and examined Chen Xuan. After all, he wanted to hug other people's children as soon as he came. As people in the underworld, they had seen too many dark things and couldn't help but be cautious.

But Chen Xuan's action was not too abrupt. After all, it was the child's full moon banquet, and the child was the protagonist. It was normal for the guests to want to hug him.

Zhang Lanlan was hesitant and glanced at the table of innate masters. When they nodded slightly, she relaxed her guard a little. With so many masters around, what was she worried about?
Those innate masters could tell at a glance that Chen Xuan was a weak scholar without any cultivation at all. The sword he carried was just a ceremonial weapon. How could he make any waves in front of them?
If Chen Xuan does anything inappropriate, they are confident that they will crush him to ashes in the blink of an eye!

Smiling, Zhang Lanlan said: "It is my son's blessing to be loved by you, please hug me, but be careful."

"Thank you," Chen Xuan said with an overjoyed expression.

However, Zhang Lanlan did not step forward to hand the child to him, but handed the child to a maid. As a wife, she naturally abided by her duties and would not have close contact with any man other than her husband. Especially since Chen Xuan was good-looking, she had to be careful to avoid suspicion in public, otherwise how would her husband deal with it?
Even though the status of a son-in-law is no different from that of a servant, Zhang Lanlan still protects her husband at all times. She comes from a small family and does not really treat her son-in-law like a beast of burden.

Carefully taking the child, who was pink and very cute, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "Young Master will surely be a blessed person in the future. I am sorry for the inconvenience of visiting you and have not prepared any gifts in advance. I will give this jade pendant to you. I hope you don't mind it."

As he spoke, holding the baby in his hands, he took out a jade pendant from his arms in a somewhat awkward manner, and slowly stuffed it into a corner of the swaddling clothes in front of others, to avoid misunderstandings and to reassure those innate masters.

This jade pendant was the gift Zhou Lin had given him when they first met. Chen Xuan wore it with him to play with. It had been nourished by his innate true qi for many years, and in the past two years, it had occasionally been moistened by the master's true essence. He had already polished it into a top-grade jade. Since he was Zhang Lanlan's son, he took it out without any hesitation.

Except for a few people who knew the value of things, everyone present was surprised at Chen Xuan's generosity. Even the innate masters were surprised. Where did this young man come from? The jade pendant was obviously valuable, but he just gave it away without blinking an eye.

However, their knowledge was limited and they were completely unaware of the master's true energy contained in the jade pendant. Having had experience in making gifts for Xiao Gao, it was very simple for Chen Xuan to seal a stream of true energy inside it silently. Later, it would be released in a gentle and imperceptible way to nourish the baby's body, ensuring that he would be free of diseases and grow up healthily. It would probably be almost exhausted by the time he reached adulthood.

Chen Xuan, who was holding the baby, also checked the baby's body. The baby's martial arts roots were average, and under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for him to achieve much in martial arts in the future. However, with the nourishment of this jade pendant, there is a great probability that he will step into the innate realm in the future, provided that Zhang Lanlan and the others do not take it away.

The opportunity has been given. Whether you can have that blessing depends on your own destiny. Let everything take its course.

The Zhang family and Dongdaolou are involved together, and their descendants will most likely become involved in the underworld. Chen Xuan cannot control the future of others. Since they have known each other and shared hardships, he should do his best to show his gratitude.

"Sir, you can't accept this. It's too expensive. As a guest, how can I accept such an expensive gift from you? Please take it back," Zhang Lanlan refused anxiously, but she was embarrassed to put it back into Chen Xuan's hand.

Smiling, Chen Xuan raised his head and gestured to the baby in his arms, saying, "It's okay. It's just a jade pendant. Look, he likes it very much. He's smiling and very happy."

Others cannot feel it, but the master's true energy nourishes the body silently. The baby feels very comfortable and of course will smile happily instinctively.

"Sir, please take it back. It's too valuable," Zhang Lanlan refused again. She was also a person who knew what was good, and she would never accept a valuable gift from a stranger.

Shaking his head, Chen Xuan said, "No need to refuse. I've come to your door with such presumptuousness. Meeting is fate. Just accept it with a clear conscience. If you really feel bad, just consider it as a meal paid by a student. I won't be polite when it comes to good wine and good food."

Zhang Lanlan naturally refused to accept it. When she was about to say something, the baby in Chen Xuan's arms pooped loudly. She was concerned about the child and temporarily changed her tone to apologize, saying, "Please forgive me, sir, for not wanting to get dirty. Give the child to me and I'll clean it up first."

"It's okay, it's human nature," Chen Xuan said indifferently, and handed the child to the maid waiting on the side.

As soon as the baby returned to Zhang Lanlan's arms, he started crying loudly. She thought he had pooped, so she turned around and said, "Dad, you stay with the guests first. I'll go clean up for Xiaobao."

"Go ahead, your good grandson is what's important," Uncle Zhang nodded.

Then he looked at Chen Xuan and said warmly: "Don't stand, please sit down, the food will not taste good if it gets cold."

"Thank you very much. I'm welcome."

Zhang Lanlan's husband did not stay to accompany her. He was a son-in-law, and that was the way it was in that era. A son-in-law had a low status and was not qualified to entertain guests.

...(End of chapter)