Starting from a thatched cottage, the farmer embarked on the road to wealth through imperial examina

When the carriage arrived at the foot of Mangshan Mountain, the sky had already darkened completely, and the snowflakes in the sky were getting heavier and heavier. A layer of snow had formed on the ground. When Wulang jumped off the carriage, the snow made a "crunching" sound, which made Wulang inexplicably excited.

Yujing Palace guessed that Ye Changyan would return to the palace in the next few days, so there were disciples patrolling the foot of the mountain these days. Not long after Ye Changyan and his entourage's carriage stopped, a disciple patrolling the mountain came forward with a lantern. Ye Changyan also recognized the leader, who was Cangjie, a disciple from the Danfang.

Cangjie, along with several disciples who were patrolling the mountain, stepped forward to pay their respects to Ye Changyan and the others, then led Ye Changyan and his party up the mountain toward Yujing Palace.

When they arrived at the gate of Yujing Palace, it was dark and the grandeur of the palace could not be seen clearly. However, with the light of lanterns, Wulang and Erniu still got a vague idea of it and were amazed at the palace-like building in front of them, which was located deep in the mountains.

Led by Cangjie, Ye Changyan and his party went straight to the guest house. When Cangjie received Ye Changyan and his party, he had already passed the message to the palace. When Ye Xiaozheng, the Lian couple, and Mr. Cai learned that a group of children were about to arrive, they all planned to wait for the children to have dinner together.

When Ye Changyan and his party arrived at the guest house, they saw the three elders had already been waiting at the door despite the wind and snow. Lian was so excited to see Wulang and Erniu, whom she hadn't seen for half a year, that she rushed over in two steps, asked about the two children's well-being, looked them up and down, and only felt relieved after confirming that the two children were fine.

Although Ye Xiaozheng was also full of excitement, he was still much more reserved than his wife in expressing his feelings, but the upturned corners of his mouth were enough to show his joy at the moment. Mr. Cai also had a warm smile on his face. Seeing Wulang and Erniu saluting to him, he kept smiling and nodding.

"The lights in Yujing Palace really brighten up the whole room. Dad, I see that you look really good, rosy and shiny. It seems that this trip to Shengjing has really helped you recover a lot!"

Wu Lang came up to Ye Xiaozheng, looked him up and down, and couldn't help but sigh when he saw the change in Ye Xiaozheng's complexion.

"Dad has been recuperating in Yujing Palace for half a year. He feels like he has been reborn. Everything he eats tastes delicious now, and he feels full of energy."

Erniu also came forward and looked at her father carefully. Seeing that her father's complexion and spirit were indeed much better, Erniu couldn't help but look full of joy.

"This Yujing Palace is really a great place. Not only has Dad's health changed completely, but after living here for half a year, your mother and Mr. Cai have also become ten years younger."

Erniu and Wulang looked at Mr. Cai and then at Mrs. Lian, and saw that both of them had rosy complexions and looked very energetic. They looked much better than they had remembered.

Just as everyone was greeting each other, someone knocked on the door of the guest house, and the disciple from the kitchen had already brought dinner over.

Everyone had dinner together. Ye Changyan went to find a few senior brothers, while the others stayed in the guest house to chat.

At this time in the past, several senior brothers would be practicing in their respective courtyards. Today, when Ye Changyan returned to the palace, the palace master and several elders came to the meeting hall.

"Brother Qingyang, I just saw that my parents and my husband are looking much better. I want to take them down the mountain to celebrate the New Year. Is that feasible?"

Qingyangzi twirled his beard lightly with a smile on his face.

"Junior brother, after six months of recuperation, your father's body is still a little behind that of healthy people of the same age, but it is much better than when you first went up the mountain. There shouldn't be any big problems going down the mountain to celebrate the New Year. I have a bottle of elixir here, you can take it with you. Take one pill a day for a month, and then return to the palace. It won't be a big hindrance to your body's recuperation."

As he spoke, Qing Yangzi took out a red porcelain bottle, handed it to Ye Changyan, and then continued.

"Your mother and your teacher were originally in good health. After six months of recuperation, they are in better shape than their peers. There is no problem for them to go down the mountain to celebrate the New Year. However, it is the coldest time of the year and judging from the weather, the snowfall may continue, so they need to pay special attention to keeping warm."

After hearing Qing Yangzi's instructions, Ye Changyan nodded and said that he would pay attention to it.

"Since the snowfall is likely to continue, I plan to go to the back mountain early tomorrow morning to take a look. If there is nothing special, I plan to go down the mountain in the morning. In addition, I also want to take Xingwang with me. I believe he has been thinking about the food down the mountain for the past six months."

After hearing what Ye Changyan said, the Palace Master and several elders all nodded with a smile, expressing their agreement. Then, the Palace Master Qingxuzi looked more serious and spoke.

"Junior brother, since the flood in the capital area, we have noticed that more than one force is investigating your relationship with Yujing Palace, and these forces seem to be quite powerful. We don't know whether they are friends or enemies yet."

Ye Changyan was a little surprised, but seeing Ye Changyan's expression, the Palace Master smiled warmly and spoke soothingly.

"But Junior Brother, you don't have to worry too much. Although my Yujing Palace has received the Taizu Emperor of the Great Sheng Dynasty since the founding of the Great Sheng Dynasty, it has not been involved in the affairs of the court since then. The relationship between the cultivation forces in the world and the court is also known to everyone. Junior Brother, although you have a deep connection with my Yujing Palace, you don't ask about the affairs of the palace, nor do you practice in the palace. So you can study for the imperial examination with peace of mind. Although my Yujing Palace is not involved in the affairs of the court, it is still the strongest backing for you and your family and friends."

The palace master's words warmed Ye Changyan's heart, and he then listened to Qing Xuanzi's suggestions.

"Since we don't know whether the other party is a friend or foe, you should be more careful in the future. We originally planned to send two disciples to go down the mountain with you so that they can protect your safety when necessary. But since you just asked to bring Xingwang down the mountain, let Xingwang stay with you. Xingwang's skills are not bad. It is not so easy to hurt you in front of Xingwang without making any sound."

Ye Changyan couldn't figure out who was investigating his relationship with Yujing Palace, but Ye Changyan suspected that this was probably related to his premonition that the heavy rain would continue and might even cause floods, and he therefore made some warnings and response measures.

Although Ye Changyan first issued some warnings through Li Ping, his intuition told him that this matter had nothing to do with Li Ping.

The reason why these people investigated the relationship between themselves and Yujing Palace was probably because of the rumors from the outside world that there was a method in Yujing Palace that could communicate between heaven and earth.