Chapter 371

Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan took happy, light steps as she headed toward that peach grove.

The slight fatigue from the road was crushed away by the wind brushing past the farmland on both sides, and her heart began to spin along with the dandelions.

In her mind, Miss Chen was already calculating: after meeting the little brother and the others later, should she jump out suddenly and shout:

"Ta-da!"

Or should she open her domain, approach quietly, and in total silence, come up behind the little brother and cover his eyes with her hands:

"Haha, guess who I am!"

Little brother, you didn't expect this, did you?

Your sister is so smart; did you really think that if you didn't tell me the address, I wouldn't be able to find the door?

As she got closer and closer, that peach blossom fragrance, which ordinary people could not perceive, was simply refreshing, like drinking fine wine.

Although it didn't occupy much space and had no enclosures, this ability to create a Daoist sanctuary within a snail shell was already a work of exquisite craftsmanship.

In front of the Chen family ancestral home, there was a coconut grove.

Although it was much larger than this and reinforced by a protective grand formation, in terms of texture and quality, it was far inferior to this small peach grove.

Therefore, in Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan's view,

it was very reasonable for the little brother to live here.

It was even more reasonable for the old lady of the Liu family to live in such an elegant place.

After all, before coming here in person, no one in the Jianghu could have anticipated:

The contemporary successor of the Long Wang lineage, when wanting to take a bath at home, had to carry two thermos bottles to pour water into a bucket above a small shower stall, and then use a ladle to mix in cold water to adjust the temperature.

As for the three capable generals who traveled the rivers with the Long Wang, their living space was actually one coffin per person.

Even less would anyone have anticipated that the heads of the Qin and Liu families, that old lady whose status in the Jianghu was almost unrivaled, lived in an ordinary single-story house, and her favorite daily activity was playing long cards with a few old sisters from the village.

Furthermore, the Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi family and the Li Sanjiang family, based on their village locations, could not be considered close, but they happened to be situated on the north and south sides of the village road; walking from the main road along the village path, the more of an expert one was, the more likely they were to mistake the destination.

There was no prior appointment, nor any negotiation.

But naturally,

that peach grove served the role of a gatekeeper.

Therefore, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan going to the Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi family first was not actually going to the wrong door.

According to etiquette, when visiting a prominent family, one must first submit a calling card to the doorman.

"Hey, the scenery here is really nice."

There were no mountains, the view was unobstructed, and although the local village had seen a trend of building multi-story houses, a large number of dwellings remained traditional single-story houses, retaining an aesthetic that leaned toward ink-wash painting.

The only thing Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan was not quite used to was that many houses built along the village road had outhouses right next to them, which actually faced the village road directly.

When no one was using them, you could still admire the various styles of delicately carved grandmaster chairs inside.

But when someone was using the toilet, the atmosphere became very eerie.

Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan had just encountered a middle-aged auntie sitting on one, who, upon seeing her pass by, took the initiative to greet her:

"Where is this pretty girl from, and who are you looking for?"

She spoke in the Nantong dialect, which Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan could not understand, but she could perceive the enthusiasm and hospitality from the other party.

However, she was still not quite used to chatting with someone whose two buttocks were exposed while they were relieving themselves.

She could only smile politely and quicken her pace.

Arriving in front of the Grandpa Grandpa Hu Zi family's courtyard, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan slowed her steps.

Sneaking in quietly was an option she had rejected.

The old lady lived here too; sneaking in suddenly would be disrespectful to her.

If it caused a misunderstanding and she or those around her mistook her for an "assassin," that would be even more counterproductive.

Therefore, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan patted her skirt on both sides and walked onto the courtyard openly.

Her footsteps stopped in an instant.

She looked down at her hands; apart from a jade flute, they were empty.

Oh no, on the way here, she had only focused on using money to urge the taxi driver to hurry, hurry, and hurry again, and ended up forgetting to bring a gift, arriving empty-handed.

For visits between families of equal standing, there was no need to prepare heavy gifts; like the guests invited by her grandfather to their home, they usually brought local specialties from their own area—tea, wine, tobacco leaves, or even roast chicken wrapped in oil paper and sealed in layers to keep it fresh.

But it would be absurd to go to a nearby town to buy a gift now, and she didn't have time to run back home to pick coconuts.

After a moment of hesitation, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan decided that after meeting, she would first express her apologies and explain herself to the old lady.

The old lady should be a kind and easy-to-talk-to elder.

Because her grandmother had mentioned the "Miss Liu" to her grandfather for half a lifetime, yet never said a single bad word about the old Lady Liu; occasionally, when in the mood, her grandmother would even take the initiative to bring up some warm and interesting stories from the early years when she was sheltered by the Liu sister.

After composing herself, she walked onto the courtyard and saw no one.

To be precise, she didn't see any adults; there was a crib in the courtyard with a baby as pink and tender as a porcelain doll, who was grabbing the railing with both hands and looking at her curiously.

Out of respect, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan did not spread out her perception to investigate, and could only look around while walking toward the crib.

Huh, she didn't see anyone in the house or outside the courtyard; was no one home?

She additionally discovered that between the front of the courtyard and the peach grove, there was a well-tended and thriving medicinal field.

Benben continued to grab the small railing with one hand while waving at Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan with the other, his Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Human Face full of smiles.

He had the ability to win the affection of almost everyone except Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Li Zhuiyuan and A Li.

Miss Chen was no exception; she took the initiative to reach out and pick Benben up.

This child smelled of milk and exuded an ethereal quality.

This meant the child's talent was so full it was almost overflowing; in some religious sects, he would be enough to be called a "spirit child."

There was indeed no one at home.

Li Li Juxiang had sprained her ankle, so today Old Uncle Tian Tou was responsible for pedaling the tricycle, carrying Liu Liu Jinxia to the house where the funeral rites were being held.

By now, Old Uncle Tian Tou was still guarding there, waiting for the funeral to end before sending Liu Liu Jinxia home.

Xiao Xiao Yingying had ridden her bicycle to town to buy wine.

Xiong Shan and his wife Lihua were both busy at the fish pond.

At home, there was only Benben, who had been left in the courtyard.

No one worried about the child being stolen; every once in a while, peach blossoms would fall into Benben's crib from the grove, and when the child was carried back to sleep at night, those blossoms would form a soft cushion under the bed.

Miss Chen patted Benben's soft and bouncy little bottom while continuing to look around.

Finally, her gaze fell toward the peach grove ahead.

Since there was a hidden realm, the little brother and the old lady must be living in this hidden realm.

Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan walked off the courtyard and headed toward the peach grove.

Benben was stunned for a moment, then grabbed Miss Chen's hair with both hands, kicked his legs, and made "wu ya wu ya" sounds.

"Good, good, you don't want to go, right? I'll put you back, put you back in the crib."

Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan returned and placed Benben back in the crib.

Immediately, she took a leap, jumped off the courtyard, stood before the peach grove, adjusted her attire, and stepped inside.

Benben watched this scene, his eyes widening and his mouth opening.

Then, his two small, tender hands covered his eyes, and he lowered his head.

The deeper she went into the peach grove, the more wonderful she felt it was.

Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan thought that if she could build a few small wooden houses here to live in, she wouldn't trade it even for the Heavenly Palace.

Just as she thought of this, she saw a small wooden house.

The wooden house was built in front of a pond, quiet and elegant, like the dwelling of an immortal.

Through the propped-open window, she could faintly see a back profile, black hair interspersed with white like winter snow, dancing gracefully.

Following this came a heart-palpitating pressure, standing like a cliff, imposing without form.

White long hair, lingering majesty, powerful aura...

A smile appeared on the corner of Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan's mouth: this person must be the old Lady Liu.

"Junior Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan, contemporary successor of the Qiongya Chen family, acting on the instructions of my elders to recount the friendship of our ancestors, and arriving with the utmost sincerity, I have come specifically to pay my respects!"

From inside the window came a lazy and slightly thoughtful query:

"Qiongya Chen family?"

This voice was slightly deep and hoarse.

It didn't sound like a purely female voice, but it fit the vocal range of an elderly lady quite well.

Especially in the attitude with which the other party mentioned the "Qiongya Chen family," she couldn't detect much solemnity, which fit the old lady's status even more.

Mainly, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan had never seen the genuine elegance of the Wei and Jin dynasties.

Qing'an had always lived a life in the peach grove of playing the zither, drinking wine to his heart's content, and being carefree; after "Su Luo" was stripped from Zhao Yi and had a companion, the two of them sang and feasted day and night.

With wide robes and long sleeves, long hair flowing, appearing drunk yet awake, like a dream or an illusion, the more he endured indescribable pain and torment, the more he needed to appear unrestrained.

At this moment, Qing'an in the wooden house was indeed pondering the "Qiongya Chen family."

He had perceived Miss Chen's arrival from far away.

In the corner of the room, Su Luo was grinding Five-Stone Powder.

Earlier, Qing'an had just put down his wine cup and sneered:

"Heh, another one who found the wrong door; do they really take me for a doorman?"

At that time, several vines in the peach grove were already tied together.

According to custom, since they had come, if he didn't hang them up and give them a beating, he would be embarrassed to say they had entered this peach grove.

But who would have thought that this young lady would start by saying she was "visiting Qing'an."

Qing An did not expect that this person had come looking for him.

He shook his head gently; his long-term semi-lost state had caused his memory and thinking to severely degenerate, and only when facing that youth, when that youth brought up matters concerning Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao, could he experience a moment of excitement and agitation.

The Qiongya Chen family—he seemed to know of them.

He tilted his head back, his lips trembling slightly, as he struggled to recall.

……

The ancestral residence of the Qiongya Chen family.

Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi was watering the willow tree in front of the ancestral hall, using morning dew he had personally collected from the mountains.

Chen family Grandma sat on a rattan chair nearby, rocking gently while a smile played on her lips.

Every time the old man bickered with her, he liked to tend to that willow tree, as if to deliberately annoy her.

At this moment, the candlelight inside the ancestral hall flickered.

Chen family Grandma looked toward the ancestral hall and sighed with emotion:

"The ancestors have been manifesting quite frequently lately."

Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi asked in confusion: "This isn't the first time recently, is it?"

Chen family Grandma: "Last time, when you didn't go to the Wangjiang Tower meeting because you went to fish for sharks and just tossed that token to our Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan, I remember the candlelight in the ancestral hall flickering several times just like today when she went to attend the meeting."

Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi: "It's clear that the ancestors are very fond of our Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan."

Chen family Grandma: "Heh, everyone in the other branches below, including the other collateral kin, knows that your ancestors are most partial to this girl, Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan."

Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi: "Who told them their seeds weren't good enough? Sigh, my fault."

Chen family Grandma: "Pah, you old thing, who are you insinuating? Whether it's my soil that's no good or your seed itself that has the problem, don't you know clearly in your own heart!"

Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi puffed out his chest proudly: "My seeds are naturally excellent."

Chen family Grandma: "Compared to that young master of the Qin family back then?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi was so angry he became embarrassed and pointed his finger at his old companion:

"Fine, you wicked old woman, I knew it! You must have been most smitten with that Qin family young master from the very beginning!"

Chen family Grandma: "Oh my, a secret kept for half a lifetime has finally been discovered by you, old thing."

Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi was so angry that he slammed the watering can in his hand heavily to the ground.

Chen family Grandma sighed and said: "News from the Yu family has already reached our house; logically speaking, our Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Chen Xiyuan should be coming back soon."

Chen Qin Qin Laoyezi: "Why should she come back? I'd rather she drift outside a bit longer; it would be best if she could trick a grandson-in-law with good seeds into coming home with her!"

……

Originally, Qing An thought he wouldn't be able to remember.

But in the dark, he seemed to sense something, and his gaze flickered toward the south.

Immediately,

Heh, he remembered.

In his fading and thinning memories, the figure of a man emerged.

When he followed Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao down the river, although he had always followed Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Wei Zhengdao's requirements to keep a low profile, he had long known that with the lineup they had at the time, there were very few on this river who could be called opponents.

And this Chen Chen Yunhai, who called himself a member of the Qiongya Chen family, was one of them.