Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2639 Still Vigorous in Old Age 23.0
Throughout Chu Han's pleasantries with the others, Song Yaojia remained silent, sitting quietly to the side, watching and listening.

He only showed a faint smile when Chu Han turned his attention to him.

“It’s been more than ten years since we last met, so of course you’ve grown up.” Song Yaojia looked at Chu Han and said, “But Grand Uncle, you’ve always been so young, handsome and elegant.”

"Very envious?"

"I am indeed a little envious. If it could stay like this forever, it would be pretty good."

"Really? Being mistaken for a young person wherever you go isn't a good thing." Chu Han raised an eyebrow. "But you don't need to be envious. Living too long is also very boring. You've seen everything, eaten all the good things, so it gets rather dull." He looked at Song Yaojia. "Does that sound familiar?"

"Yes, my uncle said that if he hadn't met my father and been able to continue with him, he would have found it very boring."

"Qingruo is a discerning person," Chu Han smiled and said, "What about the two of them?"

"Thanks to you, things are going very well. He goes out for walks every day and doesn't come back until late at night. Now he's taken on a new job and is full of energy every day. I'm quite ashamed of myself for not being able to keep up." Song Yaojia smiled helplessly and looked at Chu Han, saying, "Should we tell them about this meeting?"

"Sure, it's not a secret, just say whatever you want. They'd probably be pretty happy to know you've seen me!" Chu Han paused for a moment, then said, "Didn't Chenchen come out of the imperial mausoleum? How's he doing now?"

“Everything else is fine, it’s just his health…” Song Yaojia’s gaze shifted to Jin Miaomiao, and she looked at her. “Your medicine is indeed effective, but…”

“When it flares up, it’s still very painful, right?” Jin Miaomiao spread her hands. “There’s nothing I can do about it. Neither I nor my master can help. Our medicine can only relieve the pain during an attack and shorten the duration of the attack. To cure it completely, we can only shake our heads gently. We can’t do anything about it. He has been poisoned for far too long, and the nature of this poison is that it doesn’t kill but it torments people. The person who gave him this poison back then had this as their ultimate goal.”

"Your master," Chu Han looked at Jin Miaomiao, "Oh, Huilan's little apprentice, isn't she?"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"Don't call me that, just call me Grand Uncle like they do." Chu Han looked at Jin Miaomiao. "I heard Huilan say that you're more skilled with poison, right?"

“Yes, but poison and medicine are inseparable. I am skilled in both using poison and treating diseases.” Jin Miaomiao sat upright on the stool. “Moreover, I have been researching how to use poison to save people, and I also want everyone to know that poison is not actually that terrible.”

"Your thoughts coincide with your great-uncle's, right?" Shen Cha looked at Chu Han. "I remember you mentioned it in your letter."

“That’s right, that’s my thought too. Sometimes, treating illness requires using poison to fight poison. Not all poisons are harmful; a large portion can be used to save lives.” Chu Han thought for a moment. “Although I’ll only be here for a few days, we can take some time to discuss it. Maybe we’ll come up with some new ideas. What do you think?”

"it is good!"

For some reason, Jin Miaomiao was a little excited. Her master had mentioned Chu Han a lot before his death, saying that he was a genius in this field. She had long admired him and was thinking about when she could communicate with this genius. Now that she had this opportunity, she was determined to make the most of it.

Shen Cha glanced at the extremely excited Jin Miaomiao and understood what she was thinking. She decided to set aside some time that evening for the two of them to have a proper discussion.

"By the way," Shen Cha turned to look at Chu Han, "did you come alone? Where are your guards?"

“They’ve settled into an inn in the city. I’m here to see you, and there’s no danger. Why should I let them come with me? We can call them when we go back.”

"Alright." Shen Cha thought for a moment, "You don't need to stay at the inn, I'll arrange a room for you at the Duke's Mansion."

“No need for arrangements.” Chu Han pointed to Yan Bo and Qin Zheng. “I’ll stay with them.” “Us?” Yan Bo and Qin Zheng exchanged a glance. “But…”

"What, you're not welcome?"

"Welcome, how could we not welcome you? Your words make us very uneasy." Yan Bo pulled Qin Zheng to his feet and said, "Let's go back and tidy up the house now."

"Master, Uncle Yan, please don't bother. I'll arrange for someone to clean up." Shen Cha stood up, walked to the entrance of the main hall, found Mei Lin, and gave him a few instructions, "Use the best of everything, understand?"

"I see!"

Merlin responded and hurriedly left.

Yan Bo and Qin Zheng were still not entirely at ease, feeling that it would be more thorough for them to keep an eye on things. In addition, they also knew that Chu Han might have something to say to Shen Haolin and Shen Cha privately, so they dragged Fourth Master Jiang, Bai Meng, Jin Miaomiao, and Jin Jing away together.

After they left, only Chu Han, Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, Xia Chen, Song Yaojia, and Xue Ruitian remained in the main hall.

Shen Cha glanced at the entrance to the main hall, where several shadowy figures were guarding it, before closing the door and sitting back down.

"It's been so many years, Xiaofeng is still as sensible as ever." Chu Han glanced at the people who remained and chuckled. "Tell me all!"

Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, and Xue Ruitian exchanged glances, then looked at Xia Chen and Song Yaojia, and simultaneously took a breath.

"This is the situation recently."

Shen Cha was responsible for telling Chu Han about everything that had happened recently, and the others filled in the gaps she occasionally missed.

"That's pretty much it."

Chu Han didn't speak, but just nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

“Xiao Cha!” He looked at Shen Cha, “You should be prepared that he won’t come to the border as you wish.”

“I’ve got it.” Shen Cha smiled bitterly and said, “Although I’ve never met Master Falian, my impression of him is that he’s not a person who values ​​loyalty and righteousness. The Empress Dowager may have truly been a confidante to him, but that was only true while she was still alive. Once she’s gone, it’s a different story. My uncle must have seen this kind of situation many times before, so we also realized that he might not care about the Empress Dowager, nor much about her only nephew.”

"So, you have a backup plan?"

“No.” Shen Cha answered very decisively, without any pause. “Actually, we don’t expect to catch him at this time at all, but if he really comes, we will be in trouble if we are not prepared.”

"That's good." Chu Han took the portrait of Master Falian from Xue Ruitian, looked at it, and nodded. "Yes, it's him!"

"Has your great-uncle met him?"

"Yes, I have met you. It was a very memorable meeting!"