Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2642 Still Vigorous in Old Age 26.0
Upon hearing Chu Han's words, Xue Ruitian felt that he had finally found a kindred spirit. He was extremely excited and rushed over to grab Chu Han's hand, shaking it vigorously several times. Then, he even mustered up the courage to pat Chu Han's shoulder.

"What's wrong with you?" Chu Han was stunned by his sudden action and didn't react for a moment. After being shaken and patted, it took him a while to come to his senses. He patted him and said, "Don't get excited, don't get excited, let's talk it out." He looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, "What's going on?"

“He felt he had found a companion, someone to criticize us with him now.” Shen Cha couldn’t help but laugh as she said, “When we were renovating the Duke’s mansion, we decided to level all the flowerbeds and rockeries, and he was particularly unhappy about it. He said we had no taste, no elegance, and that we were all from prominent families, so how could we be so boring? Moreover, he not only said it himself, but also dragged Yan Bo into it, saying that the place was bare and not pretty at all.”

"Look at this empty space, is it really beautiful?" Xue Ruitian took a deep breath, pulled Chu Han along, and pointed out the surroundings where they were, explaining, "Before the renovation, this place wasn't like this. Where we're standing was actually a flowerbed, with a rockery and a water feature. Over here, there was another small pond with some small fish and such. In winter, it was indeed all white and not very pretty, but in spring and summer, it was a vibrant place. But when they renovated the Duke's mansion, they just razed this whole thing to the ground. If that pond hadn't been in the way, they would have filled it in too."

“You two have done a huge project,” Song Yaojia and Xia Chen looked at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, “and it’s incredibly simple and straightforward.”

"That's not all that's infuriating. What's even more infuriating is what's coming next." Xue Ruitian sighed. "I asked them, why bother with all this? They said that these flowerbeds and landscapes are quite beautiful, but it's a waste of manpower and time to maintain them. It's completely unnecessary. Instead of spending all that time on this, we'd rather sleep a little longer and practice a little more."

“That’s not wrong.” Chu Han nodded and looked around. “It is indeed much more open than when I came here before. Although it looks a bit desolate, but…” He stroked his chin, “it’s not bad.”

"That's not how it works. This doesn't look like a Duke's mansion at all."

“But it’s different here.” Chu Han looked around. “Although it’s called the Duke’s Mansion, it’s located on the frontier, so it shouldn’t be showing off its extravagance. It’s always better to be simple and plain.” He sneered and said, “The land occupied by the Duke’s Mansion and the Marquis’s Mansion was heavily criticized by those people in the court back then. The late emperor overturned the table at the Grand Court Assembly and pointed his finger at those people, cursing them for an hour. I don’t remember what he said, but it was something like they were enjoying wealth and luxury in Xijing City and couldn’t stand seeing the soldiers guarding the frontier living a little bit of a good life. If anyone says that again, just throw them to the frontier and don’t let their family members return for three generations.”

"I knew it! For a while, there were a lot of civil officials coming here, all of them punished. The way they looked at us was absolutely vicious." Xue Ruitian stroked his chin. "The late emperor did a good job!"

"You two know about this, right?" Seeing Shen Haolin and Shen Cha nod, Chu Han sighed and said, "That's why you're renovating the Duke's Mansion, isn't it?"

“Part of the reason.” Shen Haolin nodded, gestured for Chu Ran to continue walking forward, “After His Majesty ascended the throne and we took over the Duke’s Mansion, someone immediately brought up the old matter again. Although His Majesty said the same thing, we changed it to avoid trouble.”

“There’s another reason,” Shen Chayi spread her hands. “We’ve never really liked these things. In the capital, our residences are looked after by people from the palace and the Empress Dowager, so they can do whatever they want with them. But our own place is naturally based on our own preferences, right?” “That’s right.” Chu Han knew these two’s personalities well; they didn’t like complicated things and preferred simplicity. He looked at Xue Ruitian, who was humming beside him, smiled, and patted him. “Don’t be upset. Some people like those things, and some don’t. You can’t expect everyone to be like you, can you? Didn’t you move those artificial hills and stuff to your place? I’ll come back and see if you have any other nice things besides these.”

"There are many, but these days..." Xue Ruitian stroked his chin, smiled sheepishly, and said, "It's not very convenient."

"Hmm?" Chu Han raised an eyebrow, glanced at Shen Cha who was giving him a meaningful look, and suddenly remembered the contents of the secret letter. "Oh, I see, their people are here, right?"

"Yes!" Xue Ruitian thought for a moment, "You haven't met that old man from the Yelü family either, have you?"

"Huilan's junior brother?" Seeing Xue Ruitian nod, Chu Han thought for a moment, "I met him once when he was young, but I haven't seen him since he grew up. So many years have passed, I guess he doesn't remember me at all, so let's not bother seeing each other, it's too much trouble."

"It's a bit strange for you to say such things with that kind of face."

"There's nothing I can do, that's just how it is when you live a long time." Chu Han shrugged. "I've seen too many people and too many things, so I don't take them to heart anymore. Right now, my only thought is to catch that little prince, and then I won't have any other worries."

“That’s true.” Xue Ruitian nodded. “I have a question. When did our great-uncle come here? We don’t recall ever seeing him.”

“Back then, you were still studying in the capital. I was with some men chasing after a fugitive criminal, so I came over to take a look. At that time, the mansion had just been built not long ago, and I sent over two koi fish. As a result,” Chu Han pointed to the pond not far away, “they were put in there.”

"Have they caught the person who was chasing them?"

"We caught him. He hid among the refugees and sneaked into the city, but my eyes are very sharp. How could he possibly get away with it?" Chu Han looked at them and followed them into the flower hall. After entering, he looked around and said, "This place is quite nicely decorated, with a bit of a homey atmosphere." He smiled and said, "Speaking of which, the person we caught that time was somewhat related to our Mudfish Prince."