Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2685 Still Vigorous in Old Age 69.0
The meal lasted a full two hours. By the time the banquet ended, it was not only completely dark, but also almost curfew.

Because this is a border region, the entire Shen family army is prohibited from drinking alcohol, except for particularly important holidays and special celebrations. Whether it is Shen Haolin, Shen Cha, Xue Ruitian, or ordinary soldiers, no one is allowed to drink alcohol.

The prohibition of alcohol is an ironclad rule that no one is allowed to violate. Anyone who violates it will be punished with a beating or kicked out of the Shen Family Army.

Therefore, there was no alcohol at the banquet. Apart from tea, there were only the drinks that Ying Shisan brought back. Everyone drank some, but not much. Most of the time, people ate delicious food and chatted with people they were interested in.

Chu Han and Third Grandfather had a very pleasant conversation, and when they parted, they agreed to continue chatting after lunch the next day.

Shen Cha, who had overheard a few words, sighed helplessly, wondering what these two had so much to talk about.

"A chess player!" Shen Haolin glanced at her and whispered, "A master of chess."

"Oh, then that's beyond my capabilities."

Chu Han bid farewell to Third Master and prepared to return to the teahouse with Fourth Master Jiang and Xia Chen. He had visited the teahouse at noon and was very satisfied with the living environment.

According to him, the teahouse is in the bustling city center, where he can experience the lively atmosphere and relax. There is no better place than this.

Shen Haolin and Shen Cha originally wanted to personally escort Master Jiang, Chu Han, and Xia Chen back to the teahouse, but before they could leave, the snow, which had stopped for several hours, began to fall again.

"Alright, you guys don't need to see us off anymore. It's not like we don't know the way. Even if we run into a patrol, we won't be detained." Xia Chen patted Shen Haolin, then patted Shen Cha, and said, "With me by their side, and the people you arranged, aren't you reassured?"

"It's not that I'm worried, it's just that I'm afraid the road will be difficult to travel on." Shen Cha looked at the two lanterns in Xia Chen's hands. "Are they not bright enough?"

"That's enough, that's enough!" Seeing her like this, Master Jiang and Chu Han were both amused and exasperated. They said, "Go back quickly. You're not wearing much to begin with. If you catch a cold, it will be a real problem."

"Alright, then take care, Uncle, Fourth Grandfather, and Seventh Brother."

Chu Han, Master Jiang, and Xia Chen waved their hands and slowly walked down the steps. Just as they were about to head towards the teahouse, Shen Cha called out to them.

"Grand Uncle, Grand Uncle!" She hurried down the steps, tugged at Chu Han's sleeve, and whispered, "There's something I almost forgot to mention. Would you like to see the shopkeeper?"

"Xiao He?" Chu Han thought for a moment, "Should I tell him I've arrived?"

"No, I was thinking of asking you first. If you want to see him, I'll tell him then, so he can be prepared."

"What's there to prepare?" Chu Han waved his hand and yawned. "If I'm free tomorrow, I'll go check out his shop!"

"Should I tell him in advance?"

"No need, it won't be fun if I tell him." Chu Han raised an eyebrow slightly. "Give him a surprise."

Seeing Chu Han's expression, Shen Cha couldn't help but snort.

Chu Han, with his sharp ears, immediately heard the sound and reached out to pinch Shen Cha's cheek.

"What humph?"

“Uncle wants to give Manager He a surprise, but I don’t think so. For Manager He, it’s probably more of a shock than a surprise!” “A real man should remain calm in the face of adversity. If he gets easily startled over something like this, I’ll have to consider replacing him.”

"No, I'm already familiar with the shopkeeper's style. If I were to choose another one, I'd have to get used to it all over again."

"Alright, hurry back!" Chu Han handed Shen Cha to Shen Haolin. "Go inside and warm yourself by the fire. Your hands are as cold as ice."

After saying that, he didn't care what Shen Haolin and Shen Cha were going to say, and turned around directly, pulling Master Jiang and Xia Chen away, afraid that if they delayed any longer, Shen Cha would really get cold.

Shen Cha watched their hurried figures, shook her head helplessly, and entered the Marquis's residence with Shen Haolin, giving Mei Lin, who was standing to the side, a wink.

Meilin nodded, passed by Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, and left the Marquis's residence.

"Still worried?" Pulling her into his arms, Shen Haolin reached out and touched her forehead, feeling a slight chill, and breathed a sigh of relief. "Shadows have been following us the whole way, why did you send Xiaolinzi?"

"It's best to follow them from a distance and watch them enter the teahouse."

"This distance shouldn't be a problem, right?"

“That’s not the reason.” Shen Cha sighed, her face full of helplessness, and said, “It’s not just them I’m watching over, but also my master and Uncle Yan. They should be out by now.”

"How can you be so addicted?" Shen Haolin said, both amused and exasperated. He walked through a small courtyard toward the small gate of the Duke's mansion, saying as he went, "In this heavy snow, instead of sleeping indoors, you want to go play cards?"

“Let’s fight. They definitely won’t be sleeping well either. Judging from the snow, tonight won’t be easy.” Shen Cha yawned, feeling a bit cold, and unconsciously moved closer to Shen Haolin. She said, “It’s good that Uncle is here. They don’t need any more men. We can fight to our hearts’ content.”

"Qi Bo isn't going?"

"Qi Bo will definitely be at the horse farm tonight. Little Grey has a baby, but the situation is not very optimistic. He has been with it for the past few days."

Shen Cha glanced at Xue Ruitian, Bai Meng, and Song Yaojia waiting at the small door, and waved to them.

When they reached the group, Shen Haolin released Shen Cha's hand, took the cloak from Song Yaojia and wrapped it around Shen Cha, then took Bai Meng's hand warmer and placed it in her hand.

"Why did it take so long?" Song Yaojia leaned over to look at Shen Cha. "Is she frozen?"

"Fortunately, I changed into a padded robe and thick boots last night, so it wasn't too cold."

Holding a hand warmer, Shen Cha followed Shen Haolin and the others through the small door back to the Duke's mansion.

"Such heavy snow at this time of year," Song Yaojia looked up at the sky, "we need to be wary of a severe drought this summer!"

“My brother and I think so too.” Shen Cha nodded, agreeing with Song Yaojia’s statement. “This afternoon, a letter was sent back to Xijing City, requesting His Majesty to make preparations in advance. However, I have some concerns.”

"The higher-ups, especially the Ministry of Revenue, will object, right?" Seeing Shen Cha nod, Song Yaojia gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, I've written letters to my father and uncle, and they will support us."

“Actually, whether they support us or not doesn’t matter. With such heavy snow here, if Xijing City were experiencing the same situation,” Bai Meng shrugged, “we wouldn’t even need to say a word; they would be busy on their own. Especially with the late emperor’s birthday approaching, those officials will definitely make all the necessary arrangements.”

"No, I'm hoping that only we're like this here, and everything else is normal." Shen Cha looked at the sky and sighed softly. "That way, our worries might be lessened. If everything else is like us, this year will be tough."