Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2706 Still Vigorous in Old Age 90.0
Xiao Fengqi's question stumped everyone; it seemed they had never considered this possibility before.

"I don't think so?" Shen Cha gently tapped the table. Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, she said, "Mian was founded by aristocratic families. Although we don't know the list of aristocratic families yet, since the families with deep roots, the families with military power, and the families with business backgrounds have no connection, we probably have a general idea."

After listening to Shen Cha's words, Song Yaojia and Xia Chen exchanged glances. They quickly reviewed the aristocratic families they knew, as well as those that had disappeared after Mian was eliminated, and had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

Xia Chen looked at Xue Ruitian, who still looked bewildered, and shook his head helplessly. He sighed softly. When he was a child, he studied at the Eastern Palace. He learned everything very quickly, except for the family genealogy, which gave him a terrible headache. After reading just a few lines, he would complain of eye pain, arm pain, and headaches all over his body. Later, the tutors at the Eastern Palace realized that the Xue family members were all destined for the battlefield, so they stopped forcing him to study it.

But who could have imagined that, after many years, we would still need to rely on family genealogy?

"You only realize how little you know when you need it, right!" Song Yaojia showed no mercy to Xue Ruitian, shoving him and mocking him mercilessly, "Back then, I told you to memorize it properly, but you wouldn't. Now look what happened!"

"It's not that we don't want to memorize it, it's just that looking at those densely packed characters makes our eyes hurt." Xue Ruitian looked at them. "So, what's the result of your thinking?"

"Is it completely impossible?" Xiao Fengqi looked at Shen Cha and saw her nod. "Why?"

“Everyone basically knows Master Falian’s identity. He was sworn enemies with most aristocratic families. If it weren’t for the instigation of these families, he wouldn’t have been exiled at such a young age. Even though he was raised at Xiangguo Temple, it was a clear message to everyone that he had been abandoned. Moreover,” Xia Chen sneered, “the atmosphere of the previous dynasty was such that you can imagine how much contempt and ridicule he endured from childhood. His brothers and sisters all had different aristocratic families behind them, and every gathering was filled with sarcastic remarks. He probably didn’t have any good feelings towards these families.”

Shen Cha nodded, and was about to continue Xia Chen's words when she suddenly felt her face blocked by a shadow. She looked up and saw that Chu Han had walked up to them at some point, with Sister Ning and Ning Cheng standing behind him with smiles on their faces.

"What's with the sarcastic remarks? What's with the talk of favor from aristocratic families?" He looked at everyone. "What are you talking about?"

Xue Ruitian quickly repeated what they had just discussed, and then mentioned Xiao Fengqi's guess. After he finished speaking, he looked at Chu Han and asked, "Is there really no such possibility?"

"So that's what you were talking about." Chu Han chuckled. "You're all right, that's impossible. If we're talking about who Master Falian hates the most in this world, it's definitely not us, but these high and mighty families who have stood above him for years and caused his tragic life, and..." He looked at Xiao Fengqi and Qi Zhifeng, "...the nobles of Liao and Jin."

"What does it have to do with us?"

"Later, he investigated the Imperial Observatory and found that there were people from the Liao and Jin dynasties mixed in with it and colluded with the aristocratic families. Therefore, he hated you all equally."

"Is this why he's causing trouble in our court?"

"Pretty much, because both you and Jin have your own gods. His Qinglian Sect can't infiltrate Liao and Jin, so how can he drag Liao and Jin into the fray? He uses the method you all know now: to stir up trouble in Liao and Jin and cause internal strife. Of course, he still wants to find a relatively safer place than the island where he lives now, which has led to the current situation."

"Grand Uncle," Shen Cha frowned slightly, "how did you know?"

"Before you connected Mian and Master Falian, I didn't quite understand either, but once the connection was made, it all made sense." Chu Han spread his hands. "The customs of the previous dynasty," he shook his head slightly, "you probably haven't heard much about them, right?" "We've heard a little bit." Xia Chen gestured with his hand, "but only Yao Jia and I know a little. They," he said, turning to Shen Cha, Jin Miaomiao, Xue Ruitian, Xiao Fengqi, and Qi Zhifeng, "probably don't know much about them."

"It's alright, let's talk slowly. You're not in a hurry anyway." Chu Han turned around and looked at Sister Ning and Ning Cheng, then waved to them. "Come on, let them try your new product. It's not fair that I'm the only one who gets to eat it while they don't."

Sister Ning and Ning Cheng responded and quickly brought the tray over, placing it on the table in front of Shen Cha and the others.

"How is it?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Chu Han with a smile. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Chu Han didn't hold back in praising Sister Ning's cooking skills. "I feel like this is the best dessert I've eaten in all these years. It's not sweet, not cloying, not greasy, and it brings back the original flavor of the food."

"That's how it is." Shen Cha smiled at Sister Ning, "Thank you for your hard work!"

Sister Ning didn't say anything, but just nodded to Shen Cha. After delivering the snacks, she didn't linger and pulled Ning Cheng back to Third Master and Old Madam Ning's side.

Chu Han sat down next to Xue Ruitian, looked at everyone, and continued, "Let's talk about the atmosphere of the previous dynasty."

"Squatting the powerful and flattering the weak?" Xia Chen was taken aback when Chu Han waved his hand dismissively. "Isn't that right?"

"It's not that it's wrong, it's that it's not accurate enough."

"My benefactor, why isn't it accurate enough?" Qi Zhifeng blinked his big eyes, looking at Chu Han with an innocent expression.

"You are..." Chu Han thought for a moment, "Oh, the little kid from the Qi family who was mistakenly taken away back then, right? I remember you had just turned one month old at that time?"

Qi Zhifeng felt a little embarrassed when he saw the older brothers and sisters looking at him with teasing expressions, but he still nodded slightly.

"You've grown so much! Time really flies!" Chu Han reached out and pinched his cheek, saying, "Seriously, you really gave me a lot of trouble back then. A little baby of just over a month old was quite a handful. Everything else was fine, but when you started crying, it was really..." He gently shook his head, "You had a really loud voice, and you cried for a really long time." He leaned closer, grinned mischievously, and said, "You were a little crybaby when you were little, are you still one now?"

"Who is it?" Qi Zhifeng dodged awkwardly. "Who's the crybaby? I don't like to cry."

"When I was seven or eight years old, I didn't cry as much, but if I really encountered a problem, I would still shed tears silently."

Xiao Fengqi bared his teeth at Qi Zhifeng, who was glaring at him, and without hesitation exposed his secrets.