Jiapingguan Chronicle

"Really?" Shen Cha was taken aback. "How is it similar?"

"How else could it be similar?" Jin Miaomiao rolled her eyes and said irritably, "It's just that style of speaking that can leave people speechless!" She looked at Third Grandfather, then at Chu Han, "Right?"

"You know, if Feng Qi hadn't mentioned it, I really wouldn't have guessed." The Third Master nodded to Shen Cha. "It's true, that girl from the Xiao family, her words and actions are indeed like that." He looked at Chu Han. "What do you think?"

“Coming from the same lineage, how could they not have similarities?” Chu Han glanced at Shen Cha and Jin Miaomiao, whose eyes were wide open, then at Xiao Fengqi, who thought he had misheard. He smiled and said, “The Xiao family is a branch of the Xuanyuan family. Back then, they were stationed in the location of present-day Yiqing Prefecture because they needed to guard the northern fortress. However, that was in the early days of the previous dynasty, many years ago. Later, the previous dynasty purged the powerful clans in the north, and the then head of the Xiao family simply destroyed the original family genealogy, completely severing ties with the Central Plains. So…” He looked at Xiao Fengqi, “you two don’t really know the relationship between these two families.”

“To be honest, that makes perfect sense.” Jin Miaomiao stroked her chin, looked at Shen Cha, and then at Xiao Fengqi. “There’s a rumor among the people that five or six out of ten of the great clans today are descended from the Xuanyuan clan. After all, the Xuanyuan clan has existed for at least a thousand years. The so-called century-old families of today are actually insignificant in front of the Xuanyuan clan.”

“That’s true.” Third Grandfather nodded. “Actually, it’s not that nobody knows about this, it’s just that the Xiao family head never mentions it, pretending not to know.” He looked at Xiao Fengqi, who was still rubbing his ears. “Didn’t your great-aunt tell you?”

"No, never." Xiao Fengqi shook his head gently. "I never imagined that I could be related to the General."

“You two are not related.” Chu Han waved his finger at him, and seeing the puzzled look on his face, he continued to explain, “At most, you are from the same clan. Let alone the five degrees of kinship, you might not even have that much Xuanyuan family blood in your body.” He held up his little finger to show his nail and said, “At most, you have that much Xuanyuan family blood, maybe not even that much.”

“That’s somewhat related, isn’t it?” Xiao Fengqi smiled at Shen Cha. “This makes us feel a bit closer.”

Qi Zhifeng looked at everyone, then moved closer to Shen Jiu and Xia Jiu, hooking his arm around each of them.

"What's wrong?" Xia Jiu looked at Qi Zhifeng, whose lips were pouting so much they could hang a small oil bottle on them. He couldn't help but laugh and reached out to pinch his cheek. "Who made you unhappy again?"

"I'm thinking, if we're all one family, why have we been fighting for so many years? Wouldn't it be better to live in peace?"

“Even families fight! They fight over territory, money, and inheritance!” Xia Jiu pinched him again. “Your family is small, you’re the only child, so you might not feel it. But look at your brother Fengqi, and then look at your brothers Lan and Nan. Aren’t they all family? They’re all related by blood. But when it comes to their own interests, even brothers, fathers and sons, uncles and nephews can become enemies, they can fight each other. How much more so between two countries that have long since severed ties?” He looked at Qi Zhifeng. “Actually, you know this very well, don’t you?”

"Hmm!" Qi Zhifeng nodded. "I understand, but I still can't figure it out. I know that we're eyeing the Xia Kingdom because we don't have enough food, and the grudges and feuds from the previous dynasty have led to the constant conflicts and wars between the two countries. But," he sighed softly, "this kind of thing isn't something that can't be resolved by sitting down. The Liao Kingdom has started growing grain now, although it's still in the development stage, but the prospects are very good. Maybe in the future it can meet the entire Liao Kingdom's grain needs. In that case, I don't know if we can really live in peace."

"Why are you thinking so much at such a young age?" Shen Jiu pinched Qi Zhifeng's other cheek. "Our generation should just try to live in peace. As for what future generations think and do, that's none of our business, is it?"

"You guys are really open-minded."

"What can we do if we can't figure it out? We can't just follow along like this," Shen Jiu subtly gestured with her chin towards Chu Han, "how boring would that be!"

“That’s true!” Qi Zhifeng sighed softly and said, “If it weren’t for the Green Lotus Sect and the mastermind behind it, they probably would have gotten impatient long ago, right?” “Look at that mudfish prince, he’s always causing trouble, as if a day would be wasted if he didn’t cause trouble.” Shen Jiu rolled her eyes. “That’s because he’s lived too long, he’s got nothing to do, so he has to find something to spice up his boring days.”

"You know what," Xiao Fengqi snorted, then gave Shen Cha and the others a sweet smile when they looked over. After they turned away, he lowered his voice and said, "It's really true. Once people live a long time, they'll start looking for trouble, right?"

"Yes, otherwise I'll feel uncomfortable all over."

Hearing the children's whispers, Shen Cha covered her face with her hand, lowered her head and smiled. What these children thought and said was not wrong. She hoped that when they got older and experienced more, they could still maintain their current ideas.

"What are you laughing at?" Jin Miaomiao noticed her snickering and nudged her. "What came to mind?"

"It's nothing." Shen Cha waved her hand, looked at Xiao Fengqi, and said, "Then what did my great-aunt say about this Madam Shi?"

“Back then, these two were just children, without the cunning and scheming they would later develop. So, even though she was an aunt, she still had a somewhat arrogant air about her.” Xiao Fengqi chuckled. “She asked Madam Shi, ‘Excuse me, who are you? What’s your name? I don’t know you. Why should I take the initiative to come and play with you? Have you always had the habit of being overly familiar with strangers and treating them like acquaintances?’”

"..." Upon hearing Xiao Fengqi's words, Jin Miaomiao was first stunned, then tugged at Shen Cha's arm, "You really wouldn't believe it if I said you two had no relationship. Isn't this exactly what you said a few years ago in Xijing City?"

"More or less!" Shen Cha spread her hands. "But I don't think there's a problem. My great-aunt and Madam Shi only met once at Tianxiang. The adults didn't introduce each other, just exchanged some sarcastic remarks and left. My great-aunt naturally didn't know who Madam Shi was. Since there are congenial friends at the banquet, why go looking for complete strangers?"

“That’s what my great-aunt meant, but Madam Shi wouldn’t let it go, saying that their family didn’t even bother to find out who they were dealing with or how they could make friends with them?” Xiao Fengqi sighed, looked at Chu Han, and said, “I never imagined that such a business genius was like this when he was young.”

“People change. Back then, she was young and could only associate with families lower than the Shi family. Some large families might not invite them to their banquets, so…” Chu Han shrugged. “But it’s quite interesting, isn’t it? If she had been as inscrutable as she is now when she was young, that would have been the most terrifying thing.”

“That’s right!” Shen Cha nodded. “And then?”

"My great-aunt ignored Madam Shi's questioning, because the adults were still there and it was impossible for things to escalate. So she was very at ease and wanted to leave with the young lady from the Dongfang family. But her ignoring her was undoubtedly a slap in the face to Madam Shi, making Madam Shi feel ashamed. When they were about to leave, Madam Shi grabbed my great-aunt's arm and demanded an explanation."

"They're relentlessly pestering me!"

“Yes!” Xiao Fengqi sighed and said, “My great-aunt said she was indeed impatient at the time, so she replied, ‘Miss, you pride yourself on being a lady of a prominent family, yet you behaved so inelegantly in public; you are truly unworthy of the title.’” (End of Chapter)