Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2778 What a rotten peach blossom! 2.0
On the day Shen Cha met Gongsun Yu, the second son of the Marquis of Xibo, at Taibai Residence, she followed Shen Haolin and Xue Ruitian into the palace, paid her respects to His Majesty, the Empress Dowager, and several imperial concubines, discussed some important matters, and shared some private conversations.

The Empress Dowager and several imperial concubines wanted to invite them to stay for a meal in the palace, but they had already made arrangements with Song Yaojia and Bai Meng, who would be hosting a welcome dinner for them at Taibai Residence. Coincidentally, Taibai Residence had just started serving new dishes, so they could try them out.

Knowing that they had arranged to meet at Taibai Residence, Song Jue wanted to go with them, but the Empress Dowager and the imperial concubines stopped her, and she could only watch them leave with a mournful look.

Thinking of this, Shen Cha chuckled softly. To this day, she still can't forget the look in Song Jue's eyes.

However, she also thought that if Song Jue had gone to Taibai Residence with them, perhaps that situation wouldn't have happened.

"What are you laughing at?" Jin Miaomiao looked at Shen Cha. "What are you thinking about?"

"His Majesty was very excited when he learned that we were going to Taibai Residence to try the new dishes, but with the end of the year approaching, he couldn't leave and could only see us off with a sorrowful look on his face. I still can't forget the look of longing and unfulfilled desire on his face."

Jin Miaomiao couldn't help but roll her eyes and muttered, "Didn't they sneak off later?"

"But I think if he had asked us to go that day, Gongsun Yu probably wouldn't have dared to come and ambush him, right?"

"That's true." Xia Jiu frowned slightly, glanced at Shen Jiu who had a cold face beside her, patted her lightly, and said, "Has Gongsun Yu never seen you before?"

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him.” It wasn’t Shen Jiu who answered his question, but Chu Han, who was sitting to the side with a nonchalant attitude. “Although the Marquis of Xibo is also a marquis, compared to other marquises, his title is very dubious.” He looked at the children, chuckled, looked at Shen Cha, and then at Xia Jiu, and said, “Your great-grandmother was a girl from the Gongsun family.”

Upon hearing Chu Han's words, Xia Jiu gave a meaningful "oh" and nodded at Chu Han, understanding his meaning.

"Don't be like that. It's not just that. Your great-grandmother's brother was quite capable, but he didn't like an official career. He liked to study celestial phenomena and those mystical things. Your great-grandmother talked to him about it several times, but it didn't work, so she simply let it go."

"Isn't this just a charlatan?" Xia Jiu said, both amused and exasperated. "His family has this hobby? I've never heard of it. Aren't the rumors in the capital that the Marquis of Xibo's family likes to play around, being romantic but not vulgar? I've never heard of them having this hobby."

"They don't have any, but Gongsun Yue likes them." Chu Han glanced at the Third Grandfather, who was calmly drinking tea. "Isn't he on good terms with Master Qingsong?"

“They’re not just friends, they’re birds of a feather.” Third Grandfather looked at Jin Miaomiao, who was looking shocked. “Your advisor is actually a charlatan too.”

“That’s quite normal. Since ancient times, medicine and witchcraft have been inseparable. Master Qingsong is a master of medicine, and he also has two disciples, Master Huilan and you, Uncle, who are even more outstanding than him. He is no ordinary person.” Shen Cha smiled and said, “I just didn’t expect that Master Qingsong would be so familiar with the Marquis of Xibo.”

"Birds of a feather flock together!" Third Grandfather chuckled. "My master told me about a gang of charlatans in Xi'an who swindled people out of food and drink. At first, they weren't very influential, and nobody knew about them. Later, someone reported them to the Jingzhao Prefecture, and that's when they found out what they were up to." He sighed softly and said, "When my master told us about this, he couldn't help but sigh, saying those people were really stupid. Why did they have to swindle people in Xi'an? If it were just small-scale swindling, it wouldn't be so bad, but they made such a huge commotion, causing families to be ruined. The two of them later conspired to lure them into a trap." "And then?"

"They were arrested later!" Third Grandfather looked at the children's expressions and, seeing that they were quite interested in this, smiled and said, "Let's listen to Xiaocha's 'Bad Romance' first, and then we'll tell another story after we finish one."

"it is good!"

Jin Miaomiao was quite curious about her master's past. Her master had only told her that her master was a very remarkable person, but her master had never said anything about what kind of person he was or what kind of experiences he had. She had observed her master's expression, and every time her master mentioned her master, her master looked very sad and nostalgic. It was estimated that her master's unexpected passing had caused her master and uncle great heartache.

She glanced at the Third Grandfather's expression and saw that he didn't seem particularly sad, which put her at ease.

Third Grandfather guessed what she was thinking and gently shook his head at her.

“In his later years, Master suffered greatly from illness. His passing was not a bad thing for him, but a relief. The reason why my senior brother was so sad was that we had studied medicine for so many years, but in the end, even Master could not save us.”

“It’s not your fault either. Doctors aren’t gods; they can’t cure every disease. Just do your best.” Shen Cha sighed. “I heard Master Qingsong say that. He probably felt something from Master Qingsong’s story.”

"Yes!" Third Grandfather nodded. "Actually, Master often said this, but we didn't take it seriously. We thought our skills were excellent and there was absolutely nothing we couldn't cure. But Master's situation was a huge blow to us, and we finally understood the true meaning of this sentence." He sighed softly and looked at Jin Miaomiao. "I hope you will remember this as well."

"Yes!" Jin Miaomiao readily agreed. Her master and uncle had grasped the meaning of this sentence much earlier, after all, Shen Cha was the biggest problem she had ever encountered.

"Alright, alright, let's not get off topic. I'm still quite interested in Xiao Cha's peach blossom." Chu Han grinned mischievously and said, "Gongsun Yu stopped you and said those things, what was your reaction?"

"There was no reaction. The Duke and the Marquis pulled us away, completely disregarding these people. The people behind Gongsun Yu were his cronies and a few thugs, so naturally they wouldn't let us leave. But who doesn't have a few capable people? We have plenty of guards and undercover agents around us, but we won't fight them in a restaurant like this."

"Is this just going to be a stalemate?" Chu Han frowned. "They don't know you. Can't you tell them who you are?"

“Yes!” Xiao Fengqi nodded. “A duke, a marquis, and a general—how dare they stop you?”

"We don't need to do anything, because the Crown Prince and the Grand Commander have come to pick us up." Jin Miaomiao sighed. The Grand Commander looked at Gongsun Yu and immediately slapped him across the face.