Jiapingguan Chronicle

Hearing Chu Han's words, the Third Grandfather looked helpless. He knew that his master was completely different in front of him and his senior brother than in front of his friends, but he did not expect that his master was so vivid and lively in front of his friends.

It's not that his master was particularly composed in front of him and his senior brothers. He would joke around with them and occasionally play little pranks, but he never shared any of his friends' little secrets with them. Apart from imparting knowledge and resolving doubts, they talked mostly about where to find good food, where to find beautiful scenery, and places they wanted to go but couldn't.

As his master grew older, the illnesses brought on by the family gradually manifested. He began to talk about his two fellow disciples, such as what kind of disciples they should take in, where they were going, what places he hadn't been to, what delicious food he hadn't eaten, and what herbs he hadn't found.

Not only that, he also tirelessly reminded his brothers to help visit old friends. If these old friends were also in the final stages of their lives, he wanted to ask them to spend more time with them, and perhaps even see them off on his behalf.

His master mentioned all of these things, but he never spoke about his friends.

He and his senior brother both knew that their master had many friends, but only a handful of them were truly close to him—you could count them on one hand.

He and his senior brother had met this small group of people, whom they could count on one hand, several times. From their interactions, it was clear that their master and his friends got along very well. They always had a lot to talk about when they met, but he and his senior brother would never hear these conversations.

"What's wrong?" Chu Han raised an eyebrow slightly when he saw the Third Grandfather's expression. "What did you think of?"

"My master," Third Grandfather paused, thought for a moment, and continued, "never said who was particularly good or bad in front of me and my senior brother. If he was going to praise someone, he would praise both of us; if we were going to be scolded, he would scold and punish both of us together. What he meant was that if one of us did well, it must have been due to our joint efforts; if one of us did poorly, it was related to the other." He took a sip of tea, smiled, and looked at Jin Miaomiao, "Little Tea may not have the title of disciple, but she has the de facto one, right?"

“Yes!” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “This kind of treatment also applies to us. My brother, Xiaocha, and I are praised together, and we are scolded and punished together. There is almost no favoritism. But you all know about Xiaocha’s situation, so my master will show her a little more favoritism and will be much more lenient with her.”

"The main reason is that Xiao Jing and I don't study medicine. We just listen to the master tell some fun and interesting stories and find what we need from the stories." Shen Cha spread her hands. "That's why the master is so relaxed with us."

“That’s true.” Jin Miaomiao nodded. “In this respect, it is indeed quite different from mine, but in form, it’s similar to my master and uncle.”

"Hmm!" Shen Cha nodded. "I didn't expect Master Qingsong to treat you both like this."

"That's good, it avoids a lot of unnecessary trouble." Chu Han smiled, tapped the table with his finger, and said, "Your master said that he was provoked and almost got into a fight, right?"

"Yes!" Third Grandfather nodded. "Although I was young at the time and had only recently become an apprentice, I didn't know much about my master's past. Not only did I not know, but even my senior brother, who had entered the sect two or three years earlier than me, didn't know much." "My master didn't know either?"

"Hmm!" Third Grandfather sighed. "When the conflict broke out, my senior brother and I were both completely bewildered. The situation was like this: there was a very nice restaurant in my master's hometown. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but my master said that he especially loved the food there when he was a child. The head chef there made particularly tender and smooth steamed fish with a great texture. Moreover, my master also said that after my senior brother became an apprentice, he also brought him to eat there, so we shouldn't show favoritism."

"Master Qingsong is such a kind person." Jin Miaomiao wiped her drool. "Just hearing my uncle's description makes me want to eat it already."

“I’ll talk to Old Mo about how to cook this fish later. I know how, because the head chef knew my master loved it, so he taught the recipe to my senior apprentice and me. But,” Third Grandfather gently shook his head, “we’ve both tried, but we can’t recreate the taste. Well, to be precise, we can’t recreate that smooth, tender, and fresh texture. We’ve never even let our master taste it, because we ourselves are very dissatisfied.” He thought for a moment, “Old Mo knows more than we do; he should be able to do it well.”

“Okay!” Jin Miaomiao nodded, her eyes bright. “I believe in Elder Mo.” She took a sip of tea, looked at Third Grandfather, and said, “Master Qingsong took you two back to treat his uncle to a good meal and also to see his hometown. He ran into those two old friends at the entrance of the restaurant, right?”

"Yes, it wasn't just the two of them. Now that I think about it, there were a few other people around them who looked like students and their parents." The Third Grandfather looked at Chu Han. "He never told us what those two did, but now that I think about it, they took the imperial examinations, but it seems like they didn't go very far?"

"They barely passed the imperial examinations, but failed to secure official positions, so they returned and opened their own academy, becoming teachers themselves. Having two successful candidates as teachers in an academy, especially one unrelated to aristocratic families, would attract many students from humble backgrounds. Compared to academies run by aristocratic families, they trusted scholars from similar backgrounds more." Chu Han sighed. "I wonder what their motives were in scheming against Qingsong back then."

“That must be it.” Third Grandfather thought for a moment and said, “We just happened to run into them at the door. Those two people recognized my master at a glance and blocked the door, not letting us in.”

"They started fighting right at the entrance of the restaurant? They didn't even go inside?"

“Yes!” Third Grandfather smiled helplessly. “Isn’t it particularly outrageous? But it’s also quite good. This way, we can act without any scruples, without worrying about breaking the shop’s property or hurting innocent people.”

"They made a move?" Shen Cha raised an eyebrow. "Uncle, you can fight with people?"

"Not necessarily now, but it definitely happened when they were kids." The Third Grandfather smiled at Shen Cha. "When the two sides met, the first thing they said was a very sarcastic greeting." He looked at Chu Han. "Young Master knows the whole story, could you please help me reconstruct it?"

"Okay, I'll play one of those two sarcastic characters." Chu Han nodded, cleared his throat, and said, "Let's begin!" (End of Chapter)