Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 279 As always
When mother and son are reunited, they have endless things to talk about, asking about each other's well-being and family matters.

Gao Jingming felt very guilty that he was not there when his younger siblings got married. After seven years, two of his younger siblings had already started their own families and careers, and two were already engaged.

Mrs. Gao felt very sorry for Gao Jingming studying in the north, and was worried that he would not have enough food to eat or clothes to wear.

Late at night, Mrs. Gao felt sorry for her son and said, "Ming'er, you've been traveling for so many days. Go back and have a good rest. Come and have breakfast with me tomorrow morning."

"Okay, mother, you should rest early too," Gao Jingming nodded. He was not tired after traveling for nearly a month, but he had to consider his mother's health.

Before leaving, Gao Jingming hesitated and said, "Mother, what about Ah Xuan next..."

Hearing this, Madam Gao knew what her son wanted to say. She shook her head and interrupted him, saying with a smile, "Ming'er, you have grown up. This family will rely on you to slowly support it in the future. There are some things that your mother will not ask about."

Gao Jingming smiled and nodded. His mother's attitude was very clear, and he knew what to do in his heart.

Perhaps out of worry about her son, even though Mrs. Gao would not interfere in this matter, she still earnestly instructed: "Ming'er, you have read more books and understand things better than me. No matter what, I just want you to remember that you and Xiaoxuan grew up together and are as close as brothers. Just treat him as a family member. I won't say much about other things."

"Well, I understand, mother. I'll take my leave now. You should get some rest."

Gao Jingming took Xiaocai, Xiaoye and the others away. Mrs. Gao sent her son to the gate of the inner courtyard before returning. She felt a little reluctant to let her son go as they had spent so little time together on the first day after returning.

Mrs. Gao is really not suitable to interfere with Chen Xuan's next arrangements. No matter what decision she makes personally, it will be inappropriate because Chen Xuan's situation is different from that of others.

Although she had not personally verified the martial arts cultivation of the "Innate Realm", her son had mentioned it several times in his letters and said he would not lie to her, so of course she believed her son.

With such strength, being a schoolboy is unsuitable. Firstly, it's a waste of talent. Secondly, having someone of this level of cultivation be a servant, what will the other innate masters in the world think? How shameless do you, the Gao family, have? Accompanying the prince to study? I'm afraid the prince wouldn't even get such treatment!
Then Chen Xuan grew up in the Gao family. He was trained to be Gao Jingming's right-hand man since he was a child. In the Gao family, he was really treated as a junior. In this way, it is not appropriate to offer such cultivation as a sacrifice.

Anyway, Chen Xuan's situation cannot be generalized to Leng Bing's. The Gao family can treat Leng Bing as a sacrifice, but they cannot do the same to Chen Xuan. Firstly, it will disrupt their relationship of many years, and secondly, it will make them estranged.

Therefore, the best way is for Gao Jingming to handle it himself. They grew up together and are as close as brothers. They can discuss it themselves and do anything. It is family affairs and there is no need to be shy about it.

Anyway, the friendship between them is more solid than any bond of interest.

In fact, to put it bluntly, the matter of setting Chen Xuan free cannot be treated as a "business matter" and handled through procedures. Instead, it must be discussed like a family. In short, the two of them will decide for themselves.

The Gao family now has two "innate" foundations, which is comparable to the big sects in the martial arts world. It can be said that as long as they don't do anything stupid in the future, the Gao family will definitely be rich and prosperous within a hundred years.

Everyone has different perspectives and different ideas about the same thing. Although Mrs. Gao has made up her mind not to interfere in this matter, it concerns the whole family after all, so she still has to confirm some things to avoid making a fool of herself.

So after Gao Jingming and the others left, Mrs. Gao went somewhere at night.

"It must be God's blessing, or perhaps it's fate. The child I fell in love with at first sight has grown to such a high level now. My son is far behind him in some aspects. Thinking about how I have never treated him unfairly over the years, I believe that he is not the kind of ungrateful person. From the beginning, I believed that I was not wrong," Mrs. Gao said with emotion on the way to her destination.

Soon she came to a corner of the Gao family's inner courtyard. There was a separate small courtyard here. It was not large in area but had a beautiful environment. Usually no one set foot there, and there was no need for anyone to set foot there.

Leng Bing had been waiting here for a long time. She knew that Madam Gao would definitely come, so she immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Madam."

"Miss Leng, there's no need to be so formal," Mrs. Gao said with a smile, holding her hand.

Leng Bing still didn't show much expression, nodded and said: "Yes, ma'am"

Feeling helpless, Mrs. Gao could only let her go. When her daughter came back, Leng Bing went into seclusion to practice until she reached the innate level, and her personality changed afterwards.

Mrs. Gao knew that this must have been caused by her daughter, but what could she do as a mother? She could only try to make amends. Fortunately, Leng Bing did not hold a grudge. Maybe.

Now Leng Bing, who has innate cultivation, is worshipped by the Gao family and swore to protect the Gao family all her life. She is the foundation, and as a woman, she is arranged to live in seclusion in the inner courtyard of the Gao family.

As her personality dictated, Mrs. Gao knew there was no need for small talk. After a moment's hesitation, she asked bluntly, "Miss Leng, what do you think, Xiao Xuan?"

Leng Bing knew what Mrs. Gao was asking, so she said frankly without any beating around the bush: "Madam, I can't see through it, but he definitely has innate cultivation, unfathomable. I am no match for him, so I can only answer like this." She added: "This is the intuition of a martial artist, and also a woman's intuition." She was worried that without substantial evidence, it would be difficult to convince Mrs. Gao. It had to be said that her intuition was absolutely correct. Chen Xuan was not unfathomable at all, he was simply unfathomable.

In fact, this is why Leng Bing appeared at the dock to greet her during the day. Otherwise, why would Mrs. Gao need a congenital master to accompany her to pick up her son? How could someone in such a small place threaten her?

After getting the answer she wanted, Madam Gao was glad that she had decided not to interfere in Chen Xuan's affairs, otherwise it would have backfired...

Chen Xuan "woke up" after leaving the main hall, declined the help of others, and walked towards the courtyard in his memory with the flowerpot in one hand. He lived there for several years, so where else could he go if not there?

But he couldn't live there for long. Putting aside other factors, he and Gao Jingming had grown up and were no longer suitable to live together. Just like Mr. Gao's servant, Steward He, he now had his own residence. It was impossible to arrange a room for him in the inner courtyard.

Arriving at the gate of the courtyard they hadn't seen for a long time, they took a quick look around and found that it was almost unchanged from when they left. While they were having the welcoming banquet, the luggage had been taken back by others.

In the yard, a girl of fifteen or sixteen was wiping the stone table intently. She had been busy for an unknown period of time, and her forehead was covered in sweat. Now that the young master had returned, the residence had to be cleaned thoroughly, even if it had been cleaned many times before.

Chen Xuan didn't recognize this maid. When she heard the noise, she quickly looked up and saw Chen Xuan was at a loss. She was very reserved and said cautiously, "But is Chen... the steward back? If you need anything, just tell me."

As a maid in the Gao family, she was very good at observing people's words and expressions, and she quickly guessed Chen Xuan's identity.

After hearing her say this, Chen Xuan hesitated to speak. How did he become the Chen steward? Well, the eldest young master is back, and he will gradually start to get involved in the family business. And his status as a servant will also rise accordingly. Under normal circumstances, he will replace the steward He in the future.

Without further ado, Chen Xuan walked towards his own residence, put the flowerpot down, and asked, "What's your name? Where's Sister Qingdou?"

The other party breathed a sigh of relief. He had heard about this "master" before and found him very easy to get along with. He quickly replied, "Manager Chen, my name is Qingcha. I'm sixteen years old and I'm now in charge of sweeping the yard. My former sister Qingdou got permission from the Madam to leave the house and get married three years ago."

Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan felt a little sad. Qingdou is already married, so there is one less person he is familiar with.

He was a little bored for a moment, and after drinking a little, he said, "Miss Qingcha, please get me some hot water. It's getting late, so you should go to bed early."

"I don't deserve it, but it's my duty. Manager Chen, please wait a moment, I'll get some hot water right away," the other person responded and hurried to get busy.

When he pushed open the door, he found that nothing had changed inside since he left. Even the more than ten taels of silver that Chen Xuan had hidden in the closet were still there. He was kidding, who would dare to mess around in the eldest young master's yard?

There are many lessons from the past. Take the trouble-making Wang Hai for example. On the way back, Niu Le told Chen Xuan that the guy was not honest a few years ago and had his hands broken and thrown into prison. He has not been released yet. The Gao family treats their servants very well, but he is still not satisfied. He deserves it and it is useless to ask anyone for help.

After washing up quickly, Chen Xuan sent Qingcha away, closed the door and lay down on his bed which he had not seen for seven years. Don't say it, it's probably due to psychological reasons, but he just felt more comfortable than in Mo City.

Chen Xuan knew that Gao Jingming and the others came back late at night, but he didn't care. With Xiaocai and Xiaoye taking care of them, it was not his turn to worry.

When he woke up the next morning, Chen Xuan practiced his usual meditation and health-preserving exercises in the yard. He had never missed it for many years and had gotten used to it. In this long-lost environment, he felt as if he had returned to seven years ago.

"Good morning, Xuan. Haha, you are still the same. If you hadn't grown up, I would have thought that we had never been apart for seven years. The scene seven years ago seems like it was just yesterday." Gao Jingming greeted him after waking up and stretching on the second floor.

Chen Xuan kept laughing and said, "Good morning, young master. I plan to go out for a walk later. I haven't seen you for seven years. I don't know if there have been any changes in the county."

"A Xuan, feel free to do whatever you want. Remember to bring an umbrella when you go out. I think it's going to rain today. I have to go to my mother's place later. I just came back, so I'm sure I'll be busy for a while," Gao Jingming said after looking at the sky.

After the customary few rounds of health-preserving exercises, Chen Xuan finished and said jokingly, "I know that you are very knowledgeable, and you can predict the future by listening to the wind and rain. I admire you. But then again, you will be very busy from now on. I wonder how many people will come to visit you."

"You're gloating over someone else's misfortune, huh? Ah Xuan, why don't you help me?" Gao Jingming said speechlessly.

Chen Xuan went into the house, took an umbrella and left, waving his hand and avoiding him, saying: "Goodbye, I can't help with this kind of interpersonal relationship."

Gao Jingming almost rolled his eyes at his back, but he looked away and smiled sincerely. See, this is actually pretty good, isn't it...

(End of this chapter)