Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 302: Gifts
The gentle breeze knows no age of the world, and the leaves fall silently year after year.

More than ten years is enough to change too many people and things. Mrs. Gao's personal maid has already married and had children, and the years have left some marks on her face.

I still remember the first time we met. Chen Xuan was five years old and was able to marry into the Gao family. He wanted to escape from the mud but had to face an unknown future. At night, Qinghe and Qingyu came together, bringing him clothes and warm food. Their gentle words calmed his slightly confused mood.

More than ten years have passed...

Chen Xuan's thoughts returned to the present moment. Looking at Qing He who was anxiously searching around, he shook his head and said with a smile, "Sister Qing He, don't look anymore. The young master is not here."

She was obviously relieved, but also a little regretful. She turned around and smiled, "Xuan Ge'er is not with the young master, so why is he here alone?"

"The young master is in the provincial capital, and I am about to rush over to meet him. Sister Qinghe probably doesn't know that the young master recently took part in this year's provincial examination and won the first place. He will go to the capital to take part in the autumn examination soon," Chen Xuan explained.

Qing He was immediately surprised and asked, "Really?"

"Can I still deceive Sister Qinghe?"

"It's really cause for celebration. Madam has always had high hopes for the young master. I wonder how happy she must be now. It's a pity that I haven't been able to congratulate the young master in person. It's been more than ten years. Time flies. I remember when the young master was still naughty, he has achieved such great achievements in the blink of an eye," Qinghe said with emotion, clasping her hands together. Time flies so fast.

As they were talking, the Du family servant who had spoken to Chen Xuan earlier came out and said, "Sir... your wife is back. What's this...?"

Seeing Chen Xuan talking to Qinghe, he suddenly looked confused and puzzled, with a little vigilance and hostility. After all, Chen Xuan looked too unsafe.

Qing He was immediately snapped out of her emotions after being interrupted. She sighed and said, "Look at me. I'm so happy to see Xuan Ge'er that I'm completely lost. Don't make fun of me. Come with me. Don't be so reserved here."

Then she turned back to the person at the door and said, "Housekeeper Du, quickly open the main door to welcome the guests and inform the master that a distinguished guest has arrived."

Almost everyone in Dujiazhuang has the surname Du, so it is normal that the housekeeper of the Du family also has the surname Du.

"Ah? Madam...this...Okay, I'll go right away." Butler Du was stunned for a moment, a little worried, but still did as he was told. He immediately bowed and quickly arranged for someone to open the main door. He looked at Chen Xuan curiously, bowed, and hurried away.

Originally, he had gone to inform Mr. Du that a well-dressed young man wanted to stay overnight at his house. When Mr. Du learned about it, he asked him to come out and politely decline. After all, the Du family was not an inn, nor were they powerful people who could win over people from all over the place. How could they easily agree to let a stranger stay overnight? What if he was a bad guy? Wouldn't that be inviting thieves to come to their door?

But Qinghe spoke at this time, the situation had changed, and he had to report the situation again.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan was speechless and said, "Sister Qinghe, is this your home?"

"Yes, Xuan'er, you don't know? Why are you still standing there? Come with your sister," Qinghe nodded and smiled.

I really hadn't thought about it before. It was both expected and unexpected. Chen Xuan said: "I really didn't know it before. It's really a coincidence."

After all, Qinghe was just Mrs. Gao's personal maid at the beginning. Although she came from a family as prominent as the Gao family, her status was still low. Men with great achievements would hardly take her as their main wife. But now it seems that she is the mistress of the Du Mansion. Marrying her as the main wife of a wealthy businessman from a small place can be considered a good match.

Chen Xuan guessed that Mr. Du's business has been booming in recent years, and Qinghe's contribution is probably partly due to it. After all, she had been in the Gao family for many years and had come into contact with extraordinary people. The vision and pattern she had gained from the influence of her family were not comparable to those of ordinary people.

"Coincidence? Come to think of it, Xuan Ge'er hasn't told me why we are here." Qinghe led the way up the stairs and asked in silence.

He stepped forward to catch up. A discerning servant of the Du family had already come over to take the horse from his hands. Chen Xuan smiled and said, "I just told Sister Qinghe that the young master will be leaving for the capital to participate in the Autumn Examination soon. I was rushing to meet up with him, but I was late passing through here, so I planned to stay here for the night. I didn't expect to run into Sister Qinghe by chance."

"So that's how it is. What a coincidence. Otherwise, I don't know when we can meet again," Qinghe said suddenly.

Chen Xuan wanted to ask her if she had been back in recent years, but he swallowed the words back when they came to his lips. After all, it might hit her sore spot.

She was once just a servant of the Gao family. She had to follow her husband after marriage. The journey was long and she had no urgent need. So what kind of identity could she use to return to the Gao family?
Entering the gate of the Du family, the maids and servants all bowed respectfully wherever they passed, and all cast curious glances at Chen Xuan. After all, he was too handsome, and he was talking and laughing with Qinghe in a very friendly manner. You must know that Qinghe had never done this to any strange man, let alone brought him home.

However, no one dared to make random guesses and have dirty thoughts. Once such thoughts were leaked, they would deserve to be beaten to death.

After all, the Du family is a wealthy family in a small place, and they certainly cannot compare with the Gao family. The entire courtyard is not even as big as the Gao family's summer resort at the foot of Qingliang Mountain. According to Chen Xuan's perception, there are less than twenty people in total. However, in a place like Dujiazhuang, it is already considered extremely expensive.

"Mom, who is he?" The little boy Qinghe was holding looked at Chen Xuan curiously and asked. He was chubby and had never spoken before, so it was obvious that he had been well-educated.

Qing He lowered his head and said, "Hu'er, Lan'er, this is Xuan'er Chen Xuan, you should call him Uncle Chen."

"Hello Uncle Chen~" the two children looked at Chen Xuan respectfully and curiously.

Chen Xuan thought, "Is he an uncle now?" Well, I can call Qinghe sister, and it's normal for Qinghe's children to call me uncle. Then Qinghe introduced Chen Xuan: "Xuan brother, this is my son Du Xiaohu, he is ten years old this year, and this is my daughter Du Xiaolan, she is seven years old this year."

"It's been a while since Sister Qinghe's children have grown up so much," Chen Xuan sighed slightly, then waved at the two children and said, "Xiaohu and Xiaolan, hello. It's our first meeting, so I didn't prepare any gifts. Here's a little gadget, a safety lock. Play with it. I'll ask your mother to find a rope for you to hang around your necks later."

As he said that, Chen Xuan pretended to rummage in his sleeves and quickly took out two golden safety locks and handed them over.

Although Mrs. Gao gave him a stack of silver notes worth ten thousand taels before he left, he still brought some gold and silver coins with him, which came in handy.

The two peace locks are not big, each weighing only one or two taels, and are quite exquisite. The one for Xiaohu has a little tiger pattern on it, and the one for Xiaolan has an orchid pattern.

It was obviously made of gold. Qinghe was stunned. Xuan Ge'er said that he had not prepared any gifts, but he gave her an exquisite peace lock. Did he always keep it with him?

She quickly said, "Xuan Ge'er, you can't do this, it's too valuable."

"Sister Qinghe, you are being too polite. You were so nice to me back then. This is just a small token of my appreciation. It's not worth anything. Besides, this is for the younger generation. If you don't accept it, I would be embarrassed to even enter this door," Chen Xuan said with a smile.

So Qinghe had no choice but to say: "I'm sorry for letting Xuange spend money. Well, Xiaohu and Xiaolan, why don't you thank Uncle Chen?"

"Thank you, Uncle Chen~"

"Okay, be good," Chen Xuan handed them two gold locks.

They took it and played with it in their hands. The more they looked at it, the more they liked it. They looked at Chen Xuan more and more intimately, but they were surprised to find that the safety lock in their hands was still warm.

Chen Xuan pretended not to hear, thinking to himself, it's not warm, I just pinched it in my sleeve, and it has cooled down quietly, otherwise it would be hot. This little thing is not difficult to make, he only needs to use his true energy to make a 'mold' and directly 'stamp' it into one piece.

During this process, the two golden locks were more or less contaminated with some of the Grandmaster's true energy, while Chen Xuan's true energy was neutral and peaceful. Wearing them on their bodies would be beneficial to themselves, but they could not be retained at all and dissipated after a while.

Just as they were about to reach the main hall, a middle-aged man walked over quickly. He was slightly plump, wearing a blue satin gown, with a handsome face and a friendly smile.

Seeing Qing He, he greeted her with a smile and said gently, "Madam, you are back. Are you happy today? Who is this...?"

He thought that this person must be Mr. Du. When they met, his eyes were full of his wife and children, and only then he paid attention to himself. Chen Xuan could see that they were truly in love and were definitely not pretending in front of him. If their acting skills could deceive him, a grandmaster, they would not have to stay in this small place and become a small rich man.

Qing He immediately said, "My dear, I had a great time taking Hu'er and Lan'er out for an outing today. Let me introduce you. This is Chen Xuanxuan, the former personal study companion of my master's eldest son."

Qinghe was very reluctant to mention her former maid identity after she got married, but those present were not outsiders. Moreover, if she did not admit it to Chen Xuan in person, she would probably have to break off the relationship with the Gao family.

Then she said to Chen Xuan: "Xuan'er, this is my humble husband Du Zijian."

Du Zijian was shocked when he heard this, but he didn't dare to underestimate Chen Xuan. He was a big shot. To put it simply, he was just Gao Jingming's personal companion. To put it more broadly, he was Gao Jingming's confidant. With the status of the Gao family, it was no exaggeration to say that such a stranger was enough for him to walk sideways in many places.

Whether it was out of his shrewdness as a businessman or out of respect for his wife's family, Du Zijian immediately bowed and said warmly, "So it's Mr. Chen who's here. Please come in quickly. Please forgive me if I've been inconsiderate."

At this moment, he felt a little regretful. The housekeeper had described the situation twice before, and he felt a little resentful in his heart, fearing that his wife would be fooled by some strange relative who had run away from somewhere. If he had known earlier, he would have gone out to greet her in person.

"Hello, Brother Du, I'm sorry to bother you with my visit," Chen Xuan said with a bow.

"No, no, it's a blessing to have Mr. Chen here. It really brightens up the room." Du Zijian became even more eager. It was obvious that Chen Xuan was not shy and did not put on airs at all. Otherwise, he would have been served even if he had given him a bad face.

He quickly ordered, "Come here, serve tea and prepare a feast. Do not neglect Master Chen."

"Brother Du is too polite. I can't do that."

"Yes, yes, Mr. Chen, please come this way."

It's hard to refuse such a kind invitation. What makes Chen Xuan laugh and cry is that he probably took advantage of the Gao family. Obviously, he is a grandmaster and the emperor has to treat him to drinks when they meet him, but he has to rely on other people's reputation to get ahead. Alas, it's because he is a nobody.

Seeing that they were getting along well, Qing He was also happy and said with a smile: "Husband, please talk to Xuan Ge'er first, I will go change my clothes and come back."

Originally, it was not convenient for a woman to accompany guests, but Chen Xuan was not an outsider, and it would be rude if she was not there...

(End of this chapter)