Misty Rain of the Old Times

Chapter 341 Tired
"Okay, Daddy, Taohua, just say less and stop arguing. Why don't you keep your mouths shut? Have some tea," Zhou Xianning poured tea to smooth things over. She just found it funny. She had never seen anyone dare to be so presumptuous in front of her father before. Chen Xuan was the only one.

Even if it was a powerful master, the old emperor would show him some courtesy, but he would not be as unscrupulous as Chen Xuan.

"Doesn't he have a proper name? Calling him Peach Blossom Peach Blossom sounds like he is not a good person," the old emperor said complainingly as he looked at his own little cabbage.

The little princess smiled and said, "I've gotten used to it over the years. When I first wrote a storybook, I was ten years old. It was just a joke and I didn't take it seriously. I never thought someone would write to me. Seven years have passed without me noticing."

If it weren't for seven years of uninterrupted communication, even though they had never met, they had grown up together, otherwise how could they have felt so close at first sight? A princess and a servant, normally their destinies wouldn't have crossed paths.

"Is it him?" The old emperor pointed at Chen Xuan with a look of surprise, and forgot to argue with Chen Xuan.

He knew that someone had been exchanging letters with the little princess over the years, but he didn't find out the details. Could it be this guy?
Nodding, Zhou Xianning said: "Yes, what's so strange about this? Shouldn't Daddy have understood it by now?"

"No, he doesn't look that old. He was just a child back then, and you already started exchanging letters?" The old emperor was surprised when he heard this. What did he do as a child?

Chen Xuan took over the conversation and said, "You are right. Tingfeng was able to write and publish a storybook at the age of ten. Why can't I, at the age of eleven, write a letter to the author to discuss the content of the storybook?"

"You were eleven years old then? I haven't said anything about you yet. You were given the devilish nickname of Peach Blossom at the age of eleven. Have you been a bad boy since childhood?" The old emperor turned around and glared.

Seeing that they were about to start pinching again, Zhou Xianning quickly said, "Dad, Taohua raised a peach tree, but it never grew up or bloomed, so he gave it this name. He is looking forward to the day when the flower blooms."

"Don't explain to him," the old emperor said, feeling resentful. He looked at Chen Xuan and said sarcastically, "Haha, you're such a loser. You can't even grow a peach tree. What else can you do?"

Chen Xuan was about to argue when Zhou Xianning interrupted him. She looked at him curiously and asked, "By the way, Taohua, how's your peach tree doing lately?"

He was a little frustrated that he couldn't win the fight. Upon hearing this, Chen Xuan said helplessly, "It's still the same. It's barely grown and doesn't bloom. But I've already transplanted it to the ground. I wonder if it will change in the future."

"Remember to tell me if there are any changes," the little princess said expectantly. Over the years, the two of them would almost always mention the peach tree in their correspondence.

The old father couldn't bear to see his little Baicai chatting happily with others, so he shouted, "Boy, you have some skills, but what do you do for a living?"

He knew about Chen Xuan's past, but the time was too short and he didn't know the details. Mentioning it now was, on the one hand, making fun of him, and on the other hand, perhaps he himself didn't realize that he was questioning Huangmao with the mentality of an old father.

At this moment, Chen Xuan felt inexplicably embarrassed, and he didn't know why, but he still said calmly, "I don't have much to do, so does just eating and waiting to die count?"

"Look at this man, my girl. He is a loser with no ambition. How dare he do that?" The old emperor turned around and looked at Zhou Xianning to make trouble.

Chen Xuan said confidently: "So what? Living a life of idleness and waiting to die is also a kind of skill."

"Oh, you're still out of breath. Tell me, what kind of skill is this?" the old emperor said sarcastically.

However, Chen Xuan said with great pride: "Others work for decades to be able to live a peaceful life in their old age, but I can live this kind of life in advance, saving myself decades of detours. Isn't this considered a skill?"

"Stop talking nonsense to me. Do you think I don't understand? You are just a scoundrel who has no food to eat," the old emperor said with a look of contempt.

Having said that, he didn't really mean to mock or look down on others. With Chen Xuan's cultivation level of the 'Innate Realm', it was easy for him to live a good life, which no one could deny, but it was difficult to become rich and powerful.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Chen Xuan still said confidently, "That's impossible. Fame and fortune are like floating clouds to me. I just don't want to put in the effort. Otherwise, it would be easily within my reach."

"I don't believe it unless you prove it to me," the old emperor continued.

At this time, Chen Xuan reacted and sighed in his heart, thinking that he was worthy of being the emperor for decades. His level of speaking was simply too terrible. He almost got caught by him.

But it doesn't make sense. Why is this happening? In front of him, I seem to have become a little restrained unconsciously. It wasn't like this at the beginning.

Chen Xuan's thoughts flickered, and he himself felt strange. He turned away and stopped entangled in so many things. He spread his hands and said: "I live my own little life and I am happy and comfortable. I am sick in the brain to prove it to you."

"My daughter, you see, this man is useless. Stay away from him in the future, otherwise you will be infected by him." The old emperor looked at Chen Xuan with a look of success on his face, and turned to Zhou Xianning to give him earnest advice.

The little princess would not be easily affected by other people's words. She felt a sense of warmth, as if she was just chatting with her family. Thinking of this, her heart was inexplicably moved. However, she had her own opinion and said, "Everyone has their own attitude towards life. There is nothing wrong with it. The most important thing is to be happy. Why should people live so hard?"

"That's right, what you said hits the nail on the head. Tingfeng understands me. He is indeed my good friend who I have known for many years," Chen Xuan said with a look of satisfaction, glancing at the old emperor with pride.

The two of them never stopped secretly competing with each other, just like two mischievous children.

The old emperor secretly gritted his teeth. This kid was so stubborn that he had no idea where to start. But he kept yelling, "How can you talk like that, kid? How can you describe my daughter as a friend?"

"So, are you looking for a soulmate in the mountains and flowing water?"

"Oh, that's quite insightful..." With the old emperor standing here, Chen Xuan could forget about touring the Xiaoxuan Palace with the little princess. His little thoughts were obvious. He just wanted to find ways to prevent the two from getting along privately. In order to keep his little Baicai from being abducted, the old emperor was also worried.

So a few of them just bickered and chatted. Fortunately, Zhou Xianning was there to mediate. Otherwise, if Chen Xuan and the old emperor were alone, they would have started arguing after just three sentences.

Don't say it, it was obviously very boring to sit like this, but none of them felt that way. Instead, time passed very quickly. They came to Xiaoxuan Palace at noon, and before they knew it, it was already afternoon. It was not until the old emperor's stomach rumbled that he reacted.

"You little bastard, not a word you say is pleasant to the ear. You've pissed me off," the old emperor said with a roll of his eyes.

How could you not be hungry after all that exercise and sitting for so long? Chen Xuan refused to admit defeat and said, "As the king of a country, you still feel hungry sometimes. It's pitiful. No one would believe it if I told them."

"Eunuch Wang, please ask the cooks from Xiaoxuan Palace to bring some food over," the little princess called out to the courtyard, then turned back and said with a smile, "Daddy, Taohua, can't you just talk to each other properly?"

"Humph, this brat makes me angry just looking at him. How can I treat him well? He doesn't know how to give in to me at all. If I give him even a little color, he will definitely be a bully."

"I disagree with your words, you were the first to disrespect me..."

Zhou Xianning didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They were arguing again, so she quickly acted as a peacemaker and said, "Okay, okay, let's eat first."

The food had been prepared long ago. As soon as the little princess called out, someone brought it over. They were all light dishes, mostly vegetarian. Although Xiaoxuan Palace was a Taoist sect, they did not eat vegetarian food. This preparation was only to take care of the old emperor's stomach.

You know what, the little princess didn't lie to Chen Xuan at the beginning, it tasted pretty good.

Chen Xuan and the old emperor were not quiet during the meal. Besides bickering, they were even grabbing the food from each other without any restraint at all. The little princess was both amused and happy seeing this.

Because she noticed that her father ate one more bowl of rice than usual, and seemed to be competing with Chen Xuan for it. The rice was very delicious.

"Haha, kid, you are still a little naive. I picked up two more chopsticks of food than you did." The full Emperor Shang Xuan lay on the chair and patted his belly proudly.

The little princess ate little, so most of it went into the two of them. After they stopped, Chen Xuan covered the plate with a bowl of rice, and then took out all the remaining food and started showing it off. He said clearly, "I'm letting you eat. The rest is all mine. You can only watch now."

The old emperor watched Chen Xuan pour all the soup into the plate and slurp it up, then suddenly stopped talking. The words "eat slowly, I'm not eating enough" and the rest of the words were stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.

This kid, although seemingly unreliable, is actually good at details. He is better than countless young talents in not wasting food.

'He was once a servant of the Gao family in Yang County and was bought away. He must have suffered a lot before eating like this. It is really rare for this child to still maintain this purity,' the old emperor suddenly felt a little emotional.

He didn't retort, but rather felt a little uncomfortable. He ate a lot of food and said, "Why, are you unhappy if I eat a few more bites?"

"Eat, eat, eat. You can't eat as much as a pig. I think you are just a pig," the old emperor said unhappily.

The little princess held her cheeks with her hands and found it amusing to watch Chen Xuan eat with big mouthfuls. He was just as rude when they met the day before yesterday. He had eaten the whole table clean. No one had ever been so rude in front of her.

She also has a sensitive heart. Although she has not taken the initiative to learn about Chen Xuan's past over the years, she roughly understands what kind of experience one must have to go through to not waste food even when wealth is readily available.

At this moment, the little princess suddenly wanted to know about Chen Xuan's past.

After eating and drinking, the old emperor looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Let's go home today."

He was obviously in a good mood, but he was old after all, and after some strenuous activity, he was actually a little tired at the moment.

"Ah, let's go back now," the little princess said with some reluctance.

The old emperor turned around and glared and said, "What are you talking about? It will be dark soon. Girls should go home early. Come with me."

As he spoke, he glanced at Chen Xuan, and his eyes clearly said, "Boy, you have no chance of having private contact with my daughter while I'm here."

Chen Xuan stood up and said, "We really have to go back. Go slowly on the way."

"Is it worth your worry?"

The little princess covered her mouth with her hands and smiled, secretly winking at Chen Xuan, meaning that she had originally planned to take a good look around the Xiaoxuan Palace today, but failed to do so, and she would make up for it next time.

"Look what he's doing, he's gone!" The old emperor was exhausted and furious. His daughter had grown up, and it looked like he might not be able to keep her anymore...

(End of this chapter)