Misty Rain of the Old Times

The old emperor walked with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, and lightly waved his sleeves. The palace maids, eunuchs and even the guards around him all bowed and saluted, then quickly left and disappeared into the corner.

"You little brat, you've given me a warning. You actually dared to come to my house. I won't slap you in the face, right? Well, I'm going to slap you in the face. I'm sure I'll feel better after I smash your head into a pig's head," Lao Deng walked over with a sneer on his face.

When Chen Xuan was caught by Lao Deng in the act of running to a girl's house, his momentum weakened by seven points. He simply said, "Come on, you are free to do whatever you want. If you blink an eye, I will lose. If I make you sick, don't blame me for not warning you."

Anyway, it won't hurt a hair on my head. Lao Deng is definitely unhappy. Who can laugh when they bring back a yellow-haired cabbage after raising it for eighteen years? Just go along with him and make Lao Deng happy.

If you want to take advantage of others, what's wrong with being offended? Just think of it as a massage, Chen Xuan comforted himself.

"Hmph, you little brat, you don't know your place. You think I can't do anything to you just because you have some skills. But when I hit you with this stick, no matter how powerful you are, I will still give you a bump on the head!" Lao Deng said in a bad tone, shaking the patinated cane in his hand.

Taking a step back, Chen Xuan crossed his arms and said, "Wait a minute, you're cheating! If you have the guts, don't use that stick. Otherwise, I'll have to use my internal energy to defend myself. If the backlash injures you, I'm worried I won't be able to leave your house alive."

"Are you scared now? Why don't you just stand still and let me vent my anger?" The old emperor glared at him with ill intent, and swung his stick as if to hit him.

Originally, Zhou Xianning was watching the show from the side, letting the old man and the child make a fuss, thinking it was quite amusing. After all, it was not the first or second time. In fact, she was happy to see it, because every time the old emperor and Chen Xuan were together, they were particularly relaxed, as if they were different people.

Seeing that it was about to happen, she suddenly became very anxious. She took two steps to Chen Xuan and opened her arms to stop him, saying, "Father, please don't hit Brother Xuan. I brought him here. If you want to hit someone, hit me."

Chen Xuan was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and thought to himself, "My dear sister, why are you making trouble like this? Isn't this just adding fuel to the fire?"
As expected, it would have been fine if the little princess didn't protect Chen Xuan, but this made the old emperor furious. He glared and said, "Little Fuyao, get out of the way! Today, I'm going to beat this brat to death!"

"I won't. If you want to hit me, father, just hit me." The little princess was also a rebel. She refused to move and closed her eyes, ready to bear the old emperor's wrath.

Chen Xuan grabbed her little hand and held it behind his back, then said to the old emperor, "Uncle, just beat me. I have a thick skin."

"Don't go too far, you little brat!" Lao Deng's eyes instantly blazed with fire, his gaze like a knife as he looked at Chen Xuan holding Zhou Xianning's hand. "Aren't you even carrying me on your back?" He was simply determined to kill.

It was originally a subconscious action to protect the little princess. In an instant, Chen Xuan also reacted. Even at this point, he did not let go. Feeling the soft and boneless little hand in his palm, he licked his face and said humbly, but secretly proudly: "Uncle, do whatever you want. I will never frown."

The little princess, whose hand was held, felt as if she were being electrocuted. Her cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't break free. Instead, she poked her head out from behind Chen Xuan and said flatteringly, "Father, please calm down. I was the one who brought him here. It's a rare occasion for Brother Xuan to come. Can't you just sit down and talk? You guys always quarrel as soon as you meet, like children who haven't grown up yet. If you want to blame someone, blame me, okay?"

She kept calling him Brother Xuan, and they were even holding hands. The old emperor felt sad. He could no longer keep this girl. She was protecting that boy in front of him, and she was so disloyal. It was true that girls cannot be kept when they grow up.

With a clang, he threw the stick in his hand and said angrily: "You are so angry, I have something important to do today. Just remember this for now and we will settle it together later."

It is certain that Lao Deng felt emotional, but he was not really angry. Since he recognized Chen Xuan, he would not really break up the couple. He just took the opportunity to give Chen Xuan a way out after the commotion.

Chen Xuan was also a man who knew how to handle things. He stretched out his hand and a stick fell into his hand. He handed it over and said with a lowered brow: "Uncle, why don't you beat me up, otherwise I will feel uneasy."

This made the old emperor lose his temper. He took the cane and curled his lips in disdain, saying, "You are sensible, kid. I won't bother with you for now. Come on, while it's still early, sit with me. I still have to compete with a bunch of old foxes later."

With that said, he waved his hand and walked towards the gate of Fuyao Palace. It was normal for a father to sit next to his daughter. If any other princess or prince had received his visit, they would have woken up laughing in their dreams.

At this moment, the palace maids and eunuchs who had disappeared before reappeared like ghosts, looking at the ground with their heads down and pretending to be blind and deaf.

Chen Xuan followed and whispered to the little princess, "It seems your father won't beat me. You see, the old man has to go along with his fur. Be thick-skinned, he won't bother to make a fuss."

"What are you mumbling about, you little brat? Do you think I'm deaf? Believe it or not, I'll tie you up and beat you up," the old emperor turned around and glared at him.

When other people were around, he kept saying "I" again, but his attitude towards Chen Xuan remained unchanged, which shocked the surrounding palace maids and eunuchs. Who on earth was this person? How could His Majesty be so indulgent? Moreover, he even dared to hold the princess' hand in front of His Majesty. If the news got out, who knows what kind of waves it would cause.

But who wouldn't be a shrewd person in a place like the Imperial Palace? This matter was best kept to myself. If any word got out, I'd be dead without a trace. And knowing this kind of thing made everyone's necks shiver. They might even lose their heads at any moment. How could I be so unlucky to encounter such an unbearable thing...

The little princess blushed and said, "Brother Xuan, how long are you going to hold hands? There are so many people watching us. Aren't you ashamed?"

While speaking, the little princess felt her whole body was light and she felt that Chen Xuan's hand was warm and safe.

Gently tightening her soft, boneless little hand, Chen Xuan asked seriously, "Forever, okay?"

Hearing this, the little princess' heart trembled, and her head became dizzy. She gently hit his back with her other hand and said softly, "I'm going to ignore you. You just say nice things to coax me."

She still didn't break free, letting Chen Xuan lead her, her heart already intoxicated. How far was forever? In the past, when she and Chen Xuan exchanged letters, they had discussed this question. Chen Xuan's explanation was that a sparrow would carry a rice-sized stone from the Ice Mountain Range, spending a hundred years flying across thousands of mountains and rivers to drop it into the southern sea. It would only make the round trip once every hundred years, until the sparrow had emptied the entire thousands-mile-long Ice Mountain Range. At that time, forever would have passed in the blink of an eye.

So now that Chen Xuan said he wanted to hold her hand forever, thinking back to his previous explanation of the word "forever", how could the little princess not be intoxicated? This was more profound than any sweet talk.

But the little princess is not an ordinary girl. She quickly got out of her thoughts and thought to herself that forever is too far away. Life is only a hundred years long, so just be happy. In a limited life, experience more beautiful things, then life will not be in vain.

At this moment, she herself did not realize that when she first met Chen Xuan, she did not care about things like time and life, but now she is already thinking about it, and maybe she will have different ideas later.

People's thoughts cannot remain unchanged and will change with the influence of time and experience...

Several people entered the Fuyao Palace and went straight to a seven-story attic named Guanyun Pavilion. It was almost the tallest building in the entire palace, and its height was almost the same as the Council Hall. It can be seen how much the old emperor favored Zhou Xianning.

Climbing up to the top floor, with the windows on all four sides open, you can overlook the entire palace and even the capital city. It is as if the whole world is at your feet. The sky is high and the power is supreme, no place is higher than this.

Coming here, Chen Xuan felt emotional. No wonder so many people were fighting for power and trying to climb up. This feeling of supremacy was really addictive.

But this is not what he pursues. No matter how great the power is, it can allow one to look down on all living beings, but it cannot allow one to stand on the clouds and watch the rise and fall of the ocean.

There were palace maids and eunuchs serving tea, so Chen Xuan had to let go of the little princess's hand. The old emperor's knife-like eyes had warned him many times, and if he continued, Lao Deng would really get angry.

"Father, Brother Xuan, you two can sit down and chat for a while. I'm going to go wash up and change my clothes." After settling down, the little princess said goodbye and left like a happy butterfly. She had already pinched them, so she was not worried that the two would fight after she left.

She was a girl who loved cleanliness, but not to the extent of being a pathological mysophobia. She was just used to it. After not sleeping all night, she took a shower and washed up to wake herself up so that she could be in a better mental state to watch the beautiful sea of ​​clouds.

After she left, the old emperor and Chen Xuan stared at each other, and the atmosphere was quite awkward for a while.

It was Chen Xuan who took the initiative to break the silence and asked, "Uncle, have you eaten?"

"Eat, eat, eat! You are a pig. You are so angry that you are full of it." The old emperor said unhappily. He disliked Chen Xuan anyway.

Without waiting for Chen Xuan to say anything, he waved his hand to dismiss his attendants and immediately warned, "Brat, it's just the two of us now. I was young once too, so some things don't need to be said so clearly. You understand. Remember, know when to stop and don't go too far, otherwise I will really cut you into pieces. I advise you to be careful!"

Chen Xuan certainly understood what he meant. He put aside his usual incoherent attitude towards Lao Deng and said seriously, "Uncle, please tell me the truth. What kind of betrothal gift do I need to marry your daughter?"

"Are you serious, kid?" The old emperor raised his eyebrows and said seriously.

Nodding, Chen Xuan said, "Do you think I'm joking with you?"

It is natural for men to get married when they are old enough and women to get married when they are old enough. The reason why it is brought up now is because Emperor Shang Xuan is old, and he probably doesn't want to leave with regrets.

The old emperor curled his lips and said indifferently: "I own the world and have everything I want. Who cares about your betrothal gifts? If you want to marry my daughter, I don't need anything from you. Just treat her well and don't let her suffer any grievances. Then as long as you can make people unable to object, that's all."

It is not that easy to marry a princess. It is about marrying, not marrying. There are many people eyeing her in the world.

Hearing this, Chen Xuan heaved a sigh of relief and said, "That's easy, it's settled."

Who's dissatisfied? Who's against this? Stand out and let me see how many people are in your family!

The old emperor knew Chen Xuan's ability, but he still reminded him: "Stinky boy, don't be too happy too soon."

Chen Xuan smiled thoughtfully and said, "Uncle, are you referring to the one in the north? He's going back to Beijing to report on his work at the end of the year, right?"

"It seems that you have already found out everything. It's good that you have a clear idea of ​​it..." said the old emperor in surprise.

After chatting for a while, when the sky was turning pale, the little princess, having bathed and changed into a gorgeous palace dress, came here again and said in silence, "Father, Brother Xuan, what are you talking about? You're not arguing?"

...(End of chapter)