How could my childhood sweetheart be the current empress?

The old prime minister took out an old, rusty key from the bedside and handed it to Xu Chengling.

"Is it in that backyard?"

In Xu Chengling's memory, he once broke into a backyard when he was a child. There was a door in the backyard. The lock on the door was rusty and looked very old.

In the Xu Mansion, no one was allowed to approach the backyard, including Xu Chengling.

"That elder, is she... still alive?"

Xu Chengling couldn't help but ask.

"You'll know if you go and take a look."

The old prime minister shook his head and did not answer his question.

As the old prime minister handed the key to the backyard to Xu Chengling, this secret that had been kept for decades was finally about to be revealed.

Chapter 267 Important Day

We came to a backyard of the Xiangguo Mansion. No one had been here for many years, and it looked a bit desolate.

As far as Xu Chengling could remember, he first came here more than ten years ago.

At this time, there was an iron door in front of him with a rusty lock on it. It looked like no one had opened it for a long time.

With a hint of trepidation, Xu Chengling inserted the key into the keyhole. He was a little worried that the key might not open the door. After all, so many years had passed.

With a "click", unexpectedly, the lock was opened and fell to the ground.

Xu Chengling couldn't help swallowing and gently pushed open the door. Due to the unknown ahead, he was very nervous at the moment and walked in slowly.

When you come inside, what catches your eye is a quiet and elegant cottage. The sunlight shines in from outside, and the shadows of the trees inside the house are swaying in patches, which calms your restless mood.

Xu Chengling was shocked. He never thought that there were signs of people living here.

So, does the great-grandmother he is looking for live here? What kind of person is that great-grandmother?

Is the great-grandmother a white-haired old woman, or a young woman with an ageless appearance like Gongsun Da Niang?

The mystery in his heart can only be solved after he meets his great-grandmother.

Xu Chengling had another purpose in wanting to meet Xu Fu. Xu Fu was probably the only alchemist in the world. If he wanted to concoct the original black gunpowder, he needed his grandmother's help.

He came to the yard and looked around, but did not see his great-grandmother.

So Xu Chengling came to the small house, knocked on the door gently, hesitated for a moment, and then greeted very politely:

"Grandma, are you here?"

Xu Chengling shouted for a long time, but there was no response from inside the house.

"Isn't grandma here?"

He couldn't help but think that he had already searched the yard but didn't see anyone.

If there is no one in the room, then that person is probably not here.

"Grandma, I'm coming in."

After saying this, Xu Chengling pushed open the unlocked door and slowly walked into the cabin.

The furnishings in the room were very simple. There was a guzheng in front of him and an incense burner next to it. It looked like it had not been used for a long time and was covered with dust.

Seeing the furnishings in front of him, Xu Chengling could probably imagine the scene of his great-grandmother sitting in front of this guzheng, playing the instrument leisurely with an incense burner lit beside her.

"Grandma, are you there?"

Xu Chengling shouted again, but still no one responded to him.

If you think about it carefully, everything here is covered with dust, and it seems that no one has lived here for a long time.

It seems that the person he is looking for is not here.

Xu Chengling searched the house and finally returned to where the guzheng was placed, but he didn't see anyone.

"It seems that grandma hasn't lived here for a long time. I don't know where she went."

Xu Chengling couldn't help but sigh in disappointment and muttered to himself.

Just as Xu Chengling was about to leave, he suddenly noticed that there seemed to be something pressing on the corner of the Guzheng table.

He gently lifted the guzheng and took out the note underneath.

Xu Chengling opened the note and saw a few lines of words written in beautiful small characters. Judging from the handwriting, it should have been written by a woman.

The note contained the following:

"Hehe, although I don't know who will see this note, I think it will be my descendants. Unknowingly, the number of my descendants has gradually increased."

"When you see this note, I'm no longer here. It's too boring to stay here all the time. There's nothing fun to do, and the little ones don't come to see me, so I made a decision. I'm going to leave for a while and travel around the world."

"You don't need to look for me, and you don't need to ask when I will be back. I will come back when the time is right."

"——Xu Fuliu."

Xu Chengling looked at the time and couldn't help but take a deep breath. It turned out that his great-grandmother had passed away twenty years ago.

Now, he couldn't find the person he was looking for, and he didn't know when his grandmother would come back.

According to the old prime minister, when he first met his great-grandmother, she was still a snotty-nosed child. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, he had already reached old age.

But even so, in his great-grandmother's eyes, he was just the little boy he was back then.

The only regret the old prime minister has now is that he was not able to see his grandmother again before he passed away.

For some reason, Xu Chengling smelled a scent of longevity theory.

He couldn't help but start thinking about a question: for someone like his great-grandmother who can live forever, as the familiar people around her keep leaving, when there is no one in the world who recognizes her anymore, does immortality really have any meaning?

Maybe this is why grandma left, and she also wants to find an answer.

……

As always, the Xiangguo Mansion was peaceful.

But Xu Chengling knew clearly that this peace would not last long. A storm was brewing and undercurrents were already surging in the capital.

A number of princes, including Prince Jing, were still ready to make a move, and the Eighth Wise King took this opportunity to station his troops a hundred miles away from the capital.

The solution Xu Chengling came up with was to respond to all kinds of changes by remaining constant.

On the other hand, with the decentralization of several important reforms, Dayan’s treasury was gradually filled and the national strength was also growing.

This also means that if the Eighth Wise King really has ulterior motives, he may not be able to sit still.

Once the Eighth Wise King takes any action, he will inevitably be exposed and the Empress will also notice it. This is Xu Chengling's strategy of responding to ever-changing situations with the same attitude.

The only thing he couldn't predict was how long this peaceful life would last.

"Time flies so fast, I didn't expect this day to come again."

Xu Chengling calculated the time and tomorrow was that day again.

The next day, he got up early and was busy in the kitchen.

It was not until the evening that Xu Chengling returned to the yard.

At first glance, a graceful figure was sitting in the pavilion, in front of her was a green zither, and the melodious sound of the zither slowly echoed in the yard.

"Ma'am, do you know what day it is today?"

Xu Chengling came to the pavilion, put his hands behind his back, and asked with a smile on his face.

"What day is it? Why are you smiling so happily?"

Yan Jixue frowned slightly and stopped playing the piano.

She thought about it, but couldn't remember why today was an important day for her.

But soon, Yan Jixue thought of something.

Maybe it is not an important day for her, but for another person, today is her important day.

Today is Ling'er's birthday!

"Husband, it seems like today is my birthday."

Yan Jixue looked at the man in front of her and said to him with a smile.

"Close your eyes and count to three."

Xu Chengling said to her.

So Yan Jixue gently closed her eyes and counted to three silently in her heart.

When she opened her eyes, a familiar face suddenly appeared close to her and touched her forehead lightly.

Yan Jixue couldn't help but blush. She saw the man smiling at her, taking out the birthday cake behind him, and putting it on the table with a candle lit on it.

But this time, Xu Chengling did not burn the cake, he did a better job than the previous year.

"My dear, I said I would make you a better cake next year, and now I finally did it."

Xu Chengling said with a slight smile.

Chapter 268: Yan Jixue's Concern

In order to be able to make good cakes, Xu Chengling learned from a pastry chef for a long time.

But hard work always pays off. Now the cakes he makes are not only not burnt, but also taste better.

Xu Chengling placed the cake in front of Yan Jixue, looked at her surprised little face and smiled:

"Happy birthday, my lady."

Yan Jixue looked at the birthday cake in front of her and couldn't help feeling touched.

In order to make this cake well, Xu Chengling must have put in a lot of effort. You know, the cake he made two years ago was burnt and tasted weird.

But even if the cake was burnt, a lot of his hard work had gone into it. Although it had a bit of a burnt smell, it tasted very good.

Looking at the cake, Yan Jixue suddenly realized that she had been married to the other party for more than a year.

During this year, Xu Chengling treated her very well, the two of them respected each other, and after marrying her, he never took a concubine.

In fact, Yan Jixue had always seen it all. Xu Chengling was taking her mood and feelings into consideration, so he had never taken a concubine.

Otherwise, with his identity and status, he would have had many wives and concubines by now.

"What are you looking at? Blow out the candles and make a wish silently in your heart."

Xu Chengling looked at the lady in front of him and said to her.

Yan Jixue nodded gently, opened her mouth and blew out the candle, then put her hands together, closed her eyes, and silently made a wish in her heart.

Seeing her open her eyes, Xu Chengling couldn't help but ask:

"Madam, what wish did you make just now?"

"No, it won't work if you say it out loud."

Yan Jixue shook her head and just chuckled, not telling him what wish she had made.

In fact, her wish is very simple, that is, she can make another wish next year, and then the year after next year...

The cake was not big, so we sat together, you fed me a bite and I fed you a bite, and soon we had finished most of it.

"Hey, wait, leave some for later. I want to eat it in the evening."

Yan Jixue put away the remaining cake and did not finish it with Xu Chengling.

"Well, that's fine."

Xu Chengling nodded. Since his wife wanted to save it for dinner, he would definitely agree.

In fact, Yan Jixue knew in her heart that today was not her birthday, but Ling'er's birthday.

But looking at the leftover cake in front of her, Yan Jixue couldn't help but wonder, when would she be able to eat the birthday cake he made for her?

Even though he made this cake for himself, the person he was thinking of was still Ling'er. This was the birthday cake he made for Ling'er.