Chu Wang Fei

For some reason, Chu Fei Yang was not carrying the sword he habitually had hanging on his horse’s back, only bringing himself as he left the gates of the capital.

“You will know after a short while!” Placing Yun Qian Meng in front of his chest, Chu Fei Yang pulled out his own cloak then covered her from head to toe, so as to avoid the cold and raw chilly wind to scratch Yun Qian Meng’s skin, holding the reins in one hand seizing the correct path, his other hand was tightly embracing the person in front of his chest, not permitting anything bad to happen to her.

Seeing Chu Fei Yang being mysterious, Yun Qian Meng didn’t ask anything further, so as to avoid distracting Chu Fei Yang.

The sound of horse hooves continuously echoed beside their ears, the horse below them was vigorously straddling its four limbs, striving to move ahead, as the cold wind whistled past them, although they were wearing thick cloaks, Yun Qian Meng was still able to feel that, the cold wind still penetrated through the cloak which was tightly pressed onto to her cheeks, although it contained the coldness, yet it was relaxing, more comfortable than having to face those upper-class women!

The horse below them ran wildly for almost an hour, when Yun Qian Meng felt sleepy its speed had gradually slowed down, Yun Qian Meng felt a hand grabbed her on the waist again, afterwhich the cloak covering her head was being gently lifted open by a huge hand, a natural scenery with vast expansion of snow appeared in front of her eyes.

“This place is?” The honorific daughter rarely went of the house, even if she was to attend a feast, her social circle will never be far away from the capital, consequently when the horse carried the two of them halfway up to the mountain, her eyes seemed to be puzzled.

“This is just an ordinary unknown mountain!” Knowing that Yun Qian Meng’s heart was in doubt, Chu Fei Yang laughed as he spoke, although he allowed Yun Qian Meng to expose her head, but the cloak was still wrapped around tightly in her body, to prevent the cold wind to penetrate through Yun Qian Meng’s body!

Hearing Chu Fei Yang’s explanation, Yun Qian Meng’s eyes surveyed the surrounding environment, underneath the brilliant white snow cover was a vast area of forest with dense vegetation, from time to time the snow would roll down from the branches of cedar trees, producing burst by burst of collapsing sound, frightening the perch of birds in their branches, their warbling sound suddenly echoed within valley which was as quiet as the night.

This time they passed through the winding pathway to the mountain stream, it barely could fit in two not so spacious horse carriage at the same time, going uphill the pathway appeared like the shape of a dragon, Chu Fei Yang had slowed down their advancing speed, permitting the horse to find its balance going through the pathway to the mountain stream, his expression seemed less cautious and schemomg unlike what he was in the royal court, his facial appearance seemed auspicious and tranquil, the tranquility and gentleness on him made Yun Qian Meng’s heart doubted, could it be that he had brought her here to see someone.

“Cold?” Fixing the cloak on Yun Qian Meng’s chest, he had completely covered her body inside the fox fur cloak, but after Chu Fei Yang saw Yun Qian Meng’s slightly reddish tip of the nose, he asked feeling a bit worried.

The air in the mountain was fresh and clean, when inhaled into the lungs it brightened up the spirit, on top of that this place contained no struggle from the secular world, as compared to the flourishing incense burning in Pu Guo An, Yun Qian Meng was actually more fond of this pure land, she preferred to see it exhibiting its beauty which was free from any contamination.

The corner of her mouth contained a smile as she shook her head, sitting there jolting on the horseback for more than an hour, in addition to crazy actions last night, Yun Qian Meng’s waist and back were already quite sore, lazily leaning herself inside Chu Fei Yang’s arms, her head slightly hang on his neck, her beautiful eyes lingered on the intertwined vast scenery of nature’s color.

Seeing Yun Qian Meng relaxed her mind, the corner of Chu Fei Yang’s mouth curved up a smile, his body shifted a bit, embracing her entire body in his arms, the corner of his mouth gently leaned on her forehead, then in a low voice he spoke “Although this place isn’t some famous mountain outside of the city, but it is a great location to see the southwest area of Xi Chu!”

“Luo Cheng is actually situated in the southwest area of Xi Chu! It is several cities apart from You Zhou!” At the same time while Chu Fei Yang was explaining, an map of Xi Chu which Yun Qian Meng had seen before appeared in her mind, afterwhich she sought out the location of Luo Cheng and You Zhou, closely following Chu Fei Yang’s words as she remarked.

Listening to Yun Qian Mang as she related the two cities like Luo Cheng and You Zhou together, Chu Fei Yang’s calm eyes seemed to appear surprised, his heart felt relieved, he had already learned about Yun Qian Meng’s intelligent mind, now that she was able to link the two of them together, made Chu Fei Yang’s eyes exposed a simple smile, then he continued “The distance between the two cities, if one would travel on horseback in full speed it will only take four or five days journey! Majority of the people residing in Luo Cheng were different tribes which had already surrendered themselves to Xi Chu before. During those years when grandpa and the late emperor had conquered the entire country, those cities in the southwest borderland which regarded Luo Cheng as their capital were the first ones to surrender to Xi Chu, protecting Xi Chu in the southwest borderland. And the most famous one in Luo Cheng, was the tribe of Xia Hou!”

Yun Qian Meng quietly listened to Chu Fei Yang’s narration, her heart was tensed up, perhaps everything that he was going to say next, was completely related to Chu Fei Yang’s life!

After all, she had already attended many feasts, yet those upper-class women never mentioned anything about Chu Fei Yang’s mother, and during these days when she was newly married into Chu family, no one had ever spoken even a few words about Chu Furen, everyone seemed reluctant to talk about this Chu Furen, which truly heightened Yun Qian Meng’s curiosity.

“Weren\'t they afraid of being totally wiped out after their surrender? And why did the late emperor feel assured by allowing foreign tribes to protect such important borderland for him? Perhaps within this, the only way to maintain a good relationship between the two was to provide a marriage as the peace treaty, with such relationship, both sides will be as one family, then they will have the same heart!” But, even if it was like this, then why hadn\'t the late emperor chosen his own son for the peace treaty marriage, but instead he selected the son of Chu Wang?

Two warm thin lips were planted on the slightly cold forehead, Chu Fei Yang gently kissed Yun Qian Meng, deep inside his heart he praised her, afterwhich he slowly spoke “During that time the late emperor had so many sons, yet he had never appointed a crown prince, and grandpa only had father all alone, but based on the people\'s perspective the late emperor and grandpa were like real brothers, before he ascended to the throne he had already appointed grandpa as Chu Wang! The leader of the Xia Hou tribe loved his daughter dearly, naturally he wouldn\'t allow his only daughter to marry any of those princes who might die anytime because of seizing the throne, it would be better to have a peace treaty marriage with Wang Ye’s family, in order to let his daughter obtain happiness in life! The princess of that Xia Hou tribe, was actually my mother Xia Hou Ying!”

Chu Fei Yang’s words heavily hit Yun Qian Meng’s heart, her face had gradually turned serious, unexpectedly Chu Pei’s marriage had actually contained a political factor, perhaps he who had been forced to marry Xia Hou Ying, his heart was totally unwilling!

“Grandpa was deeply in love with his Wang Fei, why would he allow Father to marry a woman that he had never met! Could this be the huge knot that existed between their relationship as father and son?” Thinking about the time when she was in Chu Wang Fu, the expression in Chu Wang’s face when he recalled his old memories, Yun Qian Meng was confused, he was evidently someone who knew how to love, why would he do that?

“Meng’er, some things cannot be changed even if we tried hard to prevent them! During that time my maternal grandfather had specifically mentioned my father\'s name, in order to stabilize the situation in the southwest borderland, of course the late emperor nodded his head and agreed! Particularly the Xia Hou tribe was the most prosperous one, the people there have a huge influence in the southwest region, if they were to wage a war at them, perhaps it would shaken the foundation of Xi Chu, when the time comes the southern Nan Xun Guo will take advantage of this great opportunity, reaping the Fisherman\'s benefit!” Speaking about his life in a plain tone, Yun Qian Meng’s heart felt sad for him, a child who was born without love, will always be the pitiful one, just like the Yun Qian Meng before, eventually it will be just like the death of a beautiful woman just like fragrance diminished and the jade perished.

“Was the late emperor afraid that the grandpa might be resentful towards him? If Xia Hou tribe was to join hands together with grandpa, perhaps he will not be able to secure his own throne!” People around the country had mentioned that the late emperor and Chu Wang were like brothers, the two of them had conquered Xi Chu together, but Chu Wang had let go of his chance on the dragon throne, and he was willing to be just an official, as a result he had even earned great trust from the late emperor, even when it comes to giving the official name for the country, he had added the word ‘Chu’ on it, to show the prominent brotherhood formed between the two of them.

All these things seemed extremely ridiculous now, perhaps that was part of the late emperor’s method to appease his ministers.

The two words ‘Xi Chu’, was just merely reminding grandpa to keep in mind his own status, even if grandpa became disloyal, he will be despised by everyone!

One’s great merits make the king feel uneasy, such was a great trouble went through by the emperor in the ancient times, furthermore no one was ever be able to break free from this curse.

“Grandpa never had the intention to seize the throne. If one person’s marriage could save millions of lives of common people, as far as grandpa is concerned, that was truly worth the sacrifice! Moreover, my mother was still very young during that time, grandpa thought that by allowing her and my father to get along with each other it will strengthen their relationship, yet unexpectedly my father was extremely disgusted with it, when my mother reached marriageable age and when they got married, he then proceeded to take his official post in the far away You Zhou!” His calm tone of voice got mixed up with the agony which was hard to predict, the simple smile in the corner of Chu Fei Yang’s mouth somewhat turned weaker, becoming somewhat unreal, the helplessness exposed in his dark eyes, weakening his usual wise and farsighted expression, becoming even more real and even a bit more approachable.

So far, Yun Qian Meng didn’t speak again, since she had already understood the complicated situation among it, she now realized why these three generations had behaved so strangely when they interacted with each other.

But, Yun Qian Meng’s heart felt sorry for that Xia Hou Ying, based on Chu Fei Yang’s appearance which seemed completely different from Chu Pei, he had inherited the looks of his mother, such woman with the unique beauty was indeed short-lived, as she hurriedly passed by everyone’s life, one thing the truly belonged to her in this world, was only her own son Chu Fei Yang.

Soon after the two of them went silent along the way, Yun Qian Meng’s heart was like being pressed down by a huge stone, indeed she was somewhat unable to breathe easily, although this matter seemed to have already forgotten in the past, but after so many years of pressure, perhaps someday the rebound will one day break out, when the time came, what sort of changes will take place in this world?

“Meng’er, we’ve arrived here at last!” Beside her ears Chu Fei Yang’s gentle voice resounded, after which Yun Qian Meng was being carried down from the horseback.

They had arrived in the hilltop, as compared to the mountain range in all directions standing tall reaching through the clouds, the mountain below their feet was indeed not outstanding, but from this hilltop looking all around, it was an extremely expansive horizon, the direction that led to Luo Cheng in the southwest was without any obstruction, the smog that surrounded the hilltop was seeping with extremely cold air, surveying around, the hilltop was covered with thick layers of white snow, but a piece tombstone surprisingly stood erect in the middle of white snow.

Chu Fei Yang had already taken down the bundle on the horseback, pulling Yun Qian Meng’s hands they slowly walked towards that tombstone, soon after he laid down the bundle in his hand to the snowy ground, stretching out his hand he gently brushed away the white snow that covered the tombstone, little by little the words that were carved on the tombstone appeared.

The tombstone was made from marble stone, these words were simply written on it ‘Mother of Chu Fei Yang --- Xia Hou Ying’s Tomb’!

Not to mention the name of her husband, even her birthday was not engraved on top of it, perhaps Xia Hou Ying had suffered from pent-up frustrations, her husband had gone away and never came back, and beside her apart from her son, there was no one else around, as a result she had ruthlessly abandoned everything behind.

Chu Fei Yang glanced at Yun Qian Meng who was still in a daze, he knew that there were things that she needed sufficient time to digest, then he opened the bundle beside him, took out the things that will be used for offering then arranged them in front of the tomb, he also took a bunch of dried flowers then carefully laid it beside the tombstone, soon after he knelt down on both knees, respectfully knocked his forehead three times on the ground, his both eyes looked regretful while staring at those three words ‘Xia Hou Ying’ carved on the tombstone.

A pair of soft hands hanged on Chu Fei Yang’s shoulders, seeing him looking at her at a loss like a child, Yun Qian Meng gently smiled, in a light voice she reminded him “It’s my turn to perform kowtow in front of Mother!”

A woman who had risked her life giving birth to Chu Fei Yang, no matter how much resentment she had in her heart while she was still living, but at least he was a child who will love her, it was her who had given life to Chu Fei Yang, permitting herself to meet someone who excelled in everything like him, Yun Qian Meng deeply respected Xia Hou Ying from the bottom of her heart.

Chu Fei Yang got caught up in his train of thought for a period of time, if it wasn’t for Yun Qian Meng’s reminder, he had almost forgotten why he brought her here today.

Somewhat striving effort to stand up with his both legs, he assisted Yun Qian Meng to kneel down before the tomb, Chu Fei Yang was somewhat blushing with shame, he spoke with a bit of stiffness “Mother, this is Meng’er, your daughter-in-law, your son had brought her here to see you!”

Hearing Chu Fei Yang’s introduction, Yun Qian Meng felt funny as she shook her head, quite unexpectedly the normally invincible Chu Xiang also had his awkward moment like this, the corner of her mouth hooked up a smile as she plainly spoke “Daughter-in-law has come to pay my respects to you, Mother! Please feel reassured, Mother, that your daughter-in-law will certainly take good care and protect her husband!”

After speaking, Yun Qian Meng respectfully knocked her forehead on the ground facing the tombstone, after which she was being supported up by Chu Fei Yang.

“Meng’er, is there such thing like the wife to be protecting her husband? Did you say it wrong earlier?” As for Yun Qian Meng’s way of expressing something through words, Chu Fei Yang fussed over the minor details of them, he hooked up his dense brows, his eye expression looked dangerous.

But with this expression which looked as if it will threaten other people, it wasn’t even a bit useful in front of Yun Qian Meng, She slightly stamped her feet, her small face immediately turned towards the tombstone, feeling wronged she said “Mother, husband is bullying me now!”

Chu Fei Yang was initially waiting for Yun Qian Meng to retort back, yet unexpectedly being a proficient woman she had started to accuse him, striking back at him when he was caught unprepared, suddenly he used his military force to pull her closer to his arms, turned around that indignant small face of her, in a stern voice he said “Disturbing Mother’s rest is not allowed!”

Suddenly, Yun Qian Meng’s eyes were startled, Chu Fei Yang had actually went along with her acts, also saying everything appropriately, which was truly as sly and treacherous as a fox!

“Lord husband, I disturbed Mother’s rest? Doesn’t Lord Husband see that the one causing trouble between this mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship is you!” Being pestered like this, Chu Fei Yang might get a headache!

Indeed, hearing Yun Qian Meng said these words, Chu Fei Yang’s eyes appeared to be puzzled, he was about to retort back, when he saw Yun Qian Meng’s eyes were having a delighted smiling expression, then he had let her off for this time being, assisted her to wear her cloak, he then looked at that tombstone, and bid his farewell “Mother, we will return back now!”

After speaking, he suddenly carried Yun Qian Meng up then directly flew up on the horseback.

Yun Qian Meng was completely lack of preparation, suddenly her feet parted from the ground, her body floated up in midair, instinctively she wrapped her both arms in Chu Fei Yang’s neck, avoiding herself to fall down, yet she discovered that those pretty thin lips were perked up again, suddenly she realized that Chu Fei Yang was taking his revenge for what happened earlier.

Yun Qian Meng’s eyes were spitting out flames, but her heart remained calm, without saying a word she released her both hands, frightening Chu Fei Yang as he immediately stretched out an arm and embraced her waist, when both of them were seated on the horseback, he then lowered his head and glared at Yun Qian Meng, silently blaming her for being outrageous!

Yet Yun Qian Meng hardly dodged as she perked up a smile of victory, afterwhich to prevent Chu Fei Yang from mounting a sneak attack she closed her eyes to rest.

Chu Fei Yang watched the joyfully satisfied shallow smile in the corner of her lips, she coquettishly shook her head, such kind of behavior being a foolish who refused to give way and being repulsive, yet she still touched him wholeheartedly, making him unable to hit her, or curse her, but just still keep doting on her.

Resigned as he heaved a sigh, Chu Fei Yang’s long arms wrapped around Yun Qian Meng’s body, pulling the reins tightly and clamping on the horse belly, both of them rode together as they proceeded downhill.

The cold wind blew past her face, causing her mind to instantly calm down, thinking about the words that Qu Fei Qing reminded her during the palace feast, Yun Qian Meng spoke in a lowered voice “Fei Yang, how was the Xie family clan related to Nan Xun Guo? My cousin had told me that, Xie family was the number one aristocratic family in You Zhou, they even take control of the trading path with Nan Xun Guo, why would Father marry a daughter of a merchant?”

In Yun Qian Meng’s heart there was no distinction between among the four classes of people, but during the ancient times the people were extremely harsh with regards to the social classes, the merchant was always the lowest class, or else why would the number one wealthy Rong family, who produced two guifei, still be pushed aside by the noble families of the capital!

And with Chu Wang’s highly perfected ability plus the wise and farsighted Chu Fei Yang which was raised by him, Yun Qian Meng evidently believed that Chu Pei was also a resourceful person, yet she wasn’t able to understand why he married Xie Shi! Could this be part of his revenge by placing Chu Wang in a difficult situation?

Having mentioned Xie Shi, Chu Fei Yang didn’t immediately respond to Yun Qian Meng’s question, the arms wrapped around her waist slightly tightened, after a while Chu Fei Yang’s cold voice resounded beside her ears “”The fragrant rice that was used by the aristocratic people in Xi Chu as food, was actually being offered as a tribute by the Nan Xun Guo to Xi Chu through the Xie family. Such kind of rice can only be cultivated in the soil that Nan Xun Guo currently has, it was rather popular among the aristocratic family! And the leader of Nan Xun Guo usually looks frail, under him he had only a princess and a young prince, in addition to Nan Xun Guo having a narrow tract of land, they would naturally show their softer side to Xi Chu!”

“Since that is the case, then why wouldn’t Yu Qian Di dispatch troops to attack the Nan Xun Guo, but instead he had allowed them to comply with Xi Chu! Don’t tell me that he wasn’t afraid that once the Nan Xun Guo strengthens its force and it will threaten Xi Chu in the future?” No matter how sincere it adhered, it couldn’t be transformed into a part of their own territory making the people feel at ease!

Even though Yun Qian Meng disapproved having a war, but sometimes, the military force was indeed the most immediate and most effective method in handling a matter! Or else once Nan Xun became powerful in the future, perhaps the safety of Xi Chu borderland will be threatened.

Hearing Yun Qian Meng’s interrogation, Chu Fei Yang smiled, the map of Nan Xun Guo suddenly appeared in his mind, one by one he explained “Nan Xun Guo is easily guarded but hard to attack, during the second year of Yu Qian, His Majesty had assigned General Hu Wei to attack Nan Xun leading two hundred thousand armed soldiers, yet they lost one hundred sixty thousand men, finally leading the forty thousand men they hurriedly retreated back to the borderland of Xi Chu! As one can well imagine, Nan Xun’s geographical location was complicated! You’ve mentioned earlier that there was only one channel of trade between Nan Xun and Xi Chu, which is You Zhou, but in fact, entering the Nan Xun Guo, there is only one way, yet the path is situated in a valley, they only needed to plan an ambush on both sides of the hills, our army actually didn’t have the ability to strike back with that! Besides, now that Bei Qi is able to surpass Xi Chu based on its strength, if during this time we are to dispatch large troops to attack Nan Xun, it will be very likely for Bei Qi to take advantage of this opportunity, when that time comes Xi Chu will be under attack, out situation will become more dangerous! As for Xie, she actually married Father three years after Mother passed away, it is said that this was to allow Father to observe a period of mourning for my mother, which was why she married Father when she was eighteen years old!”

Hearing these, Yun Qian Meng was being reminded of Xie’s smooth and slick appearance as well as the way she was able to make decision for Chu Pei, in her mind she had somewhat realized, that during the ancient times for a man to observe mourning he had to painstakingly wait for three years, from the best marriageable age of fifteen he had to wait until eighteen years old, this Xie Shu Yi was indeed a very courageous and bold person, if she didn’t risk something at stake, which young lady would make such kind of sacrifice, not to mention if the heart of the man who was being waited on would still belong to her, but the transformation within three years was too big, wasn’t she afraid that Chu Pei might fall for another woman halfway through?

Chu Fei Yang’s analysis was quite reasonable and fair, although Nan Xun Guo and Bei Qi were being separated by Xi Chu, but it will be hard to predict that there were no secret communication between those two nations, when the time came when both sides launched a converging attack, then Xi Chu will truly be in danger!

Moreover, that Qi Jing Yuan was also an extremely terrible person, not to mention being vicious and merciless, he was also very good at guessing people’s mind and deploying the armies, such kind of person would really cause a person’s headache!

But no matter how terrible a person was, it was also possible that he had a weak point, he was not quite sure whether what he had discovered was part of Qi Jing Yuan’s weak point or not!

Slightly inclined her body, Yun Qian Meng pulled down Chu Fei Yang’s head when his eyes were filled with hope, but she just whispered a few words beside his ears, after whispering she opened her pretty eyes and stared at Chu Fei Yang’s expression.

But the fact can be proven, that Chu Fei Yang also didn’t let her down, those slightly raised tip of the brows, those eyes showing approval, were all telling Yun Qian Meng that, her previous guesses were all correct.

“He is truly outrageous!” Furthermore treating someone’s life like a trifling matter, Yun Qian Meng secretly remarked slightly frowning her brows.

A hand turned Yun Qian Meng’s charming face around, feeling sorry he said “I am also being outrageous, at that time in order to see you I had intruded inside Xiang Fu, did you know how much danger I’ve faced?”

Watching a handsome face suddenly appeared in front of her eyes, Yun Qian Meng’s mind wanted to get angry and also burst out laughing, Chu Fei Yang actually had the face to say that, at that time if they had been discovered, her own reputation will be entirely ruined, Su Qing, Su Yuan and the others, will definitely not let her get away with that!

Seeing the anger concealed in Yun Qian Meng’s eyes, Chu Fei Yang lifted up the hood on the cloak, then sturdily wrapped around Yun Qian Meng’s head and face.

Afterwhich with a soft sound of ‘Jia!”, that horse which was initially walking leisurely immediately dashed out ahead…...

“Hey, you have finally come back!” Before the horse hooves stopped, the two persons on the horseback heard a miserable voice echoed in the doorway of Chu Xiang Fu.

Yun Qian Meng lifted up the brim of the hood, Chu Wang was actually sitting down beside the gates of Chu Xiang Fu, with his chin resting in his both hands as he watched the two of them.

Chu Fei Yang looked at the embarrassing state of Chu Wang, his face suddenly went gloomy, carrying Yun Qian Meng down from the horseback, he held her hand as they directly proceeded to the main gate of Chu Xiang Fu, not paying any attention to the old man who insisted on sitting beside the entrance, when he could definitely enter or exit Chu Xiang Fu without any restrictions.

“Hey! Young fellow, just stop there! What was your intention, you are actually showing your ugly face to me! Seeing your old man’s dreadful face in Chu Wang Fu everyday is already enough for me, why do you also have to give me that look? When did I ever let you down?” Seeing the main door of Chu Xiang Fu almost slammed in front of his face, Chu Wang immediately plunged inside through the main door with his nimble moves, pointing at Chu Fei Yang’s back as he roared.

Already filled with bellyful of anger, he initially planned to visit his adorable granddaughter-in-law, but unexpectedly she wasn’t inside Xiang Fu, then he just waited outside the door, but after he waited for half day, endured the cold weather for half day, yet he was greeted by that ugly frozen face, how will it not make Chu Wang stamp his feet with fury?

While Chu Fei Yang was walking along the way, Chu Wang continued roaring, yet when Chu Fei Yang reached the doorway of Meng Xin Xiao Zhu he halted his step, sneering as he turned around, he retorted back “And yet I didn’t invite you here!”

“You……” Chu Nan Shan suddenly covered his chest unable to speak…...

Yun Qian Meng lightly pulled Chu Fei Yang’s sleeve, afterwhich she smiled and spoke “Grandpa, quickly come inside and take a seat, you must have been frozen waiting for almost half day! I will cook the ginseng chicken soup tonight to supplement grandpa’s health!”

Yesterday Chu Wang had already mentioned about the ginseng chicken soup, today he impatiently rushed over here, but he arrived at an unfavorable time, yet he ran into Chu Fei Yang face to face.

After speaking, Yun Qian Meng led Mu Chun and others who came out to meet them straight ahead to the small kitchen.

Seeing Yun Qian Meng left, Chu Fei Yang changed the direction of his steps, he proceeded to his study room, seeing this Chu Nan Shan immediately followed behind, but when his eyes were looking at Chu Fei Yang’s back, they exposed the hidden bitterness from time to time.

“Did you bring Meng’er to see your mother a while ago?” Resigned as he closed the study room door for his grandson, Chu Nan Shan asked in a decent tone.

“Grandpa, you can already take charge of the rumor business, this job really suits you!” Chu Wang who always knew everything about his whereabouts, made Chu Fei Yang to tightly wrinkle up his brows, feeling a bit upset in his heart.

But Chu Wang just shrugged his shoulders, afterwhich he sat down on the chair of imperial tutor inside the study room, poured a cup of hot tea on his own, gulping down the tea inside the teacup, then he spoke again “Every year you would go uphill alone, this year you had taken Meng’er with you, obviously you’ve brought her to your mother’s graveyard! It goes without saying, even a fool will be able to guess it, you don’t have to feel upset about that!”

“Then for grandpa to come here today, is it only because of a pot of ginseng chicken soup?” His finger lightly knocking on the table, Chu Fei Yang looked at Chu Wang’s gossipy look, as he remarked in a cold tone.

Being able to see the disdainful look in his grandson’s eyes, Chu Nan Shan immediately straightened up his body, in a grave expression he said “As your grandfather, am I a gluttonous person? It’s just that I miss you both, then on my way through I came to see you! And Meng’er, that girl is quite obedient, grandpa naturally wouldn’t disappoint her respectful gesture. Seeing Wen Tai Shi had passed away, I couldn’t help but feel emotional that I am now getting old, the remaining days that I will be able to get along with you seemed to be increasingly shorter. But Wen Tai Shi had so many grandsons to observe filial piety for him, I only have two grandchildren, one who grew up in You Zhou then naturally we are not that close, then another one I had personally raised him up, yet he is quite heartless! Apparently, I am not as lucky as Wen Tai Shi, it’s not surprising that Wen Xie has become the young teacher of the Crown Prince! It may be assumed that during the morning assembly today, you’ve already met Wen Xie, right?”

Chu Fei Yang coldly took a glimpse at Chu Wang, seeing him explained these things in full details, in his last statement he had said the most important point, then he said gravely “It is the best time to employ new people to the royal court, evidently His Majesty would employ some of the important ministers in the past, or else with no one to assist him on hand, do you think Chen Wang and Hai Wang will let such good opportunity slip by? Wen family is a family with great literary reputation for many generations, Wen Tai Shi was also well-known in the whole world, he was a great teacher that all the scholars admired, to involve such kind of family is absolutely necessary, and among the generation of grandchildren in Wen family, the one with great talent is the second child Wen Di, but this time His Majesty had given the position for being the young teacher of Crown Prince to Wen Xie, perhaps he wasn’t after Wen Xie’s scholarly knowledge!”

Although majority of the members of Wen family were persons with moral integrity, but inevitably there were some descendants who had yearned for officialdom.

As compared to Wen Di who had a pure heart and few desires, wholeheartedly devoted his heart on studies, Wen Xie who was smooth and slick being more suitable in the officialdom, such kind of person had ambition and greediness, he had something he desired in his own heart, and as for the emperor, such kind of person will be easier to handle.

One can be austere if he has no selfish desires. This statement cannot be more suitable for Wen Di, yet it was also the most important reason why Yu Qian Di abandoned the more famous Wen Di then had chosen Wen Xie instead.

Hearing his grandson’s analysis, Chu Nan Shan seldom nodded his head to express his approval, afterwhich he sank into deeper thoughts, then he slowly spoke “Fei Yang, do you know why your father had returned this time?”

Having heard what was said, a cold smile flash past Chu Fei Yang’s eyes, his thick lips slightly hooked up a full bloomed smile, afterwhich he spoke “Concerning my father’s affairs, as a son am I allowed to discuss them at my will? Besides, with grandpa worrying about it, when is my turn to worry about it?”

After speaking, Chu Fei Yang stood up, walking towards the direction of the small kitchen inside Meng Xin Xiao Zhu.

After he left, Chu Nan Shan couldn’t help but sighed, perhaps what Chu Fei Yang said earlier wasn’t because he was acting in a fit of pique, but because in his heart he didn’t regard Chu Pei as a father, which was why he behaved indifferently, the father and son with apparent blood relationship, yet when the other person was being mentioned, they both showed lack of regard to each other.

During this time Yun Qian Meng’s both hands were busy inside the small kitchen, the servant girls had prepared all necessary ingredients for her, then she started her cooking with the pots.

Glancing at the color of the sky outside, today Yun Qian Meng just cooked one complicated dish like the ginseng chicken soup, the other stir-fried dishes were quite simple, after putting them all inside the pan and stir them for a few times, they were already edible.

Although they were just a few simple home cooked dishes, but the fragrance that flowed out from the small kitchen really shook up Chu Nan Shan’s appetite, particularly during this few days he ate his meal in deadly earnest inside Wang Fu, had even more constrained Chu Nan Shan’s energetic personality, now that he was inside his grandson’s official residence, it had naturally regained his natural character, how comfortable it was for him to behave freely, making him almost wanted to jump around everywhere!

The two gentlemen who weren’t able to help with anything were being requested by Yun Qian Meng ‘politely’ to the side room, needles to wait for long, they saw Mu Chun and the three others carrying the trays as they walked in, then they arranged the delicious food dishes one by one on the dining table.

“The ginseng chicken soup is for grandpa!” Fearing that the grandfather and grandson would fight again while eating their food, today Yun Qian Meng had particularly placed the pot of ginseng chicken soup beside Chu Wang, causing Chu Wang to laugh heartily, Chu Fei Yang’s face turned ashen due to anger.

Having his wish fulfilled, Chu Wang was eating the ginseng chicken soup in a bowl, feeling the taste was incomparably delicious, the flavors of the ingredients were completely embodied in the bowl of soup in his hands, again Chu Fei Yang’s face turned ugly, even more produced the clicking sound using his tongue while he was drinking the soup.

“Yi, what is this?” Chu Wang was typically eating what was inside the bowl, while looking at the food inside the pot, both his rotating round and plump eyes immediately focused on the plate of red orange colored food on the table, his eyes flickered with curiosity.

“This is called the tenderloin, have a taste, grandpa!” Seeing his mouth was already filled with food, Yun Qian Meng laughed as she picked up a piece of crispy and delicious tenderloin, putting it in the small plate in front of Chu Nan Shan, for him to eat it after finishing the ginseng chicken soup.

But her action had successfully angered Chu Fei Yang, during this time his both eyes glanced at Chu Nan Shan full of murderous spirit, the coldly said “Last time among the dishes that Meng’er cooked, I only ate that ginseng chicken soup. This time around, grandpa is also only allowed to have just one! Me and Meng’er will have the rest of the dishes!”

After speaking, before Chu Nan Shan could pick up the chopsticks to eat that piece of tenderloin meat in the plate, they saw Chu Fei Yang quickly stretch out his hand, accurately picked up that piece of tenderloin meat with his chopsticks then putting it inside his own mouth, soon after using his hands he pulled the four dishes and the soup closer in front of him!

“I’m just having some dinner at your place. So what? Ever since you were small, you have already eaten so much food at my Chu Wang Fu, now you have actually started to compare these! If you have the ability, might as well spit them all out!” Chu Fei Yang’s actions had undoubtedly angered Chu Wang, as he was seen protecting the pot of ginseng chicken soup beside him, pulling his throat facing Chu Fei Yang as he roared.

“To sum up all the meals that I’ve eaten since I was small, none of the meals seemed to be dedicated! Or else why would grandpa come to my Chu Xiang Fu? Is your Wang Fu missing a cook, or lacking your docile daughter-in-law?” Carrying the rice bowl using his left hand, his right hand lifted up the chopsticks, acting elegantly he picked up a piece of tenderloin meat then put it on top of the white rice, although he scooped up a small mouthful of rice using the chopsticks, the tenderloin was sent inside his mouth, he performed each movement relatively slow, as if he was completely enjoying it, it also seemed as if he was deliberately making someone angry.

Yun Qian Meng was quietly sitting in a corner eating her dinner, based on her experience with these two persons, they seemed to be too embarrassing.

But not to know when Xie saw Chu Wang like this, will the smile on her face still appear to be impeccable?

“Meng’er, tomorrow grandpa still wants to come here, can you still cook some tenderloin meat for grandpa?” Knowing that he couldn\'t get what he wanted at Chu Fei Yang’s place, Chu Nan Shan shifted his focus, his face seemed to be pleading as he looked at Yun Qian Meng, in the corner of his eyes he was closed staring at the tenderloin meat which became fewer and fewer each time, unconsciously he moved his both lips, being able to see them but unable to eat them, that was truly painful!

Yun Qian Meng laid down the bowl and chopsticks, she filled up a bowl of hot soup for Chu Fei Yang, eventually she saw her own husband\'s face looked a bit better, then laughing as she spoke “Of course, Meng’er welcomes grandpa here!”

Seeing Yun Qian Meng relaxing her mouth, Chu Nan Shan’s face seemed happy, he was about to speak, when a cold voice echoed beside his ears “Eating my Chu Xiang Fu rice for free, there\'s no such good thing under the sun! Not to mention the food being wasted everyday, even if I am to allow Meng’er in the kitchen every meal, I would still reluctantly allow it! Grandpa, you are good at ordering people around, refusing to order servant girls and cooks, you have came here to order my lady around, when it comes to serving the father-in-law, apparently it is still not Meng’er’s turn to do it!”

Yun Qian Meng lifted up the bowl and chopsticks in front of her, she continued to quietly eat her food, avoiding herself to get involved in these two persons’ fight.

“Who says I’m eating the food for free? I’ve already mentioned it before, that as long as Meng’er could cook the ginseng chicken soup for me, I shall certainly give Meng’er a treasure!” Being humiliated by his own grandson, Chu Wang’s old face blushed, yet he was still holding the bowl of soup in his hands, although he stood up with anger rushing up to his head, but not even a drop had spilled out of the bowl which was full of ginseng chicken soup.

“Yo, don\'t get too excited about it! Since you have a treasure to give, then you must tell me about it, if I am not satisfied with it, then it would be better for grandpa to get back to Chu Wang Fu to have your meal, so as not to disturb us anymore!” Carrying up the bowl of soup that Yun Qian Meng filled up for him, Chu Fei Yang spoke beaming with joy, his tone of voice bearing the delightful anger.

Chu Nan Shan seriously looked at Yun Qian Meng, with a serious face he spoke “Meng’er, do you want to do it?”

‘Bang’! The chopsticks in Chu Fei Yang’s hand was instantly thrown to Chu Nan Shan, as he angrily said “I will look for another woman for you!”

With eyes filled with contempt Chu Nan Shan looked at his grandson who seemed to have lost his rationality ever since he met Yun Qian Meng, he rolled his eyes at Chu Fei Yang, looking relaxed he asked back “Do grandpa look like such kind of person? Meng’er, you think about it, what will you soon become?”

How could Chu Fei Yang not know about his own grandpa’s intention, but watching his grandpa arrogantly drinking the ginseng chicken soup that Yun Qian Meng made, in addition the itch in his hand, he just wanted to find an excuse to throw chopsticks at him!

But Chu Nan Shan’s serious tone and expression told Yun Qian Meng that he had really planned to do such thing.

But Chu Nan Shan planned to cross over his own son and daughter-in-law, then directly wanted to deliver such honor to them, it was impossible for someone not to feel impressed, but behind such kind of status it had also involved a lot of trouble, if Chu Pei would know about this matter, how will he react to it?

“My child, don\'t think too much about it, sooner or later this position will be handed over to you, now it is just being given to you in advance! But, if grandpa isn\'t Chu Wang anymore, my own Wang Fu will be taken away from me, without my son’s obedience, I have no other choice but to live with my grandson, but on the bright side I will be able to eat the dishes cooked by you silly girl everyday!” Seeing Yun Qian Meng went silent, Chu Nan Shan pulled the chicken meat apart, using his spoon to scoop up the food inside, as he spoke happily.

Watching him eating happily, Yun Qian Meng’s heart felt a bit strange, perhaps this was far better than what Chu Wang had mentioned, her eyes met Chu Fei Yang’s unexpectedly, seeing his haze as deep as the sea, although without fluctuations yet they were glowing with light, perhaps even Chu Fei Yang wasn’t able to understand, why Chu Wang would anxiously hand over his official post.

“The day after tomorrow will be the Lantern Festival, during that time the imperial palace will be bustling with noise and excitement!” Having his mouth full of food, while Chu Nan Shan was digesting the food in his mouth, he was allowing his grandson and granddaughter-in-law to digest all his words.

“What had happened between both of you?” And this time, Chu Fei Yang solemnly stared at Jiao Da who was standing behind Chu Nan Shan.