Chapter 31

"..." The pair of boys bit their lower lips and stared at Qin Yi and Qin Rong with defiant expressions, not saying a word.

"Uncle, these are your two precious sons? So soft and pink—pretty cute!" Qin Yi lightly whistled and said frivolously.

The two little buns glared at them even more fiercely.

"Qin Feng, Qin Yu, where are your manners? Hurry up and greet your two older brothers." Qin Dingbang rebuked them sternly.

"Forget it, I'm already hungry. Hurry up and drive us back!" Qin Yi said indifferently at the children's reaction, then got straight into the car and spoke to Qin Dingbang. Qin Rong silently took the front passenger seat without sparing anyone so much as a glance.

"This..." Qin Dingbang looked awkward. He seemed to want to say something to Qin Yi and Qin Rong, but ultimately sighed and drove toward the old residence.

The car traveled north along the road, and the signs of human habitation gradually grew sparse. However, the scenery became increasingly beautiful. The towering distant mountains looked even more magnificent beneath the lingering glow of the setting sun, while the midsummer evening breeze blew across their faces, making them feel even more at ease.

About an hour later, the car gradually stopped before an exceptionally luxurious and imposing building filled with the style of ancient Chinese Suzhou gardens. At the entrance, Qin Dingbang honked twice, and the gates slowly opened.

The car slowly drove through the gates, where the scenery was even more exquisite. Small bridges and flowing water, strange rocks and crags, flowers and trees trimmed with unique charm—every ten steps brought a pavilion, every five steps a tower; winding corridors intertwined like jagged teeth.

Qin Yi was secretly startled by the grandeur of the main branch. He had long known that the Qin family's main branch possessed deep foundations, but even a single garden was this... elaborate. How enormous must the power lurking beneath the surface be? His father had actually run away for over twenty years under such circumstances. He really was extraordinary!

Qin Dingbang had been observing their expressions the entire way. Seeing Qin Yi's strange yet admiring look, he assumed Qin Yi had been awed by the Qin family's strength. He never imagined Qin Yi's thoughts had gone completely off track. As for Qin Rong, he had remained expressionless from start to finish.

After a while, the car stopped before a Suzhou-style garden. Qin Dingbang got out first and opened the passenger door. Qin Rong and Qin Yi immediately followed him out. After handing the car keys to a man dressed as a servant who approached from the lawn, Qin Dingbang explained, "That is the old master's courtyard ahead. By family rules, all Qin family members must walk there."

Qin Yi and Qin Rong nodded to show they understood. Turning to look at the closed gates before them, they felt a vague sense of familiarity. The main gate had five bays, with barrel tiles and mudfish-shaped ridges above. The railings and window lattices were all finely carved with fresh patterns, without any vermilion or painted decoration. The walls were all smooth-polished gray, set atop white stone platforms carved with Western-style floral designs. Looking to either side, there were snow-white plaster walls with tiger-skin stones laid along their bases according to the terrain, making the place appear even more delicate and luxurious. Seeing Qin Yi examining everything, Qin Dingbang chuckled. "The old master likes this kind of ancient garden. He put a great deal of effort into building this one. It practically stripped a layer of skin off the main branch."

Qin Yi raised his brows noncommittally. Then he followed Qin Dingbang into the courtyard.

The moment he entered, Qin Yi felt even more like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. A green ridge stood before them, blocking the view. Looking ahead, he saw white stone formations shaped like ghosts or fierce beasts, standing in clusters and layers. Mottled moss covered them, vines draped over them, and a narrow winding path was faintly visible between them...

Qin Yi struggled to suppress the dark lines running across his forehead. He glanced sideways at Qin Dingbang, who stood beside him with a bitter smile, then raised his brows without speaking.

"So you noticed after all. This garden really was copied from Cao Xueqin's Dream of the Red Chamber. Otherwise, how could an ordinary garden strip a layer of skin off the Qin family?" Unconcealed pride and arrogance seeped into Qin Dingbang's words.

Qin Yi helplessly looked back at Qin Rong and suddenly felt that his grandfather's peculiar taste was truly extraordinary.

They followed Qin Dingbang in stunned silence, wandering through the grounds as though traversing a maze. At last, when Qin Yi was nearly on the verge of collapse, they stopped before a vermilion gate.

Qin Yi wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief before following Qin Dingbang inside. After crossing a broad, level courtyard, they finally entered the main hall. Qin Yi immediately saw Qin Zhenguo and Tang Manru sitting uneasily in the first seats to the right of the hall's place of honor.

When Tang Manru saw Qin Yi and Qin Rong enter, the worry she had been holding in her heart finally eased. Unable to help herself, she said, "Xiao Rong, Xiao Yi, you're back from school."

"Cough, cough!" Before Qin Yi could respond, Old Master Qin, seated in the place of honor, suddenly coughed twice. Then he said to everyone in the hall, "These two are Qin Zhenguo's sons."

The moment he finished speaking, everyone's gazes swished toward Qin Yi and Qin Rong. Being the center of attention made Qin Yi awkwardly bare his teeth.

"Grandfather, Grandmother!" Qin Yi and Qin Rong calmly walked to the center of the hall, stood properly, and obediently greeted Old Master Qin and his wife.

"Good children." Old Master Qin smiled with satisfaction. Then he pointed at the elderly man seated first on the left below him, who looked seventy percent similar to him. "This is your Second Grandfather."

"Second Grandfather!" Qin Yi and Qin Rong immediately greeted him obediently.

"Good children." Second Grandfather smiled as he stroked his beard, then took out two red envelopes and handed them to them.

"..." Qin Yi and Qin Rong looked at each other. Then Qin Yi glanced at Old Master Qin and smiled awkwardly.

"What is there to be embarrassed about? A gift from an elder must not be refused," Old Master Qin said with a smile.

"Thank you, Second Grandfather." Qin Yi immediately accepted the red envelope with a broad smile, only to be interrupted by a voice.

"Wait—" An elderly man with a head full of white hair, seated below Second Grandfather, suddenly spoke. "Wasn't Qin Zhenguo removed from the Qin family register long ago? If so, Qin Rong and Qin Yi cannot be considered Qin family descendants. There is no question of accepting an elder's gift."

Qin Yi's heart jolted. He instinctively looked at Qin Zhenguo and Tang Manru. Sure enough, both lowered their heads awkwardly.

Seeing this, anger rose in Qin Yi's heart.

"Even if Zhen Guo was removed from the family register, he still carries the Qin family bloodline. Since we share the same blood, we are family. One stroke can never write two Qin characters." Old Master Qin gave the man a calm glance. Then he turned to Qin Yi and Qin Rong. "This is your Third Grandfather. An old fool who has lived far too long."

"Hello, Third Grandfather." Qin Yi greeted him while holding back his laughter.

"Hmph!" Old Third Qin gave Qin Yi a cold glance and said nothing more.

"That is not the way to put it. Zhen Guo's branch was expelled from the Qin family because they committed a grave mistake. If they are allowed back so easily, what will everyone else think? Are the family rules meant only for collateral branches to obey, while the direct line can ignore them?" An old woman around sixty, dressed in a dark red cheongsam and seated beside Old Third Qin, suddenly said.

"I have already given the order. Zhen Guo has been stripped of his status as part of the Qin family's direct line and will never have inheritance rights. Is that still not enough? If you truly insist on driving them to extinction, I am afraid the Lin family will have no way to answer to Zixuan." Old Master Qin said calmly, his eyes half-closed.

"You... Hmph!" The old woman was choked speechless by Old Master Qin's words. After a long moment, she muttered resentfully, "Who knows where these bastards came from?"

Qin Rong and Qin Yi looked at the old woman with disgust, only for her to glare back fiercely. "What? You little bastards raised outside have no manners at all. Do you intend to disrespect your elders too?"

"If you want others to respect you, you must first know how to respect yourself. Someone like you who relies on age to lord it over others is only worth a few more sacks of rice and jars of salt than everyone else. There is nothing else to say about you." Qin Yi could not help retorting.

"What did you say?!" The old woman flew into a rage.

"Enough! Settle down. I'm not dead yet!" Old Master Qin angrily struck his cane against the floor, and everyone immediately fell silent. "Zixuan returned today as well. She said she wanted to see Zhen Guo's family."

Wan Zixuan was his biological grandmother, the eldest daughter of the Wan family who had married Old Master Qin in a proper ceremony before vanishing.

Could it be that things were not as Qin Dingbang had said? Had they actually remained in contact all along?

The old woman who had just argued with Qin Yi also straightened her back uneasily. "Didn't they say people from that place could not return easily? How could she..."

"Now you know fear? What were you doing before?" Old Master Qin snorted and ignored the woman.

Where exactly had Grandmother gone? Could it be prison? No, that could not be right. The Qin family was so influential, and the Wan family that had married into them could not possibly have been ordinary either...

Qin Yi looked at Qin Dingbang in confusion, only to find him wearing an equally dazed expression.

"Alright, you can all leave now. Zhen Guo and his wife, Qin Rong, Qin Yi, come with me." Old Master Qin dismissed everyone, then called for Qin Rong and Qin Yi.

Qin Yi realized that this was the first time Old Master Qin had called them by name.

"...Dingbang, stay as well!" Old Master Qin hesitated for a moment before adding. After he said that, Fang Chengyue's expression became even uglier.

The author has something to say: I've been busy with exams these past few days, so I stopped updating for a few days. Awoo.

Wudingbao threw a landmine.

☆, Chapter 31: The Situation

Chapter 31

After returning from the Qin family's old residence, Qin Yi had felt as though he had been blown apart by the wind. It turned out that cultivating immortality was not some privilege exclusive to him. Some people had already become as accustomed to it as eating pickled cabbage stewed with vermicelli. But no matter how he thought about it, it was depressing—

Having a grandmother who looked younger and more tender than his own father was a perfectly normal feeling, right?

Even after returning home in a daze, Qin Yi still had not recovered. Seeing Qin Rong, who had already showered and calmly climbed into bed to sleep, Qin Yi could not help asking, "Brother, don't you think it's strange?"

Qin Rong calmly glanced at Qin Yi, blinked his thick eyelashes that resembled little fans, and said, "How could I not? I'm still dizzy myself!"