Shen Xingzhi had never met Shen Xin before. Now, being held by a stranger, he immediately burst into tears. Shen Feng quickly took him over and said, "Dad, Xiao Hu is very shy. The first time he met me, he cried non-stop. He'll get used to it in a few days."
It is said that the older generation is more affectionate towards their grandchildren than their own children. They always find fault with their own children, but they are very close to their grandchildren. Shen Xin also showed this kind of behavior. However, just as Shen Xin wanted to get closer to his grandson, he found that his grandson could only cry loudly.
Shen Xin was helpless and immediately asked, "Didn't you say you have a two-year-old godson? Bring him out for me to see. If you don't even let me see one grandson, that's too much!"
Shen Feng quickly replied, "He's sick, he's sick, and he's still recuperating in the hospital. Next time, next time."
At this moment, Chang Jianyi found her younger brother Chang Haojie and began to criticize him in a low voice, "Why were you talking nonsense? Now Feng's father is here, and we have no time to entertain him. Aren't you just causing trouble?"
Chang Haojie quickly explained in a low voice, "Didn't I want my brother-in-law to come back sooner? I heard that my brother-in-law is very filial, so I wanted him to return home with his father's mediation. I analyzed that my brother-in-law was just too embarrassed to show his face."
"Shut up. You don't know anything and you're just causing trouble. I'm telling you, Dad is coming to Yuzhou this time, and you're responsible for entertaining him. Also, sending him back is your responsibility. If you dare to do something like this again next time, don't blame me for beating you." Chang Jianyi directly began to threaten him, in short, she couldn't let her brother make mistakes without any punishment.
The matter of Du Xinshi was actually quite complicated, especially for Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi. Chang Jianyi's previous words had directly caused Du Xinshi's heart disease to flare up, and that wasn't the most serious part. The most serious part was that Du Xinshi was pregnant at the time and could not be overly stimulated. Therefore, Chang Jianyi had not dared to see Du Xinshi during this period, lest Du Xinshi be stimulated and remember what happened before.
Moreover, this kind of thing could not be said openly, as everyone's reputation would be damaged if it were revealed. And Chang Haojie, being ignorant, had even asked Shen Xin, who was in Rongcheng, to come and mediate, which was causing trouble. The occurrence of this matter also made it difficult for Chang Jianyi to handle the subsequent events.
Just then, Chang Jianyi saw Hua Jingran standing to the side. In normal times, Hua Jingran also studied and lived with Chang Haojie. Anyone with discerning eyes could see that she was being treated as a child bride, and the number of people proposing marriage to Chang Haojie also decreased. Hua Jingran's academic performance was also good, and her exam results were much better than Chang Haojie's.
Chang Jianyi immediately instructed Hua Jingran, "Jingran, go to Sister Du's house and tell her that Shen Feng might be staying at Fengshen Palace for the next few days. Don't say anything extra. Also, there's a batch of bird's nest from Southeast Asia in the warehouse. Send it to Sister Du as well."
Hua Jingran did not expect to be asked to do such a thing and couldn't help but say, "But I'm not familiar with Sister Du."
"It's precisely because you're not familiar with her that I'm asking you to deliver it. Besides, it's just two small matters of relaying a message and giving a gift. For you, it should be easy to complete, shouldn't it?" Chang Jianyi said calmly.
Chang Jianyi could not easily go to Du Xinshi because she was the one who had berated Du Xinshi on the night of the argument. There was a conflict between the two. If they met, Du Xinshi might recall unpleasant memories. As for Chu Chaoyan, although suitable, she was busy coordinating and handling various matters in Yuzhou and could not get away. Now, it seemed that Hua Jingran was the only one who could relay the message.
Hua Jingran was helpless. After finding the bird's nest in the warehouse, she delivered it. Upon meeting Du Xinshi, Du Xinshi was sewing clothes, looking very serene.
Hua Jingran quickly said, "Sister Du, my sister asked me to bring you bird's nest. Please eat it when you have time. Also, the father of the Wind God has come to Yuzhou, and the Wind God will be staying in the palace for the next few days, so he won't be able to accompany you."
Upon hearing this, Du Xinshi's face showed a look of disappointment, and she then said, "Since you've come, sit down and keep me company."
Hua Jingran carefully sat down and looked at the clothes Du Xinshi was sewing. She couldn't help but ask, "Sister Du, why do you have to sew clothes yourself? With just a word, people will prepare countless clothes for you. Oh, are these children's clothes?"
At first, Hua Jingran thought Du Xinshi was making clothes for herself, but upon closer inspection, she saw that Du Xinshi was sewing children's clothes, and she was a little surprised.
Du Xinshi explained, "My health is getting worse day by day. I don't know how much longer I can hold on. If I die, and the child doesn't have clothes made by me, it would be too pitiful. Clothes bought are always inferior to clothes made by hand, so I want to seize the time to make enough clothes for both children to wear until their eighteenth birthday."
"Please don't say that. Your health will surely be very good, and medical technology is so advanced now, you can have heart surgery. You won't die like this." Hua Jingran quickly comforted her, worried that Du Xinshi might suddenly get agitated.
Du Xinshi smiled and said nothing, because she knew her own physical condition best. Although she was not yet thirty, she already felt powerless. In the end, this was the result of congenital deficiency. She had been ill since birth, and after enduring for so long, her body could no longer hold on. Moreover, it was impossible to have heart surgery during pregnancy, and childbirth was even more like passing through the gates of hell. If she couldn't hold on, she might even need a cesarean section.
"By the way, who is in charge at Fengshen Palace now?" Du Xinshi asked while sewing clothes.
Hua Jingran recalled and said, "No one is specifically in charge. Luo Qing is Sister's bodyguard. She often points fingers at the servants for things she can't stand, but the servants are lazy when no one is looking, and some even steal things from Fengshen Palace. Apples and oranges have been stolen quite a lot."
Hearing Hua Jingran say this, Du Xinshi couldn't help but sigh. She had left Fengshen Palace for more than half a month, and she didn't expect the management of Fengshen Palace to be so chaotic.
Du Xinshi then said earnestly to Hua Jingran, "Jingran, since you and Xiao Jie are in love, you are considered one of us. You can also manage the affairs of Fengshen Palace. In the future... I may not have time to manage these things, so Fengshen Palace's affairs will be up to you. You must dare to question the servants when they don't do their jobs well. If they don't listen, fire them directly. The two ladies don't have time to manage household affairs, and you are a female family member, so you should solve the household problems. Do you understand?"
When Hua Jingran heard this, she hesitated and said, "I'm not married yet. If I get involved in the affairs of Fengshen Palace at this time, I'm afraid Sister will blame me."
... Du Xinshi unreservedly explained the key points of managing Fengshen Palace. Although Hua Jingran was thirteen or fourteen years old, she was sensible at this age. Letting her be responsible for the affairs of Fengshen Palace was a good choice. Du Xinshi also hoped that after her death, someone would be specifically in charge of Fengshen Palace.
Meanwhile, in Zhaotong, Xu Xing and Lin Yue were living in a mountain temple. Xu Xing and Lin Yue were clearly worried about being found, so they lived on the mountain. There was only one monk here, and their food was delivered to the mountain by ox cart. There was also a computer on the mountain for the two of them to surf the internet.
Although Yuzhou had been sealed off, the headquarters and Yuzhou had not yet escalated their relationship to the point of being enemies. Ordinary people were forbidden from entering or leaving the borders of Yuzhou, but Xu Xing and Lin Yue were ability users, so they were not included in this restriction. On the contrary, they received a warm welcome in Zhaotong.
Lin Yue was surfing the internet and said to Xu Xing, "Your title 'Xing Xian' is being spread by many people recently. I heard it came from Journey to the West. It seems you can't shake off this title. Even people online are talking about you."
Xu Xing didn't seem very interested in this title and said indifferently, "I just want to return to Yuzhou as soon as possible. I really don't know what the City Lord is thinking, making me stay in Zhaotong. As for a title, I don't care."
Lin Yue then analyzed, "This is naturally because the trouble in Jiucheng has not been resolved yet. The City Lord must also want some explanation for the Jiucheng matter. And you, Xing Xian, are such an important person, so you must be ready to appease the people of Jiucheng at any time. Besides, it's winter now. If you don't rest now, what else do you want to do?"
During her stay in Zhaotong, Xu Xing indeed felt a comfortable, vacation-like feeling. She hadn't felt this way much since the doomsday arrived. But at this moment, Xu Xing felt idle and tried every means to find something to do. This feeling was hard to describe, as if she was useless if she didn't work.
Xu Xing leaned back in her chair and said calmly, "I want to go to the Yellow River to see. I heard there are water monsters there, and I want to eliminate them for the people. Also, I want to kill bandits, and I want to save more suffering people."
Although it was winter, Xu Xing still had many things she wanted to do at this time, such as killing bandits, or going to the Yellow River to find water monsters. If that didn't work, she could go to Yanjing to find Qi Yunfang. But now she was trapped in a small place, unable to move.
Lin Yue threw a book at Xu Xing, saying, "A bird wants to fly high, so it must first flap its wings. A person who seeks progress must read. If you have nothing to do, then read a book."
Xu Xing picked up the book and found that the book Lin Yue threw was the Diamond Sutra, and she couldn't accept it. She said, "I want to read novels, I want to read excellent Wuxia novels!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yue said calmly, "This is a temple, and we are guests here. We can only read Buddhist scriptures. Wuxia novels? Wuxia is long dead. You might as well read Xianxia novels."
Xu Xing sighed helplessly and said, "When will this kind of life end?"
While staying in Zhaotong, Xu Xing felt very bored. She had completed her mission, but in the end, she couldn't return to Yuzhou to complete it. Instead, she had to wait for the Jiucheng matter to be settled, and her time to act independently was constantly delayed.
Just then, Lin Yue discovered that there was a phone call from downstairs. It was news from Yuzhou. After being transferred through Zhaotong, it reached his hands.
"Stop daydreaming. The mission has arrived. Go to Jiucheng, prepare to stabilize the people's morale, and then wait for the City Lord to select a successor for Jiucheng. Depart immediately!" Lin Yue immediately jumped up from his seat, ready to head to Jiucheng.
Xu Xing also reacted. Now that she had a mission, she finally didn't have to be idle anymore.
Xu Xing and Lin Yue immediately prepared to leave. A banquet was already set up at the foot of the mountain. The high-ranking officials here bid farewell to Xu Xing and Lin Yue. The happiest person was none other than Hu Chengfeng. When Xue Ba's head was brought to Zhaotong, the researchers here immediately extracted it, and it was eventually used by Hu Chengfeng.
Therefore, Hu Chengfeng paid great attention to Xu Xing and Lin Yue and couldn't help but say, "If Yuzhou has any unused ability potions, you can consider selling them to us at the previous price."
"Yes, we will do so if there's an opportunity in the future," Lin Yue said with a smile.
However, in reality, Lin Yue had completely given up hope for this kind of business. This was unavoidable. In the short term, they could only obtain grain from Zhaotong. If they had enough time, they would directly send it to Meizhou for sale. Two thousand tons of grain would be easily sold. Continuing to do business at a loss would be foolish.