Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2267 No More Regrets 14.0

Shen Cha looked at Xiao Fengqi, then at Shen Haolin, smiled, picked up the teacup in front of him and raised it towards them.

"Come, let's toast to ourselves. It is not easy to survive in such a harsh environment. Let's toast to our strength and our survival.

Shen Haolin and Xiao Fengqi cooperated with her very well. They raised their teacups and clinked their cups together gently. After drinking the tea, they placed the cups on the table.

However, Mr. Jiang, Qin Zheng and Yan Bo did not respond. The three old men looked at the children with smiles, feeling very emotional. They had never imagined that one day in the future they would be able to drink and chat with the Xiao family.

"We've finished our tea, Second Grandfather, why don't you tell us what happened to you back then that you could say was a near-death experience." Shen Cha looked at Second Grandfather Jiang, then at Xiao Fengqi, "Or should Master Xiao tell us?"

"I'm not an eyewitness, but I know a little bit. Your Highness, please tell me!"

"Okay, let me tell you. This is the first time I've talked about this." Master Jiang looked at Xiao Fengqi, then at Shen Haolin and Shen Cha, and then at Qin Zheng and Yan Bo who were looking at him. "After you listen, you'll understand why I never talk about this."

"Hurry up and tell me, don't waste your time!" Yan Bo waved his hand impatiently, "If you don't tell me, I won't be interested anymore!"

  "Why are you in such a hurry? I've already said it!" Mr. Jiang took a sip of tea and was about to speak when he saw Meilin, who had escorted Qi Bo, coming back leisurely. He waved at Meilin and said, "Did you get him safely to the carriage?

"Yes, don't worry, Second Master. I have arranged for a few brothers to send Qi Bo back. By the way, let them see if there is anything they can do to help the horse farm, and stay there to help Qi Bo."

"It's a good arrangement." Master Jiang nodded, and asked Meilin to sit behind Shen Cha before continuing, "I remember that the weather was bad that day. The whole sky was gloomy, without a single bit of sunshine. Xiaonan and I stayed up all night the day before, carefully checking the account books of the Yao family and the merchants who had close dealings with the Yao family. We were busy until very late before going to bed, and didn't get up until noon the next day. Even so, I felt lazy and listless. We discussed it and decided to give ourselves half a day off to relax. It's rare to steal half a day of leisure, and we don't want to waste it in the inn. We plan to go for a walk on the street, without any purpose."

"But Second Grandfather, are you and the elders of the Xiao family followed every time you go out?" Seeing Second Grandfather Jiang nod, Shen Cha continued, "This time should be no exception, right?"

"It's nothing. We've followed them many times and we're used to it. We just need to pretend they don't exist and ignore them." Mr. Jiang smiled at Shen Cha, "We already have experience. Every time we go out, we bring a waiter from the inn with us in addition to two guards. The Yao family and the people behind them will basically not take action easily when they see the people from the inn. They may not know my identity, but they will still be wary of the people from the inn. Once they offend the people from the inn, even if they are local tyrants or collude with the government, they will not have a good ending."

"Not only will he get nothing good out of it, but he might just get upset and shut down his family's business without even giving a reason." Yan Bo snorted, looked at Shen Haolin, and laughed, "That guy is a vengeful person, and he will take revenge for any slight. Not to mention offending him, even if he doesn't like you, he will put you in a sack and beat you up." "Although I don't want to admit it, it's true." Seeing Shen Cha's puzzled look, Shen Haolin explained, "He's not like that now, because he's older and has people he cares about, he's much more stable. But when he was young, he was quite willful and did whatever he wanted without any worries at all."

"I can imagine that." Shen Cha nodded. "Although Brother Yaojia looks calm now, when I knew him, he was also a fearless guy who dared to get into trouble and offend anyone. There were few people he would take seriously. Now that I think about it, it's true that people resemble the person they were raised by." She looked at Shen Haolin and smiled. "My brother, on the other hand, is not like him at all."

"Your brother should be held responsible for his current situation." Qin Zheng looked at his apprentice, then at Shen Haolin. "You wouldn't have thought that a three or four-year-old child would seriously say to his master, 'You are childish,' right?"

"Brother?" Shen Cha looked at Shen Haolin in surprise, "No way?"

"It's indeed childish." Shen Haolin raised his eyebrows and said, "More like a child than a child, always teasing people, isn't that childish?" He waved his hand gently, "Don't talk about this, just listen to Second Grandpa!"

Mr. Jiang looked at Shen Haolin, who seemed a little guilty, and then looked at Shen Cha, who looked curious. He winked at her and told her to be patient and that he would tell her about Shen Haolin when he had time.

Shen Cha understood what Mr. Jiang meant, smiled, and nodded slightly at him.

"Second Grandfather, please continue. Where did you and the elders of the Xiao family go that day?"

"We were just wandering aimlessly, wherever we went, without a clear destination in mind." Mr. Jiang took a sip of tea, smiled, and said, "It's embarrassing to say this, since we came to Jiangning Prefecture, we have been concentrating on investigating the salt administration of Jiangning Prefecture, and we haven't really wandered around Jiangning Prefecture. It just so happens that we have half a day free, so we also want to take a good look at this city and experience the local customs and practices here." He paused, and continued, "Seriously speaking, that half day was the most leisurely time we had in Jiangning Prefecture. We wandered around for half a day and felt a little tired, so we just picked a teahouse and planned to sit down to drink some tea, eat something, and rest our feet."

"Did they just pick it randomly?" Seeing Second Master Jiang nod, Shen Cha thought for a moment, "In other words, they actually did it improvised? They didn't even know where you guys were going or what you were going to eat, so it couldn't have been arranged in advance, right?"

"It's true that they acted on impulse, thinking that this was a great opportunity to succeed." Mr. Jiang sighed and said, "But they didn't know what we were going to eat and drink, so they simply lured the tiger away from the mountain, transferred the people from the kitchen, and put drugs in every plate. So, that day, not only we were tricked, but everyone in the teahouse, to be precise, all the guests were tricked."