Volume 1: Kill Green State Chapter 090 Who Deceived Whom

  Inside the grand and luxurious banquet hall of the Xie family in Beiping, only one table was set. On a huge golden nanmu wood table, there were water delicacies, mountain delicacies, bird delicacies, and grass delicacies, all kinds of dishes were displayed. Bear paws, swallow nests, camel humps, deer tails, fish fins, and black fungus, everything was available.

  This is just a family dinner at Xie's house.

  Of course, it's a more solemn family banquet. Not for the New Year or any festival, Xie Chuanzhong, Mr. Xie, is so serious today that he even drove away his favorite concubines and only brought his first wife and legitimate son to set up this family banquet, there must be a reason for it.

  Xie Chuanzhong was a shepherd boy who didn't lead troops to fight for decades like Zhu Yuanzhang, and although he became a powerful man from humble beginnings, he was an overnight sensation. Despite having lived a life of extreme wealth and luxury for several years, whether in speech, dress, or appearance, he still had a rustic air about him that couldn't be concealed, a flavor that seeped out from his bones.

  His wife, Huang, was the same. Originally just an ordinary village woman, Xie Chuanzhong had one good habit: wealth did not change his wife. Although he had become wealthy and had many concubines, some of whom were younger than his eldest daughter, he still treated his wife with respect and courtesy. Even though he rarely spent the night in her quarters, their feelings for each other remained deep. All household matters, big or small, were also entrusted to his wife's care.

  He and his wife's children are not young either, the youngest is almost as old as the girl sitting at the top, they sit upright there, but don't dare to move their chopsticks, because Father said that this is a noble person from the Heavenly Prefecture, with many rules, telling them not to show ugly eating habits in front of others, making people laugh, so the whole family sits around the table like this, only looking and not eating, to be precise, they are only watching the little girl eat.

  The young girl ate very delicately, chewing slowly and swallowing gently, with a calm expression. Xie Chuanzhong and his wife sat on either side of her, yielding the seat of honor to her, and judging from the way they carefully attended to this woman, smiling and responding to her, it seemed as if they were still afraid that she might be slightly dissatisfied.

  If Xiaojie and Ximen Qing saw this girl, they would probably be shocked. The girl sitting in the first row, simple and elegant, like a delicate orchid flower, was actually the pancake girl who had traveled with them all along.

  The pancake girl didn't eat much, and many dishes she hadn't even glanced at. She picked up a piece of monkey head mushroom, chewed slowly, waited for the mushroom to go down her throat, put down the ivory chopsticks, wiped her mouth with a paper towel, and wiped her hands before nodding: "Hmm, this dish is not bad."

  Xie Chuanzhong and his wife, who had been holding their breath to see her reaction, suddenly smiled with joy. Xie Chuanzhong hastily said: "Eat more of that, eat more of that."

  On the other side, his wife Huang quickly got up and brought the dish in front of Shaobing Girl.

  "No need, I don't eat much."

  Xie Chuanzhong glanced at the table, a large table of delicacies from land and sea, they had been eating for more than half an hour, but the young lady had eaten less than ten mouthfuls, he couldn't help but secretly smile wryly.

  The pancake girl said faintly: "Thank you, sir..."

  Xie Chuanzhong hastily stood up, his hands hanging down, and said with great respect: "Please give your orders, Madam. You can just call me Chuanzhong, I don't deserve to be called 'Gentleman'."

  The pancake girl waved her hand and said, "You sit down, it's like we're one family, there's no need to be so polite. Although my generation is older than yours, I'm actually younger than you by many years. You're always being so courteous, it makes me feel uneasy."

  Xie Chuanzhong hastily sat down, his waist still straight as a pen, and smiled: "Yes, yes, yes, but the rules can't be abandoned. Elders are elders, and they have been respected for generations. Although younger in age, this rule cannot be disobeyed. Auntie is of the same generation as Chuanzhong's grandfather, and no matter how young she is, this rule must not be broken."

  The pancake girl smiled faintly and said, "Thank you, sir. Although I appreciate your hospitality, I won't easily acknowledge you until I've figured things out. So for now, there's no need to rush into a family reunion."

  Xie Chuanzhong's face turned red, and he hastily said: "Auntie, this can't be wrong. My grandfather and father have been telling me since I was a child that our ancestors were from Chen Prefecture Yangxia Xie Clan. They told me to recognize my ancestors and return to my roots when I grow up, and not forget where I came from."

  "Alright, alright, don't be impatient, listen to me slowly."

  The pancake girl glanced around the entire Xie family and sighed softly: "Alas, don't be modest, Mr. Xie, our Chen Guang Yang Xia Xie clan has passed down to this day, but it's already incomparable to its former glory. Our Xie family's side branches have spread all over the world, but most of them have established their own halls and are no longer connected to us. This branch is declining day by day, and even our ancestral temple is in disrepair, with few incense offerings. The population is sparse... By my generation, there are only two people left in this house of Xie family - just me and my brother..."

  "If it's really proven that you're a descendant of the Xie family who was lost outside, and can strengthen our family's reputation and make our ancestors' legacy flourish, that would be a great thing. I wouldn't be unhappy about it. If I didn't take this matter seriously, could I have traveled thousands of miles to get here? However, no matter what, I couldn't carelessly bring in outsiders and acknowledge them as relatives without verification. The things that need to be verified, I still need to check one by one before making a decision."

  Xie Chuanzhong hastily said: "That's it, that's it, Miss, rest assured, true fire is not afraid of being refined by fire. What do you need to verify? Just give the order and I'll prepare immediately."

  The pancake girl glanced at him faintly and said: "I'm a bit tired, I want to rest for a while, if there's anything, let's talk about it tomorrow."

  Xie Chuanzhong quickly stood up and said respectfully: "Yes, please follow me this way, your bedroom has been prepared early, I was waiting for the banquet to end before bringing you over, this way, please."

  The pancake girl walked away without even lifting her skirt, just like flowing water, and followed Xie Chuanzhong and his wife. The children of the Xie family all stood up, looking silly, not knowing whether they should pay respects to their father's new daughter-in-law.

  The pancake sister was waiting outside, and as soon as the young lady came out, she followed closely behind. The snow outside had grown heavier, but the wind had become gentler, and the fluttering snowflakes had turned the ground into a silver white sheet. A few people strolled through the corridors and pavilions, walked around the back garden for a while, and then entered a magnificent and luxurious house. Inside and out, there were painted screens, makeup tables, embroidered curtains, and everything was complete. Four large braziers burned beast charcoal, filling the room with a strange fragrance that hit the nose, warm as spring.

  "Miss, this house has a warm wall and a kang, Miss is someone who has lived in Jiangnan for a long time, you may not be able to bear the northern weather, I've also had four braziers lit, how's that?"

  The pancake girl smiled slightly and said: "Very good, you've thought of everything. I'll take a rest now. Oh, the boat and carriage ride was so tiring."

  Xie Chuanzhong hastily said: "Then I'll withdraw. What does the young lady need? Please speak, please speak."

  The couple nodded and bowed as they left, the door opened, and the elegant and dignified appearance of the pancake girl disappeared immediately. She took a step forward and asked: "Feifei, is there anything to eat?"

  That little girl giggled and pulled out a warm oil-paper package from her bosom, handing it to her: "Here, I stole this meat pie with mutton filling when no one was paying attention during lunch. It smells great! How about it? Did Old Master Xie suspect you?"

  "Nonsense, this young lady can pretend to be a dragon and become a dragon, dress up as a tiger and become a tiger. Even if Xie Lao's eyes are sharp enough to see through everything, he won't be able to see through my disguise. Ha! Just watch, I'll sell him out and he'll still be happy to count his silver for me."

  The pancake girl said with a pleased smile, hastily tearing open the greased paper package, and walking behind the screen while gobbling down the food, mumbling: "Water, pour me a cup of tea."

  Xiaoyuan leaned against the door crack and took a peek outside, then inserted the latch and walked to the table, picked up the teapot and poured tea.

  Xie Lao Cai put his hands in his sleeves, humming and singing opera lyrics, strolling with his wife to a pavilion, looking at the heavy snowfall outside, and said with joy: "What a big snow! With such a big snowfall several times, next year will be another good harvest."

  "You've got a fortune, with gold and silver mountains, yet you still can't forget those few acres of land back in the countryside."

  Huang's wife brushed off the few snowflakes that had fallen on her husband's shoulder and said, "I was so scared just now that I didn't even dare to breathe. But look at people from big families, no matter how declined they are, they still have a certain style and demeanor. Alas, I couldn't learn it even if I tried. But will your method work? I think the young lady is quite clever."

  "Haha......" Xie Lao Cai smiled slyly, a hint of cleverness flashing across his simple and honest-looking face: "Why not? Money can make ghosts push mills, money can make mills push ghosts, I don't believe it......"

  He puffed out his chest, stretched out both hands and said loudly: "I've spent my whole life, the first half poor, and my fellow villagers looked down on me; now I have money, and the wealthy people look down on me; damn it, every time I attend a banquet or drink wine, they all sneer at me with cold faces, what can I do? But if I acknowledge Chen Guangyang Xiaoxi as my ancestor, why should you still look down on me? Let's compare, don't I have more money than you? You laugh at my humble origins? Who is humble? My ancestors are far more capable than yours, hehe... hehe..."

  "Look at you," Huang said, tapping her husband's forehead, "Can we really get away with it? You shouldn't have spread the news first, now everyone is watching our family. If the girl doesn't recognize us, we'll be humiliated to death, and I won't dare show my face on the street from now on."

  "Alright, just be at ease, stop nagging, my ears are numb. When we went to Qingzhou to pick her up, didn't you see it too? Although she was dressed and lived simply and elegantly, after all, it can't compare to our family. The Old Thankful Family only has a good name left, I, Old Thankful Wealth, only have profit, if she acknowledges me, she'll have both fame and wealth, I'll have both wealth and fame, what's not good about that?"

  "Huang said, 'It's not that simple. I've heard that these aristocratic families are very particular about their rules and etiquette. Even if they're dying of poverty and starvation, they'll still maintain the dignity of their family name and won't associate with common people like us.'"

  "Hmm..." Xie Lao Cai thought for a moment, then instructed: "You're a woman, it's convenient for you to go in and out. Go back and chat with her, try to get to the bottom of what she wants to investigate. I've spent a lot of money to find many people who are either the most skilled clerks from the government or famous scholars from the Northern regions. Whatever she wants to see, we'll create it for her. Even if she wants to visit our ancestral tomb, I can have a whole area created overnight, guaranteed to be flawless."

  Xie Lao Cai suddenly remembered something and instructed: "I think she trusts that little maid the most, you should give that little maid some benefits, maybe it will have a great effect, at least she can help us speak well in front of Miss Xie."

  Xie Chuanzhong said with a self-satisfied smile, "Just have that little maid Nan Feifei deliver a message to her. As long as she lets me acknowledge my ancestors and enter the Chenjun Xie family tree, I'll donate money to repair the ancestral temple. Old Master Xie may lack many things, but not money. I want to use it to create a noble ancestor, haha..."