"As long as you like it!"
Nie Xiaoqian smiled, turned around, opened the vermilion lacquered cabinet in the corner, and under Nie Changchuan's slightly dull gaze, she took out an extremely large wooden food box with great effort.
“Let me do it!”
Nie Changchuan came to his senses and hurried forward to help.
Nie Xiaoqian did not stop him. She just smiled and handed it to her brother, asking him to put the lunch box on the table.
"Bang!"
The food box fell on the table with a noise, and the surrounding dishes and pastries were shaken.
Nie Changchuan opened the lid and a sweet scent filled his face.
"This... this is too much. How can I finish it?" Nie Changchuan couldn't help but complain.
"I know you can't finish it." Nie Xiaoqian came over with a smile and closed the lid. "If you can't finish it, you can take it up the mountain and let your master, uncle, and fellow apprentices have a taste!"
"The mountains are different from the plains. Life is hard here. Bringing these cakes to you is my filial piety."
...Is it hardship?
Nie Changchuan had a strange look on his face, remembering the black truffles his master had picked some time ago and the wild boar spirit that his uncle had killed.
The finest truffles, paired with chewy pork meat, and added with some chili peppers and black pepper grown in the mountains behind his home, the taste was much better than the delicacies from land and sea that he had eaten in the capital!
The most valuable thing is the nourishing effect of monster meat.
If an ordinary person eats one piece, his face will immediately become rosy and full of energy, and he won’t feel tired even if he climbs to the top of Mount Maoshan in one breath.
Looking at the concerned expression on his sister's face, Nie Changchuan seemed to want to say something but stopped.
In the end, I couldn't say it out loud and silently accepted my sister's kindness.
"Oh, yes, brother." Nie Xiaoqian seemed to suddenly remember something and asked tentatively, "Do you still remember your cousin sister and cousin sister from the Fu family?"
"Of course I remember!"
Nie Changchuan nodded involuntarily.
The Fu family and the Nie family are in-laws, and the wife of the head of the family, Fu Tianchou, is the twin sister of Nie Changchuan's mother.
Oddly enough, the first daughters born to the two sisters, Nie Changchuan's elder sister Nie Xiaoqian and cousin Fu Qingfeng, looked extremely similar since childhood, like real twin sisters.
When the two families went out for outings together when they were young, they would often confuse the two sisters.
Fortunately, Nie Changchuan had been an extraordinary person since childhood. He could accurately identify his biological sister based on his intuition alone, so there was no misunderstanding of taking the wrong child.
The two families thought that as they grew older and their facial features matured, this situation would no longer occur, but who knew that the two sisters looked more and more alike...
Nie Changchuan knew the plot and understood that there was the hand of fate, the 'screenwriter', behind it all. However, the Nie and Fu families were only indigenous people after all. They believed that this was a command from God, who wanted the two families to become friends forever.
As a result, the Nie and Fu families became closer and closer, and today, they are no different from one family.
Of course, this kind of family-like relationship is only limited to the Fu family and other members of the Nie family, and Nie Changchuan is not among them.
Because since he was ten years old, he ran away from home alone, despite his family's objections, and went to Maoshan to study Taoism.
As a time traveler from another world, Nie Changchuan knew that the Nie family would face a disaster in the future, so since he was five or six years old, he had been clamoring to go to the mountains to learn martial arts from a master.
The Nie family has only one son for two generations. No matter what the considerations are, they will not allow him, the only son, to become a monk.
But Nie Changchuan knew that if he could not protect himself when disaster struck, his only child would probably die.
There was no other choice, Nie Changchuan could only grit his teeth and run away from home, and he was away for a full eight years.
Eight years later, Nie Changchuan came down the mountain after completing his studies, and changed his name to Taoist Wangchuan. He stopped the Nie family's convoy on the roadside that was carrying them back home to visit their relatives.
At that time, no one in the entire convoy knew his true identity except Nie Xiaoqian, with whom he secretly exchanged letters.
Although Father Nie felt that the young Taoist looked familiar, he did not think much about it. He just agreed to his request for a ride out of kindness.
In this way, Nie Changchuan, as the Taoist priest Wangchuan of the Maoshan Sect, helped the Nie family resolve the crisis in Lanruo Temple.
When the convoy returned to the capital, Nie Changchuan changed his appearance and revealed his identity when his father wanted to repay him.
Facing his biological son whom he had not seen for eight years, Father Nie was both happy and angry. He hugged and kicked him, but finally he snorted coldly and walked away, tacitly approving Nie Changchuan's behavior of returning to his ancestral home.
From then on, Nie Changchuan traveled back and forth between the capital and Maoshan, taking care of his family while continuing to study Taoism.
Until the day before yesterday, when he heard that Xiahou, the second best swordsman in the world, appeared near Guobei County, Nie Changchuan felt that the plot was about to begin, so he went down the mountain again and prepared to go to Lanruo Temple outside Guobei County.
"Just remember it!"
Nie Xiaoqian nodded and sighed, "Sister Qingfeng didn't want to get married back then, so she followed your example and joined Mount Emei, becoming a famous female swordsman in the martial arts world. Now Sister Yuechi is old enough, and she doesn't want to marry a noble man in the capital, so she wants me to ask, does your Mount Mao... accept nuns?"
“Ah, this…”
Nie Changchuan blinked his eyes and said helplessly, "In theory, yes, but becoming a monk is not that simple. With Sister Yuechi's personality, I think it will be difficult for her to stay in the mountains."
"I don't care!"
Nie Xiaoqian glared at him and snorted, "You are the one who led Sister Qingfeng and Sister Yuechi astray. You can either find a way to bring them to Mount Maoshan, or help me persuade them to come back and marry Master Gao!"
"Mr. Gao?" Nie Changchuan frowned. "Don't tell me it's the second son of the Gao family. Is he worthy of marrying my sister Yuechi?"
Nie Xiaoqian retorted: "If he doesn't marry her, will you marry her?"
Nie Changchuan came to his senses and said with a wry smile: "Sister, I have become a monk..."
Nie Xiaoqian interrupted without mercy: "Marriage is not prohibited in Maoshan, don't think I don't know!"
Nie Changchuan shrank his neck and muttered, "I know there's no ban on marriage, but I still ask you to ask me. Who would believe me?"
"You..." Nie Xiaoqian was furious. She glared at him angrily and snorted, "Anyway, this is the trouble you caused. You must find a way to solve it. But no matter how you solve it, you can't hurt Sister Yuechi's heart, otherwise, you will be in trouble!"
"……well."
Nie Changchuan sighed: "Okay, take me to see her, I'll think of a way."
Nie Xiaoqian smiled and said, "Okay, pack up first, and in a quarter of an hour, follow me to the suburbs for an outing."
After leaving Nie Xiaoqian's boudoir, Nie Changchuan stood in the courtyard, looking at the vast sky and sighing with disappointment.
Perhaps it was the butterfly effect. When the Lanruo Temple disaster occurred, my cousin Fu Yuechi was also in the convoy.
Influenced by her cousin Fu Qingfeng, Fu Yuechi has longed for the martial arts world and knights since she was a child. When she saw Nie Changchuan driving away ghosts and monsters and slaying demons with a wave of his hand, she fell in love with him at first sight.
Later, when she found out that he was actually her cousin Nie Changchuan, Fu Yuechi was not disappointed but liked him more.
In this world, it is normal for cousins to get married, but as a person from later generations, Nie Changchuan has some reservations.
After all, my aunt and my mother are twin sisters, and the blood relationship between the two siblings is far more than that of ordinary cousins.
Nie Changchuan didn't want to see this ill-fated relationship continue, so he deliberately ignored his cousin.
But who knew that this little girl just liked rebellious and cold men. The more cold Nie Changchuan was to her, the more she liked him.
Now that the family had arranged the marriage, Fu Yuechi, who had always been obedient, actually ran away from the marriage before the wedding date.
And his more obedient sister Nie Xiaoqian actually took the initiative to become an accomplice in the other party's escape from marriage.
This is really...
Nie Changchuan sighed helplessly.
He really didn't want to marry his own cousin, but seeing his cousin marrying the second son of the Gao family, Nie Changchuan felt a little bit reluctant.
It might be for this reason that Nie Xiaoqian helped Fu Yuechi escape from his marriage, and now she wants to trick her brother into meeting her outside the city in order to bring these two blood relatives together.
"So... should I adapt to local customs?"
Nie Changchuan was worried and walked to his father's study with heavy steps.
At this time, Nie's father was handling government affairs at his desk. When he saw his son push the door open, he immediately put down the book in his hand.
“You’re here…”
"Yeah." Nie Changchuan closed the door and turned around and asked, "Dad, what do you want to talk to me about?"
"..." Father Nie glanced at him, picked up the book again, and said calmly while reading, "Your sister should have told you about Yue Chi's child, right?"
“…”
Nie Changchuan twitched his lips and said helplessly, "I knew that my sister's tricks would not be hidden from you."
"Humph, nonsense!"
Father Nie snorted, then glanced at him and said, "I know Yue Chi listens to you very much. You should find a way to persuade Yue Chi to come back. You can choose another husband in the Gao family, but this marriage cannot be cancelled!"
Nie Changchuan frowned and asked, "Why?"
Father Nie put down the book and explained, "Brother Fu has just been promoted to the Minister of Rites. Many eyes are watching him inside and outside the court. He must not make mistakes at this time, especially mistakes in etiquette."
"The three generations of the Gao family have served as censors in the court. Marrying them would benefit both the Nie and Fu families."
The same thing again!
Nie Changchuan sighed: "I have promised my sister that I will try my best to persuade Yuechi to come back."
"It's not about trying your best, it's about having to do it!" Father Nie frowned and emphasized, "This is related to your Uncle Fu's future!"
Nie Zhangchuan shook his head and said calmly: "Dad, I know this marriage is very important to our two families, but sister Yuechi's attitude is equally important to me. If she really doesn't want to marry into the Gao family, I will take her back to Maoshan..."
"Nie Changchuan!"
Father Nie threw the scroll in his hand to the ground and shouted angrily, "Do you like to go against your father so much?"
Nie Changchuan looked calm, and with a light wave of his finger like a sword, the book flew up by itself and landed back on the table.
"It's not that I like to go against you." Nie Changchuan said softly, "It's just that I feel that in today's court, simple politics and marriage can't really help you and Uncle Fu. I have a better way. Do you want to hear it?"
"……you say."
Father Nie calmed down, his face showing no emotion.
Nie Changchuan looked calm and said in a nonchalant tone: "Please help me spread a message. If anyone in the court dares to target the Nie and Fu families, be careful that their entire family will burn themselves to death in the middle of the night!"