After Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun finished their meal, Zhao Xuan handed Gu Nanxun a key and asked with a smile, "Nanxun, can you drive?"
Gu Nanxun took the keys and nodded.
"You two go ahead! Nianqing, stay at home! I'll keep an eye on things for you."
Seeing that the group was about to leave, Liu Xiuyun's eyes lit up, and she asked Lin Qing with anticipation.
Lin Qing smiled and nodded, then handed Gu Nianqing to Liu Xiuyun: "Then I'll have to trouble Grandma!"
Liu Xiuyun reached out and took Gu Nianqing, her face beaming with joy: "No trouble at all, no trouble at all, my goodness, a great-grandson..."
Seeing this, Lin Qing smiled, and then got into the car with Gu Nanxun and Zhao Xuan. Gu Nanxun drove in front, while Lin Qing and Zhao Xuan sat in the back.
Along the way, following Zhao Xuan's instructions, Gu Nanxun parked the car in front of a courtyard house.
Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun exchanged a glance. Her heart was pounding. She had a premonition that this courtyard house was the one her parents had given them.
Zhao Xuan smiled and opened the gate of the courtyard house with the key. It was a three-courtyard house, one more courtyard than the one the Chen family currently lived in.
Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun followed Zhao Xuan into the courtyard. As soon as they entered, they saw a screen wall with exquisite carvings on it.
Passing through the screen wall, there is a spacious front yard with neatly paved bluestone slabs and several crabapple trees planted around it. Unfortunately, it is winter now and the crabapple trees are bare, with nothing on them.
Directly opposite the courtyard is a spacious and bright main hall, flanked by east and west wing rooms. The main hall is furnished with simple and elegant tables and chairs, and several calligraphy and paintings hang on the walls.
Lin Qing looked at them carefully but couldn't tell which master created the calligraphy and paintings. They were probably just a few worthless paintings. After all, no one would dare to hang antiques openly in their house these days, let alone in an uninhabited house. She smiled and shook her head, turning her gaze elsewhere.
"Come on, let's go inside." Zhao Xuan stood to the side with a smile, patiently waiting for Gu Nanxun and Lin Qing to finish looking around, and then led them towards the central courtyard.
As Zhao Xuan walked, she introduced, "This courtyard house was a dowry given to me by your maternal grandparents. I told you three brothers that whoever gets married first will have this house as their wedding home."
After pausing for a moment, Zhao Xuan continued, "Although I haven't lived here all these years, he has hired someone to maintain it every year. After I returned from Chaoyang Brigade the year before last, he had someone carefully repair and maintain it again. On the original basis, it not only preserves the traditional style, but also incorporates the convenience of modern life."
Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun followed Zhao Xuan through the front yard and then into the middle yard. The middle yard was more spacious, with a delicate little garden in the center. Various flowers were planted in the flower beds, but they were all bare now, and Lin Qing couldn't quite tell what kind of flowers were planted there.
"This place must be especially beautiful in the summer!" Lin Qing said with admiration as she looked at the small garden in the center of the courtyard.
"Yes, it's especially beautiful in spring and summer, and butterflies often fly around on it."
Zhao Xuan said with a smile that these flowers were planted by her own hands and carefully cared for by her. Every spring and summer, she would make many trips here just to take good care of these flowers.
Then Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun followed Zhao Xuan to the backyard. The backyard was particularly large, with not only a lotus pond but also a pavilion for relaxation, covered with grapevines.
"It must be very pleasant to sit under the grape trellis in the summer."
Lin Qing said with a smile.
After crossing the courtyard, the three of them arrived at the most private space in the backyard, where there was a study and several bedrooms, each furnished in a warm and comfortable manner.
Lin Qing entered the study and saw that the bookshelves were filled with all kinds of books. She gently stroked the books, her heart filled with excitement.
Zhao Xuan smiled and said, "I know you all enjoy reading, so I specially selected some books to put in the study, and some books that are inconvenient to access right now have been placed in the dark room."
After saying that, Zhao Xuan led Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun to a corner of the study. Zhao Xuan gently turned a painting on the wall, and with a soft "click," a sophisticated combination lock appeared on the wall.
"This combination lock is also an antique. I don't know exactly when it was passed down. I only know that this combination lock can only be entered incorrectly three times. If it is entered incorrectly three times in a row, it will be destroyed along with the dark room."
"Next, watch how I type it."
After saying that, Zhao Xuan turned the password. She would stop after each turn until Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun had memorized it.
As the combination lock was unlocked, a hole appeared in the ground large enough for one person to pass through.
Zhao Xuan took out a flashlight and entered the dark room first. Lin Qing and Gu Nanxun followed closely behind.
The dark room was filled with an old, musty smell, and wooden crates were piled up all around.
Zhao Xuan walked to a wooden box, opened the lid, and found it filled with yellowed books.
"These are my collection from many years, and now I'm handing them over to you."
A hint of reluctance flashed in Zhao Xuan's eyes.
Lin Qing picked up a book and began to read it carefully, a look of surprise appearing on her face.
The three of them were engrossed in books in the dark room, and time seemed to stand still.
Besides these books, there were also some boxes nearby, containing gold and jewelry, as well as some antique paintings and calligraphy.
"These will eventually be distributed among you four brothers, but it's not safe to keep them anywhere else right now, so we can only keep them with you for now!"
Gu Nanxun and Lin Qing nodded upon hearing this.
The three of them came out of the darkroom and then moved the painting back to its original position.
Gu Nanxun looked at the painting in front of him, pondered for a while, and then said to Zhao Xuan, "This mechanism is still too conspicuous. Although the combination lock behind the painting is more secure, it is too easy to expose and may cause trouble in the future."
Zhao Xuan frowned after hearing this, and then asked, "Does Nan Xun have any ideas?"
"Let me think about it, Mom. Leave this to me!"
Gu Nanxun thought for a moment and then said.
Zhao Xuan nodded upon seeing this.
The three of them came out of the study, and Lin Qing looked up and gazed at the courtyard house again.
Each courtyard of this traditional courtyard house exudes the weight of history and the tranquility of time.
Lin Qing seemed to see Zhao Xuan playing in this courtyard as a child, and the scene of her carefully tending to the flowers and plants in the central courtyard every year. Her gaze lingered on every corner of the courtyard, as if she was imagining every little detail of living here in the future.
"Mom, thank you!"
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