Chapter 207 - 128: From Then On, the King Held No Morning Court

Chapter 207: Chapter 128: From Then On, the King Held No Morning Court

Shan Zhentian would call and ask her to come back every time, but Liu Piaopiao always had the same reply:

"If you’ve got the guts, come up to Spirit Sword Mountain yourself."

And Shan Zhentian truly didn’t dare go up to Spirit Sword Mountain.

Because of this personal experience, Shan Zhentian wasn’t the least bit afraid of any boy daring to mistreat his daughter. If one really did, the Shan Family wouldn’t even need to get involved. Spirit Sword Mountain would send the "Seven Swords from Heaven" to personally tear the jerk to shreds.

She was the darling of the family, and that wasn’t just for show.

Of course, Su Ran’s private life had gotten a little messy. Deep down, he’d never expected that after becoming a Divine Rich, his love life would become so colorful. He kept meeting one girl after another who genuinely cared for him. His original plan was simply to "enjoy his life," nothing more. He figured he would just treat all his friends, male or female, with sincerity. Yet, in his daily life, one girl after another fell for him, falling so hopelessly in love they couldn’t escape, some even offering themselves to him. This naturally went against his initial intention of just freely enjoying life. ’But hey, I’m a man. Since it’s already like this, I’ll just have to treat every girl who’s good to me well.’ As for the future, he didn’t think about it. In Liu Jinyu’s words, "I used to be clueless about romance, but now I just want to live for the moment."

Making small talk with Liu Piaopiao, Su Ran walked toward the East Courtyard. Inside the dining room, a bored Shan Weizi heard her mother’s cheerful laughter and shouted out into the dark courtyard, "Mom, who are you talking to?"

"Me!"

Su Ran’s voice replied from the darkness. Shan Weizi froze, thinking she must have misheard. But then she saw her grandfather and Shan Zhentian trying to stifle their laughter and knew she’d been had. With a "Hmph," she stood and walked out of the dining room. She called out to the blurry figure at the end of the long corridor, "Is that you, Su Ran?" She wanted to believe it, but at the same time, she felt it couldn’t possibly be him. Her hand tightened nervously on the doorframe, not daring to step forward. She was afraid of getting her hopes up for nothing, only to become the butt of her family’s jokes.

"Yes, it’s me."

Hearing his voice, Shan Weizi’s heart warmed, and her grip on the doorframe tightened. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I told you I’d be here soon!"

"You..." She blushed.

"Su Ran’s here, Weizi, aren’t you going to help him with the fruit?" the old man said. He greatly admired Su Ran. Of course, this was on the condition that they were a good match in terms of social standing. But he was deeply impressed by Su Ran’s talent, especially his extraordinary mastery of Wu School painting. Adding to that was the series of beautiful misunderstandings from before—from *The Peacock Flies Southeast* to that casual remark, "You like it? That’s my favorite thing to paint, so I’ll paint one for you..." In his heart, the old man already considered Su Ran family. The "friend" he’d mentioned that afternoon, the one whose arrival would bring her inspiration, was Su Ran all along. The old man had been young once himself; he understood the matters of the heart. "Well? Aren’t you going?"

"I..." A young woman is naturally shy. She blushed, glancing back at her father and grandfather. Then she turned back toward the long corridor, let go of the doorframe, and stepped out of the dining room. She started walking, her pace quickening with every step. After a few moments, the young woman in the traditional-style dress was hiking up her white skirt and running down the corridor, throwing herself into Su Ran’s arms. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was thick with choked-back sobs, excitement, and longing.

「Night. West Lake, Taohua Village, beneath the long corridor.」

Su Ran smiled, looking at the traditional-style girlfriend in his arms. He reached out and brushed a stray lock of hair from her face. "I told you I was coming to see everyone for New Year’s Day, have you forgotten?"

"I thought you were just saying that."

"Never. When I say something, I mean it."

"Mhm."

Shan Weizi nodded. Liu Piaopiao, standing nearby, smiled in satisfaction. "Weizi, didn’t you say yesterday that you wouldn’t get excited if Su Ran came? What’s this, then? Eating your words?"

Shan Weizi: "I never said that."

Liu Piaopiao: "Hehehe. Come on, let’s go."

"Let’s go." Shan Weizi helped Su Ran with the fruit, and they walked down the long corridor to the dining hall, chatting and laughing. After exchanging a few pleasantries with everyone, they took their seats. Now that she was sitting beside him, Shan Weizi became much more demure. Seeing his granddaughter’s shy expression, the old man laughed. "Well, Weizi? Do you have your inspiration now?"

Shan Weizi: "Grandpa, you set me up."

Su Ran: "Set you up for what?"

Shan Weizi: "Don’t ask."

The old man said, "So, about the wine? Su Ran, shall we have the Multi-Whip Wine behind me, or something else?"

Su Ran asked, "Multi-Whip Wine? What kinds of ’whips’ are we talking about?"

SMACK! SMACK! Shan Weizi and Liu Piaopiao, on either side of him, each smacked him on the arm.

Shan Zhentian said, "It’s made with bull penis. You’ve never had it, so you probably can’t handle it. Let’s drink Maotai instead. Can you handle the sauce-aroma style?"

This father and son duo were clearly in cahoots. They knew Su Ran disliked sauce-aroma liquor and brought it up on purpose, for no other reason than to make Su Ran ask Shan Weizi to get her own wine.

"Uh... I’m not really a fan of the sauce-aroma style. How about..." Su Ran looked at Shan Weizi beside him. "Why don’t you bring out a bottle of that wine you brewed for everyone to try?"

Just as Shan Weizi was about to speak, the old man interjected, "Oh, that won’t do, that won’t do. Our Weizi already said that even if you came, she’d only give you a single sip, right?"

Su Ran said, "Is that right? Well, forget it then."

Shan Weizi couldn’t stand listening to the three of them and their little act any longer. She stood up and announced, "Ahem! Since it’s New Year’s Day, I’ll let you have one jar." With that, she turned and hurried off, followed by the sound of her grandfather’s unrestrained laughter.

The atmosphere in the Shan Family was wonderful. They were always this harmonious. There was none of that so-called expectation for elders to put on airs all the time. If there were, Shan Weizi probably wouldn’t have much in common with her family and would just retreat to her room after dinner. This way of interacting actually made the family much more close-knit and united.