Chapter 102: Chapter 102 Paternal Justice
 

Qi Yue couldn’t help but feel gratitude once again for the great conveniences this identity had brought her.

It turned out that Chu Yuntian was actually the sworn brother of Qi Yunzhang.

This meant that, from now on, she had a foster father who was the Prefectural Governor of Longnan County.

“Miss Qi, surely you won’t blame me for revealing your identity, right?” Seeing Qi Yue happy, Qu Wei’s spirits also began to rise.

A folding fan fluttered incessantly in his hand.

Qi Yue glared at him with disdain.

“Are you reminding me that you didn’t tell Hu Chengxuan about this?”

Qu Wei chuckled with a hehe.

“Aren’t you just afraid that Hu Chengxuan will follow your lead to find Zhao Xiyan? How is it, am I not much more considerate than him?”

Qi Yue smiled slightly.

Soon she would have nothing to fear.

Within a few days, Zhao Xiyan would stand up.

By then, who would be his match?

Even the Emperor in the distant Capital City would probably have to reconsider the Zhao Family’s exile.

After all, Beiyuan nowadays did not have a single military talent who could rival Zhao Xiyan, while Western Chu, Nanyue, and Donggao were all watching covetously.

If she were the Emperor, even if she were unwilling, she would have to swallow her pride and ask for help.

At that time, the Zhao Family could also return to the Capital City, but what about her?

Where should she go from here?

“Hey, hey, Miss Qi, are you listening to me? Who are you thinking about with that springlike expression? It’s not me, is it?”

Qi Yue suddenly came back to her senses and saw Qu Wei waving his fan in front of her, causing her face to turn cold.

“Do you deserve it?”

“…”

Seeing Qu Wei dejectedly slump down beside her, Qi Yue couldn’t help feeling a bit amused.

This Qu Wei, whenever he wasn’t putting on airs, made quite a good brother.

After all, she would never be able to argue with Zhao Xiyan like this.

If there ever came a day when she truly did, either she had really let go of him, seeing him as her brother, or they were in love and understood each other’s souls.

But neither of these possibilities would ever happen, never ever.

Just then, two people finally walked towards the hall from outside.

Qi Yue hurriedly went to greet them and bowed respectfully.

“Master, revered Prefectural Governor.”

Chu Yuntian looked at Qu Wei with a cheerful glance, and waved his hand, “Yueyue, no need to be so formal. You must know, when your father and I took our oath of brotherhood, you weren’t even born yet. It’s been over twenty years.”

“Although your father is no longer here, you still have me. As your foster father, I will treat you as if you were my own daughter.”

With the Prefectural Governor speaking so kindly, what else could Qi Yue say? She immediately called him foster father.

Chu Yuntian burst into big laughter, joyfully patting her shoulder.

“Come, follow your foster father to the ancestral hall to pay respects to your father.”

Qi Yue hadn’t expected to see Qi Yunzhang’s memorial tablet in Longnan County. She was overwhelmed with mixed feelings.

Back in the Capital City, the General Residence that Qi Yunzhang had exchanged with his life for wasn’t remembered by anyone in this way.

Kneeling before Qi Yunzhang’s memorial tablet, she deeply kowtowed three times, and for a moment, she forgot.

Here, people only needed to kowtow once to pay respects to their departed loved ones.

“Alright, child, you’ll hurt your head from kowtowing too much. If your father has a spirit in heaven, he would feel pain for you!”

Chu Yuntian pulled her up and immediately took her to meet the ladies of the house.

Her foster father’s backyard was fairly clean.

Apart from a main wife, there was only one concubine, who seemed quite honest and reliable, not like the difficult and scheming type.

The Prefect’s wife was a bit older than Chu Yuntian, refined and gentle, with quite the air of a principal wife.

She had a son and a daughter who were both married.

The son was an official in the Capital City and did not live with them.

And that auntie had also given birth to a son and a daughter, with the daughter married off and the son traveling abroad for his studies, meaning she currently had no children by her side.

Qi Yue’s arrival instantly excited the Chu Family as if they had seen their own daughter.

Moreover, there was an old granny who was already over eighty years old.

Half-deaf in one ear, Qi Yue called out to the old lady several times to no avail.

But when she called her “grandma,” the old lady promptly responded, amusing everyone to laughter once again.

After the family reunion, the Prefectural Governor’s lady immediately arranged a nice courtyard for Qi Yue, and instructed several maids and nannies to take care of her daily needs.

Upon hearing that Qi Yue did not intend to stay in Longnan County, Chu Yuntian immediately and strongly objected.

“Yueyue, you should stay here and let your adoptive father take good care of you. Otherwise, where would you go alone? If I were to let you leave just like that, wouldn’t your father come looking for me in the middle of the night?”

His words made everyone laugh.

Qi Yue was caught off guard by the sudden transition to a young lady’s life; the enthusiasm of the Chu Family left her unable to refuse, and since she hadn’t thought of where to go in the future, she could only stay for the time being.

Planning to cure Zhao Xiyan’s leg injury before making any further decisions.

However, Qu Wei did not stay any longer and quickly took her leave.

It was only at this moment that she found out that Huang Zai’an also knew Chu Yuntian, as they had already gone to the study for a talk.

The reunion with relatives and old friends promptly turned into a boisterous celebration.

Qi Yue could drink, and since everyone present was good in her heart, she let down her guard and joined the elderly in drinking a little.

But she overestimated her own capacity.

She had thought that having Innate Divine Strength would mean a decent tolerance, but found herself drunk after only a few cups, eventually being carried back to her quarters by maids.

That night, she stumbled into her space dazedly again and slept there until dawn.

No sooner had she stepped out of the space when she was surrounded by a group of people who had barged in.

“Yueyue, where did you go to sleep last night? I had the maid make you some hangover tea, but we couldn’t find you anywhere!”

It was then that she learned the General Residence had been in turmoil searching for her all night.

Qi Yue hurriedly repeated the lie she had told before, but this time with a slight modification.

“Adoptive father, don’t worry. When I’m drunk, I like to sleep in the wardrobe.” She pointed to the wardrobe beside her and squeezed out a smile, “I slept in the wardrobe last night.”

It was only then that Chu Yuntian and Madam Chu were reassured.

Feeling embarrassed for causing such a stir among so many people due to personal reasons, Qi Yue immediately used Spiritual Spring Water to make several large bottles of sugar beans, this time adding plenty of good medicinal herbs to double the nourishing effects, and gave one bottle to each of the Chu Family members.

Huang Zai’an, her nominal mentor, saw this and snatched a bottle for himself.

This nominal mentor was truly shrewd. After swallowing a single sugar bean, his eyes immediately lit up.

“Good apprentice, do you have any more of these pills? Give your master another bottle.”

“No more.”

Qi Yue flatly refused.

In fact, there were still some in her space.

After all, they were made by machine, a batch could fill several bottles, and she had made three batches in one go.

But she had already decided to leave for Northern Ridge the day after tomorrow, and the remaining were to be kept for the Zhao Family members.

“I don’t believe you, girl. You’re too cunning.” Huang Zai’an said with suspect intentions, “You wouldn’t be saving them for your man, would you?”

Qi Yue’s lips twitched, and she threw him another bottle.

“No more after this, no matter what you say.”

Huang An weighed the medicine bottle in his hand, tucked it into his bosom, and started to cry, tugging at his beard.

“Poor me, at such an old age, taking on a disciple who doesn’t care for me! Doesn’t give me more when she has good things!”

Qi Yue quickly tossed him three more bottles.

“Now I really don’t have any more.”

Filled with satisfaction at last, Huang Zai’an stuffed the three bottles into his chest, grinning and laughing as he did so.

“Now this old man can live a few more years.”

Qi Yue could hardly bear to look.

“Master, let’s return to Northern Ridge the day after tomorrow!”