I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 248 - 216: Old Friends and Old Stories

Sang Que, Liu Tianyou, and Kou Yushan sat down at a small table in front of the pastry shop, where Kou Yushan formally introduced Yun Niang to Sang Que.

When introducing Sang Que, Kou Yushan stumbled for a moment, "Look at my mind, I feel like I’ve been forgetting things recently, so forgetful."

Sang Que knew that Kou Yushan had forgotten how they met, but the familiar warmth of treating her as a younger family member remained.

Including Liu Tianyou, who also didn’t remember much about her time in Black Mountain Village, only that she had saved him twice.

Sang Que introduced herself, "Hello Aunt Yun, my name is Sang Mulan, my mother and Uncle Yushan are old acquaintances."

Kou Yushan nodded eagerly, "Yes, yes, old acquaintances indeed."

Kou Yushan couldn’t recall anything but didn’t find it strange; he simply felt that Sang Que’s mother was someone he highly respected.

Yun Niang smiled generously, "You fellow villagers have a good chat, I’ll go get you some snacks and tea."

"Uncle Yushan, how is Granny Zhuang?" Sang Que asked concernedly. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

At this mention, Kou Yushan’s face was filled with worry, "Granny Zhuang is ill, this time quite seriously, and she’s become a bit muddled, sometimes recognizing me, sometimes not. Oh yes, Wei Ziyan has been taking care of her, and it seems they’re planning to let Wei Ziyan take over Granny Zhuang’s role."

"Then I’ll go see her this afternoon." Sang Que thought Granny Zhuang seemed like she had dementia; she was old and had overworked her brain for years, it was unavoidable.

Sang Que then asked Liu Tianyou, "How about you, was the journey here smooth?"

Liu Tianyou was drinking tea, and upon hearing the question, he put down his teacup and nodded, "Smooth, I came along with a caravan, no issues."

"And how are Skinny and Shouhui’s family, and the others in Black Mountain Village, have they settled in?"

Sang Que vividly remembered her time in Black Mountain Village, thinking they were just passing acquaintances, but over time, she found herself still thinking about them.

Initially, she treated everything as a game with NPCs, but increasingly felt they were all living, breathing people, as vibrant as modern people.

Liu Tianyou scratched his head, sighed deeply, "How to put it, Uncle Baosheng’s family is doing quite well, Aunt Fangru learned how to make Jade Liquid. They’ve opened a Jade Liquid shop in the county, and business is very good. Many people say their brewed Jade Liquid has the feeling of the old Ming’s Jade Juice."

Sang Que’s heart skipped a beat, could the matter with the Ming Family not be over?

Liu Tianyou continued, "At first, I also felt something was amiss. I intended to observe for a while, but Aunt Fangru openly told me that it was the eldest Miss Ming who appeared in her dream and gave her the recipe to make money with Jade Liquid and take care of her family."

"Aunt Fangru even set up statues of the eldest Miss Ming and another girl at home, saying she saw them in a dream, two girls holding hands like sisters."

Sang Que’s eyes opened slightly, it was Ming Wanxi and Huilan, remembering how back then at the Ming Mansion, He Shou’an was almost drawn into a well by Evil Spirits, and his sister He Shouhui went to save him, almost being pulled in too.

He Baosheng and Qin Fangru didn’t give up on their daughter He Shouhui, instead risking their lives to save her, while they themselves were trapped at the bottom of the well. Qin Fangru had mentioned seeing a bride in a wedding dress appear, making those Evil Spirits around vanish.

When the Ming Mansion sank into the Hidden Realm, the couple was left safely in place.

It must be Qin Fangru’s love for her daughter that moved Huilan and Ming Wanxi, so they helped Qin Fangru.

Now, Qin Fangru worships Ming Wanxi and Huilan as a form of gratitude, and perhaps through Qin Fangru, when their family’s Jade Liquid gains fame worldwide, it will benefit Ming Wanxi and Huilan too. Someday in the future, they might become some kind of good Divine protectors for all who love their children.

Sang Que smiled, "I think this is a good thing. And what about Skinny?"

At the mention of Skinny, Liu Tianyou heaved a deep sigh, "I always felt that Skinny was different after leaving the Ming Mansion. After he moved into his uncle’s house and started working at the Funeral Shop, strange things kept happening at his uncle’s place. Shortly before I came to Wangshan City, Skinny’s uncle’s family fell seriously ill and died one after another, leaving only Skinny to live by himself, guarding the Funeral Shop."

"I can’t say exactly what’s wrong, after all, the Sun Traveling Lord from the county didn’t find anything wrong either. Just when I received your letter, I thought it’d be safer to come to Wangshan City, so I voiced my suspicions to Uncle Baosheng and the others, told them to watch out for Skinny, then hurried over with the caravan."

Kou Yushan had already heard Liu Tianyou speak of these matters, and after thinking it over, he said, "That Funeral Shop of Skinny’s uncle was originally bought with the money from selling Skinny’s mother and her sister, so this is just karma, the property has returned to its rightful owner."

Sang Que didn’t comment, after all, it was the grudge of Skinny’s family.

Liu Tianyou continued talking about Black Mountain Village, this time with a smile on his face, "Tangyuan County has been cleaned up and rebuilt, and the village head took the remaining people from Black Mountain Village to settle in the new Tangyuan County. It’s much safer there than living in the village, and this year they’re sure to have a good New Year."

"So what are your plans?" Sang Que asked Liu Tianyou. She had mentioned in her letter that she hoped he would come to Wangshan City to help her a little.

Liu Tianyou smiled, "Uncle Yushan found me some work over at the orphanage, teaching the orphanage kids literacy. After deducting the monthly city tax, there’s still some income left, enough for me to live in the city. I plan to take the provincial exams in Qinzhou at the beginning of next year, and if I pass, I’ll head to Shengjing for the Spring Examination."

"My parents invested in my education hoping I would one day succeed academically to become a local official, protecting the local people. Even though they’re gone, I don’t want to let them down. No matter what, I’ll keep taking the exams."

Sang Que nodded, thinking how much Liu Tianyou loved learning, and that in modern times, he’d surely be a teacher’s favorite top student.

The Spring Examination of the Xuan Dynasty was like the college entrance exam, and Liu Tianyou was the same age as her, making her feel inadequate compared to his enthusiasm for studying.

"Uncle Yushan, when are you planning the wedding?" Sang Que asked Kou Yushan with a smile, as this was a big event that needed careful planning.

Kou Yushan blushed and glanced stealthily at Yun Niang, "Yun Niang doesn’t want a big ceremony. I’m thinking of just inviting a few close friends to have a meal at home, especially since... Yun Niang and I have already registered at the government office of the Household Registration Department."

Sang Que and Liu Tianyou exchanged glances and smiled teasingly, making Kou Yushan’s face turn an even deeper shade of red. He raised his teacup and drank it all in one go, avoiding their gazes, though he himself felt quite happy inside.

He used to think about getting by one day at a time, not caring whether life was good or bad. But now he felt full of energy, wanting to live life more prosperously.

"Alright, you all chat, I’ll go look for Old Yu. He doesn’t know I’m back yet. Then I’ll go see Granny Zhuang."

Sang Que stood up, deciding to discuss not staying here for New Year’s Eve with Kou Yushan when she returned in the evening.

"I just heard Chen Sheng say Old Yu went to Half a Day’s Leisure for a meal; you can go look for him there." Kou Yushan said to Sang Que.

Sang Que nodded goodbye and headed straight to Half a Day’s Leisure; it was right across from Ruyi Square where Hua Qianmian had always stayed under one of her ’undercover’ identities.

She had once again forgotten to ask Kou Yushan, after she left, whether Hua Qianmian sold that original Ten Victory Stone. She had left some glutinous rice with Kou Yushan, asking him to sell it to Hua Qianmian in batches.

Sang Que felt that with her previous financial troubles, the income from those things would be hard to keep.

If it were true that the dice rolled a four more easily the more money one had, she would need to cooperate more deeply with Hua Qianmian to earn more money.

Arriving at the street where Half a Day’s Leisure was, Sang Que saw a group of people gathered outside Ruyi Building from afar, with Ruyi Building all decorated and bustling.

"Our Ruyi Building has a new owner and is reopening. On the first day of the new year, the Qing’an Troupe will perform a new show, so everyone be sure to come and support!"

Two staff members from Ruyi Building were holding trays, handing out red envelopes to passersby.

Sang Que’s eyes brightened, those red envelopes must contain newly minted Yansheng coins, she should collect them.

There were many people in front of Ruyi Building, all scrambling, Sang Que squeezed in, but when it was her turn, the red envelopes were gone.

"Sorry, we only prepared this many red envelopes for today. For those who didn’t get one, we’ve prepared packaged snacks; please head over there."

Those who didn’t get a red envelope followed the clerk to receive packaged snacks, but Sang Que wasn’t interested in that and reluctantly left.

As she emerged from the crowd, she saw Yu Da, dressed like a ball, sitting in the lobby of Half a Day’s Leisure eating, with a little clerk holding a tray standing in the shadows behind him, pouting as he stared at Yu Da in exasperation.

That expression made Sang Que immediately think of Hua Qianmian. She couldn’t have let her guard down with facial expressions when no one was looking, it would give her away too easily.