The true culprit behind all this didn’t know a thing at the moment. Instead, she was hopping along as she called out in a sweet voice, "Let’s go, let’s go home."

Mei Ruyan kept a cold face and took the lead, striding ahead. That cool and aloof manner of hers made Nao Nao freeze for a second.

Nao Nao tugged on Miaoqiu’s sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Young Lady, this woman... why does she look a little familiar to me? I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before."

Miaoqiu used her slender, pale finger to poke Nao Nao’s head, and said irritably, "That’s the Second Young Lady, you don’t recognize her?"

"Second Young Lady?" Nao Nao rolled her eyes up to the sky and thought for two seconds, then suddenly reacted, "You mean that Second Young Lady who got kicked out?"

As soon as the words fell, Nao Nao suddenly felt an extremely sharp, icy gaze shoot toward her, as if it was going to kill her on the spot.

Nao Nao hurriedly grabbed Miaoqiu’s hand and hid behind her, then poked her head out and glanced twice. Only after she saw that Mei Ruyan’s eyes were no longer on her did she let out a long breath.

Miaoqiu pulled Nao Nao in front of her, put on a stern face, and said coldly, "Nao Nao, you’re not a child anymore. There are things you can say and things you can’t—don’t you know that? I’ll pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. If you dare say it again, I will definitely punish you severely!"

Nao Nao lowered her head and answered softly like a child who’d done something wrong.

"But..."

Miaoqiu’s brows knitted again. "But what?"

"But..." The little girl lowered her voice and whispered, "But it seems like the people at home don’t really like her. You just bring the Second Young Lady back like this—won’t that be inappropriate?"

"What’s inappropriate about it? It’s our Xu Family that owes her. If I hear any gossip, they can pack up and get the hell out of the Xu Family."

"Yes..." The little maid answered with her head down, knowing she’d said the wrong thing.

But she couldn’t control other people’s mouths in the clan; it looked like the Xu Family was about to be restless again.

Mei Ruyan, walking in front, paused for a moment, then pretended nothing had happened and quickened her pace to walk out.

"Little girl, I’ll also pretend I didn’t hear what you just said. If there’s a next time, I’ll teach you a lesson however I see fit. Even the Xu Family won’t be able to protect you!"

Leaving behind that icy sentence, Lin Tian followed after Mei Ruyan’s steps.

In an instant, Nao Nao’s eyes turned red, filling with tears. She was so wronged she almost burst out crying. She felt the new son-in-law wasn’t handsome at all anymore!

Miaoqiu rubbed her head and said softly, "Alright, don’t feel so wronged. Learn your lesson and don’t make the same mistake again, got it?"

Nao Nao rubbed her eyes, then nodded. It was true—feeling wronged at a time like this was useless.

This was a seven-seat SUV, with Nao Nao driving, the Grand Elder sitting in the front passenger seat, Nan Qiu and Miaoqiu sitting together, and Lin Tian sitting in the back row with Mei Ruyan.

Lin Tian kept trying to find something to talk about, but Mei Ruyan had earphones stuffed in her ears. Blasting out of them was deafening rock music; even sitting beside her, Lin Tian could tell it was "Heartbroken People Shouldn’t Listen to Slow Songs."

Following a tributary of the Yangtze River, the SUV drove out of the urban area, and about half an hour later, they finally reached their destination.

The place where the Xu Family was located had a very special local name: Xu Family Stream.

Strictly speaking, it was also a small village—two streets and over a hundred houses. All the roofs were covered in red tiles, built among the hills. From afar, it didn’t look very eye-catching.

Right at the entrance of Xu Family Stream flowed a more than fifty-meter-wide river, roaring past. The current was swift and the water extremely fierce.

This was a tributary of the Yangtze River, and it had flowed on for hundreds of years, straight to the sea. It also served as a natural line of defense for the Xu Family.

Besides that, Xu Family Stream still had plenty of natural barriers. Relying on these, the Xu Family’s forebear had set up a lot of mechanisms here, as well as Arrays. Once activated and used in tandem with the Xu Family’s Charming Skill, even if the Eleven Great Clans joined forces, they still hadn’t been able to break through.

The Grand Elder gazed at the scenery outside the window and suddenly chanted in a loud voice, "South City is good; its scenery well remembered. When the river flowers blaze brighter than fire at sunrise, in spring the river turns green as indigo. How can one not long for South City?"

Miaoqiu chimed in and asked, "Grand Elder, you’ve been to South City too?"

"Heh, when this old man came to South City, you brats weren’t even born yet. Back then I met a girl here, too. It’s a pity nothing ever came of it in the end," the Grand Elder said.

"Hehe, good taste. I’ve always felt the girls raised on the water and rice of my South City are much more delicate than those from noisy places like Kanyue City," Miaoqiu said.

She paused for a beat, then suddenly asked gossipily, "Grand Elder, pardon me for asking, but it seems you’ve never taken a wife in your whole life, have you?"

The Grand Elder’s face flushed red, like a ripe red apple, making everyone in the car burst into laughter. They hadn’t expected this awe-inspiring old man to actually get shy.

"Grandpa, you said you fancied a girl from our South City when you were young and then never married for life. How about you pick up a pretty granny to bring back this trip?" Nao Nao asked with a grin. That was how little girls were: those unhappy things, she forgot about them in no time. Laughing and joking, she was just like a kid.

"Little lass, you can’t talk nonsense. This old man doesn’t want his reputation ruined in his later years," the Grand Elder said, turning his face away.

Nao Nao curled her lips and said, "I’m helping you find a companion. You two can get a marriage certificate and have a proper wedding. How is that ruining your reputation?"

"You!" The Grand Elder was furious, his eyes glaring round as he stared at Nao Nao like a ferocious demon.

Nao Nao had been to Luoyan Dock, but she didn’t know who this Grand Elder was, so of course she wasn’t scared. On the contrary, she even made a face at him, grinning cheekily.

The Grand Elder only felt a headache. He actually had no way to deal with this little lass. But honestly, he had quite a good impression of the girl; at most he just wanted to scare her. If he really made a move, he might accidentally smack her to death with one slap.

Miaoqiu wasn’t as tactless as Nao Nao. She lightly cleared her throat and said, "Nao Nao, don’t you know you should respect your elders and love the young? Just drive properly and stop fooling around."

"Okay." Nao Nao answered softly, but she still raised her brows at the Grand Elder. Who knew what she meant by that. Maybe in her heart she was already picking out a suitable companion for him.

Before long, the car drove into Xu Family Stream. This place looked quite different from an ordinary village. Not to mention anything else, just the buildings here were all Celestial Dragon Continent–style villas: white walls, high dark tiles, simple yet very imposing. Lin Tian, who was used to seeing villas, actually felt this kind of architecture suited people of this country more. Of course, this place was much more modern than Luoyan Dock.

The road underfoot was paved with thick bluestone bricks, and the air carried a faint sweet smell of fresh grass. It really was much better than smog-filled Kanyue City.

Squeak~

The SUV stopped in front of a tall, red-lacquered gate. Nao Nao let go of the steering wheel with both hands, stretched, arching the curves of her upper body into a full, tempting shape, and said softly, "We’re here, we’re here. I’m exhausted."