CHAPTER 297: CHAPTER 255

Her appearance was stunningly beautiful, unparalleled, with a pair of cool, large, and spirited eyes, clear at one glance. She wore a fiery red, fluffy dress that seemed like a moving flame as she walked. Her long black hair was tied behind with a red ribbon simply at her temples, while the rest draped down, some parts hanging before her chest and some over her shoulders. A peach branch adorned her ear, with peach blossoms the size of fingertips in full, brilliant bloom, adding an ethereal and elusive quality to her dignified aura, as if she was born with natural grace.

This woman’s beauty was so remarkable that it dominated the scene, making all other flowers look dull wherever she was; the women in the room instantly turned into mere green leaves, serving as a backdrop to highlight her, the radiant red flower.

Having an excessively beautiful appearance was not always a blessing; a strong family background could protect her, but daughters from ordinary families might end up as playthings for men.

People were all guessing who the man and woman were, Old Mr. Mo in the principal seat gestured towards Lan Tian and called, "Girl, come over here."

Hearing Old Mr. Mo’s call, the look in the eyes of people in the room changed slightly, wondering what relationship this girl had with Old Mo to receive such an affectionate address from him.

Old Mr. Mo’s eccentric temperament was well-known among the upper echelons of Beijing; even his most senior disciple hadn’t seen him so warmly hospitable—could it be that she was Old Mo’s newest close-disciple? Apart from this possibility, others could not think of another reason.

Ignoring the inquisitive looks of the people around, Lan Tian remained unmoved, and so was Mo Junhua. They walked through the crowd to Old Mr. Mo’s side and together exclaimed, "Grandpa," then went to sit on the sofa that Old Mr. Mo had cleared on his right.

Besides Old Mr. Mo were a few other elders, with young men and women seated around their respective elders. Behind and to the left of Old Mr. Mo was a middle-aged man sitting next to Wu Zongyu, the two bearing a slight resemblance; Lan Tian guessed that this middle-aged man was Wu Zongyu’s father, Old Mr. Mo’s only disciple Wu Hongfei, and next to Wu Zongyu sat Bai Qingqing, with several unknown people behind her, as Lan Tian and Mo Junhua did not recognize anyone on their side, while Ji Feng and some men were talking in the side room.

When the crowd saw Lan Tian and Mo Junhua sitting next to Old Mo, their gazes towards the two and Old Mo became more profound, and their eyes also turned towards Wu Hongfei. The room grew quieter as everyone’s conversations dwindled, and all ears were pricked up to catch the conversation at Old Mo’s side.

"Girl, this is your great master uncle Wu Hongfei, whom I’ve mentioned to you before," Old Mr. Mo introduced, pointing to the middle-aged man, "Xiao Fei, this is my granddaughter Lan Tian, and my grandson-in-law Mo Junhua."

Today was supposed to be a simple family dinner where Old Mr. Mo intended to introduce Lan Tian to the family; unexpectedly, his old friends, having heard some rumor of his return today, blocked the way to his home. When he arrived home, these people had already gathered, and it wasn’t thick-skinned enough to shoo them away—not that they would easily leave.

"Great master uncle, hello!" Lan Tian stood up and nodded slightly.

"Great master uncle." Mo Junhua echoed Lan Tian.

Wu Hongfei had heard from his own old master that although this little grand-disciple was young, her medical skills were extraordinary. The old master once said that his own medical skills might not compare to his granddaughter’s, and the main purpose of bringing her to Beijing was to treat a certain patient. The last time the old master returned, he hinted subtly that the disease of Crown Prince Ji had been cured by her.

Skeptically, he took the pulse of Crown Prince Ji and found that the vitality in his body was gradually recovering; others had also examined Crown Prince Ji and concluded that he was cured, predicting a long life span of up to a hundred and eighty years if nothing unusual happened.

Many doctors had examined the Crown Prince’s illness, and several national doctors were helpless, even foreign doctors had been consulted without finding the root of his illness, and yet she had cured him, which was truly miraculous.

Wu Hongfei is also a medical eccentric, a trait inherited from Mr. Mo. Whenever there’s something he doesn’t understand, he must figure it out; otherwise, he finds it difficult to eat or sleep. He had been eager to meet his little niece early on, feeling excited inside but still maintaining the composed expression of an elder, he slowly nodded in approval, "Good child." He then introduced the few people beside Wu Zongyu, "These are your eldest martial brother Wu Kun, second martial brother Sun Hai, and martial sister Bai Qingqing."

"Hello," Lan Tian slightly nodded as a greeting, acknowledging them but did not address them as martial brothers or sister.

"Hello!" Wu Kun and the others returned the courtesy.

They then introduced a few old fellows in the room to Lan Tian. Lan Tian slightly nodded and greeted the old men, while Mo Junhua gave a military salute. Mr. Mo said that it was a family banquet and there was no need to be so formal, they were not so particular, and there was no need for military salutes, just calling out directly was fine. Mo Junhua followed suit and greeted everyone accordingly.

The old gentlemen were surprised to hear that Lan Tian was Old Mo’s granddaughter, wondering where this old bachelor got a granddaughter, and teased him about not resting and kidnapping some family’s young lady to raise as his own granddaughter.

Mr. Mo wasn’t angry, instead, he mocked them for perhaps being envious because he had a cute granddaughter.

For the younger generation of men and women, Mr. Mo didn’t introduce them; he let Wu Zongyu take Lan Tian and Mo Junhua around for a round to recognize faces, then they returned to Mr. Mo. As soon as Lan Tian sat down, Ji Feng walked up to her, "Xiao Lan, move a bit over there."

Ji Feng and Lan had known each other for decades, and they interacted this way in their daily lives, both finding it normal and natural. Lan Tian patted Mo Junhua on the shoulder, "Move over a bit."

A very common phrase, but different implications emerged in the ears of everyone in the living room. They gave Lan Tian meaningful looks, glanced at Mo Junhua, and then at Crown Prince Ji, seeming to understand something.

Such gatherings were boring, revolving around ordinary conversations, where every word had to be carefully scrutinized and deciphered, and the conversation inevitably turned to the elderly reminiscing about their heroic deeds on the battlefield. Lan Tian had no interest in listening to their stories, feeling sleepy after a while, whereas Mo Junhua listened attentively.

"Boring!"

Ji Feng was utterly bored; he had heard his grandpa’s stories from childhood, which weren’t much different from those of the other old men, just changing the main character and setting. Seeing that Lan Tian was also uninterested and drowsy, he nudged her arm and she looked back at him.

"Let me take you for a walk in the garden."

Before Lan Tian could respond, Mr. Mo, seeing their slight movement, waved his hand, "Go ahead, young people find it very boring to stay with old folks. You youngsters should go outside and look around, don’t just hang around here with us."

Mr. Mo’s words struck a chord with all the young people in the room; their faces lit up with excitement, and once outside, they scattered about like wild chickens set free.

Staying with the elders was too oppressive, and they didn’t even dare to speak loudly.