The Divine Doctor And A Common Farmer

Chapter 2001 - 175: Third Elder

But the problem was, plus the one Yixuan had picked earlier, her whole arms were now full of Dong Huiying’s flowers.

Yixuan: "..."

So annoying, that Fifth Brother of his, seriously! So annoying!

...

Roughly two hours later.

"Might I ask, up ahead—is that the Young Master?"

The Third Elder walked this way, saw Yixuan, and even seemed to freeze for a moment.

The Third Elder had come on foot, his clothes all dusty gray, with an old servant trailing behind him.

Yixuan looked over at the Third Elder with a faint smile. The Third Elder’s gaze lingered on Yue Ning for a moment. "And this is... the Young Master Ning who previously stayed at the residence, yes?"

The Third Elder looked like he didn’t bother with household affairs, but not a single stir in the Qin family could escape his ears. For example, Yue Ning’s mistaken identity—standing in for Yixuan to live in the Qin family, and being taken by many as the Young Master of Qin Family.

Yixuan chuckled. "And you are...?"

Dong Huiying glanced at this one, then that one, thinking to herself that this old and this young were a pair of drama kings.

The Third Elder smiled and introduced himself. Yixuan made a show of sudden realization. "So you are the Third Elder? My apologies, my apologies, this junior greets the Third Elder."

After that whole performance, it really was as if he truly didn’t know the other’s identity.

The Third Elder’s smile grew even more kindly, like someone watching clouds roll by, a picture of detachment from worldly struggles.

The two stood a meter or two apart, chatting here and there, tossing out idle topics.

Yixuan said, "Today I had a sudden whim, so I thought I’d take my Fifth Brother from home and my wife up the mountain for an outing. We just had breakfast in the hills, and were planning to hunt some game to roast for lunch."

The Third Elder’s face was wreathed in smiles. "Then this old body will impose and shamelessly beg a bite."

"Where are those words coming from, Third Elder? You and I are of one family to begin with."

The two of them were all harmony and warmth. Yue Ning couldn’t quite read it, but he didn’t do anything stupid either. Instead, he simply cobbled together a crude, simple fishing net and dragged Dong Huiying off to that bitch of a pond to net fish.

As Yixuan had said, at noon the group sat on a clearing by the woods and cooked in the open.

The Third Elder saw Dong Huiying take out some paper packets from her person; they were all seasonings.

"The young lady really came well prepared!"

The Third Elder sounded like he was praising her.

Yixuan smiled without showing his teeth. "We came here specifically to cook in the wild. The campfire and such can be improvised on the spot, but seasoning has to be prepared in advance."

These words were like a veiled hint to the Third Elder: look, we even went out of our way to bring seasonings. We really did come up the mountain to picnic, we didn’t follow behind you on purpose.

It was a coincidence of sorts; the wife at home was a foodie, and she never went anywhere without these little things. Yixuan was just improvising on the spot.

Whether the Third Elder actually believed him or not, who knew.

Dong Huiying had picked some lotus leaves from the bitch of a pond; she made a few beggar’s chickens, and the rest of the game was all roasted and eaten.

She suddenly found herself missing Big Brother Liang Zhichen a little.

There was one time Big Brother Liang Zhichen accompanied her back to her parents’ home, and that man had shown off a beggar’s chicken back then.

The Third Elder said, "There’s a jug of wine in my carriage. I’ll have someone bring it over."

The Third Elder sat down cross-legged just like Yixuan, on the ground. "In my early years I once climbed this mountain with an old friend. Today, feeling nostalgic, I made a special trip to revisit the old place and recall past traces."

These words from the Third Elder, like Yixuan’s earlier ones, were also a hint: I really did come up this mountain just to enjoy the scenery.

Yixuan smiled. "Well now, that really is what they call fate writing the script."

But as for the actual truth, both sides would probably have to chew it over.

Just as Yixuan couldn’t tell whether the Third Elder really meant it, or was pulling the same kind of bluff as he was.