Palace Fighting Naive Concubines’ Ascent to Power
Chapter 646: The Familiar Old Man Who Looks Like Bacon

Chapter 646: Chapter 646: The Familiar Old Man Who Looks Like Bacon

This was a craft, not something just anyone could learn. He had wanted to learn it initially, but when he sprinkled a bunch of chili powder, the whole kitchen exploded. There were clouds of chili powder everywhere, choking him half to death. After that, he never dared to try again, but Qian Chen would never let such a thing happen.

Qian Chen carefully wiped the bottle he had used, tucked it back into his sleeve, and said nothing.

But Lian Wanzhen knew he was pleased, and couldn’t help but grin broadly, reaching directly for a piece of meat and stuffing it into Qian Chen’s mouth, "Taste this quickly. Of these three dishes, at least two and a half should be left for you. That Wang San is really into his food but only brags; he dare not handle the spice. Says it gives him a spicy ass, you’re the only one who can handle it."

"Wan Zhen," Su Ran glared at Lian Wan Zhen.

He immediately chuckled sheepishly, "Mom, I’m happy today. I’ll remember next time, to pick up the chopsticks and try the dish first. I’ll take the dishes out."

"Hmm, the dishes are almost ready. Go see if Mu Su has returned."

"Got it," Lian Wan Zhen cheerfully agreed, picking up a dish with one hand and turning to say, "Qian Chen, let’s go."

With that, he strode outside.

Qian Chen was still chewing on that piece of meat. He casually picked up the remaining dish and also left the kitchen.

With their departure, the kitchen was suddenly empty. Su Ran chuckled and shook her head, exchanging a smile with Lih Qingshu before starting on another dish.

Outside in the courtyard, Lian Changhe was pacing back and forth, rubbing his hands, beaming with joy. The dishes were ready, the lamps lit, the wine brought out, the sun was about to set, and the feast was almost ready to start. Everyone had finished their preparations, but the person hadn’t returned yet, and he was anxious.

"Son-in-law, shall I go check if the eldest son has come back?" Wang San limped over, being idle too.

Lian Changhe turned to look at him and suddenly slapped his forehead, "Good lad, you’ve reminded me. Let me go have a look myself."

He remembered to send Wu Sheng to check but had forgotten that he could go have a look himself.

Having said this, he quickly walked to the door in Wang San’s silent company.

He happened to meet Lian Wan Zhen, who had just put down the dishes and was also thinking of going out to check. He yelled, "You little rascal, where are you off to? Instead of watching over your mother by the stove, what are you doing here?"

If he hadn’t been sent out, how would this lad have gotten the chance?

Lian Wan Zhen stopped, "Dad, Mom asked me to check if elder brother has come back."

Lian Changhe briskly walked over, naturally slapping Lian Wan Zhen hard on the back of his head, "I’ll go check. You go back and tend the fire. If you dare let your mother get tired, just wait and see how I’ll deal with you."

"Oh..." Lian Wan Zhen touched his head and went back.

Lian Changhe reached the door and flung it open with one swing.

He saw a familiar-looking old man, skinny as a strip of cured meat, shaking hands raised as if about to knock at the door.

Lian Changhe almost jumped in surprise, but he had no interest in dealing with this old man. He stretched his neck to look past him outside.

For some reason, the old man kept smiling at him, somewhat irritatingly. He moved left, and the old man also moved left. He moved right, and the old man moved right, still waving his hand in front of his face.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and the anxiety on his face turned into excitement and exhilaration.

The old man noticed his excitement, and couldn’t hide his own excitement, stammering:

"Brother Changhe!"

"You’ve finally come back!"

Both spoke at the same time.

Lian Bingcheng was stunned. Had Brother Changhe known in advance that he was coming?

The next moment, Lian Changhe began to laugh heartily, opening his arms joyfully.

Lian Bingcheng immediately cast aside his doubts and couldn’t help but join in the laughter, opening his arms and walking towards Lian Changhe. This was his Brother Changhe, the Brother Changhe he had missed for so many years.

But in the next instant, he was dumbstruck, lunging into thin air, stumbling almost enough to break his old bones.

With arms wide open, Lian Changhe agilely sidestepped the old man in front of him and strode happily towards the person behind: "My son, you’ve finally come back, your father’s heart has been aching for you."

He approached Lian Musu and excitedly embraced him: "I always knew, when it comes to studying, it had to be you. All the brains in the Lian Family for studying seem to reside solely in you—it’s not wasted, not wasted at all, hahahaha..."

Lian Musu, feeling helpless, watched as his father blissfully ignored the Clan Uncle as if he hadn’t seen him, thankfully not going so far as to push the Clan Uncle over.

While enjoying his father’s warm reception, Lian Musu gently reminded him, "Father, father..."

He called out several times, but Lian Changhe showed no response, still immersed in his excitement: "When Wan Zhen was born, you were only three years old, yet you could clearly understand what ’Qilin’ meant. Even then, father could see you were destined for greatness. Indeed, you started learning a year ahead of others, clamoring to study at only three and a half. While other kids started at five, you had already mastered the Three Character Classic and Thousand Character Classic, making even your father feel inadequate..."

"You were well born, inheriting much from your mother. While others were still playing with mud, you were already engrossed in books, braving the harsh cold and scorching heat. Your second brother was able to give up literature for martial arts, and your third brother could afford to be a carefree pharmacologist, all thanks to you. You bore the burden of the books they should have read, even the portion that should have fallen on father. You’ve worked hard..."

Lian Changhe grew more excited and pleased with each word, nearly starting from when Lian Musu was in his mother’s womb, recounting how he recognized Lian Musu’s potential and how painfully hard Lian Musu worked to read on behalf of the entire family.

Lian Musu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. His father’s words were truly too outrageous. He studied simply because he loved reading. Yet his father, very seriously, believed that he had taken on the family’s academic burden. That was one thing, but the truly crucial issue was that his second brother also firmly believed it, agreeing with what their father said.

At this moment, the scene was such: Lian Bingcheng stood with his mouth open in the middle of the wide-open doors, his hands still slightly outstretched, his eyes in shock as he watched his Brother Changhe, ignoring him as he passed by and directly embraced Lian Musu.

He stood there stunned, watching Lian Changhe embrace the person, then beginning to excitedly wail.

Lian Musu stood about five or six steps away from Lian Bingcheng, feeling both touched and helpless as he let his father embrace him, unable to even draw his father’s attention with his reminders.

About three steps to the left of Lian Musu was Wu Sheng, grinning broadly. He had been called by Lian Changhe not long before to check if Lian Musu had returned at the crossroads. He hadn’t waited long before he arrived, and they came back together.

Wu Sheng was one of the people who could most appreciate Lian Changhe’s happiness, having reveled in the news of the young master’s excellent exam results, his mouth hadn’t stopped smiling.

In this situation, Lian Musu could do nothing but apologetically shake his head at the stunned Lian Bingcheng at the doorway.

The latter was still somewhat dazed. Seeing Lian Changhe so excited, but not for him, was completely different from what he had initially thought, creating a significant discrepancy that left him unable to recover for a while.