Song Ziwei gasped, her forehead covered in fine beads of sweat. "I went to visit Madam Chen earlier and ran into the Xia family."
Chen Nan's pupils contracted sharply. "The Xia family from Pingyang Town?"
"Yes," Song Ziwei said, her expression complex. "Your father-in-law's father-in-law and mother-in-law have arrived. They came to the Chen family looking for their daughter."
Pfft!
Chen Nan almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
Your father-in-law's father-in-law and mother-in-law.
Listen to that.
What kind of phrasing was that.
He didn't have time to mock Song Ziwei's choice of words and quickly asked, "Where are they now?"
A strong sense of unease rose in Chen Nan's heart.
If the Xia family found the Chen family, his and Xia Youwei's identities would inevitably be exposed.
It would be one thing if the Chen family knew.
But what if the Leng family found out about his relationship with Xia Youwei.
That would cause serious trouble.
Song Ziwei said, "I was worried about the situation being exposed, so I specifically arranged for Miss Xia's parents to stay at the separate courtyard where Madam used to live, and then I came to find you."
"Wait for me, I'll ask for leave," Chen Nan said, returning to the Gong family's ancestral hall. He bowed to Bi Cang and Yuan Zun. "Your subordinate has something to attend to and requests leave."
Yuan Zun felt a hint of displeasure.
What could be more important than receiving an imperial envoy?
Did this kid still want to prosper in the future?
Despite his thoughts, he still said, "You are already on leave. Since you have something to attend to, go handle it!"
"Thank you, sir," Chen Nan bowed and exited the main hall, then he and Song Ziwei quickly sprinted towards the residence where his mother used to live.
Having reached the Cai Yin realm, he moved with incredible speed, leaving Song Ziwei far behind.
Upon arriving at the courtyard his mother lived in.
Chen Nan saw a servant from the Xia family standing at the entrance.
He entered directly and found Xia Youwei's father and mother in the courtyard.
"Junior Chen Nan pays respects to Patriarch Xia and Madam Xia!" Chen Nan bowed to Xia Hou and Wang Qiang.
"Hmph!"
Xia Hou let out a heavy snort. "Young Master Chen is now the Leng family's son-in-law, a favored individual of Lord Yuan. How could a humble commoner like me accept your bow?"
"Do not mock this commoner!"
They knew that coming to Tongcheng to find their daughter was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
It was precisely for this reason that they headed straight for the Chen family.
After all, the Chen family was one of the six great families.
Then.
They encountered Chen Nan's maid, Song Ziwei,
And were brought here.
They had been waiting for over an hour.
This made him agitated.
Seeing Chen Nan further ignited his anger.
Wang Qiang did not mock Chen Nan. She quickly asked, "Young Master Chen, Youwei left a letter saying she came to Tongcheng to find you. Do you know her whereabouts?"
At this moment.
A servant from the Xia family rushed over and said, "Madam, the investigation is complete. Miss has married into the Leng family and has become Chen Nan's mother-in-law."
As soon as these words were spoken.
Xia Hou and Wang Qiang, the husband and wife, abruptly stood up.
Their eyes revealed disbelief.
After regaining their senses, Xia Hou gritted his teeth and stared at Chen Nan. "Is what he said true? Has Youwei truly become your mother-in-law?"
Chen Nan: "Can Mr. Xia dismiss others?"
Xia Hou looked at the servants. "All of you, withdraw!"
The Xia family servants quickly retreated from the courtyard.
Chen Nan said, "What he said is correct. A woman named Xia Youwei did indeed marry my father-in-law and become my mother-in-law. But before you glare, let me finish speaking."
"However, that person is not Youwei herself, but a demon."
"The real Youwei has been properly placed by me, so you two elders need not worry."
Both Xia Hou and Wang Qiang's eyes showed deep shock.
They never expected a demon to have transformed into their daughter's likeness.
And married into the Leng family.
It was fortunate they hadn't known beforehand.
If they had known their daughter married into the Leng family and came looking for her.
The demon's identity would undoubtedly have been exposed.
At that time, the demon would have likely killed them to silence them.
Not only them.
Even their daughter would have met a terrible fate.
"Where is Youwei now? I want to see her," Xia Hou said, unwilling to rest until he saw his daughter with his own eyes.
"If Mr. Xia wishes to see her, that is also possible, but only the two of you shall know of this matter," Chen Nan said with a solemn expression.
Before the demon at the Leng family was dealt with.
Xia Youwei's matter could not be known by too many people.
The more people knew, the more dangerous her situation would become.
Xia Hou: "Alright."
Following this, Chen Nan led Xia Hou and Wang Qiang away from the separate courtyard.
As soon as they walked out of the alley, Song Ziwei came into view. She was panting, looking exhausted.
"You go back to the Leng family first," Chen Nan said to Song Ziwei. Then, he led Xia Hou and his wife straight to Xia Youwei's residence. On the way, he bought some food for Xia Youwei.
Knock, knock, knock!
Not long after knocking on the door.
A weak voice came from inside. "Coming."
A moment later.
The door opened.
Upon seeing Chen Nan, Xia Youwei said with a face full of resentment, "Didn't you say you were going to buy me breakfast? Why are you back now? Are you trying to starve me to death?"
"If you didn't come back soon, I would have eaten those rotten vegetables in your room."
Before Chen Nan could reply, she saw familiar faces. "Father, Mother, why are you here?"
Xia Hou did not hide his anger. "Chen Nan, you repeatedly said that my daughter was properly settled and that we need not worry.
"It's almost evening, and she hasn't even eaten breakfast. Is this what you call proper settling?"
Chen Nan said with a bitter expression, "Many things happened today, and I was so swamped I didn't have time to bring Youwei food."
Wang Qiang snatched the food Chen Nan had bought and tenderly gave it to their daughter.
Xia Youwei nodded repeatedly, eating heartily while saying softly, "Father, please don't blame Chen Nan. I believe this was not his intention."
"Come, come in and chat," she said, hastily inviting her parents into the separate courtyard.
Upon entering the courtyard, Xia Hou sniffed the air and frowned. "Why is there a rotten smell? Aren't you afraid of getting sick living in a place like this?"
Chen Nan said, "Patriarch Xia, there are many rotten vegetables in the guest room. Those vegetables are for my storage."
"Yes, they are his lifeblood. He said that those vegetables inside can turn into gold nuggets," Xia Youwei said. She never doubted Chen Nan.
But her words struck Xia Hou as incredibly infuriating. "How can vegetables turn into gold nuggets? I'm baffled, what kind of spell has this fellow cast on you to make you so infatuated with him?"
Xia Youwei playfully stuck out her pink tongue.
She never argued with her father.
But she also didn't obey him.
Seeing his daughter remain silent.
Xia Hou felt as if he had punched cotton, and a lot of his anger dissipated.
He looked at Chen Nan indignantly. "Chen, my daughter ended up in this predicament because she was looking for you. Tell me, how do you plan to resolve this mess?"