Chapter 724: I Want That Person to Personally Welcome You Into the City

At that moment, Ye Qianning understood the meaning of family, the meaning of home.

No matter what she had become, she would always have a place to belong with them.

"Dad, it’s so good to have you all." At that moment, Ye Qianning felt as if a sun had risen in her heart, filling her chest with warmth.

Ten years had been a difficult ordeal, but now, she felt that all her perseverance had been worth it.

A smile graced the faces of Xiang Minghou, Zhan Chi, and Qian Fanji.

It was a smile that had been absent from their faces for ten long years...

Xiang Minghou reached out to stroke her hair, the moment feeling almost unreal. "No, I’m the one who’s truly blessed to have you."

Ye Qianning broke into a wide grin.

That smile reminded them of her when she was a little girl.

Their gazes softened.

"The chefs at the Immortal Sea Building are quite good. You should eat more from now on and build yourself up," Qian Fanji said with a smile.

"Mhm." Ye Qianning nodded emphatically and turned to Zhan Chi. "Mr. Zhan, how is my Great-Grandpa Gu? His condition wasn’t good when I left, and I’ve been worried about him all these years."

Zhan Chi’s expression instantly turned solemn. "Not well."

"What do you mean, ’not well’?" Ye Qianning’s heart clenched.

"He was doing alright for the first few years. My father kept giving him the medicine you left behind. But about five or six years ago, his mental state started to decline. Now... he doesn’t recognize anyone." Zhan Chi didn’t tell her that if Great-Grandpa Gu hadn’t, during a moment of clarity, told his father that Ye Qianning would return, the old man likely wouldn’t have held on for so many years.

Although he was still alive, his mind was no longer clear. What Zhan Chi didn’t tell her was that while Great-Grandpa Gu recognized no one, he would call anyone he met "little lass" or "great-granddaughter."

Ye Qianning’s eyes welled up again. Ten years was too long.

It was far too long. Great-Grandpa Gu was about her master’s age, and he had been elderly even back then. After such a traumatic shock, the resulting madness was a fatal affliction in itself. To have held on for ten years was a feat beyond any ordinary person.

Upon hearing this, the light in Xiang Minghou’s eyes dimmed as well. He hadn’t set foot in the Capital City for ten years and knew little of the Gu family’s affairs. He did, however, know a bit about the Zhan family’s standing in the imperial court.

"After the Four-Nation Business Conference is over, and after I’ve gone to see Fourth Granny, I’m going to Beili." Ye Qianning was worried about Fourth Granny, too. ’How many decades does an elderly person have left? I’m afraid that Fourth Granny might also be...’

"You’re going to Beili?" Xiang Minghou looked up.

"Mhm. There are many scores from back then that need to be settled."

"I’ll go with you, then."

"I’ll go as well."

"Dad, Mr. Qian, it’s better if you two don’t show yourselves for the time being," Ye Qianning said.

"Absolutely not."

"Absolutely not."

Xiang Minghou and Qian Fanji spoke in unison.

"Dad, you were banished from the Capital City. The Emperor himself issued the order forbidding you from ever returning. Mr. Qian, the same goes for you."

Xiang Minghou was completely against it. "I can’t rest easy letting you go back alone."

"She won’t be alone. I’m going back to Beili with her," Zhan Chi interjected.

Xiang Minghou shot him a cool glance. "And you think you can protect her?"

"The political waters in the Capital City run even deeper than before. I won’t be at ease with only Zhan Chi by her side," Qian Fanji added, also disapproving.

But at this, Zhan Chi laughed, a different quality to his voice. "Do you all still think I’m the same reckless, empty-headed brat I was back then?"

’I haven’t been sitting idle for the past ten years.’

"Exactly! We have Mr. Zhan. He’s in command of the Grand Military Camp now. Dad, Mr. Qian, you can rest easy." Ye Qianning spoke again before they could reply. "It’s not that I don’t want you both with me. It’s that I want that man to personally welcome you back into the city."

’I’ll make everyone in the Capital City watch. However they were thrown out is how they’ll come crawling back to beg you to return!’