Chapter 1112: Isn't It Easy to Pick Up a Child?

"Besides, wasn't it all because of you, Uncle Chen? Otherwise, why would I have ever run off to Shangjing City, let alone run into Yan Nantian?"

Ruyi pouted, looking utterly wronged.

Chen Changsheng blinked. "Because of me?"

"Yeah."

Ruyi nodded. "Someone in Shangjing City wanted to find you. When they couldn't, they tracked me down instead, saying they hoped I'd let him know if I bumped into you."

"Who was it?"

"That blind old man. Aren't you the one who had him set up White Night for you?"

Chen Changsheng paused for a moment before he finally remembered.

"Oh..."

He nodded. "Right, there was something like that."

Ruyi blinked. "Uncle Chen, don't tell me you forgot about it yourself."

"Not exactly," Chen Changsheng said. "With so many things happening, my memory inevitably gets a bit muddled. If you hadn't brought it up, I probably wouldn't have remembered, but I didn't completely forget, either."

Ruyi let out an "oh," then asked, "Are you going to Shangjing then, Uncle Chen?"

Chen Changsheng thought about it. "I'll just have someone deliver a letter. There's really no need to meet in person."

Ruyi nodded. "True. That old man isn't pitiful anyway; he just got what he deserved."

Chen Changsheng gave a hum of agreement, then asked, "Are you hungry?"

"Huh?"

"You just got up; you need to eat."

"Look what time it is. We might as well just wait for lunch."

"Who told you to wake up so late? If I hadn't come over, you would have just slept straight through to noon."

"Hehe..."

"Let's go. Uncle will take you out to eat."

"Okay," Ruyi agreed, then quickly added, "Let's bring Dong Chiyu. I'll go get her."

Ruyi went down to the riverbank and found Dong Chiyu.

Dong Chiyu was sitting on a rock by the river, resting her chin in her hands as she stared at the water. She wasn't busy with anything, just sitting there in a daze.

Ruyi walked over and asked, "What are you spacing out for?"

The moment Dong Chiyu saw her, she immediately thought of that morning when the blanket had been lifted.

She turned her head away to avoid Ruyi's eyes and chided, "You really need to break this habit of sleeping without clothes."

"Hah, you're getting embarrassed again. We're both women, so what are you shy about?"

Dong Chiyu only blushed harder. "Proper young ladies shouldn't do that."

"I'm nearly fifty. I'm an old woman now, hardly a young lady anymore."

"Being older doesn't mean you can just be unreasonable."

"True, but being older means I can spout all the nonsense I want. At my age, of course I can do whatever I please."

Ruyi patted Dong Chiyu's shoulder. "Let's go, let's go. Uncle Chen is taking us to a restaurant for some good food."

Dong Chiyu sighed softly and shook her head. "All you ever do is eat."

"Well, if you don't eat, then don't go. I'll go by myself."

"I'd better come along."

Ruyi crossed her arms. "Look at you, always saying one thing and meaning another. How are you ever going to find a man like this? It'll be a miracle if anyone can figure out what's going on in your head."

Dong Chiyu lowered her head and muttered, "I'm learning from you. I'm not getting married."

"You never learn the good things."

Dong Chiyu shot her a look and brushed past her in a huff, grumbling, "None of your business."

Ruyi turned to watch her go. Seeing her storming off, she hurried after her to keep chatting, not feeling the slightest bit embarrassed.

Once the two returned, Chen Changsheng led them to a nearby restaurant.

Good wine and fine dishes were soon served at their table.

Ruyi ate with great relish. Compared to her lack of manners, Dong Chiyu appeared far more refined, chewing slowly and acting composed. Their personalities were complete opposites, yet they somehow fit perfectly together.

Chen Changsheng spoke up. "Speaking of which, you two girls aren't young anymore. Have you never considered getting married?"

At this, both Ruyi and Dong Chiyu stopped eating.

Ruyi said, "I'm not getting married. Whoever wants to marry can go right ahead."

Dong Chiyu smacked her lips and said, "I'm with her."

Ruyi paused, then hurriedly added, "Don't listen to me! I'm not a good influence. Don't pick up my bad habits."

Dong Chiyu shook her head. "I just don't want to get married."

Chen Changsheng's gaze shifted between the two of them, finding something vaguely strange about this.

He couldn't quite put his finger on it. Ruyi was fine, acting as carefree and unbothered as ever, but the way Miss Dong looked at her always seemed a bit odd.

Chen Changsheng didn't press the issue, simply telling them to eat up.

He had nothing to worry about anyway.

They could handle their own affairs as they pleased.

Wang Sanniang was gone, and this girl still had no desire to marry. While it was a bit of a pity, there was nothing to be done about it. Sanniang likely would have wanted Ruyi to make her own choices anyway.

Just like her name—Ruyi, meaning "as one wishes." She was meant to live entirely unfettered.

Ruyi pondered for a moment, however, before remarking, "Speaking of which, I do think I'll need a child to look after me in my old age."

Dong Chiyu paused and turned to look at her.

Ruyi continued, "I want to just pick one up. An abandoned child will have tasted hardship and matured early, which would save me a lot of worry. I just haven't had the chance."

Dong Chiyu, however, shot her down. "Keep dreaming."

Ruyi retorted, "What do you mean, dreaming? In this day and age, isn't it easy to pick up a child?"

Hearing this, Dong Chiyu couldn't argue. She just gave a helpless nod.

Such was the state of the world.

Qiuyue Fang was still relatively fine, but the closer one got to the former battlefields, the more common it became. By the rivers and under the trees, you could always find abandoned children.

Even in peaceful times, such sights weren't rare, let alone in these chaotic years.

Chen Changsheng spoke up. "I'm afraid you'd end up ruining the child."

"Uncle Chen, what kind of talk is that? In your eyes, is your niece's character really that terrible?"

"Is it not?"

Ruyi shook her head, muttering, "My heart aches..."

"Stop acting," Chen Changsheng laughed.

With that, Ruyi beamed once again and lowered her head to keep eating.

As they ate, Ruyi asked Chen Changsheng where he was staying now. Upon learning he was at Liuyun Temple, it sparked a memory for her.

"A few years ago, I used to hang around the temple a lot. I looked through the books in the Book Pavilion, and I found some handwriting you'd left behind, Uncle."

Chen Changsheng thought back for a moment before saying, "In my early years, I did jot down some insights in a few books. Which ones did you read?"

"That copy of the Supreme Scripture of Emotionless Dao."

"Ah, that book..."

Chen Changsheng vaguely remembered what he had written.

He said, "Back then, I read that book several times, but I always felt it didn't suit me. Over all these years away, as time passed, I slowly gained some understanding of it. This so-called supreme detachment from emotions isn't actually meant to make a person forget their desires and emotions entirely; its deeper meaning lies in controlling them. My comprehension wasn't high enough back then to grasp it, but looking back on it now, I realize how extraordinary that book truly is."