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At Lihua Lane
A family with the last name Zheng resided next door to Su Xiaoxiao.
The Zheng family's old master was already in his seventies, a life expectancy that hardly everyone could attain.
Because of that, he didn’t sleep much.
While the sky was still pitch-black, he had already risen and was strolling in his courtyard.
He faintly heard the sound of a horse snorting outside, which struck him as odd.
Curious, he quietly pushed open the gate by just a crack and took a peek.
What he saw was a tall, burly man with both hands tucked into his sleeves, squatting against the wall.
At first glance, it looked as though a big black bear was crouched there.
The sight nearly scared the soul right out of old man Zheng!
But that ‘big black bear’ was no stranger, it was none other than Qin Canglan, who had been waiting there the whole night.
After leaving the palace, Qin Canglan had first gone to the Duke Protector’s estate to give Steward Cen a few instructions, and then headed straight for the Qin family’s horse ranch.
He selected two fine Mongolian horses, then rode tirelessly until he reached this place.
He didn’t actually need to wait here through the night.
He could have gone home to rest and come back once daylight broke.
But he simply couldn’t bring himself to do that.
Once upon a time, Qin Canglan wasn’t someone afraid of life and death.
Even at his age, he never really thought about how many days he had left.
Yet ever since Su Xiaoxiao had returned to the capital, all of a sudden, he felt that his life was too short.
It was as if… the past thirty years had all been lived in vain.
He didn’t have another thirty years to start over, so even being able to see them for one more look, even just one glance, was something immeasurably precious to him.
The alley was wet and freezing after the storm. The gout in his right hand had returned.
He carried some pain-relief powder on him, but he refused to take it.
He didn’t want to risk falling asleep, so he endured the pain instead.
Finally, dawn broke.
After finishing breakfast and some pastries, Su Xiaoxiao prepared to head to the market to buy some fresh vegetables.
As the temperature gradually warmed up, vegetables didn’t keep well, so people usually went to buy them fresh early in the morning.
The moment the courtyard gate was pulled open, Qin Canglan shot to his feet.
“Da- Daya… hiss—”
His legs had gone numb.
Qin Canglan’s face twisted into one of pure agony.
Su Xiaoxiao gave him a strange look.
“You’ve been here for a while? Why didn’t you knock?”
Qin Canglan grinned widely, flashing all his teeth. “No, I just got here!”
Yeah, as if anyone would believe that.
Su Xiaoxiao’s gaze swept over him and the two fine horses standing outside. “Come in.”
“Yes!”
Qin Canglan limped into the courtyard, leading the two horses inside.
The horses were meant for Su Cheng and Su Ergou, he had noticed last time that Su Ergou was itching to ride.
“This is for you.”
Qin Canglan pulled out a brocade box he had been clutching close to his chest for a long time.
Su Xiaoxiao accepted it, opened the lid, and inside were three pairs of bracelets: one of tourmaline, one of fine mutton-fat jade, and another of blood jade.
Most people are given bracelets one at a time. But he, on the other hand, stuffed six of them into a single box, it was nearly too full to close.
“I didn’t know what you liked…” Qin Canglan admitted, a little embarrassed.
He hadn’t been around to watch them grow up, so he knew nothing of their preferences.
Su Ergou’s and Su Cheng’s tastes weren’t hard to guess, but this girl had never shown much interest in anything.
He really couldn’t see through his chubby little granddaughter.
His only option was to start with a meeting gift that typical young girls enjoyed.
Back then, Huayin had loved these kinds of jewelry and accessories. She’d said that if one day she no longer lived with him, she could always pawn them off for money…
Coincidentally, Su Xiaoxiao thought the exact same thing.
Su Xiaoxiao accepted the box without changing her expression, then went to the kitchen and brought him a bowl of warm millet porridge.
Qin Canglan looked at the porridge on the table, so moved that he nearly burst into tears.