Tang Si stepped forward, frowning, "Didn't they say my second brother was here? Where is he?"
"Far away, yet right before your eyes."
Meng Jingwei raised one eyebrow, gesturing for Tang Si to look at the man behind him.
Tang Si and Shi Ran turned, their gazes falling on the man with an ordinary appearance, a mole on his face, and dark skin. They didn't notice anything unusual.
"What, you don't recognize me?"
Qing Muye placed his hands in the pockets of his loose trousers, raising his eyebrows slightly, a half-smile on his lips.
"Second brother?"
"Mr. Qing… Mr. Qing?"
Since arriving at the Yin Clan, Qing Muye had been speaking in a false voice, deliberately disguising himself. Coupled with his changed appearance, neither of them had suspected anything.
Now that he was speaking in his original voice, they immediately recognized his identity.
"My goodness, Mr. Qing, you really aren't dead? I didn't believe Tang Si when he told me."
Shi Ran found it incredible, her mouth agape in surprise.
After a moment of stunned silence, she walked up to Qing Muye and pinched his arm. "You're actually alive. Are you really Mr. Qing?"
The scene of Qing Muye's funeral flashed in her mind. Now that Qing Muye was standing before her, it felt like a dream.
No, it was too fantastical.
"Genuine." Qing Muye smiled faintly.
"Tsk tsk, second brother, it's one thing to disguise yourself as ugly, but to be this ugly! If I were Little Chili, I'd have nightmares seeing your incredibly ugly face every day," Tang Si couldn't help but tease.
Qing Muye kicked him in the back of the knee. "Get lost."
The few people looked at each other and smiled, their laughter echoing in the private room.
After they were seated, Qing Muye brewed tea. Shi Ran held Meng Jingwei's hand, as if she had discovered a new continent. "Sister Wei, you're amazing! You're the young mistress of the Yin Clan, and I had no idea! Also, you know, from the moment I entered the Yin Clan, I felt like I had time-traveled. Everything here feels like a dream. Having seen skyscrapers, looking at these eaves and dougong structures really makes it feel like ancient times. Also, when did you know you were the young mistress of the Yin Clan? Did you know all along that Mr. Qing was alive?"
Shi Ran's mind was filled with a hundred thousand questions.
From the moment she entered, she had been holding Meng Jingwei's hand, constantly asking questions.
Meng Jingwei patiently explained the entire situation to Shi Ran, who then began to understand.
However, she still found it difficult to adjust to seeing Qing Muye in Yin Clan attire.
"Did you only arrive today?"
Meng Jingwei picked up a cup of tea, took a sip of the fragrant brew, and asked casually, "How many days did the journey take?"
"From Country C to here, it took ten days," Tang Si calculated carefully, giving Meng Jingwei a precise answer.
She gripped her cup, her eyelids lifting slightly as she looked at Qing Muye. "Old Shen lied to me."
She had previously asked Old Shen, who said the Yin Clan's young master succession ceremony was still two months away. Why did they have to rush to the Yin Clan? Old Shen had said at the time that if they waited a few more days, they wouldn't be able to enter.
But Tang Si and the others had entered the Yin Clan smoothly.
"Master Shen is very controlling. If you spent one more day with the children in Lan Cheng, he would worry that you might change your mind. He wanted you to come early to help you adapt to life in the Yin Clan. I guess he really hopes you can adapt here and stay."
To retain someone, one must have advantages that impress them.
The Yin Clan, with its picturesque scenery and simple folk customs, was indeed its greatest advantage.