Chapter 41: A Family of Monsters

  Chen Yi saw a young woman in simple and elegant attire walking out of the inner room.

  This was a very young and beautiful woman he had never seen before in the inner chamber. After seeing her clearly, Chen Yi was shocked and stunned. It was the same as when he crossed into the Tang Dynasty, the very beautiful girl he saw in his dream before waking up, although dressed differently, but with almost the same expression. And after taking a closer look at her eyes, Chen Yi immediately confirmed that this person was indeed He Mian, who had accompanied him and He Lan Sheng for drinks that day. When he saw He Mian wearing men's clothing that day, Chen Yi felt a sense of familiarity from her eyebrows and eyes, as if they had met before, only the image in his dream was of a girl in full dress, which was very different from when she wore men's clothing.

  Many times, people rely on their attire, especially those who are vaguely familiar but whose faces are not clearly visible. Under similar dressing conditions, one would feel that this is the person they know, and before that, it was just suspicion. Chen Yi has such a feeling now.

  The world is too wonderful, Chen Yi was shocked when he recognized He Min as the woman he had seen in his dreams when he crossed over, and he stared blankly at the beautiful woman walking towards him, feeling a bit unsure of what to think or how to face her.

  He Lansheng and He Min both saw Chen Yi's surprised look, He Min was worried about his mother's illness and eagerly wanted to know how his mother's condition was after Chen Yi's examination. Due to some special factors, he didn't pay much attention to Chen Yi's gaze, which was staring at him without restraint, but instead had a somewhat calm acceptance. On the other hand, He Lansheng saw everything clearly.

  "Chen Gongzi, I'm so sorry!" He Lan Sheng explained with a hint of embarrassment, "This is the one who drank with you that day, my... sister. She's actually a girl, my sister not brother. That day, I was afraid of getting into trouble, so she dressed up as a boy. When introducing her to Chen Gongzi, I also introduced her as my younger brother..." After finishing, he showed a hint of bitter smile, he didn't expect his sister would disobey him and run out to ask Chen Yi about their mother's illness.

  He Lan Sheng's words made Chen Yi come to his senses, and he also apologized according to He Lan Sheng's words, "Mr. He, I said why I felt... she was so familiar, it turned out that she was the He... Min... who had a drink with us that day." He bowed to He Min, "I have met Miss He before, please don't mind my rudeness just now!"

  He Min's appearance was too stunning, making people feel a bit afraid to look directly at her. Chen Yi's "discernment" plummeted, and he couldn't even take a close look at the beauty after she transformed back into a woman, or what differences there were compared to when she was dressed as a man.

  "My brother said so," Chen Yi said, and then apologized to her for his careless gaze just now. He Mian didn't want to continue asking about their mother's illness either, so he bowed and replied: "Master Chen doesn't have to be like this, I was the one who was rude just now, and before that, it was my brother and I who deceived you, we should be the ones apologizing..." As she spoke, she flashed a faint smile at Chen Yi, but it vanished in an instant.

  He Min's smile made Chen Yi feel a bit dazzled, and he also felt his heart beating violently, waving his hand in a flustered manner, "Miss He, don't say that, I know you had your own difficulties when you hid your identities back then..."

  "Mr. Chen, I'll explain this to you later, please forgive me!" He Lansheng smiled bitterly again and said to his sister: "Minyue, just now Mr. Chen said that mother's fever has gone down a lot, her breathing and heartbeat are also stable, she's out of danger, and she might wake up soon, so don't worry! Otherwise, why don't you go rest for a while, I'll stay with Mr. Chen?"

  "No, brother, Minyue is not tired. I'm also worried about mother's illness and want to stay by her side," He Min said with a smile at Chen Yi, with some special meaning in his eyes. "Chen Gongzi, let my brother keep you company, I'll go in to accompany Mother..."

  He Min's clear eyes made Chen Yi feel a bit unreal, he really wanted to stay with this beautiful little girl for a while longer, but couldn't say it out loud. Seeing He Min bowing and preparing to enter the house, he suddenly found the courage to stop her, saying: "Miss He, it's better if there are fewer people around your mother, let her rest well, having maids by her side is enough... too many people, especially close relatives, will affect her recovery..."

  "Oh?" He Min responded with a hesitant tone, stopping in her tracks as she looked at her brother and then at Chen Yi, clearly uncertain.

  "Minyue, Chen Gongzi said that mother needs to rest and should avoid too much disturbance. You don't need to go in, just let Xuer and Xiaomin accompany her." He Lansheng said, rushing towards Chen Yi with a fist, pointing at the tea table, "Chen Gongzi, let's talk over there!"

  "Congratulations, young master and young mistress!" Chen Yi replied with a hint of mischief in his heart. He followed He Lansheng to the edge of the couch, sat down cross-legged, while He Min hesitated for a moment before sitting down on the other side of the couch, just like they did that day at the Qujiang Pool banquet.

  The people below sent tea and some snacks. He Lan Sheng personally filled Chen Yi's cup with tea, then filled his own and He Min's cups, raised his cup and said: "Mr. Chen, your friend has come to visit, originally we should treat him with good wine, but today my mother is ill, it's really not suitable for drinking, so I'll use tea instead of wine, a toast to you, thank you Mr. Chen for coming over to diagnose my mother's illness, in the future I will certainly repay you with great courtesy!

  "Thank you, young master!" Chen Yi smiled and shook his head, saying: "I don't want any thanks from you, Master He. I have some basic medical knowledge, and we're friends, so it's only natural that we'd help each other out. We've known each other for a long time, and we often drink together, compose poetry, and enjoy music - it's all very pleasant! Your mother fell ill, and coming to diagnose her is simply the right thing to do. If you keep talking about thanks and no thanks, that would be too formal!"

  "The young master is right, I've fallen into a cliché," He Lansheng self-deprecatingly smiled, but immediately stopped smiling and spoke seriously: "Master Chen, today I also want to apologize to you first. Due to unavoidable circumstances, back then I intentionally concealed our true names and identities from you..."

  "He Gongzi has his own difficulties, I understand it myself and don't need to explain. I believe that one day when he is free, he will tell me himself!" Chen Yi was still smiling lightly, and also glanced at He Min from time to time with a curious expression.

  The last time he saw this beauty in men's clothing, Chen Yi felt that her gaze at him was a bit strange, with a special flavor. Today is the same, and it feels even more peculiar, making his heart beat faster from time to time!

  "Chen Gongzi doesn't mind, and I'm even more embarrassed!" He Lan Sheng smiled awkwardly, looking at his unnatural sister, and lowered his tone: "Chen Gongzi, actually my surname is not He, but a compound surname He-Lan, named Minzhi, courtesy name Changzhu. This is my younger sister He Lan Minyue. Our father passed away early, and in the mansion, there's only our mother and us living together. We didn't tell you these things before..."

  Although he had already guessed He Lan Sheng's true identity, Chen Yi was still very surprised to have it confirmed by the other party. "So you are He Lan Gongzi and He Lan Xiao Niangzi...and your mother is Madame Korea..."

  It's indeed that demonic family recorded in history!