Zhang Li was somewhat lost in thought. After his daughter finished speaking, he was filled with mixed feelings and didn't know what to say for a moment.

Does the daughter mean that the deer is not doing well these days?

Obviously, there's nothing wrong with what he said...

In the ensuing silence, Zhang Zisheng continued:

“Father, my second brother had a quarrel with you back then, and then left home for several years without returning or sending you a single letter.”

"Now that all these years have passed, have you ever looked back and reflected on it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Li's breath hitched. His throat bobbed, but before he could speak, his thoughts were drawn back to a day several years ago.

That day was a midsummer night, but there was no sound of insects chirping or birds singing; it was a stormy night.

The rain was heavy, almost torrential, with raindrops rolling down and thunder rumbling in the sky. The deep night sky was filled with lightning and thunder, and the thick lightning seemed to tear the sky apart.

The scene of arguing with his second son, Zhang Ye, in the backyard is still vivid in his mind.

That day, in the torrential rain, Zhang Ye's eyes were red, and he was soaked to the bone. He knelt in the rain and roared in a hoarse voice:

"Father! This is blind loyalty! Blind loyalty isn't loyalty! It's stupidity!"

"The Jin family of today has long lost its original innocence; they only care about power and no longer care about the common people!"

"Jin Fengluan thinks she's clever enough to manipulate people, but little does she know she's short-sighted, lacks any magnanimity, and is completely incapable of understanding others!"

"Now that she sits on the throne, she collects exorbitant taxes, builds palaces, and uses the entire world to support her Jin family! The Great Empire will inevitably fall apart under her rule one day!"

"Two years ago, during the Battle of Huichang, my elder brother and Jin Jianren led troops into battle, but my elder brother died under mysterious circumstances. Jin Jianren only said that he was ambushed by the enemy, which is utter nonsense!"

"It was clearly a great victory, but my elder brother, as the commander-in-chief, was killed by the enemy soldiers, while his deputy returned unscathed. Then came the rewards, silver, and land! He took all the credit, and my elder brother was left with the reputation of being blindly arrogant, underestimating the enemy, and falling into an ambush!"

"Every time General Tiger Might wins a battle, he is immediately transferred to fight an even more difficult one! After he wins, that incompetent Huang Long follows behind, reaping the benefits and stealing the credit!"

"It's because Huanglong listens to her in everything; he's her absolute lackey!"

"If General Huwei had followed her orders to lead a large-scale military campaign, he would probably have already died on the battlefield!"

"Father! Do you not understand, or are you pretending not to understand? Is the ruler you are loyal to a true enlightened ruler? Is such a monarch worthy of your loyalty?"

Zhang Li still remembers that when his son got to this point, he scolded him severely and even picked up a whip and lashed him repeatedly.

The rain was heavy, and the thunder roared. The whip never stopped, but Zhang Ye remained silent, simply lowering his head and letting the whip lash his body.

His daughter cried and shouted to stop him, while his younger son, Zhang Jian, tried to stop his older brother from saying anything more. But he was filled with anger and lashed him with the whip again and again, cursing him for being disloyal and unfilial.

He only threw down the whip when his son's clothes were covered in blood and he collapsed in the rain.

Even so, he still remembered the words his son uttered intermittently as he fell to the ground:

"Father, I...I...We shouldn't be loyal to any particular person, but to all the people of this world..."

“The common people are like sheep that are confused and disorderly. We just need to help the lead sheep to lead them. If the lead sheep is a wolf, then we are the executioners of that wolf, helping it to raise its flesh and blood.”

These words were drowned out by the thunder and rain, and he didn't hear a single one of them.

After that day, Zhang Ye left home and was never heard from again for several years...

My thoughts drifted to this point, and then a gust of wind blew by.

The wind blew across Zhang Zisheng's serene face, lifting a strand of her black hair, and also brushing past a few stray white hairs at Zhang Li's temples.

The wind was still blowing, blowing into the ancestral hall, and one of the memorial tablets, perhaps because it hadn't been placed securely, toppled to the ground.

Zhang Zisheng walked over quickly, picked up the memorial tablet, and seeing that it was covered in a bit of dust, she immediately took out a handkerchief and wiped it clean.

That's the memorial tablet for my eldest brother, Zhang Ran, who passed away before he turned thirty.

Just like his name suggests, until the very last moment of his life, he was still burning on the battlefield, driving out foreign invaders and defending Daqian.

However, he did not gain a good reputation back then. Zhang Zisheng remained silent and carefully wiped the memorial tablet.

As they were wiping, an elderly arm reached out – it was Zhang Li's hand.

"Let Dad do it."

Zhang Li spoke softly in a hoarse voice, then took the handkerchief from his daughter's hand and carefully wiped the memorial tablet.

Zhang Zisheng stood quietly to the side, watching her father wipe the memorial tablet, her face calm.

The memorial tablet wasn't very big, but Zhang Li wiped it thoroughly, inside and out, leaving no spot untouched, even though there wasn't a speck of dust left on it.

After a long while, he finally finished wiping it clean, then picked up the memorial tablet and began to place it on the table.

Perhaps it was the earlier gust of wind, or perhaps it was the "reputation" Zhang Ran had left behind before his death, but Zhang Li's hands trembled slightly. He rearranged the memorial tablet several times until he was sure it was placed properly before he put his hands down.

He raised his head, his eyes brimming with tears, and looked at the various memorial tablets.

There are many memorial tablets, representing several generations. The youngest generation, besides the eldest son Zhang Ran, is the youngest son Zhang Jian.

Zhang Jian, the youngest son, died at the hands of the Northern Liang barbarians. That year, he was not yet twenty and was still a passionate young man.

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