“Young Prime Minister is right. My son is unruly and no longer a child. If he is not severely punished this time, he will cause even greater trouble in the future.”

Huang Zhen remained kneeling on the ground and said sincerely, "My Huang family is not just Huang Hua. I have an elderly mother to support and two children to raise. He can bear the consequences of what Huang Hua has caused today, but what if he causes trouble in the future that will drag the whole family down with him?"

Huang Zhen shook his head and sighed, "As the head of the family, I can't only think about Huang Hua!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Cheng and Xiao Luofeng exchanged a glance, knowing that Huang Zhen was sincere.

Unlike the society of Zhao Cheng's previous life, this ancient society contained something extremely terrifying.

It's called "implicity by association".

One person's mistake, the whole family has to pay the price.

In more serious cases, teachers, students, close friends, and even neighbors can be implicated.

It's absolutely outrageous!

When Huang Zhen considered this aspect, Zhao Cheng knew that he had truly figured it out.

Huang Zhen was Xiao Luofeng's direct superior, and the two were usually very close. Zhao Cheng knew that Xiao Luofeng was not one to say much, so he came out from behind the table.

"Prefect Huang, if this matter is simply left unresolved, will it leave a lingering resentment in your heart?"

They were all intelligent people. Huang Zhen thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No."

"Then get up."

"Young Prime Minister, you...you don't blame me?"

Zhao Cheng walked over and personally helped Huang Zhen up, solemnly saying, "As a father, how many people can remain calm when they see their son suffering?"

I understand your anger.

"I really admire you for being able to do this."

Zhao Cheng put his hands behind his back and walked towards the hall door, looking outside and saying, "Judging from the speed with which the Prefect subdued the Marquis's archers, the Prefect was prepared in advance. If I'm not mistaken, even without the imperial edict, if Du Laihua really wanted to make a move, you would have intervened to stop him, wouldn't you?"

Huang Zhen clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhao Cheng's back and said, "The Central Secretariat is an office of the imperial court, not the office of Marquis Yanxi!"

"That settles it, doesn't it? The prefect was just momentarily blinded by anger, like a child throwing a tantrum or a girlfriend having a disagreement. Why should I blame you?"

Zhao Cheng turned around, looked at Xiao Luofeng, and smiled, "What do you think, General Longxiang?"

Xiao Luofeng quickly waved his hand and said, "There are no outsiders here, so don't call me that!"

Zhao Cheng walked up to Huang Zhen, patted his arm, and said, "See, Xiao Luofeng doesn't treat you like an outsider."

Huang Zhen was about to kneel down again when Zhao Cheng quickly helped him up. He then took a step back, bowed deeply to Zhao Cheng and Xiao Luofeng, and said, "Young Prime Minister and General Longxiang are so magnanimous. I, Huang Zhen, am deeply grateful!"

"Let's put this matter behind us. From now on, you just need to educate and discipline Huang Hua more."

With that, Zhao Cheng pulled Huang Zhen to the seat of honor and said, "Now we should get down to business."

Huang Zhen asked, "Is it about Chen Hai?"

Zhao Cheng gave a thumbs up and said, "The governor is not bedridden; he clearly has the nation's well-being at heart!"

"This matter, Commander Xiao!" Huang Zhen realized his mistake and corrected himself, saying, "General Longxiang..."

Xiao Luofeng interrupted Huang Zhen, cupped his fists and said, "Although I have been appointed as a general, I have not yet gone to Changsui to receive the investiture, and His Majesty has not assigned me any new work, so I am currently still the garrison commander of Qingdong City. Please give me your orders, Prefect!"

Zhao Cheng also said, "Prefect Huang, don't feel pressured. Just consider this Xiao Luofeng's last job as the city garrison commander."

“Alright!” Huang Zhen wasn’t one to mince words, and immediately got to work, saying, “I’ve analyzed Chen Hai’s statement, and I do have some ideas…”

Before Huang Zhen could finish speaking, the eunuch Jin, who had left earlier, returned.

"Young Prime Minister, General Longxiang, Prefect Huang..."

Panting, Eunuch Jin clasped his hands in greeting to the three of them and said, "I was in such a hurry just now that I almost forgot something important."

"Please go ahead!" Zhao Cheng patted Eunuch Jin on the back, thinking to himself, "Who told you to rush off like that!"

"This is not an imperial edict, but His Majesty's oral decree." Eunuch Jin clasped his hands in a fist salute to the west, looked at Xiao Luofeng, and said, "His Majesty hopes that when General Longxiang goes to Changsui, he can take the brother and sister Zhou Chuan and Zhou Nuo with him."

"His Majesty said that although the brother and sister do not hold official positions, they have remained loyal to General Longxiang during the national crisis and played a vital role. They are truly righteous men of the nation. His Majesty wishes to meet them, and so do the ministers."

Xiao Luofeng looked at Zhao Cheng, who nodded slightly.

“Alright! I will try to contact them. If I can find them, I will definitely bring them with me to Changsui,” Xiao Luofeng said, clasping his hands in a fist salute.

"Very well, then this servant will take her leave!"

After saying this, Eunuch Jin turned and left.

Zhao Cheng called out, "Father-in-law, why don't you stay another night..."

"Let's go! We're not used to sleeping outside!" Grandpa Jin dashed out and disappeared through the moon gate in the distance in the blink of an eye, as if he had the wind on his feet.

"Little Jin is really anxious!" Zhao Cheng chuckled, then turned around and said, "I'm not from the Central Secretariat. You can discuss the matter of catching spies; I won't keep you company."

Zhao Cheng and Zhao Wu arrived at a secluded corner of the central government office, where starfruit branches fell from the tree.

"Someone even my sister couldn't catch, is he also a grandmaster?"

"At the summit of Yanshan Mountain, the Liu family cultivates lotus."

If Zhao Wu had spoken like that, Zhao Cheng would have definitely smacked him on the back of the head and made him speak like a human being. But since it was Yang Taozhi who said it, Zhao Cheng could only force a smile and say, "Sister, I haven't read many books..."

"This person's martial arts skills are average, but he is from the Liu family of Yanshan."

Seeing that Zhao Cheng still looked confused, Yang Taozhi explained, "Yanshan is towering and steep, and there are few people from the mountainside down. But it is said that the Liu family, who live on the mountain, can grow snow lotus on the top and make money by selling this rare snow lotus."

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