Chapter 1032 Her heart was filled with bitterness.

Everyone was incredibly envious.

"Gold?"

"Which goldsmith made this? It's so beautiful!"

"This work must have taken a lot of time to make; Uncle-Master, you've really put in a lot of effort."

Tu Dan'er placed his hand on Zhang Chengxuan's shoulder. "Master, you must be so touched. This is something that anyone would love. Next time it's my birthday, you can give me one too, okay?"

Zhang Chengxuan flicked his whisk at his calf, "Dream on, I'm not as generous as your uncle. My gold still has its uses."

"What's the use? It's all gone by now, probably given to some big shot who spends money like water." Tu Dan'er huddled together, sitting on a chair and rubbing his calves. "Master, please go easy on me. I'm your beloved disciple. If you hurt me, I'm worried you'll be sad and upset."

Zhang Chengxuan laughed in exasperation, holding up the palm-sized gold ornament and looking at Song Chunxue, "Junior brother, this is too precious, let's get another one."

The box of things his junior brother gave him before were things he had pawned when he needed money while traveling a few years ago.

I don't know how my junior brother found it.

He had a jade pendant, which was a gift from his mother.

When he saw the gift, he sat there motionless for a full half hour.

Therefore, he dared not bring it out in front of the younger generation, fearing that he might lose control of his emotions and shed tears in front of the children, thus ruining his reputation for life.

“It’s alright, senior brother. I know you’ve already spent all the stuff you took from that underground vault. But mine is still here, and I still have most of it. This little bit isn’t much. If you like it, I’ll give you this every year from now on.”

"..."

"..."

"..."

Everyone paused for a moment, then turned around and raised their hands.

“Master, I want one too. I want to receive one every year from now on.”

"Uncle-Master, have you struck it rich again? How can you be so arrogant? We took the stuff together, but we all know you took box after box, giving it to Meiyang's Sword Academy for business, and even giving a box to that white-bearded immortal so you could use his teleportation array to visit Lord Xie every time, but..."

Zhang Chengxuan stepped on his foot and said, "Too much talk leads to mistakes. His mouth is like a pea pod, constantly popping out."

Song Chunxue said helplessly, "You've misunderstood. I'm just stingy. I don't usually give them to the soldiers on the border or to the people in areas with severe droughts and floods. I'm not like your master, who loves his country and people and cares about all living beings."

“That’s not quite right. Every time I go out, you still give me money to give to those people,” Zhang Chengxuan corrected. “Junior Brother is thrifty and manages his money wisely. He earns and spends, and Xie Zheng often tells me that…”

As he was speaking, he quickly changed his words, "When Xie Zheng wrote to me, he said that thanks to you, he has lived a comfortable and prosperous life on the border these past few years, which has made the other soldiers very envious."

"Wait a minute, senior brother, do you two often contact each other behind my back?" Song Chunxue raised an eyebrow. "And you contact each other more often than I do?"

"No, Lord Xie is very busy with official duties and only occasionally exchanges letters," Zhang Chengxuan replied seriously. "You communicate by telegram over long distances, so our letters are naturally different."

Song Chunxue didn't believe it; she always felt that the two of them were hiding something from her.

But it might not be a good idea for her to ask directly.

She tried to describe the feeling, but she was very careful and found many things quite uncomfortable.

As it turned out, the two of them got along very well, even better than she and Xie Zheng.

Hey, he turned around and avoided her, like he was on guard against her.

She's not a teenager or a woman in her twenties, nor is she a petty, jealous, and nitpicky little woman, so how could she...

Well, I guess I didn't tell her because I was thinking about her temper; she can be quite volatile sometimes, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to explain things to her clearly in a short time.

Beyond the surprise, I felt mostly relieved.

She had long noticed that Xie Zheng had been subtly trying to please his senior brother over the past few years. Every time they met, before she returned, he would ask her to bring something back for his senior brother and give it to him at a suitable time.

Thinking of this, Song Chunxue crossed her legs and teased her senior brother.

"I feel like the bond between you two is deeper than the one between me and Xie Zheng. This pure and simple affection, unrelated to any other emotions, makes me envious, but also a little jealous." She unconsciously swung her toes. "Tsk, I should have known better than to believe your encouragement in the first place."

Master Zhang chuckled and poured her a glass of wine.

"Come on, you're really getting the better of me and then acting innocent. If you're so capable, why don't you back out now, sever ties with Xie Zheng, and let him go to the previous dynasty to rise to prominence without any hindrance?"

“Even if I hadn’t brought you two together, you would have ended up together anyway,” Zhang Chengxuan said irritably. “I just can’t stand seeing you two taking it so slow, having the desire but not the courage, and acting all coy and hesitant, planning to keep it all bottled up inside for the rest of your lives. It really makes me feel bad for you.”

Song Chunxue wanted to say something more, but seeing her other apprentices eating while listening intently to their conversation, she changed the subject.

She was just about to say that she would go down the mountain to see Sanwa and tell him a few things.

Unexpectedly, a short while later, they heard someone talking outside the door.

A short while later, Sanwa came in from the doorway.

"Master Zhang, I've come to see you." Sanwa, wearing a sky-blue cloak, came in with a smile.

They didn't even ask her, their own mother, first.

Song Chunxue sighed inwardly. Sure enough, that's what mothers are like. In front of their children, the older they get, the more they act like children.

Seeing him grinning like a silly kid in front of his senior brother, Song Chunxue felt both gratified and heartbroken.

Life is rarely perfect, which is why some things seem especially precious.

Although their biological father left them early, the appearance of her senior brother was even more important to Sanwa than her, his mother.

Xie Zheng also favored Sanwa, and always tried to get her to pass on the books he had collected and the manuals he had personally edited and revised to Sanwa.

Changfeng came over and said, "Master, why don't you go and say something? You're nodding and shaking your head, and you look rather pitiful."

"That's right, Jiang Yexun is your son, not my master's. If this continues, I'm worried..."

"Hey, you little bumpkin, come here." Zhang Chengxuan seemed to have eyes and ears in the back of his head. "Go fetch a pot of water to make tea."

"Okay, I know." Tu Dan'er grabbed a small twisted dough stick and put it in his mouth. "It's your birthday today, so I won't argue with you."

"Sanwa, what gift did you prepare for your senior brother?" Song Chunxue asked curiously when she saw Sanwa nervously wiping his palms on his lap.

Sanwa was a little embarrassed. "If I don't tell you, you'll find out later."

"Mother, may I practice with the Taoist priest on the mountain tomorrow?"

"Fine, can I object?" Song Chunxue looked at the obedient Changfeng and Changyun beside her. "They say they are my disciples, and that my senior brother has taken on the most. I have no idea how to take on disciples; I would easily mislead them."

Actually, she felt really sad inside.