Chapter 99 The Suspended Soul Silk Opening
Grandpa Zheng stared at the person in front of him for a long time. He recognized him at a glance. This person who kept saying that he was his brother Jin-ge'er's biological brother was not someone else in disguise. He was his Ping-ge'er who died young.
But how is that possible?
Ping-ge'er died long ago.
So who is this person in front of you?
Could it be that Ping-ge'er's spirit came looking for him after he died?
"Go!" Shao Yanzhe commanded.
Zheng Ziqian immediately pounced on his prey like a hungry tiger, grabbing Old Master Zheng's leg tightly with both hands and wailing, "Father! Your son is really suffering!"
Old Master Zheng shuddered, his finger trembling as he pointed at him, and said sharply, "You! Who exactly are you?"
Even if he recognizes that the person in front of him is his son, he still cannot acknowledge him!
Who knows what this son in front of them is?
While crying, Zheng Ziqian said clearly, "Dad, I am your eldest son, Aping!"
Grandpa Zheng panicked and tried to retreat back inside the door, but his thigh was held tightly and he couldn't move an inch.
What struck him as even more odd was that the hands that were clinging to his thighs were unusually cold, devoid of any human warmth.
The thought that the person clinging to his leg might be a ghost made him tremble all over, and large drops of sweat streamed down his forehead, making him look rather disheveled.
But when he thought of Zheng Huaijin behind him, he immediately found his courage.
"Go away! You wanted money, here you go!"
After he finished speaking, he took out a piece of silver from his sleeve and threw it at his feet.
"Waaaaah! I don't want to! I want to stay here!"
Zheng Ziqian didn't even look at him and refused outright. With his back to the crowd of onlookers, he grinned, this time without restraint, the grin reaching all the way to his ears, revealing his gleaming white teeth.
He lowered his voice and said, "Father, I've come back to see you. Are you happy?"
Old Master Zheng shuddered, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Upon seeing this, the servant quickly stepped forward to help him up.
"Father? Father, what's wrong? Father, you're so happy to see your son, why did you faint from happiness?"
As Zheng Ziqian spoke, he helped up Old Master Zheng, then turned to the onlookers with an anxious expression: "Is there a doctor here? Could you please take a look and see if my father is alright?"
"Let me take a look." A middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd.
He walked to Old Master Zheng's side, placed his fingers on his wrist, and began to take his pulse.
His expression darkened, and he frowned slightly, shaking his head as he looked at Old Master Zheng.
"Is my dad alright?"
"Strange, really strange. The pulse I took indicated that Old Master Zheng had fainted due to excessive fright. How could this be?"
"They were probably too surprised to see me!" Zheng Ziqian casually made up an excuse.
Then, he looked at the servant beside him and said, "Go quickly and call your younger brother out. Tell him that Father has fainted and ask him to come and take a look."
The servant seemed somewhat at a loss when he saw Old Master Zheng faint, but upon hearing Zheng Ziqian's words, he instantly felt reassured and ran inside.
Just as everyone was watching the excitement, a carriage stopped outside the crowd. Han Fangzhi reached out and lifted the curtain to come out. He was a little surprised to see so many people gathered outside the Zheng residence.
He got off the carriage, walked into the crowd, and asked someone what was going on.
After he understood the whole process, Zheng Huaijin helped Old Madam Zheng out of the room.
When Han Fangzhi saw Zheng Huaijin, he was stunned for a moment, and then subconsciously looked at the person on the other side who looked a bit disheveled. He saw two faces that looked almost identical.
He squeezed his eyes shut to make sure it wasn't a problem with his eyes, and the thought in his mind suddenly became clear.
"Father! Father, what's wrong?"
"Old man! Old man, wake up!"
When Mrs. Zheng saw that Mr. Zheng had his eyes closed, she became somewhat flustered.
The doctor standing nearby quickly reassured him, "The old man is alright."
As he spoke, he stepped forward and pinched the philtrum, and Old Master Zheng woke up.
"Dad, I'm so glad you're alright!"
Zheng Huaijin approached him with a look of surprise and delight.
"Go! Go quickly! Ah Ping, Ah Ping is here!" Old Master Zheng said hurriedly when he saw him.
Upon hearing this name, Zheng Huaijin's smile froze on his face. He subconsciously looked around and saw Zheng Ziqian standing to the side, smiling at him.
His pupils contracted sharply, his breath stopped for a moment, his heart suddenly started pounding rapidly, and his head throbbed, leaving him completely unable to react for a moment.
“My dear brother, I am so glad to see you. I suppose you feel the same way when you see your twin brother?”
Zheng Huaijin pointed at him, his fingertips trembling with his body. He licked his lips and said, "You, weren't you already dead?"
Upon hearing this, the townspeople surrounding him immediately turned their eyes to Zheng Ziqian, scrutinizing him from head to toe, but they couldn't see any trace of a ghost or monster in him.
"I am indeed dead, so what? I came here for revenge."
Zheng Ziqian did not hide it, but spoke frankly about it.
Anyway, he had already achieved his goal of forcing these people out of the mansion, so he didn't care if people found out his identity.
Upon hearing Zheng Ziqian's answer and realizing that he was indeed a ghost, the people around him subconsciously took a few steps back, but seeing that he had no intention of killing anyone, they did not leave out of curiosity.
“You poisoned me because I wanted to take the imperial examination in my own name, and even had my parents help you fake my death as if I were sick, so that you could live a carefree life with the title of Juren that should have belonged to me. I wish I could kill you right now.”
“What nonsense are you talking about! I am the one who passed the imperial examination!” Zheng Huaijin retorted.
Upon hearing this, Zheng Ziqian chuckled softly, then composed himself and said, "In that case, do you dare to write an article now?"
Zheng Huaijin immediately fell silent, standing still without answering his question.
"Heh. You're scared now?"
Zheng Huaijin glanced at him, then said with great disdain, "What do you, a peasant, know about making a fuss? Even if you're jealous that I'm doing better than you, you can't slander me like this."
Zheng Ziqian glanced at him and could see a fleeting panic and hatred in his eyes, but he didn't care. He just turned his head and looked at the crowd and saw Shao Yanzhe and his group who had arrived at some point, as well as Han Fangzhi who was not far from them.
He smiled instantly, cupped his hands towards Han Fangzhi, and said, "Sir, I dare to ask you to discern for us who is the real Zheng Juren!"
Immediately, everyone's eyes were focused on Han Fangzhi.
He stepped out of the crowd, ignoring everyone's gaze, and stood in front of Zheng Huaijin and Zheng Ziqian, his eyes filled with inquiry.
"Master Han!" The two bowed to him.
Han Fangzhi nodded and said, "In that case, let's write an essay based on the policy question we asked when the academy opened!"
The two thought carefully and quickly remembered it. They each took out Xuan paper, picked up their brushes, and began to write.
The policy question wasn't difficult; it was simply a test of the students' basic knowledge before they entered the academy.
Han Fangzhi glanced at the person writing with their head down and immediately recognized who had studied under him back then.
He didn't want to watch anymore, so he turned his back to the two of them, his eyes filled with unusually complex emotions.
It's too late.
"Mr. Han!" Seeing Han Fangzhi's current expression, Shao Yanzhe knew that he had probably recognized Zheng Ziqian as the student studying under him.
He stepped forward and greeted them. Their purpose in coming here was to visit the great scholar Han.
He never expected that Han Daru was actually Zheng Ziqian's original teacher; it was such a coincidence.
Shao Yanzhe stood beside Han Fangzhi, but his gaze was fixed on Zheng Ziqian: "Mr. Han, which of the two articles do you think is more outstanding?"
Han Fangzhi was interrupted, glanced at the two of them, and then noticed the articles they had written.
Their fonts are the same, and the beginnings are largely the same, with only minor differences.
He didn't answer, but just shook his head slightly and sighed, his expression complex.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at it and knew his answer.
He didn't ask any further questions, but took out an article from his sleeve and said, "Mr. Han, this is my article. It's a rare opportunity to meet you, so I'm honored to trouble you with your guidance."
Han Fangzhi did not refuse. His emotions were too complicated right now, and he really needed something else to distract himself.
He reached out and took the article handed to him. When he opened it, he saw the beautiful calligraphy on the Xuan paper and his eyes lit up.
His gaze fell on the very first few sentences, which immediately captivated him. As he read on, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
"good!"
He instinctively offered his praise.
He looked at Shao Yanzhe with admiration in his eyes and said, "With your current level, you've probably already passed the imperial examination, right?"
Shao Yanzhe nodded and said, "Thank you for your praise, sir. I am indeed a Juren now, and I will participate in the metropolitan examination next year."
Han Fangzhi nodded, then looked at the article in front of him again, pointing out its shortcomings one by one.
Shao Yanzhe listened attentively, nodding occasionally.
The two chatted back and forth, enjoying their conversation immensely.
"Your article is very good, but you need to pay attention to the details. With your current level, you will definitely succeed in the imperial examination."
"Thank you for your kind words, sir!" After expressing his gratitude, Shao Yanzhe looked at Liu Mingyuan and the others waiting beside him and gave them a wink.
This is a rare opportunity, so why wait and not seize it?
Liu Mingyuan and the others exchanged glances, then stepped forward to greet Han Fangzhi, and then took out their articles for him to critique.
Han Fangzhi immediately became busy, and all his complicated emotions disappeared.
After he finished guiding the others on their articles, Zheng Ziqian and Zheng Huaijin had also finished writing their articles.
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