Atao remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
Zhao Cheng said with a forced smile, "Just consider it an act of chivalry..."
"Get out!" Atao suddenly shouted.
Zhao Cheng pleaded, "Miss Atao, you two fought side by side in the battle of Mujing Bay..."
Atao said, "Prince Consort, how am I supposed to take off my clothes if you don't go out? Do you also want to see my body?"
Zhao Cheng was overjoyed and quickly retreated, bowing to A Tao as he went, saying, "I will remember Miss A Tao's kindness. Once Zhao Hu wakes up, I will make sure he listens to you completely and follows your lead!"
"Get out of here, this is so annoying!!!"
Bang!
Zhao Cheng was driven out by A Tao, who then closed the door tightly.
Zhao Cheng breathed a sigh of relief and smiled gently at the three people waiting outside.
Zhao Yan said, "Brother, your smile is so sly."
"You're asking for it." Zhao Cheng glared at Zhao Yan, stood with his hands behind his back, and walked forward smugly, saying, "Such a beautiful day, everyone should go back and rest!"
"Master!" Suddenly, a dark figure fell from the tree.
Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhao Cheng asked in surprise, "Xiao Fei, what brings you here all of a sudden?"
Yuan Fei clasped his hands and said, "I have been waiting in the courtyard. It's not urgent, but I encountered something strange and felt that I should tell my master."
Everyone gathered around, and Zhao Cheng asked, "What's wrong?"
Yuan Fei said, "For three consecutive nights, Yan Zheng burned paper money in his courtyard."
Zhao Cheng said, "What's so strange about that? Don't we all burn paper money for our ancestors during the New Year?"
Yuan Fei said, "The custom is to burn paper money to commemorate ancestors on the night before the Spring Festival, but now the Spring Festival has been over for ten days. Moreover, Yan Zheng was very sad when he burned paper money. He drank alcohol the night before and cried loudly."
Zhao Yan said, "Brother, this is indeed illogical. How can one cry loudly when paying respects to ancestors?"
Zhao Cheng narrowed his eyes and said, "You mean, Yan Zheng recently lost a relative?"
...
Elegant Manor.
After the academy and art studio moved into the manor, the Yiwen Society was also established there, but the area allocated to the Yiwen Society was much larger than that of the academy and art studio, ten times the size of the two combined.
Apart from offices, most of these are residences of members of the Anecdotes Society.
Yan Zheng held a high position in the Yiwen Society, so Zhao Cheng assigned him a courtyard.
It was already 9 PM, and Yan Zheng was still burning paper money in the courtyard. He was sitting on the ground with three wine jugs piled up beside his left leg.
Besides stacks of paper money, there were also draft papers from the Yiwen Society next to his right leg.
Yan Zheng threw the paper money in his hand into the brazier, picked up the draft paper and looked at it, with two lines of tears in his eyes.
"Third brother..."
"Six years without news of you, and suddenly seeing you between the lines of my writing, I realize we are now separated by death!"
"You...you have such a hard life!"
Yan Zheng gripped the drafts tightly in his hands. These drafts were based on information provided by members of the Yiwen Flying Team and staff members both inside and outside the company. Yan Zheng would compile them, assess the situation from all sides, and then select which ones to publish in the Yiwen Bi-monthly.
The draft in his hand contained news about the Battle of Mujing Bay in Changsui.
There's a name inside, which is why he's burning paper money here.
Yan Xin.
Six years ago, Yan Zheng was depressed and fell seriously ill after suffering the double blow of being divorced and failing his exams. His younger brother, Yan Xin, came to take care of him. After he recovered, Yan Xin said that a new sect called Maoshan Sect had emerged in the martial arts world. This sect was low-key but powerful, and he wanted to join it. He even asked Yan Zheng to come along.
Yan Zheng believed that the so-called Jianghu sects were just bandits. He was unwilling to become a Jianghu outlaw and wanted to continue studying to obtain official rank. He forbade Yan Xin from becoming an outlaw and locked Yan Xin in his home.
Unexpectedly, Yan Xin not only ran away, but also left a letter and took his deceased elder brother's only son with him, which made Yan Zheng fall seriously ill again.
During those six years, Yan Zheng heard some things about the Maoshan Sect, but not any news about Yan Xin.
But I never expected that when I heard news of my younger brother again, it would be in this situation.
Helplessness, anger, guilt...
Countless negative emotions welled up in Yan Zheng's mind. He drank heavily from the wine jug, wishing he could just get drunk.
But when he thought of the interesting business of the Anecdotes Society and the promising future of the imperial examinations, he dared not get drunk to death.
For several days in a row, I remained caught in this dilemma.
I couldn't sleep at night.
"Brother, I've burned money for you every year, you should have saved up quite a bit by now, right?"
"My third brother has gone down too, you must take good care of him!"
"Although he's disobedient, he's a loyal and affectionate person, I..."
The flames in the brazier in front of them suddenly began to flicker, and the ashes of the paper money floated around.
But there was no wind or snow at this time, and Yan Zheng was a little puzzled. Could it be that the ghosts of his elder brother and younger brother had come to collect money?
Suddenly, a dark shadow descended.
Yan Zheng was startled and crawled back a few steps, exclaiming, "Who?!"
The newcomer was a man wrapped in a cotton coat. He walked quickly to the brazier and looked up.
"Second Uncle."
Yan Zheng was stunned. He leaned forward and carefully examined the face of the person in front of him.
"Yilun?"
“It’s me, Second Uncle.”
Yan Zheng was so surprised that he quickly crawled to Yan Yilun's side, cupped his face in his hands, and said, "Yilun, it really is you! Six years, six years have passed, you've grown up!"
Yan Yilun held Yan Zheng's hand, his eyes filled with tears as he smiled and said, "Second Uncle, you've aged a lot."
Yan Zheng sighed, looked at the brazier, and said, "The dead are gone, and the living remain. Seeing that my eldest brother and third brother have passed away, while I have not yet been able to pass the imperial examinations, my life... has been a great waste."
Yan Yilun looked around and said, "Second Uncle, although you haven't passed the imperial examinations, you are able to live in a courtyard like this at the Yiwen Society. With your current status in the Yiwen Society, you are already much better off than those who have passed the imperial examinations but are unable to use their talents!"
Yan Zheng asked, "Yilun, is your third uncle... married and has children at the Maoshan Sect?"
Yan Yilun shook his head and asked in return, "What about you, Second Uncle?"
Yan Zheng also shook his head and said, "I have no interest in anything other than studying. If it weren't for the Yiwen Society inviting me to work here and rekindling my confidence in life, I would have no interest in anything else in this world except for my obsession with the imperial examinations."
As he spoke, Yan Zheng patted Yan Yilun on the shoulder and said, "Yilun, you are the only heir of the Yan family!"
Yan Yilun suddenly knelt down, picked up the paper money and burned it, saying, "Incense and such are not important to me, but I must avenge my third uncle!"
"Yilun?" Yan Zheng looked at his nephew with some surprise, only then realizing how much he had changed.
His eyes were filled with hostility.
"Second Uncle, there's no need to be surprised. Six years ago, I joined the Maoshan Sect with Third Uncle and became a disciple of two highly respected seniors, learning a whole set of skills."
“I am no longer the boy who listened to you read all day long, but a man of the martial world who repays kindness and seeks revenge.”
“I regarded my third uncle as my father and my two masters as my second fathers, but all three of them… were murdered and died.”
"This enmity is irreconcilable!"
Yan Zheng asked, "Do you know who your enemy is?"
Yan Yilun clenched his fists so tightly that they made a cracking sound, the sound almost seeping out from between his teeth.
"The Prince Consort of the Great Jing Dynasty, Zhao Cheng!"
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