Bai Yutang was taken aback by these words. After realizing what they meant, he felt a pang of anxiety and immediately went to find Yan Liang to ask him what was going on. Zhan Zhao subconsciously reached out his hand, then withdrew it, and silently watched Bai Yutang stride away.
The white-clad swordsman hadn't gone far when he bumped into another white-clad man. The cold-faced Prince Taiping took two steps back, glanced at the obviously displeased young man in front of him, and then shifted his gaze to the few people standing in the courtyard.
Zhan Zhao, Dongfang Bubai... and two other people I've never met.
Bai Yutang walked past Gong Jiu and strode out. Gong Jiu glanced at the direction he went, then turned back to look at the people in the courtyard.
"What...are you doing?"
Although Dongfang Bubai was shocked that Yan Liang had actually been an emperor, he was happy to watch the drama unfold and answered Gong Jiu's questions, who had once given him a ride. He said, "He is going to find Yan Liang."
Zhan Zhao nodded slightly to the side.
Gong Jiu shifted his gaze to Fang Yingkan, who was smiling leisurely, while Pang Yu beside him looked dazed.
“Yan Liang and his lover went fishing,” Gong Jiu said slowly. “I saw them leaving when I arrived.”
Fang Yingkan was taken aback upon hearing this, but quickly regained his composure and felt a little regretful. Dongfang Bubai also felt regretful, regretting that he could not immediately see Yan Liang's reaction when he was questioned.
They exchanged a glance, then looked away.
Fang Yingkan was puzzled as to why Dongfang seemed so indifferent... This person had clearly looked heartbroken before.
Unable to find Yan Liang at the original spot, Bai Yutang turned back, his aura even colder and more menacing. Pang Yu watched him grip the hilt of his sword from time to time, feeling terrified, thinking that if the other man saw Yan Liang, he might just slash him with his sword.
He learned from Gong Jiu that Yan Liang had gone fishing, and hurriedly asked where they had gone. Gong Jiu coldly replied that the two of them had not said, but had just run out happily.
Bai Yutang and Yan Liang had also gone fishing before, visiting more than one fishing spot. Now, no one could guess where Yan Liang and Hua Guniang would go.
Seeing that Bai Yutang was both angry and anxious, Zhan Zhao spoke up to comfort him. Although Bai Yutang was angry, he quickly calmed down after hearing Zhan Zhao's words.
"—When he returns, we must have a fight with him!"
Bai Yutang gritted his teeth and swore an oath, Zhan Zhao smiled helplessly, and Pang Yu also wanted to know why Yan Liang didn't say anything, and what he saw a hundred years later.
Gong Jiu glanced at the three of them, then looked at Fang Yingkan, who stood calmly to the side, and asked, "Are you Fang Yingkan?"
Fang Yingkan was not surprised at all and smiled, "It is indeed me."
Dongfang Bubai sat down in the chair and said leisurely, "I never expected that there would be three members of the imperial family in such a small place..."
Pang Yu blinked, following Dongfang Bubai's gaze to the man in white—the man wasn't in the Mu residence when they arrived yesterday, but Yan Liang had mentioned to him a prince of Taiping…
Dongfang Bubai smiled at Pang Yu and introduced, "This is Gong Jiu, the heir of the Prince of Taiping."
He then introduced Fang Yingkan and Pang Yu to Gong Jiu, saying, "Marquis of Divine Power, Fang Yingkan, and Marquis of Anle, Pang Yu."
Fang Yingkan gave him an innocent smile at the right moment. Although he was not young, he had the art of preserving his youth and still looked very young when he smiled.
Gong Jiu: "..."
That person's friends are really... a diverse bunch.
————
Before that, Gong Jiu met Yan Liang.
Although the Mu family had a room for Gong Jiu, he did not stay there for long. Firstly, he disliked Yan Liang and his friends, and secondly, he was a man with great ambitions, as important news from the martial arts world would be relayed to him from his base in Suzhou.
He received news about Jade Rakshasa—three years ago, the leader of the Western Demonic Cult faked his death to test the loyalty of his subordinates and discovered the thoughts of different people. At that time, the unlucky and troublesome Lu Xiaofeng was once again involved. Gong Jiu slightly fueled the fire, and the result was that Lu Xiaofeng was unharmed, the fake young master of the Demonic Cult died, and the hidden danger of the Demonic Cult was eliminated.
Now the Western Demonic Cult has lost its apparent young master... but according to Gong Jiu's investigation, Ximen Chuixue is clearly the true young master of the Demonic Cult.
However, Ximen Chuixue was obsessed with swordsmanship, and Yu Luosha seemed to have set her sights on her grandson, frequently visiting Wanmei Manor.
Ximen Hefeng wanted to become Ye Gucheng's apprentice, and Ximen Chuixue agreed. Therefore, Ye Gucheng had been staying at Wanmei Manor for some time. Not long ago, he bid farewell to Ximen Chuixue and left with Ximen Hefeng.
With these thoughts on her mind, Gong Jiu encountered Yan Liang and Wang Lianhua, who were carrying fishing rods and wooden buckets, at the back gate of the Mu residence.
Wang Lianhua was too lazy to act with Gong Jiu anymore, so he just nodded casually as a greeting.
"Would the young master like to go fishing with us?"
Yan Liang invited him with great interest.
Gong Jiu refused without hesitation, then glanced at Wang Lianhua and said, "Are you going to abandon the East?"
The young woman asked, "Don't tell me you feel sorry for him?"
Gong Jiu coldly said, "I'm just curious about just how promiscuous you are. Just a few days ago you were pouring your heart out to Dongfang, and today you're already in cahoots with Yan Liang. This is the first time I've ever seen someone like you."
The girl in yellow snorted and said, "Are you jealous? Jealous of whom?"
Yan Liang suspected that Wang Lianhua was simply jealous today.
Gong Jiu responded to her question with a cold laugh, too lazy to even retaliate, and brushed past the flower girl before entering the Mu residence.
Yan Liang gloated from the side: "They're ignoring you."
Wang Lianhua glared at him, picked up the wooden bucket and walked out, saying, "I took the time to go fishing with you, and this is how you thank me?"
"I can manage on my own, it's not like I can't live without you."
Yan Liang followed behind him, twirling the fishing rod with both hands, talking as he went. Wang Lianhua had no doubt that if this man wasn't careful, he would definitely throw the fishing rod at him.
"When did you take a liking to fishing?" Wang Lianhua asked. "If I remember correctly, you were only in charge of grilling, not fishing."
Yan Liang seemed to have thought of something and laughed: "I used to go fishing with a friend to pass the time, and then I got into it."
That friend was, of course, Pang Jin. Later, when Yan Liang became emperor, Pang Jin was no longer in Bianliang. He would steal moments of leisure to go fishing with his friends who had nothing else to do. Sometimes it was Wang Xiaoshi or Bai Choufei, sometimes it was Su Mengzhen, Di Feijing, or Gu Xichao, and Fang Yingkan would occasionally join them. At that time, Da Xue was playing in the water nearby, while Yan Liang sat cross-legged by the river, fishing rod in hand, drowsy. Those leisurely times… no matter when you recall them, they always bring a sense of warmth.
Wang Lianhua glanced back at the smiling young man behind her and realized that no matter how his appearance changed, the genuine smile he wore was still the same, a smile that made him instantly recognizable as Yan Liang.
On their way, the two encountered assassins from the Smokeless Pavilion who were trying to ambush them. After a quick battle, they happily reached the riverbank and caught four fish in an hour and a half, just the right amount.
But one thing is very important.
Those four fish were all caught by Yan Liang.
Wang Lianhua held the fishing rod for an hour and a half, unable to believe that he hadn't caught a single fish in so long. This disbelief turned into cold indifference when he saw Yan Liang gloating beside him.
Without hesitation, he kicked it. Yan Liang laughed uncontrollably, dodged and bumped into the wooden bucket, then stepped on the moss on the riverbank. He slipped and fell into the river with the bucket, making two splashes.
Yan Liang thrashed about for a couple of moments, grabbed the wooden bucket, and then awkwardly scrambled ashore, clutching the opening. Wang Lianhua, perched high above him, laughed heartily, living up to his reputation as a troublesome friend, showing absolutely no intention of helping him.
"...Only two are left."
The first thing Yan Liang did after climbing up was to check on the fish in the wooden tub, only to find, to his dismay, that two of them had escaped after what had just happened.
"Never mind, let's go back first." Yan Liang shook his wet sleeves and noticed Wang Lianhua taking a step back with a look of disgust on her face.
"..."
The gray-clad young man's eyes lit up, and Wang Lianhua immediately sensed something was wrong. Her premonition was then confirmed as Yan Liang raised his sleeve, and water droplets rushed towards Wang Lianhua.
"Stop...!" Wang Lianhua covered his face with his sleeve and shouted to stop them, "You're not a child anymore!"
The two returned to the Mu residence somewhat disheveled.
Yan Liang had no internal energy, so he couldn't dry his clothes using his internal energy. He just wanted to go back to the Mu residence to change his clothes.
The two of them returned to the Mu residence happily. This time they entered through the main gate, and upon pushing it open, they were met with Bai Yutang's eyes, which were filled with barely concealed anger. Yan Liang was a little puzzled and tentatively raised the wooden bucket in his hand: "Miss Hua and I went fishing. Tonight... shall we have grilled fish?"
After seeing his appearance clearly, Bai Yutang suppressed his anger and simply said, "Go change your clothes first. I have something to ask you."
Yan Liang felt unusually uneasy and realized that he was now somewhat like a philandering husband who had gone out to have an affair but was caught by his wife at home.
...Is he inseparable from the "womanizer" persona this time?
Wang Lianhua took the wooden bucket from Yan Liang, watched his figure disappear around the corner, then looked at Bai Yutang and asked softly, "What does Young Master Bai want to ask Young Master Yan? Perhaps I can answer him."
Yes, the dedicated and principled Mr. Wang has not forgotten his current public image.
Bai Yutang merely glanced at him, suppressing his anger as he replied, "It's none of your business. Even you couldn't answer that."
Wang Lianhua was not annoyed. He seemed to be deep in thought, smiled slightly at Bai Yutang, turned around and went to find Dongfang Bubai, from whom he learned about what had happened during the day.
His feelings were complicated.
Wang Lianhua couldn't imagine what Yan Liang would be like as emperor; he was approachable and had nothing to do with the aloof emperor.
Yan Liang walked through the corridor without encountering anyone else. After changing his clothes in the room, he pushed open the door and came out. Bai Yutang was already sitting leisurely at the stone table in the courtyard. Hearing the door open, he looked up at Yan Liang with a serious and earnest expression.
"What does Master Bai want to ask?" Yan Liang sat down at the table and asked him with a smile, "I will certainly answer to the best of my knowledge."
Bai Yutang said, "But you didn't tell me that you were once the emperor of the Song Dynasty."
The young man in white retorted, "Is this considered speaking frankly and without reservation?"
"..."
Yan Liang was speechless and could not utter a word.
Young Master Fang...didn't we agree not to mention it?
"Is it something that cannot be said?" Bai Yutang asked him.
“It’s something that’s not allowed to be said,” Yan Liang explained. “It’s not that it’s impossible to say; I naturally want to tell you about it, but I’m not allowed to, so I can’t.”
Bai Yutang stared at him for a while and said, "Since that's the case, there's no need to hold back when we talk about it later, right?"
Yan Liang thought for a moment and nodded.
"That's good." Bai Yutang relaxed, leaning on the stone table as he looked at him. "If you intended to hide something..."
"Intentionally concealing it...?" Yan Liang asked cautiously.
"I won't hold back when I beat you up."
The young man in white said.
Yan Liang touched his nose and chuckled.
Author's Note: I'm here!
I'm having some writer's block; I feel like this world will exceed 20_(:з」∠
And it has become a purely everyday occurrence.
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