Although they were said to be distant brothers, Liu Zhenqing actually didn’t know Liu Xiaozhu’s lineage, but had heard his grandfather mention him before.

Through the current knowledge of Steward Fu and his personal servant Jin Li, Liu Zhenqing had a clear understanding of the relationship between the two families. 

A few hundred years ago, the two lineages belonged to the same family. It was said that the ancestors of the Liu family not only included princes and Imperial concubines, but even the only male empress in the history of the Yuan clan’s Great Zhou. It was the most prosperous and splendid generation of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and was known as the Eternal Heavenly Kingdom by foreign countries. The Liu family also reached its peak during that generation.

However, times changed, and the Liu family, along with the dynasty, had its ups and downs before gradually going downhill. There were serious differences within the family, which led it to splinter in two.

One of them stayed in the capital, where their population gradually withered. In Liu Zhenqing’s grandfather’s generation, they were still in a secure position. But later, when a treacherous minister like him appeared, the family was completely wiped out. The other branch ran a business association left by their ancestors in Jiangnan, which mainly engaged in water trade. Because they had long since cut off contact, they avoided being implicated by Liu Zhenqing. Later, because they donated money to support the national treasury, made many donations to help disaster victims, and even supported the military pay of the Huo family, they received a commendation by the new emperor and were even named Imperial merchants, and settled in the capital. It could be said that they saved a bit of glory on behalf of the Liu family ancestors.

This resulted in the Liu family being given special treatment in the capital. Even though they were from the same clan as the traitor Liu Zhenqing, they weren’t punished for it.

In Liu Zhenqing’s view, the head of the Liu family was very shrewd. He knew how to use public opinion to build momentum, and gave the greatest help to the Zhou Dynasty when it was at its weakest. This helped them stabilize their future and avoid being implicated.

And those strange looks the Huo army gave him likely stemmed from this contradictory relationship.

This Liu Xiaozhu had the same fate as him. He lost his parents early on and lived with his grandfather, only he himself had no other relatives and it could be said that he was…..radiant and splendorous since childhood. But Liu Xiaozhu also had two uncles and several cousins. Moreover, he had been addicted to playing with landscapes, birds, fish, and gold and silver since he was a child. He was not good at studying and not reliable in business. In short, he was extremely ordinary.

The Imperial merchant family did not have a title and mainly dealt in property management. Naturally, they feared that one more person would create more division in assets, especially the eldest grandson who only knew how to spend money. It was very possible that there was some subtlety in the relationship.

Although the steward spoke in a veiled manner, that kid Jin Li was a forthright person.

“It must be the Second Master or the Third Master who want to poison Master!” Jin Li said angrily.

But the steward said sternly: “If you don’t have evidence, then don’t talk nonsense. If you turn around and others hear you chewing your tongue, your tongue will be pulled out.”

“Steward Fu, you watched our master grow up, and you love him the most. How can you continue to be blind! Who else could it be? They’re always enigmatic, and they bully Master, who has no parents to protect him.” Jin Li was about to cry in anger.

But the steward couldn’t be as impulsive as him. Instead, he looked at Liu Zhenqing in embarrassment, a little worried that he would go back and make a fuss. He could only ask in a low voice: “First Young Master, what do you think?”

Liu Zhenqing had reached out his hand to lift the curtain and watch the increasingly familiar scenery outside in a daze. When he heard this question, he said innocently: “I don’t know, I’ve lost my memory.”

The chronic poisoning must have been caused by long-term use, which would let Liu Xiaozhu gradually consume it and die. It was reasonable and logical that his death was caused by a person close to him. It couldn’t be a servant who made the decision without authorization, and could only be a master, of which there were only a few. He, a distant cousin, would be smart enough to guess this, but he might not necessarily investigate. And even if he did, there would be a scapegoat.

But he would just let the old man beat them a little, and not let them get in the way of his recovery. He had no interest in avenging the original owner.

He had experience. Once something began, it wouldn’t end until the killing blow. He wouldn’t be so ruthless as to cause the Liu family to go completely extinct. Even if everyone thought he was temperamental, and his relatives wouldn’t recognize him……eh, okay. He could admit that the main reason was that he didn’t want to waste time and energy on other people’s affairs.

The two of them were dejected, and looked at Liu Zhenqing sympathetically.

Jin Li said angrily: “They are also the cause of Master’s amnesia. They must have found someone to kidnap him.”

The steward said with a sigh: “At that time, we all thought that the master had been incidentally targeted by thieves when he went out. When the ransom was demanded, I advised the Second and Third Masters to inform the Old Master that it would be too dangerous to pay the ransom directly. But the two masters were afraid that the Old Master was too old to bear the excitement, and took full responsibility. They couldn’t be stopped, and after they paid the ransom, the thieves broke their promise. If they weren’t caught, we wouldn’t have known that they were deliberately hired for murder! And they also came to trick us into paying the ransom, which is simply atrocious! This old slave is not speaking on behalf of the two masters, but this really doesn’t look like their handiwork.”

He didn’t dare talk about the poisoning before, but if they wanted him kidnapped, they would have done it many years ago. Why wait until now? That would be the epitome of neglectfulness.

In this paid murder disguised as a kidnapping, the Liu family could indeed be ruled out as suspects. But the murderer was someone Liu Xiaozhu knew. It didn’t take someone like Liu Zhenqing to realize this. Something must have happened recently, or Liu Xiaozhu must have offended someone in the past few days, causing the other party to neatly pay for his murder.

However, even though he was rather curious about this point, Liu Zhenqing still disregarded his principles and ignored it. In any case, he had lost his memory, so he would not express any opinions.

The steward had a headache from Jin Li’s noisiness, and could only change the subject: “It is thanks to the Huo army that you were saved this time. I will definitely arrange a big gift to thank them later.”

When he spoke of this, Jin Li got excited. “Right, isn’t this a story where the hero saves the beauty? Master, did you see General Huo?”

If this guy didn’t know how to use words, he shouldn’t speak. How was this like a hero saving a beauty? Besides, why was he so excited, ah?

Liu Zhenqing continued to just let it be. Confused.JPG

“It’s such a pity that Master has lost his memory,” Jin Li sighed.

The steward’s spirit rose, and he had the same “There is such a good thing?” attitude as Mo Qi.

“Cough cough cough. After all, the relationship between the two families is awkward, so it is better to have less contact. It doesn’t matter if you don’t remember. Repaying their kindness in this matter is just fine.”

“How is this possible? He is the mighty general who guards the country, and Master is obviously…..” 

Before Jin Li could finish speaking, he was glared at hard by the steward. “If you admire him so much, then enlist with the Huo family army. Don’t drag your master into mischief.”

Jin Li looked at the mystified Liu Zhenqing and wanted to say a few words, but faced with the pressure from the steward, he could only say: “Master, don’t you have anything to ask me?”

Although Liu Zhenwing was suspicious of their attitudes, to be honest, he really didn’t want to know.

“I have a question.”

Jin Li’s eyes immediately lit up.

“Did I give you your name?” Liu Zhenqing asked at last.

Taken aback, Jin Li nodded his head.

Liu Zhenqing said with satisfaction: “This is a rather good name. Come, let me spin you around.”

Jin Li looked confused as he was pulled around in a circle.^[1] What was his master doing? Had he lost his mind?

When they returned to Liu Manor, there were already people at the door to greet them.

Judging from their postures, it seemed that most of the family members were here, but their expressions were different and few of them were sincere. Their identities could basically be judged by their positions, ages, and clothing, but Liu Zhenqing couldn’t be bothered to greet them, and simply pretended to have lost his memory as he gazed at them with a blank expression.

“The child has suffered. His body……it seems to have a lot of injuries. Let Second Uncle take a look quickly. We’ll have him checked carefully later, give him treatment, and use the best medicines.”

Liu Zhenqing: The Second Uncle of the Liu family is a cat that weeps over the dead mouse and feigns compassion.

“I told you not to run around and make trouble for the family. What if you frightened your grandfather? How childish.”

Liu Zhenqing: The Third Master of the Liu family is angry and brainless.

Liu Zhenqing turned his gaze directly toward Old Master Liu.

The gray-haired Old Master Liu trembled slightly at the sight of Liu Zhenqing. He was clearly a bit agitated, but still maintained his dignity and face. 

“What’s wrong? You’re standing there without saying a word,” the old man said, looking him up and down with a frown.

The steward hurried forward and whispered a few words to him. The old man’s expression suddenly changed, and with a wave of his hand, he instructed everyone to stop standing there and return to the entrance hall.

After having Jin Li help Liu Zhenqing sit down, he did not instruct everyone else to do so. Everyone exchanged confused glances, and it wasn’t until the old man instructed the steward to tell them of Liu Zhenqing’s situation that their expressions immediately became wondrous and varied.

Then, he called the best doctor in the capital for a consultation. The man looked at the prescription that had been brought back and saw that it was consistent with Doctor Tang’s words, and the old man’s heart relaxed. The original doctor in the manor was detained.

After this tossing and turning, everyone in the hall stood obediently with assorted expressions. Liu Zhenqing watched this amazing face-changing performance and pretty much got the idea.

The steward soon came forward to whisper, and the old man directly announced that the arrested doctor had confessed that he wanted to deliberately harm the young master’s health, and then make money by treating it. He had been handed over to the government for disposal.

Liu Zhenqing drank his tea with a half-smile on his face. Instead of conducting a private investigation, he had decided to make a big show of it, and this was the end result. It seemed to be as he expected. The old man had weighed the situation and focused on giving a warning. He had no intention of investigating the real culprit on his grandson’s behalf.

Finally, he instructed that all the servants who took care of Liu Zhenqing were to be cleaned up, dispatched bodyguards to protect him, and hired a resident doctor to take care of him every day. This was a disguised form of protection and comfort for his grandson.

The eldest grandson was useless to the family, and the two sons were useful to the family. This approach could be considered heartless but reasonable.

And now the old man naturally knew who the real culprits were, and would issue a private warning and punishment. No matter how bold they were, at least as long as the old man lived, they would not dare to mess around. After all, they were already on the old man’s blacklist, and this also made everyone tighten their skin.

“As for hiring a murderer to kill someone.” The old man’s brow furrowed. He also couldn’t figure it out, and said directly, “Tomorrow, Lao Er and Lao San will go to the magistrate to inquire about the situation.”

The two of them swiftly nodded in agreement, but the old man still gave them a sideways look and said: “You two come to the study with me. I have something to say to you.”

The expressions of the two immediately turned ugly, and they looked at each other with uncertainty.

The old man gave Liu Zhenqing a few more words of comfort. Seeing that his eldest grandson didn’t have the same admiration for him as before, his heart felt a little sour and he said: “Everyone disperse. Don’t stand around, let Zhu’er go back to recuperate.”

The two aunts stepped forward at once to protect Liu Zhenqing. Knowing that he had lost his memory, they even specially introduced themselves.

Liu Zhenqing smiled at the most sincere person among them and said: “Second Aunt, ah, I’m not dead yet. Auntie doesn’t have to worry about mourning me so soon.”

The second aunt’s stout, natural face suddenly showed uncontrolled astonishment. There was no grandmother in the family, so the second aunt had the duty of the mistress, and her natal family was also an important partner of the Liu family.

Liu Zhenqing continued lightly: “The doctor also said that the poison will be cured soon, and I won’t suffer any pain.”

The second aunt’s face suddenly looked unsightly, and she could hardly maintain her dignity.

When he returned to Liu Xiaozhu’s elegant courtyard, Liu Zhenqing was waited upon and took a comfortable bath, then changed his dressings, drank his medicine, and lay down in bed. He felt as if he hadn’t rested in such a peaceful environment for a long time.

This night, he must have a good sleep.

As he was lying down, he felt something under the pillow. He fumbled for it and took it out, and was immediately confused.

A military book?!

Wasn’t Liu Xiaoshu a wealthy and idle young master? Could it be that he still liked to read military books, and was pretending to be a pig to eat a tiger? Liu Zhenqing was amused by his little discovery, and couldn’t help but smile and open it up curiously.

The first page listed the author of the book…..Huo Zanyuan?

Wasn’t this Huo Fenglie’s courtesy name? This military book was written by him?

Just as he was pondering, there was a sudden noise at the door.

Liu Zhenqing’s attention was instantly drawn to it, and he was about to ask someone to inquire when he saw Jin Li being pushed inside.

Then two aggressive young men came in. He had just met them, the children of the Second and Third Uncles.

The two of them were so furious that they disregarded etiquette and rushed into the inner room, cursing Liu Zhenqing angrily. “Liu Xiaozhu! It was your bad luck that you were targeted and kidnapped. It had nothing to do with us brothers, so why should it be blamed on us!”

“Right, my Er-ge and I had nothing to do with this matter, yet you filed a complaint and slandered us! You caused us to be punished because of your evil intentions!”

Jin Li immediately ran in front of Lui Zhenqing and blocked the way: “Second Young Master, Third Young Master, my master has lost his memory. How could he file a complaint? Don’t take this opportunity to bully others!”

“If this wasn’t the case, my father wouldn’t have beaten me!”

Liu Zhenqing took a look. En, the slap marks were obvious. He was beaten hard.

“My father didn’t just beat me! He is also making me copy books, and deducted my monthly allowance!”

En, as expected, there was a lot of resentment. It was likely that the two fathers were angry and took it out on their children, or they were not sure if the kidnapping had anything to do with the people around them and gave them an arbitrary warning.

Only then did the two angrily come here to get back at him.

Liu Zhenqing was wearing white underclothes, with his black hair hanging lazily over his shoulders. He sat cross-legged on the bed, resting his chin on one hand as he regarded them, and after they were finished blustering, he said calmly: “Although I’ve lost my memory, according to the general rules, won’t you be punished by Grandfather if you speak to your elder brother like this?”

Liu Zhenqing’s innocent questioned rendered the two of them speechless at once.

“Do you still dare to complain?”

Liu Zhenqing tilted his head: “Why don’t you dare? Or is it that you don’t dare to accuse me publicly?”

The two of them suddenly didn’t know what to say to this person who usually swallowed his anger, and could only point their fingers at Liu Zhenqing with trembling hands.

“Jin Li, go find Grandfather,” Liu Zhenqing said directly. Seeing the two people’s faces were distorted and they wanted to take action, he said: “Let’s see which is faster, the time it takes for Grandfather to come here or for you to beat me to death.”

The two people’s faces turned every color under the sun, and they could only clench their fists, as if they were the ones being bullied.

Jin Li responded loudly and was about to leave, but was stopped.

“We just came to explain the situation, we didn’t do anything!” 

“Right, we didn’t do anything, we just told you it wasn’t us!”

Liu Zhenqing gave a satisfied smile and raised a hand in invitation.

The two of them were sullen and frustrated, but the second brother glanced at the military book beside Liu Zhenqing’s pillow and thought of the perfect angle of attack.

He said triumphantly: “Hey, you’re even reading General Huo’s military book! You really don’t intend to give up!”

The Third Young Master immediately caught on and said sarcastically: “It’s not that he’s unwilling to give up, but that he’s not afraid of death! Don’t think there was anything special about General Huo’s rescue this time, he was just doing his duty.”

Judging from the proud faces of the two of them, they probably wanted to suppress his spirit. Liu Zhenqing didn’t quite understand their angle. Could it be that Liu Xiaozhu admired General Huo as much as Jin Li did?

Looking at the military book in his hand, this seemed like a possibility. But had these two wise guys forgotten that he had “amnesia?”

“We brothers are doing this for your own good, and advising you to return from your lost ways. Keeping in mind the origin of our two families, be careful of getting killed by General Huo if you offend him.”

Liu Zhenqing’s face darkened slightly. They didn’t need to remind him of this. When he died, he drifted around for a few days and knew very clearly how much the Huo army and the people of the Huo family hated him. 

Rumor had it that he took personal revenge because Huo-dage’s wife was also his own former junior sister and fiance. Later, the engagement was broken off and the two of them married. But that was in the eyes of outsiders. Perhaps it wasn’t the case, but the Huo family knew this much.

As for…..Huo-dage’s death and the souls of one hundred thousand people in the Huo family army…..that was indeed his fault. He was guilty. He had even concealed the truth from the young Huo Fenglie, so he was most afraid of meeting him.

It was reasonable for Huo Fenglie to resent him now, and normal for the Liu family to be implicated.

The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s lips rose with difficulty. “Really? Then I’ll be careful.”

The two of them suddenly choked. They recalled that he knew nothing, but were still unwilling to give in, and said menacingly: “Then you’d better remember one thing. Back then, our distant brother Liu Zhenqing killed killed his older brother, General Huo. After Liu Zhenqing died, younger General Huo returned and learned the truth, so he dug up Liu Zhenqing’s grave, smashed his bones, and spread his ashes, burning it all! Do you understand how much General Huo hates people named Liu?”

Liu Zhenqing suddenly stiffened, and all the blood in his body seemed to freeze in an instant. If excessive blood loss had made his face pale, then at this moment, he had no blood left in it.

So……so ruthless?

Was this still the Huo Fenglie he remembered?

Liu Zhenqing’s heart beat like a drum, and he gave a dry smile.

There was a one year age difference between him and Huo-dage, but a ten year difference between him and Huo Fenglie. They were not in the same age group, so they didn’t spend much time together, but he naturally treated his sworn brother’s younger brother as a didi and cherished him dearly. However, they basically didn’t spend much time together in the years before his death, so they could be considered estranged.

So it was actually……normal for Huo Fenglie to do something like this in order to vent his anger for his brother and the dead souls of the Huo family army. When all was said and done, he was already dead. Apart from the initial stimulation, Liu Zhenqing gradually felt nothing at all.

Liu Zhenqing lowered his eyes and hid his expression. The others couldn’t see what he looked like, and only thought he was shocked.

Jin Li was close by, and heard his master murmuring to himself.

“After Er-gou gained power, he dared to dig up graves in the middle of the night…..I’m going to sue you later in front of your brother. It’s a pity that I saved your life in the first place. So heartless.”

Jin Li looked at his master in astonishment. His mind was truly broken.

“You two……you stop talking, my master is feeling uncomfortable.”

With the situation like this, those two fellows were naturally proud and thought they had hit a nerve. Only, they saw Liu Zhenqing raise his head: “Oh, I understand, then you two should also be careful. We are all members of the Liu family, so we will all be treated the same. Maybe General Huo will be in a bad mood one day and wipe us out!”

As soon as these words were spoken, the two people burst into laughter. “Sure enough, he doesn’t remember anything.”

“It’s so funny. No matter how fierce he is, he will never trouble us. After all, we never provoke him and annoy him all day long, unlike you.”

“Ah?” Liu Zhenqing really felt that something was wrong now.

The two said in a sarcastic and truly humiliating tone: “You idiot cutsleeve, have you forgotten that you fell in love with General Huo at first sight two years ago and pronounced your affection in public?”

“In the past two years, whenever General Huo was in the capital, you would pester him. You would go to either the General’s Manor of the military camp and pursue him blatantly. I really don’t know if you should be called brave or brainless.”

“Everyone in the capital knows that you’re obsessed with him. If I were General Huo, I would have cut you down with a sword. It’s obvious that there is a feud between us, yet you still had such delusions. It was just crazy. That he would save you can be considered a mercy on his part.”

Liu Zhenqing: What are they talking about? I seem to be hallucinating.

The military book under the pillow, the strange words of the steward, the strange looks of the Huo army……

That strange expression of, “He’s lost his memory. Can there be such a good thing?”

Liu Zhenqing: ! ! !

A blush gradually creeped up Liu Zhenqing’s pale cheeks and finally spread to his entire face. It wasn’t that he was shy, just that this was social death!

Huo Fenglie, who was a little kid in his eyes, had become the love object of his new identity!

God, ah! Take me! Send me a plane, I’ll reimburse you! 

How the hell was this more disconcerting than his grave being dug up, ah! His heart needed this stimulation to stop, okay?!

This damn love-hate relationship, why did it have to have so many twists and turns!

. . . . . . .

With the mission completed, the two brothers Mo Yu and Mo Qi reported back to the General’s Manor. 

One of the necessary things was to ask the general’s intentions.

“When our people were searching for remnants on the mountain, they found gold and silver treasures buried somewhere. We don’t know if they are the belongings of people who escaped or unclaimed property,” Mo Yu said.

“I suppose that even if it is unclaimed property, its origins are unknown. But if it was clean, who would bury it in the mountains?” Mo Qi said.

Huo Fenglie was studying a sand table. He didn’t think much of it, and said directly: “Give it to the magistrate. It will be confiscated if there is no rightful owner.”

“Yes!”

Mo Qi paused before he left, thinking, it couldn’t be that fellow, right? After all, it was rare to see him looking so plain when they met. But after thinking about it, he realized that this was impossible. That young master had no concept of money. He carried different accessories on him every day, and sometimes didn’t even realize if he dropped them. How could he dig a hole to hide money while running for his life, ah? Just leave it to the magistrate to find the owner. If it was really his, then it would be returned.

The next day, Second Master Liu and Third Master Liu went to the magistrate to inquire about the kidnapping incident, and happened to be asked about the unclaimed property. As soon as the two of them saw the tattered clothes wrapped around the outside, they knew who they belonged to. But then they heard that if the owner was not found, it would be confiscated for the Huo army, and they immediately ingratiated themselves, telling the magistrate that it could be confiscated. Wealth was something external to one’s life.

On the other side, Liu Zhenqing, who had been sleeping in a haze, awakened from a dream. He held his forehead and murmured: “Fortunately, it was just a dream. The digging of graves and crazy pursuit of love is all fake, hahaha…..fuck! How could it be fake! Some guy’s sweetheart’s military strategy book was left right there! 

His heart was exhausted. Destroy it, ba!

Liu Zhenqing covered himself with the quilt and continued to sleep. He inwardly vowed to recover from his injuries as soon as possible, plan it all out, and then calmly stay away from everything in the capital. 

Although he didn’t know how much property he could take with him, there was the wife money buried on the mountain, which was enough for him to start a new life.

He must fly far away! No one could stop him!

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[1] Jin Li’s name translates to Koi Fish, so LZQ is spinning him for good luck. 🙂 ⮐

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Chapter Two << Table of Contents >> Chapter Four