T/N: Thank you for the Kofi, Jackile! Here’s a double update.

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That year, Huo Fenglie was only eight years old and had come to the Imperial Academy to visit them. Because the Imperial Examinations were approaching, the teachers of the Imperial Academy had assigned a lot of homework to help bolster them, but the three of them happened to be hot-blooded and wanted to go out.

In any case, this was not the first time that he had helped copy their writing homework. Er-gou could already imitate the writing of the three of them, so that day, the three of them went out to cause trouble as usual, leaving the lone Er-gou to pretend to be them, busy with their studies in the courtyard.

As a result, upon their return, the lights in the courtyard were brightly lit and the academics were all there, as were the general and Madam Huo. The poor innocent Er-gou was being punished to kneel by his mother.

The academics were very angry at this time, and said that they were arrogant and unyielding despite repeated admonitions. If they hadn’t found out later that they were acting bravely to help solve a case, they would have scolded them all night and day.

After the three people were punished and Er-gou was about to be taken home by Madam Huo, the academics pulled her aside to talk.

The original words were: “The Second Young Master is naturally very intelligent. Even if he doesn’t inherit the family duties, he can still win the top spot in the Imperial Examinations through reading and practicing!”

Those old men had never praised their students this much. Even good wood needed to be polished, but at that time, they loved this talent very much and felt that having one Huo Feihan in the Huo family was enough. The second child should try to study literature. After all, he was only eight years old and could already write good articles. He had helped those three naughty ones deceive them many times before, which allowed them to see Huo Fenglie’s talent, and they truly wanted him to concentrate on his essay writing.

However, the Huo family’s traditions could not be changed so easily. In the end, Huo Fenglie went to the battlefield.

They were the only ones around when those words were spoken, and they naturally wouldn’t brag about it or spread them around.

Now, “Liu Xiaozhu” had said nearly the same thing.

And if he wanted to praise a material artist for his good writing, he shouldn’t just say that he was comparable to the number one scholar. This was really a bit exaggerated. But everyone was stirred up by Liu Zhenqing at that time, so they didn’t feel that anything was wrong with this exaggeration.

When it was brought up by Huo Fenglie now, He Lan and Qin Yu felt it was quite strange, and fixed their suspicious gazes on Liu Zhenqing again.

Even if they suspected something, it was at most that he was pretending to have amnesia. They couldn’t possibly suspect that he was someone who had been resurrected from the dead. Although Huo Fenglie’s question was a bit precarious, Liu Zhenqing was only a little surprised at first, and was in no danger of being caught onto by these children. He feigned astonishment and said: “The academics really said that? General Huo is indeed a man with both civil and military skills, ah. I just made that up casually because of the quarrel.”

Sure enough, after Liu Zhenqing spoke, Huo Fenglie withdrew his gaze and dropped his hand from the side of the teacup. He was like a fisherman tugging on a fishing line. After tugging for a while and not feeling anything, he put it back into the water.

“How is Young Master Liu’s recovery going?” Huo Fenglie no longer spoke of the farce just now, which meant that his doubts had been cleared up and he didn’t intend to pursue the matter.

“The medicine sent by the General’s Manor was excellent, and I have fully recovered.” As Liu Zhenqing said this, he saw Huo Fenglie stand up and formally bow in thanks. Liu Zhenqing was stunned, and hastily stood up to return the gesture.

“Thank you for risking your life to save others. I will remember this kindness.”

“Just don’t bear any grudges against me. If I hadn’t brought the two children there, they wouldn’t have been in such danger. I was just trying to make up for my mistakes.” When Liu Zhenqing said this, his tone became a little uncomfortable.

“The fault was theirs. There is no need for Young Master Liu to blame himself,” Huo Fenglie said coolly.

“Then I won’t blame myself, and General Huo doesn’t need to be grateful,” Liu Zhenqing said calmly.

“Why do you seem to be a different person after losing your memory? If this was before, you would insist that your kindness be returned in kind. Didn’t you just threaten to eat swan meat? Won’t you take this opportunity to take a bite?” He Lang teased.

Qin Yu on the side glanced at He Lan speechlessly, then said: “Young Master Liu just helped General Huo clear his name, which can be regarded as showing his true feelings. General Huo’s word is worth a thousand pieces of gold. Young Master Liu can try boldly.”

Unexpectedly, the cold-blooded Qin Yu had also followed He Lan in rebellion and used a business-like tone to make trouble.

The initially serious atmosphere vanished, and even Liu Zhenqing was a little embarrassed. He had done whatever he pleased just now, but now that his enthusiasm had cooled down, he really didn’t want to remember what he had done.

Being teased in front of others and Er-gou, no matter how he heard it, there was a strange sense that moral principles were being broken. Was it necessary to be executed in such a public manner?

Liu Zhenqing glanced at Huo Fenglie. “Why don’t you take care of your two brothers, ah?”

Huo Fenglie’s gaze swept across, suggesting to them that enough was enough.

But they obviously didn’t intend to let such an interesting thing go. One of them was lively, and the other was serious. After a moment, one asked what it was like to see Huo Fenglie again after losing his memory, and the other asked again, were his words simply meant to quarrel with that person? Was there no other meaning?

In the end, there was only one sentence: do you still want to eat this swan meat?

Probably because they were all men, or because Liu Xiaozhu was so straightforward in front of them before, they had no scruples about saying this.

But Liu Zhenqing did not indulge them.

In the face of their tacit cooperation, he teased the two people who were watching the show in turn.

Liu Zhenqing promptly opened his mouth: “I have always heard that the Dongchang and Jinyiwei have a normal relationship, but I think they must have a deep brotherly love and a deep affection, ah.”

As soon as these words came out, the two of them fell instantly silent. They looked at each other with distorted expressions, as if just realizing how well they were cooperating, then quickly turned their heads and even moved their seats farther away.

One sentence made the two men fall out with each other. This was true skill.

Liu Zhenqing watched with contentment as the awkward atmosphere shifted from his side to the two of them. He was very satisfied. He, Liu Zhenqing, was not one to suffer from the words of others. He had already seen the way these two got along from the very beginning, and it didn’t take but a moment to ignite the flames of war.

But as soon as Liu Zhenqing finished, he saw a flash of surprise cross Huo Fenglie’s expression.

Liu Zhenqing didn’t understand, wondering whether Huo Fenglie had the same idea as these two people and thought he had evil intentions.

Damn it, could his reputation as an admirer not be cleaned up?

Liu Zhenqing could only say: “Now that I have lost my memory, I don’t want to eat swan meat anymore. I just felt that what I did before was not necessarily wrong, so I said that to put myself in a strong position. And I’ll be leaving the capital soon, so you don’t need to be curious about me.”

At this point, Liu Zhenqing also apologized for pestering Huo Fenglie in the past.

Huo Fenglie was taken aback for a moment, and then said that it was fine. In fact, the original owner didn’t pester him. He just took the initiative to visit, gave gifts and greeted him, and directly expressed his feelings.

Huo Fenglie didn’t have much of an impression of Liu Xiaozhu. After all, he came and went in a hurry every time, and never even finished a sentence. He just thought this person looked familiar, but the people around him were completely shocked that a man dared to pursue Huo Fenglie so openly.

Huo Fenglie had a deep impression of the current Liu Zhenqing. The unclear feeling was indescribable. He had inadvertently seen Liu Zhenqing when he was about to step into the restaurant, and it was because of his special behavior that He Lan’s curiosity was drawn and he ran down to watch the excitement.

With Liu Zhenqing’s explanation, He Lan and Qin Yu withdrew their stand-off. He Lan couldn’t help but ask: “Why do you want to leave the capital so much?”

“Isn’t it safer here?” Qin Yu naturally recalled the poisoning and kidnapping.

Liu Zhenqing shook his head and said: “Because I’ve lost my memory, I want to return to my hometown to see if I can recover some of it. Moreover, there is a business problem there, so I’ll help my Grandfather on the trip and learn at the same time.”

In the end, they weren’t very familiar with each other, and when Liu Zhenqing said this, the two of them didn’t speak of it further.

But Huo Fenglie said: “You can wait a little longer. When my sister-in-law returns, she can take a look at you.”

After he saved the twins, Liu Xingruo would definitely help him, but how could Liu Zhenqing be willing to see her? It was stressful enough meeting Er-gou, let alone one of the people with whom he had the deepest bonds in the past.

Liu Zhenqing smiled and said: “The decision has been made and cannot be changed.”

It was better to stay away from them, stop trying, and start over. Now that he had decided, he wouldn’t change his mind.

Huo Fenglie saw Liu Zhenqing’s expression of relief and suddenly felt something strange.

“Wait, it seems as if it’s not convenient for you to leave right now,” He Lan quickly said.

Taken aback, Liu Zhenqing looked at He Lan.

The Jinyiwei had just taken over the power of the city guard, and they had gathered here to celebrate.

But it was not convenient for He Lan to say more, so he could only say: “Recently, it’s been taking a long time to submit for a permit to travel far out of the city. After all, spring is almost here.”

Liu Zhenqing suddenly remembered that an incident had occurred with the Imperial Examinations that year. Someone had written an article criticizing the former emperor and caused a big fuss. Therefore, the following spring, the identity checks of people entering and leaving the capital were very strict. It was indeed a bit troublesome to go out at this time, but not difficult. However, going by He Lan’s words, he feared it wouldn’t be that simple.

Then he remembered the mysterious attack at the spring plowing ceremony that had been solved before.

Liu Zhenqing’s mood sank. The old man would definitely not be willing to deal with such a troublesome situation, and it would certainly not be possible to use his new identity in the capital at this time. Then he could only delay it?

His mood had been like that of a bird about to fly out of its cage, and now he had to wait for his sentence to be over again.

He Lan noticed Liu Zhenqing’s bad mood, so he said: “If you’re in a hurry, we’ll make the arrangements.”

As soon as He Lan spoke, Liu Zhenqing looked over with a smile on his face. “Can I trouble you?”

He Lan waved his hand with an air of grandeur, then pointed at Huo Fenglie and said: “It’s up to him.”

Liu Zhenqing slowly looked at Huo Fenglie.

Huo Fenglie seemed to hesitate for a moment, then nodded and said: “When do you set out? I will send someone to take you out of the city gate.”

Liu Zhenqing said with a smile: “I’ll go back and discuss it with Grandpa. It shouldn’t take more than three days.”

Huo Fenglie acquiesced.

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Chapter Twelve << Table of Contents >> Chapter Fourteen