Liu Zhenqing’s mood was not as turbulent as the three of them, but he was still nervous. After all, he had caused the trouble.

The Huo Fenglie now was no longer the Er-gou who had followed him around before.

Liu Zhenqing quickly raised his hands and saluted. “General Huo, I apologize, I accidentally damaged the willow tree in the courtyard…..”

Before Liu Zhenqing finished speaking, he heard the two children’s anxious voices in the distance.

“Second Uncle, don’t be angry, we broke the willow tree.”

“Second Uncle, everything happened because of me, just punish me.”

The twins ran over quickly, one hugging his thigh and the other pulling his arm as they called out.

Uncle Tian also followed. He hesitated over calling out the childrens’ lies, but in the end, he didn’t expose them in public.

Liu Zhenqing was stunned, and was immediately moved. The two children and Uncle Tian intended to protect him, fearing that Huo Fenglie would have a dispute with him, an outsider? 

They were sweet.

But he still must tell the truth.

He already couldn’t let these people down, and even Liu Zhenqing couldn’t lie and deceive people shamelessly.

“General Huo, I climbed the tree, and those willow branches were broken when they caught me. I…..”

Before he finished speaking, Huo Fenglie frowned. Liu Zhenqing’s heart tightened.

But then he heard Huo Fenglie ask in a deep voice: “Is Young Master Liu injured?”

All those waiting nervously for a reaction: ? ?

Liu Zhenqing was taken aback. He shook his head, looking at Huo Fenglie with some confusion. What kind of reaction was this? Could it be that what everyone had said was an exaggeration?

Huo Fenglie seemed to look him up and down while listening for his answer, then said with a serious face: “If Young Master Liu wants to climb a tree, he should find someone to watch out for him so he doesn’t get hurt.”

Liu Zhenqing: ? ? Was it sarcasm? Or was it really an exaggeration? Er-gou is still very approachable. I say, what is this about a willow tree?

He didn’t notice that the surrounding environment had become quiet and strange.

Was Huo Fenglie okay? Did he have a fever? Had he lost his mind? Or was it not him who had returned? These were the thoughts that the three good brothers couldn’t help but express.

And Uncle Tian even clutched his beard. A person who stayed at the manor every day naturally had a basic understanding of matters, but Huo Fenglie’s reaction was so unexpected that Uncle Tian almost doubted his own eyes and ears.

The two children were also stunned for a moment, but they accepted this strange situation more easily than the adults. They frankly explained the truth of the matter to Huo Fenglie, not letting Liu Zhenqing take the blame alone.

Although they saw that Liu Zhenqing was fine, the two of them were still a little scared and looked at their second uncle nervously.

Huo Fenglie nodded and said: “I understand, pay attention next time. Go on.”

While everyone was in a daze, Uncle Tian took the two children away and the others sat back down in the pavilion. 

But no one spoke. The three brothers had ten thousand questions in their stomachs, but it was inconvenient to ask them now.

Just as they were hesitating over what to say, they heard Huo Fenglie say to Liu Zhenqing naturally: “The matter with the Liu family has not yet been investigated, but the Emperor already knows you are in my manor. About Rong Shiming…..”

“Ah, He-daren has already told me that the general has troubled himself in this matter,” Liu Zhenqing said uncomfortably, and then quickly poured a cup of tea for Huo Fenglie and pushed it over to ingratiate himself. “Thank you for your hard work.”

Huo Fenglie was stunned for a moment. He picked up the tea and drank it in one go, then turned to look at the three others and asked, “Why are you here?”

The three of them looked at each other. Was it their imagination? Why did his mouth sound a little colder after drinking hot tea?

Bai Su glanced at Liu Zhenqing with a smile on his face. “Brother Liu and I are on good terms. Can’t I come and be concerned for his situation?”

Liu Zhenqing also looked at Bai Su and smiled. “The situation is satisfactory.”

Qin Yu drank tea and said nothing. He Lan, on the other hand, couldn’t wait to nudge Huo Fenglie and ask curiously: “You just met with the Emperor, what did you talk about? Did you give him the confession? I heard that the First Princess made trouble? She absolutely refused to admit that her cousin had anything to do with the Imperial Examination fraud.”

“The First Princess was taken away by your cousin,” Huo Fenglie said.

When these words came out, everyone was stunned. Since she was taken away by the commander of the Jinyiwei, didn’t that mean that her conviction was imminent? Was the Emperor really going to deal with the First Princess?

“Then she will definitely clamor for mercy from the Emperor and you in the name of her life-saving grace back then,” He Lan said with a laugh.

Huo Fenglie scoffed.

Listening as the others spoke, Liu Zhenqing couldn’t help the subtle look on his face when he heard this.

Bai Su happened to be sitting opposite Liu Zhenqing. Seeing him like this, he smiled and said: “Right, Brother Liu lost his memory and doesn’t know those things. At that time, the First Princess was married off to Xiheng, and not long after something happened to the Crown Prince, the new emperor, who was still a young Imperial grandson, was sent to Xiheng as a hostage by the three rebel kings.”

Liu Zhenqing’s expression remained unchanged. He looked to be all ears, but he couldn’t help thinking about the fatuous old emperor who had sent away even his eldest grandson just because he feared war. It was a huge embarrassment to Great Zhou.

Bai Su’s voice darkened uncontrollably as he spoke of this. After all, it was a past that he couldn’t bear to look back on. “In that situation, the late emperor basically abandoned him. But two years later, the Great Zhou Dynasty was in turmoil. After the late emperor experienced all kinds of things, he still chose his eldest grandson to succeed him before he died. That is why the subsequent rescue incident took place, and the First Princess who was also in Xiheng played a crucial role.”

He Lan could only click his tongue twice and sneer: “That’s why she always uses this to put pressure on others, and the Emperor can only endure it. It’s a typical example of taking advantage of a favor owed. Although she helped the emperor and Zhanyuan at first, it was the Huo family army who helped her escape later, ah. I never saw her thank the Huo family army either.”

And Qin Yu, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke: “She is from the Imperial family and is a natural master. It is normal for her to be strict with others and lenient toward herself.”

He Lan: “Pei!”

Holding his teacup, Qin Yu glanced at He Lan with a twitching brow and switched their teacups. He Lan glared, angry and amused. How could he not say pei?

Liu Zhenqing was inwardly amused, slightly lost in thought as he held his tea. In fact, the First Princess was unwilling to take action back then. She was not liked by that man, so she could only stay in Xiheng and be a princess with her tail between her legs. She didn’t dare to visit Yuan Jue at all as he was held hostage. Later, after a promise to succeed in taking her back to their country, it was her who decided to help and seek favors for him, and this was the follow-up. Unexpectedly, this gave her the nerve to exercise her power.

He was in a daze when the teacup in his hand was taken away.

Liu Zhenqing raised his head and looked over. He heard Huo Fenglie say: “It’s cold.” Then he was given new tea.

He Lan was curious, and suddenly asked Huo Fenglie: “Ai, you were only thirteen years old at the time, and you were sent to Xiheng to serve as the emperor’s companion and prepare to abscond with him. Wasn’t it extremely dangerous? I’ve never heard you mention it. Are you willing to talk about it, Brother?”

Of course they couldn’t bear it. How could they be willing to let Er-gou go on such a death-defying mission? But they had no choice at the time. If they wanted to take Yuan Jue, they could only find someone they trusted, who would not make the enemy suspicious and was capable. After much consideration, there was nobody until Er-gou stood in front of them.

“I volunteered for the trip,” Huo Fenglie said calmly. “I was young and useless. This was the only thing I could do. And the difficult things were arranged by others. I only needed to stay with the emperor to provide support. Compared to us, those who stayed in Great Zhou were in even more danger.”

Everyone thought about the chaos of the three kings in Great Zhou. Indeed, everyone in the capital was in danger.

Bai Su nodded. He had been living in the turmoil of the capital back then, and it had left a big impression on him. He let out a sigh: “I remember my brother saying that Huo-dage and others openly followed the late crown prince and were thorns in the sides of the three kings. If Zhanyuan’s mission failed, they might not have been able to survive in the hands of those three.”

“How can you catch the tiger cubs if you don’t enter the tiger’s den? Not only that, but they had also forged a life-and-death relationship with the emperor, a sincere relationship between an emperor and his ministers.” He Lan patted Huo Fenglie’s shoulder with a smile, then raised his eyebrows at Liu Zhenqing. “Otherwise, who else would dare harbor a suspect.”

Liu Zhenqing smiled obsequiously. Indeed, the emperor took their friendship into consideration, so when Huo Fenglie wanted to take him back to the General’s Manor, the emperor didn’t refuse. Because he knew that this small thing would have no impact on Huo Fenglie. After all, he had also taught Yuan Jue. 

“Actually, the First Princess is also a pitiful person,” Bai Su lamented.

He Lan was immediately surprised and said: “Youzhou, you have a little too much sympathy.”

Bai Su shook his head, saying: “The powerful prince of Xiheng didn’t want to marry her at all, and didn’t take her with him when he left. The late emperor had to have someone send her there. It is unfortunate for a country’s princess to be treated like this.”

As soon as these words were spoken, He Lan immediately gossiped: “Right, right, right, I also heard that the person he wanted to marry back then was actually…..”

Before he could finish speaking, a handful of pastry suddenly lodged in his throat, almost choking him to death. He was about to glare at Qin Yu, the culprit, but glanced up and realized that something was wrong. The atmosphere seemed to have stagnated, and Huo Fenglie’s face was about to freeze over. He Lan gave a tactical cough and stopped.

Liu Zhenqing naturally knew that he had been about to say his own name, and continued to drink tea with some embarrassment. In fact, what they didn’t know was that the late emperor almost agreed in a moment of confusion. If the Crown Prince hadn’t protected him, he would probably be in the kingdom of Xiheng right now.

When Liu Zhenqing thought of this, his eyes suddenly flashed and he was stunned for a moment. It seemed that something was about to emerge in his mind, but he forced it down. A funny memory suddenly appeared and replaced the abnormal ones.

Little did he know that his unconscious movement to touch his back was caught by Huo Fenglie, who had been paying attention to him. Dark red appeared in Huo Fenglie’s eyes at that moment. There was a slight crack under his feet, but as martial arts practitioners, only He Lan and Qin Yu heard it and knew that a paving tile must have broken.

He Lan thought it was his fault, and smiled apologetically. Qin Yu looked at him in contempt for seeking death. Just as he was about to help change the topic, Huo Fenglie’s expression changed slightly as he looked at Liu Zhenqing. The corners of Liu Zhenqing’s mouth were slightly raised, as if he had recalled some amusing memory, and his eyes were looking toward a point in the distance.

Huo Fenglie knew without looking that it was his brother’s courtyard. Back then, the three of them often got together to drink and chat. As a young boy, he was just a tagalong following them around.

He remembered that night very clearly…..

They were sitting in the courtyard at that time, listening to Liu Zhenqing laugh as he said: “I’ve heard that beauties in ancient times were multi-functional strategic resources, but I didn’t expect that beautiful men were too. It’s all because I was born too good-looking. If beauty is a crime, then I have implicated nine generations of my family.”

“Yes, yes, yes, it is you who are beautiful! Your looks can improve the next generation of the Xiheng royal family. Oh, you can’t give birth to a child, and you don’t have military force to overthrow the enemy’s political power,” Li Xingruo said.

Liu Zhenqing was wanton and provocative: “I can give this a try. Based on the principle of maximizing resource efficiency, I should be sent over to marry. Then I can use beauty to do evil. Are you jealous?”

Li Xingruo pulled Liu Zhenqing’s cheek: “Jealous? Let’s see if the First Princess causes trouble for you later. Who let you show off in front of an enemy prince?”

“I was trying to save face for Great Zhou, no one else could do it. Boss, save me!” Liu Zhenqing reached out to grab Huo Feihan, but Huo Feihan’s other hand was grabbed by Li Xingruo, and he was in another dilemma.

Liu Zhenqing could only ask for help: “Er-gou, come and help your Xiting-gege.”

Huo Fenglie wasn’t aware of his ugly expression at the time. He only knew that after a glance at him, they stopped making trouble and asked if this nonsense frightened him.

Yes, he was frightened, because he seemed to hear shouting in his head: No! Absolutely not! Xiting-gege can’t get married. He can’t marry another man. He can’t!

. . . . . . .

Huo Fenglie’s mood was still a little unstable, and a strong murderous aura boiled in his heart, but he suppressed his emotions because of the people around him.

The atmosphere calmed, and Qin Yu changed the subject: “Without the First Princess’s protection, the Rong and Jiang families have been convicted, and this matter is half over. There is also the Imperial Examination held at the same time in the south that has not been investigated.”

Speaking of this, Bai Su felt a little upset, because his brother had served there. “The location of the Southern Imperial Examination is so far away. It will take at least a month to begin the investigation. If he has to wait until the investigation is completed, Brother Liu might be waiting a long time.”

Liu Zhenqing was also very depressed about his retirement plan, ah!

“I’m not afraid of waiting. I’m just afraid that if I make a mistake, I’ll be out of luck.”

“Will a special team be formed for the investigation?” Qin Yu looked at Huo Fenglie with a frown and asked, “Did the Emperor mention it?”

Huo Fenglie said: “I haven’t heard yet.”

“He surely will. Zhanyuan, if the Emperor asks you for candidates, mention me. Let’s see if I don’t catch all these vermin that are harming the country.” He Lan narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: “However much greed they have, I will make them spit it out with interest.”

“To be greedy for this kind of money is indeed a crime that cannot be atoned for even with death.” As a scholar, Bai Su denounced such behavior the most. Even with his good temper, there was a murderous look on his face as he said this. In the end, he couldn’t help but murmur, “My brother said that the Imperial Examination is very important. This was what Liu Zhenqing told him when he asked him to supervise the exam. Even the treacherous minister…..”

Bai Su paused suddenly realized that he, like He Lan, was speaking too freely. What illness did they have today? Did they all want to look for trouble together?

He Lan also looked at Bai Su innocently from the sidelines. There was nothing to be done. Everything back then would almost always involve “Liu Zhenqing,” and they couldn’t avoid it even if they wanted to. It wasn’t a problem for them. They had gotten used to Huo Fenglie’s displeasure, but they were a little embarrassed with the Liu family member present.

Bai Su looked apologetically at Liu Zhenqing and found him smiling. “This is a compliment to him, ba.”

Huo Fenglie only frowned slightly. The topic was not impossible to continue like it had been just now, and no one saw him paying attention to Liu Zhenqing out of the corner of his eye.

“There was a time when the rumored Prime Minister Liu was so upright?” Seeing that this topic was not a pitfall, He Lan couldn’t help but become curious. After all, he wasn’t in the court at that time and didn’t know much. He only heard all the rumors later on.

“He indeed took this matter seriously,” Qin Yu confirmed with a nod. He had served in the palace before, so he naturally knew some things.

Liu Zhenqing smiled. Of course he took it seriously. After all, he had learned this from the lord they followed, Crown Prince Jing Yang.

. . . . . . .

Crown Prince Jing Yang, the father of the current emperor, had a very high reputation in those days. They were still young back then, and became acquainted with the incognito crown prince at the Imperial Examinations.

At that time, there were no separate examinations in the north and south, so every time there was an Imperial Examination, a large number of candidates poured into the capital. The late emperor was not very respectable at that time and failed to win the hearts of the students. When the students gathered together, they couldn’t help but loudly compare them to each other. They were not careful at all, violating taboos and causing indecent rumors. Thus, they were later divided into north and south, and discipline during exams was strictly controlled. The entire city was under martial law, making it inconvenient to get in and out.

When they met the crown prince for the first time, the three of them and the prince were all watching the excitement in a restaurant. Many students had gathered together at that time, some reciting poems, some disputing ancient and modern times, and some discriminating between the northern and southern regions. When the literary battle incidentally turned into a physical one, there was a cynical student who was full of nonsense. He thought he was the smartest in the world, and that everyone else, including the emperor, was a fool without discernment. He also frequently praised Xiheng’s reforms.

At that time, how could Liu Zhenqing let such a fool go? Even Li Xingruo thought it was time to take action. Liu Zhenqing was on the second floor during this excitement and argued passionately across the screen fence. His sharp tongue almost made the other party doubt life, and he was angry enough to bleed from his orifices.

Thinking about it now, he was so fond of causing trouble at that time that it was really to the credit of Huo Feihan and Li Xingruo that he wasn’t beaten to death.

He still remembered when they forced him to learn life-saving combat moves. The reasoning was that he deserved a hard beating, and if they were not by his side, he wasn’t good enough at martial arts and couldn’t use poison. What would he do if he was chased and cut down?

And now the student who wanted to chase and cut him happened to be a wealthy and powerful landowner from outside, so he led his people and rushed to the second floor. He kicked open the screen and asked the three people inside, “Who said that just now!”

At once, his eyes fell on Liu Zhenqing and Li Xingruo, who was disguised as a man for convenience. After all, the two of them looked the most like scholars.

As a result, the two of them pointed at Huo Feihan in the next second, the only one who had not done anything bad and only cared about the food, and said in unison: “He said it.”

The two of them fled the battlefield as quickly as possible and went next door, leaning against the screen to watch the rest of the fun.

At this time, a hearty laugh came from behind. “You two, it’s not good of you to trick him like this.”

As soon as the two of them turned around, they saw a handsome man who was either wealthy or noble, with an extraordinary temperament. He was sitting at a table, two guards standing behind him with a warning in their eyes.

The man tilted his head and expressed his questions with his eyes.

Liu Zhenqing and Li Xingruo were lords who were not afraid of trouble, but for some reason, they answered obediently.

Li Xingruo: “What does it matter? He can take them!”

Liu Zhenqing nodded. “Any hesitation would be a sign of distrust in his skills.”

At this time, the battle next door ended as expected. Huo Feihan called in a somewhat annoyed tone: “Still want to eat? How about going somewhere else, the table’s broken.”

The two people shrugged at the man, causing him to laugh even more heartily.

“Come and eat here. I’ll treat you.”

Over a meal, they got to know the current Crown Prince Jing Yang.

At this point, no matter how much trouble they got into, they seemed to have this big brother protecting them and clearing the way for them to grow wildly.

It was also Crown Prince Jing Yang who advocated for the separation of the north and south, because something could happen if the scholars were volatile. And it was he who told them that there must be no problems with the Imperial Examinations. He said: “If this step is broken, how can the country develop stably without talents? Although it is said that if the water is clear, there will be no fish, greed for money can lead to chaos in the world. Only when all talents are in the hands of the Imperial court can the country be governed well.”

. . . . . . .

Therefore, even if Liu Zhenqing later became a traitor, he would never allow anyone to mess with the Imperial Examinations.

It could be regarded as one of the few pieces of good reputation he gained afterward.

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Chapter Thirty-One << Table of Contents >> Chapter Thirty-Three