Chapter Ten: Only Farewell

  When Wang Yun was brought out, he exchanged a glance with Yan Qing.

  Although nothing was said, Zheng Yankai suddenly understood that he seemed to be overstepping his bounds a bit.

  It's also worth thinking about, the turmoil of the Two Jins and the Northern and Southern Dynasties for over 300 years, with dynasties rising and falling.

  In such a chaotic world, Zheng's family can still stand upright, they have their own survival wisdom.

  Zheng Yanqing can see through the flaws, but can't Zheng Dashi? But why did Zheng Dashi pretend to be confused?

  "Quickly, Master wants you to go in and talk."

  Zheng Yanqing hastily got up and followed the family into the back hall with caution.

  Although repeatedly warning myself not to underestimate the ancients, I still can't help but feel a sense of superiority.

  Yan Qing also couldn't explain it clearly, where did this sense of superiority come from.

  Is it because of understanding the direction of history? In fact, what Xianqing knew was only the general direction recorded in historical books.

  Many of the details and truths have long been lost in the river of history as time has passed.

  Without knowing the details, even if you understand the general direction, what can you do? Every little detail in this matter could cost someone their life. So when Zheng Yance walked into the back hall gate, he had already completely abandoned his so-called sense of superiority.

  He is no longer a deputy mayor, and it's better for him not to show off the so-called political wisdom he had in his previous life!

  "Old Master."

  Zheng Yanqing spoke softly on the stage.

  Zheng Dashou put down the flower name list in his hand and looked up and down at Yanqing.

  Although his expression was stern, his eyes still showed a hint of appreciation. After all, in Zheng Da Shi's eyes, Xian Qing, such a young child, could actually see through many things that even adults couldn't, which also proved that he was not ordinary.

  Moreover, Zheng Yanqing did this undoubtedly out of loyalty to the Zheng family.

  A loyal and wise servant, Zheng's family will naturally benefit... The key is that Yan Qing is still young. At his age, he already has such courage and wisdom, what will he be like when he grows up?

  Zheng Dash has passed his prime years, and Zheng Renji has also passed thirty.

  In the future, An Yuantang will inevitably be in charge of Zheng Hongyi. Having such a helper is undoubtedly a great help to Zheng Hongyi.

  Perhaps this house can also be used as the main hall of the ancestral temple?

  At this thought, a faint smile appeared on Zheng Da Shi's stern face. But the smile was fleeting, replaced by a hint of severity and coldness. He coughed lightly, "Yan Qing, stand up and speak."

  Zheng Yanqing stood up, lowering his head and hanging his hands down.

  Zheng Da Shi said: "Yan Qing, do you know your crime?"

  "He knew he was guilty."

  "How dare you have such a big nerve, stealing others' belongings and even killing someone... According to the Kaihuang Code, you will not be able to escape death."

  Zheng Yanqing's heart skipped a beat, but he immediately grasped the meaning behind it.

  According to the Kai Huang law, he should indeed die; but this is in An Yuan Hall, and the one who holds his life is Zheng Da Shi. As long as Zheng Da Shi does not kill him, nothing will happen. If Zheng Da Shi wants to kill him, even with the Kai Huang law, it's impossible to save his life.

  In a previous life, there was an official who said something treasonous but also factual: So-called laws are only for ordinary people. For this remark, the official was dismissed and investigated. But in fact, what he said made sense.

  Privileged classes have always existed since ancient times, both at home and abroad.

  In this era, the Zheng family belongs to the privileged class... Although not as powerful as the Guanlong Group, the glory that has been passed down for hundreds of years is by no means comparable to ordinary people.

  Zheng Yanqing showed a look of fear, but also revealed a kind of inexplicable stubbornness.

  "Grandpa once told me, without the Zheng family, there would be no life for Yanqing."

  "Although Yan Qing is humble and lowly, he also wants to help Master share his worries and difficulties. If someone wants to harm Master or the Zheng family, even if Yan Qing's head is chopped off, he will still try to stop them."

  "Oh?"

  "Then how did you know someone was going to harm the Zheng family?"

  "Grandfather said that the second master was dismissed from his official position. However, when he returned, he didn't bring his family with him, which is already unusual. Later on, Yan Qing also discovered that Wang, the housekeeper, and this guy sometimes seemed to disregard their positions, but the second master didn't complain, so he felt even more suspicious. Some time ago, Yan Qing happened to see Wang entering and exiting the Guan Shui Pavilion..."

  So Yuen Ching felt something was not quite right.

  Adding to that, Grandfather's mood wasn't great at the time, so Yanqing thought he should share some of Grandfather's worries.

  Yan Qing originally just wanted to take advantage of today to go to Wang Guan's room and see if he could find any clues. But unexpectedly, he was discovered by Pei An, so... Master, Yan Qing is willing to risk his life to make up for it, please don't blame Grandfather for this. This matter, from start to finish, Grandfather didn't know anything about it, it was all Yan Qing's reckless and arbitrary decision... Please, Master, punish me."

  As soon as these words came out, Zheng Da Shi nodded secretly.

  Know loyalty and righteousness, know filial piety, distinguish right from wrong, have courage and vision!

  At this time, Zheng Da Shi made an assessment of Zheng Yan Qing and also became more determined to cultivate him.

  Zheng Shian has settled Wang's affairs and returned to await orders in the hall.

  After hearing Zheng's words, his emotions were in turmoil, and he stumbled forward, kneeling on the floor, "Master, Xianqing is young and ignorant, unaware of the depth, please spare him this once. I beg of you, Master, please spare his life."

  "Grandpa..."

  Zheng Yanqing's previous words were not without a showy intention.

  Seeing Zheng Shian's pleading, he suddenly felt a surge of emotion in his heart.

  He knew that Zheng Shi'an and he were not related by blood, but regarded him as his own. His uncle was nowhere to be found, his mother had already passed away. There was also an old man who was someone he didn't know what to do with... Apart from this, the person closest to him was Zheng Shi'an.

  At this moment, Yan Qing felt moved.

  But Zheng Shi'an seemed to have not seen it, and repeatedly kowtowed.

  Zheng Dashan sighed, stood up and walked to Zheng Shian's side, helping him up.

  "Alright, I didn't say that Yan Qing should be blamed either. He's also thinking for the sake of our Zheng family, knowing filial piety and brotherly love at such a young age, and understanding loyalty and righteousness... Alright, you have a good grandson, and I, Zheng Da Shi, am not muddle-headed, so how can I blame Yan Qing?"

  Zheng Shi'an was overjoyed upon hearing this, "Sir, you really don't blame Yan Qing?"

  "Not guilty!"

  Zheng Da Shi said, turning his head to look at Yan Qing, "However, Yan Qing, you must tell me the truth."

  "Every word spoken by Yan Qing is true, without a single false statement."

  "Is that so?" Zheng Da Shi sneered, "You said you killed Pei Wen An, but you've been following me to worship the stove all along. Where did you get the opportunity? What about Pei Wen An's abilities? I know it in my heart. Can a little kid like you kill him? I don't believe it."

  "Tell me, who else helped you besides yourself?"

  Yan Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he said, "Master, no one helped me, it was really I who killed Pei An."

  Zheng Da Shi sneered incessantly and walked over to Pei An's corpse.

  He stretched out his foot and kicked Pai An's body, saying in a low voice: "Pai Wen An has two fatal wounds on his body, one on the back and one on the front chest, and they were caused by two different weapons. But from the wound, the real fatal blow was on the back. Someone took advantage of Pai Wen An's carelessness and inserted a short sword or dagger into Pai An's back heart... With Pai Wen An's skills, he could seal his blood vessels in an instant. As long as the treatment is timely, there is still a chance of survival."

  Zheng Yanqing's face suddenly changed color.

  Zheng Da Shi continued: "If this sword is yours, Pei Wen An can immediately strike you down."

  Saying that, Zheng Dashan simulated the situation at the time. With a turn of his body, "At that moment, you didn't have any chance to pull out the murder weapon. Therefore, after Pei Wengan fell down, there must be another person who pulled out the murder weapon, causing Pei Wengan's blood to dissipate. And then, you stabbed him from the front with Pei Wengan's small horizontal knife into his chest, only then did Pei Wengan completely stop breathing."

  The scene described by Zheng Dasheng is almost indistinguishable from what it was like at that time.

  Yan Qing lowered his head, secretly shocked in his heart.

  Holding the small horizontal knife stained with blood, Zheng Dashi looked at Pei An's corpse and then glanced at Zheng Yanqing.

  "After Pei Wenant's death, someone used this knife to chop him seventeen times. Later, you also used this knife to chop several more times."

  Xian Qing, do you know how I figured it out?

  Hehe, my ancestor Lian Shan Gong was also a 7th rank master back in the day. Although I'm not as good as him and am old and frail, I still have some insight. The dozen or so slashes you made were forceful, but the other seventeen were even more powerful, shattering Pei An's skeleton with one burst of energy. How about it? At this point, are you still not going to reveal who your accomplice is?

  There is a saying: ginger gets spicier with age!

  Zheng Yanqing did not understand the difference between them, but after listening to Zheng Dashi's words, he had nothing more to say.

  "You still won't speak up?"

  Zheng Da Shi seemed to be getting angry, his tone gradually becoming more severe.

  Zheng Shi'an wanted to make a request, but was deterred by Zheng Da's stern gaze. The words that had reached the tip of his tongue were swallowed back. He could only hug Zheng Yanqing and softly advise: "Yanqing, I know you want to uphold justice, but at this time, don't be stubborn anymore."

  Zheng Yanqing still didn't say a word.

  Zheng Dashi watched with his own eyes, and his appreciation for Yan Qing increased by a few more points.

  Could he not guess who Xuan Qing's companion was? On the one hand, he wanted to test Xuan Qing's character again. On the other hand, he hoped to take this opportunity to figure out the true origin of Xu Mu and her daughter. After all, letting two people with unknown backgrounds stay in An Yuan Tang, even if they were two women, would still make people uneasy.

  Although he didn't get the answer he wanted from Zheng Yanqing's mouth, Zheng Dashi was still very satisfied.

  This little guy is young, but he knows what loyalty means... someone like that will never betray easily.

  As they spoke, several robust warriors walked in from outside the door.

  The first man, Zheng Yanqing also knew, was named Zheng Yuan, the grandson of Zheng Rongye. Zheng Rongye followed Zheng Dashis father Zheng Wei to start a rebellion, and later both father and son died on the battlefield, leaving only this grandson, who was highly valued by Zheng Dashi.

  Belonging to a side branch of the An Yuantang family, he has been practicing martial arts since childhood and has now reached the level of a 5th-grade warrior, also considered a master.

  Zheng Yuan walked forward and whispered a few words in Zheng Dashi's ear. Then he handed him a letter.

  "Is he gone?"

  Zheng Da Shi was taken aback, his eyebrows furrowed tightly.

  "The young nephew was ordered to go forward just now, but he has already gone and the house is empty."

  Only leaving this letter behind, Xiao Shu did not dare to linger and immediately came back to report.

  Zheng Dasan nodded and didn't rush to open the letter, but instead gazed at Zheng Yanqing for a moment before saying softly: "Xu's mother and daughter have left!"

  "Huh?"

  Zheng Yanqing was startled and lifted his head up.

  But on Zheng Da Shi's face, there was a hint of an eerie smile.

  He immediately understood that Zheng Dashi had actually guessed that his companion was Duo Duo, but just wanted him to admit it.

  Zheng Da Shi then opened the letter and saw that it was written in beautiful small characters.

  As he looked on, Zheng Da Shi's face changed color...

  After a long while, he took a deep breath and signaled Zheng Yuan to bring over the candle. He placed the letter on the candle flame, then tossed it into the copper cauldron on the table. The letter turned to ashes in the cauldron, but Zheng Da Shi's face remained uncertain.

  A moment later, he gritted his teeth and said in a low voice: "Zheng Yuan, you immediately go to the Xingzhou Leave Guard House to find your thirteenth uncle. Tell him that the humble slaves Xu Mi and his daughter from our family took advantage of the sacrifice to the stove god to abscond with money and goods. Ask him to issue an arrest warrant immediately and capture this mother and daughter."

  Xu Mi is Xu's mother's name, but no one knows whether it is true or false.

  Zheng Yanqing immediately understood Zheng Dashi's idea: he was afraid that Xu Ma had already explained her origins in the letter, which was why Zheng Dashi changed color. The reason for reporting to the official government was to eliminate future troubles. Anyway, the Zhenzhou Leave Guard House's Zanwu was also a member of the Zheng family. With this layer of relationship, it can be done cleanly on the document side.

  "Shi An, take Yan Qing back with you. From today on, he is not allowed to step out of the courtyard for half a step until we head to Luoyang after the new year."

  This can also be considered a punishment, but it's basically negligible.

  Zheng Yanqing felt a sudden emptiness in his heart as he watched Zheng Shian walk out of the back hall.

  Is it sadness? Or perhaps...

  He didn't say it clearly.

  Xu's mother left, and Dodo also left.

  Why did they leave? Xian Qing's heart was very clear.

  Xu's mother is not an ordinary person, and she is quite wise. After Dodo leaves, Xu's mother will definitely ask questions and may also guess the subtleties of this matter. By leaving like this, they are actually letting Yanqing off the hook, and there is no need to hide anything from them anymore.

  But this departure gave Yan Qing a sense of loss.

  Apart?

  Will I be able to see Dodo again and hear her crisp voice?