Chapter 11: My Heart is Like Yours (Part 1) First Watch

  Sitting dryly in the house, the candle has burned out. The dawn light passes through the window and shines into the room, making it not so gloomy.

  Zheng Yanqing leaned against the wall, staring blankly at the whitened window paper, lost in thought.

  After a night of contemplation, he seemed to have grasped the subtleties. The Han king's recruitment of aristocratic families from Guandong was driven by his fear for the future.

  Yang Jian had five sons, the crown prince was deposed, and Shu Wang Yang Xiu was imprisoned. All of this was just to make way for Yang Guang. Heaven knows whether it will be Yang Yan's turn next, especially with the passing of Empress Dugu, Yang Yan's fear grew deeper by the day.

  Yang Jian may not necessarily understand this point.

  But Yang Jian did not understand, it does not mean that Yang Guang and Yang Su did not understand.

  Yang Jian's body is not as good as before, and Yang Guang's ascension to the throne is only a matter of time. After he ascends to the throne, he needs to show his ability to the world. It's not just about marching and fighting, but mainly about the majesty of an emperor. Yang Yan coming over at this time undoubtedly gives Yang Guang a good opportunity. The story of Zhuang Gongke Duan Yuanyi, Yang Guang is unlikely to be unaware of it.

  During the Spring and Autumn period, Zheng Zhuang Gong had a brother named Gong Shu Duan, who had always been eyeing Zhuang Gong's throne.

  Zhuang Gongming knew about Gongshu Duan's ambition, but instead of diverting it, he indulged him, allowing his ambition to continue to swell.

  If at the beginning, Gongzi Duan only had an idea, then under Zhuang Gong's indulgence, that idea became clearer and clearer, his ambition grew bigger and bigger, and finally he raised troops to seize the throne, but was defeated by Zhuang Gong in one move.

  Zheng Yuan's awakening: Yang Guang and Yang Zhen, compared with Zhuang Gong and Gongzi Duan, how similar are they?

  Yang Guang is probably trying to emulate Zheng Zhuang Gong, and will collect Yang Yan later. In history, Yang Yan held the elite of Bianzhou, with many fierce generals under him, and countless strategists. With such a strong force, he was defeated by Yang Guang in a short period of time.

  Is Yang Xiang incompetent?

  It is worth noting that Yang Guang was not a novice on the battlefield. During the Renshou era, the Sui dynasty launched several military campaigns against the Turks, and Yang Guang participated in them, serving as the commander-in-chief of the Bingzhou campaign. This involves specific tactics; how could an incompetent person lead troops?

  So, the only explanation is that from the day Yang Guang made his proposal to strengthen the military defenses of Taiyuan, Yang Guang had already become a pawn on Yang Guang's chessboard.

  What a deep scheme, what a vicious tactic...

  Yan Qing had never met Yang Guang before, but he already felt Yang Guang's tactics.

  Zheng Dashi relied on Yang Guang, and since he clearly knew Zheng Chang's purpose, he turned a blind eye, probably because he had received instructions from Yang Guang. He took reckless action, but almost ruined Yang Guang's plans. If that was the case, when Yang Guang ascended to the throne, he would not have spared Zheng Dashi's family. With good intentions, he nearly did something bad.

  After understanding, Zheng Yanqing couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.

  At the same time, there is also a hint of sadness in my heart, and I have a lingering attachment to the already departed Duo Duo.

  To say that, the age difference between Yan Qing and Duo Duo is not too much. However, in his young body, there is a 40-year-old soul, which actually has feelings for a little girl? Zheng Yanqing felt very strange in his heart.

  Could it be that I myself am the legendary Guai Shu Mai, and actually have a tendency towards Lolicon?

  Didn't you have such tendencies in your past life?

  It's hard to believe, but after being reborn once more, even the flavor has changed...

  Just thinking about all this made Zheng Yance feel a headache. So he simply fell onto the bed, pulled open the quilt and went to sleep with his head covered.

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  Days passed by one after another.

  In fact, Zheng Yanqing was also very clear in his heart that Zheng Dashi's punishment of house arrest did not count as a real punishment. Although the laws since Sui were much stricter than before, the status of slaves had not improved significantly. Yang Jian wanted to change this and even sent Gao Ying several times to conduct a thorough census, registering all the hidden population in the aristocratic families. However, after three hundred years of Wei and Jin dynasties' legacy, although slaves had obtained household registration, their status still did not improve.

  Zheng Dashan has many ways to punish Yan Qing, even taking his life is not excessive.

  Zheng Yanqing suddenly lifted the lid of Han Wang Yang, which may have ruined Zheng Dashi's plan. Therefore, Zheng Dashi must find a way to make up for it and let Zheng Yanqing be punished, also fearing that he would stir up more trouble.

  Yan Qing felt it was no big deal, but as he watched the approach of New Year's Eve and the Spring Festival, he couldn't help feeling a pang of regret at not being able to participate.

  By the eve of Wei, Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties, it had basically formed customs.

  Exorcising evil spirits, guarding the year and gathering for dinner are indispensable items every New Year's Eve. Especially the exorcism ritual is the most grand.

  At this time people had not yet invented firecrackers, so they used burning incense and herbs to replace fireworks.

  A household like the Zheng's would pile up a mountain of firewood in front of the hall and place a large amount of agarwood roots among them. In the courtyard, giant candles as thick as an arm were inserted. When the time came, they lit the firewood and giant candles, filling the sky with misty fog, which looked like colorful auspicious clouds in the dark night, making for a magnificent sight. Unfortunately, Yan Qing didn't get to see it...

  After New Year's Eve is over, it's the new year.

  The New Year requires ancestor worship, but this time, it's not Zheng Dasheng who is the main one, but rather Zheng Shanwan of Zhujing Hall. The ancestral temple will be opened and the grand ceremony of ancestor worship will be held. All members of the Zheng family must participate in the ritual if they are spending the New Year in Xinyang.

  If one cannot attend the ancestral worship ceremony, for a Zheng family member, it is equivalent to being expelled from the family.

  So on this day, all the people in the Zheng family, from top to bottom, wore magnificent dragon robes and took part.

  Zheng Yanqing set out with Zheng Shi'an at dawn and left Xingyang.

  Zheng Renji sent someone to deliver a letter, unable to attend the ancestral worship ceremony. He also urged Zheng Shian to set off immediately and arrive in Luoyang ahead of schedule. He will leave Chang'an after the Lantern Festival, but before he arrives in Luoyang, all matters in Luoyang must be prepared properly.

  So, Zheng Dashi no longer allowed Zheng Shian to participate in the ancestral worship ceremony.

  After the end of the New Year's Eve, Zheng Shian took Zheng Yanqing and left Xingzhou with the convoy at dawn.

  There were also twenty Zheng family warriors and a dozen carriages and horses following along.

  Zheng Yanqing sat in the train carriage, looking back through the window. The ancient city of Xiangyang was getting smaller and smaller in the dawn light, until it became blurry. A sense of inexplicable melancholy arose in his heart. This time, he didn't know when he could come back again.

  In memory, after the chaotic world opened its curtain, Xiangyang City was the first to bear the brunt.

  "What's on your mind, Yan Qing?"

  Zheng Yanqing originally wanted to remind Zheng Shian, but when he got to the point of speaking, his words took on a different tone.

  "Grandpa, will I be able to see Dodo again in the future?"

  It is better to be content with what you have than to pursue more and risk losing everything.

  After going through Zheng Chang's affair, Yan Qing found that this ancient person was not foolish and had dense thoughts, with a considerable foresight.

  There are some things that one little kid can't stop.

  It's better to keep a low profile than to take the lead in everything. If the sky falls, there is Zheng Dasheng to hold it up, and he doesn't need to worry about it. But as soon as he spoke, Yan Qing felt that something was not quite right. Why bother worrying about Duan Duan for no reason?

  Zheng Shi'an smiled and said, "If fate permits, we will naturally meet again. However, Duo Duo's background is not ordinary, so whether we can recognize each other when we meet again is uncertain."

  Yan Qing also knew that Xu's mother and daughter were not ordinary, but didn't know their specific origin.

  "Grandpa, what's Dodo's origin?"

  Zheng Shi'an shook his head and said, "I'm not too clear about this either. You also saw that after the old master finished reading the letter that day, he burned it. The old master was so cautious, which only shows that Doudou's origins are unusual. Yanqing, it's better to forget than to meet again... perhaps not seeing Doudou is a good thing for you, for her, and for the Zheng family."

  Yan Qing fell silent!

  He wasn't misunderstanding Zheng Shian's meaning, but in his mind, he would involuntarily conjure up a smiling face with blooming flowers.

  Is it better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all?

  If I were just a kid who didn't understand anything, that would be fine, but... how can we casually forget?

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  First update, seeking recommendations and collections!