The foolishly fat physique of Chong Xuan Sheng was, at many times, a source of amusement.

Especially when he moved, his abundant flesh rippled like waves, making him appear ever more comical and ridiculous. Where was the slightest hint of imposing presence?

The vast majority of people in this world, though inferior to him in lineage, intellect, and achievements, lacked his peculiar bulk. This, then, became their license to mock him.

But as he strode away today, not looking back, within the deep-as-the-sea Marquis Bo Estate, he was no longer the solitary, plump youth lying on the ground, nor the young master who had long perfected the art of a forced smile. He was a “person” who had truly grown.

He was one who could prop up the heavens above and stand firm on the earth below, one who could single-handedly weather a storm.

He did not employ the divine ability of Heaven and Earth Manifestation, yet he seemed taller and mightier than ever before.

Clever individuals are often burdened with myriad thoughts and expansive hearts. Sometimes, the sharper their wit, the harder it is to discern what they truly desire.

But now, he knew.

Chong Xuan Yun Bo’s voice, growing hoarse with age, drifted from behind him: “Do you understand what you stand to lose by walking away like this?”

Chong Xuan Sheng left his own youthful voice behind him: “I will not dwell on what I have lost. I only remember what I have.”

What he had lost was likely the inherited title of Marquis Bo, the possibility of catching up to Jiang Wang and Chong Xuan Zun in cultivation, the position of King of the True East, the intricate web of relationships within the entire Chong Xuan Clan, and the present and future of one of the Great Qi Empire’s most esteemed families.

But what of it?

He strode out, his voice echoing back within the Marquis Bo Estate.

“Right now, I still have at least a De Sheng Merchant House, at least a Jiang Wang who will stand by me and support me, no matter when, where, or in what situation. At least, I still have… Fourteen.”

“With Fourteen, I have everything.”

“Grandfather, I sincerely hope you have done nothing to Fourteen. Otherwise, I am actually a very terrible person.”

Chong Xuan Yun Bo realized he had been threatened.

In terms of power, it was utterly absurd.

In terms of emotion, it was a grave act of insubordination.

Yet, his heart held no anger.

Only a touch of loneliness.

Not one of his four sons, from Ming Guang to Ming He, had prioritized the family.

Not one of his two direct grandsons, from Chong Xuan Zun to Chong Xuan Sheng, considered the family paramount.

He had never intended to harm Fourteen.

His sole purpose, from beginning to end, was to force Chong Xuan Sheng’s hand, to make Fourteen his concubine.

He had not anticipated that Chong Xuan Sheng would refuse to yield even this much.

Every individual he had placed his hopes on for the family’s future possessed their own stubbornness, and that stubbornness, ironically, was not for the family itself.

How utterly ironic!

He leaned back in his chair, feeling somewhat strained. But his voice, though strained, was still supported by his vital energy, unwilling to show weakness. He let out a cold hmph: “I, Chong Xuan Yun Bo, would not stoop to venting anger on a young girl.”

Then, bathed in the somewhat blinding sunlight, he watched that plump figure disappear.

Just like many years ago…

He could no longer recall how long it had been, yet it felt like yesterday.

That child had walked away, and never returned.

Would never return.

“Father, you’re being foolish!”

Chong Xuan Ming Guang burst in suddenly, startling Chong Xuan Yun Bo, almost making him jump out of his skin on the spot.

Raising his eyes to look, he couldn’t help but scold: “What are you doing sneaking around!”

Chong Xuan Ming Guang walked closer, while using his boots to gather up the fragments of the wooden railing on the ground, saying: “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, Uncle. I’ve come to see you, lest something untoward happen.”

Chong Xuan Yun Bo crawled up to find a knife: “Today, this old man will make you three long and two short!”

“Father, Father!” Chong Xuan Ming Guang hurriedly hugged his waist, repeatedly saying: “Calm down! Calm down! Calm down!”

Chong Xuan Yun Bo struggled for a bit, but couldn’t break free. For a moment, sorrow welled up in his heart.

He cursed: “Get away from me!”

Chong Xuan Ming Guang maintained his defensive posture, while releasing his hold and backing away, muttering under his breath: “Why are you taking it out on me? I didn’t provoke you.”

“You’re not convinced, are you?” Chong Xuan Yun Bo glared at him irritably: “Even you are not convinced now, are you?”

“Convinced, convinced.” Chong Xuan Ming Guang nodded and bowed with a smile: “I am especially convinced. You, old man, calm down and don’t bother with idiots!”

Chong Xuan Yun Bo, upon hearing this, realized there was indeed some truth to it. His eldest son’s foolishness was not a recent development. At least he now had some awareness of his own stupidity, which could be considered significant progress… He then changed chairs and sat down again.

Just then, he heard Chong Xuan Ming Guang say again: “A Sheng, this child, has completely failed to inherit the wisdom of our Chong Xuan family. What exactly is going on in his head?”

The old master felt something wasn’t right: “So who were you calling an idiot just now?”

Chong Xuan Ming Guang said as a matter of course: “A Sheng! Could it possibly be me?!”

The old master was speechless for a time.

Chong Xuan Ming Guang continued: “He doesn’t even know to agree to such a good marriage, and insists on marrying a dead soldier, and only marrying one wife in this life. Isn’t this pure stupidity? Where in the world is there a Marquis’s wife from a dead soldier’s background? It will be a laughingstock!”

This time, Chong Xuan Yun Bo did not scold him.

He remained silent for a while, then sighed: “Only then is he like his father.”

Some people want to pick at old wounds, but as time passes, they do not heal. The older they get, the more frequently they recall.

Chong Xuan Ming Guang habitually leaned over, while skillfully pinching the old master’s shoulders, sighing: “Alas, it’s no wonder, old father, that you are so worried. Second brother and third brother passed away early, fourth brother is far away overseas, unwilling to return to the capital. Our A Zun is too excellent, so quickly sealed Marquis and established his own branch. This nephew of mine is also too insensible, not considering the family in the slightest… Such a large family, yet the next generation is insufficient. Alas, what a pity!”

Chong Xuan Yun Bo also felt endless heartache.

“It seems… I can only rely on myself. These many years I have hidden my abilities, played in the dust, it is time to collect my heart and lead the Chong Xuan Clan to a brand new stage!”

Chong Xuan Ming Guang patted the old master’s shoulder, full of ambition: “Father, rest assured, after you are gone, I will certainly work hard!”

The already declining Chong Xuan Yun Bo, whose qi and blood were both weakening, suddenly stood up, turned his body, lifted his leg, and did it in one breath.

A beautiful whip kick, and he kicked this fool out the door.

“Get out!!!”

Chong Xuan Sheng rolled a step before his dear uncle.

Of course, he wasn’t as handsome as his uncle, but his rolling posture was still quite graceful.

The Marquis of Wu An of Great Qi was waiting for him in the courtyard.

Seeing him emerge in this manner, he said nothing else, only took out a handkerchief and handed it to him, indicating that he should wipe himself.

Chong Xuan Sheng, while wiping the blood on his forehead, walked out side by side with his old friend.

While wiping, he felt something wasn’t right. He brought it to his eyes for a look: “Where did you get this handkerchief? It’s so fragrant, and so pretty, and it’s pink?”

Jiang Wang shrugged his shoulders: “When I was in the academy, I don’t know who put it in my room. I saw that it was embroidered with gold thread and patterned with the Purification Array. It should be quite valuable. You can help me sell it later.”

Chong Xuan Sheng “shouted” and fiercely pressed the pink handkerchief back onto the wound, continuing to walk outwards.

“Any more?” He suddenly asked.

“What?”

Chong Xuan Sheng held the handkerchief and waved it in front of Jiang Wang.

“I still have several sachets, one sword, one short bow, one poetry collection… Uh, how is there still a tea set?” Jiang Wang said while taking out things, all sorts of odds and ends.

“Stop, stop, hold it.” Chong Xuan Sheng felt his forehead starting to hurt.

Jiang Wang also didn’t make a sound.

“What did Ye Hen Shui say to you just now?” Chong Xuan Sheng asked again.

“He didn’t say anything. He just casually praised me a couple of times. He also said you performed very well on the battlefield of Fa Xia, and he appreciates it very much.” Jiang Wang thought for a moment, then added: “He doesn’t seem angry.”

“Angry or not, he wouldn’t show it in front of you. Furthermore, a character like Ye Hen Shui wouldn’t rush to send his niece. That’s because the old master still has some face, which is why he only called him to visit today…” Chong Xuan Sheng said this and then added: “Never mind him, what does it matter to me!”

They finally reached the main gate of the Marquis Estate.

Chong Xuan Sheng said: “We might have to walk back. From now on, we won’t use the Chong Xuan family’s carriages.”

Jiang Wang simply said: “Just treat it as a walk.”

So the two of them walked leisurely, truly just walking side by side.

They walked out of the Marquis Bo Estate, walked out of the street where the Marquis Bo Estate was located, and merged into the bustling crowd of Lin Zi.

The lively world, sometimes, can create an extra sense of alienation. The more bustling it is, the more out of place one feels.

Ignoring the strange looks from some people, Chong Xuan Sheng, pressing the pink handkerchief to his forehead, suddenly sighed: “I said I would move after leaving the academy this time. Living in that small house in Yao Guang Fang is not ideal, it doesn’t fit my current status.”

“What about now?”

“Move! Move to the Marquis Wu An Estate!”

Jiang Wang: “…Alright, you’ve moved from my home to my home.”

Chong Xuan Sheng let out a very disdainful hmph: “Can you speak properly? You should say, ‘our home’!”

Jiang Wang sighed.

Chong Xuan Sheng said again: “Our family of three will live good lives from now on.”

“I still have a sister, did you forget?”

“Then a family of four.”

Jiang Wang slanted his eyes at him: “What I mean is, stay away from me. I have my own home.”

“Okay, okay, Jiang Qing Yang, you are very capable. Since you say so, since you are so cold. From now on, the Marquis Wu An Estate will be divided into two halves. You on the west side won’t come to my east side, and I on the east side guarantee not to go to your west side. We will stay on our own sides!”

Jiang Wang was completely defeated. After a moment of silence, he asked: “What’s the first thing we do after moving?”

Chong Xuan Sheng thought seriously for a moment: “Invite Brother Yan Xian as a guest?”

“Although that’s very reasonable, what I want to ask is…” Jiang Wang said: “You and Fourteen, are you not getting married?”

“Hahahahaha…” Chong Xuan Sheng burst into laughter.

He laughed heartily, laughed unrestrainedly.

He laughed with extreme happiness.

Sealed Marquis? What noble status! Ten thousand pieces of gold? What pity!

He laughed so hard that passersby turned their heads, looking at him as if he were a fool.

The upright and elegant Marquis of Wu An of Great Qi, who was clearly not a fool, also walked with him, and also laughed with him.

The Jiang family mansion in Yao Guang Fang could also be considered a popular spot.

After Jiang Wang was sealed Marquis, visitors with various roundabout connections almost wore down the threshold. Later, he simply hid in his separate mansion in Xia Shan.

Arriving in front of the mansion, Chong Xuan Sheng put down the handkerchief and asked Jiang Wang: “Is the wound still obvious?”

Jiang Wang looked carefully for a moment: “Very faint.”

“Does it affect my handsomeness?”

This question was truly difficult to answer. Jiang Wang really didn’t know how to gauge the impact on something non-existent.

Silence is sometimes an answer.

Of course, Chong Xuan Sheng saw the answer, and it was clearly different from what Jiang Wang wanted to express.

He waved his hand: “Quickly treat me a bit.”

Jiang Wang, who had just formed a hand seal for a medical art, immediately clenched his fist.

But Chong Xuan Sheng had already run away.

He really went to find a medical hall, carefully, carefully treated the wound on his forehead until not even a red mark was visible. Only then did he swagger back to the front door of the Jiang residence.

The red-faced gatekeeper greeted him from afar: “Good day, Marquis! Good day, Young Master Sheng!”

As the saying goes, the gatekeeper of a prime minister’s residence is a seventh-rank official.

The gatekeeper’s status is directly linked to the master’s status.

When he first came to work as a gatekeeper for the Jiang family, Jiang Wang was only a Viscount. In the powerful gathered Yao Guang Fang, he was truly inconspicuous. Jiang Wang himself could be arrogant, occasionally bullying the sons of court officials. As for him, the gatekeeper, he often had to tread carefully, always greeting people with a smile.

But who could have imagined that his master would be so competitive?

In such a short time, he hadn’t even finished licking the boots of a minister’s family’s gatekeeper, and the Viscount had become a Marquis! And the kind with a food fief of three thousand households,

The youngest military merit Marquis of Great Qi!

He went from licker to licked overnight, and the gatekeeper of that minister’s family couldn’t even rank!

How could life be so happy?

How many people wanted to visit now, all of them speaking kind words to him first, being careful and polite, sending generous gifts.

Even when the Marquis was not at home in the academy, the visiting cards never stopped.

How could he not whole-heartedly, serve well?

It had only been a little over three months since Marquis Jiang was sealed Marquis, and he had already gained thirteen catties!

Jiang Wang almost didn’t recognize him, thinking the gatekeeper had been replaced.

“Fourteen! Fourteen! Where are you?” Chong Xuan Sheng ignored the dynamics between the master and servant, entering the door and immediately shouting: “I’m back!”

Strictly speaking, Chong Xuan Sheng had lived in this house in Yao Guang Fang longer than Jiang Wang.

Returning here felt very familiar, and his mood at this moment was also very light.

He shouted with effort: “Fourteen! Fourteen!”

Within noble families, attention was paid to harmonious voices and gentle language, so as not to disturb the neighbors. Even if there was any movement, it was often elegant sounds like silk and bamboo.

In the entire Yao Guang Fang, a house as noisy as the Jiang residence was truly rare.

When Chong Xuan Sheng and Jiang Wang first moved in, within a few months, the surrounding land prices all dropped a bit.

Steward Xie Ping suppressed his voice and hurried out: “Young Master Sheng, Young Master Sheng, Adult Fourteen just went to the academy yesterday to welcome you. Why, did you two miss each other?”

Chong Xuan Sheng suddenly turned around, stared intently at Xie Ping, and his voice also lowered: “What time yesterday?”

From Ji Xia Academy to Lin Zi, there was only the Ji Men road.

No matter what, they shouldn’t have missed each other.

Unless Fourteen left halfway, or, she fundamentally didn’t go to Ji Xia Academy.

Xie Ping had never seen such a severe look from Young Master Sheng before. It felt as if his heart had been seized by someone, making it difficult to even breathe: “It was in the afternoon.”

“What happened yesterday?” Jiang Wang asked: “Did anyone from the Marquis Bo Estate come?”

Hearing his own Marquis’s gentle voice, Xie Ping’s tension eased, and he quickly calmed down, stating clearly: “Yes. Yesterday morning, a carriage from the Marquis Bo Estate came over and invited Adult Fourteen to go there. However, she returned not long after. Then she stayed in the courtyard for a while, and went out in the afternoon. When I asked her where she was going, she said she was going to find Young Master Sheng.”

Chong Xuan Sheng suddenly turned around, leaped into the air, disregarding the control ban in Lin Zi, and flew rapidly towards Ji Men.

Jiang Wang immediately flew after him, continuously transmitting his spiritual consciousness to the various alarmed imperial guards, indicating that it was a green card action and instructing all sides not to be alarmed.

Two figures flew rapidly towards the outside of Ji Men, like thunder and lightning crossing the sky, rumbling.

Flying down in front of the plaque of Ji Xia Academy, Chong Xuan Sheng directly struck the ban with his Dao Yuan: “Who is on duty?!”

Today, the teacher on duty was Yan Chan Yi, the Buddhist studies teacher.

He was wearing scholar’s robes, with shoulder-length hair, a slender physique, and an ancient-looking face.

His eyes were slightly melancholic. First, he chanted an “Amitabha,” then walked out of the academy’s formation, looking at Chong Xuan Sheng: “Do you have a seal from the Political Affairs Hall?”

“I’m not going in.” Chong Xuan Sheng paused, then said: “Did anyone come yesterday?”

Yan Chan Yi frowned: “I wasn’t on duty yesterday.”

He was isolated from the world within the academy, and had no relatives or descendants of his own, so he fundamentally didn’t need to care about external powerful connections. As for the world-renowned son of the Marquis Bo, if he didn’t understand manners, he couldn’t be bothered to give him a good face.

“Teacher Yan.” Jiang Wang placed one hand on Chong Xuan Sheng, stepped forward and asked: “May I know who was on duty yesterday?”

Seeing Jiang Wang speak, Yan Chan Yi’s expression eased considerably: “Probably Teacher Zhang.”

Jiang Wang cupped his hands in greeting: “May I trouble you to ask if anyone came to the academy yesterday? Wearing iron armor, holding a heavy sword, that is a very important friend of mine.”

Yan Chan Yi looked at him, sensing the solemnity in his tone.

He said “Wait a moment,” then disappeared into the formation.

Not long after, he appeared again under the plaque: “Someone wearing iron armor did not come. But there was a clear and beautiful woman, wearing very magnificent clothes, who stood outside the academy all night, and only left at dawn.”

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