Chen Yan had returned.
The news quickly spread throughout the capital of Great Yan.
By now, Chen Yan had been away from Great Yan for only a little over ten years.
His influence over Great Yan had not diminished in the slightest.
Upon hearing the news, the court officials began to consider how they should respond to the former Marquis Jingyuan, who had once stood as an equal to the Duke of Qi.
No one knew whether Chen Yan would leave again this time.
Marquis Jingyuan's Manor lay beneath the hazy night sky.
Chen Peng strode forward and raised his hand to knock on the manor gates.
"Open up! Hurry and open the gates!"
His voice brimmed with excitement.
The people inside naturally recognized the voice of the marquis's younger brother and hurried over to open the gates.
First came the sound of the gate bolt being drawn back. Then the gates slowly swung open.
An elderly, white-haired man appeared behind them.
"Young Master Peng..."
The old man first glanced at Chen Peng, then looked past him toward the young man standing behind him.
It was very dark, and he couldn't make out the young man's face at first.
He squinted and studied him closely by the moonlight and the oil lamp in his hand.
The longer he looked, the more familiar the man seemed...
"Mar-Marquis!"
The old man cried out without thinking.
"I'm not the marquis. My elder brother, Chen Dong, is the Marquis Jingyuan now."
Chen Yan walked past Chen Peng and headed into Marquis Jingyuan's Manor.
"Steward Song, how has the manor been these past ten years?"
"Everything is as usual, um..."
Steward Song hurried after Chen Yan, but for a moment, he didn't know how he ought to address the youngest marquis in the history