Huzi was held outside the room by Aunt Lin.
Qin Shouchang sat in the hall with Qin Wanyue, chatting and laughing with Concubine Lin.
Uncle Qi and Qi Da waited nearby.
At the entrance, a goldfish a full zhang long lay silently on the ground, completely motionless. It had clearly been dead for quite some time.
Inside the inner room.
Zeng Shilin calmly raised his head and looked at Zeng Anmin before him.
Father and son sipped the richly fragrant tea in their cups, neither saying a word.
The atmosphere was eerily quiet.
"Father."
At last, Zeng Anmin could not hold back any longer and looked up at Zeng Shilin.
"Mhm."
Zeng Shilin lifted his eyelids slightly and looked toward Zeng Anmin with calm eyes.
"Speak."
Zeng Anmin opened his mouth, then stopped.
I'm the Black Cat Martial Artist? That's genuinely terrifying.
Or perhaps I've uncovered the secret of the Dragon Survey Map?
Or maybe I have some kind of cheat?
Any one of those things would be hard to explain...
He hesitated inwardly for a long while, then gritted his teeth and forced himself to say:
"Well, I..."
Before he could finish, Zeng Shilin's deep voice rang out:
"You know An Shiyi is of the Demon Race, correct?"
Hm?
Hearing Zeng Shilin's words, Zeng Anmin first froze slightly, then hurriedly nodded.
"I only learned of it this morning."
His father nodded, slowly closed his eyes, and rubbed his fingers against the teacup. After a long time, his voice sounded again.
"I, too, only learned of it last night. But I knew Prince Jiang intended to rebel four years ago."
"What?" Zeng Anmin abruptly lifted his head, confusion filling his eyes. "But didn't you only take office four years ago?"
Zeng Shilin slowly opened his eyes. There was not