After leaving the military camp, Zeng Anmin headed home.
"You're back?"
His father was on a Day Off today.
He had not gone to the Ministry of War.
After returning home, Zeng Anmin was summoned to the study by Uncle Qi.
"You wanted to see me?"
Zeng Anmin sat before his father, crossed one leg over the other, bit into an apple in his hand, and looked over at him.
Zeng Shilin gave Zeng Anmin a bland glance.
"I heard you were called to the military camp?"
"Father's news always comes so quickly."
Zeng Anmin gave a thumbs-up, then looked serious.
"Duke Wei called me over. I went, but I had no intention of staying there, so I found an excuse to come back."
"Mm."
His father nodded, then looked at Zeng Anmin solemnly.
"Go if you must go to the military camp, but remember this: do not befriend anyone."
"And once you have helped Tian Ji train the Mandarin Duck Army, do not linger. Return directly to the Imperial Academy."
"Study diligently at the Imperial Academy and wait for next year's Autumn Provincial Examination."
By this point, his father's gaze had grown increasingly stern, and his voice was exceptionally grave.
"You cannot give others something to hold over you."
As a Confucian Cultivator, he should properly be a civil official. He should not think of laying a finger on military power.
"I know that."
Zeng Anmin took another bite of his apple, then looked at his father probingingly and asked,
"By the way, Father, I heard His Majesty wanted to grant me a title?"
At those words,
his father's eyes narrowed slightly.
After a while, he slowly nodded. "Li Zhen proposed it."
"After the classified report on the Mandarin Duck Army Formation's military exercises arrived from the border, His