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On the right side of the Jiannan Marquis Residence's rear courtyard, an exquisite little compound lay silent beneath the moonlight.
Its layout followed the same tradition as the Heaven Dou Chen Residence and the Chang'an Duke's Mansion: three successive courtyards arranged in the nine palaces pattern, with square geometry embodied within.
Inside, the moonlight was cool and clear.
Chen Feng stood before the stone steps, his arm wrapped in bandages. His clothes were plain white, but his presence remained steady.
He raised a hand and gently patted Zhu Wujie's shoulder beside him, the casual gesture carrying an understanding that needed no explanation. "This time, you didn't return to Chang'an to see off that handful of 'flame'... that must have left quite a regret in your heart."
Zhu Wujie's gaze lowered slightly, settling on a worn ring polished smooth in his palm-the only keepsake his father, Zhu Changhe, had left him.
His fingertip unconsciously rubbed the band. His eyes flickered almost imperceptibly beneath the moonlight, then returned to an almost transparent calm.
His voice was slightly hoarse, gritty as sand. "My sister went back. That was enough."
Their branch was part of the Zhu Family's direct line, yet it was also a lone bough.
His grandfather, Zhu Yingfeng, had died young. His father, Zhu Changhe, had been an orphan raised single-handedly by his great-uncle, Zhu Hefeng.
Zhu Changhe had no biological brothers; Zhu Changfeng and Zhu Changyun were his cousins.
By Zhu Wujie's generation, their household was still sparsely populated. Only he and his sister, Zhu Wuzhen, remained to depend on each other.
He had done himself proud, becoming Chen Feng's personal attendant and even carving his name among the Earthly Sha ranks. The clan acknowledged him as