The backyard of the guesthouse.
As a newly acquired inn in the capital, its backyard is much larger than that of the original Qingxi Inn.
It contained a kitchen, staff quarters, a warehouse, and so on. Ye Gucheng usually lived in the back wing, while Ye Yuanshan and his wife lived on the second floor.
Because the inn suddenly became deserted, the hired cooks and waiters were all sitting under the eaves, eating melon seeds and chatting.
Inside the clean and tidy room, Ye Gucheng sat upright on the couch, carefully flipping through the cultivation manual, lost in thought.
Ye Yuanshan sat opposite him, also frowning as he sized him up.
Although Ye Yuanshan was of average talent and only learned the basics, his understanding of the " Twelve Stances Art " was not very deep.
But Ye Yuanshan could read.
At this moment, Ye Yuanshan stared for a long time, then frowned and said:
"Isn't this technique a little different from the one we learned?"
Ye Gucheng realized it as soon as he saw the first sentence.
It's not that they're not quite the same, but they're not the same thing!
But Ye Gucheng had never left Qingxi since childhood, and had never had the chance to see proper inner sect techniques from major sects. After thinking for a moment, he said:
"Inside the gate lies a burning flame; outside, fleeting clouds gather and disperse..."
Speak like a human being.
"The inner sect is about the continuation of the sect's legacy, while the outer sect is about mastering the skills and then leaving; the techniques are worlds apart."
Ye Yuanshan understood this time:
"You mean, what we learned before were all external techniques, and this is the internal one?"
Ye Gucheng hadn't seen many cultivation techniques, but he could easily distinguish between good and bad ones. He shook his head and said:
"This is the outer sect; we practice the inner sect."
"Oh?"
Ye Yuanshan pondered for a moment and then understood:
" Xingge borrowed the Dragon Flower Cult's martial arts manual from the imperial court; it's already quite an achievement to get even a manual of external martial arts techniques. Can we just practice according to this and get away with it?"
Ye Gucheng pondered for a moment, then flipped through the booklet again, secretly deducing the techniques described within:
"The form may change a thousand times, but the essence remains the same. The foundation of this skill is the same as that of the ' Twelve Stances Art.' We will practice accordingly. If we are found to have made a mistake later, we can just say that we had a sudden enlightenment and barely managed to fool everyone."
Ye Yuanshan nodded with a sigh of relief:
"That's good. But it's hard to explain mastering it after only a few days. For the next ten years, you should keep a low profile..."
?
Upon hearing this, Ye Gucheng put down the cultivation manual and gestured to his middle-aged appearance:
"Ten years later, then another ten years... Brother, I'm almost fifty. Let's hide for another ten years..."
"Given the situation, what can we do? As Xingge in seclusion amidst the bustling city; an old steed in its stall still aspires to gallop a thousand miles...'"
Ye Gucheng sighed softly:
"The world is like a tide, people like water; alas, how many return from the martial world? I remain unmarried because if I had a family, my sword would be slower when I returned to the martial world..."
Ye Yuanshan said unhappily:
"If you have no principles in your heart and fight only for the sake of fighting, how can your sword be fast?"
"..."
Ye Gucheng pondered for a moment, finding the statement quite philosophical, and said no more, getting up to continue serving...
On the other side, Heaven-Observing Pavilion.
A majestic five-story building sits amidst the solemn government offices, its eaves adorned with tinkling wind chimes.
Shen Songnian, the Qingxi County, dressed in a scholar's robe, stood before the white stone steps, his mind involuntarily recalling the past.
As Zhang Zhiqing's student, Shen Songnian and An Yurou's father were classmates since childhood and were as close as brothers.
After his senior brother An died, Shen Songnian inevitably became depressed. He took up the post of magistrate of Qingxi just to get away and have some peace and quiet.
But he truly didn't expect that this trip would lead him to encounter a genius!
I remember it was a year of famine. The south was suffering from famine and had just experienced war. Tens of thousands of people had starved to death. When he heard the news, he raised grain, and kind people in the county also donated grain.
At that time, Ye Yuanshan, the owner of an inn in the county town, dragged his eight-year-old son and carried several bags of grain to the yamen to donate grain, saying something along the way:
"Back then, your father and your second uncle were so poor they had nothing to eat. They were raised on the charity of the neighbors. Now that you're grown up, don't be greedy for money. Wherever there's a famine, help out as much as you can..."
When Shen Songnian heard this, he felt that Manager Ye was no ordinary person, and he paid more attention to him afterwards.
Then it was discovered that Ye Yuanshan was indeed extraordinary. He lost both his parents at a young age and started begging with his younger brother during the war. Even after starting his own family and career, he never forgot his hometown.
And her son's story is even more bizarre.
While other children were playing around, Ye Xingge was diligently practicing martial arts at home with remarkable self-discipline. He didn't seem like an eight-year-old at all...
He looks like a reincarnated, possessing old demon!
Shen Songnian observed the child for a long time and found that the child was truly sensible.
She trains herself to the bone every day, and in her spare time she also frantically learns cooking skills, trying to help her family earn money and reduce the pressure on her parents. She even came up with clever ideas such as the "Heroine Set Meal" and the "Overpowered Set Meal".
In the first few years, they managed to make the inn business very successful.
Shen Songnian was a scholar with deeply ingrained ideas about the traditional social hierarchy of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. He felt that Ye Xingge was a promising Miaozi and it would be a waste for him to go into business. So he brought the boy to the yamen to help out, hoping to guide him, teach him the ways of being an official, and then recommend him for officialdom when he became successful.
As a result, Ye Xingge adapted very quickly, turning the inn into a bankrupt business in just six months...
This way out is completely cut off!
Shen Songnian wanted Ye Xingge in the government office to make a living, but since the boy was an only child and had no interest in an official career, he had not been able to persuade him.
A few days ago, when Shen Songnian heard that Ye Xingge had suddenly come to the Heaven-Observing Pavilion, he was quite surprised. Worried that he would encounter obstacles since he had no background, he even wrote a letter of recommendation to the division commander who ranked third and second in the world.
But now it seems that the letter of recommendation was completely unnecessary.
Standing outside the Heaven-Observing Pavilion, Shen Songnian reminisced about the past. Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye, and he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
Before he could finish his remark, a girl in lantern pants suddenly jumped out of the door, hands on her hips, her breasts raised:
"Who goes there!"
Upon seeing his eldest daughter, Shen Songnian beamed with joy and took the wooden sword that Qingxi had brought from his waist.
" Yueyao, you don't even recognize your father anymore?"
"Snort!"
Shen Yueyao tilted her cheek:
"I don't know him, and my dad would never marry me off!"
Shen Songnian was taken aback and looked around:
"Who wants to marry off my little darling? Come out here..."
"Um?"
Shen Yueyao was also taken aback, then turned her gaze back:
"Dad doesn't want to marry me off?"
"Well..."
Shen Songnian carefully examined his tall and graceful eldest daughter:
"Does Father want to, or not?"
Shen Yueyao blinked and hopped down the steps:
"You'd better not want to, or you should discuss it with me first!"
He then picked up the wooden sword and examined it:
"Father, I'm already so old! I'm the Commander-in-Chief of the Armaments Bureau now, I'm way past the age of playing with wooden swords..."
Shen Songnian walked up the steps with one hand behind his back.
"This isn't an ordinary wooden sword. You know Ye Xingge, right? He used this very sword when he practiced swordsmanship as a child."
"Oh?"
Shen Yueyao was startled, as if she had seen a sacred relic, and she took it in her hands to examine it again:
"The wooden sword weighs only two ounces, yet its sword energy is as heavy as a thousand pounds. It is indeed a fine sword. Thank you, Father!"
"Hehe~"
Shen Songnian knew his daughter's personality well, so he chuckled a few times and accompanied her into the building.
An Yurou had been waiting in the lobby for quite some time.
After confirming yesterday that Ye Xingge was the ' Crown Prince of Western Shu ', An Yurou immediately sent a message to the Later Zhou. However, she couldn't figure out what kind of scheme Western Shu was setting up. She didn't sleep all night and was still pondering it.
Seeing Shen Songnian approach, An Yurou stepped forward and bowed:
"Uncle Shen, you're back!"
Shen Songnian watched Lady of Anyang grow up, his eyes filled with warmth:
"I arrived last night and just finished some business. Is the gentleman upstairs?"
"He's currently playing chess with Old Master Yan, and the game is very close. If Uncle Shen goes up now, I'm afraid..."
Shen Songnian knew his teacher's personality very well. Even if there were no father and son on the chessboard, he would still say a few words about Zhang the old scoundrel!
As his direct disciple, he later tested this method on himself, applying it to Ye Xingge.
Ye Xingge Ye Xingge clearly completed his apprenticeship, so in a sense, he is actually an unofficial grand-disciple...
To prevent interrupting and causing the teacher to leave under some pretext, which would infuriate Old Master Yan, Shen Songnian stopped and asked:
" Ye Xingge used to help the government a lot in Qingxi, he's a talented man. I hope Yueyao didn't make things difficult for him when he came to the Heaven-Observing Pavilion?"
" Yueyao is not a child anymore, she is very sensible, and she admires Ye Xingge very much."
"That's good. What's your impression of this boy?"
"I?"
An Yurou was about to ask Shen Songnian for his opinion on Ye Xingge and looked slightly bewildered:
"Hmm... very good, impeccable."
Shen Songnian was quite pleased to see this:
"That's good. Your father passed away early, and I've always treated you like a daughter. Ye Xingge is a sensible child. I've been thinking about it for a long time, since you don't have a husband yet, but he was still young then..."
"Ah?"
An Yurou's expression froze, and before she could react, she heard a voice from behind her:
Snap~
The sound of a teacup shattering on the floor.
The two turned around at the same time, only to see the Baby Bunny serving tea staring wide-eyed, frozen in place, its expression conveying what they could only mean:
You old man, you're siding with outsiders, aren't you?
I've been thinking about this for so long, hesitating about whether to give her the "friend card," and even asking Sister Yurou if she was interested in a match...
Isn't this just making me look like a clown?
However, this idea was not quite right. Shen Yueyao paused for a moment, then put her hands on her hips and lifted her breasts:
"Father! How could you do this? Marriage is about mutual affection. My husband should be chosen by Sister Yurou herself..."
Shen Songnian could easily see through his youngest daughter's thoughts. His gaze was a little strange. After thinking for a moment, he replied:
"That's true. I'll go check on how things are going with the sir and his men."
After saying that, he turned and ran away.
An Yurou breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the Baby Bunny.
Shen Yueyao blinked, and after her father went upstairs, she jumped down to him and hooked her arm around his:
" Sister Yurou, don't worry, I'm just afraid my dad will arrange things randomly... Come on, let's go see if the nameplates Grandpa ordered from the Mysterious Armament Pavilion have arrived yet..."
An Yurou shook her head silently, said nothing more, glanced upstairs, and then they went out together...
The next day, it was broad daylight.
Colorful flags fluttered and drums resounded outside the imperial city.
The streets and alleys of the capital were bustling with people, and the carriages of princes and nobles could be seen everywhere heading towards the imperial city at the edge of the horizon.
Ye Xingge sat in the carriage, now dressed in a pale gray gentleman's robe. The color was like the misty gray of distant mountains, the fabric was smooth, and the tailoring was exquisite, giving him an ethereal air.
He bought the robe last night, specifically for his trip to the palace today, and it cost him over ten strings of cash.
After arriving at the inn yesterday, since Great Beauty was still busy and Great Beauty Luo also had to arrange for defense, he accompanied his parents to stroll around the streets for a while, and then rested at the inn for the night, chatting with Uncle Wang and other old acquaintances, while also wanting to see that big bird.
Unfortunately, we waited all night, but no one came back. We don't know what they were doing.
Today is the day to enter the palace to compete. Ye Xingge got up very early, originally intending to enter the palace with the Great Beauty Luo, Lady of Anyang, Baby Bunny, and others.
But these three were female guests, and they didn't travel the same route as him. Instead, Chen Xiaobao was going the same way as him, so they rode in the same carriage.
At this moment, Xiao Si, who was following along, was driving outside.
Inside the luxurious carriage, Ye Xingge hand and carefully examined them. Their contents were:
The Zhuer lady from Laurel-Plucking Ward reported that she had accompanied the son of Imperial Censor Liu to a private residence in the city. There were eight men and eight women, including Han Zhongwu and Fan Zhe...
Lan'er, Lan'er lady from the Jade Spring Pavilion, reported that she often accompanied Fan Zhe to the Peony Garden to watch operas. Fan Zhe had a peculiar habit of having her play the role of a female general to whip the prisoners...
Miss Yahe from Cloud-Resting Lodge reports...
Beside the small couch, Chen Xiaobao, also dressed in a young master's robe, observed Ye Grand Duke Jupiter's expression. Finding neither joy nor anger to discern his thoughts, he inquired:
"What does Lord Ye think of this intelligence?"
Ye Xingge found it very detailed and was completely engrossed in reading it.
But what does this have to do with the case?
"Did Lord Chen personally go through all of this in one day?"
Chen Xiaobao adopted an attitude of "serving the country without fear of hardship":
"It's just talk; it's nothing compared to Lord Ye's efforts. Commander Ruan has searched all those places mentioned above and found nothing. In my opinion, Fan Zhe and his men are probably in grave danger..."
Ye Xingge saw that after searching the entire capital's government offices, plus the Mountains and Rivers Association's informants, for a day and two nights, they still had no clues. He could only conclude that the group that assassinated the emperor was indeed incredibly resourceful.
So there's a high chance something bad will happen at today's birthday banquet.
But Ye Xingge is facing today may be a fight to the death, and he will have to get up again and again and fight until he is completely burned out.
Ye Xingge really didn't have the mind to think about it much. After clearing his mind of distractions, he began to examine Chen Xiaobao's appearance:
"Is Lord Chen also going to the palace to offer birthday wishes?"
Chen Xiaobao humbly replied, "My ancestor Chen Baihe."
"Oh?"
Ye Xingge knew Chen Xiaobao was someone with connections, but upon hearing the name, she still looked surprised.
" The Wuxi Chen Clan?"
Chen Xiaobao waved his hand. "A mere grandson is nothing to mention."
"Yeah?"
To be honest, Ye Xingge didn't notice.
The Wuxi Chen Clan, along with the Zhang, Cui, Yan, Li, Meng, and Wu families, are collectively known as the Seven Eminent Confucian Families.
Its influence was so great that one could glimpse it simply by looking at the status of figures like Zhang Zhiqing, Chancellor Li, Wu Chenglie, and Old Master Yan.
As the eldest grandson of the Chen family, Chen Xiaobao could be expected to enter the Council of State Affairs as long as he played it safe for the rest of his life.
But tell Chen Xiaobao to be careful...
Ye Xingge glanced at the 'restaurant review report' in his hand and suddenly understood why Chen Xiaobao had been sent down to the grassroots level for training...