Chapter 137 - 105: Dad’s Bewilderment

Chapter 137: Chapter 105: Dad’s Bewilderment

The next day.

The Imperial College was closed for a rest day. Zeng Anmin only found out about this after transferring from the Imperial City Department to the Imperial College. Since he had nothing to do today, he simply headed straight home.

"Young Master, you’re back?" Mr. Qi’s voice rang out the moment he stepped into the courtyard.

"Yes." Zeng Anmin’s body instantly relaxed as soon as he was home. He looked off into the distance and asked, "Where’s my father? Is he still at the Ministry of the Secretariat?"

"The Master woke up early today to attend the morning assembly at the Imperial Palace," Mr. Qi replied respectfully.

"The morning assembly?" Zeng Anmin paused in surprise. He wondered what kind of crazy fit Emperor Jianhong was having out of the blue. Didn’t he dislike morning assemblies? However, it had little to do with him.

He strolled lazily into the courtyard, only to see that little brat, Hu Zi, running wildly all over the place the moment he entered his own quarters.

"Die!"

Someone had made Hu Zi a wooden sword, and the boy was hacking away at the rapeseed flowers in the courtyard. With a single swing, a large patch of flowers fell to the ground.

"Don’t run, you demons!"

Hu Zi’s round eyes glared fiercely. He wielded his wooden sword like a mighty warrior cleaving a mountain in two, looking much like the commander of a hundred thousand troops! He practically radiated a fearless aura of charging forward against all odds. It would have been great if the things he was chopping weren’t the flowers in Zeng Anmin’s courtyard. Zeng Anmin’s mouth twitched. He could understand it, though. When a little kid got their hands on a stick or a wooden sword, the first casualties were always the flowers and grass.

"Uncle!" Hu Zi looked up at Zeng Anmin, his eyes sparkling with joy. He stood in place with his hands on his hips. "Am I awesome or what?"

"Very awesome." Zeng Anmin gave a perfunctory reply. Then, his head snapped up, and he looked at Hu Zi in surprise. "What did you just call me?"

"Uncle!" Hu Zi blinked and said earnestly, "Shouldn’t I?"

Well... theoretically, yes. But when did he change his tune?

"Who taught you that?" Zeng Anmin frowned, looking at Hu Zi. He had already walked over to the boy, towering over him.

Hu Zi craned his neck, struggling to look up at Zeng Anmin. "I asked my mother, and that’s what she said."

Great, it was still the same. He had corrected his address for Zeng Anmin, but he still hadn’t changed how he referred to Ms. Lin.

Zeng Anmin slowly squatted down, picked him up, and smiled. "What were you doing just now?"

"My mother said my father was a Grand General admired by millions, unparalleled in his bravery on the battlefield!" Hu Zi’s eyes shone as he spoke, his face filled with immense pride. "Did I look like my father just now?"

Zeng Anmin cast a pitying glance at the ruined patch of rapeseed flowers and gave an affirming nod. "You did."

"Hehe." Hu Zi buried his face in Zeng Anmin’s shoulder and whispered, "Then, about that time you promised to tell me stories about my father..."

"That’s easy." Zeng Anmin carried Hu Zi over to a chair. Looking at the scenery in the courtyard, a smile graced his face. "Your father wasn’t just a Grand General admired by millions. He was also the Capital City’s number one swordsman!" As he spoke, Zeng Anmin’s eyes grew distant. He could almost see the heroic figure of his older cousin’s husband, a peerless genius of his time.

"The number one swordsman!" Hearing this, Hu Zi immediately jumped out of Zeng Anmin’s arms. Gripping his wooden sword, he charged at the rapeseed flowers for another brutal beating. "I am the Capital City’s number one swordsman!"

Though Hu Zi’s voice was childish and piping, the heroic passion in his tone was something perhaps only the fallen rapeseed flowers could truly understand.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The sound of Hu Zi swinging his sword rang out continuously.

"Weren’t you going to listen to a story?" Zeng Anmin’s mouth twitched.

"Hehe," a familiar voice chimed in. Zeng Anmin turned his head to look. Ms. Lin was walking gracefully from the courtyard entrance. She wore a pure smile, looking at Hu Zi with a gentle, motherly expression. "It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this child so happy."

"Indeed," Zeng Anmin said, smiling and nodding as he continued to watch Hu Zi.

"Mother! I am the Capital City’s number one swordsman!" Hu Zi shouted, bursting with excitement.

"Yes, you are," Ms. Lin replied with a smile. She stood next to Zeng Anmin, a hint of joy in her voice. "I heard about Count Zhongyuan’s Estate clearing its name."

"Oh?" Zeng Anmin hadn’t expected Ms. Lin to be paying attention to court affairs.

Ms. Lin’s smile remained unchanged. She stared blankly at Hu Zi, her face full of maternal love and kindness. "If Count Zhongyuan’s Estate hadn’t cleared its name, I probably wouldn’t have dared to tell Hu Zi about his father for the rest of my life."

"True," Zeng Anmin grinned, not saying much else.

"Over these past few years, I’ve actually treated Hu Zi as my own son. If he can live a good life and be happier in the future, I will be happy too," Ms. Lin added softly.

"Yes, if he can live well, I’ll be happy too," Zeng Anmin said, looking at Hu Zi’s excited figure. For the first time, the gratifying feeling of an elder welled up in his heart. It felt as though he had done something that would allow the child to live a happier life in the future. Doing something like that brought about an inexplicable sense of pride.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace.

During the morning court assembly, Emperor Jianhong sat calmly on his dragon throne, his gaze fixed on the assembled officials.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is time to close the poisoning case of Lou Shaojun from the Assistant Minister’s Mansion," an official stepped forward and reported with a stern face.

This person was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Ren Weizhi. He had a calm expression and a beard on his chin, looking to be around fifty years old. With his broad frame, he stood there looking much like a massive tree stump.

After saying this, his gaze casually drifted toward a specific person in the hall. That person was Zeng Shilin. Ren Weizhi withdrew his gaze after just a brief glance. He was one of the few people who knew the inside story behind Prince Qi’s downfall.