When Gao Yuan woke up again, he had already returned to his residence. He slowly opened his sore eyes, and a young face entered his blurry vision.
“Great Uncle! Great Uncle, you’re awake?” Qi Lin said excitedly.
Gao Yuan raised his weak arm and rubbed his dizzy head. “What’s wrong with me?”
“You fainted in the dungeon. It was Eunuch Wang who sent you back! Eunuch Wang even brought an imperial physician to treat you… Is His Majesty not angry with you anymore?” Qi Lin said many things in one breath.
Gao Yuan held his dizzy head and sat up.
“By the way, Great Uncle, Grand Marshal Xiao has left the Capital!” A youth like Qi Lin probably had a dream of becoming a hero. He would also pay attention to the most powerful hero in the world. Without a doubt, Xiao Zhenting was the legend in his heart. “He brought soldiers with him! Great Uncle, do you think he’s going to war again?”
“He has already handed over his military power. How can he fight…” Gao Yuan suddenly remembered his conversation with the Emperor before he fainted. He didn’t seem to have had the time to tell the Emperor who that person was. The Emperor mobilized Xiao Zhenting at this critical juncture. Could it be that he thought… the only survivor was Xiao Yan?
The Xiao family had nine generations of single descendants. Only then did Xiao Zhenting’s father’s generation finally start to spread. Xiao Zhenting had an elder brother, and Xiao Yan was his elder brother’s only legitimate son in the world. Xiao Zhenting had no children. If Xiao Yan was gone, the Xiao family’s direct line of descent would probably be cut off.
It was strange that the Emperor was so nervous that even Xiao Zhenting was mobilized.
Unfortunately…
Gao Yuan closed his eyes and stopped the thoughts rolling in his mind.
“Great Uncle! Great Uncle!” Qi Lin waved his hand in front of his eyes. “I’ll go get the imperial physician. Imperial Physician Zhang is waiting in the hall. He said that if you wake up, he wants me to call him.”
“Wait.” Gao Yuan grabbed Qi Lin’s hand. “I’m tired. Don’t tell anyone about me waking up.”
“Huh?” Qi Lin blinked in confusion. “Why, Great Uncle?”
Gao Yuan did not say anything else and slowly lay down.
… .
On the 16th day of the first month, after Yan Jiuchao left, the news of Tianxiang Restaurant being destroyed spread like wildfire. Many customers who were scared away that day saw Yan Jiuchao’s true appearance with their own eyes. On one hand, they sighed that this person should only exist in the heavens. On the other hand, they heard the guards call him Young Master. There was no one else other than the Young Master in Yan City who could be so domineering in the Capital.
As expected, the following conversation in the Tianxiang Restaurant confirmed everyone’s guess.
What stunned everyone was that not only did Young Master Yan beat up the Young Master of the Tianxiang Restaurant, but he also humiliated the Second Prince.
How bold was he to not even respect the prince?
“You didn’t see it, but the Second Prince’s face is as black as charcoal!”
In a teahouse, a middle-aged man vividly described what he saw that day.
“Hey, hey, hey, is the Young Master of Tianxiang Restaurant really crippled?” A scholar who was listening to the commotion asked.
The middle-aged man stepped on the stool with one foot and slammed the table with his other hand. He gestured with his body and said, “Isn’t that so? Here, here, they’re all crippled! ‘If he breaks his arm himself, it would be one of his arms. If I were to break it, I would naturally have to collect some interest.’”
After he finished gesturing, he did not forget to imitate it vividly.
Although he did not even imitate the tone, it did not stop everyone from imagining it. Everyone imagined the scene and could not help but clap their hands in joy!
Yan Jiuchao’s reputation in the Capital was not very good. The people he had beaten up could fill the entire Tianxiang Restaurant. However, that Xu guy was not a good person either. The only difference was that Yan Jiuchao bullied people with status. Meanwhile, Xu Chengxuan used intense methods to suppress his peers and take revenge on the thorn in his side. Many merchants, commoners, and even poor scholars had been harmed by him.
Therefore, as soon as the incident fermented, two completely different voices appeared in the Capital. Some scolded Yan Jiuchao for being a good-for-nothing, while others laughed at Xu Chengxuan for bringing it upon himself.
On the way back, Yan Jiuchao stroked the little snow fox and said slowly, “Are there more people scolding me or Tianxiang Restaurant?”
Shadow Six said, “Of course there are more people who’re scolding that brat. That brat relied on the Second Prince and Consort Xu’s power and had the Ghost Clan of Southern Xinjiang in his hands. He bullied many people in the open and in the dark.”
“You mean, those who scolded him were all bullied by him, and those who scolded me were also bullied by me?” Yan Jiuchao frowned. “Damn it! The number of people I’ve bullied is actually less than a person with the surname Xu!”
Shadow Six : “…”
Young Master, aren’t you missing the point?
Yan Jiuchao snorted coldly and asked Shadow Thirteen to drive the carriage back to the Capital. He pulled out all the second-generation heirs and bullied them one by one. He bullied them until they cried for their parents and complained. Only then did Young Master Yan return to the village in satisfaction.
Yan Jiuchao had bullied everyone he could bully, so no one related his personal grudges with the Yu family. They only felt that this little lunatic had gone crazy again.
After all, this was not the first time he had gone crazy. One time, he had beaten up an important coutier in the throne room, and another time, he had pushed the fourth prince into the water at the Mid-Autumn Festival. The most ridiculous thing was that he had once gotten drunk and fell asleep on the Emperor’s bed.
Every single one of them was a capital crime.
In comparison, beating up dozens of second-generation heirs was nothing.
When the news reached the Emperor’s ears, he nodded in relief. “He’s still sensible. He knows that I’m worried about the borders and are more obedient than before.”
Consort Xu, who had just reached the door of the imperial study and was about to complain on behalf of her nephew, wanted to vomit blood when she heard this!
