“I am the royal commandant and I am here under the emperor’s order. Please pardon our visit!” The middle aged man cupped his hands and greeted Cheng Biyuan politely.
Cheng Biyuan hurried to greet him back, after all, the other party was here under the emperor’s order, “You are too polite. May I ask what is your purpose of visit, Mr. Commandant?”
“Master Cheng, have you forgotten me already?” said the middle-aged man with a smiile.
Cheng Xiao Xiao was quite surprised upon hearing that. What did her father have to do with a royal commandant? She was familiar with the title royal commandant. It was the equivalent of an imperial guard, they were very close to the emperor. One could say it’s the emperor’s most trusted troop.
Nonetheless, Cheng Biyuan smiled bitterly, “Brother Zhou! Pardon me, brother Zhou!”
“No, three years ago you left without bidding me farewell. I felt for sure you have already forgotten all about me!” Zhou Jinjiang seemed a little bit displeased and his tone a little bit stiff.1
“I am sorry, brother Zhou, back then….”
“Hrm, if I wasn’t so busy with my missions, I would have looked for you way before now. Well, I didn’t think you guys would have caused such a ruckus. That had certainly saved me the hassle of seeking you out!”
Zhou Jinjiang casted him a look then turned and looked at the Cheng’s brother and sister and said, “Xiao Xiao, Zheng Yuan, you two didn’t forget about your Uncle Zhou in the last three years now, did you?”
“Uncle Zhou?” said Cheng Xiao Xiao. She truly didn’t remember him. She wasn’t the original owner after all.
Cheng Zheng Yuan obediently called him, “How have you been, Uncle Zhou?”
“Good, good. Zheng Bin and Lan Lan have all grown up too!” Zhou Jinjiang smiled at the two children in front of him.
Cheng Zheng Bin seemed to recall a little bit about him and called out, “Uncle Zhou, Zheng Bin remembers you. You’ve bought me a wooden sword as a gift!”
“Ho ho, Zheng Bin has such good memory!” smiled Zhou Jinjiang happily.
He was the closest brother that Cheng Biyuan had in his circle of friends as they were both from Emperor City and have known each other for the longest. Even though they have only seen each other a few times, they were brothers that never let the fact that Cheng Biyuan was banished got in between them.
As he had said earlier, the major events that happened to Cheng Biyuan leading to his banishment, he certainly left without bidding farewell. And they have had no contacts in the last three years.
Until they have just met each other again, Cheng Biyuan was, indeed, a little uncertain. After all, they didn’t knew each other through their positions. Cheng Biyuan was aware that Zhou Jinjiang worked for the royals, but he was taken aback by his sudden appearance in full official garb along with a troop of guards, which was why he didn’t greet him right away.
At this time, Mrs. Cheng also approached them and bowed at Zhou Jinjiang, “Cheng Yuqin greets Uncle Zhou. It’s been a while, Uncle Zhou!”
“Little sister, I never thought I’d run into you guys here!” said Zhou Jinjiang with a light sigh.
Mrs. Cheng’s eyes reddened and she nodded, “Thank you, Uncle Zhou for coming to visit us!”
“You guys… “ Zhou Jinjiang had an idea of what had transpired with the Cheng’s. But as an outsider, it was difficult for him to meddle in their business. But he has always known that life had been rough for the family of this brother that he was fond of. He had wanted to help back in the days, it just that Cheng Biyuan didn’t want to accept his help.
This time when he heard caught wind about the Cheng’s family, he specifically obtained the permission from the emperor to be the lead person of this mission so he has a legit reason to leave Emperor City to come look for them.2
“Okay, now that there are no more outsiders around, I would like to ask about the real situation about your family!” asked Zhou Jinjian with a solemn look. “All the rumors that I have been hearing outside, are they all true?”
“Brother Zhou, you mean the royal family has…..”
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Random translator notes:
1. Oh, what a crock of *. Three years he didn’t go looking for them and HE was the one offended? C’mon!
2. And brought it to the royal family’s attention??
