Martial Cultivator

As the sun set in the west, night fell quickly.

The two boys knelt under the eaves, their stomachs rumbling.

Yu Qingfeng could not hold it in any longer and muttered under his breath, "Little He, what's your deal? Master just got back and you went and ratted me out?"

He Liang kept his head down, looking at his knees, and whispered, "Senior Brother, do you think Master wouldn't know if we didn't say anything? Who is Master? What in the Divine Capital can escape his notice?"

Yu Qingfeng frowned, "What are you trying to say?"

"It's better to come clean before Master brings it up himself. Senior Brother, do you really think Master's an idiot?"

He Liang whispered, "Master definitely already knew about us beating someone up. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten so mad out of nowhere."

Yu Qingfeng had been full of anger, but after hearing He Liang say this, he slowly nodded in realization and muttered, "No wonder Master wasn't happy when he heard I got beaten up trying to stand up for him, and even punished me with kneeling."

"Then what about you? Why did Master make you kneel too? Was it the same thing?"

He Liang shook his head. As for his own case, he had more or less figured it out but did not want to say it.

Yu Qingfeng glanced at He Liang and sighed, "Little He, the kneeling's not a big deal. With you here, I'm not mad at Master. But the two of us kneeling here like this, we really do look pitiful."

He Liang whispered, "Master has his reasons."

Yu Qingfeng chuckled and slung an arm around He Liang's shoulder, whispering, "Let's go eat wontons from that Sun's place tomorrow morning? And don't bring any for Master."

He Liang thought for a moment, then hesitated, "That might not be a good idea?"

"Then we'll bring Master a bowl, but add extra chili?"

"Senior Brother, if you do that, won't Master make us kneel another day?"

"Then let's add extra vinegar?"

"Senior Brother..."

"Mhm..."

"Then we might as well dump in more salt and say they added too much by mistake."

"Little He, that's a pretty good idea. That way, no matter what, Master can't blame us. After all, it's all out of our filial piety."

"Senior Brother, can we pretend I never said that? I'm a little scared."

"Little He, seriously, with guts like yours, it's not going to work. If you hadn't messed up at the key moment last time, we'd have already broken that guy's legs."

"Senior Brother, if we really broke someone's legs, we'd probably be kneeling till next month. Besides, he didn't say anything too bad, why break his legs?"

"You're right... We wouldn't be able to beat Master anyway."

"Mhm."

"Little He, do you think we'll ever be able to beat Master in this lifetime?"

"I think that's not likely. Master is one of the rare geniuses in all of Great Liang Dynasty's history. We probably don't have a chance in this life."

"Such a lack of ambition. Didn't the academy tutors always say? Disciples don't have to be inferior to their teachers? Isn't that how it goes?"

"Senior brother, you know this too?"

"Of course. Did you think I only knew cultivation? Who knows, maybe if I hadn't practiced martial arts, I'd have become the top-ranked scholar long ago."

"Senior brother, I don't believe you."

"Are you looking for a beating?"

......

......

Inside the bamboo building, Chen Chao sat cross-legged on the couch, regulating his breath. Listening to the quiet conversation of his two disciples outside the window, a smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

He hoped these two could stay like this forever. More than that, he hoped that his disciples would remain boys for a lifetime.

......

......

After leaving the bamboo building, Chen Chao moved back to the Warden's Manor for the next few days. This residence, left behind by the previous Lord Warden Commander Ning Ping, was one that Chen Chao had rarely visited. Especially after taking office, he spent most of his time out traveling the world. Even when he returned to the Divine Capital, he usually stayed at the bamboo building. This residence actually felt somewhat unfamiliar to him.

But this time, his return to the Divine Capital was a certainty—he was definitely participating in this grand court session. The Ministry of Rites had already sent word ahead to have a new set of court robes tailored for him.

As luck would have it, the official in charge of this matter from the Ministry of Rites was none other than the same elderly official, Zheng Huacai, whom he had met a few days prior.

This old official, while not one of the top-ranking ministers of the Liang Dynasty, still held considerable prestige. Even when overseeing this task, he usually would not come in person.

But this time, he came to the Warden's Manor.

After Chen Chao was promoted to Lord Warden Commander, this was the first grand court session. By custom, a new court robe was required. There had not been many other changes in official appointments, so there was no need for a grand overhaul, just someone to measure the body. If there had been no major changes in physique, a new robe could simply be issued based on the previous year's specifications.

When the seamstresses from the Ministry of Rites measured Chen Chao's figure, they all blushed slightly. Most officials attending the grand court session in the Divine Capital were elderly. It was the first time they had measured someone so young and with such a tall, slender frame.

Zheng Huacai stood off to the side, looking at the young martial official in front of him, and could not help but sigh, "Lord Warden Commander truly has the heroic bearing of this old man's younger days."

Chen Chao turned to glance at Zheng Huacai, the corners of his mouth twitched, and in the end could only say, "Elder is too kind."

"What this old man just said was in jest. But back when His Majesty was still a prince, it was this old man who went to the residence to take his measurements. Lord Warden Commander's demeanor bears a striking resemblance to His Majesty in those days. But if we speak of demeanor... this old man finds that Lord Warden Commander is even more like the late Crown Prince Yiwen..."

At this point, Zheng Huacai realized he had spoken out of turn and quickly shut his mouth.

Although the young man before him was indeed of imperial blood, his entanglements with the current emperor were rather complicated. That old affair, no one could say for certain what he truly thought of it.

Chen Chao did not seem to mind. On the contrary, he asked, "Would Elder care to tell me more about the past?"

Zheng Huacai waved a hand to dismiss the seamstresses before smiling, "What past is there to speak of? Back then, during the reign of Emperor Lingzong, the two most outstanding princes were Crown Prince Yiwen and the current Emperor. They stood shoulder to shoulder, and even the court officials couldn't say who would make the better emperor. But Crown Prince Yiwen was the eldest legitimate son, and so Emperor Lingzong didn't hesitate much."

These words were honest. Since Crown Prince Yiwen was the eldest legitimate son and lacked nothing compared to his peers, it was only natural for the throne to be passed to him.

It was just a pity that Crown Prince Yiwen was killed early. If not for that, who could say what Great Liang might look like today?

Still, if Crown Prince Yiwen had successfully ascended the throne, the world would not be in a bad state. This was something all the court officials agreed upon.

As for the truth behind that old matter, nowadays only a few insiders knew why after Crown Prince Yiwen's death, Emperor Lingzong chose to pass the throne to his grandson rather than another son. Zheng Huacai certainly was not one of those insiders.

Chen Chao smiled faintly but said no more.

"Lord Warden Commander, by custom, you may choose from several robe colors. Does Your Excellency have one in mind?"

Zheng Huacai said on his own accord, "If you ask this old man, Lord Warden Commander should wear pure white. You'd certainly stand out, a white-clad youth, as ethereal as an immortal!"

Chen Chao gave a bitter smile. "Wearing white now? People might say that this official has a black heart beneath."

"Does Lord Warden Commander really care about that?"

In recent days, Zheng Huacai had carefully gone over all the things Chen Chao had done. His impression of this young martial artist had changed quite a bit.

"I'll stick with black."

Chen Chao said indifferently, "Already dressed in black, whatever other color there is, it won't be seen anyway."

Zheng Huacai nodded without trying to persuade him, simply smiling, "It'll be delivered before the grand court session."

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