Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
In the Gao Manor, Gao Yuan, who had been âlying sickâ for many days, returned to the Directorate again. The official and academic matters that he had left behind had piled up into a mountain, and Gao Yuan had no choice but to deal with them at home.
The weather was good today, so Gao Yuan placed the tables under the peach tree in the garden.
The peach blossoms bloomed, each one beautiful and moving.
Gao Yuanzhen sat on the cushion and picked up his pen to review the essays of the new supervisory students.
âYoung people nowadays really donât like to study anymore. Theyâre much inferior to us back then.â Gao Yuan shook his head as he reviewed.
The butler at the side said, âWhen Master entered the directorate, you entered with your own abilities. Now, many of the students are âstuffedâ in.â
They were all at home, so there was no need to avoid it. Gao Yuan did not reprimand the butler for his loose tongue. Instead, he picked up an article in his hand. âThereâs something good about it too. This handwriting is not bad. Itâs elegant but doesnât lose its grandeur. Itâs both good and bad. Itâs also thick and slender. Itâs neither obedient nor wild. Itâs written in a brilliant manner. Itâs sad and cut together. It can be considered a top-notch work.â
âLet me see.â The butler walked forward curiously.
Gao Yuan only used talents. To be able to be his butler, his literary talent was worthy of being an imperial scholar.
Gao Yuan handed the article to the butler.
After the butler saw it, he praised repeatedly, âWonderful, indeed wonderful. However, itâs still slightly inferior to Masterâs literary talent back then.â
âOf course! Donât you know who my great uncle is! In the past hundred years and beyond, I havenât met anyone more literary than my great uncle!â
Qi Lin appeared with a food box.
......
The butler wanted to see who did the article, but Qi Lin interrupted him and he placed the article back on the table.
âAlright, go busy yourself,â Gao Yuan said to the butler, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
After the butler brought a cushion for Qi Lin, he smiled and left.
Qi Lin sat down opposite Gao Yuan and placed the food box on the grass at the side. He opened the lid of the box and a sweet peach blossom fragrance wafted out.
âGreat Uncle, take a break and eat some peach blossom cake. Itâs new from the kitchen,â Qi Lin said as he placed a plate of exquisite snacks on the table. The milky white cake had five fresh peach blossom petals embedded in it, making it look fresh and pleasant.
âIâm not hungry,â Gao Yuan said.
âYouâve been reviewing it all morning. Arenât you hungry?â Qi Lin muttered and handed a piece of peach blossom cake to his great uncle.
Gao Yuan smiled helplessly, put down his pen, and took the cake.
Seeing Gao Yuan take a bite, Qi Lin also took a piece and ate it.
âGreat Uncleâ¦â
âDonât talk when youâre eating or sleeping.ân/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Qi Lin curled his lips and ate a large piece of peach blossom cake. He almost choked to death. âI can talk now, right?â
âWhat are you trying to say?â Gao Yuan had only taken two bites before he felt that it was too sweet and put down the pastry.
Qi Lin widened his eyes. âGreat Uncle, tell me about your dream again!â
Gao Yuan always said strange things. Qi Lin had heard it many times, so he could not ignore it. Hence, Gao Yuan told him that he had some strange dreams when he was sick.
Gao Yuanâs hand that was holding the pen paused. âA dream is a dream. Whatâs there to say?â
âWhen I donât want to hear it, you spout nonsense. I want to hear it, but you stopped. Why are you like this?â Qi Lin muttered unhappily.
Gao Yuan laughed. âItâs my fault.â
âIsnât that so?â Qi Lin looked at him resentfully.
Gao Yuan smiled helplessly. âWhat do you want to know?â
âYan Jiuchao.â The more Great Uncle told Qi Lin not to provoke him, the more curious Qi Lin was about him. During this period of time, he had asked about Yan Jiuchao a lot. Unfortunately, he was not a professional spy. After asking around, he only knew a little more than others. âIn Great Uncleâs dream, Yan Jiuchaoâs children were lost. In the end, did he find them?â
Gao Yuan shook his head. âNo.â
Yan Jiuchao only lived to twenty-five before suddenly disappearing. He guessed that Yan Jiuchao had died in a deserted place. He did not see his sons until he died.
âAh? Arenât the children quite pitiful?â Qi Lin held his cheek pitifully.
Pitiful? Gao Yuanâs eyes turned cold. Those three demon kings who massacred the Capital?
âLook! The Little Mute is here!â
Outside the Young Master Manor, a group of children of seven to nine years old blocked the three little lads in a dirty alley.
The little munchkins had shaken off the servants and slipped out of the dog hole.
Behind this alley was a noisy alley. Separated by a wall, this was the residence of the Young Master Manor and the various nobles. On the other side, there were lowly servants living. These children were born in such a place.
The three little fellows would occasionally slip out. At first, they watched them from afar, but somehow, a child discovered them.
âIâm asking you what your names are. Which manor are you working in? Youâre already so old, but you still donât know how to speak. Are you mute?â
The children laughed. From then on, the three little fellows became the little mute in their mouths.
The three of them were wearing high-grade clothes. Any bead was enough for a street full of servants to eat for an entire year. However, the children did not know that, in their eyes, the three of them were little mutes. Mutes were easy to bully.
An eight-year-old boy said angrily, âLittle Mute, why are you here again? Didnât I tell you that only people from the Zhang Manor and the Liu Manor can come here? Your parents arenât from these two mansions!â
âThey donât have parents, right? Weâve never seen their parents!â
âWild children that no one wantsâ¦â The eight-year-old boy smiled evilly. His gaze landed on the pastries in their hands. âGive it to me.â
The three of them refused.
The boy said fiercely, âIf you dare not give it to me, Iâll beat you to death!â
The three of them looked at him stubbornly.
âBeat them up!â The boy ordered. The brats surrounded him and pushed the little fellows to the corner.
The boy reached out to snatch something, but suddenly, a cold voice sounded in the alley. âWhat are you doing!â
The boy and his companions were shocked. They turned to look at the person and saw a young girl walking over with a cold expression.
Yu Wan stopped in front of them and looked down at him. She reached out a hand and poked the boyâs chest. âYouâre the one who wanted to snatch their things?â
The boy was intimidated by the other partyâs aura and swallowed his saliva guiltily. âI⦠I didnât snatch it!â
âYou didnât manage to snatch it! I heard everything you said! Do you know who they are?â Yu Wan grabbed the boyâs arm and mercilessly dragged him out of the alley. When his companions saw that the situation was bad, they wanted to escape. Yu Wan said coldly, âIf anyone dares to run, Iâll break their legs!â
The children didnât dare run anymore.
Yu Wan grabbed the boyâs shoulder and pointed at the wall of the Young Master Manor. âDo you see this manor? What Liu Manor, Zhang Manor? Theyâre not even worthy of carrying shoes for the people in this manor! Their father is the owner of this manor! Theyâre the little young masters of this manor! If you dare to bully them again, the guards in the manor will come out and beat you to death if they find out!â
A verbal threat was not enough. Yu Wan picked up a brick from the ground and smashed it against the wall. The boy immediately cried in fear!
Everyone trembled and looked at Yu Wan in fear.
âDo you still dare to snatch their things?â
âNo⦠I donât dare anymoreâ¦â
âAre you still going to call them Little Mute?â
âNoâ¦â
Yu Wan walked towards them step by step and said fiercely, âIâm their mother. If I see you bullying my son again, Iâll smash all your heads!â
The brats cried collectively!
After confirming that these brats had really learned their lesson and did not dare to bully the little ones anymore, Yu Wan mercifully let them go.
Yu Wan was accompanying her uncle to the Capital for a follow-up today. Her uncleâs injuries had improved slightly, and Doctor Ji was very happy. She left her uncle to undergo his second treatment in the pharmacy. With Yu Feng guarding him, Yu Wan could not help much, so she came to the Young Master Manor to take a look.
Fortunately, she was here. Otherwise, who knew how badly the three little lads would be bullied by that group of people.
The three little fellowsâ clothes were dirty from rubbing against the corner of the wall. Yu Wan patted their clothes and wiped the sweat off their foreheads with a handkerchief. âWhy did you come out by yourselves? Whereâs the nanny?â
The three of them lowered their heads guiltily, not daring to tell Yu Wan that they had shaken off the nanny and secretly crawled out of the dog hole.
The three of them did not know how to talk, and Yu Wan knew that she would not be able to get anything out of them. She rubbed their little heads and said, âAlright, itâs fine. Iâll send you back to the manor. Donât run out by yourself in the future, understand? There are many bad people outside.â
The brat was considered light. It would be troublesome if they encountered a kidnapper like last time.
The three of them did not obediently follow Yu Wan.
Yu Wan looked at them strangely. âWhatâs wrong? Is there anything else?â
The three of them hesitated for a while before holding Yu Wanâs hand and bringing her through the alley. They turned right and entered an abandoned courtyard.
Yu Wan saw an abandoned kitten in the courtyard. The kittenâs leg had somehow broken. It was limping and its entire body was dirty. So, was it all for this cat?
Gao Yuan would never have expected that the Demon Kings, who had killed people like flies in their previous lives, were patiently squatting on the ground, feeding an ugly stray cat with the food they were desperately protecting.
They were not born demons.
They had also been angels.