Chapter 187: Wear the Precious Crown, Restore the Ancestral Surname

“Your Highness has given you three options: first, take up the position of Commander of the Main Army Division; second, go to the Privy Council for a civilian post; third, the Commander of the Main Army Division can transition on-site to become the Nine Gates Inspector.”

The tenth day of the fourth month.

It was a rest day, and Lin Hansu finally had a rare day off. She slept until 7-9 am before getting up, sitting before her vanity to dress and apply makeup.

Behind her, the stark naked Ding Suian rolled over and sat up in bed. “Is this Nine Gates Inspector a real job?”

Lin Hansu traced her eyebrows in the mirror, which reflected the bare figure behind her. Even though they were already extremely familiar with each other, her gaze still lingered on that lean, sturdy body for a few moments. “Because of the incident at Wanan Gate, Your Highness deeply feels that the Nine Gates are of great importance and wishes to establish a new position, ranked at the fifth grade. It will oversee the inspection of the Nine Gates guards, the conduct of the Military Patrol Post guards, patrols, and the curfew. Any military officer who is lax, has unkempt armor, or privately releases scoundrels will fall under its jurisdiction.”

“Oh?”

Ding Suian got up, walked to the side, poured a cup of warm tea, and drank it in one gulp. “That’s quite a lot of power, Sister. Who does this Inspector position report to?”

The Office of the Commander of the Main Army Division was a temporary agency. Now that the ‘rectification of military discipline’ had come to an end, it seemed the imperial court wanted to make this position permanent, just under a different name.

Over there, Lin Hansu gazed at the reflection in the mirror, lost in thought.

Ding Suian didn’t hear a response and couldn’t help but say, “Sister?”

“Hmm? Uh, what did you say just now?”

“I asked, who does the Inspector position report to?”

While speaking, Ding Suian turned to face Lin Hansu, his figure reflected in the mirror without any concealment. Lin Hansu’s phoenix eyes uncontrollably landed on his crotch, and her breathing hitched for a second. “Can you put on some clothes before you talk!”

“Oh.”

Ding Suian leisurely put on his inner garments. Lin Hansu steadied her mind and then said, “The Nine Gates Inspector is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council, but in reality, it only needs to report to Your Highness.”

“Then I’ll take the Nine Gates Inspector position.”

Hearing this, Lin Hansu turned back and revealed a smile that said ‘we thought of the same thing’. “Right! That’s what I thought too. In the army, promotions depend on seniority. Even if you were promoted to Camp Commander this time, it would take at least five to seven years of grinding for seniority before you had another chance to be promoted. It’s too slow. A civilian post in the Privy Council is even less suitable for you. The Nine Gates Inspector is better; it has great authority and no superiors to hinder you.”

“Hmm. After this military reorganization, there are many vacancies in the army. How does Your Highness plan to arrange them?”

“Chen Hantai is going to the Black Tortoise Army to serve as Deputy Commander, and He Dahai will be the Deputy Commander of the Winged Tiger Army’s A Camp. As for Father-in-law…” Lin Hansu turned back, her elegant face slightly troubled. “Your Highness does intend to promote him, but Father-in-law has a history of refusing promotions. Your Highness is still hesitating, worried about causing a similar scene.”

Ding Suian thought for a moment, then got up and said, “I’ll go persuade him.”

At 9-11 am, Ding Suian climbed over the wall and returned to the house next door.

He faintly heard a conversation between Zhao Yan and Ruan Ruan coming from the upper floor of the east wing.

“…Let’s go to Qiansi Xiang to pick out fabric for summer clothes first, come back before noon, and then go to the Princess’s place for lunch.”

“Going to the Princess’s place to mooch a meal again?”

“What are you afraid of! You’re just mooching a meal, but she has mooched who knows how many things from you.”

Hearing this, Ding Suian paused in his steps.

Obviously, the “thing” that Ruan Ruan had let her mooch so many times, as Zhao Yan mentioned, was him, her childhood sweetheart.

Fortunately, the innocent Ruan Ruan did not realize the hidden meaning in Zhao Yan’s words and asked foolishly, “What did the Princess mooch from me?”

“Sigh!”

Upstairs, the sound of Zhao Yan sighing at Ruan Ruan’s stupidity rang out.

Hearing her change the subject, Ding Suian turned and entered the bedroom, changed his clothes, and strapped on Kunwu. Then, feeling it was unnecessary to carry a saber to see his father, he put Kunwu back, picked up the small wooden sword he had tossed in the drawer, and tucked it into his waistband at the back.

The Old Man was an expert, so presumably, anything he gifted wouldn’t be an ordinary item.

But Ding Suian had studied it for over a month and hadn’t discovered anything special about it; it was just a plain, unremarkable wooden sword.

It was completely useless, except occasionally serving as a tool for him to spank people as part of family discipline.

He could ask Old Ding later to see if he could spot any tricks to it.

9:30 am.

At the Ding Family small courtyard, the gate was wide open.

Ding Suian walked to the door, and the scene inside the courtyard made him freeze on the spot.

Old Ding and Daoist Master stood side by side, yet there was a distance of four or five feet between them.

It seemed they had just finished a long conversation.

The atmosphere was very subtle.

There was the awkwardness of old lovers meeting again after many years of separation, yet both seemed to have found some relief.

Seeing Ding Suian suddenly appear at the gate, Daoist Master turned to the side, performed a Daoist salute, and said in a calm tone, “Xiao Sa, since there were difficulties on both sides back then, I will not blame you.”

Was this the end of their conversation?

Don’t!

I still wanted to hear about Old Ding’s past!

“Yo! Daoist Master is here!”

Ding Suian greeted him enthusiastically. “I’ll order a feast. Daoist Master and my father haven’t seen each other in years; you should have a good chat and catch up.”

Daoist Master didn’t take the bait, glanced at Ding Suian, turned around, and walked out the gate.

“Daoist Master, come often when you have time! My father has kept himself pure for so many years; he’s a good man worth entrusting your life to!”

Ding Suian called out enthusiastically from behind.

Daoist Master, who was walking steadily, staggered slightly upon hearing this.

“Rekindle your old romance!”

Ding Suian became even more spirited. Daoist Master, who had already walked some distance away, finally couldn’t help it, turned back, and scolded in a low voice, “Slick-tongued brat! Ruan Ruan is pure and innocent. If you ever treat her badly in the future, I, as her Master, will definitely stand up for her!”

“What are you yelling about!”

Behind him, Old Ding raised his leg and kicked him.

Ding Suian rubbed his backside. “Dad! I don’t mind! You’ve remained a widower for my mother for so many years; no one can say anything about it. Go ahead and boldly pursue your happiness for the rest of your life!”

“You don’t know a damn thing!”

Old Ding turned and walked back into the room. Seeing his son following him closely, he couldn’t help but say with disgust, “Do you have something to say or not? If you have something to say, say it. If not, leave. I didn’t prepare any food for you here!”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Listen to those words. How cold! Is that something a real father would say?”

“Do you actually have business or not?”

“Oh, it’s like this. The imperial court intends to promote you, Dad. You won’t find another excuse to refuse the appointment this time, right?”

“I won’t accept it!”

“Why?”

“No reason. I won’t accept it, that’s it.”

Old Ding’s attitude was exceptionally firm, even to the point of being unreasonable.

Ding Suian was mentally prepared for this, so he stared at Old Ding, constantly observing the changes in his expression, and suddenly said, “You’ve been hiding for twenty years. Isn’t that enough?”

“…”

Old Ding jerked his head up, his expression finally showing a trace of abnormality. It was very complex—there was astonishment, shock, and also fear.

The astonishment was probably because Ding Suian’s words were too abrupt.

The shock seemed to be because he thought his son knew his secret.

As for the fear, the reason was unknown.

Subsequently, Old Ding seemed to glimpse a hint of probing in Ding Suian’s eyes. The indescribable expression flashed by in an instant, and he retorted, “What am I, your father, hiding from?”

This question actually stumped Ding Suian.

He only guessed that Old Ding seemed to be avoiding something, but he knew nothing about who or what it specifically was.

Between father and son, they were too familiar with each other. The moment Ding Suian hesitated, Old Ding knew his son was bluffing.

Seeing that one ruse didn’t work, Ding Suian made a final effort. He pulled out the small wooden sword hidden under his outer robe. “Dad, take a look at this.”

Old Ding took it casually, examined it over and over a few times, didn’t see anything unusual, and tossed it onto the table.

Ding Suian, who had been observing him the whole time, was somewhat disappointed, but still said, “This was given to me by an Old Man while I was in Southern Zhao.”

“Oh.”

“He had a very eccentric temper.”

“Oh.”

“His son was lost.”

Old Ding looked at him, his eyes full of confusion, seemingly not understanding why Ding Suian was bringing this up out of nowhere. He replied perfunctorily, “Losing a child in old age is a tragedy in life.”

At this point, Ding Suian dismissed his last shred of suspicion.

Old Ding, however, said, “I really didn’t prepare food for you. If you want to stay here for lunch, go out and order a feast.”

“A whole feast for the two of us? Isn’t that a bit extravagant?”

“You little brat! Just now when the Daoist Master was here, you kept saying you wanted to buy a feast! What, in your heart, is your father not as important as Ruan Ruan’s Master?”

“It’s not that I value Ruan Ruan’s Master’s status; I just thought the Daoist Master was your old lover, so I was helping you curry favor!”

Ding Suian said this with a grin, but still got up and walked out.

As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard, Old Ding took a sudden step forward, walked to the table, and stared fixedly at the small wooden sword resting quietly on the tabletop.

He reached out, then withdrew his hand.

He reached out again, then withdrew it again.

After repeating this several times, he finally picked it up with difficulty.

He gently caressed the smooth hilt, touched the handguard, and used his fingertips to carefully feel the complex Talisman patterns at the base of the sword.

With a dark and unreadable expression, Old Ding glanced back. Confirming that his son, who had gone to the restaurant to buy the feast, would not return anytime soon, he poured his powerful Protective Aura into the sword body.

The Talisman lit up gradually.

‘Click~’

With a faint sound of a mechanism, the hilt split into two.

Old Ding slowly turned the wooden hilt over. With just one glance, his face instantly turned deathly pale, and his hands could not stop shaking violently.

On the inside of the curved wooden piece that had detached from the hilt, there were a few small characters.

‘Wear the Precious Crown, Restore the Ancestral Surname’

Judging by the ink color, it had been written recently, within the last few months.