Chapter 92: I Am His Brother Too

June 18th.

The Imperial Astronomical Bureau was much busier than usual.

Li Qiushi, Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Princess Xingguo attended in person. Prince Yinyang Jiang Yangyi, who was far away in Hongzhou, could not attend in person, but the Yu Clan, the maternal family of the Princess Consort of Yinyang in Central Heaven, sent clansmen to witness the ceremony.

In addition, the Shouyi Temple of the Daoist sect, the Da’an State Temple of the Buddhist sect, and the State Religion all sent representatives.

Even the apprenticeship ceremony was arranged by the Court of Imperial Sacrifices at the personal direction of His Majesty.

Such a grand display was not surprising.

Supervisor Yuan did not participate in politics, belonged to no faction, had no conflicts of interest with anyone, and possessed great prestige. It was said that he was unfathomable.

Such a person was both a potential target for all sides to win over and a figure no one wanted to offend.

With a joyous occasion like taking on a Disciple, it was natural for people to come and make themselves known.

At noon, Lin Hansu walked into the hall in plain clothes. Amidst the gazes of the crowd, she knelt before Teacher and offered tea with both hands: “Master, please accept this bow from your Disciple, Lin Hansu. Today, I am honored that you, Master, do not despise me and are willing to take me in. I will strictly follow your teachings, study diligently, practice hard, and treat you with filial piety, living up to your guidance.”

Amidst the congratulations, Teacher, who had finally put on new clothes, drank the tea happily.

Lin Hansu glanced at the many dignitaries present, and her heart suddenly felt a pang of sorrow. Firstly, this heaven-sent Opportunity was earned for her by Young Master.

Yet, Young Master did not even have the qualifications to stand here.

Secondly, from now on, she could be considered to have the protection of a Master.

She was no longer that person who could not rely on her maternal family, had to seek survival on her own, and could be easily manipulated by a vicious old woman.

Deep in the crowd, Xu Jiuxi, who had come to witness the ceremony with Tao Jincun, the Headmaster of the Literature Institute, scrutinized Lin Hansu’s beautiful profile for a long time, then smiled and said, “I didn’t expect it to be her.”

Tao Jincun asked, “You know her?”

“You could say that.” Xu Jiuxi looked at the dark-skinned Teacher in confusion again and whispered, “Why did this shriveled little old man suddenly decide to take a Disciple?”

“Watch your tongue!”

Hearing her call Teacher a shriveled little old man, Tao Jincun quickly whispered a warning. Coincidentally, Teacher in the distance also looked over.

Tao Jincun was nervous, but fortunately, Teacher was still smiling, so he probably hadn’t heard.

He then whispered back, “I don’t know either. Supervisor Yuan has not taken a Disciple for twenty years.”

7:45 PM.

The sky was darkening, but the heat had not yet dissipated.

However, many residents of Central Heaven could not wait to start their nightlife.

Ding Suian went home, took a bath, changed his clothes, and walked out of Suimian Street with Lin Dafu.

Chen Yi, whose confinement had just been lifted today, and Li Baicheng and the others were already waiting at the street entrance.

“Everyone’s here, let’s go!”

Li Meimei, whose condition of being paralyzed or not paralyzed fluctuated, chose not to be paralyzed tonight.

On the way, he said excitedly, “The opening of this Zhangtai Willow completely overshadows Yunshao Tower! It is said that the owner had another one in City, called Pinshu Pavilion. Old Sixth, you used to serve at the Prince Lanyangs Estate, have you been to that Pinshu Pavilion?”

“No. Brothers know me; if it weren’t for the matter of Miss Xia last time, I would never step foot in a place of entertainment. This is my principle in life.”

Ding Suian said this very seriously and sincerely.

Li Baicheng, the second brother who rarely spoke, looked approvingly and rarely spoke up, “Look at this! Why is Old Sixth able to advance to the Astral stage at such an age? It is because he uses all his energy on the right path! Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, you should learn from him.”

Li Meimei laughed awkwardly, “I know.”

Zhangtai Willow was located in Anle Ward on the north side of Chengtian Street, occupying a vast area with luxurious decorations.

It was said that just the servants inside numbered over three hundred, showing the scale of the establishment.

From a distance, one could see three four-story buildings arranged in a ‘pin’ shape in the twilight, connected by flying rainbow bridges in the air. The windows and railings were all decorated with colorful silk.

It was brightly lit.

Even before entering, one could feel its money-devouring power.

This was an invisible threshold designed to discourage those without sufficient wealth.

The six of them walked to the entrance and were looking up when a madam greeting guests scanned Ding Suian from head to toe, suddenly slapped her thigh, and rushed forward, “Oh my! Young Master Ding, you’ve finally come! Since you left City, Miss Ye Han has missed you so much that her eyes are almost blind from crying!”

“…”

“…”

The five members of the Spark looked at Ding Suian in unison.

“Ahem~ Mother Xu must have mistaken me for someone else.”

Ding Suian decided to salvage his persona again.

“Hey! Young Master Ding, what are you saying? Back in City, you wanted to come eight times a day! How could this old woman be mistaken!”

“Ahem. Don’t pull me! I can go in myself!”

Zhangtai Willow back courtyard.

In this newly moved place, the courtyard was unexpectedly lush, which showed that transplanting mature trees alone was a significant expense.

The Hehuan Cage, which still used its old name, was hidden in the depths of the back courtyard.

“Congratulations to you, Uncle, on your promotion~”

Ruan Guofan returned to the capital this time and was promoted to Deputy Inspector of the Shadow Division. Among the four yamen, only the Shadow Division had not appointed an inspector, which was personally overseen by Princess Xingguo.

His promotion to Deputy Inspector made him the de facto person in charge of the Shadow Division.

He was still the superior of Ding Suian in his capacity as a secret agent of the Shadow Division.

Ding Suian probed, “Uncle, you brought all the elites from City back to the capital this time. Is there going to be a big move in the West Yamen soon?”

Ruan Guofan thought carefully for a few breaths. This time, he did not prevaricate or deliberately hide things as before, only saying, “I cannot tell you, but some things will indeed happen in the court soon.”

It was quite rare for the old man to say this much.

He didn’t know how the simple Ruan Ruan could have such a slippery and resourceful father.

Ding Suian did not have any serious business coming here; it was more like a polite visit from a subordinate to an old superior.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ding Suian said goodbye and left.

In the front courtyard, the three high buildings were named ‘Zhang’, ‘Tai’, and ‘Liu’ respectively. In the open space surrounded by them in a ‘pin’ shape was an open-air stage.

There was a group of young ladies wearing light gauze and thin clothes dancing with flowing socks.

Guests who had not yet taken their seats stood in front of the inner railings of the three high buildings, with a top-down perspective. They could always catch a glimpse of some scenery.

Zhangtai Willow was meticulously designed in every detail.

Ding Suian went straight to the third floor of Zhang Building and pushed open the door to enter the private room.

Seeing him return so quickly, Li Meimei let out an ‘eh’, “It seems that Miss Ye Han has great skills! She made my Sixth Brother surrender so quickly.”

Ding Suian made a few jokes and sat down.

The wooden walls between the rooms were thick, so conversations would not interfere with each other.

However, after Ding Suian advanced to the Astral stage, his six senses were far sharper than before.

He often had to deliberately turn off part of his Divine Sense to avoid being disturbed; otherwise, his brain would be noisy enough to explode.

Just as he was about to shut off his hearing, he suddenly heard a mention of ‘Princess Consort of Lanyang’ next door, so he couldn’t help but focus his attention.

“…As for why Supervisor Yuan took her as his closing Disciple, it’s not hard to guess. You don’t know, after the Princess Consort of Lanyang returned to the capital in April, she was somehow favored by Your Highness and entered the Princesss Residence. In my opinion, it was Your Highness who recommended her, which is why she had the Opportunity to be accepted under the Supervisor’s tutelage!”

“Pfft~”

A sneer was followed by a male voice, “You know nothing! This time the Lin family was able to be accepted under the Supervisor’s tutelage, it was because they rubbed off on our family’s glory.”

“Brother Yu, how did they rub off on your family’s glory?”

“Think about who my Uncle is?”

“Prince Yinyang! Oh, Brother Yu, are you saying that Prince Yinyang recommended the Lin family?”

Another new voice rang out, “That’s right! Prince Yinyang is also a Disciple of the Supervisor, and he also has a relationship with the Princess Consort…”

It seemed to pause deliberately, and there were a few snickers nearby.

The one surnamed Yu said again, “What’s there to be afraid of saying! The Princess Consort’s eldest sister is my Uncle’s mistress! If it weren’t for my Paternal Aunt’s generosity, such a woman and her two bastards would have been beaten to death and thrown into a mass grave long ago!”

The new voice that joined later seemed to be fanning the flames, “Hey! What a pity, it seems Prince Yinyang is fascinated by that mistress. Such a good Opportunity, even if it’s not left to the legitimate son in the family, it would have been fine to give it to a nephew like Brother Yu! It was actually given to the mistress’s sister, tsk tsk, it’s truly a pity!”

The next door suddenly fell silent.

A moment later, perhaps someone saw that the atmosphere was not right and deliberately changed the subject, “Thank you, Brother Yu, for the invitation today. This meal at Zhangtai Willow probably isn’t cheap, right?”

The person surnamed Yu, whose voice had become much gloomier, said, “Someone will come to pay the bill in a while.”

As soon as the words fell, the door creaked.

Immediately after, a sycophantic voice rang out, “Oh, all the brothers are here, heh heh, thank you, Cousin, for inviting me to the banquet. This is really like water flooding the Dragon King’s Temple, we are family upon family, haha.”

After he finished laughing, no one responded.

After a long silence, they heard the person surnamed Yu say, “You go pay the bill first.”

“…”

“Brother Xuan? I told you to go pay the bill, didn’t you hear?”

“Uh, Cousin, the money I made from selling books lately has all been given to you. It’s really empty now, I can’t pay the bill.”

“Hahaha~”

“Hahaha”

Amidst the laughter, the person surnamed Yu cursed, “Who is your cousin, you fool!”

“Slap~”

A crisp sound.

Ding Suian suddenly got up and walked out of the room.

The others who were chatting were confused, but they immediately followed.

“Bang~”

The loud noise of the door being pushed open and hitting the wall made everyone in the private room turn their heads.

Including Jiang Xuan, who was holding his Face and looking at Ding Suian with astonishment.

“Come here!”

Ding Suian beckoned first, letting Jiang Xuan stand beside him.

At this time, Li Baicheng and the others also swarmed behind Ding Suian.

The people in the room were startled, and a Young Master in a brocade robe hurriedly stood up and said, “I am Zhang Jian.” Fearing that the other party didn’t know his background, he added, “My second Uncle is Lord Zhang of the Ministry of Rites.”

After reporting his name, he had a little confidence, but seeing that the group of people opposite were all dressed well, he still politely said, “May I ask your name, brother?”

Li Baicheng and the others didn’t speak because Ding Suian had taken the initiative to come over.

If there was a grudge, of course, you hit them and ran; why report your family name and wait for the government office to come to your door?

“Ding Suian.”

Ding Suian reported his name. Several people seemed to have heard this name but couldn’t recall it for a moment.

A second or two later, someone suddenly fell off the stool with a ‘thump’ and sat on the ground, his Face changing drastically, “The Ding Suian who killed someone at the small drill ground?”

Several people’s Faces changed in unison.

He even dared to kill the adopted son of Qin Shou; the background of the people present might not be as strong as General Huaihua.

“Brother Ding, I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Zhang Jian bit the bullet and stepped forward to get close, but Ding Suian reached out and pushed his Face to the side, “Which one is surnamed Yu?”

“…”

No one spoke, but they all subconsciously looked at Yu Bowen.

Ding Suian slowly stepped forward. Yu Bowen was already scared pale and hurriedly said, “I am a Disciple of the Yu Clan in the capital, my Uncle is Prince Yinyang!”

“Why did you hit him?”

Ding Suian pointed back at Jiang Xuan.

“He, he is my cousin. I am his brother, what’s wrong with hitting him?”

Yu Bowen stammered.

“What a coincidence, you are his brother, and I am his brother too~”

As soon as the words fell, Ding Suian suddenly swung his hand and slapped Yu Bowen on the Face.

The latter, a weak dandy, how could he react?

This slap made his body half-spin, and with a ‘clatter’, he plunged headfirst into the vegetable soup.

“Furthermore, he is my business partner. Every copper of the money you took from him has my share. This slap just now is the interest. If you don’t send the book money over tomorrow without missing a single copper, the interest will double.”

Yu Bowen was covered in vegetable soup, and the blood spurting from his nostrils had already flowed to his chest. Hearing this, he nodded frantically.

Compared to those three in the Bureau of Music and Entertainment, he was already thanking the gods and Buddhas.

Ding Suian turned and said to Jiang Xuan, “Let’s go.”

The crowd swarmed back to the next room, not worried at all that the other party would call for reinforcements.

Sitting down again, Jiang Xuan rolled his eyes slyly, probably feeling that he had lost Face in front of so many people just now, and shouted, “I usually treat my cousin with respect. Today he must have been drunk. I am a magnanimous person with a big heart, so I won’t hold it against him.”

Everyone looked at Ding Suian and saw that he didn’t speak, so no one picked up the conversation.

Ding Suian held a bowl in one hand and a rice spoon in the other, filled a big bowl of rice, and stuffed it directly into Jiang Xuan’s hand.

“Eat first. If you want any dishes, ask the servant to add them.”

“…”

Jiang Xuan held the rice bowl and was stunned for a moment.

Then, he slowly picked up his chopsticks and shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth.

He chewed randomly twice and shoveled another mouthful.

He didn’t eat any dishes either, just kept his head down, shoveling faster and faster.

“Cough, cough, cough~”

Eating like this, he was inevitably choked.

He leaned over and coughed frantically.

When he raised his head again, his Face, which still had the slap mark, was covered in rice grains, snot, and tears, but he didn’t wipe them. He just cried out to Ding Suian, “Brother.”