Mr. Shen felt that he was no longer the same as he used to be. He actually got fooled into feeling touched by that brat’s words. Could it be that the older one became, the easier it was for them to forgive the younger generation’s mistakes?

When he first found Shen Leng, was he the same as he was now?

He took a bite of the meat and realized that it tasted better than it did earlier on. He did not know if it was attributed to the changes in his emotions.

“You can fool me, but how can you fool Zhuang Yong?” Mr. Shen asked Shen Leng earnestly, because it was a very serious question.

Zhuang Yong was not Mr. Shen. Even if he was like a mother hen who treated Shen Leng like one of her chicks, after all, he was the commander of the Navy, and the person working for His Majesty. He was also Great Ning’s general. What he had to consider was entirely different from what Mr. Shen was currently thinking about.

Initially, when he found Shen Leng, Mr. Shen only had one thing on his mind, which was to repay a debt of gratitude. Prince Liu, at that time, or otherwise known as the current emperor, treated him as a subject. He wanted to repay him with his life, but a few years later, the scales within him had evidently tilted.

If…if he had no choice but to make a decision, he would rather…let His Majesty down!

In truth, Mr. Shen had already made that decision a long time ago. If one day, if a matter that concerned Leng and Cha’er’s life and death arose, he would take those two kids with him and flee. Position and wealth or bright prospects could be thrown away; the only thing that could not be discarded was their family love.

But Zhuang Yong was different – once Shen Leng told Zhuang Yong that he had killed Mu Xiaofeng, what would Zhuang Yong do?

This was an extremely, extremely serious matter.

Mr. Shen looked at Shen Leng, waiting for Shen Leng to answer.

“Is Zhuang Yong worth betting on? Did you consider that before? You do not share a mutual affection that concerns life and death with him. He’s only taking care of you because of my relationship with him. We are friends, hence he’s taking care of you like he’s taking care of a friend’s son. It is personal considerations. Zhuang Yong has never been a person who entangles personal considerations with the law.”

Shen Leng sat upright. After pondering, he answered. “If I were Zhuang Yong, the most simple and easiest thing to do is to turn me over…it does not involve any power within the imperial court. I merely killed Mu Xiaofeng because of a personal feud. This is the most perfect outcome. His Majesty would feel it’s rather a waste but he would behead me. Zhuang Yong would be demoted and reprimanded. But that’s all there is to that. There is absolutely no need to utilize the Ministry of Justice and Commandant of Justice to investigate for this case to be concluded clearly. Every single person in the Navy knows that Mu Xiaofeng and I did not see eye to eye. By me killing him, Zhuang Yong’s only responsibility is that he failed to supervise me.”

Mr. Shen nodded. “Yeah, that is the best and most appropriate option for Zhuang Yong.”

Shen Leng smiled. “But I still won’t intend to test it out.”

“Reason being?”

“Mu Xiaofeng’s courtyard was very remote. It was extremely remote, such that it was enough for me to find a safe escape route. Furthermore, from the time I secretly returned to the camp to the time I killed Mu Xiaofeng and left, I actually did not encounter any patrol troops.”

“So you feel that Zhuang Yong intentionally set everything up for you?”

“There is a possibility.”

“In that case, you might lose even more miserably.”

Mr. Shen looked at Shen Leng. “If everything was planned by Zhuang Yong, did you ever consider the possibility that he was using you to get rid of Mu Xiaofeng? Recently, according to the rumors, something is amiss. It is extremely probable that a huge unforeseen event will happen. When we were at Zhuang Yong’s residence, Cen Zheng also mentioned that the empress might be making a move. She had been enduring in silence and living in seclusion for almost twenty years. The moment she makes a move, a perilous situation will unfold. If not, she might as well continue tolerating without doing anything.”

“Zhuang Yong is a very smart man, don’t tell me he did not take into consideration the fact that the empress might attack him? Once they get rid of him, they would pass the Navy onto Mu Xiaofeng. In that way, the empress would be able to exchange for Mu Zhaotong’s unwavering loyalty. Her son was going to officially be the crown prince; this step might seem somewhat rash but it is very effective. If she secured Mu Zhaotong on her side, she would benefit.”

After hearing this, Master Cha lowered her head and said, “Sir, your analysis is the most reasonable one. Zhuang Yong knows Mu Xiaofeng wants to kill him, or possibly the empress wants to get rid of him, but he has absolutely no way to get rid of this threat himself. Hence, all he could do was bait Leng by keeping Mu Xiaofeng in the camp. I remember that every time Zhuang Yong needed to leave the camp on official military business, he would always bring Mu Xiaofeng along with him, because he was afraid that he would stir up havoc in the military camp. In a major event as such, why did he make Mu Xiaofeng stay behind? It is truly fishy.”

“However…I don’t think that Zhuang Yong will endanger Leng.”

Master Cha looked at Shen Leng. “Don’t laugh. Even though I don’t think that Zhuang Yong would harm you, I don’t think you should look for Zhuang Yong as well. This matter concerns life and death. I dare not take a gamble.”

However, Mr. Shen started laughing instead. “You said something wrong – you said that you don’t think that he should look for Zhuang Yong as well. You said ‘as well’. You think that I feel the same way about that? No…on the contrary, I am more willing to get Leng to look for him to see what Zhuang Yong will do.”

Master Cha stared blankly. “Sir?”

Mr. Shen laughed, “Don’t you forget – Zhuang Yong has an apprehension.”

Master Cha suddenly realized what he meant. Earlier, when Mr. Shen said to Leng that if it was him, he would tell him in the future and if it wasn’t him, he would never tell him about it. How could Zhuang Yong forget about that? If Leng was truly the child back then, it would mean that Leng was truly a member of the royal family. So Zhuang Yong would not dare to lay a finger on him.

At the very least, before he was certain that Shen Leng was not that child, he did not dare to do that.

Shen Leng sighed. “Master Cha, You’re not willing to tell me too?”

Master Cha looked at Mr. Shen before she shook her head. “I promised sir before.”

Shen Leng stretched his body, feeling somewhat regretful. “I’m full. I’m going to see if the people from Garrison B are here. I wonder who will be leading the troops and what kind of show they will be putting on.”

When he got up and was about to leave, Master Cha grabbed the corner of his clothes. “Can you stay?”

Shen Leng turned around and smiled. It was as bright as the sun as always, “Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

Master Cha was not willing to release her hand. Shen Leng looked at Mr. Shen. “Please take care of my future wife and your daughter.”

Master Cha’s face became red; subconsciously, she released her hand.

Even Mr. Shen felt his face turned red too.

At the same time, in Changan city. Si Mao Zhai, imperial palace.

It was the fourth day in a row that the emperor called the academy head into the palace. Every single time, he left only after nightfall, and in the morning, right after daybreak, he would be summoned once again. Most of the time, when the emperor had to go to the court, he would go to the court; when he had to read the memorials, he would read the memorials. All the academy head did was sit at the side, sipping his tea while reading books. When something came to mind, he would then speak. The emperor would always stop writing and pondered over his words – whether he agreed or disagreed with him.

。

No one was allowed to be near Si Mao Zhai. Apart from the both of them, no one knew what they were talking about.

“At that time, I did think about it before – if there was right and wrong, it would come from the Navy.”

“Which is why you held the Navy in such high regard and that you have never refused a request. By nurturing your own children well, they would not be cheated by other people that easily.”

“I’ve always thought that every single person knows themselves well. Now, I realized that I have overestimated them.”

The emperor finally finished reading all the memorials for today. He rubbed his temples and leaned against his chair before shutting his eyes. Apart from eating, he had not taken any rest at all today. Great Ning was too big – managing a huge country as such was not an easy feat.

“Zhuang Yong can be depended on.”

The academy head sipped his tea as he helped himself to some light refreshments. As compared to the emperor, he seemed a lot more relaxed and contented. However, he felt that his remaining few strands of black hair were about to turn white. Throughout those four days. He was tasked with one thing…deduction.

Before a general, who was the leader of his troops, engaged in a decisive battle with his enemy, he would do his utmost to deduce his enemy’s each and every move on the sand table, in order to secure victory. To put it more directly, he regarded himself as the commander-in-chief of the enemy troops, speculating possible occurrences in advance.

The academy head was doing that. However, there was no sand table right before him; it was in his head.

Throughout the four days, he had thought of every single thing he could have thought of. If anything else unexpected were to happen, it was beyond his ability.

“Yeah, I know that Zhuang Yong can be depended on too. At that time, after much deliberation, I still decided to pass the Navy to him.”

“Wrong.”

The academy suddenly frowned. “You overlooked one person.”

“Who?”

“Shen Leng.”

“Why did you mention this young man alone?”

“Because it’s not certain.”

The academy head stood up and started pacing up and down in the room. As he walked, he spoke, “At that time, you asked me how he was in comparison with Meng Changan. I said that he was not inferior to him and might even be better…that was because Meng Changan is inherently different from him. Within the realm of rules and regulations, nobody is better than Meng Changan. For example, Tie Liuli wanted him to kill Pei Xiao and so, he followed according to Tie Liuli’s guidelines and rules. He absolutely did not overstep the bounds of what is proper. Shen Leng is different.”

“When he went to Changan city to visit Meng Changan, he managed to run a thorough search on one of the underworld’s big players, Liu Lang Dao. They were caught unprepared and he ended up killing them. At the northern border, after Pei Xiao was killed, he stealthily snuck into Hulan city and killed all the people closest to Pei Xiao. These two incidents tell us that Shen Leng is a fella who does not go by the book. I know this very clearly, hence I said that he is slightly stronger than Meng Changan. Why did I purposely leave him out during these four days of deliberation?”

The emperor was somewhat baffled. “Based on his current position, can he change anything?”

“Precisely because it’s not certain, that’s why I’m worried.”

The academy head started to look a little anxious. “Since he does not follow the rules, nobody can tell for sure what he might do. Zhuang Yong might not necessarily be able to control him. It is a variable…I am afraid he will kill Mu Xiaofeng.”

The emperor frowned first, before easing up. “Kill Mu Xiaofeng? Do you think he dares to do such a thing?”

The academy head replied, “Perhaps Meng Changan might not, he will follow Zhuang Yong’s orders and arrangements. But Shen Leng is different…Over at Yanping island, who would care about the Navy’s camp? Shen Leng is like a predator – like a panther, a snake, and a tiger. If given the chance, he would seize it and kill him.”

The emperor said, “Zhuang Yong might not leave Mu Xiaofeng behind. Unless…it’s intentional.”

The academy head could not hold himself back and said, “If Shen Leng broke the rules, then the situation that you hope to happen will not happen. Your plan that aims to lure those people into making their appearances will end up failing. My four days’ worth of deduction would be worthless. If Mu Xiaofeng truly dies, this game of chess…will be over. Once Mu Xiaofeng dies, those people’s target will disappear. The arrangements on Yanping Island will vanish into thin air as well.”

Even though the concept behind it was to lure those shady fellas out, once Shen Leng killed Mu Xiaofeng, that plan would be meaningless. However, the emperor did not seem to be furious at all. Instead, he was a little happy.

“Straightforward – young men’s way of doing things.”

“But Your Majesty, if he really did that, it would be really rash and impulsive, not to forget, lack of consideration!”

“All-rounded consideration is the job of the elders. What’s the point of a young man like him thinking too much?”

The emperor sat down. He thought about that fella – if he truly killed Mu Xiaofeng, it would indeed be interesting.

The academy head coughed a few times. “Ahem, ahem…all-rounded consideration is the job of the elders. Your Majesty, your words are…accurate yet hurtful.”

The emperor said, “Let’s wait for the news. I am however rather hungry. Light refreshments or…”

He looked at the empty plates on the small side table. The academy head did not leave a single piece for him.

The emperor started laughing. “See, there are some aspects in which you’re not exactly meticulous or considerate. How could you not have anticipated that I would be hungry?”

The academy head was curious. “Your Majesty, why do you like this child?”

The emperor said with a serious look on his face, “Because…I am still young. I understand young men who are similar.”

The academy head responded, “I…understood.”

The emperor laughed again. “Don’t you feel that…you’re able to see young me in those young men? At that time, why did my father want to take away my military power? Wasn’t it because of the fact that I did not like those nonsensical rules and regulations?”

The academy head was dumbfounded. All he felt was that the emperor’s words had another meaning that was deeper.