In a residence in Xinhua City, the capital of Flame Country, Gu Yanxi was also examining a topographic map. Dressed in plain blue garments with an ordinary appearance, he seemed somewhat thinner.
The door was pushed open from outside. Gu Yanxi glanced up—it was Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu hurried in and knelt on the floor. "Chief, we found the person, but we were too late. He's dead."
"How did he die?"
"Fire. It's still burning."
An effective method—burning everything clean, leaving no trace of evidence. Gu Yanxi snorted coldly. "We've already alerted the enemy. Order everyone to retreat immediately."
"Yes."
Since taking charge of the Seven Constellation Bureau, this was the first time Gu Yanxi found himself at such a disadvantage. He had a feeling that the other party knew of his existence, knew about the Seven Constellation Bureau, and was even aware of this operation. From the moment he left the capital, he had been under their surveillance. This person was not in Flame Country.
Gu Yanxi’s gaze returned to the map, his finger pressing heavily on the words "capital." He would root them out!
"Someone!"
A figure knelt silently by the door.
"Leave two members each from the Fourth and Fifth Constellations. Stay hidden and keep a close watch on Ruan Xijiang."
Ruan Xijiang was the current ruler of Flame Country, in the prime of his life, with ambitions as vast as the sky. Yet, he was truly capable—more so than several previous monarchs combined. Given the chance, he would surely tear a large chunk of territory from the Great Qing Kingdom.
Gu Yanxi had no intention of giving him that opportunity.
After making arrangements, Gu Yanxi’s heart yearned for home. Two months—it had been two months since he last saw Hua Zhi. He had overstayed his return, and he wondered if she felt even a trace of worry for him.
Several days after the mourning period ended, just as the Hua family was nearly forgotten by everyone, Hua Bolin, dressed in plain mourning clothes, went to each household to express gratitude for their condolences.
He did not enter any doors but knelt and kowtowed outside. After thanking the Chen family, he turned back. However, when passing by the residences of Chen Zhi and Yu Zhengyao, he did not even stop the carriage.
With no recent noteworthy events in the capital, his actions quickly sparked speculation. Upon inquiry, it was revealed that as disciples of Old Master Hua, Chen Zhi and Yu Zhengyao had not appeared during his wife’s passing—neither observing a day of mourning nor attending the funeral. This caused an uproar.
Old Madam Hua’s funeral had not been grand, nor had it included the full forty-nine days of rituals commonly observed by some families. Initially, everyone assumed Chen Zhi and Yu Zhengyao were assisting the Hua family behind the scenes, just less conspicuously than Chen Dayi, who had been seen frequently.
Now, learning this was not the case, the usually refined scholars and literati were outraged. That very day, they gathered at the gates of the two households. One sharp-tongued individual sneered, "How much favor have you gained under Old Master Hua’s name? How many deeds have you accomplished by waving his banner? How many courtesies and conveniences have you received simply for being his disciples? Now Old Master Hua has fallen from grace, and the Hua family has collapsed, but you remain his disciples! You’ve taken all the benefits, yet when disaster strikes, you flee? There’s no such logic in this world!"
"Exactly, there’s no such logic!"
"Yu Zhengyao, don’t pretend you’re not home! We’ve already found out—you dined with Chen Zhi just days ago. Did you think no one would notice just because you met in an obscure place?"
"If you don’t come out, we’ll break the door down!"
"Yes, break it down!"
"…"The sound of indignant voices could be clearly heard even through the walls. Yu Zhengyao paced back and forth, his forehead sweating despite the cold weather. If he couldn't overcome this crisis, he could forget about any future! There would be no future for him at all!
"Master, what should we do? How will Kun'er face people after this?"
"Silence!" Yu Zhengyao roared. Yu Furen stumbled back two steps in fright. They had been married for many years, and her husband had never treated her with such an attitude before. Now he actually... actually...
Tears streamed down Yu Furen's face as she covered her mouth and turned to leave.
Yu Zhengyao had no mind to comfort anyone. Gritting his teeth, he stripped naked and stood in the courtyard, ordering servants to pour several buckets of cold water over him. The icy water combined with the chilly wind soon had him sneezing uncontrollably. Shivering, he dried himself off and lay down on the bed, trembling as he commanded: "Go open the gate and let them in."
About ten people entered. Seeing Yu Zhengyao lying pale-faced on the bed, coughing incessantly, some of their anger diminished slightly.
Just as Yu Zhengyao was about to seize the opportunity to defend himself further, someone spoke up: "How strange. What does your current illness have to do with your failure to fulfill your duties as a disciple two months ago? Don't tell us you've been sick for over two months - someone saw you perfectly healthy just a few days ago."
"..." Yu Zhengyao's mind went completely blank. He couldn't understand how he had overlooked this!
"So this is your game, Yu Zhengyao! How dare you try to deceive us with such tricks!"
"What's so surprising about that? He didn't even attend his teacher's wife's funeral. Deceiving us comes naturally to him. As a fellow scholar, I am ashamed of you! Brothers, I shall take my leave first. The mere thought of breathing the same air as him makes me nauseous!"
"Right, right! Let's go! More people should know what kind of person he really is!"
"I'm not..." Yu Zhengyao threw off the covers and tried to chase after them, but he was genuinely ill now - dizzy and vision blurred. The moment he stood up, he collapsed back onto the bed, his head hitting the bedframe and seeing stars.
Frantically trying to get up, with servants hastily pulling at him, the more he rushed the more chaotic things became. The more chaotic, the more panicked he felt. His vision went dark as he lost consciousness, fainting just as he had originally planned - except the timing was wrong, and there were no spectators left to see it.
Chen Zhi, however, wasn't as flustered as Yu Zhengyao. He resolutely positioned himself in opposition to the Hua family.
Facing the scholars and students gathered before his door, he stood in plain mourning clothes, his face haggard. "It's true I didn't pay respects at the Hua residence. I'll bear the name of unfilial, but I won't accept being called disloyal!"
The crowd was taken aback. They hadn't expected Chen Zhi to be so self-righteous.
Seeing that he had stunned them, Chen Zhi became even more righteous and imposing. Lifting his robe, he knelt with a loud thud toward the direction of the imperial palace. "As a subject of Daqing, I must uphold every decree of the Son of Heaven. If the Emperor says the Hua family is guilty, then they are guilty. If I were to continue associating with the Hua family, what respect would that show for the Emperor's dignity?"
The crowd was astonished, then fury blazed in their hearts. Was Chen Zhi implying that by supporting the Emperor's decision and cutting ties with the Hua family, he was being loyal, while they were disregarding their sovereign's command by maintaining connections with the Huas?
He was clearly the one being heartless and ungrateful, yet with his smooth talk he had turned it into them being disloyal?
They had seen shameless people before, but never anyone this shameless!
Those with hotter tempers were already clutching their chests, their vision darkening, pointing trembling fingers at Chen Zhi but unable to utter a word.Chen Zhi, however, had no intention of stopping there. Since he was already discredited among the scholars and students, he decided to embrace the infamy completely. "I may have wronged my teacher, but even if my teacher were here, I would still do this! As a subject of the Daqing Dynasty, my loyalty to the Emperor is not mistaken."
PS: Don't say Kongkong updates too little. As someone who's been traveling for work yet still managed almost double updates, I'm actually quite proud—it's just that my brain is truly exhausted. Thank you, ladies, for loving Kongkong, and I hope you'll continue to be understanding.
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