Having his deeply hidden secret guessed, Wei Yuzhi showed no surprise, merely offering a faint smile. "Yes."
He also understood the meaning behind Chu Dingjiang's words—what truly mattered more, family or country? To anyone with a bit of insight, the answer was clear: "Without the skin, where would the fur adhere?" Only with a nation could there be a home. But Wei Yuzhi had long lost his home, and his closest kin had suffered injustice at the hands of this corrupt court. Despite his immense talent, he had no chance to serve the country.
Chu Dingjiang gazed at Wei Yuzhi's silver hair. "What you seek is ultimately revenge—it has nothing to do with the nation or its people. But who is your enemy? The Emperor of the Great Song, the entire dynasty, or merely its corruption?"
These words struck like a thunderbolt. Blinded by hatred, Wei Yuzhi had always known the truth deep down, but now that it was laid bare, he could no longer feign ignorance.
Yet, understanding didn’t equate to acceptance. He smiled bitterly. "Here, I am the descendant of a disgraced official. Even if I could conceal my identity and enter the court, paper can’t wrap fire forever."
There were too many reasons not to choose this path. What he voiced was but the smallest fraction. Even if he could hide his identity for a lifetime, climbing to a position of power in the court required not only immense effort but also time—a luxury he didn’t have.
Wei Yuzhi lacked a favorable starting point, connections, or support. To reach the pinnacle of power, even under the best circumstances, would take at least a decade or two.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have that much time left.
"How many years do I have left to live?" Wei Yuzhi said. "When the stakes are high, one must gamble everything."
Chu Dingjiang, too, was weary of the Great Song. Never had he seen such a feeble court—outwardly splendid, yet crumbling within. Worse still, those inside saw the decay but chose to adorn the facade rather than reinforce the foundations, hastening its collapse under the weight of false prosperity.
"I no longer concern myself with court affairs, but if I see hope and can lend a hand, I will." The fate of the nation was the duty of every citizen. Chu Dingjiang had come to terms with himself—no longer forcing ambitions or fame, yet unwilling to idle away. "There are thousands like me in the Great Song. Whether the Liao has you or not, they will not succeed."
The court’s corruption had driven many talented individuals to idleness rather than service. But when the nest was about to overturn, who could stand by and watch their homeland perish?
"If I were you, I’d choose the path of officialdom. Even if I didn’t live to see the world set right, at least I’d have done something." Chu Dingjiang’s calm tone belied the sharpness of his words, each one piercing Wei Yuzhi’s heart.
Wei Yuzhi felt the wounds he thought healed begin to ache anew. A metallic taste rose in his throat, a surge of heat threatening to spill forth, but he forced it down.
Seeing his expression crumble, Chu Dingjiang said no more. Wei Yuzhi’s formidable mental strength proved his resilience—this was no weakling. The matter was simply too grave for immediate composure.
BANG!
Mo Sigui burst in like a whirlwind, An Jiu on his back. "Little Wei Wei, what’s wrong with you?"Just moments ago, both he and An Jiu had caught the tempting aroma wafting from the Hua Clan's kitchen, making them restless. They decided to go borrow some food, but as soon as An Jiu reached the kitchen's exterior, she was struck by a sudden heart-wrenching pain and nearly fainted. Mo Sigui immediately knew something must have happened to Wei Yuzhi. He quickly carried An Jiu back.
"It's nothing," Wei Yuzhi said, his face deathly pale but his expression eerily calm.
He turned to Chu Dingjiang, "Thank you for your guidance, Master Chu."
Mo Sigui set An Jiu down and simultaneously checked both their pulses with each hand.
The rhythmic throbbing beneath his fingertips felt as if he were taking the pulse of a single person! Startled, Mo Sigui first released Wei Yuzhi's wrist to carefully examine An Jiu's pulse, then focused solely on Wei Yuzhi's condition.
The result remained the same.
"I knew it... something felt off these past few days," Mo Sigui muttered to himself while applying pressure to several of Wei Yuzhi's acupoints.
After their conversation, Wei Yuzhi's condition worsened slightly before he fell into unconsciousness.
Initially, Mo Sigui feared he might not pull through. But seeing An Jiu recover her vitality after a day's rest while Wei Yuzhi's pulse gradually stabilized, his worries gradually eased.
Boredom made this winter feel exceptionally long.
At some unnoticed point, the Hua Clan suddenly became bustling with activity—everyone moved about hurriedly, their faces glowing with excitement.
After observing from the wall for several days, An Jiu couldn't resist asking Chu Dingjiang, "What are they so busy with?"
The worldly Chu Dingjiang admitted he didn't know.
After watching for another half month, Chu Dingjiang finally remembered, "They're preparing for the New Year!"
"New Year?" An Jiu frowned.
The Mei Clan didn't celebrate festivals as elaborately as the Hua Clan. During her time in Plum Blossom Village, An Jiu had focused most of her energy on Clan School and Archery, paying little attention to such matters. Her only memory of New Year was the entire village gathering for a meal—a meal that ended in rivers of blood and piles of corpses.
Chu Dingjiang cared even less about these traditions.
A few days later, Mei Jiu arrived with a large entourage of maids and servants to personally oversee the New Year preparations in their courtyard.
Apart from Mei Yanran, everyone in the courtyard was bewildered by this sudden commotion and gathered awkwardly in Mo Sigui's room.
Mei Jiu took a delicate sip of tea and said cheerfully, "With the New Year approaching, I've brought people to clean and prepare some gifts for everyone."
Neither the four humans nor the two tigers responded.
Slightly embarrassed, Mei Jiu set down her teacup and took An Jiu's hand. "I've had many dresses and accessories made for you. A woman should dress beautifully—come with me."
With an expressionless face, An Jiu was dragged into the freshly tidied bedroom.
Upon entering, An Jiu froze, wondering if she'd stepped into the wrong room. Everything before her eyes radiated extravagant luxury—every item, from the largest furniture to the smallest teacup, had been replaced with new ones.
"You're not just here to deliver gifts," An Jiu stated.
Mei Jiu was enthusiastically unpacking newly made women's dresses from a chest when she paused at this remark. "What do you mean?"
An Jiu plopped onto the newly replaced chair—its soft fur cushion extremely comfortable—and observed, "From the looks of it, you'd tear down and rebuild the entire house if you could."Mei Jiu smiled and said, "I've been wanting to come tidy up for a while now. This place was originally uninhabited, and all the furnishings inside are old. We only temporarily arranged some daily necessities, which are too simple. But I didn't want to disturb you while you were still recovering. Now that it's the New Year, I can finally make some changes. Come take a look, which ones do you like?"
Mei Jiu spread out the items one by one on the bed and table, yet the contents of the chest showed no sign of diminishing. (To be continued...)
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