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In the evening, the rewards from Emperor Jiayou’s inspection of the school directly arrived at the Marquis’ Mansion.
The clothes, hats, and golden ingots were the same as those of other students, but Wei Zan and Shen Yuan had extra pens, inkstones, and paper, as well as an exquisite glass ornament.
Receiving such gifts was normal for Wei Zan, but Shen Yuan’s courtyard was full of joy. Not to mention the servants in the outer courtyard, even the two personal maids of Shen Yuan were also very surprised.
Zhi Xue held the exquisite glass ornament and smiled, “I heard that we have exactly the same one as the young marquis this time. This is the first time…”
Zhao Shuang said, “I’ll make room for the pen holder and put it in the middle of the study table.”
But suddenly Shen Yuan coldly interrupted them, “Put it away.”
Zhi Xue said, “Oh,” and said, “Don’t you put it up?”
Shen Yuan said, “Don’t.”
Hearing that, Zhi Xue wanted to say something but was immediately stopped by Zhao Shuang.
She had to keep silent and put away all the things in a sullen manner, it suddenly added a bit of coldness to the originally quiet courtyard.
Shen Yuan was reading a book under the lamp. But he couldn’t read a single word.
Wei Zan’s lazy and smiling voice rang again in his head.
“—They don’t know what’s good.”
“Do you think they understand you, or do I understand you more?”
Shen Yuan’s heart was in turmoil, and his fingertips couldn’t help exerting force.
Wei Zan could actually say such words. He was thinking, if that battle formation was drawn by Wei Zan, would it still need all kinds of planning and maneuvering?!
A few words from the Young Marquis were enough to override all his planning.
Over the years, Shen Yuan had flipped through this military book again and again, and it had already become frayed.
There were two old red ink marks, one elegant and the other beautiful, interlaced and shining, which were the notes left by his parents.
Shen Yuan had read this book again and again over the years, not just for fame and fortune. This was also the last way he felt connected to his parents.
His eyes finally froze on the section where Pang Juan gouged out Sun Bin’s knee out of jealousy. The annotation said jealousy breeds evil.
It also said, you can’t be a great general, but you can still be a good human being.
He looked at the sentence again and again, and his lips were pursed and turned white.
Suddenly, it was bright, and he looked up, only to see that it was Zhao Shuang who rolled up her sleeves to light the lamp.
Zhao Shuang softly reminded Shen Yuan, “Young Master, you should go to bed early.”
While looking at the military book, Shen Yuan asked, “Why did that man become so gentle for no reason? It’s clear that he looked down on me a few days ago.”
Zhao Shuang naturally had no answer. She just shook her head and said, “Zhao Shuang doesn’t know.”
Shen Yuan’s beautiful eyebrows revealed a deep self-mockery. Under the light, his fingertips carefully stroked the rough pages of the book.
After a long while, he laughed and said, “Zhao Shuang. If my father and mother knew that I would have become like this today… How disappointed would they be?”
That night, Wei Zan was again caught and scolded by his father, Marquis Jing’an.
“You refused the job that His Majesty mentioned without even asking me.” Marquis Jing’an was angered by his own son every day.
He scolded Wei Zan again, “When will it be your turn to choose in front of His Majesty? Who allowed you to choose?”
“If it weren’t for His Majesty’s kindness, you would have lost your life long ago.”
Marquis Jing’an scolded Wei Zan coldly, and all the servants in the room held their breath, fearing that if they were not careful, they would be punished.
The father and son pair quarreled ten times in seven days, and Marquis Jing’an regularly beat his own son as if it were as common as eating and drinking.
What he was talking about was the errand that the Emperor mentioned when he inspected the school.
After getting a scolding, Wei Zan immediately remembered it.
There was such a case in his previous life. During the routine inspection by the Ministry of War, the numbers did not match.
This matter was not a big deal, but it was not a small issue either. It was just that corrupt officials might be involved, and it was not known how many people would be implicated.
So Emperor Jiayou sent someone else to investigate that matter.
In fact, this matter was originally handled by the Censorate and the Golden Guards. Now they wanted to add him, an idle person, because they saw that the Wei family had nothing to do with this matter, and they wanted to find something for this young man to do.
Wei Zan sat there thinking and suddenly became distracted.
The main thing is that his father’s look of puffing out his beard and glaring is really kind.
He saw his lively father again. He hadn’t seen him for a long time. He was happy to see him again.