The hall of worship was illuminated by perpetual lamplight. The gilded Buddha statue remained spotless, while the flickering candle flames below had burned for years without extinguishing.
A man knelt before a low table, holding a brush, his back ramrod straight.
The slender wolf-hair brush descended, ink spreading across the paper to form bold, unrestrained characters.
The man’s eyes were lowered, and sunlight filtering through the clouds outside the corridor cast a warm glow on his delicate profile.
Behind the beaded curtain, the two observers closed it and returned to their seats.
The old master leisurely sipped his freshly brewed tea.
Zheng Bo glanced at the ashes on the floor, burned moments earlier, and asked with some confusion, “Since you know the young master has feelings for Miss Ye Fei, why are you trying to match her with the second young master?”
Wouldn’t this break the young master’s heart?
If she were truly married into the family, not only would the household be unsettled, but there might also be a rift between the old master and the young master.
Zhi Yuanhong gently set down his teacup, watching the ashes stirred by the wind on the floor. “Have you ever seen this child desire anything?”
This question gave Zheng Bo pause. He had watched Zhi Huai grow up since birth.
Raised in a privileged environment from a young age, anything he wanted was easily obtained.
Thus, he always appeared indifferent and lifeless toward everything.
Especially after that incident, the young master seemed never to have moved on.
Even standing in the sunlight, he was enveloped in a cold, dark, and profound aura.
Never had hope been seen in his eyes.
The impulse to desire something, as ordinary people do, had never manifested in him.
He was as proper and desireless as a monk seated before the hall of worship, yet he never possessed the compassion of a monk.
“This child carries too much resentment. Though he has cultivated his mind for years, the loneliness in his heart remains unquelled. Now that he has finally glimpsed light, he must pursue it himself. Otherwise, even if it falls into his hands, it will be meaningless.”
Zheng Bo understood the old master’s meaning: only by igniting the young master’s fighting spirit could he be made to feel emotions like a living person.
“Aren’t you afraid it’s just a passing fancy?”
The old master chuckled softly. “We both know him. This child has never had passing fancies.”
Neither in the past nor now.
“The Ye family also sent information about another person. Would you like to take a look?” Zheng Bo said, handing over the documents.
After the old master spread the news, countless families had sent messages, creating a spectacle reminiscent of ancient imperial consort selections.
Every family with a daughter of suitable age had submitted detailed information, hoping their daughter could enter the Zhi family and share in the benefits.
“Send them all back.”
After Zheng Bo collected the documents, he poured a cup of water and brought it into the hall of worship.
…
A gentle breeze stirred the prayer flags hanging in the hall of worship, their bright yellow fabric embroidered with sutra characters.
In the blink of an eye, the man copying the sutras had accumulated a thick stack of papers beside him.
Sunlight, now fully breaking through the clouds, poured in from the corridor, casting fragmented shadows on the paper like shimmering patterns.
With the final stroke completed, his posture remained perfectly upright. After setting down the brush, the beaded curtain was lifted.
“Young Master, Mr. Chi is here.”
Zhi Huai stood up and placed the copied scriptures on the incense altar for offering, a task he had performed for so many years, flowing as smoothly as water without the slightest pause.
Chi Yan waited in the garden beside the main hall. Just as the teacup was brought out, he saw the man approaching from behind the bamboo grove.
“The weather is quite nice today. Would you like me to accompany you for a walk?” Chi Yan smiled as he looked at the person before him.
Zhi Huai took a seat opposite him, unhurriedly picking up the fruit knife on the table to peel an apple.
“Do you need something from me?”
His concise words made Chi Yan, who had intended to exchange pleasantries, laugh somewhat sheepishly.
“Last night, someone attacked the Ministry of Justice’s system. The archives management department was clearly infected with an implanted virus, and everything there is in chaos. The minister asked me to invite you over to take another look.”
As a close friend, although he firmly believed in Zhi Huai’s abilities and was certain there would be no issues,
the minister had already held three consecutive meetings.
He had no choice but to come and seek him out.
“Just a minor disturbance, nothing to worry about.”
The man’s knife peeled off a long, thin strip of apple skin, his focus seemingly entirely on the task.
After staring at him for a long while, Chi Yan spoke up, “Are you hiding something from me?”
Receiving no response from the person before him, Chi Yan had an idea.
“When I arrived, I happened to run into your second brother heading out, and by sheer coincidence, I overheard him on a phone call.”
Chi Yan raised his tone, but the person before him remained completely unmoved.
“The restaurant they reserved is quite nice. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten at Kun Garden. Then again, he has a beauty accompanying him—what would I, a lone soul, do there?”
As expected, Zhi Huai’s hand, which had been peeling the apple, stopped.
When he lifted his gaze, Chi Yan felt a chill run down his spine. The faint, ambiguous curve of his lips made Chi Yan instinctively fall silent.
But who was Chi Yan? Having been friends with Zhi Huai for so many years, he relied on his keen observation and sharp hearing.
“How about… I treat you to a meal?” Chi Yan ventured cautiously.
The man released his grip, and the knife landed on the plate with a crisp sound, its tip pointing unerringly in his direction.
Chi Yan made an immediate decision, “To Kun Garden!”
Tonight’s meal must be at Kun Garden!
Even if the heavens themselves intervened, this meal must be at Kun Garden!
“Want some?” Zhi Huai raised his hand, offering the peeled apple.
Chi Yan waved it off, “I’m not fond of that.”
An apple peeled by him—he truly didn’t dare eat it.
Receiving no reaction from the person opposite him, Chi Yan followed his gaze and saw a servant walking along the corridor, holding a courier envelope.
Letters addressed to the Zhi family were usually handled by designated personnel. Those delivered to this courtyard were typically for the old master.
But soon, the servant approached Zhi Huai and respectfully presented the courier with both hands.
“Young Master, this letter is for you.”
Chi Yan, sitting nearby, glanced over and saw the words “To Mr. Zhi” written on it.
“Goodness, there’s no shortage of Mr. Zhis in the Zhi family,” Chi Yan chuckled.
The sender of this letter must be a fool.
“The courier said it was for the young master,” the servant explained awkwardly.
Letters for Zhi Yuan and Zhi Bo were usually sent to the company, and the external address was typically “Mr. Zhi.”
The courier had specified it was for Young Master Zhi. Among the Zhi family servants, the title “young master” now referred only to the rarely seen Zhi Huai.
Zhi Huai opened the envelope, and a stack of photos fell out, with nothing else inside.
“Whoa! Isn’t this Ye Fei?” Chi Yan picked up one of the photos and glanced at it.
In every photo, there was Ye Fei sitting in a wheelchair, and of course, accompanying her were different men.
The most frequent among them was the young man often by her side, with pictures of the two entering and leaving the Nanhuang Ye family estate and other entertainment venues.
The angles were cleverly chosen, and there were plenty of ambiguous shots where they appeared close and overlapping.
It was all too easy to misunderstand.
If someone who didn’t know her saw these photos, they’d surely question her promiscuity.
“Sending such photos to the Zhi family—it must be someone who knows about Ye Fei’s engagement to Zhi Yuan.” Chi Yan sneered. “Only resorting to such lowly tricks, how unrefined.”
With the engagement between the Zhi and Ye families currently in the spotlight, whoever sent these photos must have quite a grudge against Ye Fei.
“But to be fair, Ye Fei really is quite good-looking. Although the well-bred ladies of Jiangcheng are also beautiful, they all seem to come from the same mold, lacking her kind of bold and radiant charm.”
Chi Yan looked at the photos and praised sincerely.
The person across from him suddenly stood up, gathered the photos from his hands, and held them tightly.
“Where are you going?” Chi Yan looked up.
“Didn’t you say you were treating me to a meal?”
Watching the man walk away on his own, Chi Yan raised an eyebrow.
Just keep pretending.
Let’s see how long you can keep it up.