27

As soon as Yang Chen and his staff left, Feng Quan'an went directly to Feng Xiao's office. Feng Xiao asked:

"How did it go? Was Yang Chen easy to deal with?"

"He caught onto my my weakness firmly. As soon as I saw his pistol, I thought I had fallen for his trap, letting myself be lured in bit by bit. But he indeed possesses some courage."

"It's not uncommon for people to exploit your weakness. If they naturally try to please you when they want to get close. It is not strange. But what kind of pistol was it that made you fall into his trap?"

Feng Quan'an handed the pistol to his father. Feng Xiao examined it carefully, aimed it to the distance, and said:

"It is a good pistol. Where did he get it from?"

"His younger brother purchased many various weapons from Ferceland. This type of pistol was one of these weapons and they manufactured it in a large quantities so all officers above the rank of general had been equipped with one."

Then he told his father the details about the meeting with Yang Chen. Feng Xiao asked:

"What about the rifle? Is it of good quality?"

"As far as I know, it's an automatic rifle developed by Ferceland, with many derivative models. I'm uncertain which model they have. It is true that this rifle is considered one of the best rifles available now. Actually I wonder how his younger brother had bought it."

"Do you think whether he is trying to deceive us or not? We're restricted from attacking them in the east for ten years. Does that mean there is only one enemy, Chen Yutian, for us to fight? I promised you not to attack the Liao family in the south. I will keep my word, allowing you to fulfil your promise to that girl." Feng Xiao pondered for a moment and continued, "Let's not rush to sign the agreement. Take a look at that rifle first. If it proves to be exceptional, ten years may be acceptable. After all, we don't have the richest land and a largest population like Yang Tianhu. Within our territory, there are too barren with a multi-ethnicities, leading to constant conflicts. Let's focus on sorting out our internal affairs first. But why does he want these ten years?"

"Do you think whether he is trying to trick us or not? We can't attack them in the east for ten years. Does that mean there is only one enemy, Chen Yutian, for us to fight? I promised you not to attack the Liao family in the south. I will keep my word, allowing you to fulfil your promise to that girl." Feng Xiao thought for a while and continued, "Let's not rush to sign the agreement. Take a look at that rifle first. If it is really good, ten years is okay. After all, we don't have the richest land and a largest population like Yang Tianhu. Within our territory, there are too barren with a multi-ethnicities, with constant conflicts. Let's focus on sorting out our internal affairs first. But why does he want these ten years?"

"He said he would disclose his reasons after we sign the agreement."

"He's a sly little fox, even more cunning than his father. Frankly speaking he is undoubtedly the most outstanding among your generation though he is the youngest. That is why everyone calls him the Young Marshal. He, I think, has this ability to deserve this title. Don't be resentful. At his 20-year-old, he nearly wiped out the 20,000 soldiers of the Liao family's patriarch, Liao Yuanpeng, in one fell swoop during a fire, capturing Liao Yuanpeng alive. This forced Liao Feng to have no choice but to go to Qudu with his second son, Liao Yuanfang, to replace his eldest son. The Yang family, despites their righteousness, didn't make things difficult for the Liao family. They immediately released Liao Yuanpeng on the spot and didn't demand Liao Yuanfang to be the proton. This made Liao Feng grateful a lot. However, unexpectedly, Liao Yuanfang fell in love with Yang Erhua, the second daughter of Yang Tianhu. Soon they became the relatives by marriage." 

"I remember that the Yang family had declared that the member of the Yang family refused to marry into other three families. How could Yang Tianhu agree to this marriage? Why did the Liao family send the second son to replace the eldest son?"

"It's true that the Yang family had declared this statement but unfortunately they had to break their promise because Yang Tianhu loves his children the most and his children have their own strong opinions on every topic. The eldest daughter, Yang Yihua, ignored everything and went to Aron Kingdom to study and then to get married there. It was said that upon hearing this, Yang Tianhu leapt up and down in sheer outrage and his wife had lied on bed for a few days. Even now Yang Yihua does not dare to come back. The second daughter, Yang erhua, is just as headstrong as her eldest sister, who is a tough girl. I've heard that it seems she caused quite a stir in the family and she got the support from her siblings and her mother. Yang Tianhu had to give up and agreed to this marriage. As for the Liao family, of course, they were optimistic about this marriage so the Liao family is safe and relax in the south unless they are attacked from the sea."

Feng Quan'an say nothing and Feng Xiao continued:

"The reason that the Liao Feng let Liao Yuanfang replace Liao Yuanpeng was that Liao Yuanpeng is the only one son to capable of leading the troops while Liao Yuanfang is a cultured young man who isn't involved in the military affairs. Apart from a few daughters, Liao Feng has another son, 12 years old, the youngest in the family. The girl you love, Liao Jingyan, is just a relative in the Liao family. To tell you the truth the Liao family also hoped for your marriage with this girl to succeed at that time. But your mother insisted on marrying you to a girl from her own family. I didn't say more about your marriage nor did I pressure your mother. Unfortunately, this led to your unhappy marriage and eventual outcome like this."

Feng Quan'an said sorrowfully:

"Please don't apologize to me. I'm doing well now. My concubine, Peiwen, is a good woman and I love her deeply. Although I can't grant her the status of a legitimate wife, we love each other and have a son, Mo'er, who is also well-behaved and obedient. And now she is pregnant again."

Feng Xiao sighed and responded:

"I don't know what else to say except I am very happy to hear this. Your wife isn't a good wife and mother, but your mother holds her in high regard. Your eldest son, Ning'er, has been excessively spoiled by them to the point where he no longer resembles anything decent. To be honest, I'm worried about what might happen if he inherits this land in the future. Give Mo'er the right education."

"Dad, can we please not talk about this? Let's continue discussing Yang Chen instead. He wants to meet you. What do you plan to do? Do you want to meet him?"

"Of course I have to meet him. You told me that he also brought a handwritten letter from Yang Tianhu to me. It's for Mrs. Yang's birthday. It seems that Yang Tianhu is planning an unusual party for his wife, which is unlike his usual style, so there must be something important for me to discuss. Did he mention whether he invited the other two Grand Marshals or not?

"He didn't mention it, but I think Yang erhua and her husband will definitely attend this party."

"You're right. Regardless of whether Liao Feng and his wife attend or not, Yang Erhua and her husband must be there for her mother's birthday party. No matter what happens, the two families have been bonded together. No, Quan'an, I don't want to rush into meeting Yang Chen. Let me ignore him for a day or two. Let's see what he is doing here. Maybe you can tell him tomorrow afternoon that I will meet him the morning after tomorrow. Meanwhile, keep an eye on them."

"I think they might go to some auction house or stone markets or some places like these. Yang Chen likes the antique. He brought a bodyguard who actually helps him with antique appraisal and jade carving. This time, they came to see if there are any antiques or jade items."

"You see he also has his weakness."

The next day, after Yang Chen didn't receive any message from Feng Quan'an, he decided to have Yang Zaihua stay at the hotel for any news from Feng Quan'an. Zhou Di and he went to a small auction hall. Zhou Di was eager to know the value for his Maitreya Buddha pendant, which he had carved. He handed it over to an appraiser for evaluation and the result was glassy jadeite, with a starting price of 300 silver yuan. This almost made Zhou Di jump for joy because his estimate was 150 silver yuan, purely based on the stone material. But when the bidding started, he was shocked to find that Yang Chen also raised his paddle. He was about to stop him and asked:

"Are you stupid? If you want this pendant, I can give it to you directly. Why are you bidding for it here?"

"You don't understand, and shut up!"

When the bidding reached 800 silver yuan, Yang Chen stopped raising his paddle. He gave up, but there were still two other bidders. It was only then that Zhou Di understood why Yang Chen had participated in the bidding. He whispered:

"You're cheating but thank you."

"No, it's not cheating. I just think it is worth this price. But it seems someone values it more than I do. To be honest I feel a bit jealous of that person who won the bidding in the end. He'll own something you carved."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Di grabbed Yang Chen's arm secretly. Yang Chen immediately hugged his own arm and secretly pinched Zhou Di's fingers, caressing them. In the end, Zhou Di's pendant was sold for 1200 silver yuan. Zhou Di excitedly announced that he had decided to invite Yang Chen and Yang Zaihua to dinner to celebrate his success. Yang Chen also bought a necklace with a Huichun-style design. Zhou Di stared at this necklace intently, not taking his eyes off it. Yang Chen smiled and said:

"Don't be jealous. This isn't for my wife. It's for my younger sister, Yang Erhua. She is coming to Qudu for my mother's birthday. Being her eldest brother, I have to give her a gift."

Zhou Di blushed and said:

"No, I'm not because of that. Do you remember that there are some antiques of the same style shown in our exhibition hall?"

"Yes, I remember. I was surprised how those things got there and I asked Leader Zhang about this."

"When we first opened the main room of Zhou and Nie's tomb, we found some antiques placed next to the coffin. Except for a golden horse adorned with gemstone, which was quite precious, the rest were the ordinary items. So we guessed that those things might have been someone's usual trinkets, but we couldn't figure out why these items were Huichun-style and who gave Zhou and Nie these items. But I have my own opinion that these were all little trinkets that Nie Huanzhang gave Zhou Chuyu. Of course, it is just what I guess."

"I think this is what you hope that Nie Huanzhang gave them to Zhou Chuyu, right?"

Zhou Di looked at Yang Chen, nodding heavily.

When they returned to the hotel, Yang Zaihua told them that Feng Xiao would be waiting for Yang Chen at his mansion at 10 o'clock tomorrow.