Chapter 58

As the uncle spoke, he stepped forward and took the wine and dishes from Yang Shouwen's hands.

"This way, you can also relax a bit."

In Yang Shouwen's mind, it seemed like ten thousand grass mud horses were galloping... You helping me carry things means carrying those wine and dishes?

But he couldn't say anything more, so he could only lead the way with a bitter smile.

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen Wenxuan for over ten years... I remember he used to be a military officer in Junzhou. How did he end up as a county magistrate in Changping? If it weren't for his trip to Jixian this year, I wouldn't have known he was in Youzhou."

Chen Ziaog's expression was relaxed as he carried the wine and dishes, following Yang Shouwen.

As they walked, he spoke in a familiar manner, "By the way, you are seventeen now, right? Where are you studying now?"

"I... haven't studied."

"Didn't study?" Chen Ziaog suddenly stopped, his voice angry, "Wenxuan is really out of line. How can he treat you like this? Back in the day, Xiwén was so talented. How can her son not study? If this gets out, won't it tarnish Xiwén's reputation?"

Xiwén was Yang Shouwen's birth mother, Zheng Xiwén.

Yang Shouwen actually didn't know much about his birth mother.

Hearing Chen Ziaog's words, Yang Shouwen realized that his mother seemed to have been quite famous in her lifetime.

"Sir, don't say that. This isn't my father's fault.

I... was in a daze for many years, suffering from a mental illness. It was only recently that I regained my senses, so I haven't entered school. It's not that my father refused to let me study."

Chen Ziaog's face showed a hint of sorrow.

"Originally... I thought it was just a rumor, but I didn't expect you to have such a hard life."

"Uh, it's not that hard. When my grandfather was alive, he always cared for me. To take care of me, he even refused to live in the city, staying with me in this small village for over ten years until he passed away. My father, though busy, also cared for me very much. Even though I was in a daze, I've had a happy life these seventeen years."

"Good, then Xiwén can rest in peace."

After saying this, Chen Ziaog fell silent.

His thoughts seemed to fly far away, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

Yang Shouwen felt that chatting with this great man was really stressful... Yes, it was really stressful.

The great man's thoughts were always jumping, and his topics were unrestrained.

To put it nicely, it was spontaneous; to put it harshly, it was nonsense... Although Yang Shouwen had memories from two lifetimes, keeping up with this great man's thoughts was still very difficult. Perhaps it would be better if no one spoke.

After walking halfway up the mountain, Yang Molí caught up from behind.

Without a word, she took the package from Yang Shouwen and handed him the wine jar.

"Big Brother..."

"Sir, don't call me Big Brother. Call me Nizi."

"Why?"

Chen Ziaog seemed suddenly interested and asked curiously, "Nizi, is that your nickname? But Big Brother is also correct. Why don't you want me to call you Big Brother and prefer Nizi? Is there something bad about the name Big Brother?"

Oh my god!

The great man is just like Tang Sanzang.

Chen Ziaog's series of questions left Yang Shouwen at a loss for words.

He thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing bad about it, I just don't like being called Big Brother. It feels strange."

"Strange?"

"Not strange?"

"Oh... What's in this jar?"

"Wine."

"It's wine!"

Chen Ziaog looked enlightened and then fell silent.

Yang Shouwen let out a long breath and thought to himself: Talking to a great man is really tiring!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

When they returned to Little Maitreya Temple, it was already past noon.

Yang Molí had eaten a fat chicken, so she felt fine, but Yang Shouwen was starving and struggling to keep up.

Of course, being hungry was one thing, but more importantly, talking to the great man was exhausting.

During the journey, Yang Shouwen found that Chen Ziaog's thoughts jumped too quickly, almost too fast to keep up. Each time he tried to follow Chen Ziaog's train of thought, he had to concentrate fully, even cautiously.

Finally, they made it back to the mountain, and Yang Shouwen was already exhausted.

But Chen Ziaog was in high spirits. A hundred meters from the mountain gate, he shouted loudly, "Yang Wenxuan, I'm here, come and greet me."

As he shouted, he quickened his pace.

Yang Chenglie appeared at the mountain gate.

Seeing Chen Ziaog, he was stunned for a moment, then showed a look of disgust, "Chen Boyu, you're still the same. You always show up early, appearing like a ghost. Didn't we agree you would come tomorrow?"

"Ha ha ha, I just wanted to surprise you. Are you happy? Are you excited?"

Yang Chenglie frowned, "Not happy, not excited, I'm about to be driven mad!"

As he spoke, Chen Ziaog reached the mountain gate.

Yang Chenglie glared at him, and he stood defiantly, looking at Yang Chenglie with a不服气 (unyielding) expression.

Yang Shouwen was surprised, not understanding the situation. Why did it look like they were about to fight?

"Wenxuan, how have you been?"

"Chen Boyu, you're even more annoying than before."

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Chen Ziaog suddenly smiled, and Yang Chenglie also smiled.

Yang Chenglie stepped out of the mountain gate and bowed to Chen Ziaog.

But Chen Ziaog didn't return the bow; instead, he hugged Yang Chenglie.

Damn, what intense passion!

Yang Shouwen watched from behind, stunned and unsure what to do.

However, Yang Chenglie noticed the package on Yang Shouwen and suddenly pushed Chen Ziaog away, pointing at him and shouting.

"Chen Boyu, you're too shameless."

"What did I do?"

"How could you make my son carry your bags? You used to make me carry your bags, and now you're bullying my son. Do you think the Yang family is easy to bully?"

"Ha, I did it on purpose."

Chen Ziaog laughed after saying this, as if remembering something amusing.

Yang Chenglie then pointed at Yang Shouwen and scolded, "You idiot, you don't even realize when someone is bullying you, yet you think you're smart and give advice to others. Quickly throw away the things, this poor man is too bad, don't give him a good face."

Saying this, Yang Chenglie walked over, snatched the package from Yang Shouwen, and carried it into the mountain gate.

"Yang Wenxuan, your son is as stupid as you."

"If you say that again, I'll beat you to death."

"Come on, I'm not afraid of you."

The two argued as they walked into the mountain gate.

Yang Shouwen glanced at Yang Molí, who looked bewildered.

Who knew what kind of relationship Yang Chenglie and Chen Ziaog had. But it seemed they weren't enemies.

However...

Yang Shouwen still found it strange. He felt that Chen Ziaog's appearance was a bit sudden.

In the afternoon, Yang Chenglie and Chen Ziaog talked in the meditation room.

They argued at times and laughed and cried at others, giving the impression of being crazy.

Yang Shouwen stayed with them for a while and then excused himself.

He had a general understanding of the relationship between Chen Ziaog and Yang Chenglie. If he had to summarize it in one sentence, they were rivals.

Chen Ziaog was from Shehong in Zizhou, which is now Shehong County in Sichuan Province.

Yang Shouwen's mother had once accompanied her father to Sichuan. Yang Shouwen's maternal grandfather was the magistrate of Shehong County and was friends with Chen Ziaog's father, so he took Chen Ziaog as a student and taught him poetry and philosophy. It was during this time that Chen Ziaog met Yang Shouwen's mother and developed feelings for her. Unfortunately, at that time, Yang Shouwen's mother treated him like a younger brother and didn't notice anything unusual. A few years later, Zheng Xiwén left Zizhou with her father.

Years passed, and the young Chen Ziaog became a learned scholar.

In the first year of the Diaolu era, 679 AD, Chen Ziaog, with his talent for governance, left the Three Gorges and headed north to Chang'an to take the imperial exams.

It was also that year that Zheng Xiwén married Yang Chenglie.

For this, Chen Ziaog was very angry and tried several times to cause trouble for Yang Chenglie.

But at that time, Yang Chenglie was already an official. He came from the Hongnong Yang clan, which was of equal status to the Zheng clan of Yingyang, and was of higher rank than Chen Ziaog. However, Yang Chenglie didn't bully him and instead competed with Chen Ziaog fiercely.

That year, Chen Ziaog failed the imperial exams, and Yang Chenglie gave him twenty gold pieces as travel expenses and accompanied him back to Shehong.

In the first year of the Yongchun era, 681 AD, Yang Shouwen was born.

Chen Ziaog set out again for the imperial exams, while Yang Chenglie took Zheng Xiwén and her son south to serve in Junzhou...

At that time, Chen Ziaog said he would definitely pass and then go to Junzhou to find Yang Chenglie.

But that year, Chen Ziaog failed the imperial exams again. He was too ashamed to go to Junzhou and quietly returned home. After that, Yang Chenglie and Chen Ziaog lost contact.