Chapter 60

Yang Chenglie drew back, gesturing for Yang Shouwen to keep watch outside.

He sat down on the ground in a comfortable position and said, "At first, I intended to take you back to our hometown, Hongnong, but your grandfather disagreed. He consulted your great-uncle, and it just so happened that the clan had obtained a position as a county magistrate through its influence. However, since Changping was far from the capital, my cousin was unwilling to come, so your grandfather asked me to take his place.

Changping is cold and remote, but being far from the capital, even our greatest enemies would find it hard to track us down..."

Yang Shouwen, upon hearing this, looked enlightened.

Yang Chenglie came from the Hongnong Yang clan, a prominent family in Guanzhong.

If we talk about history, it might not be inferior to the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, and might even be more ancient.

Without going into distant history, let's just mention Yang Su, one of the nine founding elders of the Sui Dynasty, who came from the Hongnong Yang clan. The Yang clan also had many members who were royalty and nobility. For example, Yang Su's granddaughter later married Li Yuan, though she was not well-known.

In short, the Hongnong Yang clan had many talented individuals.

The one closest to Yang Shouwen was Yang Jiong, one of the Four Great Poets of Early Tang.

It was precisely because Yang Chenglie came from such a prominent family that he was able to marry Yang Shouwen's mother.

This is called a match of equal status.

In comparison, Chen Ziang's background...

"However, when your grandfather asked me to take over the position of county magistrate in Changping, he made it clear that I should sever ties with the Yang family."

Yang Chenglie leaned against a stack of firewood, looking melancholic.

"Xizi, if you can make a name for yourself in the future, remember to return to the family, to fulfill your grandfather's regret."

Yang Shouwen was taken aback and turned to look at Yang Chenglie.

In an era where clan ties were so important, severing ties with the family was an extremely painful decision.

He became even more convinced that the enemy his father had offended was a member of the Wu family.

Otherwise, how could Grandfather Yang Dafang have been willing to sever ties with the Yang family for such a small position as the county magistrate of Changping?

That must have been an opponent even the Yang family did not want to offend!

In those days, who else could make a prominent Guanzhong family retreat except the Wu family? Wu Zetian was ruthless and, after ascending the throne, not only brutally purged the old ministers of the Li Tang dynasty but also suppressed the prominent families and nobility, including the Five Surnames and Seven Clans. During Wu Zetian's reign, the power of the aristocratic families was greatly diminished.

Yang Shouwen wanted to ask more but suddenly his expression changed.

"Father, he's here!"

The rain had stopped at some point, and the clouds had dispersed, revealing a bright moon in the night sky.

The serene temple, bathed in the cold moonlight, exuded an eerie atmosphere.

A figure emerged from the meditation room and quietly approached the entrance of the Great Hall. The moonlight illuminated the square in front of the Great Hall, and although it was some distance away, both Yang Shouwen and Yang Chenglie could see clearly.

Chen Ziang!

The talented scholar, who was renowned in later generations, was now standing furtively outside the Great Hall. He looked around, then gently pushed open the door, stepped inside, and closed it behind him.

Immediately, a flickering candlelight appeared inside the Great Hall, like ghostly flames...

Yang Shouwen looked at Yang Chenglie, who was turning to look at him.

Father and son exchanged glances and smiled in unison.

"Father, what should we do?"

Yang Chenglie shook his head, "Pretend we know nothing... from now on, neither of us should get involved in this matter."

"Huh?"

Yang Shouwen wanted to tell Yang Chenglie that he had already obtained the item.

But he didn't expect...

Yang Chenglie lowered his voice, "Xizi, I know you're smart, but you're still too young! If Bo Yu hadn't appeared, I would have investigated thoroughly. But now that Bo Yu is involved, it's best for us to stay out of it.

Thinking about it, the county magistrate is indeed formidable.

Don't look at him being younger than me, but he probably guessed something from the beginning, so he planned to suppress this case from the start."

Yang Shouwen wasn't stupid. Although he didn't understand at first, he became clear after hearing Yang Chenglie's words!

A censor, known as a "jian" in later generations.

In the Tang Dynasty, the responsibility of remonstrance was shared by the Menxia Province and the Zhongshu Province. The Menxia Province had the position of Jishizhong, and the Zhongshu Province had the position of You Jianyi Daifu. Additionally, the Tang Dynasty created the positions of Buque and Shiyi, both of which were censors, ranked at the eighth grade.

The position wasn't high, but it was very important.

Chen Ziang was famous throughout the land and had come from the capital.

Now, he was personally running to this remote area for a matter involving a barbarian, which must be very important.

This matter involved the capital, Luoyang, and the imperial court, so it was definitely not simple.

Given Chen Ziang's reputation, he was doing this... it was clear that the contents of the oiled paper package were of great importance. Involving matters of the court, Yang Chenglie didn't dare to touch it. Such matters could easily offend a powerful faction! It's important to know that there were at least three factions in Changping County, secretly competing.

The fake barbarian and Chen Ziang were likely a group; the murderer of the fake barbarian and the assassins who attacked the county office were another group. And those mysterious people... Lu Yongcheng might be the mastermind behind the assassins! If that was the case, the background of those mysterious people would be even more terrifying and significant.

Understanding all these intricacies, Yang Shouwen suddenly let out a long breath.

He looked at his father, his eyes showing a hint of helplessness.

Indeed, such matters were not something they, as small figures, could get involved in. If they rashly got involved, not only would they offend someone, but even if they didn't, if they learned something they shouldn't, it would be a dead end.

Yes, they shouldn't investigate further!

At that moment, the door of the Great Hall opened.

Chen Ziang came out, looked around, and then quietly returned to the meditation room.

Yang Shouwen stood up, intending to go out, but was pulled back by Yang Chenglie. He was about to speak when he heard the door of the meditation room open again, and then saw Chen Ziang come out, look around the corridor, and return to his room after a long while.

Yang Shouwen was so scared that cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

"Did you see that?" Yang Chenglie whispered. "That guy once destroyed a zither to gain fame, and he has a very small mind. Hmph, trying to deceive me? Back when I accompanied him back to Zizhou, I knew exactly what kind of person he was. Trying to deceive me..."

Yang Chenglie gave a cold laugh, then changed his tone, "But he won't give up.

Tomorrow, he will definitely continue to probe you and Er Lang for information... I'm not worried about you, but Er Lang... when you have the chance, tell him that we found no evidence, and the things in the county office are just a facade."