Chapter 52: Paying a Visit
Early morning.
Two youths were sparring with swords in the spacious practice field.
The square-faced youth was clearly the more skilled of the two.
His sword strikes and retreats were extremely precise, without a single wasted movement.
When his sword marked the other’s spear staff three times, Young Master He Chen threw down his long spear in frustration.
“I’m not fighting you anymore. Your family has been military generals for generations; you’re taking advantage of me. I’ve been ‘killed’ by you enough times for it to be thirty.”
Meng Shaoxia sheathed his sword, took a damp towel from a guard to wipe the sweat from his brow, and smiled heartily.
“If your family was like mine, with only one heir for generations, your parents would probably train you to death too. However, my skills aren’t the best. If I had the chance to spar with Jiang Feng, I feel he would be very formidable.”
Young Master He Chen thought of the appearance of the two Kidnappers he saw last time and couldn’t help but shudder.
“That’s not necessarily true. They had more people; chaos can overwhelm skill. Those two Kidnappers were just ordinary people.”
As they were speaking of the Kidnappers.
A guard came to report.
The two Kidnappers were dead.
Meng Shaoxia and Young Master He Chen were both stunned for a moment.
To be honest, having traveled this far, they had seen dead bodies before, but having three deaths in two days, and all somehow connected to them, seemed a bit too coincidental.
“How did they die?” Meng Shaoxia asked curiously.
“The male Kidnapper was bitten by a venomous insect and died from the poison in the middle of the night. The female Kidnapper died from hitting a wall due to excessive grief,” the guard replied.
“Following each other in life and death; they were actually a loving couple,” Young Master He Chen sighed.
Meng Shaoxia still frowned slightly.
“Let’s go, go wash up. Aren’t we still going to visit the Jiang Family?” Young Master He Chen nudged his friend.
The two learned from the County Magistrate yesterday that the descendants of the once-illustrious Jiang Family of the capital were actually living in seclusion here.
Grand Tutor Jiang had passed away, but Old Madam Jiang was still alive.
Grand Tutor Jiang was a man of high integrity, with a heart as open and clear as the breeze and the moon.
Both of Meng Shaoxia’s grandfathers had mentioned him.
Young Master He Chen had also heard his elders speak of this man.
However, after the Crown Prince was deposed and imprisoned, the Jiang Family clan fell apart, and Grand Tutor Jiang’s family was exiled from the capital.
While on the way to exile, the Emperor pardoned Grand Tutor Jiang, but unfortunately, his health was failing, and he passed away from illness.
They had not expected his descendants to be living in seclusion in Ming County.
And the guard who had died was precisely the guard of the Jiang Family’s direct grandson.
Since they were already here, it wouldn’t be right not to pay a visit.
Moreover, the Emperor had become increasingly sympathetic to his old officials in recent years, often reminiscing about the past; it was likely that the Jiang Family would be restored to favor.
Grand Tutor Jiang had two sons and one daughter. The daughter married the Seventh Prince, but the Seventh Prince was not favored by the Emperor and had left for his fief early on.
The eldest son, Jiang Huaisheng, was said to have been talented from a young age, skilled in both literature and martial arts, but unfortunately, he was implicated by his father.
The youngest son was rarely heard of; it seemed he was not very accomplished.
However, the Jiang Family had a very good reputation, with no concubines and a simple household; even at their worst, they couldn’t be that bad.
Unlike Young Master He Chen’s family, which was chaotic, with a pile of brothers and sisters he couldn’t even count.
Meng Shaoxia’s family situation was a bit absurd. It wasn’t that they didn’t take concubines, but their lineage was truly precarious. Due to various twists of fate, they had few descendants. By Meng Shaoxia’s generation, he was the only male, the sole surviving seedling.
Even the Emperor worried about the Meng Family’s lineage, jokingly suggesting that he should send two princes to the Meng Family.
Therefore, Meng Shaoxia was required to train his body from a young age, and whenever he went out, he was followed by a large group of guards, all fearing that something might happen to him and end the Meng Family line.
The two washed up, changed into clothes suitable for receiving guests, and went to pay their visit.
They had already submitted their calling card yesterday.
They were visiting Old Madam as juniors.
Old Madam Jiang was also a legendary figure; it was said she was a close friend of Grand Princess Huiyun, and they even gave birth to their children around the same time. Now, Princess Huiyun was devoted to Buddhism, and Old Madam Jiang was also living in seclusion here.
The brilliance of that generation had dissipated in the river of time.
A new generation of youths arrived, stepping into the morning light.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The tiger-head door knocker struck, and the gates of the Jiang Mansion slowly opened.
