CHAPTER 340: CHAPTER 21 SHEPHERD BOY POINTING TO THE APRICOT BLOSSOM VILLAGE_3

You wish!

Zheng Fan reached out, pulling a silver token from his pocket and handing it to Deng Ziliang.

Deng Ziliang frowned slightly, somewhat unsure of Zheng Fan’s intentions, but still took the token. After examining it for a moment, he said, "Exquisite craftsmanship."

"This is the pass token for Lake Heart Pavilion."

Upon hearing this, Deng Ziliang’s gaze sharpened, and the faces of many generals around him also changed slightly.

Clearly, everyone had heard of Yanjing’s Lake Heart Pavilion.

It was much like how few people in later generations had ever been to Qincheng Prison, yet the mere mention of the place evoked an unspeakable sense of dread.

And in the Yan State, the Lake Heart Pavilion was specifically a place for imprisoning members of the Royal Family.

Princes who vied for the throne, rebellious Princes of the blood—all under the principle that it was inconvenient to kill those of the surname Ji—were confined there, left to "die of old age." Such was the mercy of the royalty.

Seeing the token’s effectiveness, Zheng Fan didn’t hold back and continued, "This is a token personally bestowed upon me by His Majesty the Yan Emperor, allowing me to visit the Third Prince at the Lake Heart Pavilion when I have leisure."

Since his rebirth, what Chief Zheng excelled at most was leveraging powerful connections.

However, this time, he wasn’t entirely bluffing; after all, the Yan Emperor had indeed said those words.

Deng Ziliang looked at Zheng Fan with a somewhat profound gaze, the corners of his mouth curling into a faint smile.

The expressions of the surrounding generals grew somber. They had heard rumors before, more or less, but hadn’t truly believed them; Yanjing was, after all, quite distant.

But now, Zheng Fan had admitted it right in front of them.

This inevitably caused everyone to look at Zheng Fan in a new light. Deposing a prince, even if not pursued at the time, what about the future... who could say for sure?

Yet, he dared to depose a prince, remained unharmed to this day, and could still lead troops into battle. HISS... the thought was quite chilling.

Zheng Fan didn’t want to brag about this, because this matter wasn’t exactly glorious for the Royal Family. If he were to go around blabbing about it, wouldn’t he be deliberately provoking the Emperor, practically begging His Majesty to stop holding back and deal with him?

But society forced him to put on an act.

Zheng Fan even wondered if Lord Jingnan had insisted on him deposing the Third Prince precisely to lay this foundation for him. After all, if he had already committed such a treacherous act, one that would surely be brought up for reckoning later, what else would he not dare to do?

"Brother Zheng, you’ve truly broadened my horizons today. Fine, I’ll concede these barbarian soldiers today. The mountains don’t turn, but the rivers do; we’ll meet again someday."

"Are you threatening me, Lord Deng?"

"..." Deng Ziliang.

Some things are just so strange. I *am* indeed threatening you, but I said it in such a calm tone. Even if you know I’m threatening you, what’s the meaning of calling it out so directly?

Zheng Fan was already quite angered by this persistent pest. He sneered coldly and said directly, "Lord Deng, you hold yourself in high regard, hailing from a good background. In that, I indeed fall short. But why did our Yan Emperor trample the great clans? It was so that our Great Yan would never again be ruled by family background; it was so that all Yan people could strive to achieve their utmost! You, Lord Deng, cannot match my military achievements, yet here you are, constantly implying that your Deng Family is not to be trifled with? I’m truly curious, how does Lady Liu of the North compare to the Deng Family? How about the Tian Family of Yan suburb?

’Swallows that once graced the halls of Tian and Liu, now fly into commoners’ homes.’

You keep saying we should judge by military merit, but when your own merit falls short, you start bringing up your family background and connections. Heh, what’s the difference between that and a pedantic, face-saving scholar from the Qian State?"

"You!!!"

At this moment, Deng Ziliang truly wanted to draw his sword.

Zheng Fan, however, just looked at him calmly.

Ever since he took out the Lake Heart Pavilion token, there was no longer any need to maintain pretenses. Damn it, he was already prodding the old man Emperor; couldn’t he at least look down on this guy?

Ultimately, Chief Zheng was not one to suffer grievances silently. Besides, with Hui Wenzu by his side and Lord Jingnan backing him from above—damn it, with such connections, how utterly spineless would he have to be to endure bullying here?

Would that be worthy of the lamb leg from the Earl of North Border?

Would that do justice to the Third Prince’s ’lovely’ little thing?

Deng Ziliang took a deep breath, then exhaled heavily, turned, and left directly.

"Back in the old days, the swallows flew past the courtyards of the Tian and Liu families, entering the humble homes of ordinary people."

Hui Wenzu savored these lines of poetry and asked pensively, "What about the first two lines?"

Zheng Fan replied with a wry smile, "They were inspired in the moment; I only have these two lines."

Hui Wenzu shook his head with some dissatisfaction. Although he was not a conventional civil official, he was a scholar, and he was genuinely displeased with Zheng Fan’s behavior of not providing the complete poem.

Actually, it wasn’t that Zheng Fan didn’t want to recite the first two lines. The real reason was he didn’t know if places like Wuyi Lane or Zhuque Bridge even existed in this world.

And judging by the names, they probably existed over in the Qian State. But wouldn’t that make the poem completely incongruous here?

Hui Wenzu chuckled, looking at the surrounding generals, and said, "Gentlemen, is there anything else you wish to impart?"

Naturally, the generals wouldn’t stay any longer. Once again, it was clear this portly man from the North was going to hog all the spoils. After exchanging salutations, they left one by one.

Hui Wenzu didn’t think to invite them for a casual meal or anything of the sort.

However, after everyone had left, Hui Wenzu instructed the doorkeeper to call someone to repack the severed heads.

These heads still needed to go through several more procedures. Zheng Fan had also brought the list for reporting merits, which A Ming was holding. Later, they would still need to visit several government offices.