Chapter 33: Endless Supply from Father

 

 **Chapter 33: Endless Supply from Father**

The woman beside her sneered, "A mere limping, coarse martial general isn't worth my utmost caution. Besides, he isn't even her biological father!" 

As she spoke, something seemed to ignite within her, her anger intensifying and mixed with cold jealousy. "As long as I'm alive, I'll never allow the Lang Lord to meet her!" 

"Smash!"  

Another white porcelain teacup shattered into pieces. 

... 

When Jian Tong returned to the Chang residence, Chang Kuo was searching for something with the siblings in the study. 

"I found it, it's this!" Chang Kuo pulled out a wooden sword from a large box and handed it to Chang Suining. "This peach wood sword, here, Suining, take it!" 

Peach wood? 

The experiences at Dayun Temple still fresh in her mind, Chang Suining felt a bit apprehensive, hesitating before she tentatively poked at it with her finger. 

Hmm, it didn’t ward her off? 

So she poked it again. 

"Sister, this is made of peach wood; it won't cut your hand!" Chang Sui'an took it and demonstrated by jabbing it into the back of his own hand. "See? It doesn’t hurt!" 

Chang Suining nodded. "Thank you, Brother. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have known." 

Seeing her accept it, Chang Kuo smiled. "Since Suining wants to learn martial arts, then it's best to start with this! It will save you from hurting yourself!" 

This peach wood sword was something he had crafted many years ago and had given to his daughter, but she had never shown much interest in wielding swords and sticks, feeling a bit embarrassed about the gift. Though he found it a pity, he didn’t want to force her. 

He never expected it would come in handy again after all these years. 

But... 

Did his daughter seem a bit disdainful earlier? 

Chang Kuo carefully observed the girl's expression. 

But he saw her smile, "Thank you, Father." 

Chang Kuo's face immediately lit up with joy, thinking he must have seen wrong earlier. 

At this moment, Jian Tong entered from outside, bowing. "General, my lord, young lady—" 

Holding the peach wood sword, Chang Suining looked up at him. "Is the person dead?" 

Jian Tong was momentarily taken aback but nodded. "Yes..." 

But how did she instantly see that he didn't have a mournful expression on his face? 

Chang Kuo quickly became serious. "Tell us everything that happened." 

Jian Tong recounted in detail everything about his day following Zhou Ding. 

"That's good; he's dead." Chang Suining remarked, thinking of the boy who had escaped Zhou Ding's grasp. 

This way, the siblings could entirely escape this calamity. 

"But this means there are no witnesses left." Chang Sui'an instinctively responded. 

"Even if he died, he wouldn't know who killed him. Even if he lived, who could he corroborate with?" Chang Suining stated. "This time, we've successfully drawn out the person behind it; he’s fulfilled his purpose." 

This kind of scourge was a threat to the innocent every day he lived. Now that he had served his purpose, it was better for him to be dead. 

Hearing this, Chang Sui'an felt relieved and turned a bit resentful. "That just let him off too easily!" 

He hadn’t even had the chance to fulfill his long-standing desire to beat up Zhou Ding. This incident would likely be one of his greatest regrets in life. 

"Where did he end up?" Chang Kuo furrowed his brow and asked Jian Tong. 

"In Changxinfang," Jian Tong replied. "It seemed to be a courtyard, and there was no plaque hanging at the door." 

Chang Kuo asked, "Do you remember which household it belongs to?" 

Jian Tong nodded. "I noted it down, but it was too dark to see carefully, so I made a mark." 

"Good." Chang Kuo nodded, contemplating, "Using his men to handle affairs, choosing a temporary place like a courtyard... Seeing Zhou Ding's failure, he immediately eliminated him to cut off future troubles; this person is quite decisive and ruthless." 

Chang Suining also thought deeply, "As long as we find out who owns this courtyard, we will have a lead on the identity of the murderer." 

"Exactly!" Chang Sui'an agreed. 

"This matter—" Chang Suining paused and rephrased, "Should we ask Yu Gong for help?" 

Since Ah Zeng was currently in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he must have many insights into the details and properties of officials and nobles. Having him investigate this matter would save time and yield more precise results—some wealthy officials might own properties under aliases to cover their tracks, making it difficult to investigate through usual means. 

Chang Kuo looked at his daughter. "You mean... find your Fourth Father?" 

Chang Suining widened her eyes slightly. 

There’s really a fourth one? 

And it’s... Ah Zeng? 

After the abbot and the second father, A Li actually has a fourth father, the chief of eunuchs? 

The surprises kept piling up. 

"How many fathers do I actually have?" Faced with what seemed to be an endless supply of fathers, Chang Suining couldn’t help but ask. 

Seeing that his child genuinely didn’t remember this and seemed to want to get agitated, Chang Kuo mentally placed himself in her shoes, feeling that the number of fathers indeed seemed a bit overwhelming... 

He forced a smile and spoke reassuringly, "Don't worry, this will be the last one!" 

He added, "You should know that not everyone qualifies to be your father!" 

Chang Suining fell silent. 

What he said was half right and half wrong—whether it was for her or A Li, being a father was indeed an extremely adventurous task. 

As if to prepare the child psychologically, Chang Kuo added, "As for your Fourth Father, although he has a bad temper, speaks harshly, is careless, and is a bit annoying... he really doesn’t have any major faults." 

Chang Suining: "..." 

"He really doesn’t have any"—is that how it’s used? 

And, he’s actually talking about Ah Zeng? 

Just by looking at the ranking, it’s clear that he’s the youngest among her “four fathers.” 

While the others were all her elders, and it wouldn’t be a loss for them to be called “father,” Ah Zeng was the only one of similar age to her, essentially growing up together with her. 

Yet her memory of Ah Zeng was that he was smart, beautiful, gentle, clever, and meticulous—not at all like the older Chang described him. 

However, now was clearly not the time to delve into that. Chang Suining pulled her attention back to the main topic. "Is it convenient to ask Yu Gong for help in this matter?" 

After all, while “he doesn’t have any major faults,” he still had quite a few issues. 

"Of course, it's convenient." Chang Kuo smiled. "He might not care about other people's matters, but he will definitely not stand idly by when it comes to your affairs—this title of 'father' is not given for free." 

Chang Sui'an quickly nodded. "This time, being able to successfully find my sister was because I secretly asked Yu Gong... When he heard about this matter, he immediately agreed without a second thought!" 

Jian Tong glanced at his lord. 

Yu Gong wasn’t really so quick to agree; he still remembered how he had scolded the lord to the point of tears. 

Oh, and he had also scolded the general alongside him. 

Chang Kuo was naturally unaware of this and didn’t waste any time. He immediately wrote a letter, instructing someone to secretly deliver it to Yu Zeng. 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs outwardly managed the internal punishments and treasury affairs, but under the "tacit approval" of the emperor, its power had already extended to the external court. Its covert intelligence network was one of the emperor's tools to control the officials. 

Therefore, both inside and outside the court, people turned pale at the mention of Yu Gong. 

And what Chang Kuo said was true; after Chang Suining’s matter, Yu Zeng was undoubtedly invested. Though he didn’t show himself, the very next day, a reply came. 

Upon opening it, Chang Kuo saw that the identity of the owner of that courtyard was clearly written on the letterhead. 

Seeing this, Chang Kuo was both shocked and angry. 

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**(End of Chapter)**

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