All Hail Cousin Brother

378 A Greeting from Mr. Xian Yun

The Four Seas Dragon Dagger expressed that King You had not let down the emperor and his brother. At the same time, it had awakened the remaining trace of so-called bloodline kinship buried deep in the royal family’s heart.

Emotions overrode reason. Who knew how many people would pay a painful price for King You’s death?

The next day, the first branch received a visiting card.

The gatekeeper basically crawled to An Shou Hall and handed over a greeting card.

Old Madam Yu opened the greeting card and read the contents. She was so shocked that her hands trembled. She quickly instructed Nanny Liu, “Quickly go to the Green House and invite Linghuai over.”

Nanny Liu did not dare to delay and quickly went to the Green House.

Zhou Linghuai was sitting under the corridor, holding a Kunwu Knife and carving a seal. There were hanging orchids in the corridor. The long arrow leaves and the drooping flowers looked extremely elegant.

Nanny Liu stepped forward and bowed. “Young Master, Old Madam wants you to go over.”

Here it comes! Zhou Linghuai’s pale lips curled up slightly. He nodded slightly, shook off the dust on his body, and went to An Shou Hall with Nanny Liu.

When Old Madam Yu saw Zhou Linghuai coming over, her expression softened a little. “Just now, Mr. Xian Yun sent a greeting card and wanted to visit you in the residence in three days.”

Mr. Xian Yun’s words were very polite. His words were unusually solemn.

Zhou Linghuai took the greeting card and took a few casual glances before closing it. “In the past, I once met Mr. Xian Yun in Youzhou and had a good chat. He probably heard I am living in the residence now, so he sent over an invitation. Grandaunt, please arrange it.”

His attitude was too casual. He did not seem to treat him like a famous person at all. Instead, he looked like an ordinary old friend visiting.

For a moment, Old Madam Yu was unsure of his attitude. She couldn’t help but scrutinize him.

Mr. Xian Yun had entered the capital this time as a Confucian sword that pointed straight at the Marquis of Changxing. It was obvious that he had an extraordinary relationship with Yin Huaixi. He had sent a greeting card to the Yu Residence at this time. Furthermore, the person he was visiting was Zhou Linghuai, who was inseparable from Youzhou. No matter what, it was suspicious.

Ever since Zhou Linghuai entered the capital, he had been living in seclusion.

The matters in the royal court did not seem to have anything to do with him. However, on careful thought, the position of commander of the You Prefecture was also a high-ranking military official. Although he was not directly under King You, he had a close relationship with the You Prefecture.

Then, it was terrifying to think about it. Was Ye Hanyuan involved in the matter of him beating the drum and reporting the Marquis of Changxing?

Zhou Linghuai was also related to Mr. Xian Yun.

Old Madam Yu was old and wise. Previously, because of the complicated matters in the court, she did not have time to think too deeply. However, now that Mr. Xian Yun was about to visit, many things suddenly became much clearer.

Zhou Linghuai’s expression did not change. “What Mr. Xian Yun and I planned is all private matters and has nothing to do with the Yu Residence. The reason why I entered the capital has nothing to do with the Yu Residence.” He chuckled with an indifferent expression. “The emperor is old. How can he remember what happened three to four years ago clearly?”

Old Madam Yu was shocked.

It was all because he had used two words: planned and reason.

What was he planning?

What was his reason?

It was terrifying to think about.

In a flash, Old Madam Yu thought of what Eldest Son had said yesterday. “Back then, King You was accused of treason. I trusted myself and ignored the people from the Imperial Court’s obstruction to report the matter. I directly reported King You’s ten contributions to the country and begged the emperor to investigate thoroughly again. I was punished lightly and was scolded by the emperor in court. Now, he actually protected my family.”

Therefore, the people from the Imperial Court were sent to jail and fired. Even Eldest Son’s father-in-law, Yang Shiguang, was implicated. Logically speaking, Eldest Son could not escape responsibility.

However, the emperor’s anger seemed to have taken a detour and he deliberately ignored Eldest Son.

Now, it seemed that it was not because of a lack of reporting. It was clearly because a Buddha with unfathomable methods lived in the Yu Residence and had already reached out to the emperor.

Old Madam Yu’s face tensed up. “What’s your relationship with the heir of King You, Yin Huaixi?”

Zhou Linghuai said calmly, “We met when we were young.”

Old Madam Yu’s expression softened a little. “Since Mr. Xian Yun has handed over a greeting card, we naturally have to welcome him properly to avoid being rude.”

Zhou Linghuai was from Youzhou, so he definitely had relations to Youzhou. It was the same for the Yu Residence.

From the looks of it, the heir of King You, Yin Huaixi, could not be underestimated. When the Marquis of Changxing was escorted into the capital and King You’s crimes were cleared, he would definitely be reinstated.

As the legitimate son of King You and the heir, Yin Huaixi had to inherit his father’s title. King You had died of injustice, so the emperor had to compensate him. The heir, Yin Huaixi, also had to be rewarded generously.

It wasn’t a bad thing for the Yu Residence to be related to the heir, Yin Huaixi.

Moreover, there were some things that could not be avoided.

From the day the Yu Residence accepted Zhou Linghuai, they would have taken on any karma. Now that Zhou Linghuai was related to the first branch, there was no need to be cold because of some unnecessary doubts.

Just like before, they did as they were supposed to.

When Zhou Linghuai heard this, he understood what Old Madam Yu was thinking and smiled. “Thank you, Grandaunt.”

She sighed inwardly. Old Madam Yu was indeed a sensible person. No wonder she had raised the little girl to be pure.

After Zhou Linghuai left, Old Madam Yu looked at his back. After a long while, she sighed softly. “Our main family is also filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. Zhou Linghuai has restrained his sharpness and is living in the backyard of the small Yu Residence. It’s really unfair to him.”

There were many things that were extremely terrifying when one thought about it carefully.

Firstly, what kind of sage was Mr. Xian Yun? However, he had personally sent a greeting card to meet a junior. Even if news of this spread, no one in the world would believe it.

With Mr. Xian Yun’s status, reputation, and virtue, others would usually seek an audience with him.

In addition, back then, when Mr. Xian Yun traveled to Youzhou, the world vaguely knew that he had seen the heir, Yin Huaixi. They did not know that there was another Zhou Linghuai in Youzhou.

Just this point alone was enough to show that Zhou Linghuai was a fish in water.

Old Madam Yu sighed slightly. “A storm is brewing. I wonder if it’s a blessing or a curse.”

Nanny Liu said, “Whether it’s a blessing or a disaster, it can’t be avoided. With a genius like Young Master, it’s not a bad thing to plan with him.”

When Old Madam Yu heard this, she smiled. “To think that I’ve lived for most of my life. I’m not as insightful as you.”

Zhou Linghuai was already related to the Yu Residence. No matter what happened in the future, he would be involved. With such a powerful junior’s plan, it was naturally a good thing.

At night, when Yu Zongzheng returned from the government office, he was called by Old Madam Yu to go to An Shou Hall.

Old Madam Yu told her about Mr. Xian Yun sending over a greeting card to visit Zhou Linghuai.

Yu Zongzheng looked shocked and almost smashed the teacup in his hand. “How did Linghuai get to know Mr. Xian Yun? With your talent, reputation, and seniority, it’s only right for Linghuai to personally visit you.”