Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 239 Dad, you're getting senile! [Requesting monthly votes]

It took Yan Maoqing a while to recover his senses, his eyes fixed blankly on Yan Song:

"So, not only have you not done any of the things I asked you to do, but you've also done the opposite, deliberately going against me?"

"Why does Minister Yan say such a thing..."

Yan Song was taken aback by Yan Maoqing's question, his smile completely frozen on his face, and a strange chill ran down his spine.

He really couldn't understand Yan Maoqing's question, nor could he read Yan Maoqing's expression.

Is there a problem?

Which of these things he did not handle well enough? Which of these things was not done with genuine concern for Yan Maoqing? Which of these things did not show enough sincerity?
He felt that even if it were Xia Yan, after he expressed such sincerity, they would definitely be able to resolve their previous grudges of betraying each other.

Even with Xia Yan's arrogant and slow-paced nature, which is known for its gentleness but not its forcefulness, she might still take his hand and ride in the same sedan chair with him back to the city to drink and laugh together, burying the hatchet.

Why is it that when applied to Yan Maoqing, it seems not only did it fail to move him, but it also angered him...?

"It seems you didn't listen to a single word I said in the letter."

Yan Maoqing's face was ashen, and he said through gritted teeth,

"Your son is gone, I told you!"

After finishing his speech, Yan Maoqing ignored Yan Song and went straight to greet the next person who had been waiting for a long time.

"Minister Yan?"

Yan Song's heart tightened, and he wanted to say something more.

Just then, they saw Yan Shifan squeeze half of his body out from among the soldiers of the Heroes' Camp, peeking and looking in their direction.

"Qing'er..."

Yan Song suddenly felt a surge of emotion, his old eyes burning with tears.

After not seeing him for several months, the child has become thinner and darker, which suggests he must have suffered a lot during this time.

Fortunately, it appears to be intact and unharmed.

"father……"

Yan Shifan's single eye had already locked onto Yan Song in the crowd, but he did not walk straight up. He simply mouthed his name to him, waved to him with a very small gesture, and then silently retreated to stand with the soldiers of the Heroes' Camp.

Why aren't you coming over?

Yan Song saw this and couldn't help but feel a little strange.

This is not Yan Shifan's usual style. He watched this child grow up and he has always been independent and unruly. When did he become so well-behaved?

Moreover, in this situation, Yan Maoqing has already exchanged greetings with the county magistrate, which means he has essentially met all the officials of Datong Town.

Next, they would pay their respects to the powerful merchants and wealthy people. The officials would simply follow behind and introduce them one by one. There were no particularly strict rules. Even if Yan Shifan came over and said a few words to his father, it wouldn't be a big deal...

It seems that this child has not only suffered a lot, but has also endured a great deal of abuse under Yan Maoqing's rule, which has even changed his temperament!
Yan Song couldn't help but recall Yan Maoqing's last words: "Your son is gone, I told you!"

No!

From this moment on, I will keep Qing'er by my side every step of the way.

No matter what Yan Maoqing wants to do, he can forget about touching Qing'er again. I will never give him that chance!

I thought so in my heart.

Seeing that Guo Xun, Zhou Shangwen and other officials had already taken the initiative to surround Yan Maoqing, introducing him to those powerful figures and merchants as if he were surrounded by stars, they were impressed.

Yan Song immediately seized the opportunity and headed straight for the Heroes' Camp.

"Halt! Military formation, all unauthorized personnel must stand aside!"

The soldiers of the Heroic Battalion immediately picked up their self-propelled muskets and shouted solemnly.

"What kind of irrelevant person are you? I want to see my son!"

Yan Song immediately adopted the imposing manner of a second-rank official, and rebuked him with a stern face.

How could he possibly take these ordinary soldiers seriously? Even though he was only a seventh-rank county magistrate, he was still a high-ranking official appointed by the imperial court. He was determined to force his way in today, so what could these ordinary soldiers do to him?

"We're on the same side! We're on the same side!"

Upon seeing this, Yan Shifan rushed out, pressed the muzzles of the Heroic Battalion soldiers' guns down, and said with a forced smile,

"Brothers, don't be impulsive! This is really my father!"

No one knew better than him how dangerous it was for Yan Song to force his way into the Hero Camp's formation. Let alone a mere county magistrate, even a third-rank commander would have dared to open fire, and the county magistrate would have been shot directly at vital points.

Moreover, given Yan Maoqing's personality, as long as the actions of the Heroes' Camp soldiers are reasonable and well-founded, he will definitely unconditionally favor and protect them afterwards.

If Yan Song really did eat iron broad beans because of this, then it was all for nothing, and he wouldn't even have a place to seek justice.

While speaking.

Yan Shifan finally emerged from the army ranks with a helpless expression, pulling Yan Song aside:
"Father, what are you doing? Didn't I already secretly tell you?"

"Wouldn't it be alright to talk about it after we get to the city, when our son has time to visit you?"

"Are you blaming your father?" Yan Song's expression grew increasingly strange as he looked at his son, whom he felt he could hardly recognize anymore.

He had to greet me secretly, and when I came to see him, he acted as if I was disturbing his official business, and his words were full of resentment.

He was even so polite to ordinary soldiers, and even addressed them as brothers.
Is this still his son?
Even if his son were down on his luck and controlled by others, he would have always regarded these ordinary soldiers as lowly and his actions and words just now as self-degradation!
"I wouldn't dare, I have official duties to attend to."

Yan Shifan chuckled and apologized to Yan Song.
"The Emperor attaches great importance to the Datong matter this time, and my uncle-in-law is also very concerned about it. I will do my best, so how can I hold my uncle-in-law back?"

"You unfilial son, you still call him 'uncle-in-law'!"

Upon hearing Yan Shifan's address to Yan Maoqing, Yan Song was both angry and anxious. He grabbed Yan Shifan's hand and turned to leave.

"Come with me. From this day forward, you will stay by my side day and night. You are not allowed to go out alone, you are not allowed to associate with Yan Maoqing anymore, and you are not allowed to call him your aunt's husband again!"

However, to Yan Song's utter surprise, Yan Shifan not only refused to go with him, but also forcefully broke free from his grasp.

"Oh dear, Father—!"

Faced with Yan Song's increasingly astonished gaze, Yan Shifan also looked completely puzzled.
“My uncle is a genius, and he speaks very well. Everyone around him is also very talented. My son has benefited a lot from being with them. Why do you want to separate your son from them?”

"you?!"

Yan Song was completely stunned.

He never expected that Yan Maoqing would cripple his son, who was originally quite clever, in just a few months, and cripple him so thoroughly.

He even suspected that Yan Maoqing had ordered someone to pin Yan Shifan against the threshold and slam the door shut, which was why Yan Shifan had become such a fool who was sold out but still had to count the money for others.

If that's really the case.

He felt it was essential to have a long talk with his wife after returning home, to ask if he could take a few concubines while he was still alive, and see if there was any chance of having another son...

Or they could raise this son in the backyard and start training their grandson ahead of time.

Otherwise, if I were to pass away one day and the family business were handed over to this foolish son, the Yan family would likely be unable to continue!
However, in the end, he still felt he should try to save his son one more time.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Yan Song took out several crumpled and folded letters from his pocket, gritted his teeth, and stuffed them into Yan Shifan's hand, glaring at him with exasperation:

"You even gave your personal jade pendant to Yan Maoqing, let's see how he treats you!"

"This……"

Yan Shifan glanced at Yan Song, puzzled, then unfolded the letter to read its contents.

At first glance, Yan Shifan's brows furrowed, and he noticeably sped up his reading.

After watching it all the way through...

When Yan Shifan raised his head again, he finally asked after a moment's thought:

"Dad, have you done all the things my aunt's husband asked you to do?"

"Of course not!"

Looking at Yan Shifan's expression, Yan Song felt that his foolish son's intelligence had regained its superiority, and he snorted coldly.

“Every single thing Yan Maoqing coerced me to do was to sabotage the tribute system. His secret communication with Anda was an even more serious crime of provoking a huge conflict. How could I be so easily fooled?”

"Not only that, in order to get Yan Maoqing to let you go, I also deliberately tricked Guo Xun and joined forces with him to clear all the obstacles to the tribute before Yan Maoqing arrived in Datong. I then submitted a memorial to the Emperor, giving him all the credit for establishing the carbon tax office."

"Now that Yan Maoqing has entered Datong, he can easily accomplish his goal and reap the greatest credit for nothing..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yan Shifan interrupted him, adopting a disappointed expression and pounding his chest in frustration:

"Dad, you're getting senile!"

"What did you say???"

Yan Song thought he had misheard. This rebellious son dared to say such anti-Chinese words to his face. This was the first time since Yan Shifan was born.

Moreover, he believed that his handling of the matter was perfect, without the slightest flaw.

If there was any shortcoming, it was that he hadn't expected Yan Maoqing to be such an inhuman creature, unyielding to both soft and hard approaches. Not only did she not appreciate his kindness, but she even seemed to be angered...

"Father, even now, don't you understand?"

Yan Shifan said, both angry and anxious.
"If my uncle really wanted to achieve such merit, why didn't he lead his army straight to Datong after receiving the imperial order, instead of going to Taiyuan first, which is a long way off?"

"With my uncle's abilities, he was able to settle things in Taiyuan in just two hours, even getting the provincial governor Guan Jieshan to confess. If he went straight to Datong, do you people in Datong have three heads and six arms? Would you be more difficult to investigate than those in Taiyuan? Why would you need to go through all this trouble?"

"If I'm not mistaken, my uncle is definitely playing a grand game, a game that neither you, son nor father, can fathom!"

"You've acted so presumptuously and ruined my uncle's grand plan. Do you expect my uncle to thank you?"

"Don't you think about it? If my uncle really wanted to take my life, he could have done it anytime and anywhere along the way. He could have just pinned it on the White Lotus Rebels and made sure you never knew who your enemy was until you died."

"Why would he go to all that trouble and expose such a huge flaw in you?"

"Based on my understanding of my uncle-in-law, he is always meticulous in his actions, so such a flaw must have been intentional."

"Therefore, my uncle threatened you with my life precisely because he was afraid that you would think you were clever and ruin his grand plan, but you did the exact opposite!"

"Alas—Father, this time you've not only ruined yourself, but you've also ruined your son's life!"

(End of this chapter)