One person said: The essence of Wuhou Qimen lies not in Qimen, but in Wuhou.

Zhuge Bai's pupils contracted sharply.

He had experienced many thrilling moments in his life—he almost got caught by his father for stealing offerings when he was a child, he was caught by his older brother for slacking off during martial arts practice, and he fell from a tree while raiding bird nests in the village—but none of these moments were as thrilling as this one.

He stumbled upon something he shouldn't have.

His brain started working at full speed.

The eldest brother is kneeling, and the father is holding a weapon; this scene is incredibly rich in information.

Why is my brother kneeling? What is Father going to do? Why did I have to come in at this time? Was Father calling me just now? Is he going to make me kneel down too?

Zhuge Bai's response was textbook-perfect crisis management.

"Forehead!"

He uttered a single, clear-cut word, his expression shifting dramatically from confusion to terror to nonchalance in a mere 0.3 seconds: "Um—Big Brother, Father, you can continue! Just pretend I was never here!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned around.

The speed at which he turned around was so fast, it was as if he had springs under his feet.

His hat almost flew off, but he held it down with one hand and pushed the door open with the other. The whole movement was smooth and seamless, without any unnecessary steps.

Then he ran away.

It wasn't just running; it was a sprint.

Her two short legs moved swiftly, and her footsteps crackled on the bluestone corridor like a string of lit firecrackers.

From the entrance of the main room to the corner of the corridor, he ran the best 100-meter time of his life.

The door closed very softly, but the first thing he did after closing it was to lean against the wall in the hallway and gasp for breath.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Zhuge Bai pressed one hand to his chest, feeling as if his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

He leaned back against the wall, his hat askew and he didn't bother to straighten it. His blue eyes were wide open, his pupils still dilated from shock.

"Luckily I ran fast!"

He muttered under his breath, his voice extremely low, as if afraid of being overheard by those in the main room, "Otherwise, we might have had to drink a pot of wine too!"

He turned his head and glanced towards the main room.

The door was closed, but the faint sounds of Zhuge Gong's roar and Zhuge Qing's unhurried retorts could be heard from inside.

Clearly, the drama of loving fathers and filial sons continues to unfold.

"What's wrong with my brother and father? What's gotten into them?"

Zhuge Bai muttered to himself, his brows furrowed, "Dad's drunk, and why did my brother get into a fight with him? Isn't that just asking for a beating?"

He tilted his head and thought for a moment, realizing that the question was beyond his comprehension.

However, he has one advantage—a strong sense of curiosity.

Very vigorous.

Enough to overcome fear.

"How about... we observe for a while?"

Just do it.

Zhuge Bai tiptoed back to the entrance of the main room, curled up into a ball, and peered through the crack in the door.

The crack in the door wasn't large, but it was enough for him to see what was happening inside—Zhuge Qing was still kneeling, and Zhuge Gong was still cursing, waving his back scratcher wildly in the air, but never actually hitting Zhuge Qing.

Zhuge Bai narrowed his eyes, analyzing the situation in his mind: his father was only scolding and not hitting him, which meant he hadn't completely lost his temper yet; his elder brother was kneeling and not talking back—no, he seemed to be talking back just now, but he's shut up now, which means his elder brother's strategy is "to use stillness to control movement".

Currently, the battle is at a stalemate, but it is unlikely to escalate into an armed conflict.

No, we need to call for reinforcements.

Zhuge Bai took out his phone.

At this time, the Zhejiang Provincial Government building.

In Zhuge Ming's office, the afternoon sun had moved to the other side of his desk.

There was still a little while before work started, and Zhuge Ming was sitting in his office chair with a steaming cup of tea in his hand.

It was a cup of fine Longjing tea. The leaves unfurled into emerald green buds in the water, the tea soup was clear and bright, and the aroma was delicate and subtle.

He gently blew on it, took a small sip, and nodded slightly.

After serving the people for so many years, can't I enjoy myself a little? Of course I can.

Moreover, his early arrival at work, strictly speaking, falls into the category of model worker.

If this were on a form for evaluating and awarding honors, it would earn two points.

Off topic.

The phone rang.

Zhuge Ming glanced at the caller ID—Xiao Bai.

He swiped to answer, his voice steady and carrying a standard businesslike tone: "Hey, Xiaobai. What's up? Your second brother is reminding you, you only have five minutes. After five minutes, your second brother has to get back to work. Work requires complete concentration, otherwise how can I live up to the Party and the country's cultivation?"

On the other end of the phone, Zhuge Bai's voice was urgent and panicked, still catching his breath from a sprint: "Second Brother! Stop talking like an official! Something terrible has happened! A fight has broken out! A fight has broken out!"

Zhuge Ming paused, his hand holding the teacup slightly raised, his eyebrows lifting a little, but his tone remained unhurried: "What? A fight broke out? Who did you fight with?"

"It wasn't me!"

Zhuge Bai's voice was low, but his speech was rapid, as if he were reporting military intelligence: "My elder brother and father are fighting! Right now, my elder brother is kneeling in the ancestral hall—no, in the main room! Father has a weapon in his hand! Father is drunk and acting crazy! He could easily get hurt if we're not careful!"

Zhuge Bai took a deep breath and cried out in a pleading tone, "It's an emergency! We need help! Second brother, call Dad right now!"

Zhuge Ming placed the teacup on the table and gently circled his finger around the rim of the cup.

He got it.

Could this old man be mistaking Zhuge Qing for me? After all, we're twins.

He quickly went through the sequence of events in his mind.

Old Deng had been angry with himself all morning, and after drinking half a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), he was still in a bad mood.

Unfortunately, Zhuge Qing went back at this time. The two brothers look alike, so it's normal that Old Deng's presbyopia caused him to mistake one for the other due to alcohol.

Thus, Zhuge Qing became the scapegoat, forced to kneel in the main room by Lao Deng, enduring a storm that should have been his own.

Zhuge Ming's lips curled up slightly.

However, the emperor is far away and the country is far from the capital.

Oh, I can't hit it.

He coughed lightly, picked up his phone again, and his voice returned to its usual calm and gentle leader's tone: "Xiao Bai, your second brother has to get back to work soon. I have several important meetings later, and I really can't get away."

Zhuge Bai panicked: "Second Brother!"

Zhuge Ming continued calmly, each word seemingly copied from an official document template: "Don't drag family conflicts into the government building. Family matters should be resolved at home. Otherwise, it will cause a lot of conflicts and misunderstandings. As the saying goes, a country has its laws, and a family has its rules. If you drag your family matters into your second brother's work, then that becomes the law. The law doesn't speak of feelings—that will only make people more upset."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Zhuge Bai's voice rang out, carrying a straightforwardness unique to young people: "Second Brother, after saying all this, isn't it just that you don't want to get involved?"

Zhuge Ming did not deny it.

Zhuge Bai lowered his voice even further, clearly still peeking through the crack in the door: "I'm eavesdropping outside. My eldest brother is arguing with Father. He just said something about 'Don't always compare me to my second brother,' and he seemed quite serious about it. Actually, you know how strong my eldest brother's pride is."