Liang Xiao glanced at Liang Feng and was also displeased. "I respect you as my cousin and call you Elder Brother, not for you to act superior."
Liang Feng said solemnly, "You are already an adult, yet you are always so willful and reckless. If it weren't for the fact that you are your second uncle's only surviving bloodline, I would have to teach you a lesson!"
"Elder Brother, let alone you, he doesn't even respect Grandpa!" Liang Yun sneered.
"You're not much better!"
Liang Feng glared at Liang Yun, scaring him greatly.
Liang Yun looked wronged and glared at Liang Xiao with even more resentment.
Liang Feng said with grief and indignation, "Our family is sparse, with only three brothers left. You don't know how to maintain this cousinly bond, always scheming against Liang Xiao! And he is willful and reckless, unconcerned with brotherly unity, constantly bothering Grandpa!"
Hearing this, Liang Xiao slowly sat up, wanting to see what Liang Feng was up to.
Liang Yun was full of shame and lowered his head, not daring to look at his two elder brothers.
Liang Feng was still not appeased. He sighed, "Now, the court and the country are divided into factions. Even a veteran like Grandpa is often squeezed out. My own abilities are limited, and I have achieved nothing. After Grandpa passes away, how can the Liang family prosper with the three of us wastes?"
Liang Xiao burst into laughter, invited the two brothers to sit down, and Yue Lian quickly boiled water to make tea.
"This is the first time I've heard you insult yourself. What? Do you have self-awareness, or are you wallowing in self-pity?" Liang Xiao sneered.
Liang Feng rolled his eyes at Liang Xiao and said, "Do you think I want to? Grandpa is upright in officialdom, which inevitably offends many people. As his grandson, every time my superiors want to promote me, those civilian officials, especially the Minister of War, Du Gu Qun, strongly oppose it."
Liang Xiao and Liang Yun remained silent.
They heard the helplessness in Liang Feng's words. It seemed he had shouldered a lot on his own.
"What's worse is that my two younger brothers are so useless, tall and strong, yet they don't even dare to join the army. If I had known, I should have requested a transfer to Yan Province for defense, followed General Tian as a white-robed soldier. Perhaps I could have killed enemies and achieved merit, hearing the saying 'A thousand troops avoid the white-robed' and bringing glory to our ancestors!"
"If it weren't for General Tian saving our Great Gan, would you two still be alive to come to the capital? Even if you are only grateful for General Tian's kindness, you should enthusiastically join the army, rather than living idly at home!"
Liang Feng glanced at Liang Xiao again and sighed, "And now look at you. You clearly have incredible strength and are a good prospect for martial arts and military service, but all you do is admire flowers, play with birds, and toy with maids, ruining your health. On your second uncle's death anniversary next year, what face will you have to visit his grave!"
Yue Lian was so scared that her face turned pale and she quickly explained, "Young Master, he didn't toy with me..."
"You, a maid, don't speak!" Liang Feng reprimanded.
Liang Xiao's expression changed, and he said sternly, "Yue Lian is also my relative. You can scold me, and you can vent your anger on me, but if you yell at her, don't blame me for turning hostile."
Yue Lian became even more nervous and signaled Liang Xiao with her eyes not to say anything more.
Liang Feng's brows furrowed, and he exhaled heavily through his nose, staring at Liang Xiao. "Fine, at least you know how to protect your servants!"
"Let me reiterate, she is my relative, not a servant, and certainly not yours!" Liang Xiao said coldly.
Liang Feng looked into Liang Xiao's stern eyes and was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "I understand."
The room was eerily silent. Even Yue Lian moved quietly, afraid of disturbing the three of them.
Liang Yun dared not utter a sound.
Liang Feng's heart was in turmoil.
For a moment, Liang Xiao actually gave him a sense of dread!
"Why didn't your wife come with you?" Liang Xiao suddenly asked.
Liang Feng was already married to Yang Xuejing, the daughter of Yang Huan, the commander of the Imperial Guards.
"Because I plan to apply for a transfer to garrison the frontier in Yan Province. She is angry with me and is staying at her parents' home, refusing to come. It's for the best, seeing how useless you two are, she'll only look down on me more." Liang Feng looked helpless.
"Transfer to Yan Province?" Liang Xiao was taken aback.
They had just moved from Yan Province, and this fellow wanted to go back there?
Liang Feng explained, "Although the barbarians are greatly weakened after this battle, they still send troops to harass and plunder from time to time. I figured, since she already looks down on me, I might as well go to Yan Province to defeat the barbarians and break through the bottleneck of promotion without military merit."
"I advise you not to go," Liang Xiao shook his head.
"Why?" Liang Feng asked, looking at Liang Xiao in confusion.
"Being eager for merit can lead to underestimating the enemy and acting rashly. This is a sure path to disaster," Liang Xiao replied.
Liang Feng and Liang Yun were both stunned.
"You should take care of yourself first. I'm going to the Temple of General Tian to pay respects to General Tian, and to atone for the two of you useless fools to General Tian!" Liang Feng, without even having the inclination to drink tea, got up and left.
As he walked out of the room, Liang Feng frowned, full of doubt.
His second brother was clearly different from before...
Liang Yun also did not wish to stay long. After Liang Feng had walked far away, without another word, he got up and ran off.
Yue Lian comforted him, "Young Master, Elder Brother speaks harshly, but it's for your own good. Don't take it to heart..."
Liang Xiao laughed heartily. "Don't worry, very few people in this world can maintain a better state of mind than I! Yue Lian, let's go out too."
In a civilian residence in the capital, in an underground secret room, two figures were talking in hushed tones, faint firelight reflecting on their faces.
Two burly barbarian masters and servants, with grim expressions and fierce eyes.
The figure in the brocade robe sitting down had a ferocious scar on his right cheek, and his clenched fist trembled violently.
"Hu Yan Jia Luo, were those twelve barbarian warriors truly killed by the manifestation of General Tian..." The brocade-robed man gritted his teeth, but his voice was clearly trembling.
Hu Yan Jia Luo, standing opposite him, lowered his head and said, "Reporting to the Left Virtuous King, according to the intelligence provided by Du Gu Qun, it is likely true!"
Upon hearing this, the Left Virtuous King's body trembled violently, and he let out a long breath of white vapor.
The weather was cold, but what truly made him feel fearful and uneasy were those nightmarish three words.
General Tian!
"Your Majesty, Left Virtuous King, need not worry. General Tian is dead, which is enough for our barbarians to rest easy!" Hu Yan Jia Luo revealed a triumphant smile.
"It's one thing that he was invincible in life, but to think that even in death he could eliminate the twelve barbarian assassins that I painstakingly cultivated..." The Left Virtuous King's body trembled violently, and his teeth chattered with cold.
"Hu Yan Jia Luo, you were not at the outskirts of Yan Province that day and did not experience that despair! He single-handedly, with spear and sword, killed a hundred of my elite guards in an instant, including two vanguard generals!"
"I have been a warrior on the battlefield for twenty years, and in my youth, I was honored as one of the three great warriors of the barbarians. But the moment I met his gaze, I was afraid! I didn't even dare to try to fight him and turned my horse to flee... He actually managed to drive my army back a thousand paces, causing us to lose the best opportunity to capture Yan Province!"
Hearing the Left Virtuous King's hysterical outburst, Hu Yan Jia Luo was stunned.
He had never imagined that the Left Virtuous King, who was valiant and invincible, and showed no emotion, would ever be so fearful and out of control.
"I didn't feel the slightest bit of shame, only relief at having survived!" The Left Virtuous King beat his head in frustration, his eyes bloodshot, muttering to himself.
Suddenly, the Left Virtuous King seemed to recall something and said gravely, "Hu Yan Jia Luo, are you certain that General Tian manifested and saved a young man and a woman?"
Hu Yan Jia Luo nodded. "Certain! Your subordinate has already sent people to investigate these two. Their backgrounds are not simple. If the opportunity arises, we can at any time..."
As he spoke, Hu Yan Jia Luo made a throat-slitting gesture.