The heavy snow for several days still affected the atmosphere of the New Year in the capital, and the most lively Qingque Street was also slightly quiet, and in this quiet, a horse-drawn carriage came to the door of a mansion slowly. A man in purple stepped out of the car, holding a food basket in one hand and knocking the doorlink with the other. Before long, an old man with white hair opened the door, "Young Master Chu is here, please come in", the man in purple seemed to be a regular customer, nodded to the old man with a smile and stepped into the door.

"The old man is in the garden, Chu Gongzi went by himself, and the old man went to get busy", the old man was very respectful.

"The old man should go and get busy", and the man in purple walked towards the garden with the food basket.

The mansion was not big, and the man in purple was very familiar, so it didn't take long to reach the garden. There are no pavilions, small bridges, flowing water, rockeries and strange stones common in other mansions in the garden, only a bamboo forest in the middle, and there is a person in the small pavilion in the bamboo forest who is sitting with his back to the person in purple, who is tasting tea, and only then does he turn around when he hears the footsteps behind him.

"I've seen Lord Liao!" The man in purple bowed in courtesy.

"You, how many times have you said it, our senior brother, there are no outsiders here, why bother so much etiquette!" The pavilion man stood up and walked up quickly to hold his hands together, revealing a smile on his face.

The owner of this mansion is Liao Zhen, the Guanglu doctor of the current dynasty, the fourth-generation disciple of Qingshan Academy, and the senior brother of Chu Jing, a man in purple. Liao Zhen is in his early forties, but the vicissitudes of the sea make him look older than his actual age, with a boxy face, except for the beard on his face, his facial features are also normal. Although Liao Zhen's official position is not low, he is low-key, with a small mansion, a small garden, and few servants around him.

"There should still be etiquette, or outsiders really don't know about you, a Guanglu doctor," Chu said with a smile.

"Outsiders know what can be done, what about the three products? Since that tragic battle, I have tried my best to change the tide of the past, thinking that now, many years have passed, but nothing has been accomplished......." let out a long sigh, as if a lot of things were in my chest and could not let go.

"Don't mention the past, not to mention that you have done your best, senior brother, so why embarrass yourself? Master is worried about your temperament, so I asked me to come and visit my brother again in the New Year. Oh, this is what the master specially asked me to bring," Chu said, handing the food basket in his hand to Liao Zhen.

Liao Zhen opened it and looked at it, and couldn't hide the surprise: "Ho, the master still understands me!" This must be Fat Kui's craft? He smiled and touched the beard on his face.

"That's right, as soon as I heard that I was going down the mountain to find my senior brother this time, Master Fat Kui made a snack overnight, and I had to bring it to my brother, and said that if Senior Brother didn't taste his craftsmanship again, I was afraid that I would forget Fat Kui."

"How come, don't say that Master Fat Kui's craftsmanship is in the capital, even if you look at the entire Liang country, it is also a rare opponent, every dish is unforgettable. What's even more admirable is that the chubby and uninhibited and free personality should not be recruited by the imperial court, but choose to be a chef in the academy! Speaking of Fat Kui, Liao Zhen seemed to have a trace of envy in his eyes, and this was also seen by Chu Jing.

"What Senior Brother said is right, but everyone has their own destiny, and the path chosen by Senior Brother is also a lifelong ambition to benefit the people of the world."

"Okay, don't talk about this", Liao Zhen changed the topic, "You must be here this time for the war in Mobei."

"Yes, as early as a few days ago, the master was worried about the drought last summer, if there was heavy snow at the beginning of the year, I was afraid that the border would be restless, but I didn't expect it!"

"I have received news that King Yu and the Xuanjia army have resisted the invasion of Xiliang, and the border has not lost a single city."

"The border is indeed not lost, but Xiliang is not without gains, and it is reported that a lot of goods, food and people have been looted."

"In the face of the Xiliang army, which is prone to hundreds of thousands, the Xuanjia army of only 30,000 is indeed weak, and it is not easy to keep the country. I have repeatedly admonished the hope of expanding the Xuanjia army and giving King Yu more military power, but unfortunately, every time it is like a stone sinking into the sea, and there is no news", speaking of this, Liao Zhen punched the stone table hard, causing the dishes on the stone table to shake, and at the same time, he was about to lose his position.

Chu Guo hurriedly stepped forward to support Liao Zhen, "Senior brother, your body is important, sit down first", helped Liao Zhen to sit down, and he also turned to the opposite side of Liao Zhen, raised his hand to lift the tea cup on the table and handed it over, "Let's drink saliva."

"I think that although I have always valued martial arts, my body was also tough back then, but now it is .....", Liao Zhen seemed to recall that extremely painful past again, and his face was sad.

"Senior Brother Liao, one day we will be able to fulfill our long-cherished wish and let them rest in peace", Chu Zhen was also affected by Liao Zhen's emotions and became a little excited.

"Someday? When? Do I have 10 years to wait? Can Da Liang experience that tragedy again? Liao Zhen's eyes had begun to overflow with tears, "Now that the saint is in his prime, can he ...... But the saint is obsessed with women and fairy arts, ignoring the government and politics, allowing Cai Quan to take power, and the court is all clinging, and those people of insight have been persecuted to the point that there is not much left! Speaking of the heartache, Liao Zhen picked up the teacup and drank the tea soup inside.

"The saint is indeed like this, but there is also the prince, although the prince is not flexible and lacks courage, but at least he is still kind and benevolent, once the prince ascends the throne, there is still a lot to do" Chu still maintained an optimistic attitude.

"Although the saint ignores the government and has always been obsessed with immortal arts, his body is still strong, and the prince is still young after all, I am afraid that in just a few years, the situation will still be difficult to change" Liao Zhen is obviously not as optimistic as his junior brother.

"It's better to have expectations than to despair, senior brother, the master has recently recruited a group of new disciples, I think they have a promising future" Chu Guo saw that moving out of the prince did not work, so he simply changed the topic.

"I've heard about this for a long time, the years really don't wait for anyone, and in a blink of an eye, you have become a teacher" Liao Zhen's face turned kind at this time, and he looked at Chu with a different gaze.

"Haha, who's to say it's not. Look, after talking for so long, I forgot to let you taste the dim sum, but Fat Kui repeatedly told me to watch you finish eating! Chu Guo opened the food basket and laid out the snacks inside one by one in front of Liao Zhen.

"Come, taste this goose yellow cake first, with fresh chestnuts, mashed into a puree after cooking, add osmanthus, lily, mint, steamed over high heat, it is said that the taste is cool and sweet, can go to the heart fire, but it is specially made for you!" Chu Guo picked up the chopsticks and put a piece of goose yellow cake on the plate in front of Liao Zhen.

"Okay, you and Fat Kui are turning around and sarcastically mocking me?" Liao Zhen said with a smile.

"It's said that you can't fool Senior Brother Liao, haha!"

Bursts of laughter came from the garden, and the old man who was cleaning in the courtyard heard it, looked up at the direction of the garden, and smiled knowingly.

The New Year passed quickly, and Castle Peak Academy began to be lively again.

"Shaoning, come on, this is the four treasures of the study that Ke Ran and I specially chose for you, do you like it?" I haven't heard Xiao Moyan's voice for a few days, and Xuan Shaoning really misses it.

"Hey, don't ask for credit yourself, okay? Here's my pick! "Needless to say, this must be Yan Keran.

"Didn't you say it, so careful, Yan Gongzi?" Xiao Moyan deliberately pulled the tail note long, which made everyone else laugh.

"Come less, the four treasures of the study room are what I decided to give", Yan Keran turned to Xuan Shaoning, "Do you know, did he choose what to send you before?" It's a jade pendant, and he treats Shaoning as if he was just as squirming."

"That's not an ordinary jade pendant, that jade is produced in Nanzhao, and it's a fine purple porcelain jade. Yan Gongzi must have never seen it, he doesn't know the goods! Besides, Meiyu is a gentleman, where is the gentleman? Xiao Mo glanced at Ke Ran.

"Okay, don't quarrel between the two of you, I can't accept such a good jade pendant, or the four treasures of the study, practical!" Xuan Shaoning hurriedly mediated and took the gift.

"That's right, the gift is not valuable, it cares about the heart", Bai Luoyao handed over a sachet, the size of a blue sachet palm, embroidered with green bamboo and green orioles, the mouth of the sachet was tied with a purple ribbon, and a bunch of purple tassels hung at the tail. "This sachet contains comfrey, night su, jade bessel, and pu leaves, which help to calm the pillow."

Xuan Shaoning took it and said loudly: "Thank you, I like it very much."

"Look, Brother Shaoning's face is red," Zhao Ke'er said with a smile on the side.

"Haha, the beauty gave it away, and my heart was also moved" Su Qian, who was dressed in luxury, walked in, "Before I left the academy, I specially asked for the master's consent to complete a gift with the joint efforts of Duan Lang, Huo Qing, and Shaoyin, and everyone has it!" After speaking, he turned around and made a color, Huo Qing and Duan Lang carried a wooden box, and Du Shaoyin stepped forward to open it. Everyone was very curious, and they gathered around to see, and there were thirteen bracelets neatly placed in the box between them.

"What's going on?" Ling Feiyan couldn't help but ask.

"This is a bracelet, each bracelet is composed of twelve obsidian beads and a jade block in the shape of a green pine, here I want to explain that oh, the beads and jade pieces are common and common, not something valuable, you can rest assured to accept it." The most special thing about these bracelets is on this cyan jade block, thirteen represents us, and the green pine represents Qingshan Academy, each piece of jade is engraved with a name, so this bracelet is the only one in the world! Su Qian was very proud.

"It's really meaningful", Yan Keran picked up the bracelet engraved with his name and put it on himself without hesitation.

"Let's put it all on yourself!"

When Xuan Shaoning put on the bracelet engraved with his name, a feeling of emotion surged deep in his heart.

Just when Shi Gong Zhengyuan also picked up his bracelet, Qi Wantong walked up to him, hesitated for a while, handed over a piece of charm, lowered his eyebrows, and whispered: "This is the peace charm that my mother and I asked for in Yanyun Temple."

Shi Gong Zhengyuan was thinking about refusing, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xuan Shaoning glaring at him vigorously, and was hesitating, Qi Wantong added a little anxiously: "I asked for everyone", his eyes were full of expectations.

"Okay, I'll take it, thank you" Shi Gong Zhengyuan finally accepted it, without embarrassing the atmosphere again. As soon as she heard that Shi Gong Zhengyuan agreed, Qi Wantong was full of joy, and her cheeks were full of crimson. Seeing this scene, Xuan Shaoning also breathed a sigh of relief, turned his face, and saw Xiao Moyan's expression full of jealousy, and smiled in his heart.