This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Fang Xuanling couldn't help but ask, "Zhijie, what's going on with you?"

"How did Li Jing's son become your son? Was he adopted by you?"

Cheng Yaojin waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Don't think nonsense, it was my son, Chuxia, who did it..."

He then told the two of them the whole story.

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui then realized what was happening and breathed a sigh of relief. Fang Xuanling remarked, "That's the style of my chivalrous nephew."

Du Ruhui hummed in agreement, "Only a chivalrous nephew like you could come up with such an idea."

After saying that, Du Ruhui looked at Li Dejiang and smiled, saying, "Nephew Dejiang, since Cheng Jun has asked you to be him, we will treat you as him today."

Fang Xuanling laughed and said, "Yes, we won't be so polite to you then."

Li Dejiang asked curiously, "How do you think Master Fang and Master Du are going to be so impolite to their juniors?"

Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and said:

"I heard that Cheng Jun recited two lines of poetry some time ago: 'Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste, while on the road, frozen corpses lie.'"

Du Ruhui picked up the conversation, saying, "I've also heard of a poem, supposedly called 'The Charcoal Seller'."

As he spoke, he recited: "The charcoal seller, cutting firewood and burning charcoal in the southern mountains, his face covered in dust and soot, his temples gray and his ten fingers black."

"What do I do with the money I earn from selling charcoal? I buy clothes and food. It's pitiful that my clothes are so thin. I worry that the charcoal will be cheap and I wish for cold weather."

Sitting next to him, Cheng Yaojin asked in surprise, "Did my son make this?"

Fang Xuanling snorted, "Otherwise, why would we ask you to call your nephew Chuxia over?"

He looked at Li Dejiang and said:

“Nephew Dejiang, why don’t you compose a poem too?”

"..."

Li Dejiang was silent for a few seconds, then scratched his cheek and said, "I don't know how."

Du Ruhui laughed and said, "If you can't write poetry, then write some calligraphy, and we'll appreciate it."

Li Dejiang scratched his cheek awkwardly again, "My handwriting isn't very good either..."

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui exchanged a glance, and then Fang Xuanling smiled and said, "Then... let's drink."

Li Dejiang quickly raised his glass and said, "I'd like to toast Master Fang and Master Du."

Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui smiled broadly, nodded, and began to drink.

Though they didn't say anything, their minds were racing.

At that moment, they thought of their son.

If their sons were in Cheng Jun's position and faced the same predicament, they would probably be just as embarrassed as Li Dejiang...

Cheng Yaojin sat to the side, also pondering. Compared to Li Dejiang, he truly felt Cheng Jun's goodness.

Li Dejiang silently drank his wine, having clearly seen the gap between himself and Cheng Jun. Sensing the somewhat oppressive atmosphere in the room, he made a decision, stood up, bowed, and said:

"Um... my eldest and second eldest brothers are still waiting for me at home. May I go back first...?"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Yaojin grinned and waved his hand, saying, "Go on, go on."

Li Dejiang breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, bowed, and quickly left.

Watching his departing figure, Fang Xuanling sighed, "I'm not afraid of being poor, I'm afraid of comparing myself to others."

Du Ruhui nodded, "That makes perfect sense."

Cheng Yaojin brought over a jar of wine and said:

"Come on, come on, drink!"

.............

Li Dejiang rode his horse swiftly back to Huai De Fang.

Just as they stopped in front of the Cheng residence, they heard Cheng Chumo's surprised voice from the gate:

"Hey, what brings you back?"

Li Dejiang dismounted and looked at the Cheng brothers, who were leading their horses out of the mansion gate, with a helpless expression. He said:

"I feel like I'm not suited for that kind of occasion."

After hearing what had happened over there, Cheng Chumo snorted:

"That's why we didn't want you to go, but you just had to make yourself miserable."

Li Dejiang explained, "The ruler is the guide for the subject, and the father is the guide for the son, so I think we should listen to our fathers..."

Cheng Chumo retorted, "If your father tells you to die, does that mean you have to die?"

Li Dejiang stated in an unquestionable tone:

"If the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die; if the father commands the son to die, the son has no choice but to die."

Cheng Chumo opened his mouth, unsure of what to say, then turned to Cheng Chuliang and said, "Second brother, you tell him."

Cheng Chuliang looked at Li Dejiang and said solemnly, "I think you have a kind of handsomeness that comes from a lack of common sense."

Li Dejiang frowned and said, "Second Brother said I'm brainless?"

Cheng Chumo asked, "Do you know what my third brother, Chuxia, would do if it were him?"

Li Dejiang immediately became interested, "What will he do?"

Cheng Chumo said, "Take what you just said for example, if the emperor wants his subject to die, he dares to point his finger at the emperor and curse him."

Li Dejiang said thoughtfully, "Because Brother Chuxia is an imperial censor?"

"..."

Cheng Chumo fell silent for a long time, then turned to Cheng Chuliang and said, "Why do I suddenly feel that what he said makes some sense?"

Cheng Chuliang solemnly said, "That's because your analogy was incorrect, elder brother."

"Look at me."

After saying that, Cheng Chuliang moved closer to Li Dejiang and asked, "Let me ask you, if a father wants his son to die, why would the son want to die?"

Li Dejiang replied matter-of-factly, "Because my son did something wrong."

Cheng Chuliang then asked, "Does making a mistake mean certain death?"

Li Dejiang explained: "This '亡' means to flee, which is the '亡' of 'mending the fold after the sheep are lost,' and also the '亡' of 'to flee now is to die, to launch a great plan is to die.'"

"The reason the father made his son run away was because the son would die if he didn't. This shows that the father's willingness to let his son die was a sign of his love for his son."

Li Dejiang asked, "What's wrong with it?"

"..."

Cheng Chuliang was silent for a few seconds, then turned to Cheng Chumo and said, "Brother, I feel like what he said makes some sense?"

Cheng Chumo clicked his tongue, genuinely surprised that neither of them had mentioned Li Dejiang, and said somewhat unconvinced:

"If that's the case, then if the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. Does that mean the emperor is the subject?"

Li Dejiang nodded and said, "Of course, if the ruler commands the subject to die, the subject has no choice but to die. So, if only one person dies, then the entire family will die. If the subject does not want to die, then the whole family will die."

Cheng Chumo fell silent, feeling that if he continued, he would be persuaded by him. He decisively waved his hand and said, "Let's go, let's go eat! Third brother, let's go together!"

When Li Dejiang saw that he still addressed him in that way, he smiled, mounted his horse, and rode with them to Leyun Tower.

Soon, the three handed the horse reins to the waiter at Leyunlou and then entered the restaurant.

"Brother Cheng, Second Brother Cheng, it's been quite a while since I've seen you."

When the young woman from Leyunlou saw Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang, her eyes lit up. She greeted them warmly and led them to the second floor. After entering the private room, she looked Li Dejiang over and asked curiously:

"Who is this......"

Cheng Chumo said, "This is my third brother."

"Huh?" Xu Niang looked puzzled, glanced at Li Dejiang, and hesitated before asking:

"I remember Cheng Sanlang, he didn't look like this..."