On one hand, Zhan Zhao was whispering to Bai Yutang about news regarding Tan Jin.

On the other hand, Xiao Si Zi was whispering to Zhao Pu, telling him about the grudge between Gongsun and him.

Ziying, Zheying, and Ouyang Shaozheng felt like their ears weren’t enough—who should they listen to?

“When did I ever offend your father?” Zhao Pu was puzzled. “I never argue with scholars.”

Xiao Si Zi squinted at Zhao Pu. “Hmm, a long, long time ago…”

Zhao Pu raised an eyebrow. “Are you fooling me, little fatty? You were only weaned a year or two ago, and you’re talking about a long, long time ago?”

Xiao Si Zi puffed up his cheeks and stared at Zhao Pu.

Zhao Pu stared back. “What?”

Suddenly, Xiao Si Zi turned his head away with a swift “hmpf” and moved toward Zhan Zhao, muttering, “I’m not talking to you anymore.”

Zhao Pu was taken aback. Across from him, Ouyang Shaozheng, Ziying, and Zheying all gave him cold stares, their expressions clearly saying—look at that mouth of yours!

Meanwhile, Zhan Zhao was telling Bai Yutang about Tan Jin. Originally, Tan Jin had worked in the Ministry of War, a young talent with a bright future. But one day, something happened.

Before he could finish, he felt a tug on his sleeve.

Zhan Zhao turned back, and Bai Yutang also tilted his head. They saw Xiao Si Zi grabbing onto Zhan Zhao’s sleeve, looking rather aggrieved.

Behind him, Zhao Pu was tugging at Xiao Si Zi’s sleeve with an expression that screamed I have no dignity; dignity is for the dogs. “Alright, alright, I was wrong, okay? You were weaned at one month old, little hero! Now tell me!”

Xiao Si Zi looked at Zhao Pu with disdain.

Zhan Zhao shook his head speechlessly. His previous impression of Zhao Pu was that he was approachable, but now—he was just unreliable.

Watching all this with interest, Yao Ziling couldn’t help but comment, “After all these years, Ninth Prince, you really haven’t changed one bit.”

Zhao Pu grinned at him, but there was no surprise or joy in his expression—clearly, their relationship wasn’t that great.

Bai Yutang glanced at Yao Ziling as if to ask—You two know each other?

Yao Ziling smiled lightly. “We were childhood playmates, nothing more.”

Zhan Zhao and the others were surprised. Yao Ziling and Zhao Pu were childhood playmates? Then why did they seem like they weren’t on good terms?

Ouyang, who had grown up with Zhao Pu, curiously studied Yao Ziling before giving Zhao Pu a puzzled look—Who is this guy?

Zhao Pu raised an eyebrow—I’ll explain later.

Ouyang shrugged and handed an orange to Xiao Si Zi. “Don’t take him seriously. His mouth has no filter.”

Xiao Si Zi’s mood seemed to improve slightly.

Zhao Pu dragged him over and stuffed an orange segment into his mouth. “Alright, alright, back to business. When did I offend your dad?”

Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang stopped talking, curious to hear the answer.

“Well, Dad started studying medicine when he was young. He has a big chest!”

“Pfft…”

Ziying spat his drink all over Zheying’s face.

Ouyang and Zhao Pu tilted their heads back in thought—Gongsun has a big chest? He’s as thin as a piece of paper!

Meanwhile, back at the yamen, Gongsun sneezed seven times in a row, startling Pang Ji and Bao Zheng into muttering, “Long life.”

Zhan Zhao found it strange and looked at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang took a sip of wine and said flatly, “You mean ‘great ambition,’ right?”

“Oh, yeah.” Xiao Si Zi nodded.

Everyone’s mouth twitched. Looking at the little dumpling-like Xiao Si Zi, they felt an unprecedented urge—to beat him up.

“Dad’s chest—”

“Ahem.” Zhan Zhao interrupted. “So he had great ambition. Then what?”

“He just wanted to save more people. That year…” Xiao Si Zi took a sip of tea. “I heard that the Nine-Dragon Battalion won a big battle in the west, but a lot of soldiers were injured.”

Zhao Pu frowned, rubbing his chin. “Oh… I remember. That must’ve been five years ago.”

“The toughest fight we had against the Liao people?” Ouyang asked.

“That’s the only battle where we had so many casualties.” Zhao Pu nodded. “But what does this have to do with Gongsun?”

“Back then, weren’t they recruiting doctors? My dad wanted to go, but…”

“But what?” Zhan Zhao was puzzled. With Gongsun’s medical skills, he would have been a great help.

“But the recruiter said… Ninth Prince ordered that they didn’t want scrawny scholars. They wouldn’t even make it to the front lines before dropping dead.”

Xiao Si Zi pouted. “Whenever Dad drinks too much or can’t sleep at night, he still curses that Ninth Prince, calling him all sorts of nasty names!”

The room went silent. Everyone turned to look at Zhao Pu.

Zhao Pu scratched his head and asked Ouyang, “Did I really say that?”

Ouyang looked at him in disdain. “That’s your catchphrase.”

Zhao Pu rubbed his nose, a little embarrassed. “It was just one sentence! Your dad holds grudges for this long? And what’s with the ‘cursing me to death’ part?”

Zhan Zhao glanced at Bai Yutang.

Bai Yutang put down his cup. “He meant ‘cursed you till you were drenched in dog’s blood.’”

“Oh…” Everyone nodded in realization and then looked at Bai Yutang in admiration.

Zhan Zhao leaned in and asked, “Is that a special skill of yours?”

Bai Yutang remained expressionless. “Talent.”

Zhan Zhao chuckled, and Bai Yutang casually placed an orange in front of him.

After all that, Zhao Pu still felt it wasn’t a big deal. “Fine, I’ll apologize to your dad. I’ll tell him he’s not a weak scholar and that he has a big chest, okay?”

Xiao Si Zi glanced at him. “That’s not all! There’s more!”

“More?” Zhao Pu was curious. “What else did I do?”

“Dad later rode all the way to the frontier to help. It took him half a month, but when he got there, the guards turned him away, saying…”

“Saying what?” Zhao Pu asked.

“Saying that the prince hates scholars and that this isn’t a place for them, so go back and read books instead!” Xiao Si Zi pouted. “Dad got so mad he cursed them at the gate until a soldier had to go find the prince.”

Zhao Pu rubbed his chin. “Did this really happen?”

“Yes,” Xiao Si Zi nodded. “But later, the soldier came back and said, ‘The prince says this scholar has guts to come all the way from the Central Plains to the north.’”

Everyone nodded. Ouyang agreed, “That’s at least a decent thing to say.”

“But then the soldier continued…”

And as Xiao Si Zi spoke, the room fell into an eerie silence.

Ouyang pointed at Zhao Pu. “Zhao Pu, your manners were eaten by a dog! How could you have such a foul mouth?”