In the Gao Manor, Gao Yuan, who had been “lying sick” for many days, returned to the Directorate again. The official and academic matters that he had left behind had piled up into a mountain, and Gao Yuan had no choice but to deal with them at home.

The weather was good today, so Gao Yuan placed the tables under the peach tree in the garden.

The peach blossoms bloomed, each one beautiful and moving.

Gao Yuanzhen sat on the cushion and picked up his pen to review the essays of the new supervisory students.

“Young people nowadays really don’t like to study anymore. They’re much inferior to us back then.” Gao Yuan shook his head as he reviewed.

The butler at the side said, “When Master entered the directorate, you entered with your own abilities. Now, many of the students are ‘stuffed’ in.”

They were all at home, so there was no need to avoid it. Gao Yuan did not reprimand the butler for his loose tongue. Instead, he picked up an article in his hand. “There’s something good about it too. This handwriting is not bad. It’s elegant but doesn’t lose its grandeur. It’s both good and bad. It’s also thick and slender. It’s neither obedient nor wild. It’s written in a brilliant manner. It’s sad and cut together. It can be considered a top-notch work.”

“Let me see.” The butler walked forward curiously.

Gao Yuan only used talents. To be able to be his butler, his literary talent was worthy of being an imperial scholar.

Gao Yuan handed the article to the butler.

After the butler saw it, he praised repeatedly, “Wonderful, indeed wonderful. However, it’s still slightly inferior to Master’s literary talent back then.”

“Of course! Don’t you know who my great uncle is! In the past hundred years and beyond, I haven’t met anyone more literary than my great uncle!”

Qi Lin appeared with a food box.

The butler wanted to see who did the article, but Qi Lin interrupted him and he placed the article back on the table.

“Alright, go busy yourself,” Gao Yuan said to the butler, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

After the butler brought a cushion for Qi Lin, he smiled and left.

Qi Lin sat down opposite Gao Yuan and placed the food box on the grass at the side. He opened the lid of the box and a sweet peach blossom fragrance wafted out.

“Great Uncle, take a break and eat some peach blossom cake. It’s new from the kitchen,” Qi Lin said as he placed a plate of exquisite snacks on the table. The milky white cake had five fresh peach blossom petals embedded in it, making it look fresh and pleasant.

“I’m not hungry,” Gao Yuan said.

“You’ve been reviewing it all morning. Aren’t you hungry?” Qi Lin muttered and handed a piece of peach blossom cake to his great uncle.

Gao Yuan smiled helplessly, put down his pen, and took the cake.

Seeing Gao Yuan take a bite, Qi Lin also took a piece and ate it.

“Great Uncle…”

“Don’t talk when you’re eating or sleeping.”

Qi Lin curled his lips and ate a large piece of peach blossom cake. He almost choked to death. “I can talk now, right?”

“What are you trying to say?” Gao Yuan had only taken two bites before he felt that it was too sweet and put down the pastry.

Qi Lin widened his eyes. “Great Uncle, tell me about your dream again!”

Gao Yuan always said strange things. Qi Lin had heard it many times, so he could not ignore it. Hence, Gao Yuan told him that he had some strange dreams when he was sick.

Gao Yuan’s hand that was holding the pen paused. “A dream is a dream. What’s there to say?”

“When I don’t want to hear it, you spout nonsense. I want to hear it, but you stopped. Why are you like this?” Qi Lin muttered unhappily.

Gao Yuan laughed. “It’s my fault.”

“Isn’t that so?” Qi Lin looked at him resentfully.

Gao Yuan smiled helplessly. “What do you want to know?”

“Yan Jiuchao.” The more Great Uncle told Qi Lin not to provoke him, the more curious Qi Lin was about him. During this period of time, he had asked about Yan Jiuchao a lot. Unfortunately, he was not a professional spy. After asking around, he only knew a little more than others. “In Great Uncle’s dream, Yan Jiuchao’s children were lost. In the end, did he find them?”

Gao Yuan shook his head. “No.”

Yan Jiuchao only lived to twenty-five before suddenly disappearing. He guessed that Yan Jiuchao had died in a deserted place. He did not see his sons until he died.

“Ah? Aren’t the children quite pitiful?” Qi Lin held his cheek pitifully.

Pitiful? Gao Yuan’s eyes turned cold. Those three demon kings who massacred the Capital?

“Look! The Little Mute is here!”

Outside the Young Master Manor, a group of children of seven to nine years old blocked the three little lads in a dirty alley.

The little munchkins had shaken off the servants and slipped out of the dog hole.

Behind this alley was a noisy alley. Separated by a wall, this was the residence of the Young Master Manor and the various nobles. On the other side, there were lowly servants living. These children were born in such a place.

The three little fellows would occasionally slip out. At first, they watched them from afar, but somehow, a child discovered them.

“I’m asking you what your names are. Which manor are you working in? You’re already so old, but you still don’t know how to speak. Are you mute?”

The children laughed. From then on, the three little fellows became the little mute in their mouths.

The three of them were wearing high-grade clothes. Any bead was enough for a street full of servants to eat for an entire year. However, the children did not know that, in their eyes, the three of them were little mutes. Mutes were easy to bully.

An eight-year-old boy said angrily, “Little Mute, why are you here again? Didn’t I tell you that only people from the Zhang Manor and the Liu Manor can come here? Your parents aren’t from these two mansions!”

“They don’t have parents, right? We’ve never seen their parents!”

“Wild children that no one wants…” The eight-year-old boy smiled evilly. His gaze landed on the pastries in their hands. “Give it to me.”

The three of them refused.

The boy said fiercely, “If you dare not give it to me, I’ll beat you to death!”

The three of them looked at him stubbornly.

“Beat them up!” The boy ordered. The brats surrounded him and pushed the little fellows to the corner.

The boy reached out to snatch something, but suddenly, a cold voice sounded in the alley. “What are you doing!”

The boy and his companions were shocked. They turned to look at the person and saw a young girl walking over with a cold expression.

Yu Wan stopped in front of them and looked down at him. She reached out a hand and poked the boy’s chest. “You’re the one who wanted to snatch their things?”

The boy was intimidated by the other party’s aura and swallowed his saliva guiltily. “I… I didn’t snatch it!”

“You didn’t manage to snatch it! I heard everything you said! Do you know who they are?” Yu Wan grabbed the boy’s arm and mercilessly dragged him out of the alley. When his companions saw that the situation was bad, they wanted to escape. Yu Wan said coldly, “If anyone dares to run, I’ll break their legs!”

The children didn’t dare run anymore.

Yu Wan grabbed the boy’s shoulder and pointed at the wall of the Young Master Manor. “Do you see this manor? What Liu Manor, Zhang Manor? They’re not even worthy of carrying shoes for the people in this manor! Their father is the owner of this manor! They’re the little young masters of this manor! If you dare to bully them again, the guards in the manor will come out and beat you to death if they find out!”

A verbal threat was not enough. Yu Wan picked up a brick from the ground and smashed it against the wall. The boy immediately cried in fear!

Everyone trembled and looked at Yu Wan in fear.

“Do you still dare to snatch their things?”

“No… I don’t dare anymore…”

“Are you still going to call them Little Mute?”

“No…”

Yu Wan walked towards them step by step and said fiercely, “I’m their mother. If I see you bullying my son again, I’ll smash all your heads!”

The brats cried collectively!

After confirming that these brats had really learned their lesson and did not dare to bully the little ones anymore, Yu Wan mercifully let them go.

Yu Wan was accompanying her uncle to the Capital for a follow-up today. Her uncle’s injuries had improved slightly, and Doctor Ji was very happy. She left her uncle to undergo his second treatment in the pharmacy. With Yu Feng guarding him, Yu Wan could not help much, so she came to the Young Master Manor to take a look.

Fortunately, she was here. Otherwise, who knew how badly the three little lads would be bullied by that group of people.

The three little fellows’ clothes were dirty from rubbing against the corner of the wall. Yu Wan patted their clothes and wiped the sweat off their foreheads with a handkerchief. “Why did you come out by yourselves? Where’s the nanny?”

The three of them lowered their heads guiltily, not daring to tell Yu Wan that they had shaken off the nanny and secretly crawled out of the dog hole.

The three of them did not know how to talk, and Yu Wan knew that she would not be able to get anything out of them. She rubbed their little heads and said, “Alright, it’s fine. I’ll send you back to the manor. Don’t run out by yourself in the future, understand? There are many bad people outside.”

The brat was considered light. It would be troublesome if they encountered a kidnapper like last time.

The three of them did not obediently follow Yu Wan.

Yu Wan looked at them strangely. “What’s wrong? Is there anything else?”

The three of them hesitated for a while before holding Yu Wan’s hand and bringing her through the alley. They turned right and entered an abandoned courtyard.

Yu Wan saw an abandoned kitten in the courtyard. The kitten’s leg had somehow broken. It was limping and its entire body was dirty. So, was it all for this cat?

Gao Yuan would never have expected that the Demon Kings, who had killed people like flies in their previous lives, were patiently squatting on the ground, feeding an ugly stray cat with the food they were desperately protecting.

They were not born demons.

They had also been angels.