Scholars in the courtyard.

Chapter 3048 A Letter from Hong Kong
As evening falls, Beijing is like a ceramic urn that has been simmering over a low flame all day. The residual heat seeps out from every gray brick and every tile, making the surrounding air thick and the streetlights dim.

In the courtyard, the locust tree in the central courtyard had its leaves drooping and remained motionless. Only the cicadas were still chirping with their last bit of strength. Their voices were softened by the heat, sometimes long, sometimes short, sometimes intermittent, but they couldn't stop.

The old Taoist priest, dressed in a white undershirt and fanning himself with a large palm-leaf fan, sat under a tree under the light of the courtyard lamp, setting up a chessboard and playing a game of chess. They chatted casually, while several old men around them set up small stools, watching the game and fanning themselves to cool their graying temples, making those around them feel comfortable.

At the hanging flower gate, a group of shirtless boys wearing only blue cloth shorts walked in. Judging from their wet clothes and hair sticking to their foreheads, it was clear that these boys had gone "wild swimming" somewhere.

The boy in the lead, Duanwu, held an ice pop in his hand, and several other boys behind him also held one. These red osmanthus ice pops, which cost three cents each, were the children's favorite. They were icy cold and slightly sweet when licked, but they were too small and were finished in just a few bites.

A group of children walked in, and the family members in the yard knew what was going on when they saw the popsicles in their children's hands. It must be a Dragon Boat Festival feast, and everyone had one.

These ten or so children probably cost several cents.

"Brother, where's mine?"

Just as Duanwu returned to the courtyard with her friends, the door opened, and Rongrong, hands on her hips, looked at Duanwu and then stretched out her little hand and said in a serious tone.

Duanwu had an ice pop in her mouth and didn't react for a moment.

He then took the popsicle and asked, "What's yours?"

"Popsicles!"

Rongrong waved her hand again, "Didn't you say you'd bring me a small bean when you went to take a shower?"

"I've been waiting for you all afternoon."

Duanwu's heart skipped a beat. "That..."

"Have you forgotten?!"

In an instant, Rongrong's smiling face changed, and she became like a raging kitten, hands on her hips, glaring at Duanwu.

"I...I really forgot. Don't worry, it'll be fine tomorrow."

"Hmph, you're lying. You wait, I'm going to tell Mom."

After saying that, Rongrong ran into the house, and Duanwu hurriedly followed her in.

Then I saw Miaomiao and Yueyue lying on the table reading. When they saw Duanwu walk in, they both looked over.

At that moment, Duanwu, holding an ice pop in her hand, looked at the two of them and suddenly realized that she seemed to have done something stupid.

In the office, Yu Zecheng held an envelope, his brows furrowing and relaxing intermittently, while a smile occasionally appeared on his face.

crunch
The door opened, and Wang Lei walked in from outside with a water glass in his hand. He glanced at Yu Zecheng and then sat down opposite him.

"Has this letter been thoroughly investigated?"

Yu Zecheng nodded. "We've figured out the whole story. The other party's identity is indeed not simple."

"However, it should be the girl's personal behavior, but we cannot rule out the possibility that someone is testing her behind the scenes."

"As for whether he has other intentions, it's hard to say."

"Different people have different opinions."

Wang Lei glanced at the envelope again and shook his head. "Human hearts are the hardest thing to fathom."

Yu Zecheng nodded, then shook his head. "Maybe they just wanted to make friends, and then they ran into a bunch of us with all sorts of messy thoughts, right?"

Wang Lei didn't say anything, picked up the enamel mug and took another sip. "If it were anyone else, we wouldn't even think about it."

"But since this involves Yang Xiaotao, we have to think about it more."

"Especially now, with the Ninth Department holding a very high position and countless eyes watching, do you think there wouldn't be any ulterior motives behind this happening?"

After Wang Lei finished speaking, a murderous glint flashed in Yu Zecheng's eyes. "No matter what, you can't use the children as an excuse."

"I'd like to see who can do it."

Wang Lei didn't say anything, but rubbed his lower back and got up from his seat. "Alright, since you've taken on this task, I'll leave it to you."

"By the way, we should also check in Hong Kong. This letter is actually from the 'Governor's Office,' wow, it's quite something."

Yu Zecheng nodded slightly, "I will have someone investigate this thoroughly."

After finishing his work, Yang Xiaotao drove back home. When he was almost at the courtyard house, he saw someone waving to him under the streetlights.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be Yu Zecheng.

The car stopped, and Yu Zecheng walked up, opened the car door, and smiled with his small eyes, "It's just in time to go home, give me a ride."

Yang Xiaotao placed his hands on the steering wheel, becoming alert.

It seems like something always happens whenever I run into this guy.

"I can give you a ride."

"But let's get this straight, you're not allowed to trick me."

Yu Zecheng turned his head to the side and said, "Let's hurry up and go, or we'll miss dinner."

"It's not like you often come home for dinner."

Yang Xiaotao retorted, and Yu Zecheng's eyelids twitched involuntarily.

Yang Xiaotao took another closer look and found that the other person had leaned back in his seat with his eyes closed, so he didn't say anything more.

The car restarted and headed towards the courtyard house.

Throughout the journey, Yu Zecheng kept his eyes closed, seemingly exhausted. He remained silent, and Yang Xiaotao did not speak either.

They continued like this until they reached the entrance of the alley. The inertia of the car stopping made Yu Zecheng sit up straight, then he stretched and looked at Yang Xiaotao.

Just then, Yang Xiaotao also looked over.

The two stared at each other for a moment, and then Yu Zecheng suddenly laughed.

Yang Xiaotao's heart skipped a beat.

This guy definitely has something going on.

Thinking about what had happened recently, and figuring it wasn't anything serious, he tentatively said, "Old Yu, don't be like this. Let's talk things out. We're old friends. It's kind of creepy that you're laughing like that all of a sudden."

Yu Zecheng continued to laugh after hearing this, "Can't you just speak properly?"

"Yes, just don't laugh. Let's all act normal."

"So what if I laughed? It's not like I can eat you."

As Yu Zecheng spoke, he took out an envelope from his pocket and placed it in front of Yang Xiaotao, "Here, for your second son."

"Second brother, is this for Dragon Boat Festival?"

He took the envelope and looked at it curiously.

The recipient on the envelope was named 'Yang Zengyi', and the address was the current courtyard house. However, the mailing address was on the peninsula, and I don't remember having any relatives there.

Moreover, the recipient was Duanwu, which made things even more puzzling.

Most letters at home are addressed to Yang Xiaotao, or at the very least to Ran Qiuye.

This is the first time for this kid.

Looking through the envelope, he found that the letter had already been opened, and Yu Zecheng had obviously read its contents.

This shows that this letter is not simple.

"Old Yu, what's going on?"

Yang Xiaotao looked serious.

Having reached his current position, Yang Xiaotao knows clearly that he is not money and cannot make everyone like him.

Many people might even hate him.

Therefore, he can understand why some people target him.

Different stances, just taking sides.

But if someone targets his family members, that's touching his sore spot.

When Yang Xiaotao asked, Yu Zecheng also stopped smiling.

"The letter was sent from Guangdong, but after checking, we found that the letter actually came from Hong Kong."

"Xiangjiang?"

Yang Xiaotao frowned, then remembered the connection between Duanwu, Miaomiao, and Hong Kong, namely that game competition.

"Yes, it's Hong Kong."

"Moreover, the letter was written by a girl named Helen."

"Tsk tsk."

As he said this, Yu Zecheng reached out and patted Yang Xiaotao on the shoulder, his eyes full of mockery.

Yang Xiaotao rolled his eyes, casually opened the envelope, and took out the letter. "I'm saying, isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to be looking into the child's privacy like this?"

"It's not good, so why are you still looking at it?"

"That's what we need for our work."

"This is also a work requirement for me."

"gab!"

As Yu Zecheng spoke, Yang Xiaotao took out the letter, leaned close to the car window, and glanced at it in the dim light of the distant streetlights.

The letter was addressed to Duanwu, and judging from the handwriting, it did indeed seem to be written by a girl.

The content was very simple: they reminisced about the last competition they participated in together, asked about each other's recent situations, talked about their own situations, and finally asked if they would go to France to participate in a competition, and then asked if they would go to Hong Kong, etc.

The final signature was in English: Helen.

Judging from the date, it must have happened a week ago.

Moreover, judging from the content of the letter, the girl's Chinese is not very good; she used the wrong words in many places and made quite a few typos.

Some meanings were not clearly expressed.

Judging from her handwriting, the girl must have been writing carefully, each stroke distinct and neat, though not pretty.

Finally, Yang Xiaotao noticed the watermark on the letter: 'Governor's Mansion'.

His brow furrowed slightly.

This is probably why Yu Zecheng found himself.

"Found?"

Yu Zecheng saw Yang Xiaotao staring at the watermark and knew that the other party had discovered the situation.

Yang Xiaotao nodded. "The person who wrote this letter either didn't care or did it on purpose."

"This is also where we are conflicted. Of course, we prefer to believe that this is a friendly exchange between two friends."

"But some people always misunderstand."

Yang Xiaotao nodded. "Can I take this letter back with me?"

"Okay, if you need any help, just let me know."

"What kind of reply? Guaranteed to be quick and timely."

Yang Xiaotao put the letter in his pocket and nodded, saying, "I even paid for the tape recorder last time, so I definitely won't let you off the hook if anything happens."

Yu Zecheng smiled speechlessly, "I knew you wouldn't hold back."

The two got out of the car and then walked together towards the courtyard house.

When Yang Xiaotao got home, he saw his little daughter Rongrong rush into his arms with red eyes, saying, "Dad, my older brother bullied me. He ate popsicles by himself and wouldn't give us any."

Inside the house, Duanwu heard a noise, and his hand holding the book trembled. He quickly lowered his head to do his homework.

After dinner, Yang Xiaotao called Ran Qiuye to his study and placed the letter on the table.

"What Lao Yu gave me was a letter for the Dragon Boat Festival."

"Old Yu? Dragon Boat Festival?"

Ran Qiuye was startled. How could these two be connected?
Could something have happened?
He hurriedly picked up the letter and looked at it, then took out the letter paper from inside and began to read it.

Ran Qiuye was still a little confused after reading it.

“I said that Duanwu was not paying attention to dinner tonight, and Yueyue, Rongrong and the others did not talk to him.”

"Is it because of this?"

"No, it's because I bought popsicles for the Dragon Boat Festival but didn't buy any for them."

Yang Xiaotao began to explain.

Rongrong has already explained the situation clearly. The final outcome was that the girls ostracized Duanwu and said they wouldn't speak to her for two days.

As a result, Dudu stopped paying attention to Duanwu after she found out.

This made Duanwu's conscience prick him, at least that's how Yang Xiaotao saw it.

"Where will the money for the Dragon Boat Festival come from?"

Suddenly, Ran Qiuye realized what was happening and looked at Yang Xiaotao seriously.

Instantly, Yang Xiaotao gave an awkward smile, then quickly looked at the letter in his hand, "Let's talk about this first. I guess it's a friend I met when I went to Hong Kong for the competition during the Dragon Boat Festival last time."

"Now that they've sent a letter, what do you think we should do?"

Ran Qiuye knew in her heart that it must have been Yang Xiaotao who gave her the pocket money. She guessed that Miaomiao would also have some, but Miaomiao was reluctant to spend it and basically put it in her piggy bank.

Dragon Boat Festival is a time when people can't stay; they spend any money they get right away.

However, now is not the time to ask these questions. Looking at the letter in her hand, Ran Qiuye took a deep breath and said, "If you ask me, just put it away and pretend you never received it."

"After all, this is Hong Kong, and it's not a good place."

"Besides, Duanwu is still young, what kind of thoughts could he possibly have?"

"And this girl, too."

"Just by hearing the name, you can tell they're not like us."

Ran Qiuye explained her reasons, then glanced at the handwriting on the letter, feeling that the girl's thoughts were not entirely pure.

in the country, if two people write letters to each other, it's considered a form of innuendo.

Especially between men and women.

Although Duanwu is still young, I've heard that girls abroad mature much earlier.

You'd better be careful.

Moreover, they are a special family.

I didn't feel it so deeply when I lived in the countryside.

But the more I do at work, the clearer I become about how hard it is for my husband.

They are more aware of the difficulties they face than they realize.

The less trouble, the better.

I'm already very content with my life, there's no need to get involved with someone I've only met a few times.

Yang Xiaotao nodded in agreement, also feeling that the matter was unnecessary, and said, "Alright, let's burn this letter and pretend this never happened."

Ran Qiuye was about to nod when she heard Yang Xiaotao say this, but then hesitated.

Seeing this, Yang Xiaotao remained silent.

After a while, Ran Qiuye still felt uneasy. "What if this girl writes another letter?"

"Then let's keep burning it."

Yang Xiaotao said something, and then Ran Qiuye shook her head, "No, no, we can't do that."

"What if the girl just wants to make friends?"

"It's not a good idea for us to do this."

Yang Xiaotao laughed when he saw Ran Qiuye's contradictory words. "You were the one who said you'd burn it first, but now you're worried about that girl too."

"So what do you want?"

Ran Qiuye glanced at Yang Xiaotao with her big eyes, "He's just a child."

"Ah, and then?"

Ran Qiuye gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's see what Duanwu's attitude is first. If he doesn't care, then it doesn't matter."

"At worst, I'll just write a reply."

Yang Xiaotao nodded and then said, "Okay! We'll do it your way."

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. We've started a computer training course, and I'm planning to have Miaomiao and Duanwu attend it."

"Miaomiao is okay. She hasn't started junior high school yet, is that alright?"

"Why not? This kid just plays all day at home anyway. This summer vacation is a good opportunity for him to learn something."

Hearing Yang Xiaotao say that, Ran Qiuye nodded, "Alright, let him go and learn something."

After saying that, he took the letter and left the study.

(End of this chapter)