Notes on Longevity

Chapter 86 Wenren angrily berates Zhang Ze'an, and Anzhi confronts Li Chengru.

"When I found him by the moat, the bank was surrounded by people. I squeezed through the crowd and saw him lying there, already dead."

Zhang Ze'an let out a long sigh of relief. His face showed both sadness and a sense of relief. For so many years, he had kept this matter in his heart, unable to let it go, and unwilling to talk about it with anyone except Ping An, even though they had only met once.

Perhaps it's because Ping An also worked in the Peking Opera world and understands some of the things involved. Or perhaps the people in the Peking Opera world saved Ping An, making him one of them.

Ping An was still quite shocked after hearing Zhang Ze'an's words. It seemed absurd that a prince would kill all the disciples of the Pear Garden because of a woman.

“By the way, I heard from Young Master Zhou that they were able to escape punishment because of the deaths of Young Master Yang and the others. And among them were you and a young master named Li Chengru. I heard him say that the Second Prince was confined to his quarters and then killed by Young Master Li. But what I find strange is that Young Master Li killed the prince, and not only was he not punished, His Majesty even allowed him to stay and serve as an official. Why is that?” Ping An asked about Zhou Zhou’s exoneration and Li Chengru’s matter, following his own thoughts.

"I...I heard that after the Second Prince was confined to his quarters, I thought His Majesty would handle the matter, but I didn't expect it would just be a lifelong confinement, forbidding him from leaving the palace." Zhang Ze'an felt somewhat resistant when asked about this. He not only thought of the turmoil more than ten years ago, but also of what the Second Prince had told him. He was too ashamed to speak of it, so he told Ping An about the Second Prince's confinement.

Ping An gleaned something from Zhang Ze'an's pause, but didn't press further, simply listening quietly.

"After I learned that the Second Prince was only under house arrest, I wrote a letter to Wenren. However, the letter traveled through the martial arts world for more than a year before it reached him. When he returned, it was already early autumn of the twenty-second year of Wenshang."

"Zhang Ze'an!" Li Chengru, dressed in white, angrily kicked open Zhang Ze'an's tightly closed door. The servant who had led the way looked terrified; seeing Li Chengru kick the door open, he felt like he wanted to die.

"You still have the nerve to drink here?" Li Chengru kicked open the door and walked into the room. He saw Zhang Ze'an, who was drunk, his face flushed, and his eyes glazed over. He grabbed Zhang Ze'an by the collar and glared at him. "What did I tell you when I left? I told you to protect You'an, and this is how you protect him?"

Zhang Ze'an, his face a mixture of laughter and tears, roared at Li Chengru with a defiant tone, "Why are you being so fierce? If you're so capable, why don't you have people in the martial arts world protect you day and night? Why don't you go and protect him? You're being fierce to me? What gives you the right? Just because you, Li Chengru, took a knife for the emperor and saved his life, does that give you the right to act recklessly? You live a carefree life, riding through the martial arts world with the girl you took from the brothel, what right do you have to talk to me? Haven't I done enough for You'an? I helped him stop the prince, I cursed the prince, I pointed a knife at him, and I even cursed His Majesty! What did you do? I'm asking you, what did you do?!"

After Zhang Ze'an finished cursing, he sobered up a bit. He looked at Li Chengru with somewhat dazed eyes, and tears were suddenly welling up in the corners of his eyes. He hiccuped and looked very aggrieved.

Zhang Ze'an knew that Li Chengru would come looking for him as soon as he returned and would definitely scold him, so he drank heavily, hoping to be less bothered by the alcohol. He just hadn't expected that he would actually start cursing at Li Chengru. Perhaps it was the accumulated regret and deep self-reproach he had harbored for the past two years, which he had kept suppressed until today when he saw Li Chengru; all those feelings, once touched, poured out like the Milky Way, spilling from his lips.

Li Chengru was stunned by Zhang Ze'an's outburst. He hadn't expected Zhang Ze'an to be so drunk and react so violently. Besides, what Zhang Ze'an said made sense. He himself had been traveling the world with his beloved, completely ignoring Yang You'an. Yet, a single sentence from him had caused Zhang Ze'an to point a knife at a prince and angrily curse the emperor. This was something even he hadn't accomplished, so what right did Zhang Ze'an have to point it at him?

"Oh dear! Young Master Li, why are you so angry as soon as you return?" The man who arrived was Zhang Ze'an's father, Zhang Erhe. Dressed in dark brown, he was fifty years old but looked like he was in his forties, not at all old; on the contrary, he was very energetic. However, his face was full of panic. The servant who had led the way earlier, seeing that something was wrong, immediately turned around and went to the front hall to find Zhang Erhe, who was receiving guests. Hearing from the servant that Li Chengru was going to beat Zhang Ze'an, he immediately abandoned the bewildered guest and ran to Zhang Ze'an's room.

He gently pulled away Li Chengru's hand that was gripping Zhang Ze'an's collar, and then comforted him: "Young Master Li, I know you and Young Master Yang are good friends, but you should still talk things out properly! After all, the dead cannot be brought back to life."

Upon hearing this, Li Chengru released his grip, sighed deeply, and then turned to look outside the door. The servant outside met Li Chengru's eyes, which held less anger, and still felt a chill run down his spine. He immediately lowered his head and stood there quietly.

Zhang Erhe let the slightly drunk Zhang Ze'an sit down, then he went to Li Chengru's side and coughed at the servant who was standing there with his head down.

The servant naturally understood that since there was nothing more for him to do, he quickly left the place, not wanting to get into trouble.

“Young Master Li, please don’t be too angry. Anzhi did his best. I heard that many people came that night, including the Second Prince’s men. They were all ruthless villains from the martial arts world who killed without hesitation. The disciples from the Pear Garden didn’t know kung fu, and it’s said that the one who knew some martial arts had already left. That day, only Anzhi was left. As the saying goes, two fists can’t beat four feet, let alone those cold-blooded and ruthless swordsmen.”

“Uncle, I understand what you’re saying.” Li Chengru naturally understood what Zhang Erhe was saying, but he was too angry to control himself on his way here.

Moreover, Zhang Erhe's words made sense. Even if he was arguably the number one figure in the martial arts world and the imperial court, it was only because he had the emperor's protection. If it had been him that night, those people would have killed without any regard for consequences, and he wouldn't have fared any better.

"Good, good. You and Anzhi can talk. I have guests waiting in the front hall." Zhang Erhe was relieved to see that Li Chengru was no longer as he had been before.

"Uncle, you're busy. Anzhi and I will handle the rest ourselves." The anger in Li Chengru's eyes completely dissipated, and he forced a smile as he spoke to him.

“But don’t do anything foolish. I know His Majesty is lenient with you, but there are some things…” Zhang Erhe left his words unsaid, because he knew that a smart man like Li Chengru would understand his meaning.

"I know, I know how to act appropriately," Li Chengru said with a smile.

Zhang Erhe nodded, but still glanced at Zhang Ze'an, who was slumped over the table inside the room, with some unease. After all, he knew the personalities of these two children very well. He had said everything he could; it was up to them to choose. If things got out of hand, he would simply join in the chaos! With his immense wealth!

(End of this chapter)