Chapter 3: Grandfather

Chapter 3: Grandfather

"Hmph! You little shit."

The Old Duke snorted, his voice full of vigor.

As he turned, he tossed his longbow to the guard beside him without a second thought.

"You've got some nerve now, you stubborn little mule..."

The Old Duke grumbled to himself, but the next second, someone grabbed his arm.

He spun around and nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of his precious grandson.

There stood his grandson—a little hell-raiser since birth, a stubborn mule with a rebel's streak—but now his eyes were red as he stared at the Old Duke.

The look on his face was... was he crying?

Good heavens!

The Old Duke stumbled back in shock, then immediately swung a slap at him, determined to smack whatever demon had possessed the boy right out of him.

But instead, Cheng Yi yanked the Old Duke into a hug.

"Grandfather~"

The force was so strong it nearly snapped the Old Duke's iron-hard bones right then and there.

The joy of getting back what he'd lost, mixed with the hurt and grief that only hit him when he saw his grandfather, swallowed up all of Cheng Yi's usual composure. At that moment, he couldn't give a damn about anything else.

The Old Duke, however, was now dead certain the boy was possessed by a ghost.

He threw his hand up, knocking his grandson's iron arm aside, and a fierce punch came straight at Cheng Yi's face.

"Whoever you are, get out of my grandson's body now! Or I'll scatter your soul to the winds!"

Cheng Yi's emotions were still a mess, and he could only defend himself.

The guards and the steward exchanged looks and shook their heads in unison.

Same old, same old.

Clearly, they were used to this by now.

But today, the grandfather and grandson were going at it with unusual intensity. The Old Duke's every move was deadly—fast and ruthless.

Cheng Pohu had once been the War God of Great Yao. Though he'd retired from the battlefield decades ago, his martial skill and killing intent could still send chills down anyone's spine.

Yet today, the Young General was also exceptionally fierce—almost absurdly strong.

In the blink of an eye, Cheng Yi had turned the tables.

Facing a formidable opponent, his fierce aura burst out unconsciously, and in an instant, he forced the Old Duke into retreat.

"Attaboy!"

A glint of approval flashed in Cheng Pohu's eyes.

Having been on the battlefield really made a difference—this kid's strength had grown by leaps and bounds. In just a few breaths, he'd stirred up a fighting spirit in the Old Duke that had been dormant for over a decade.

The Old Duke went from shock to wild joy, but soon worry crept into his eyes.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Especially with the Cheng family in its current state...

"Ugh..."

The Old Duke was caught off guard and sent stumbling back by a single move from Cheng Yi. He grunted and stumbled back several steps, struggling to keep his footing.

Cheng Yi quickly moved behind him and steadied the Old Duke's back.

He was a ruthless killer, his hands stained with far more blood than the former God of War—let alone the Old Duke in his old age.

Cheng Yi was instantly filled with regret and self-reproach.

"Grandfather, are you okay?"

The guards and the steward were startled, silently marveling at the change in Cheng Yi.

Cheng Pohu just stared hard at the tall, straight-backed young man half a head taller than him.

For some reason, he'd just felt like he was sparring with a seasoned killer—as if the person before him had been through countless battles and killed countless men.

And that fleeting aura had even made this old man's heart skip a beat.

Strange, very strange.

He hadn't misjudged the boy—this whelp had outdone his master.

But...

The Old Duke's mind raced, and he ultimately buried that worry deep down.

"Hmph! Old and useless now. No wonder people want to turn the world upside down—they think these old bones of mine are good for nothing..."

The Old Duke shook his numb arm, which his grandson had rattled, and spoke dripping with sarcasm.

Cheng Yi was caught between laughter and tears.

"It's this grandson's fault."

The Old Duke raised an eyebrow.

"How could you be at fault? You're so strong—you want to defy the emperor's decree to his face, you want to soar to the heavens, and take our whole Cheng family to the Western Paradise with you~"

The Old Duke drawled.

In the past, Cheng Yi would've brushed off such sarcasm with jokes, but now he felt a piercing pain in his chest.

He stiffened uncontrollably, his eyes slowly filling with murderous intent, and his face turned an unnatural pale.

His grandfather's words hit too close to home.

In his past life, hadn't he been the one to drag the whole Cheng family down with him?

In that instant, Cheng Yi felt a thousand-pound weight on his shoulders, crushing him until he could hardly breathe.

"Grandfather, I'm sorry. It's all this grandson's fault."

He had made a thousand mistakes and deserved a thousand deaths.

Cheng Yi dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.

He kept his head bowed, hiding the bloodshot redness in his eyes.

He couldn't bear to face his grandfather, or anyone in the Cheng family.

Cheng Yi had been by his grandfather's side since he was three; you could say Cheng Pohu raised him single-handedly.

The bond between them was naturally deep, yet he had let down his grandfather's trust and love.

Cheng Yi's reaction gave the Old Duke another shock.

After all, this kid had been a troublemaker since he was little, a born rebel who never stopped causing trouble and worry.

He was also a stubborn mule—once he made up his mind, not even ten oxen could drag him back.

Well, this was a real mess.

The stubborn mule who never lowered his head in front of him, who'd been whipped until his skin split and made to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days without so much as a frown, was now crying in front of him?

What did that mean?

It meant the kid's resistance to this arranged marriage had hit an alarming level.

Cheng Pohu knew the kid had someone in his heart, but he hadn't realized his feelings went that deep.

Unfortunately, he'd never been able to pry it out of the kid, never learned who this person was.

He figured the other person must not have taken a liking to the kid.

With the kid's pride, he'd surely be too ashamed to say anything and risk being laughed at.

But not to brag, his grandson had looks, skills, and now the title of Little War God—there shouldn't be anyone who'd look down on him.

Then maybe the other person's identity was the problem?

The Old Duke was mulling this over when he suddenly heard Cheng Yi speak.

"Grandfather, earlier I was reckless and nearly made a huge mistake. Now I've thought it over. When I get back, I'll have my mother go to the Minister's mansion to propose the marriage..."

"What?"

The Old Duke stopped in his tracks, thinking he'd heard wrong.

"Propose marriage?"

If he remembered right, just an hour ago, when the kid left here, he'd sworn he'd never marry that Young Master Shen, and said he'd find a way to get the emperor to cancel the decree.

How did he change his mind after going out? What happened?

Could it be he had a fight with his sweetheart and was acting out of spite?

The Old Duke suddenly got it.

So the kid's tears weren't a trick to win sympathy, but because his heart was broken.

Serves him right!

The kid was too proud; he needed to be taken down a peg.

The Old Duke suddenly felt a bit of schadenfreude.

"Oh ho ho, are you trying to piss off this old man, or someone else?"

"Using an imperial decree to throw a tantrum—you're something else."

The Old Duke said mockingly, giving Cheng Yi a thumbs up.

"Grandfather, I'm being serious."

Cheng Yi looked up, his eyes still red-rimmed.

"You're full of crap!"

The Old Duke shot him an annoyed glare.

But in the end, he couldn't stand to see him upset.

"Enough, enough. If you really don't want to marry that Young Master Shen, then so be it. I'll swallow my pride and go beg the emperor."

Cheng Yi scrambled to his feet, his gaze earnest.

"No, I'm willing to."

The Old Duke squinted at him, looking like he'd seen right through him, with a hint of inexplicable disdain.

"Keep acting, keep going."

Before Cheng Yi could defend himself, the Old Duke went on, "Actually, I've had people ask around the past few days. That Young Master Shen's reputation isn't all that great. You little rascal aren't exactly a saint yourself, but my Cheng Pohu's grandson deserves someone better."

In truth, the Old Duke was thinking much deeper than that.

That marriage decree was no whim.

The Ministry of Personnel was the top of the six ministries, and Shen Yunhe, as Minister of Personnel, wielded immense power. Moreover, his second wife was the sister of the current empress.

Now that the Wang family was powerful, the emperor was aging, and the fight for the throne was heating up, the whole court was full of undercurrents.

Though the Old Duke had retired from the battlefield, his eldest son still commanded over 200,000 troops.

The Cheng family's stance was crucial.

However, the emperor's paranoia had only gotten worse with age, so what the Cheng family needed to do was stay neutral and not take sides.

Furthermore, the Fifth Prince, born of Empress Wang, was cunning, vicious, and vindictive, yet outwardly fake and good at putting on a show.

A man like that, who cared nothing for the people—Cheng Pohu didn't think much of him.

So whether it was the emperor's deliberate test or the Wang family's scheming, this marriage absolutely couldn't happen.

So the decree had to be defied, though Cheng Yi also deserved a beating.

That was just a side matter.

"Grandfather, rumors can't be trusted. I just met that Young Master Shen, and I believe there must be a misunderstanding."

Cheng Yi instinctively came to Shen Yichen's defense.

The Old Duke looked surprised, but then heard Cheng Yi speak again:

"Grandfather, have you already thought of a way to make the Emperor rescind his decree?"

The Old Duke was inwardly startled.

He had never mentioned this to anyone, and he hadn't revealed even a hint of it—how could this boy have known?

"Nonsense! I'm quite troubled."

The Old Duke's face betrayed a flicker of unease, but in his heart, he wondered if the boy had just been feigning retreat to gain ground.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Yi used only four words to make his face change.

"Iron Writ of Immunity."

The Old Duke had led troops to repel foreign invaders many times, and even at the moment of Great Yao's greatest peril, he had single-handedly turned the tide, holding the enemy back at the capital's gates and preventing Great Yao from falling into national ruin.

The late Emperor had therefore conferred the title of Duke Zhenguo upon Cheng Pohu and bestowed upon him an iron writ of immunity.

That writ was not only a great honor for the Cheng family but could also save a life at a critical moment.

However, this iron writ had long been a thorn in the Emperor's side.

In his past life, the Old Duke had used the iron writ to exchange for Cheng Yi's freedom in marriage.

How laughably naive Cheng Yi was back then, thinking the Emperor had let the matter pass so easily out of genuine regard for his grandfather's face and appreciation for him.

It wasn't until disaster befell his eldest uncle at the frontier, and his grandfather could only watch helplessly as his uncle's family was wrongfully put to death, that Cheng Yi realized the Emperor had long since taken back the iron writ.

He was consumed by self-blame and guilt, but his grandfather merely said it was fate.

The imperial family was ruthless—how could he not know that?

The Emperor had simply used the marriage decree as a pretext: first, to gauge the Cheng family's stance on the succession dispute, and second, to get his hands on that iron writ.

As everyone knew, the Old Duke doted on his grandson Cheng Yi immensely, and the Shen family's eldest son had a notorious reputation—so naturally, the Old Duke couldn't bear to see his precious grandson suffer.

The Emperor was also well aware that Minister Shen had close ties to Empress Wang's family. Once the Duke's household formed a marriage alliance with the Shen family, they would be throwing in their lot with the Wang family and siding with the Fifth Prince.

So, if the Old Duke had any sense, he'd know what the wise move was.

Refuse the marriage and cut ties with the Wang family.

At the same time, offer up the iron writ to get the Emperor to willingly rescind the decree.

It was a two-birds-with-one-stone move—and the Emperor wielded it with practiced ease.

But wasn't the Emperor's wariness of the Cheng family never really about that iron writ?

Military power—what he truly feared was always the Cheng family's military power.

"Grandfather, do you truly believe that as long as we offer up the iron writ, His Majesty will let go of his grudge against our Cheng family?"

The Old Duke's heart shook violently.

The answer went without saying.

But if they didn't offer the writ, wouldn't that be no different from provoking the Emperor?

Just then, a tall and upright figure like a pine tree stepped into their view.

"Grandfather."

The young man bowed in greeting, his bearing imposing and dignified.

As he raised his head, his sword-like brows and starry eyes were striking, and his face was exceptionally handsome—but what was even more captivating was the steady, righteous aura in his brow that inexplicably inspired trust.

Cheng Yi's body stiffened at the sound of the voice, and he turned his head just in time to meet the young man's concerned gaze.

The young man then addressed the Old Duke again with respect:

"Grandson has come at Mother's bidding to take Xiaoyi home."

The young man's voice was clear and bright, yet his expression carried a composure far beyond his years.

Cheng Yi clenched his jaw to keep his surging emotions from showing.

This was his elder brother—the one of extraordinary grace who had died young.