“Father, Mother, Elder Brother, you have been waiting for a long time.” Yan Ge was unsure how to perform the etiquette, so he simply wore a smile on his face and greeted each of them.
“Second Brother, how is your health?” Yan Su stood up and approached him, examining him from head to toe before patting his shoulder.
He had a faint sense that his Second Brother had changed. Previously, his Second Brother was willful and ignorant of any decorum. However, now his Second Brother seemed much more sensible, standing tall with an innate air of nobility. Even when he smiled, his eyes sparkled, making him quite endearing.
Yan Ge responded, “Thank you, Elder Brother, for your concern. I am much better now. However, I don’t remember anything.” As he said this, an apologetic expression appeared on his face.
Yan Su was about to speak when their father, who was seated at the head of the table, suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said, “Rebellious child, why haven’t you knelt before me yet!”
Yan Ge was taken aback and asked in surprise, “Father, how have I angered you?” Apart from paying respects to his paternal and maternal grandparents during the New Year, he had never knelt before anyone else. Kneeling was something he absolutely did not want to do.
Master Yan glared at Yan Ge and said in a stern tone, “You dare to talk back? You knew well that the selection of talents is of great importance, yet you jumped into the river to escape the selection. To evade the Xiunan Selection is to show disloyalty to the Emperor and filial disobedience to your parents!”
Yan Ge raised an eyebrow inwardly, silently lamenting when his father had become such an expert at divining intentions. So, it turned out that this Second Young Master really did jump into the river to avoid the selection.
Before he could speak, both Madam Yan and Yan Su pleaded on his behalf.
Madam Yan poured a cup of hot tea for her husband and said in a gentle voice, “Master, please calm down. Ge’er is still young and doesn’t understand these matters. Let me explain to him patiently. There’s no need to get angry. Please take care of your health.”
“Yes, Father. I can see that Second Brother has realized his mistake. Although he has lost his memory, he has become more sensible. Previously, he never used the term ‘you’ when speaking to you, Father.” Yan Su teasingly glanced at Yan Ge.
*The formal “you”.
Yan Ge quickly and earnestly said, “Father, this time I truly understand my mistake.”
Yan Xiaojing stared at him for a while before snorting, his tone slightly softened, “Sit down.”
Yan Ge complied and took his seat as instructed.
Worried that Yan Ge might be upset, Yan Su said in a gentle voice, “Second Brother, don’t blame Father. The matter of the Xiunan Selection is different from others. Fortunately, it didn’t become known to others. If it were reported to the court, it would be a grave crime deserving execution of the entire family. In the future, you mustn’t be so willful.”
“Elder Brother, I truly understand my mistake!” Yan Ge once again expressed his sincere repentance.
Yan Su smiled slightly and said, “That’s good.”
The bond between the two brothers was deep, and Madam Yan also felt relieved. She turned to the butler standing aside and said, “Serve the food.”
“Yes, Madam,” Butler Yan Fu hurriedly responded.
During the process of waiting for the food to be served, Yan Ge asked Yan Su, “Elder Brother, I still don’t know your name. Could you tell me?”
Yan Su chuckled and replied, “You really have lost your memory completely. My name is Yan Su. And you are Yan Ge. At least you remember that.”
Yan Ge smiled awkwardly and said, “Actually, I don’t remember. I only found out when Mother called me.”
Yan Su did no doubt that the person in front of him was no longer his younger brother. Seeing how obedient and likable he had become, he added, “Father’s given name is Yan Xiaojing, he currently holds the position of Minister of Rites in the court.”
“Why does this name sound so familiar…” Yan Ge muttered to himself, searching his mind for where he had heard this name before.
“What did you say?” Yan Su didn’t catch it clearly.
“It’s nothing,” Yan Ge asked again, “Who is the current Emperor?”
Yan Su glanced at him helplessly and whispered, “The Emperor’s given name is Huangfu Yuchen. But it’s forbidden to mention it in front of outsiders. I will explain the details to you another day.”
“What?!” Yan Ge exclaimed, sitting up straight, his mouth half open and eyes wide open.
He remembered now!
Huangfu Yuchen was the name of the Crown Prince in that time-travel palace intrigue drama “The Empress from the Future” that he reluctantly watched with Lu Yanyan. And Yan Xiaojing appeared in the nineteenth episode, where he cleverly handled the challenges posed by the envoys from neighboring countries, displaying remarkable abilities. That’s why Yan Ge remembered it so clearly.
But at that time, Yan Xiaojing was not yet a Minister.
Lu Yanyan had mentioned it to him that in “The Empress from the Future,” Huangfu Yuchen had always been the Crown Prince. In disbelief, he asked further, “What was the given name of the previous Emperor?”
Yan Su replied, “The given name was Huangfu Zhao.”
Once again, it matched with “The Empress from the Future.” Yan Ge couldn’t help but gasp, then furrowed his brow. No, the Yan Xiaojing in front of him looked nothing like the one on TV, and Madam Yan had mentioned that the Emperors had been taking male concubines for over seven hundred years, but male concubines didn’t exist in “The Empress from the Future.”
Yan Ge couldn’t figure out what was going on and had to temporarily hide his doubts deep in his heart. However, the actual truth didn’t matter at all. The only fact was that he had indeed traveled through time!
