Unsheathed

The young scholarly attendant grumbled and complained to Liu Qingfeng the entire time. Liu Qingfeng never talked back, and he definitely didn't use his position as a county magistrate to scold the young scholarly attendant either. The two of them were still soaking wet when the ox-drawn carriage arrived near the Lion Garden, and it wasn't long before they saw the Lion Garden's silhouette after passing the stone cliff and the old trees. The young scholarly attendant immediately calmed down after seeing this. He had grown up in this place, and he liked his childhood friend, Zhao Ya, quite a lot...

Liu Qingfeng belonged to the Qing generation in the Liu Clan, and he was one of Assistant Minister Liu's five children. From the eldest child to the youngest child, the last characters of their names were Feng, Ya, Shan, Qing, and Yu, respectively.

After changing into a set of new clothes, Liu Qingfeng immediately hurried off to visit his younger brother's study. The young scholarly attendant had informed him that Assistant Minister Liu was already waiting for him there.

The father and his two sons sat facing each other.

Liu Jingting felt like a huge load had been lifted from his shoulders when he saw Liu Qingfeng. In fact, his sense of relief was no lesser than when he had personally witnessed the great demon being subdued and captured.

There was one thing that others wouldn't be able to fathom, regardless of whether it was Chen Ping'an, Liu Boqi, or any other esteemed immortal from outside the Lion Garden's Liu Clan. In fact, the large majority of people in the Lion Garden were oblivious to this fact as well. That was, the true backbone of the Lion Garden wasn't Liu Jingting. Rather, it was actually Liu Qingfeng, someone with a mediocre official rank and seemingly ordinary scholarly talent.

Back then, Liu Boqi had spied on the three people drinking and chatting with each other, yet most of her attention had been focused on Liu Qingshan. Thus, she had failed to ruminate on their discussions and notice any clues. Moreover, the change in the mentalities of the father and his two sons had been subtle and gradual, and it wasn't the case that Liu Qingfeng had purposely manipulated his father and younger brother to make himself the backbone of the Lion Garden. It was a very natural process that had eventually led to this outcome.

Liu Qingfeng was extremely pragmatic, and he was someone who strongly advocated pragmatism and rewarding results. He had acted as somewhat of a guest elder or adviser for Liu Jingting since a long time ago, and this was different from his younger brother Liu Qingshan who had mostly remained in the Lion Garden to study apart from his few journeys outside and his time away to attend the imperial examinations.

Indeed, Liu Qingfeng had accompanied Liu Jingting the entire time while his father was serving as an official in the capital of the Azure Phoenix Nation, and this had allowed him to become involved in the official affairs managed by his father far before Liu Qingshan. As a result, he was much more familiar with the ebbs and flows of the imperial court of the Azure Phoenix Nation.

Liu Qingfeng smiled and said, "I've carefully read over the letter that Father sent to the county office already."

Liu Qingshan noticed his older brother looking at him with a smile, and this immediately caused him to feel a little nervous and uneasy.