Someone was already waiting in the room. West Ping Duke Duan Guihong was near his twilight years but well-preserved, with a tall physique and a face still youthful. He stared at the figure in the wide-brimmed hat, his sword-like eyebrows slightly furrowed. “Who are you?” he asked.
Fu Shen removed his hat, revealing his face, and offered a courteous smile: “Apologies for the intrusion. Please forgive me, Duke.”
Duan Guihong was momentarily stunned, then immediately dismissed all servants, closing doors and windows tightly, his brow deeply furrowed: “General Fu, what brings you to my humble residence?”
“Nothing in particular,” Fu Shen pulled up a chair and sat down, “Duke, there’s no need to be so formal. You’re my senior; you can call me by my courtesy name.”
Duan Guihong’s gaze dropped, fixating on Fu Shen’s leg: “You… Jing Yuan, why are you in the southwest instead of recovering from your injury in the capital?”
Fu Shen lifted his robe, showing his boot, speaking casually: “My injury has mostly healed. As for why I’m here… Aren’t you supposed to know better?”
“When I speak of generational seniority, I trace it back to your grandfather, the former Marquis of Ying Guo,” Duan Guihong softened his tone, “During the previous emperor’s reign, Fu Gong served as the Lingnan Circuit Governor and was ordered to suppress the Baiyue rebellion. Later, when the imperial court’s army achieved a complete victory, Fu Gong was clearing out the rebel forces.”
Moved by compassion, Fu Gong could not bear to let the child become a victim and made an exception, sparing his life and allowing him to find his own way.
He paused, and Fu Shen had already vaguely guessed what was coming.
Duan Guihong saw this and candidly admitted, “My original name was Feng Yi, originally a Baiyue person. I was saved by Fu Gong and escaped death. At fifteen, I changed my name and joined Fu Gong’s ranks, serving by his side, charging into battles. Fu Gong treated me like his own son and deliberately cultivated me. In the second year of Yuantai, when the Dazha invaded the borders, Fu Gong was transferred to Ganzhou Circuit Governor, and I followed him, leading troops with Bo Cun and Zhong Yan to fight on the grasslands against the barbarians.
