Not the slightest hint of the elegance and nobility one would expect in public.

"This is truly my first time seeing your other side." Chen Yuan said with a faint smile.

"There's much more you haven't seen."

Su Ziyue shot him a glance, teasingly.

"How about tonight, you get a good look?"

"I have no objections, but Sister Xu might not be too pleased."

As women of the inner residence, they naturally have their allotted times, and tonight happens to be Lady Xu's turn. In fact, today's outing was suggested by Chen Yuan.

With his rising power and status, Chen Yuan had been feeling increasingly lonely, becoming more reluctant to reveal his other side, choosing instead to be cold and domineering.

He even harbored a slight nostalgia for the days when he was a constable in Ping'an County.

Back then, with low status and weak abilities, his sole focus was climbing upwards, aspiring to be a person above others, to gain power and status, and he had very ambitious goals in mind.

And now, having basically achieved them, despite feeling fulfilled, he couldn't help but think back on the past.

Many memories are cherished in old age, and although he had only gone through a few years, the degree of excitement was beyond what most could fathom in a lifetime.

"Haha... Bringing her along is fine too."

"Look at you, being all impressive...."

"Am I not impressive?"

Chen Yuan retorted.

"Impressive, impressive, you are King Yan above thousands...."

"Not heading back for dinner today, let's try some street food....."

Chen Yuan casually pointed at something, just about to say more, when he suddenly paused, furrowing his brows, feeling somewhat dazed, because in the direction he pointed... there was a very familiar figure.

Zhou Zhong!

This familiarity sprung from deep within his memories. During his childhood, Chen Yuan had eaten many Zhou's buns, and had been a childhood friend of little Fang.

And he was none other than Zhou Fang's father.

Compared to the past, now he appeared more aged, as if he had been through something.

The only unchanged fact was that he was still selling buns.

When Chen Yuan returned to Ping'an County, he remembered asking Wang Ping about little Fang and her father, but received word that they had left shortly after his departure.

From then on, they vanished without a trace — even with Wang Ping leveraging connections across nearby counties, nothing was found.

Chen Yuan did not dwell on it then, only thinking to let them go.

After all, they belonged to different worlds, too much interaction could either bring fortune or misfortune, still unknown.

Unexpectedly, right under his jurisdiction and watchful eyes, he stumbled upon their tracks — undeniably a twist of fate.

"What's the matter?"

Su Ziyue noticed Chen Yuan surprisingly in a rare daze, she instinctively glanced towards the middle-aged man not far away, her brow lightly furrowed.

"It's nothing."

Patting Su Ziyue's hand, Chen Yuan calmly walked over, while a few workers were busy, Zhou Zhong was lifting steaming baskets, the rising heat obscuring Chen Yuan's face.

"Uncle Zhou, eight meat buns please."

"Oh, alright...."

Zhou Zhong, holding the steamer, was replying when he suddenly froze, standing still with the steamer in hand. As the white steam dissipated, he saw a young man clad in a white robe, handsome and refined, gazing at him with a faint smile.

"You... You...."

"Uncle Zhou, don't recognize me?"

"Yuan... Yuan little brother?"

Zhou Zhong seemed somewhat incredulous, his eyes full of astonishment.

"It's me."

...

On a square small table, there were two baskets of steaming buns, both filled with pure meat, additionally, Su Ziyue and Chen Yuan each had a new cup placed beside them.

Without hesitation, Chen Yuan picked up a meat bun, took a bite, half consuming it, and smiled faintly:

"Still the old taste, made with quality meat."

"Haha... haha...."

Zhou Zhong appeared somewhat restless, slightly uneasy upon first seeing Chen Yuan, and even more so after Su Ziyue's appearance, somewhat unsure of how to converse.

"Alright, let me have a taste...."

Su Ziyue picked up a bun and took a light bite, nodding slightly, seemingly quite satisfied too.

"Uncle Zhou, why isn't little Fang around?"

Chen Yuan asked casually.

Rubbing a cup stained with tea marks in hand, Zhou Zhong fell silent for a moment, then said:

"We've been separated...."

"Lost?"

Chen Yuan's hand holding the bun moved slightly, almost imperceptibly.

"Originally, my daughter and I went to seek refuge with distant relatives, and things were going well, but recently, it's been too chaotic, rebellious troops are everywhere.

We planned to move to a safe place. Everyone said King Yan... King Yan... oh, the Prince with the same name as you is powerful and loves his people like his children, making Shuzhou very safe.

So we brought a few guys and drove here. Who knew we'd run into marauders at night, taking whatever they saw; it was so dark and all the refugees were panicking, and we got separated.

I searched for a few days but couldn't find her, so I came to Shuzhou City first, planning to open a shop as we discussed, hoping she would come back...."

Zhou Zhong spoke slowly, at times urgent, sometimes angry, sometimes sad, pouring out everything they had been through to Chen Yuan with the flow of tea.

Su Ziyue squinted her eyes, showing no reaction.

But Chen Yuan only let out a bitter laugh:

"Uncle Zhou, you didn't leave because of me, did you?"

"No... no... no... of course not...."

Zhou Zhong waved his hands repeatedly.

"Don't worry, since Little Fang was lost near Shuzhou, I'll do my best to find her."

"Ah... then... thank you, haha... Yuan, you really are capable, it's Fang'er's fortune. Otherwise, I, an old man, wouldn't know what to do, just wait."

"It's just neighbors helping each other...."

Chen Yuan waved his hand, and as soon as he finished speaking, he saw several young men swaggering towards Zhou's Bun Shop with knives and swords, tapping on the table with the back of their blades.

"Old Zhou, how about the deal we talked about before?"

The scar-faced leader asked with a smile, his demeanor friendly.

Zhou Zhong's face looked a bit grim. He glanced at Chen Yuan, seeing his unchanged expression, as if gaining some confidence, and said:

"Hall Master Ma, it's not that I refuse to pay, but this shop just started, I can't come up with that much money. Could you please give me some time? I'll definitely pay next month."

"Old Zhou, things should be done by the rules. Don't blame us brothers. Though you've just opened a few days ago, a month has passed, and everyone else has paid. Why should you be the exception?

It's not much, just a token of appreciation. Surely, you can't even give that?"

"No... it's not...."

Zhou Zhong was about to say something, when suddenly, a young man with a long knife at his waist glanced at Chen Yuan, stood up, walked to those people, and said calmly:

"Get lost!"

"You...."

The group shot up immediately, drawing knives and swords.

But before they could act, they saw their hair tips fall, and they froze on the spot, their legs trembling slightly.

As soon as they saw the expert's move, they knew they stood no chance.

Without uttering a threat, they quickly turned and left.

Chen Yuan just ate his bun leisurely; a few ordinary mortals were not worth his anger.

The knife-bearing man saw them leave, paid for the meal, and left. Zhou Zhong thanked him profusely, refusing his payment, but eventually had to accept it.

Zhou Zhong then sat down, letting out a sigh:

"Indeed, even under the rule of the legendary King Yan, gangs still run rampant. These times... are truly hard."

"It'll get better, it will...."

Chen Yuan smiled.

Chen Yuan spent about fifteen minutes inquiring about Zhou Zhong's health when those who left earlier returned.

This time, they brought dozens of people, with several constables following them closely.

"Gang Leader, it happened right here..."

The scar-faced man pointed at the table and recounted the earlier events to the Gang Leader.

The young man addressed as Gang Leader frowned, seemingly contemplating if it was just a coincidence. With a calm face, he walked towards the tables.

Half the people, seeing the situation turn bad, quickly ran away.

The Gang Leader looked directly at Zhou Zhong and said flatly:

"Old Zhou, right?"

"Yes... yes...."

"Does our Yu Hai Gang charge a lot?"

"No... not much...."

"Are we relentless?"

"No... not relentless."

"No money isn't a problem; you can pay later. But the rule is here. Everyone else pays, but you don't. Isn't that a little inappropriate?"

Zhou Zhong didn't speak for a moment but glanced at Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan took the handkerchief from Su Ziyue, wiped his mouth, turned his head to look at the young Gang Leader, and asked with a smile:

"Your rule?"