My Emperor Father Can Read Minds

“Hey, that guy—Liu Huaiyuan?”

Just as he was thinking, Liu Huaiyuan heard someone calling him from behind.

The tone was clearly unfriendly—and somehow familiar. Liu Huaiyuan frowned slightly.

He turned his head and saw Chang Ning’s face, first suspicious, then delighted.

Chang Ning exclaimed in surprise, “Well, well, Liu Huaiyuan! It really is you! Haven’t seen you in over half a year—who’d have thought you’d be doing this well!”

Liu Huaiyuan was familiar with Chang Ning, but not particularly close to him.

Familiar, because he had a good memory—he remembered that this was a classmate from White Horse Academy, a spoiled slacker who used to loiter around him; not close, because Liu Huaiyuan had never really considered him worth paying attention to.

Meeting the other man’s up-and-down scrutiny, Liu Huaiyuan nodded coolly. “Something you need?”

Having faced plenty of hardship growing up, Liu Huaiyuan truly didn’t care about that time Chang Ning had mockingly tried to give him money.

He never thought it was a big deal. Compared to the way his legitimate mother used to withhold food money and such, Chang Ning’s behavior was practically mild. Liu Huaiyuan’s calm, composed attitude actually startled Chang Ning a little.

Instead of immediately bringing up debts, he looked Liu Huaiyuan over suspiciously and asked, “I heard you’ve left the Liu family? Where are you living now? They didn’t give you trouble? Even let you wear such fine satin?”

There’s a world of difference in the demeanor between someone with confidence and someone without it—you can tell at a glance.

Seeing Liu Huaiyuan like this, Chang Ning strongly suspected he had somehow been taken in by someone powerful.

Liu Huaiyuan could read the shifting doubt on his face and quickly grasped his thoughts.

He looked at Chang Ning with a half-smile. “You’re so curious—why? Don’t tell me you’re thinking of giving me more silver?”

That jab instantly reminded Chang Ning of the last time he’d tried to pick a fight.

Although, back then, it wasn’t giving silver—it was more like, if Liu Huaiyuan begged on his knees, maybe he’d throw some coins his way…

“Pah! I never said I’d give you silver! Don’t flatter yourself. We’re not that close. Don’t think just because you’ve found someone to back you up, you can talk to me like that. I’m the son of the chief of Directorate of Education!”

What bothered Chang Ning most about Liu Huaiyuan was this.

Too cultured!

Damn it, insults from other people sounded normal—but when they came from Liu Huaiyuan, they always seemed to carry a different tone. Call him a liar or a braggart, and somehow it sounded like he was just stating facts—and worse, other people even believed him.

Couldn’t win an argument, and it was maddening.

Liu Huaiyuan didn’t reply. He just looked at him with a pitying expression.

Maybe it was from spending so much time teaching in the Wise King’s residence—constantly dealing with two precocious young students, and having a fellow scholar like Zhang Qingsheng around, not to mention the clever staff—he’d grown used to being surrounded by smart people. So when he ran into someone like Chang Ning, bouncing around like an excited child…

It made him reflect.

So lively.

Far too lively.

Chang Ning, at his age, was more energetic than even his two students.

Liu Huaiyuan suddenly fell into thought.

If even ordinary twenty-year-olds could be this immature, then maybe his students—who simply liked to dabble in unrelated things during class—weren’t being that unruly?

Maybe he should talk it over with Elder Zhang again…

Chang Ning couldn’t understand it—he was already showing how angry he was, yet Liu Huaiyuan still had the nerve to zone out in front of him?!

Was he looking down on him?

“Liu Huaiyuan, you’re really full of yourself, huh?!”

Chang Ning fumed. “I’m speaking to you properly, and you act this rude? And to think the teachers always praised you as a gentleman—pah! Ignoring someone while they speak—clearly you’re no true gentleman! A hypocrite!”

Liu Huaiyuan, caught off guard: “?”

He truly hadn’t taken Chang Ning’s rage seriously. After so long teaching, he didn’t even see Chang Ning as a peer anymore.

He saw him more like Liu Jiuyuan—a noisy grade schooler.

Liu Huaiyuan smiled faintly. Facing Chang Ning’s anger, he replied with a calm air: “Brother Chang, please don’t be angry. I lost focus just now—my fault. I apologize.”

“Who wants your dry apology? Don’t give me that. If you’re really sorry, then, um, give me… a gift or something!”

“I’ve got empty sleeves and not a coin to my name. I fear whatever gift I offer would only disappoint you.”

“Who are you fooling? Wearing such fine fabric and claiming you’ve got no money? Trying to skip out on your debt, huh?”

“This was gifted by the household I serve—not my own money.”

“…”

Behind Chang Ning, his three followers silently exchanged glances.

What was going on here, exactly?

Weren’t they supposed to be picking a fight with Liu Huaiyuan?

This was it?

A shouting match counted?

—

Wei Yu had been looking forward to returning to the capital for quite some time.

To make up time, he’d rushed the whole way—barely eating, hardly sleeping, bouncing around in the carriage until his butt was practically split in two. Only then had he managed to cut the travel time in half.

Finally arriving in the capital, the first thing he did wasn’t head back to rest.

Instead, he lifted the carriage curtain to check if anything in the city had changed.

After all, while he was in Ji Prefecture, he’d kept in contact with his father and his Fourth Brother through letters.

His father—nothing much to say there. His letters were always the same, barely more than a bureaucratic stamp. Every reply was either “Read” or “Handle it yourself”…

So annoying.

Fourth Brother was better.

At least when it came to the kiln or the club, he’d always give updates.

Wei Yu knew his Fourth Brother had opened a glasses shop in the city.

After all, he’d helped with quite a bit of the planning and setup himself.

As the carriage curtain lifted, Wei Yu looked at the passersby on the street—and quickly spotted a few changes.

One was a wealthy old man walking with a birdcage—wearing gold-rimmed glasses on his face. Another was a restaurant with glass windows on its second-floor balcony. Two more were snack stalls where customers were using glass bowls.

Wei Yu broke into a surprised smile.

Fourth Brother was doing well!

In such a short time, the glass business had already taken off in the city—and judging by how the commoners were reacting, they seemed to be adapting just fine.

Sitting next to him in the carriage, Xiao Anzi had noticed, too.

He leaned against the window, looking at the old man with the birdcage in amazement. “Young Master, did you see that guy playing with the bird? What was that thing on his face? Looked so strange.”

“Those are glasses. If your eyesight’s poor, wearing them helps you see clearly.”

Wei Yu explained, then gave his little fool a proud look. “This whole business was my idea. Impressive, right?”

Xiao Anzi immediately looked up at him with starry eyes.

“Your Highness, that means we’re rich now, right?!”

Wei Yu: “…”

Why did he bring up money before he could?

Who was more obsessed with wealth here?