Chapter 36: Brothers Reunite (Part 2)

  Sun Er left, Wang Kuang brought Wang Da into the house, and only then did he start inquiring about the ins and outs of Wang Da's affairs.

  Originally, Wang Da also lived in Wang Village. However, unlike others, Wang Kuang and Wang Xian lived at the south end of the village, while Wang Da's father, who was Wang Xian's uncle, took care of the Wang family ancestral temple at the north end because it was said that people with the surname Wang all migrated from the north.

  The Wang Village was from the thieves, that is the official soldier's statement. The real situation is that a branch of the hidden prince's rebel army fled through Wang Village when they were defeated, taking away all the able-bodied men in the village, including Wang Da. However, that rebel army did not last long and soon encountered the imperial army. In the chaos of battle, Wang Da took advantage of the opportunity to lead the able-bodied men from Wang Village to defect and cooperate with the imperial army, annihilating the rebel army. But after that battle, all the able-bodied men in Wang Village died except for Wang Da, who had learned some martial arts and managed to survive.

  Originally, Wang Da was going to return to Wang Village after clearing his name, but he heard that the entire village had been wiped out. His anger turned to the rebel army: If you hadn't kidnapped us, my villagers wouldn't have ended up like this! So he didn't go back home and joined the army instead, determined to take revenge. The centurion in charge of the troops was moved by Wang Da's desire for revenge and kept him on. From then on, Wang Da followed the army as they suppressed the rebels throughout Jiangnan. Until two months ago, when the last rebel army was eliminated, Wang Da thought about returning to his village to visit his relatives and neighbors and tidy up their graves. He bid farewell and returned home. Since he had originally joined the army halfway through, he didn't have a military registration, so the centurion couldn't keep him on. The centurion wrote a letter for him to take to the governor of Jianzhou.

  It just so happens that Jian An arrived today and heard that Fuli Inn's food is famous, so he came to take a look. Unexpectedly, as soon as he entered, he saw a customer holding up a sign saying he wanted to exchange it for wine to eat. Originally, the customer hadn't noticed him, but he was proudly showing off in front of everyone, waving the sign back and forth until it reached Wang Da's face. Wang Da found the sign familiar, but the material was different, which led to the scene just now in the main hall.

  The two brothers, Wang Kuang and Wang Xian, took turns telling their story. Before the possession, it was mostly Wang Xian speaking, while after arriving at the inn, it was mainly Wang Kuang who spoke.

  "Second brother, don't be sad either. What's past is past." Wang Da, after all, had been through two years of turmoil in the village and had become quite open-minded. He knew that Wang Kuang had lost his memory due to the incident in Wang Village, so he comforted him: "It's better if you forget. I want to forget but can't."

  After learning about the origin of Wang Dong's identity, Wang Da was overjoyed: "Wow, I didn't know you had such skills. Before, I only knew you were greedy, but I didn't think being greedy could lead to having a Xiao Dong come out. If Fifth Uncle and Fifth Aunt knew how well you're doing now, they'd be thrilled." Only then did Wang Kuang realize that his nominal father was the fifth in line in the Wang family, Old Five Wang. What a pity he wasn't Diamond Wang Lao Wu; if so, who knows how comfortable his life would be? But if there were a Diamond Wang Lao Wu, then there wouldn't be him, right?

  Wang Guan thought of a detail at this time and said to Wang Da, "Just now, in order to cover up, I took the liberty of giving myself and Sanlang names. Now you, big brother, don't have a name, which is not in line with etiquette. Big brother should hurry up and give himself a name."

  "It's also true, I'm the big brother and don't have a name, but you two younger brothers actually have names, it's not right. What kind of name should we take? I'm an uneducated rough person, how would I know how to choose a name? Besides, choosing a name is something that should be done by our elders, but now all the elders in our clan are gone, who can do it?" Wang Da became interested in taking a name too. Names were for people with status and dignity, ordinary commoners like them could only be called Zhang San Li Si according to their birth order until they died. But thinking about what kind of name to take, he was at a loss again.

  "Heh heh, isn't it easy to name him? Old man is being generous for once, how about I help you come up with a name?" The door was pushed open and in came Sun Mingqian. He was twirling his sparse beard, smiling at Wang Da.

  King was shocked and horrified, a glint of light flashed in his eyes, and his fists clenched. The fact that he and his two brothers were from Wang Village had been overheard by outsiders. Although the massacre of Wang Village was unjust, the county lieutenant had also said that this injustice would be rectified, but to clear their names they still had to wait for an imperial edict to come down. Before the imperial edict came down, the people of Wang Village were still considered remnants of the rebel army, and it was absolutely not allowed for outsiders to know about this remnant of the rebel army, which would be beheaded on the spot without needing to report back.

  "Big brother, don't be impulsive, this is Uncle Sun." Wang Kuang saw Wang Da's action and hurriedly stopped him.

  "Big brother, don't blame uncle for listening at the wall root. Oh, no, now I should call you second brother instead. It's just that uncle is too curious, every time he sees you, you always look like you have something on your mind, so he wants to help you untie the knot in your heart. But to untie the knot, one needs to know the reason, and you yourself won't say anything, so uncle had no choice but to be a little villain and listen at the wall root, haha." Wang Kuang was indeed weighed down by worries, but it wasn't like Sun Mingqian had imagined. But that's okay, many things didn't need to be explained anyway. However, when it comes to listening at the wall root, even Sun Mingqian felt a little embarrassed - he was already so old, and yet he was still listening in on children's conversations, how shameful!

  "Uncle Wang, where did you come from? It's not right to hide the truth from Uncle for so long." Wang Kuang was also very embarrassed. Sun Ming had always treated him like a son or nephew, but he himself hadn't told the truth.

  "It doesn't matter, if it were Uncle instead, he would probably be the same. This matter is too important, so naturally the fewer people who know about it, the better. However, according to what Big Brother said, I suppose the imperial court will soon issue an edict. At that time, we can clear the name of the people in Wang Village and arrange for you to return to the village to pay your respects once more. We'll make sure to repair the tombs properly for the villagers."

  "Thanks, Uncle," Wang Kuang said with gratitude, and then nudged his brother who was still in a daze, "Big Brother!" But Wang Xian had already run over to lift up Sun Ming's arm.

  "Thanks to Mr. Sun Dongjia, thank you for taking care of my two sons for the past two years, you are a great benefactor of our Wang Village! From now on, if there's anything I can do for you, just let me know, King Da is at your service!" King Da was so excited that his military-trained temper flared up again, and he patted his chest with a loud slapping sound.

  "Haha, my young nephew is being too polite. Both Erlang and Sanlang call me Uncle, why are you calling me Master? Moreover, in the past two years, didn't Erlang contribute to the prosperity of Rich Inn? Without Erlang, there wouldn't be today's Rich Inn. It should be said that I'm the one who has been benefiting from Erlang's credit."

  "Uncle, you're joking. Fortunately, it's clear that if not for your care and protection, I might have been kidnapped and sold into slavery long ago. It's only right that I do some small chores to help out at the inn."

  "Alright, alright, no need to say more polite words among family members. How about it? Are you willing to let me give you a name?" Sun Mingqian turned his head and asked Wang Da again. Wang Da's return was also a surprise for him, as he had been worried about how to make the two brothers truly happy. Although Wang Jing always smiled, but there was deep sadness hidden in his eyes, which Sun Mingqian could see. Otherwise, wouldn't the owner of this inn be doing it for nothing? As for Wang Xian, it's even more unnecessary to mention, after coming to the inn, he often remained silent, looking older than an adult, making Sun Mingqian feel heartbroken. Now that Wang Da is back, these two brothers should be better off.

  "So I'll thank you, Uncle." Wang Da also saw that Sun Ming was genuinely affectionate towards the Wang brothers, so he didn't pretend anymore. He made a fist and said, "Please, Uncle, name him."

  "Ah, the second son is called Kuang, the third son is called Xian, so you can be called Ling. The two of them are still young, no need to rush to give them a name, but I don't know how old the eldest son is?" As an elder, being able to name younger generations is a great honor. Sun Mingqian was overjoyed when he heard that Wang Da was willing to let him name his sons. He thought it would be even more glorious if he could also give them their courtesy names. In the future, if Wang Kuang became successful, people would say: "Look, this is the older brother of Wang Erlang, and his name and courtesy name were both given by his uncle Sun Mingqian!" With this thought, Sun Mingqian's mind turned to fame and fortune once again.

  "Thank you for the name." Wang Da, now to be called Wang Ling, hurriedly thanked him. Calling him "longer", that is, from the heart acknowledging Sun Mingqian's senior identity, this made Sun Mingqian listen with a radiant face, and even the not-so-fat meat on his cheeks trembled.

  "This year, Wang Ling is twenty-three years old. However, he doesn't have any official title or reputation to his name, which might not be good." King Ling knew that ordinary people taking a courtesy name was not prohibited by law, but it was also a big taboo. To know, taking a courtesy name was the exclusive privilege of noble people, a symbol of status.

  "It's also, now the imperial edict has not come down yet, so don't be too sharp, this matter will be discussed later. As for saying official career and fame, with Second Brother being so intelligent, do you still need to worry? It's just a matter of time. Go, all three of you follow me back to the mansion, your mother-in-law will definitely be delighted when she hears today's story."

  It's said that Wang Kuang has already ordered the kitchen to prepare dinner for the three of them, and then he went to the kitchen again to instruct, to make more, not to send it to the backyard, but to give it to everyone in the inn, so that everyone can have a share, as a celebration of Wang Ling's return.

  Just as I was about to leave, I heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from the south gate, shaking the sky. The crowd was surging towards the south gate, with everyone wondering what had happened?

  "Quickly go and take a look, an announcement has been made."

  "What's going on?" someone asked.

  "You ask me, who do I ask? Some big shot doesn't recognize a single character, and can't understand either. Asking the soldier next to him, didn't expect he's also just as ignorant. Someone on the side replied, "Don't go over there, it's packed to death. These people really, don't recognize characters, yet they still want to squeeze in." Yet again forgetting, himself is also one of them."

  "Ah! Isn't that Wang Da? This time see where you run!" Just then, a loud shout was heard, and several people rushed towards Wang Ling and Wang Kuang.

  Division

  The huge mountain on Wang Kuang's body is about to be removed, and Wang Kuang is going to turn over. Let's all support him a lot.

  Please recommend and collect, your support is the motivation for Grey Sparrow.

  In addition, I personally think that Mao Tiao's "Brocade Medicine Guardian" is quite good, and also Yin He Jiu Tian's "Chief Imperial Physician", all of which are prepared to be devoured.