Longevity Begins With Zongmen Handyman

Chapter 108: Hitting a Wall Everywhere

Late at night.

Under Li An's care, Song Mingzhang finally woke up, but he was extremely weak.

He was already nearing the end of his life, and during this day, his emotions fluctuated dramatically, causing immense heartache. For a moment, his eyes were lifeless, like a dead person.

"Zuo Wen..." he sighed deeply, "I'm sorry."

Li An said, "Senior, there's no need to say these things... You have shown great kindness to Zuo Wen."

Song Mingzhang said, "Anning has never had parents since she was young. I raised her single-handedly, showering her with love and fulfilling her every request. I indulged and spoiled her, never teaching her the ways of the world. It's my fault."

"As your wife, she is unworthy of such self-deprecation. But for my sake, I hope you can take her as a concubine in the future, so that she can have a place of shelter and not suffer too much..."

Li An calmly said, "Senior, rest assured. Zuo Wen's words will be honored. If Anning is willing to follow Zuo Wen, he will treat her as his wife. If Anning finds Zuo Wen repulsive and seeks a better life, Zuo Wen will not interfere..."

However, Song Mingzhang couldn't help but be startled. He had heard this statement before and found it pleasing, but now, at the end of his life, he finally sensed the underlying meaning!

If Anning could restrain herself and wholeheartedly live with Li An, then Li An would treat her well.

But if Anning remained the same...

"It's not your fault, it's not your fault..." he muttered absentmindedly, and suddenly tears welled up in his old eyes as he shouted,

"Anning, Anning!"

He reached out with his aged hand, as if trying to grasp something, but it ultimately fell down abruptly.

Song Mingzhang had passed away!

...

The mansion was filled with cries. Li An dressed in mourning clothes and presided over the funeral.

He arranged for the gatekeepers and maidservants to go to the homes of Song Mingzhang's friends to inform them of the funeral. He also spent money to inquire about the whereabouts of Song Anning, causing quite a commotion.

He knew that Song Anning had been taken by the Ninth Prince's mansion, but he deliberately did this.

By making a big fuss, everyone would know what Song Anning had done!

Moreover, he had just entered the Treasure Pavilion with Song Mingzhang's help, and now that Song Mingzhang had died, it was inevitable that people would gossip.

This was to clear his name and let everyone know that it was Song Anning who had angered Song Mingzhang to death.

Sure enough, many people in the city who had a relationship with Song Mingzhang came to the mansion the next day to mourn. Li An received them with the etiquette of a disciple and voluntarily invited one or two of the higher-ranking guests to examine Song Mingzhang's body, to prove that he had not been poisoned or injured.

It wasn't until evening when almost all the guests had left that Song Anning hurriedly returned.

"Grandfather, grandfather!"

As soon as she entered, she completely ignored Li An and threw herself onto Song Mingzhang's coffin, crying bitterly and heartbroken.

Li An looked at her indifferently, not paying her any attention.

In the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

Under Li An's guidance, Song Mingzhang's body was buried, and the funeral was considered complete.

After crying that one time, Song Anning locked herself in her room and refused to come out.

Li An completely ignored her and only instructed the servants in the mansion to take care of her daily life. After the funeral was over, he went to the Treasure Pavilion to take up his position.

...

"To become a candidate appraiser, you need to study under a formal appraiser for two years. Once that's done, you can become a formal appraiser without any problems!"

The person in charge of receiving Li An was a female steward from the Treasure Pavilion named Wu Mengting. As they walked, Wu Mengting said, "Currently, there are ten appraisers in the pavilion. The one whose appraisal type is most similar to yours is Master Gao Feng, so you will be learning from him."

She brought Li An to the outside of Gao Feng's appraisal room and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Gao Feng's voice sounded, and Li An pushed the door open and entered, while the steward left on her own.

"You must be Zuo Wen?"

Gao Feng had a well-fed figure and a face that showed undisguised arrogance. He casually glanced at Li An and said, "I thought you were some young talent, but it turns out you're already an old man..."

"How old are you?"

"Master Gao, Zuo Wen is 105 years old this year."

"105, 105... heh heh."

Gao Feng sneered and casually said, "Take a look at these books for now."

He threw a few books to Li An, who respectfully accepted them and glanced at them, instantly realizing that these books were useless!

Gao Feng was just using them to deceive him!

After all, if Li An was learning from him, it wouldn't be convincing if he didn't give Li An something to do, so he just casually fooled him.

Li An remained calm and accepted them.

A few days later, Li An reported to Gao Feng, "Master Gao, I have finished reading the books you gave me and have made detailed notes and summaries."

Gao Feng didn't even lift his eyes. "Read them a few more times. Those books are all good books worth reading repeatedly."

Li An frowned.

The other party was determined not to teach him anything.

In fact, Li An didn't need him to teach. In terms of knowledge of appraising treasures, Li An was already beyond Gao Feng's reach.

But he needed an opportunity to prove himself.

If he kept reading these idle books, what would he do in three years?

Moreover, his life and death were now in Gao Feng's hands, leaving him completely helpless.

In a sense, Gao Feng had become his teacher, and whether Li An could "graduate" depended entirely on his word.

Li An thought about it but couldn't come up with a solution...

The next day, Li An arrived early at Gao Feng's appraisal room. He took the initiative to pick up a broom, a cloth, and other cleaning tools, meticulously cleaning the room for Gao Feng, while also brewing tea and waiting.

When Gao Feng arrived, he was momentarily stunned.

Actually, although he had made up his mind not to give Li An any opportunities, he also didn't dare to bully Li An too much.

After all, Li An was a cultivator at the Foundation Building stage, and there had to be some bottom line.

But he didn't expect Li An to voluntarily lower his status.

This made him quite pleased. Even if you have the ability, so what? In the face of power, you can only kneel down!

Power is the most useful thing!

"Not bad."

He smiled and praised.

Li An respectfully said, "In the future, Master Gao can instruct Zuo Wen if there is anything needed."

A humble attitude!

Gao Feng nodded and waved his hand.

"In the future, you should come earlier, clean my appraisal room, prepare tea for me. After I leave, you need to clean it again, especially the tables, chairs, and floor, not a speck of dust should be left."

Li An respectfully agreed.

...

In the blink of an eye, half a year had passed.

Every time Gao Feng appraised treasures, he would ask Li An to do other things. As a result, after three months, Li An hadn't learned anything about appraising treasures, but instead became Gao Feng's personal servant.

Li An accepted it willingly, without any complaints.

During this half year, Li An actively built a good relationship with Wu Mengting. They became familiar with each other, and Li An learned a lot about the current situation in the pavilion from her.

Gao Feng and Hua Ming, these two were the examiners of the previous assessment. They would retire in a year or two, and their descendants would have to rely on the elders like Lu Hua and Zheng Xiaoxiao at that time.

Li An couldn't help but sigh. Since he entered the Treasure Pavilion, he had already offended Gao Feng. Now that Song Mingzhang had died, Li An was even more helpless. His former connections wouldn't care about him, so Gao Feng naturally took advantage of Li An.

He had also visited Mo Cixi, but every time he went, the servants in Mo Cixi's mansion would say that she wasn't there, and they didn't even accept any gifts.

Li An encountered setbacks everywhere!

However, he was mentally prepared for this.

In this circle, people colluded with each other, sharing the benefits. Li An, an outsider, was considered a threat. Who would look kindly upon him?

Even if he passed the exam, it wouldn't make a difference. The stronger his abilities, the more others would suppress him!

If Song Mingzhang had died a little later, he might have paved the way for Li An, and his life might have been better.

Now, everything was normal.

"Oh, isn't this Master Zuo?"

On this day, Li An was carrying a bag of garbage to throw away when he ran into Lu Hua and Zheng Xiaoxiao.

The two of them were talking and laughing, discussing the details of how to identify a certain treasure. When they saw Li An, Lu Hua's eyes couldn't hide the mocking smile.

"Brother Zuo, why are you still throwing away garbage? Isn't this something that should be done by servants? Did Master Gao ask you to do it?"

Li An remained silent.

Zheng Xiaoxiao tugged at Lu Hua's sleeve and tried to mediate, "Fellow Daoist Zuo, we have important matters to attend to. Goodbye, goodbye!"

Then she pulled Lu Hua away.

"Forget it, he's already miserable enough. There's no need to argue with an old man like him..."

"Hmph, he almost pushed me out back then. I, Lu Hua, will make him suffer sooner or later!"

The two of them whispered, but Li An's ears didn't miss a word.

He showed a slight coldness in his expression, then calmly went to throw away the trash.

...

Back at the Zheng residence, today's Song Anning was unusually different. She actually had someone cook a meal and wait for him.

Li An calmly finished his meal.

"Mr. Zuo, did my grandfather have any last words before he passed away?" Song Anning finally asked.

Li An replied, "Senior Song was in great pain, he only shouted your name a couple of times before he died, he didn't have the chance to say much..."

Song Anning seemed very hesitant, but ultimately still asked, "Did my grandfather not tell you about the inheritance he left behind..."

Li An raised an eyebrow slightly.

Song Anning appeared very guilty.

In the days after her grandfather's death, she was indeed overwhelmed with grief.

But after a few days, she returned to her usual self, enjoying going out. Li An didn't ask, giving her more freedom.

However, she discovered that her reputation in the city... had already become tarnished.

She went to find Ninth Prince, but was directly driven out!

This made her panic for a while.

But luckily, she was not lacking in charm. During this time, she had new suitors, a young and handsome man with excellent spiritual roots, although slightly poor.

The pursuit from the other party gave her confidence!

She also felt that she had played enough and should settle down. So she had the idea of becoming Dao companions with that young man.

As for marrying Li An as Song Mingzhang had mentioned? She absolutely did not want to.

She felt that Li An was not worthy of her beautiful appearance in this prosperous era.

Although Li An didn't pay attention to these matters, he had heard about them.

He calmly said, "The inheritance left by Master Song should naturally all go to Miss Anning."

"Tomorrow, I will help you count it and hand it all over."

"Also, Zuo Wen will move out of the residence."

Someone taking over Song Anning's plate actually made Li An happy.

Moreover, after Song Mingzhang's death, the Song family no longer held any meaning to him.

As for why that young man took a liking to Song Anning, Li An could also roughly guess: Song Anning could at least inherit the inheritance left by Song Mingzhang, in a sense, she was still a small rich woman.

There were plenty of young people who wanted to skip twenty years of struggle!

However, whether the other party would still treat Song Anning well after obtaining her wealth, that was not something Song Anning could decide.

Li An didn't care about these things.

Upon hearing this, Song Anning was immediately overjoyed!

She had been worried all along, after all, Li An was a Foundation Building stage cultivator, it would be too easy for him to take over what Song Mingzhang left behind... she had no ability to stop him.

Now, she could rest assured.

...

(End of this chapter)