Yuan Ming was indifferent to the departure of the Eighth Prince's Princely Heir, having come merely to make an appearance. He was about to find a place to sit when someone preemptively surrounded him.
"Hehe, Brother Yuan, it's been years since we last met. I hope you've been well," a thin man in white robes greeted with a bow.
Yuan Ming recognized him as Cheng Cheng, the son of the Minister of Rites, and returned the greeting: "Thank you for your thoughts, Brother Cheng. I am well."
Alongside him, a somewhat corpulent man impatiently spoke up, "I find you scholars most tedious, always so prim and proper. Brother Yuan has barely survived a brush with death, returning from the Southern Border, and you're asking these trifles?"
This was Fatty Gong, the son of the Guard Commander. Yuan Ming chuckled and replied, "Brother Gong, but I am a scholar myself."
