Chapter 51: Being a Stepmother Isn’t Easy

Zheng Fan had no idea how he had fallen asleep.

But, truth be told, he had slept quite well last night.

Ever since he started cultivating the Martial Path, every day felt roughly equivalent to an ordinary person running a marathon.

Once all your energy had been burned away, you could sleep however you wanted.

Insomnia?

Restless dreams?

Those things simply did not exist.

It was just that the moment he woke, the moment his consciousness returned, memories of last night immediately began surfacing in his mind.

Instinctively, Zheng Fan turned and looked beside him.

There was no one there.

Emptiness.

Regret.

Disappointment...

Hm?

After sitting up in bed, Zheng Fan was somewhat astonished to discover Feng Siniang lying on a pallet beneath his bed.

She wore a long sleeping robe, the sort of style that made her look like a mischievous girlfriend wearing her boyfriend’s oversized shirt.

Like a narcissus that had drunk its fill of water.

This...

Hadn’t they agreed to sleep in the bed?

As expected.

She had only been teasing a man out of habit.

Feng Siniang opened her eyes at that moment as well.

In truth, she had already awakened earlier.

The instant Zheng Fan’s breathing rhythm changed, she had sensed it.

She had simply waited until now to open her eyes so it would look more natural.

“Master, you’re awake.

“This servant will attend to your washing.”

“All right.”

“Master, breakfast should already be prepared in the front hall.

“Please go eat first.

“This servant still needs a little time to tidy herself up.”

“All right.”

Zheng Fan walked out from the inner room.

Behind the door, he noticed a familiar-looking wooden box.

He crouched down.

Opened it.

The stone lay quietly inside.

Feng Siniang must have put it away for him.

These past few days, after Zheng Fan finished soaking at night, he had always left the Demon Pill in the bathing pool for a while longer.

Maybe one day the thing would finally get tired of soaking and decide to come out.

Remembering the Blind Man Bei’s advice before leaving, Zheng Fan hesitated, then reached out, took the stone from the box, and slipped it into the inner layer over his chest.

Even if the damned thing still refused to come out, in the worst case, it could at least block an arrow.

Fortunately, Zheng Fan was wearing armor.

There was plenty of room to stuff a small stone inside.

He pushed open the door.

The morning sun was perfect.

Zheng Fan lightly clenched both fists.

He suddenly felt as though his entire body had become filled with positive energy.

He even had the urge to perform a set of *The Times Are Calling* calisthenics.

Perhaps because he had gradually grown familiar with controlling his qi and blood, regulating his breathing, and coordinating the different functions of his body, his condition was improving in ways he could clearly feel.

He was no longer the subhealthy shut-in manga artist he had once been.

After breakfast, while Zheng Fan was wiping his mouth—

“Master.”

Fangcao appeared in the courtyard and dipped into a slight curtsy.

“Master, the horse is ready.”

Previously, Liang Cheng had always accompanied Zheng Fan to the yamen.

But now all of them were away.

Zheng Fan had originally assumed Feng Siniang would do what she had said before—disguise herself as a male servant and accompany him to work.

Yet after waiting outside with the horse for quite a while, Feng Siniang still did not appear.

He supposed that, too, had merely been something she said casually...

Mm.

A woman’s words truly could not all be trusted.

Especially the words of a very experienced woman.

Zheng Fan was not angry.

Truthfully, he did not particularly want those Demon Kings treating him like some princess who needed round-the-clock protection.

Sometimes, he wanted to breathe a little fresh air too.

Like a child who had not yet grown up and was always thinking about independence.

Besides, after practicing martial arts, what improved was not merely his physique.

There was also that... mysterious confidence in his heart.

He stopped waiting.

Zheng Fan swung onto the horse and headed to work alone.

...

In the rear courtyard, Fangcao entered Zheng Fan’s bedroom.

She walked into the inner room.

First she went to the bed, moved the pillow aside, then froze.

A faint blush immediately appeared on her face.

“Looking for this?”

Feng Siniang’s voice sounded from behind her.

Fangcao jumped violently.

She spun around in panic and stared in terror at Feng Siniang, who had appeared there at some unknown moment.

Naturally, when the Demon Kings intended to do something, they had no need to notify the servants in advance.

There was no reason to.

For example, no one knew Feng Siniang had slept in Zheng Fan’s room last night.

Feng Siniang held a scented sachet in her hand and looked at Fangcao with considerable amusement.

“The embroidery on this sachet is too ordinary.

“You’re practiced, yes, but there’s no delicacy to it at all.

“You probably spent too long living a hard life before this, doing too much rough work.

“This embroidery still needs a great deal of improvement.

“And the fragrances you mixed inside are too chaotic.

“Several scents clash with one another.

“The result is actually inferior.”

“No, Fourth Lady.

“It isn’t what you think.

“It isn’t...”

A smile appeared at the corner of Feng Siniang’s lips.

She interrupted Fangcao.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking.

“You probably like A’Ming.

“But first, A’Ming has absolutely no interest in you.

“And seriously, don’t think that just because he killed your father, he owes you some kind of responsibility.

“That day he might simply have been in the mood and killed someone while passing by.

“Second, you know perfectly well that Master is easier to approach than A’Ming.

“He’s also much kinder.

“So you think Master is the easier target.”

“No, I didn’t!

“I only placed the sachet because Master has been training so hard.

“I wanted him to sleep better at night...”

“I already caught you.

“Arguing now is pointless.

“You might as well admit it cleanly.

“That’s something you need to improve next time.

“We women may not need to strip bare to the waist, carry sabers, and fight at the front like those great lords, but we should still possess a little courage to act, to accept what we’ve done, and to own it.”

“Yes, Fourth Lady.

“I wanted to seduce Master.

“I wanted Master to notice me.”

“Clap, clap, clap!”

Feng Siniang applauded.

“That’s more like it.

“Your background is miserable.

“You want to climb onto a higher branch and become a phoenix.

“That’s perfectly normal human nature.

“Do you know where you went wrong?”

“Master belongs to you, Fourth Lady.

“A lowly servant like me has no right to...”

“Mm.

“That counts as one point.

“Forget it.

“I’ll tell you.

“Sharpening the blade doesn’t delay the chopping of firewood.

“Master may look gentle and easygoing, but honestly, you think he failed to notice your little schemes?

“You think he can’t see through you?

“What Master is best at himself is using套路—playing routines and setups.

“Your little tricks are far too immature in his eyes.

“Most importantly, if you want to seduce a man, if you want to attract him and gain control over him, then first take care of your skin.

“Maintain yourself properly.

“Look at you now.

“How many days of comfortable living have you had?

“And already you can’t restrain yourself?

“Your embroidery.

“Music, chess, calligraphy, painting.

“Which one of those do you not need to learn?”

Fangcao shook her head.

“So you still have a great deal to learn.

“Take it slowly.

“Spend half a year or a year applying facial masks with me every night.

“When I think you’re ready to graduate, I’ll naturally give you an opportunity.”

“Yes.

“This servant understands.”

“Now get lost, little slut.

“Before you graduate, if you dare make another move on Master, the wild dogs at the mass grave will have an extra midnight snack tomorrow.”

Fangcao went pale with fright.

She hurriedly fled from the inner room.

The difference between the two women’s presence during that entire conversation was like a newly entered Cixi facing Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang after Kangxi had already taken power himself.

The gap was crushing on countless levels.

Feng Siniang tossed the scented sachet onto the floor.

Then she leaned back against the bedframe.

The earlier ruthlessness and decisiveness slowly faded from her face.

A melancholy air began to spread.

“Sigh...”

Feng Siniang sighed again.

Truthfully, when the Blind Man left her alone to guard the house, her mouth had complained, but inside, she had been delighted.

She had thought this was her best possible opportunity to capture Master.

Long nights.

A silent, secluded residence.

A lone man and woman.

Once the Blind Man, A’Ming, and the others returned, they would all have to kneel before her and call her Mistress.

Oh-ho-ho-ho...

How wonderful that would be...

Who could have imagined...

AAAAAAAHHHHH!

Feng Siniang was genuinely filled with unbearable resentment.

But there was nothing she could do.

The Demon Pill had been personally designed by Master.

He had no physical body.

He was a Grudge Infant.

That was also why, back when everyone else had first arrived as ordinary people, he alone had been capable of sealing himself away and ignoring the outside world.

The difference was not merely one of strength.

More importantly, his personality even the Blind Man did not dare say he could fully predict it.

Because this child’s brain had always had something wrong with it!

And now, right when Feng Siniang’s good thing was about to succeed, he suddenly emerged.

“Do you love your dad, or hate your dad?”

If you loved your dad, then perhaps you did not want him finding you a stepmother.

If you hated your dad, then perhaps you simply intended to make sure your dad never touched a woman at all.

Being your father was too damned hard.

And Feng Siniang understood one more thing.

Fortunately, the person who had intended to make a move on Master last night had been her.

Had it been anyone else—

Fangcao, for example then perhaps she would not even have survived the night.

By morning, there might have been nothing left but a dried corpse greeting the dawn.

In the end, all Feng Siniang’s resentment and helplessness condensed into one long sigh.

“Feng Tang grew old too easily.

“Li Guang was too difficult to ennoble.

“Sigh...

“Being a stepmother isn’t easy...”

...

I have a little pony.

I ride it every day.

Every morning I ride it to the yamen to go to work.

This was genuinely Zheng Fan’s current life.

In his previous life, he had constantly heard people say how relaxed civil servants with iron rice bowls could be.

A cup of tea.

A pack of cigarettes.

A newspaper.

Sit there all day.

Yet even the idlest civil-service post of later generations probably could not compare with Zheng Fan’s present position as an “official of the Great Yan Dynasty.”

He entered the yamen.

The servants greeted him.

Zheng Fan nodded to them one by one.

His colleagues, meanwhile, basically treated Zheng Fan like air.

He had already been in office for several days, yet he genuinely had not gone out for a meal with any of them.

Because Zheng Fan carried the mark of the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei.

And the Marquis himself had already been summoned to the capital.

No one knew how that matter would end.

Naturally, nobody wanted to step into muddy water at a moment like this.

Zheng Fan himself was perfectly happy with the peace.

He had his own desk.

But the desk was completely empty.

He had no deputy.

No assistant officer.

Around him sat quite a few Lieutenant Commanders, all roughly his own age.

They were descendants of the great families, military households, and fortified-manor clans around Tiger Head City.

Every one of them a second-generation wastrel.

Every one wearing a Lieutenant Commander title.

The yamen itself was rather amusing.

It felt as though this room had been designated a garbage-storage area.

Everyone who only ate salary and did no work had been swept into the same place.

Since everyone was only here to coast through life, they only needed to put in a token appearance every day.

But once they sat down, there were no game consoles or mobile phones to pass the time.

So all they could do was chat nonsense.

These second-generation wastrels might have been spoiled, but they were not stupid.

No one dared become deeply involved with Zheng Fan.

But sitting in the yamen and shooting the breeze together was harmless enough.

Zheng Fan did not mind talking with them either.

He had nothing else to do.

And truthfully, these fellows—men their families had arranged into public office purely to serve as decorative signs of clan status were actually pleasant conversationalists.

“Hey, Second Sun.

“Can’t you work that abacus a little more quietly?

“People who know the truth understand this is a yamen.

“People who don’t might think we’re sitting in a vegetable market.”

“I’m doing accounts.”

“Are you the Registrar?

“What accounts do you need to do?”

“The New Year’s coming.

“The fort plans to send out another shipment before year-end.

“I’m calculating what goods we should move so the profit will be higher.”

Sun Clan Fort had a trading house in Tiger Head City.

Second Sun—Sun Yan—was responsible for managing it.

Being an official while running a business on the side was extremely convenient.

“Tch.

“Why bother exhausting yourself over that?

“Once we leave the yamen, come race horses and hunt with me instead.”

“Third Wu, my Sun Clan Fort has too many people and too little land.

“We’re poor.

“Can’t compare with your Wu Clan.

“If I don’t work a little harder, we really won’t survive.”

“It’s still early.

“Don’t exaggerate.”

“Look at the calendar.

“In less than two months, it’ll be the twelfth lunar month.

“If we don’t work hard now, how do we survive the winter?

“I checked this morning.

“Because the trade route was cut off for a while during the recent fighting, the price of pork and ribs has already become absurd.

“Are we still making sausages or not?

“Where are we getting the cured pork from?

“Who’s the radish supposed to stew with?

“What are the vermicelli supposed to think?

“Do potatoes still have a soul?

“Where the hell are the preserved mustard greens supposed to find their pork belly?”

In Tiger Head City, beef and mutton were actually cheaper than pork.

But just as the Chinese character for “home” contained a pig beneath a roof, a household only felt complete when it had pork.

Yan might lie north of the Central Plains, but unlike the desert barbarians, its people still regarded pork as the soul of ancestral offerings and daily eating.

“All right, all right.

“Second Sun, you win.”

“Heh.

“But actually, the manager of my family’s trading house returned with goods today and told me something interesting.”

“What?”

The surrounding second-generation wastrels immediately leaned over.

Their only hope of digesting food between cups of tea was hearing fresh gossip.

Zheng Fan pricked up his ears too.

“Mei Clan Fort was wiped out yesterday.

“The whole fortified manor was seized.

“Heh.”

“Mei Clan Fort?

“That’s not far from us.

“Wasn’t the Fort Lord called Mei Wannian?”

“That’s right.

“He died too.

“They even hung his head from the fort walls.

“Mei Wannian—‘Ten Thousand Years’— really did end up with no old age at all.”

“Who did it?

“Even if it was annexation or revenge, someone dared make a move right under the Zhenbei Army’s nose?”

These young masters had seen countless examples of fortified manors and clans fighting, annexing, and destroying one another.

That was simply the essence of the world big fish ate small fish.

In truth, Mei Clan Fort was not especially powerful in either population or military strength.

Its advantage was simply location.

It stood between Tiger Head City and Tuman City.

Larger powers had always feared the consequences of reaching toward it.

“So the Zhenbei Army isn’t doing anything?”

“Heh.

“That’s what makes this story interesting.

“The force that destroyed Mei Clan Fort actually hung a Zhenbei Army banner from the fort walls.”

“What?

“The Zhenbei Army did it?”

“Has the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei gone mad?

“The Marquis himself still hasn’t returned from the capital.

“First the Zhenbei Army attacks a barbarian tribe, and now it’s attacking fortified manors.

“What are they doing?”

“Exactly.

“Slash outsiders once.

“Slash your own people once.

“Are they telling all the powers of Beifeng Commandery:

“‘Don’t provoke me.

“When I go crazy, I even cut my own people down’?”

“Who ordered it?”

“Right.

“Which Zhenbei Army commander led the troops?”

“Don’t tell me it was that Princess again?”

Second Sun shook his head.

“Let me think.

“The servant told me.

“The commander’s surname was Zheng.

“Some sort of Lieutenant Commander, I think.”

Lieutenant Commanders were as common as dogs in Yan.

Anyone leading troops was basically some kind of Lieutenant Commander.

“Surname Zheng?

“Hahahaha!

“Don’t we have a Lieutenant Commander Zheng right here?”

One of the young wastrels pointed at Zheng Fan and laughed.

“Right!

“Could it be our Lieutenant Commander Zheng rode out of the city last night and exterminated the Mei Clan?”

“Hahahaha! Interesting! Interesting!”

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng truly is a hidden dragon among men!”

Everyone began teasing him.

No one actually believed Zheng Fan had done it.

They all spent their days coasting beneath the same roof.

Who did not know exactly what sort of useless fellows the others were?

Zheng Fan laughed along.

He was not angry.

Inside, he was still wondering what the Zhenbei Army’s purpose had been.

Were they preparing to rebel?

Or was this another show of force?

“I say, Lieutenant Commander Zheng.

“Could that Zhenbei Army commander be one of your relatives?”

Zheng Fan shook his head.

“My household arrived here as refugees.

“What relatives would I have?

“Even if I knew him, he wouldn’t know me.”

“Aiya, Lieutenant Commander Zheng is too modest.

“Too modest.”

“Who knows?

“Maybe if you trace it back far enough, you’re distant kin.”

At that moment, Second Sun slapped his forehead.

“I remember now!

“The servant told me.

“That Zhenbei Army Lieutenant Commander’s title was...

Lieutenant Commander of Merchant Protection.”

“Lieutenant Commander of Merchant Protection...

“Why does that sound so familiar?”

“Yeah.

“I feel like I’ve heard it several times recently.”

“Same.

“It really does sound familiar.”

Suddenly, every second-generation wastrel in the room turned to look at Zheng Fan again.

Their eyes were filled with thick shock and disbelief.

After all, Lieutenant Commander of Merchant Protection was a newly created office the imperial court had introduced specifically to weaken local military authority.

The position was brand new.

Fresh enough to still be steaming.

As for Zheng Fan himself ten thousand mud-horses were stampeding through his heart.

At the same time, a vague suspicion formed.

“Lieutenant Commander Zheng... may I ask your exact official title?”

Third Wu asked somewhat timidly.

Zheng Fan’s expression remained calm.

He answered, “This humble one serves under the Zhenbei Army, stationed at Tiger Head City, as Lieutenant Commander of Merchant Protection.”

“Hissssss...”

Every wastrel present sucked in a breath at the same time.

The air pressure inside the room seemed to drop instantly.

Second Sun stopped moving the beads of his abacus.

He stared at Zheng Fan with a very strange expression.

The reason it was strange was because he did not know what expression he was supposed to use.

We were clearly a peaceful den of useless trash together.

How the hell did one ruthless character suddenly emerge among us?

Still, overwhelmed by curiosity, he asked tentatively, “Brother Zheng... may I ask what exactly does the Zhenbei Army mean by this?”

Despite being wastrels, gathering intelligence for their families was practically instinct.

And the Zhenbei Army was the most terrifying colossal power in all of Beifeng Commandery.

Its movements and intentions were naturally the single greatest concern of clans and fortified manors throughout the region.

Zheng Fan drew a deep breath.

At this moment, he obviously could not say:

I don’t fucking know either!

Those damned bastards only left yesterday and immediately started causing trouble!

Zheng Fan’s expression instantly darkened.

His entire bearing transformed from the smiling, harmless good fellow he had been moments earlier into something unfathomably deep.

Then he said, “Heh.

“When the residence of the Marquis of Zhenbei acts, why should it explain itself to outsiders?”

---

(End of Chapter)