Chapter 164: Ripe Peach

For a time, the atmosphere became extremely awkward.

Prince Fu's heir had insisted on thanking Zheng Fan and had lowered himself so thoroughly because he wanted to find a "backer" at this moment.

Since Zheng Fan had stepped in and helped the Prince's residence out of trouble, the heir naturally thought he might as well climb along that pole.

Who could have expected just as he was climbing with all his strength he would hear that sentence?

The hatred of killing one's father was irreconcilable beneath Heaven!

It was not that Zheng Fan deliberately wanted to ruin the mood or humiliate Prince Fu's heir.

The simple truth was that this matter could never be hidden.

Zheng Fan had personally carried Prince Fu's head before the two Marquises.

And it had also been Zheng Fan who decided Prince Fu's residence should be spared.

Of course, that aligned with Zhao Jiulang's intent as well.

Treating Qian's imperial clan leniently was another way to weaken Qian's will to resist.

After all, no matter how people praised or criticized monarchs in history, there truly had not been many final rulers who could match the Chongzhen Emperor's hard spine and personally hang themselves on Coal Hill.

Treating Qian's imperial clan well also left the Qian Emperor some hope.

There was no need to force him into a desperate fight to the death.

But so long as Prince Fu's household survived, sooner or later they would learn who had used their old Prince's head to claim military merit.

So instead of exchanging false smiles now better to put everything on the table.

The heir's face shifted from green to white.

Both fists clenched tightly.

Zheng Fan simply looked at him calmly.

At the same time, the armored soldiers around them all stepped two paces closer toward the gate of Prince Fu's residence.

We'll protect you.

Yes.

But that protection exists only if you remain calm, obedient, and sensible.

If you dare jump if you dare display any backbone if you dare raise your arm and rally people then your entire household gets wiped out.

No discussion.

Throughout history, during changes of dynasty and regime, this kind of scene had always been common.

It was also an unspoken rule understood by both sides.

Yes, Zheng Fan had killed Prince Fu.

So what?

He had killed him beneath Mianzhou City during open war between two states.

He had not broken Chuzhou City, marched into Prince Fu's residence, then deliberately sought trouble and murdered him.

"I've already had your father's coffin placed under guard.

"Tomorrow I'll arrange for him to be buried."

Hearing this, Prince Fu's heir drew a deep breath.

Then slowly said, "Many thanks, General."

This young heir still retained a certain air of "innocence."

Truthfully, watching the young man burn with rage at Zheng Fan yet neither dare attack nor even show it openly—

Zheng Fan found it rather satisfying.

Something like the pleasure of kneading someone between your fingers until they were neither living nor dead.

Very few people in this world could truly live however they pleased.

In Zheng Fan's previous life, how many people carried mortgages, car loans, and family burdens?

They worked themselves half to death.

Slept only a few hours.

When the alarm rang, they were so furious they wanted to smash their phone yet they still gritted their teeth, climbed out of bed, and went to work.

In this life even a man as strong as Shatuo Queshi had resigned his position at the barbarian Royal Court before taking revenge, then traveled alone to the gates of the Marquis of Zhenbei's residence to seek death.

Even the freedom of the strong had limits like these.

Never mind ordinary people.

Zheng Fan felt that this young heir genuinely wanted to cut him down with his own hands.

At the very least he wanted to draw a blade on him.

And that impulse was extremely strong.

But he understood the consequences of impulse.

His entire household would be destroyed.

What Prince Fu's heir did next, however, surprised Zheng Fan slightly.

He bent at the waist and bowed.

"General, please enter the residence and have a cup of wine."

Zheng Fan had originally come here because he wanted to look around a genuine Prince's residence.

But at this moment he hesitated.

"The two states are at war.

"That is a war between states.

"Life and death are determined by fate.

"Right now, however, my lord has protected my Prince's residence.

"That is a favor.

"Naturally, it must be repaid."

The words were fairly smooth.

Still, Zheng Fan pointed toward the armored troops around him.

"All these soldiers of mine will be going inside as well.

"They may disturb the women of the household."

Zheng Fan was afraid of dying.

True the actual Zhenbei Army had already entered Prince Fu's residence during the day and taken away every armed guard.

But who knew whether some old eunuch or some elderly servant sweeping the grounds happened to be a hidden expert?

"Chuzhou City is now Yan territory.

"Where in Yan territory can Yan soldiers not go?"

At that moment, the Blind Man's voice sounded inside Zheng Fan's mind.

"Master, there's someone sensible standing behind this boy."

Zheng Fan nodded faintly.

Judging by the heir's earlier reactions, he did not possess this kind of smoothness or depth.

Which meant somebody was guiding him.

And whoever that person was the heir had to listen to them.

"In that case, we'll impose on you."

Zheng Fan gave a perfunctory courtesy.

Prince Fu's heir made a gesture of invitation.

Immediately, the armored soldiers beside Zheng Fan rushed into the residence ahead of him, clearing the way and establishing security.

Inside Prince Fu's residence stood proper pavilions, terraces, towers, and halls.

Everything was refined.

Everything carried taste.

But the servants inside were clearly busy packing up belongings.

"Your Highness, I remember giving orders that the private property of Prince Fu's residence was not to be touched."

Prince Fu's heir immediately answered, "General, your honored army has only just arrived.

"As former hosts of this region, Prince Fu's residence naturally ought to contribute something to reward the troops."

The household was not even on the list for confiscation.

Yet it was voluntarily contributing its own wealth.

One had to admit that was remarkably sensible.

The absurd thing was that such behavior would have made perfect sense coming from opportunists.

But this man was a Feudal Prince of Qian's imperial clan.

"Then many thanks, Your Highness."

"General, you are too courteous."

They sat inside a pavilion.

Servants brought dried fruits and wine.

Everyone inside the Prince's residence was terrified.

The kitchen probably did not even dare light its fires today.

"The refreshments are crude and simple.

"I ask the General to forgive us."

"Your Highness goes too far.

"For a rough military man like me, being able to drink wine inside a Prince's residence is already a blessing earned over an entire lifetime."

Prince Fu's heir raised his cup.

He was just about to invite Zheng Fan to drink with him when Ding Hao, who had been serving as the head of Zheng Fan's personal guards, stepped forward.

He picked up Zheng Fan's cup and drank from it first.

Then he took a small handful from each plate of dried fruit, tossed everything into his mouth, and chewed.

Prince Fu's heir continued holding his cup awkwardly as he watched the scene.

Zheng Fan, however, remained perfectly calm.

A short while later, Ding Hao nodded toward Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan waved him away.

Then Zheng Fan lifted the wine flask, poured some wine into his cup, rinsed the cup with it, and emptied it.

After that, he filled the cup again.

He raised it toward the heir.

"I've made Your Highness witness a joke."

Prince Fu's heir shook his head.

"The General carries heavy responsibilities.

"Naturally, you should be cautious."

"Cheers."

Zheng Fan drained the cup.

He did not bother picking up chopsticks afterward.

Instead, he grabbed a handful of dried fruit and tossed them into his mouth one by one.

Armored soldiers guarded the inside and outside of the pavilion.

The atmosphere truly was somewhat awkward.

Several times, Prince Fu's heir opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something only to swallow the words again.

Zheng Fan pretended not to notice those physical hints.

What a joke.

You want to say something private, so I'm supposed to dismiss everyone around me?

What if some hidden expert suddenly appears?

The awkward silence continued for quite a while.

Then a graceful figure approached from outside.

A woman wearing elegant clothing.

Dignified.

Refined.

Several maidservants followed behind her.

But when those maids saw the fierce armored soldiers from a foreign state all around them, they were visibly trembling.

Prince Fu's heir immediately rose.

He cupped his hands and bowed to the woman.

"Mother Consort."

Oh.

So this was Prince Fu's Princess Consort?

Zheng Fan stood and looked at the woman.

"Greetings, Princess Consort."

He did not salute.

He did not bow.

The truth was simple.

Right now, you were the fish.

He held the knife.

From the invader's perspective, the fact that they had not simply stormed inside and seized the women of the Prince's residence already counted as extraordinary kindness.

Both sides maintained surface courtesy.

But each understood perfectly well what the actual balance of power looked like.

The Blind Man, Bei, standing behind Zheng Fan, saw everything very clearly.

Earlier, the Master had been willing to exchange fake smiles with the heir.

Now, faced with the Princess Consort, he had begun putting on airs.

The reason was extremely easy to understand.

Male creatures always enjoyed displaying their savage, powerful side in front of females.

Mm.

Not much different from a gorilla pounding its chest to attract a female gorilla.

"This concubine greets the General."

The Princess Consort removed her veil.

Revealing her face.

Her son was already this old.

Naturally, she could not possibly be some flowerlike young maiden.

But her skin was exceptionally well maintained.

She also possessed a great deal of bearing.

That kind of bearing could not be propped up merely with cosmetics and expensive clothes.

It was something cultivated by status and position.

Add in her full, voluptuous figure...

The Blind Man, Bei, shook his head slightly.

Oh dear.

Exactly Master's taste.

The Demon Kings had plenty of running jokes among themselves.

For example, the unspeakable story between A'Ming and Liang Cheng.

Both men had female admirers.

Neither showed the slightest interest in those admirers.

And then, there was Master's taste in women...

"General, may this concubine speak with you alone for a short while?"

Prince Fu's heir immediately flushed again upon hearing this.

It was not that he distrusted his mother.

But for his mother to be alone with an unrelated man like this even if nothing happened still violated propriety.

If word spread outside, what would people think?

Worse this Yan general was the man who had killed his father!

Zheng Fan nodded.

"All of you, withdraw."

"............" The Blind Man.

The armored soldiers around them withdrew.

The Blind Man withdrew too.

But before leaving, he even gestured politely for Prince Fu's heir to go with him.

The heir gritted his teeth.

Then left.

Only Zheng Fan and the Princess Consort remained inside the pavilion.

Zheng Fan sat down.

The Princess Consort approached on her own initiative.

She poured him a cup of wine and handed it over.

Zheng Fan accepted the cup.

He did not drink.

He set it on the table.

Who knew whether there was poison hidden beneath her fingernails?

The Princess Consort smiled faintly.

She was at the finest age of a woman's life.

Mature bearing.

A face not yet touched by age.

Even without deliberately trying, every movement carried tremendous allure.

Mm.

Still far inferior to his own Fourth Lady.

Zheng Fan silently made the comparison.

The Fourth Lady was no little girl either.

But among women ranging from imperial elder-sister type to mature lady the Fourth Lady was practically a bug in the system.

No competition.

The Princess Consort seemed to understand what Zheng Fan was thinking.

She lifted the cup.

Took a sip.

Then offered the same cup back to Zheng Fan.

A mark from red lips remained on the rim.

Hiss...

Zheng Fan accepted the cup.

Still did not drink.

Set it down again.

Who knew whether her lipstick contained poison?

Yes.

Garrison Commander Zheng was afraid of dying.

Very afraid.

There was nothing he could do about that.

Any man who killed another person's husband, then sat alone in front of that man's wife, would instinctively feel a little nervous, wouldn't he?

As for why Zheng Fan had agreed to be alone with her in the pavilion he had confidence in his safety.

First, even though his armored guards were no longer inside the pavilion, they had already formed a ring outside.

Second, the Blind Man's mental power should be covering the surrounding area.

Exclude the vanishingly small possibility that Prince Fu's Princess Consort was some terrifying existence like the Child Elder of Mount Heaven and Zheng Fan believed that with his Eighth Grade Martial Artist strength plus the Demon Child, dealing with one woman should not be difficult.

"May I ask the General's honored name?"

"Zheng Fan."

"This concubine has heard of General Zheng's great reputation."

Qian's court might have announced a different version of what happened during Mianzhou City's first fall.

But Prince Fu's residence naturally possessed the status and channels required to learn the truth of that night.

Of course, that was only the version from Zheng Fan's first attack on Mianzhou City.

Before long, a new version explaining his second attack might spread as well.

After all—

Prince Fu's head made an excellent embellishment to the story.

The Princess Consort smiled warmly.

Then said, "General Zheng, this concubine has invited you to speak alone so abruptly because I have a business proposition I would like to discuss."

"Heh.

"What a coincidence.

"Before joining the army, I was a businessman."

Zheng Fan guessed that the person standing behind the heir and guiding his words and actions was probably this Princess Consort.

Warm on the surface.

But likely a rose full of thorns.

"Chuzhou City is already Yan territory," the Princess Consort said.

"Mm."

Zheng Fan responded without enthusiasm.

"This concubine thanks the General for protecting my Prince's residence."

"Your son has already thanked me for that."

"Still, General—even in Qian, Prince Fu's residence has always existed under difficult circumstances.

"The Chancellors at court are constantly waiting for an excuse to strike at us.

"Even His Majesty does not view our branch of the Zhao Clan favorably."

Those in power naturally did not like collateral royal branches very much.

Zheng Fan said nothing.

He continued listening.

He genuinely wanted to know what this Princess Consort was trying to sell.

"Now that the Great Yan's heavenly army has arrived, Prince Fu's residence is willing to bend the knee to Yan and abandon darkness for the light."

Zheng Fan shook his head.

"Princess Consort, those words are incorrect."

"General, every word this concubine speaks is sincere."

"That's not what I mean.

"What I mean is—right now, other than bending the knee to Yan—does Prince Fu's residence have a second choice?"

Outside the pavilion, the Blind Man—who had been silently eavesdropping the entire time—curled the corner of his mouth.

Master really had grown quickly.

He had already learned that before discussing a real bargain you first crushed the other party's momentum.

"The General is correct.

"This concubine misspoke."

"If the Princess Consort has something to say, say it directly.

"It's cold tonight."

"If the General fears the cold, you may come inside with this concubine.

"I can have several more braziers prepared and personally warm the General."

For a moment—

Zheng Fan's breathing grew somewhat heavier.

Truthfully, those words combined with the current circumstances meant that if Zheng Fan truly abandoned restraint and accepted whatever punishment might come later, then even if he slept with the Princess Consort, he would probably still simply have slept with her.

But this woman was a Princess Consort.

Qian's Feudal Princes might have been raised like pigs yet she remained a Princess Consort.

For a Princess Consort to lower herself to this degree before you what exactly did she want?

"Please speak plainly."

Zheng Fan urged her again.

The night was beautiful.

From time to time, screams and crying rose from within Chuzhou City.

They made the night feel far less lonely.

"General.

"This concubine asks only one thing.

"Would the General be willing to inform the Emperor of Yan that Prince Fu's residence—that Prince Fu's heir—is willing to ascend the throne as Emperor of Qian?"

Zheng Fan's gaze instantly sharpened.

The Princess Consort looked at him seriously.

Clearly waiting to see his reaction.

Blind Man.

Blind Man.

Blind Man?

Zheng Fan shouted mentally.

Motherfucker.

I know you're definitely eavesdropping!

"Master."

"What do we do?"

"Serve it cold."

"Good.

"I understand."

After that concise little off-field consultation—

Zheng Fan looked at the beautiful Princess Consort.

"How did you come up with this?"

The woman's meaning was clear.

Let her son—

Prince Fu's heir ascend as a puppet Emperor.

Yan could prop up a puppet regime to help govern and divide Qian.

There was absolutely nothing rare about such methods in history.

In the history Zheng Fan knew, there had been plenty of puppet Emperors.

"General.

"If we must lower our heads, then why not lower them completely?

"You have protected Prince Fu's residence.

"That is a great kindness.

"This concubine understands.

"But once the Great Yan sweeps across the Great Qian—what use will Prince Fu's residence still have?"

If she had already committed herself to serving invaders then she might as well sell herself more thoroughly.

"I cannot decide something like this."

Zheng Fan clapped his hands lightly.

He no longer wanted to keep chatting with this woman.

"Then I ask only that the General pass the message upward."

"This matter crosses taboos."

Privately proposing to establish an Emperor even a puppet Emperor implied a certain contempt for imperial authority.

Still this was really only an excuse from Zheng Fan.

Whether the two Marquises or the Yan Emperor, all three were absolute pragmatists.

He did not truly worry about being punished merely for suggesting the idea.

The real problem was the army would continue south in another day.

Once Qian's frontier forces returned to rescue the interior, Chuzhou City would probably be "recovered" soon.

If Yan created a puppet Emperor here, only for him to be destroyed almost immediately wouldn't that simply amount to slapping themselves in the face while handing Qian an easy morale victory?

This woman really was beautiful.

A ripe peach.

But she thought too much.

And worse beneath all those thoughts, there remained a certain naïveté.

That made her rather less interesting.

Zheng Fan rose.

"I won't disturb the Princess Consort's rest any longer."

He prepared to leave.

But at that moment the Princess Consort abruptly stood as well.

Zheng Fan's entire body jolted.

Her sudden movement genuinely startled him.

No way.

Was she actually some hidden expert?

But the Princess Consort merely gave him a graceful bow.

Like a hostess seeing off her guest.

Zheng Fan steadied his breathing.

Nodded.

Turned away.

"Master, such a beautiful flower going unused is rather a pity.

"Master could simply follow your heart.

"Even if the Fourth Lady learned about it, she wouldn't say anything."

"Heh.

"I don't like stupid women."

Zheng Fan sneered inside his mind and continued walking out.

But the instant he stepped beyond the pavilion he had no choice but to stop.

Because the Princess Consort spoke behind him.

"General.

"This concubine's surname is Zhong.

"I am a daughter of the Zhong Clan."

The Blind Man, who had been eavesdropping outside the entire time, abruptly trembled.

Two simultaneous—

"Holy shit."

—rang through the pair's private mental channel.

"Master.

"If this woman is stupid—then we're both hare-lipped fools!"

Zheng Fan agreed completely.

He turned around.

Looked at the Princess Consort.

Then asked, "Then Prince Fu's heir is...?"

The Princess Consort nodded.

She smiled beautifully.

And answered, "The Western Army's Lord Zhong—

"Zhong Wendao's... biological grandson."

---

(End of Chapter)