Chapter 613: - My Precious

The dishes were all home cooking.

Tofu with scallions.

Braised pork with potatoes.

Tomato and scrambled egg.

Small miscellaneous fish.

Pickled mustard-green and shredded-pork soup.

And in addition, there was an enormous basin of naan in front of Fan Li.

There was not actually much food on the table.

The reason was simple.

Two of the people sitting there did not really eat human food.

Liang Cheng could still manage a little.

A’Ming, however, had completely stopped touching “human filth” after their lives improved.

In the old days, he had still forced himself to eat blood tofu from time to time.

Now, he wanted nothing to do with it.

Everyone took their seats.

Fan Li had no interest in the dishes anyway.

He immediately began chewing naan.

War had ended.

Construction had begun.

So naturally, Fan Li had once again become captain of the construction crew.

Carry stone.

Lift timber.

One man functioned like a small crane.

His energy went there.

So did his appetite.

Xue San held a handful of sunflower seeds and cracked them one by one.

A’Ming sipped wine in tiny mouthfuls.

Liang Cheng, beside him, simply sat quietly.

Master and Fourth Lady arrived together.

Fourth Lady sat first.

Zheng Fan then reached into his pocket and took out pieces of candy wrapped in red paper.

He placed one portion before each person.

The reason they had arrived late was that Zheng Fan had first gone and placed a portion on the new coffin reserved for Sha Tuo Queshi.

Whether he ate them did not matter.

Sha Tuo Queshi was hardly going to wake suddenly just to eat a few sweets.

The gesture was what mattered.

As for anyone else, the Sword Saint, Old Tian, the other generals under him, and so forth, their relationships were certainly close.

But if Zheng Fan sent wedding candy to them right now, it would inevitably make people think too much.

They might misunderstand and assume Marquis Zheng had finally cured his condition.

Once the wedding candy had been distributed, everyone except Fan Li, who was still chewing naan, froze for a moment.

Then

Xue San stood.

“Congratulations. Congratulations.”

A’Ming and Liang Cheng stood as well.

But neither man was especially suited to this atmosphere.

Everyone had known for a long time that Fourth Lady and Master slept in the same bed.

But how to put it?

It had always felt more like a practical household arrangement.

Then suddenly, without warning, the relationship became formal.

It genuinely left them at a loss.

A’Ming said:

“May you be joined in harmony for a hundred years.”

Liang Cheng said:

“May you grow old together.”

Then

A’Ming and Liang Cheng sat back down.

The atmosphere around the table could only be described as bizarre.

Only Fan Li continued chewing naan happily.

Zheng Fan had expected this reaction.

He brought out the red wine left from the previous night and began pouring everyone a cup.

“...” A’Ming.

After pouring the wine, Zheng Fan sat down.

“Fourth Lady and I want a child.”

Xue San smiled.

A’Ming smiled.

Liang Cheng tried to smile too, but his expression remained somewhat solemn, so the result looked forced.

Fourth Lady, meanwhile, showed a rare trace of bashfulness.

“So...”

“Pfft!”

Fan Li suddenly choked.

He bent toward the floor and began coughing violently.

Once the coughing finally stopped, Fan Li shrank his neck like a schoolboy who had made a mistake and picked up his naan again.

“So... mm. So that’s what happened.”

Xue San tried to liven up the mood.

“Does that mean from now on we should change how we address Fourth Lady and call her Madam?”

Zheng Fan replied:

“You say that as though you ever called Xiong Liqing Madam.”

Xue San shook his head.

“She deserves it?”

The unspoken meaning was that Fourth Lady did.

In the end, the Demon Kings’ pride had never disappeared.

Across these past few years, they had gradually accepted Master.

But outsiders?

They still did not think much of them.

Tian Wujing and the Sword Saint were different cases.

But one Princess thought she could make them willingly submit?

Naive.

“Keep everything as before. I simply felt this was something I ought to announce. So afterward, we continue exactly as we were.”

Everyone nodded.

Truthfully, the strange atmosphere existed because

Zheng Fan, as Master, had long enjoyed the advantage of proximity.

Whether one called it getting the moon first because he lived beside the water, or some “workplace” unspoken rule, he had already been sharing a room with Fourth Lady.

Everyone had gotten used to it.

They had tacitly accepted that relationship.

Then he suddenly made it “official,” leaving everyone confused.

And after making it official, he immediately added:

Everything stays the same.

Oh.

So all this was merely to notify everyone that Master had finally made it to base?

At that moment, Liang Cheng took a piece of naan from in front of Fan Li.

Fan Li happened to swallow what was in his mouth.

He opened his mouth.

“This... mmph...”

Liang Cheng stuffed the naan into Fan Li’s mouth with perfect timing.

A general who commanded armies naturally anticipated the enemy before the enemy moved.

Zheng Fan picked up his chopsticks.

“Everyone, eat.”

...

“We’re moving somewhere new. How do you feel?”

Inside the carriage, Xiong Liqing smiled at Liu Ruqing.

The traveling party was not small.

Besides the two of them and the servants and maids from the old residence, there were Liu Ruqing’s younger brother Liu Zhong and the Sword Saint’s entire household.

A good number of officials who had originally remained behind at Snow Sea Pass were also moving their families along with the convoy.

Snow Sea Pass would continue prospering.

Its foundation was already there.

And it remained the official trade market between the snowfield and the Jin lands.

So long as there was no war, it would be difficult for the place to become quiet even if it wanted to.

But from now on, everyone’s focus, or rather their center of gravity, would inevitably shift toward Fengxin City.

At the Blind Man’s recommendation, the Garrison Commander left to hold Snow Sea Pass was Keyan Dongge.

When the entire Keyan Tribe first came over in submission, Prince of Jingnan had knocked the thorns out of them.

Afterward, Zheng Fan split them into three parts.

Keyan Dongge commanded one.

Jin Shuke commanded another.

The third became scouting cavalry scattered among the various units.

From beginning to end, the Keyan Tribe’s young lord Keyan Dongge had always understood the times.

Most importantly, he was a Barbarian.

He would be guarding Snow Sea Pass while facing the Savages of the snowfield.

They were different peoples.

There was no easy condition under which the two sides could blend together and form something of their own.

Marquis Zheng had built his career by walking the road of a military strongman.

How could he possibly allow new military strongmen unwilling to obey him to emerge beneath his own command?

As for Zhennan Pass, after discussing it with Master, the Blind Man intended to appoint Jin Shuke as its Garrison Commander.

Originally, Prince of Jingnan had meant for either Gong Wang or Gongsun Zhi to hold Zhennan Pass.

Marquis Zheng, however, had stopped caring how ugly his table manners looked.

Both great passes, north and south, had to be held by his own direct men.

That would make future smuggling and business with foreign states more convenient too.

As for Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi, their stations would be placed in two cities southwest and northwest of Fengxin City.

Those cities were quiet now.

Almost empty.

But they could be developed gradually.

The plan was also to petition the court to enfeoff both men as Counts.

What those two truly wanted was status and reputation.

Gong Wang was a Jin man.

If he wanted to integrate into the present ruling group, he needed to choose a faction.

Gongsun Zhi was a Yan man, but he carried the stain of abandoning his former lord and breaking away from his old household.

Within the Yan army, aside from the Marquis of Pingxi faction, there was nowhere else he could really go.

So these two men were best settled through honors and titles.

As for the division of military garrisons to come, the plan was to establish Eight Garrisons.

One at Snow Sea Pass.

One at Zhennan Pass.

One each under Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi.

Liang Cheng would command one field army as another garrison.

That garrison would unquestionably possess the largest troop strength, the best armor and weapons, and the greatest combat power.

Gou Moli would command one garrison to the left of Fengxin City.

Ding Hao would command one to the right.

Those two would effectively serve as the capital-area guard forces.

Inside Fengxin City itself, one more garrison would be stationed.

It would function like the Capital Garrison and be jointly overseen by Xue San and Fan Li.

This would be the most important security force directly surrounding the Marquis of Pingxi.

Eight Garrisons in total.

It was a game of dividing power.

And also a game of planning the future.

In this particular game, the newly elevated Marquis of Pingxi had completely revealed the table manners of a taotie.

This was precisely the moment to strike while the iron remained hot and finish everything in one rush.

If they waited until later, the resistance and complications would become far greater.

Ding Hao’s role inside this arrangement was essentially to balance Gou Moli.

This small-time military leader from Beifeng Commandery had benefited enormously from once serving as Zheng Fan’s first teacher.

From that point onward, his rise had been remarkably smooth.

In truth, his ability had already reached its ceiling at this level.

But he was loyal.

He had no wife.

No children.

No obvious weakness.

And in loyalty, he earned full marks.

Beneath the Eight Garrisons, they would continue using the old system.

Five men formed a squad.

Ten formed a section.

A hundred men formed a company under a Centurion.

Three hundred-man companies formed one battalion.

The military households attached to each battalion were modeled on the Eight Banners system.

Going forward, however, they would need to increase movement and rotation among the households attached to the various units.

Take Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi.

They needed to steadily reduce those men’s personal influence over their subordinates.

From time to time, the leash had to be tightened to ensure absolute loyalty.

The reason those two were placed forward rather than kept in the rear was simple.

Whether Keyan Dongge or Jin Shuke, if the Marquis of Pingxi ever needed to flip the table, both men could flip it with him without hesitation.

Gong Wang and Gongsun Zhi were different.

If outside forces influenced them, they probably would not rebel.

But the bastards might choose to sit across the river and watch the fire.

If they wanted to watch from across the river, better to throw them toward the front.

Then everyone could watch the two of them perform first.

When it came to controlling the grand picture and planning for the future, the Blind Man was a genuine master.

After all, he was a man born for rebellion.

Inside another carriage, the Blind Man closed the booklet in his hands.

He rubbed his eyes, pretending he too could suffer from overusing them.

The scenery outside the carriage was bleak.

This was winter in its truest form.

But once spring arrived, an even larger campaign of production and self-rescue would begin.

Eastern Jin had certainly been smashed to pieces.

But there was something wonderful about having the old picture erased clean and being able to draw the entire plan again from scratch.

In the Blind Man’s view, officials in later generations probably often wished they could simply blow up every old city district and redesign the roads and neighborhoods all over again.

Instead, they had to patch and repair endlessly atop the old foundations.

Traffic restrictions.

Traffic jams.

Noise.

Pollution.

They had already exhausted themselves, and the damned residents still complained.

Eastern Jin’s devastation came with vast land and few people.

Once spring production was handled properly, total output would be greater than consumption.

There were no old local powers entangling everything.

It was almost obscenely comfortable.

The Blind Man would rather have this blank sheet of paper than send his Master to Yingdu to become some Governor.

“Mr. Bei, once we reach Tantou Town ahead, should we stop and rest?”

“Let’s rest.”

“Yes.”

The convoy stopped outside the small town and began lighting fires and cooking.

There were too many family members traveling with them, so forced marching was unsuitable.

Besides, nothing was urgent.

They could take the road leisurely.

Stopping for lunch and eating something hot was the sensible choice.

It was deep winter.

The elderly were already physically weaker.

They needed care.

Forget everything else.

If the Sword Saint’s mother-in-law caught a serious chill because of your arrangements, how exactly were you planning to clean up the mess afterward?

The Princess and Liu Ruqing also stepped down.

“Madams, you can come out and stretch your legs. There will be fish soup shortly.”

“Thank you for your trouble, Mr. Bei,” the Princess said.

Liu Ruqing gave a slight curtsy.

“Thank you, Mr. Bei.”

“It is only proper.”

Then the Blind Man ran to the large cart carrying the coffin, lifted the curtain, and carried Tian Tian out.

A black cat and a fox came out with him.

Tian Tian wore a white sheepskin jacket hand-knitted by Fourth Lady.

It was extremely fine.

And because this lucky little child possessed an excellent constitution and tolerated cold well, even in deep winter his cheeks remained rosy.

This was natural color.

Not redness from freezing.

“Need to pee?”

The Blind Man asked Tian Tian.

Tian Tian shook his head.

“No pee.”

“Hungry?”

Tian Tian nodded.

“Hungry.”

“Did you drink your goat milk this morning?”

“Drank it.”

“Good boy.”

The Blind Man rubbed Tian Tian’s head.

Then he pointed around them.

“Play here. Don’t run far away. Understand?”

“Understand.”

Then the Blind Man pointed at the black cat and the fox.

“Watch the Young Master properly.”

“Meow.”

“Woof!”

“...” the Blind Man.

The fox resentfully reached out and pawed at Tian Tian’s trouser leg.

He had taught it that.

The Blind Man sighed and went off to see to the other family members.

The Princess and Liu Ruqing sat on a mat.

Before them lay a frozen pond.

Winter colors were inevitably monotonous.

Yet the view still possessed a broad, open beauty.

At that moment, Liu Ruqing’s younger brother Liu Zhong walked over.

He now counted as “imperial kin.”

The personal guards nearby also knew his connection to Liu Ruqing, so no one stopped him.

Ordinarily, Liu Zhong would occasionally enter the residence to see his elder sister.

He now served in a yamen office too and could be considered a man with some status.

“Little Brother,” Liu Ruqing called.

“Elder Sister.”

Liu Zhong sat beside Liu Ruqing.

He took two mandarins from his pocket and began peeling them.

As he peeled, he secretly kept glancing toward Xiong Liqing.

He was a Chu man.

And Xiong Liqing was a noble Princess of Great Chu.

Of course he was curious.

Back at Snow Sea Pass, whenever he went to visit his sister, the Count’s Residence might have been spacious, but someone always led him directly to the small courtyard where his sister lived.

No one gave him the chance to wander.

So this was the first time he had seen the Princess from such close range.

Liu Zhong finished peeling one mandarin.

He broke it in half.

One half went to his sister.

Then with a smile, he leaned across in front of Liu Ruqing and extended the fruit toward Xiong Liqing.

“Princess, have a mandarin.”

Liu Ruqing’s expression changed instantly.

Xiong Liqing did not take the fruit.

Instead, she swept Liu Zhong with one glance.

A smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Seeing the Princess smile at him, Liu Zhong smiled too.

Liu Ruqing’s face, however, began turning white.

Xiong Liqing spoke:

“Are all of you dead?”

At once, the nearby personal guards rushed over and dropped to one knee.

“Seize him. Twenty lashes. Don’t kill him. If he ends up crippled, I don’t care.”

Two guards immediately stepped forward and pinned Liu Zhong down.

Liu Zhong panicked.

“Elder Sister, save me! Elder Sister, save me!”

Liu Ruqing instinctively looked toward Xiong Liqing.

After one glance, she immediately lowered her eyes again.

A cold smile hung at Xiong Liqing’s lips.

“Your elder sister, to put it plainly, is merely one concubine of my Marquis. So what exactly does that make you? You actually dared start treating yourself like one of the masters of this household!”

Cold sweat burst across Liu Zhong’s forehead.

Liu Ruqing immediately knelt as well and begged:

“Ruqing knows her mistake. Ruqing failed to discipline Little Brother properly. Ruqing was wrong.”

“You do not know how to discipline him, so this Princess will do it for you. Yes, the Marquis likes you. But you had better never start imagining that the Marquis is the sort of man who abandons every principle and boundary for a woman.”

“Ruqing would not dare. Ruqing would not dare.”

“Our Marquis Residence keeps a quiet rear household. That does not mean there are no rules. What are you waiting for? Drag him away. Beat him!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“Elder Sister, save me! Elder Sister, save me...”

“Aah! Aah! Elder Sister, save me... I was wrong... Princess... this lowly one was wrong... Aah...”

Liu Ruqing remained kneeling before Xiong Liqing.

Tears kept falling.

Xiong Liqing took out a handkerchief and passed it to her.

Liu Ruqing did not dare delay.

She immediately accepted it and quickly wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Then she forced herself to smile.

It was somewhat strained.

The Marquis was not here.

She did not dare act delicate.

But even if the Marquis had been here, truthfully, she still would not have dared.

After all, up to this very moment, the Marquis had never actually taken her body.

“I am dealing with the matter, not targeting you. Do not hate me.”

“He offended the Princess and naturally deserves punishment. This is what he earned. Ruqing would not dare resent it.”

“You should be grateful Elder Sister is not here. If Elder Sister were here, those two eyeballs of his would have moved house today.”

Xiong Liqing laughed.

“Tell me. Would you dare kneel before Elder Sister and kowtow to beg for mercy?”

“No... I would not dare. I would not dare.”

The rear residence of the former Count Pingye Residence had always been peaceful.

Not because all the women inside loved peace and quiet.

But because there was a true tiger sitting atop the mountain.

She did not need to roar.

Her very presence imposed awe.

“Beat him once and the man will become obedient. Then he will learn the rules. Once he learns the rules, you can whisper a few words into the Marquis’s ear on the pillow and help arrange him a future. Heh. If pillow talk does not work, go lower and blow. Keep blowing. Sooner or later you’ll blow a career out for him.”

“But the first thing he needs is to learn the rules. You are older than me, but I still have to call you little sister. Little Sister, do not think our household is freer than your Fan Clan and therefore has no restraints. Do not think these Misters are all easygoing simply because they usually speak pleasantly. In truth, they are some of the least easygoing people in the entire world. The Marquis can ignore many things because he has matters outside the household to handle. But we...”

Xiong Liqing pointed toward the distance.

“Wipe away the rest of your tears. Sit with this Princess and drink fish soup while we enjoy the scenery.”

“Yes, Princess.”

Xiong Liqing sighed.

“This is a Marquis Residence of Great Yan. In Chu, it would already be the household of a Pillar of State. In Qian, it would be the household of an enfeoffed Duke. So the rules of our home are not really any lighter than the rules inside a palace.”

“Yes. Ruqing has learned.”

At that moment, Tian Tian came running over with a little fox and a black cat behind him.

The moment the Princess saw him, she immediately rose.

She scooped Tian Tian into her arms.

“Oh, oh, my precious! You mustn’t run around blindly. What if you fall and hurt yourself somewhere? Your godmother would die of heartache.”

Then the Princess glared at the black cat and fox following Tian Tian.

“How dare you let the Young Master run around like this! If anything actually happened, watch your hides. Believe it or not, this Princess will feed both of you to the python!”

Then the Princess drew out her handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Tian Tian’s forehead.

“Good boy, good boy. Sit here with your godmother. Godmother will feed you fish soup. Our precious darling is the best-behaved child in the world.”

[End of Chapter 613]