Chapter 795: Celebration Money

Marquis Zheng’s eyes lit up at once.

Then he looked at Siniang with something close to disbelief.

But he did not ask, “Are you pregnant?”

Instead, he walked outside and shouted:

“Fan Zhengwen, get in here!”

The head of the Fan Clan was still sitting where he had been earlier, drinking tea with Qu Peiluo. The moment he was summoned, he hurried inside at a jog without the slightest delay.

“This Marquis’s wife is feeling a little unwell. Take a look at her.”

“Yes, Marquis.”

Fan Zhengwen walked to the table and said to Siniang:

“Madam, please forgive the offense. Allow this official to take your pulse.”

Siniang extended her hand.

Fan Zhengwen placed his fingers on her wrist.

Lifted them.

Then checked again.

At last, he rose and said to Marquis Zheng:

“Congratulations, Marquis. It is a pregnancy pulse!”

“A pregnancy pulse?”

“Absolutely certain. This official checked twice.”

“Good. Good.”

Marquis Zheng’s voice had already started going out of tune.

Seeing that, Fan Zhengwen took his leave.

Zheng Fan immediately took Siniang’s hand and stared at her belly, still sounding a little unable to believe it.

“Really?”

“Yes, Master,” Siniang answered.

Clearly... she had known for some time.

“Wonderful. Wonderful.”

Marquis Zheng instinctively looked around.

His hands clenched, released, then clenched again.

Something like a ball of fire was gathering inside his chest.

Reason told him he should not become too excited.

He ought to preserve his image.

Emotionally... the dam had already broken.

Outside...

Fan Zhengwen returned to his seat.

“Madam is pregnant. The Marquis is extremely happy.”

“Extremely happy?” Qu Peiluo looked puzzled. “But the Princess has already been pregnant for some time. This is not his first child. Why would he be so happy?”

In the ordinary habits of a great household, only the firstborn son and the eldest legitimate son really merited that sort of excitement.

After that, because there were usually many women, there were usually many children too.

Aside from an unexpected young son or daughter born late in life, the children in the middle generally stopped causing much emotional upheaval.

“Yes. Extremely happy.”

“The one pregnant is that ‘Mr. Feng’?”

“Yes.” Fan Zhengwen stroked his beard. “Truthfully, I have always had one suspicion. The Marquis says Grand General Nian ended up like that because Nian Yao first made human swine out of his men. But I think there is a very good chance the real reason was that, on the day Nian Yao was brought back, he spoke disrespectfully toward Mr. Feng inside the hall and enraged the Marquis. That was what led to...”

Fan Zhengwen chopped one hand downward.

“Snip!”

“Is that so?”

Fan Zhengwen stroked his beard again and sighed.

“If that really was the reason, then truthfully, it sounds more like something *you* would do.”

Qu Peiluo shook his head.

“I was pretending.”

“And what about the Marquis?”

Qu Peiluo answered:

“The Marquis has no need to pretend.”

At that moment...

Marquis Zheng emerged from the cabin.

He shouted toward Chen Xianba:

“Order the ship to stop. This Marquis is going ashore.”

...

The ship stopped.

Marquis Zheng went ashore.

Fan Li and A’Ming were brought ashore with him.

Back aboard the ship... the Blind Man entered the cabin.

“You told Master?” he asked.

Siniang nodded.

“I told him. Master called Fan Zhengwen in earlier to take my pulse. He may have forgotten that my medical skill is considerably better than Fan Zhengwen’s.”

“Master was too happy to think straight.”

“Was he?” Siniang looked toward the Blind Man.

“You can feel it. Aside from those earliest days in Tiger Head City, it has been many years since I last saw Master lose control of his emotions like this.”

“Master lost control of his emotions in Tiger Head City?”

“Self-pity. Becoming sentimental when something stirs old memories. Those are forms of losing emotional control too. Let me guess. You pretended you were about to vomit in front of Master, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“See? With your constitution, will you even get morning sickness after becoming pregnant?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Have you vomited yet?”

“It isn’t time yet.”

“Fine. We can make a bet.”

“Boring.”

“Mm. I can tell Master really is overjoyed. So happy he can barely contain himself.”

Siniang said indifferently:

“It isn’t his first time becoming a father, and it isn’t his first time seeing one of his women become pregnant. How could it be as exaggerated as you say?”

The Blind Man nodded.

“All right. I know you already saw through it long ago. You’re deliberately acting modest here so that hearing me say it aloud gives you a little extra satisfaction. Fine. I’ll indulge you. Human beings inevitably have selfish feelings. Anyone capable of being perfectly impartial in every matter is a saint. Look at how excited Master is this time. His favoritism is obvious. This may be a little unfair to the Princess, but the truth is that in Master’s instinctive understanding and emotional heart, the child he looked forward to most... was the one born from you.”

Siniang sat down.

She picked up a grape and placed it elegantly into her mouth.

There was a slight curve at the corner of her lips.

Not caring to compete did not mean she was willing to lose.

Not loving a man did not mean she wanted to become someone standing at the edge of his life.

“This is my formal congratulations. You’re pregnant.”

“And then?”

“Then the others will inevitably become extremely excited once they learn.”

“And after that?”

“The child in your belly belongs to you and Master. But to the other six of us, in truth, it is almost as though the child belongs to us as well. It’s interesting. And somehow unreal. Among us... someone is actually going to possess a bloodline of her own. It is a form of recognition. A form of inheritance. Take good care of yourself. Once we return, I’ll try to shoulder more of the Residence yamen’s work for you.”

“I’m not that delicate.”

“In truth, although bonds formed between us and Master long ago, whether through advancement, through life and death, or through the emotions accumulated over all these years... all of those things appeared afterward. But your child, from the moment of birth, will directly become someone the seven of us genuinely care about. To a certain extent, that feeling may be even purer and more natural than what Master has earned through all his arduous efforts. Because from birth... the child will be one of us.”

Siniang placed a hand lightly over her lower abdomen.

“Can you see the radiance of maternal love in my eyes?”

“Forgive my honesty. No.”

“I’m already trying very hard.”

“In this respect, there is no need to force yourself.”

“But when I see him that happy, I want to be just as happy. You know me. Even if I have to pretend, I want the pretending to look more natural.”

“That isn’t realistic.”

“I’ll work until it becomes realistic.”

“All right. That’s your own standard for living. Oh, right. Master went ashore.”

“I know.”

“He’s too excited, so he doesn’t know what to do with himself. But either way, that joy needs an outlet. And by coincidence... there happens to be a group of Chu troops escorting us from behind.”

Hearing that, Siniang walked to the window and pulled aside the curtain.

On shore, Marquis Pingxi’s great banner had already been raised.

The cavalry that had originally been guarding the flotilla along the bank had all turned their horses around and fallen in behind their Marquis.

Following him... they charged toward a Chu force in the rear.

The Blind Man walked over as well and continued:

“So with Zhao Jiulang’s move back then, you really cannot say he was wrong. Perhaps Prince Jingnan reacted exactly as Master is reacting now. I think this child is an opportunity. Once the child is born, Master will be willing to do anything for the child. And so will we.”

“Blind Man.”

“Mm?”

“It’s far too early to say this, but I still want to warn you in advance.”

“Go ahead.”

“You are not allowed to tell my future child any stories about sachima.”

...

The Chu force shadowing Marquis Zheng’s northbound troops was not elite.

Strictly speaking, it barely qualified as an “army” at all.

The Yan had passed through their territory.

If the local garrisons showed no reaction whatsoever, that would look improper and might even leave them vulnerable to charges of dereliction of duty.

So every county town and military fort sent out whatever garrison soldiers they had.

One little group here.

One little group there.

Together they followed behind the Yan as a token gesture.

The Yan were busy traveling and had no interest in entangling themselves with these men.

Both sides had remained at peace.

That suited everyone.

The Yan traveled smoothly.

The Chu local forces could report a victory upward, claiming to have recovered however much lost ground from the Yan.

If they were feeling especially bold, they could even report that they had “driven the Yan army out of their defense zone.”

In short... actively provoking a battle was impossible.

They merely followed from behind and made a show of it.

Huang Dingyuan was one of the sons-in-law of the Zhao Clan.

Originally, he had relied on his wife’s family connections to come here, gild his résumé, and gain some experience.

But first, he was too far removed from the true center of Zhao Clan power.

Second, Chu’s great noble houses had been declining for years, their influence and authority weakening by the day.

As a result... no one had the spare attention to look after him anymore.

The posting that had originally been intended as a temporary place to collect prestige might very well become the place where he wasted away the rest of his life.

So Huang Dingyuan wanted to seize this opportunity.

At the grand strategic level, the Yan had just defeated Chu’s regular army at Fan City.

Huang Dingyuan knew perfectly well how much he himself was worth.

He also knew that the crooked melons and cracked dates inside his little military fort could not possibly accomplish anything significant.

But free credit was still free credit.

Why not take it?

So Huang Dingyuan personally led a little over two hundred men under his command.

Half of them did not even possess proper armor.

And among all the local garrison forces... his group “pursued” the hardest.

They also stayed the closest.

Huang Dingyuan believed that after yet another defeat, Great Chu badly needed some small victory to raise morale.

Why couldn’t he be that victory?

Unfortunately... the Yan suddenly seemed to lose their minds.

They stopped their ships.

Then turned their horses and charged directly toward him.

The other local forces that had been maintaining roughly the same distance from one another saw the movement and immediately began retreating.

Their combat strength was poor to begin with.

Worse, they were nothing but a temporary collection of rabble without unified command.

How were they supposed to resist a Yan attack?

Huang Dingyuan’s force was the closest.

It was too late to run.

And every other local contingent fled as fast as possible without the slightest thought of coming back to lend a hand.

So...

Huang Dingyuan’s soldiers were crushed almost instantly.

Fan Li personally swept Huang Dingyuan off his horse with one hand.

Just like that... he became a Yan prisoner.

“M-Mar... Marquis...”

Huang Dingyuan showed no backbone whatsoever.

He knelt obediently before the man seated atop the Pixiu.

Marquis Zheng waved one hand.

“Men. Release all the prisoners. Give each of them one string of cash as celebration money. Let them share in the joy.”

[End of Chapter 795]