Before learning the truth, Shen Feng had been blinded by the gossip of the marketplace. He truly believed his senior sister was going to remarry. In such a situation, Shen Feng braced himself for the worst, thinking that if his senior sister truly changed her mind, he would have to resort to forceful means to snatch her back and then confine her.
"Even if I have to use force, I will have you!" Shen Feng vowed silently in his heart.
However, now that Shen Feng learned the rumors circulating on the streets were false, he felt an immediate sense of relief. But this relief was replaced by boundless anger. His godson and two biological sons had been kidnapped successively, his brother-in-law's fate was unknown, his two wives were forced to seek help, and Zhang Xixi, his sister, had fled to Rongcheng for refuge. Only Du Xinshi, who was powerless, remained at home. All these events fueled Shen Feng's rage.
Shen Feng had initially believed that after the establishment of the Tianlong Bureau, it would undoubtedly become the most powerful group of espers in the country, capable of protecting the people. But now, it was not so. These people bullied his family, coveted the industries in Yuzhou, and used despicable means to gain profits. Such behavior was nothing but bullying the weak and fearing the strong – shameful!
"Speaking of which, there should be about a dozen espers in Yuzhou. It shouldn't be that they have no power to resist at all. Why did you still lock up Guo Pinming? I know Old Guo; he has always been loyal and would never betray me!" Shen Feng suddenly remembered something and quickly inquired.
Fortunately, Du Xinshi knew about the events that had transpired during this period and recounted them one by one: "City Lord, it wasn't that we wanted to detain Guo Pinming. It was because he attempted to break into the Fengshen Palace while it was under strict lockdown. He was spotted by the soldiers on the spot, so for safety's sake, he was apprehended."
"Attempted to break into Fengshen Palace?" Shen Feng asked, puzzled. "That can't be right. Even if Guo Pinming wanted to see his senior sister, he only needed to send a message. Why would he try to break in? Aren't there many suspicious points here?"
"That's right. Before Minister Guo was arrested, he kept proclaiming his innocence, saying he had been at home the entire time and never went out. However, many soldiers saw him, and Minister Guo was eventually arrested. He didn't resist and voluntarily surrendered to prove his innocence. Before leaving, he entrusted his daughter to Minister Yang Ye!" Du Xinshi explained.
"This seems like a conspiracy. To reduce the number of espers in Yuzhou, Old Guo is very strong. If he's locked up, won't there be fewer espers participating in the fight?" Shen Feng muttered to himself.
Suddenly, Shen Feng recalled the commotion that occurred earlier that evening, where someone also attempted to break into Fengshen Palace and was discovered. His expression immediately turned grim: "Oh no, someone else is being framed!"
As expected, the phone in Du Xinshi's room rang, and Lu Xian's voice came from the other end: "Please inform Madam that we have discovered Cao Fuli is stealthily approaching Fengshen Palace with ill intentions! We are going to apprehend him immediately; he cannot escape!"
"Okay, I understand!" Du Xinshi nodded in response.
Upon hearing this news, Shen Feng frowned again and then said, "Things are getting worse. Cao Fuli has also become a target for arrest. If he resists, his guilt will be confirmed. If he doesn't resist, he will simply be captured!"
Shen Feng saw through the enemy's scheme. It was impossible for Cao Fuli to attempt to break into Fengshen Palace again after Guo Pinming had already been captured; he wasn't that foolish. Moreover, he was in charge of the Yuzhou Mercenary Guild. If he were arrested, he wouldn't be able to rally the mercenaries outside the city at a crucial moment to participate in the battle.
After observing the current situation, Shen Feng speculated that someone had impersonated both Guo Pinming and Cao Fuli, which led to this predicament. The individuals seen by the soldiers might have been impostors.
"City Lord, what will you do next?" Du Xinshi quickly asked.
Shen Feng pondered with a frown and then said, "It's not convenient for me to show myself yet. If I appear, the situation can certainly be changed, and I could mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers to directly eliminate these espers. However, if they are pushed to desperation and harm the hostages, that would be bad. I plan to first search for Xiao Jie and the two children."
It had to be said that the people of the Tianlong Bureau had sharp eyes. They had directly found the weakness of Chang Jianyi. Chang Haojie and Shen Feng's two sons were kidnapped, thus their lives were in the hands of the enemy. As long as the three were not found, their safety would always be guaranteed.
"It's getting late, let's rest!" Du Xinshi said softly.
Shen Feng nodded and got up to leave, but at this moment, Du Xinshi grabbed Shen Feng's hand and said, "Without proper status, words lack authority!"
"Ah, what do you mean?" Shen Feng was stunned. He had intended to find any room in the basement to rest, but Du Xinshi had said something out of the blue, and he couldn't figure out what she meant.
There were many rooms in the basement, capable of housing dozens of people. Moreover, the basement had food, an independent generator, a water source, and an air purification system. As long as they stayed underground, they could last for several months. Shen Feng also wanted to stay at home for a night.
However, Shen Feng was confused by Du Xinshi's words and didn't know what she was trying to say.
Du Xinshi held Shen Feng's hand and placed it on her chest. She said, "Can you feel my heartbeat? I'm getting old, and I could die at any moment. I only hope you can take good care of my son. But, living in your house, I don't even have a proper title!"
Shen Feng couldn't help but gasp. He hadn't expected Du Xinshi to have feelings for him as well. Her words now were a declaration of love!
"Well, I've already taken Xiao Long as my godson, and I will take care of him and rescue him! You don't need to do this. Besides, your cousin is coming to Yuzhou in a few days, so it's not convenient!" Shen Feng said quickly, then withdrew his hand.
Du Xinshi immediately asked, "Are you looking down on me? Do you think because I've been married before, I'm not a pure woman, and I have a child, so you don't fancy me!"
"Not at all. There are constant natural disasters now, with countless displaced people and widespread destruction of families. If one were to look down on women for such reasons, it would show a lack of gentlemanly conduct!" Shen Feng replied righteously.
Shen Feng certainly wouldn't discriminate against Du Xinshi for having been married before. Such ideas didn't exist in society now. After all, some men lost their wives, and some wives lost their husbands. Instead of living out their lives in loneliness, it was better to form new families and forget past hurts.
Du Xinshi, however, grabbed Shen Feng's hand again and asked, "Since you don't look down on me, then accept me. Otherwise, I'm like an outsider in Fengshen Palace! Even though Xiao Long is your godson, people will still gossip!"
"Who dares to gossip? I'll cut out their tongues! Besides, Zhang Xixi is also living here. No one will say anything if you live here!" Shen Feng quickly retorted.
"Too many people gossip, especially given your current status. Every move you make is watched. Zhang Xixi was entrusted to your care by your friend and is considered like a sister. But my relationship with Mu Ying cannot be explicitly stated. In the eyes of others, besides my looks, there's no other reason for me to live in Fengshen Palace. Rather than letting others gossip, I'd prefer to have some form of status!" Du Xinshi explained.
Shen Feng thought about it. It made sense. It wasn't that he was indifferent to Du Xinshi. He wasn't exactly a saint; after all, he had revealed his true nature when he was away, doing whatever he pleased, acting lawlessly. But that was just for fun. If he were to give Du Xinshi the so-called status, his senior sister would be the first to object.
"Then I'll give you status in a different way. I'll hire you as the Grand Manager of my Fengshen Palace. You'll handle various affairs within the Fengshen Palace during normal times, and that will be considered a form of status, and no one will gossip!" Shen Feng's eyes darted, choosing a compromise.
"Do you want me to be more direct?" Du Xinshi asked forlornly. "I have a heart condition. Doctors said I could only live to twenty-five, and now I'm twenty-eight. My heart's burden is increasing, and I could die at any moment. My only concern is Xiao Long. If you're unwilling to even give me a proper title, how can I believe you'll take good care of him in the future? Besides, I don't need the same status as your two wives. Even if you make me an outer concubine, that would be enough!"
The term "outer concubine" was a more refined way of saying it. To put it crudely, it was like a mistress, slightly higher in status than a lover, but generally kept in separate quarters. Under the ancient system of three wives and seven concubines, an outer concubine was even inferior to a concubine.
"Uh, you're asking the impossible. If I'm subjected to family discipline, I'll be in trouble! A million-word self-criticism, can you write it?" Shen Feng still disagreed; he disliked taking risks.
At this moment, Du Xinshi hesitated and said, "Then, I'll find someone to write it for you, just asking you to accept me!"
Writing articles was obviously a very energy-consuming task. Otherwise, why would many online writers have died from overwork before? For Du Xinshi, she naturally couldn't expend energy to write a self-criticism. After thinking about it, she had a good idea: let someone else write the self-criticism. Nowadays, with money, people would do anything. Hiring a few ghostwriters was simple.
As she spoke, Du Xinshi began to unbutton her clothes. Shen Feng stood frozen, unsure of what to do.
"Shen Feng, let's rest. I need strength!" Du Xinshi walked to Shen Feng's side, her hand gently stroking his chest, her pure white body falling into Shen Feng's eyes.
Shen Feng couldn't resist the temptation of beauty. He hugged Du Xinshi and walked towards the bed, saying, "We need to plan this carefully and not rush things. In any case, I'll go look for Xiao Long tomorrow. You just need to follow my instructions at any time!"
Du Xinshi realized her goal had finally been achieved and felt relieved. In fact, she had already fallen in love with Shen Feng. The reason was simple: Shen Feng was powerful enough. Only powerful men could attract women because they could protect those around them and prevent them from being easily bullied.
On the day the apocalypse descended, Du Xinshi had been suffering. Her physical condition was weak, and she couldn't do any work. Fortunately, she was in Yanjing, the capital, a place of importance and prestige, where food was distributed daily. She could only rely on the meager food to supplement her energy. Her child cried every day because he was hungry.
It could be said that if Mu Ying hadn't appeared in time, Du Xinshi would have prepared to give up her child for adoption and then thrown herself into a river to commit suicide, as living was just suffering.
In the end, Mu Ying wanted revenge, and Du Xinshi wanted to find a strong person to rely on. After much thought, they found Shen Feng. For Du Xinshi, he was a man much younger than her, but he was one of the kinder espers. Choosing him was definitely not wrong.
However, after following Shen Feng to Yuzhou, Du Xinshi discovered that although Shen Feng had always taken good care of her, he had never harbored any improper thoughts towards her. She desperately wanted to display her charm but couldn't find an opportunity. Later, while living in Fengshen Palace, she couldn't interact with Shen Feng alone, so she had to suppress her feelings.
At this moment, with Chang Jianyi and Chu Chaoyan both away, the opportunity had arrived for Du Xinshi. She had already come up with a reason. The next step was implementation. For the future happiness of her child, she would stop at nothing.
A crescent moon rose into the sky, and a few old crows cawed upon seeing the moonlight.
Mandarin ducks in pairs, a pear blossom tree embracing the hibiscus. A golden needle pierces the peach blossom bud, daring not to make a sound, frowning slightly.