Chapter 100 Uncle

"Uncle~"

Zheng Biao had finally seen what a natural beauty was. Compared to the twelve beauties holding a poetry gathering in the pavilion outside, the woman before him made them look like middle and elementary school students.

Zheng Fan considered himself a man of great self-control, but at this moment, he found it hard to restrain himself.

Si Niang wasn't around.

Meat delivered right to his lips;

Not taking a bite might betray Fan Zhengwen's good intentions, affect his cooperation with the Fan family, impact the success or failure of the princess's abduction, which would then affect the Yan-Chu war, subsequently influencing the entire Eastern situation, and ultimately impacting the world's格局 (ge ju - overall structure and situation).

Liu Ruqing didn't know why she was so afraid of the man before her.

When his eyes fell on her,

She instinctively felt a sense of fear,

As if a wild beast had already placed its fangs on her shoulder, making her unable to control herself.

This was actually quite normal. Although the Fan family was a mere household servant of the Qu clan, the Qu clan was a top-ranked noble family in Great Chu; otherwise, they wouldn't have held the title of Pillar of State. Therefore, the Fan family, despite not having a high "political status" on the surface, was already an extremely prominent and wealthy family in the secular world.

Living in the Fan mansion, Liu Ruqing usually interacted with the young ladies of the household. Where would she have the opportunity to see real military men, let alone a meritorious general like Zheng Biao, who had truly emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood?

"What brings Miss Liu to me?"

"It's... Ruqing is here on the orders of the Old Madam to request that Uncle provide a diagnosis."

"Oh, very well. Then let me take your pulse first."

"No, no, no, Uncle, Ruqing is here to ask Uncle to provide a diagnosis for the Old Madam."

"Hmm?"

It seemed that

Fan Zhengwen had arranged for him to have the identity of a doctor in the mansion, or rather, a famous doctor.

Moreover, Zheng Fan didn't yet know who was calling Liu Ruqing "Uncle." If he was of the same generation as Fan Zhengwen, Liu Ruqing could call him Uncle, and if he was a generation higher than Fan Zhengwen, he could also be called Uncle.

But, whatever, it sounded nice when Liu Ruqing called him Uncle.

If possible, having Liu Ruqing stand by his bed and call him "Uncle" dozens of times before going to sleep every night would be a sensation that would seep into his bones.

However, the Fan mansion Old Madam—who was she?

Was she Fan Zhengwen's mother? Seemed like a grandmother-level figure.

Since he had come, he might as well make the best of it. Zheng Fan had been quite satisfied with Fan Zhengwen's arrangements since moving in. There was no greasy feast piled before him, forcing him to drink and be urged to drink. Instead, small dishes, large dishes, cold dishes, and hot dishes were arranged there, for him to take as he pleased.

"Then please lead the way, Miss Liu."

"Uncle, please follow me."

"Alright."

Zheng Fan followed Liu Ruqing out of the room. Seeing Zheng Fan come out, the group of beauties in the pavilion all stood up and bowed to Zheng Fan.

Zheng Fan waved his hand at them. After all, he hadn't interacted with them much; he had only been watching them eat through the window earlier.

The Fan mansion was very large, but if you weren't a servant but a guest, you wouldn't feel that the mansion's size was a burden. Everywhere was scenery, and even in winter, it was still dazzling.

The Old Madam of the Fan mansion lived in a courtyard that was about the same size as the Qingfang Study, but since it was winter, you could immediately feel waves of heat as you entered her courtyard.

At the same time, the courtyard was filled with flowers and greenery. Where was there any sign of midwinter?

An old woman was sitting on the steps, and not a single servant was in sight around her.

The old woman held a small shovel in her left hand, and her right hand was covered in soil. Clearly, she had just been tending to the flowers and plants.

Don't think she was suffering.

Because at this time of year, countless elderly people were huddled in corners, shivering in poorly insulated tattered cotton batting, not even knowing if they could survive the winter;

While at this moment, she could wear only a jacket and still be able to go to the ground to tend flowers and do small tasks. It was already an extremely rare luxury.

"Old Madam, Granddaughter-in-law has brought Uncle here."

Granddaughter-in-law?

It seemed that she really was a grandmother-level figure.

The woman before him was Fan Zhengwen's grandmother, because Liu Ruqing was the wife of Fan Zhengwen's younger brother.

"Alright, Little Fourth's wife, go down and tell the kitchen to prepare some mung bean soup and bring it here. It's killing this old woman with heat."

"Yes, Grandmother."

Liu Ruqing went down, passing by Zheng Fan, leaving a fragrant breeze.

Not greasy, and satisfying.

The old woman looked at Zheng Fan and scolded unhappily:

"You're still a Lord, haven't you ever seen a woman?"

Zheng Fan smiled, not at all embarrassed. In an instant, he entered his own state and said:

"That's right, I really haven't seen such a stunning beauty."

"This word 'stunning beauty,' this old woman doesn't like it. It always sounds like women are being treated as mere playthings."

"Yes." Zheng Fan nodded.

"Sit, Lord. There are melons over there, pick one and eat it yourself."

"Alright."

Zheng Fan sat down, reached out, and picked a muskmelon. No need to wash it; anyway, he didn't eat the skin. He peeled it open and ate the fruit inside directly.

The juice was sweet and fragrant, delicious.

The old woman leaned the small shovel in her hand against the steps and looked at Zheng Fan, saying:

"How do you find this little courtyard of mine?"

"Grand, exquisite." Zheng Fan wiped his mouth and replied, "The last time I entered such a place was in the Qian Kingdom Emperor's palace."

The Qian Emperor also had a greenhouse that was extremely warm in winter.

Of course, the cost of creating this "utopia" in winter was inevitably enormous.

It wasn't strange that the Qian Emperor could afford it, but for the Fan mansion to be able to enjoy it as well inevitably made people think of the words "rich enough to rival a nation."

The old woman chuckled and said, "After living for so many years, I've finally gained some prestige today, actually being placed alongside that official from the Qian Kingdom."

Zheng Fan had previously told A Ming that he suspected someone in the mansion wanted to see him, and it was an attitude of "could see, could not see." It seemed that it should be this Fan family Old Madam.

The old woman pointed around and said:

"It looks like it's warm, but the real effort underneath is all money. In this world, the only thing that can really make people feel warm is money."

"Old Madam is right."

"Oh? Lord also sees it that way?"

"When the money millstone presses down on your hand, that's the most agonizing."

"That's right, haha, by the way, what did Lord feel when Ruqing called you Uncle earlier?"

They were all thousand-year-old foxes, so there was no need to talk nonsense.

Zheng Biao could see that the old woman was extraordinary, so he was very free and easy in his response.

"It really tingled right down to the bones."

"Hahahaha." The old woman laughed, reached out, grabbed a handful of mud, and threw it at Zheng Fan. Of course, it was just for show, jokingly scolding: "You're already someone's uncle, how can you be so shameless towards your own niece?"

"Don't mention that I'm being an uncle for no reason. What does even a real uncle amount to? It's said that in wealthy families, dirty things are piled up as much as gold and silver."

"It seems that Lord Zheng only knows one thing and not the other."

"Oh? I'd like to hear the details."

"Currently, the Fan family seems luxurious, but it's all a facade built on cooking oil over a raging fire. As servants of the Qu clan, in theory, the bulk of all harvests must be given to the Qu clan. Even on our own side, the amount that can be siphoned off from the accounts isn't really that much.

The current wealth and status are because the Qu clan is using the Fan family as a focal point, making a brand name to attract people's hearts.

If the Fan family didn't have some private businesses on the side, the Fan family would be nothing more than a painted skeleton at this point."

The old woman meant that the Qu clan made the Fan family look so wealthy; it was for show.

If the emperor wanted to attract people's hearts, he needed to treat his loyal ministers and generals generously. The same was true for large noble families like the Qu clan.

But to restrain the Fan mansion from growing too large and eventually becoming a case of servants bullying their masters, they forced the Fan family to be extravagant in all ways. In addition to the fixed amount of silver turned over to the Qu clan each year, the Fan family had to squander the remaining silver.

Making you look prosperous, but in reality, you're just a bloated empty shell.

This should have been a balancing strategy set by the Qu clan a long time ago, but there were countermeasures to every policy. The current Fan family had ultimately risen, and its hidden foundation was actually enough to shock the Qu clan.

The old woman threw the small shovel in her hand into the flowerbed in front of her,

And said:

"In the end, as long as the Chu Kingdom is not destroyed, my Fan family will never have a chance to rise. Wealthy families become wealthy for too long, and some will develop 'affluenza,' while others aren't sick but are more incurable than those who are sick.

Because they actually think, 'Why should I have to humble myself before you? Why should I have to be your servant for generations?'

Alas, to put it bluntly, it's all because they're too full."

Zheng Fan nodded after hearing these words.

"Lord also thinks so?"

"That's just human nature."

"Yes, that's just human nature. Zhengwen has already told me everything. The Fan family will help Lord to the end with whatever you want to do.

To be frank,

Even if we have to sacrifice the entire Fan family as it is now, it's nothing to regret, as long as one or two direct descendants of the Fan family can survive. Alas, even collateral branches would do.

In the end, with Lord and Sixth Highness's care and support, it wouldn't be difficult to rebuild a Fan family. At that time, at least we could be proper people, wouldn't we?"

"You're thinking very clearly."

"Clearly? Hehe, that's just saying it. Zhengwen's parents are long gone, but I, on the other hand, am still alive at such an old age. It's false to say that I live clearly, because I myself actually don't want to die.

Tools become boring after being used for a long time, and you always want to change the flavor. But people aren't like that. Generally speaking, the longer people live, the more afraid they are of death.

Lord, don't blame this old woman for being long-winded. Actually, I didn't expect you to come to the Fan mansion. After all, you have a distinguished status. With Lord's abilities, if you had a thousand soldiers under your command, and something really happened, you could just drill into Meng Mountain or Qi Mountain. Who could pat their chest and say they could subdue you?

But Lord, you ultimately came. Since you came, then this old woman must come and see you, must find you to talk. Regardless of whether these words are useful or not, we must show some attitude."

"Yes."

"Does Lord believe in metaphysics?"

Zheng Fan smiled, shook his head, and said:

"Not very much."

The old woman nodded and said, "Actually, this old woman doesn't believe in it very much either, but unfortunately, this old woman has never believed in fate since she was a child, but she's been said to have a玄修 (xuan xiu - mystic cultivator) physique. The divinations she did while fooling around actually all came true in the end.

Back when she was young, she divined for Zhengwen's grandfather, and the divination said that this man would bring prosperity to his wife."

"There's such a thing as bringing prosperity to one's wife?"

"There's bringing prosperity to one's husband, so naturally there's also bringing prosperity to one's wife. It's just that most men in the world treat women as accessories, so they don't really take it to heart.

Back then, I thought, 'That's great, if I marry him, at least I'll be able to live peacefully and smoothly in this life.'

In one's life, who can pat their chest and guarantee that the next sixty years will be smooth and stable without any unpleasant things happening?"

"There isn't."

"So, I married him. At first, Zhengwen's grandfather didn't take a fancy to me. I was just a small nun at the time. Although I thought I was good-looking, Zhengwen's grandfather already had a well-matched young lady from a noble family.

So, I cast a curse, the first time I cast this thing, and made that young lady from the noble family die suddenly."

The old woman recalled her happy life when she was young with a peaceful expression.

"Then did it work out after that?"

"How could it? The Fan family was a sought-after family back then. Being a servant family of the Qu clan—it may seem unfair now, but back then, it was a top-notch honor.

After another two died, Zhengwen's grandfather couldn't take it anymore;

The first one, you could say that the girl had bad luck; the second one, you could only say it was unlucky; but by the third one, well, even a fool could see that there was something wrong with him.

He ran to the Taoist temple to seek peace of mind, and was even thinking about becoming a monk. How could that be allowed? So I drugged him and slept with him."

"Oh?"

"Two months later, I was pregnant with Zhengwen's father."

"Yo?"

"A month later, Zhengwen's grandfather returned to the mansion and secretly married me into the Fan mansion. Marrying a nun, being pregnant out of wedlock, was ultimately disgraceful, so they didn't celebrate it with drums and gongs.

But who told me I had good fortune, with a husband who brought prosperity to his wife? Not long after I entered the family, my mother-in-law passed away. That mother-in-law didn't like me at all and was always thinking about finding ways to establish rules for me."

"Hmm?"

"Don't 'hmm.' I didn't curse my mother-in-law; am I that kind of person? She left on her own. With my first child, I gave birth to Zhengwen's father. With a direct eldest son as an heir, my status was settled.

Then, for so many years, I've been living my little life smoothly and peacefully.

All the way, until today."

"Envy."

"Yes, in this life, some people want to see great storms, but I, on the other hand, just like a smooth and comfortable life."

"Yes."

"But guess what? Yesterday, when Lord entered the mansion, I had a whim and did another divination."

"What did the divination say?"

"I couldn't understand it." The old woman shook her head.

"Who did you do it for?"

"Of course, for the Fan family."

"A doctor can't heal himself."

"But I can always have a general idea."

"That's true."

"In the divination, the Fan family's future is uncertain, and there's a vague risk of collapse."

Hearing this,

Zheng Fan narrowed his eyes,

And smiled:

"What do you mean by this?"

The meaning in the old woman's words was obvious.

"Guess what I did next? I became interested again and did another divination for myself. You have to know that since marrying Zhengwen's grandfather, I haven't done a divination for myself again."

"What did this divination say?"

The smile on the old woman's face gradually faded,

And finally,

Turned into a kind of despairing calm,

She said word by word:

"Misfortune in old age."

Zheng Fan took a breath, nodded, and said:

"This is quite serious."

"Actually, I don't believe in fate." The old woman said.

"You must maintain this tradition well."

"But it was my divination that allowed me to live more than sixty years of smooth and stable days."

"Then what exactly do you mean?"

"People can't eat too much; if they eat too much, they tend to overthink."

"You said that earlier."

"Zhengwen has eaten too much."

"That's a blessing."

"No, it's not a blessing, Lord. You said you don't believe in fate."

"Yes, I don't believe in it. Didn't Zang Fuzi go to Yanjing to cut off the dragon vein back then? But what's the atmosphere like in Great Yan now? You can see it."

"Because some people have tough fates. His Majesty the Yan Emperor is this kind of person. Other people can't change, can't move this kind of person's fate. In fact, they can influence the fate of anyone who has come into contact with them.

Lord, you are actually this kind of person too."

"Me?"

"Because ever since you entered Chu, my fate, the Fan family's fate, has all been changed."

"My fault?"

"Yes."

"Be reasonable."

"I'm a woman."

"But you're old."

"Does that mean only young women are qualified to be unreasonable?"

"That's right."

The old woman nodded, suddenly laughed, and said, "Lord is frightened, right?"

"A little bit."

"You're lying to this old woman. Lord has seen great battles, how could you be afraid of this old woman?

The world knows that mystic cultivators have impressive abilities to pretend to be ghosts and gods, but people also know that we're not good at fighting."

"This is, after all, the Fan mansion." Zheng Fan pointed at the ground with his finger.

"Lord is right, this is, after all, the Fan mansion."

The old woman slowly closed her eyes,

And said:

"This old woman is tired. Please ask Ruqing to help her regulate her Qi and blood later. This girl has a hard life, and my grandson doesn't have the good fortune to enjoy her."

Zheng Biao rubbed his hands a little embarrassedly,

And said:

"How could I be so impolite?"

"This old woman just said, you have a tough fate, you can handle it."

"Alas."

Zheng Biao sighed,

And said:

"Alright then, if I don't go to hell, who will?"

Zheng Biao stood up,

And walked out with an air of "the wind is soughing, the Yi River is cold,"

And walked out of the small courtyard.

At the entrance of the small courtyard, Zheng Biao paused slightly, stretched, and then continued to walk forward.

Soon after,

A group of death warriors wielding sharp blades and wearing black clothes walked out of the flowerbed in the small courtyard. These were raised by the Fan family and were extremely loyal.

Fan Zhengwen also walked to the entrance of the small courtyard, looked around, and waved his hand, and the death warriors retreated.

Then,

Fan Zhengwen walked into the small courtyard.

The old woman was still sitting on the steps,

Slightly opened her eyes,

Glanced at her eldest grandson,

And said:

"According to Jianghu legends, when the Jingnan Marquis destroyed his entire clan, he personally invited Old Ancestor to die;

What,

Do you want to learn from him?"

Fan Zhengwen said: "My heart yearns for it."

"Are you worthy of being compared to Tian Wujing?"

"This grandson is naturally unworthy."

"Hehe, at least you know your own limitations. Let me ask you, if I had attacked that Pingye Lord earlier, what would you have done?"

Fan Zhengwen raised his hand and said slowly and methodically:

"Help Grandma to fulfill the divination, proving that Grandma's calculations are flawless."

Directly make you experience "misfortune in your old age" today.

"Ha… hehe… hahahaha…"

Fan Zhengwen stood there, not speaking.

The old woman took a deep breath,

And said slowly:

"What's wrong with being a dog, where your entire family can live well?"

Fan Zhengwen reached out and touched his chest,

And replied:

"But this grandson has already eaten too much."

————

There's another chapter at one o'clock.