Chapter 821 A Lifelong Arrangement

If asked to describe himself, Zheng Fan wouldn't hesitate to label himself with terms like "selfish," "hypocritical," and "despicable."

Simply because good people in this world often suffer, and playing the saint wasn't his style.

But seeing the green shoots that had sprouted and grown thanks to his protection, he felt a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, like harvesting a crop.

Inside the carriage on the way back, the Prince was still basking in self-satisfaction. It was rare for him to feel so clean, and he wanted to hold onto it, to savor it, like airing out a quilt that had been stored for too long, taking advantage of the good sunlight.

Liu Ruqing sat quietly beside him, not wanting to disturb him at this moment.

Of course, she was also a little excited. This woman, once the widow of the Fan family, had never imagined that she would have this day.

Finally,

The Prince emerged from his reverie,

Because his hand had once again found its way onto her body, as familiar as ever.

"Husband, I'd like to go out of the manor the day after tomorrow. Zhong'er is getting married."

"Oh?"

Zheng Fan was taken aback. If he remembered correctly, Liu Ruqing's younger brother, Liu Zhong, was supposed to be bisexual.

"Tell Xiao Yibo to make the arrangements."

"Thank you, Husband."

His hand was still exploring her with great curiosity, but the Prince then said,

"I won't be going."

Logically speaking, as the brother-in-law, he should show up to support the wedding. But Zheng Fan was simply too lazy to bother.

It wasn't that he didn't have the time; he just didn't see the point.

"I wouldn't dare. That's not what I meant."

Liu Ruqing wouldn't dare ask Zheng Fan to attend her younger brother's wedding. She had always been well-behaved and had no other thoughts.

Most importantly, her man treated the Princess's elder brother however he pleased, without any regard for their relationship.

Liu Ruqing only hoped that her younger brother could continue his small job in Fengxin City, stay obedient, marry, and have children; that was enough.

Furthermore, if Xiao Yibo made the arrangements, the etiquette wouldn't be a problem, and her face and her brother's dignity would be sufficiently preserved.

As a member of the family, she knew that her husband seemed to enjoy visiting people and didn't put on airs, but that was when he was visiting the Sword Saint next door, not other people's homes.

At this moment, the carriage stopped.

"Impudent!"

"Impudent!"

The imperial guards immediately sprang into action, shieldmen advancing, crossbows raised, and the inner circle of guards protecting the carriage.

Zheng Fan opened the curtains and looked outside.

Across from the carriage was a group of men holding knives, but they weren't dressed in black, so they didn't look like assassins. And upon seeing the imperial guards' formation, they all dropped their knives and knelt on the ground.

Judging by their hairstyles, they were barbarians.

Barbarian hairstyles were quite different from those of the Xia people. Although commoners didn't particularly care about the saying that their hair and skin were inherited from their parents, especially in the army where long hair was a nuisance during battles, barbarians liked to create unique styles on their heads based on their tribal totems and customs. After being absorbed into the Prince's system, they gradually shaved their heads and changed their clothes to integrate, but after all, it hadn't been long, and traces of their original styles could still be seen on their scalps.

These weren't assassins; they weren't here to assassinate him.

If they were, they were greatly underestimating him.

Just then, a group of knights rode over, led by none other than Qu Peiluo, who was in charge of security in Fengxin City.

Qu Peiluo ordered his men to tie up the barbarians who had charged into the Prince's procession, and then personally walked to the carriage, knelt down, and begged for forgiveness.

"This subordinate was negligent and startled the Prince. Please punish me!"

"What's going on?"

Zheng Fan asked.

Qu Peiluo had obviously figured things out and immediately replied,

"Reporting to the Prince, these barbarians are from the garrison outside the city, from Mr. Gou's regiment. Today, one of their comrades was taken home by a captain and his men. They were indignant and brought their weapons to rescue him."

"Heh."

Zheng Fan chuckled.

"Interesting, interesting. I didn't realize that Fengxin City, where I live, is a den of bandits. My subordinates are still playing the game of kidnapping people for ransom."

And it was fellow *biao hu* (military household) kidnapping fellow *biao hu*.

"What's the reason?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Reporting to the Prince, it's because of a marriage."

…

"Bang!"

The imperial guards kicked open the door.

There was also a group of people inside who instinctively wanted to grab their weapons upon seeing someone barge in. They were all *biao hu*, so how could they not have weapons at home?

But when they saw the imperial guards' uniforms, they immediately realized who they were and knelt down.

In the courtyard, a young barbarian man was tied up and hanging there, with fresh whip marks on his body.

The imperial guards were well-trained and controlled the five or six men in the courtyard. They immediately opened the door to the inner room and searched it, dragging out two children, a woman, and a girl who was locked in the inner room, crying with her face covered in tears.

Finally,

Accompanied by Qu Peiluo, the Prince of Pingxi, still wearing his python robe because he had been at the schoolhouse, walked into the courtyard.

The men in the courtyard, even though their arms were being held down by the imperial guards, immediately shouted,

"Greetings, Your Highness."

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Some things, they could learn without being taught. For example, the young master of the Qu family, who had been waited on his entire life, was now actively moving the imitation grand tutor's chair behind the Prince.

The Prince sat down, leaned forward slightly, and looked at the people and things here.

Although he couldn't judge based on one side's story, based on what the barbarians who had been arrested earlier had said and the scene in the courtyard, the whole story could be pieced together.

There was nothing new under the sun; it was just another Romeo and Juliet story.

The Prince pointed to the barbarian man hanging there. Soon, two guards stepped forward and untied him.

The man staggered over, prostrated himself, and pressed his forehead to the ground, paying his respects to Zheng Fan:

"Greetings… Your Highness."

"Whose courtyard is this? Who's the head of the household?"

There should be a head of the household; the other men were called in to help.

At this moment, a man with a long beard shouted,

"Reporting to the Prince, my name is Zhang, Zhang Da! I'm the one who tied this bastard up!

Damn it, he doesn't even look at himself! He actually wants to marry my daughter! I spit on him! A mangy toad dares to dream of spring!"

Zhang Da belonged to Ding Hao's regiment and was a squad leader. His garrison was outside Fengxin City, and because the last battle had just ended not long ago, the soldiers were on staggered leave.

The *biao hu* system didn't maintain a large standing army during peacetime. During times of peace, *biao hu* men could engage in other productive labor.

It was obvious that although this Zhang Da wasn't young, his brain really wasn't working very well.

The Prince had already arrived. This matter had alarmed the real authorities. Yet, he was still revealing everything he had done without any remorse, even thinking that he was in the right.

Of course, if he were really smart, he wouldn't have been so foolish as to create this kind of situation, even if he wanted to break up his daughter's marriage and so-called lifelong arrangement.

"What about you?"

The Prince asked the barbarian man below.

"Reporting… to Your Highness, my name is Mao Shan."

"I'm asking you about the matter."

"I came… came to propose marriage."

In the courtyard, there were indeed some scattered pastries and two bolts of cloth.

The pastries were bought from the most expensive shop in Fengxin City, made with the flavors that the Prince of Pingxi himself was said to like: not too sweet, not too greasy. They were expensive, and most people wouldn't buy them because they hadn't reached the point where they were tired of sweetness. If pastries weren't sweet, would they still be called pastries?

The cloth came from Jiangnan in Qian, brought by Qian merchants, and was equally expensive.

In this era, this kind of cloth could actually be used as military pay for soldiers and was occasionally a unit of wealth.

These things naturally weren't much to the Prince's Palace.

But for an ordinary *biao hu* family, for this barbarian *biao hu* prostrating on the ground, covered in injuries, it was definitely emptying his savings.

Looking at the teary-eyed young woman over there,

It was clear that the story was that the two of them had somehow met and fallen in love with each other, and had made a lifelong arrangement. He didn't know if they had done the deed, but they were definitely "in love."

This barbarian youth had come to propose marriage.

The result was that the young woman's father, speaking with a Jin accent, had called in some helpers, stripped him naked, hung him up, and whipped him harshly.

Judging by the nature of the matter, who was right and who was wrong was clear at a glance.

After all, it wasn't like this barbarian youth named Mao Shan was putting on airs and trying to "force a purchase."

Under the Prince's system, barbarians were below Yan, Man, and Jin. It was good enough if they weren't bullied by others; how could they dare to bully others?

At this moment,

Chen Daole ran in hastily and saluted Zheng Fan.

His job was in this area: coordinating and handling conflicts and relationships between *biao hu*.

Fengxin City had two sets of judicial systems. Ordinary people who broke the law and *biao hu* who committed offenses were handled by different government offices. The main purpose of doing this was to better manage this organization that combined production and warfare, and to improve the political treatment of *biao hu*.

Chen Daole was one of the chief officials in this office.

"Chief Chen."

"Your Highness, I'm here."

"What's the punishment for soldiers engaging in private armed fights?"

Chen Daole immediately replied,

"Death!"

Zhang Da was stunned.

His helpers, who were also in the military, also looked horrified.

Zhang Da's wife fainted from fright, and the young woman was also a little dazed.

It wasn't that the Prince's laws were harsh. In fact, the Yan army had this law. The most feared thing in an army wasn't how strong the enemy was, but internal disunity. Soldiers fighting among themselves was a serious crime that could easily lead to a mutiny.

At this moment,

The barbarian man named Mao Shan said,

"Your Highness, it wasn't an armed fight. My father-in-law… My father-in-law said that it's a Zhang family custom. The first time a son-in-law comes to the door, he has to be beaten by his father-in-law. He has to eat the beating and remember it so he won't bully the daughter in the future.

We… We agreed on it."

Zheng Fan's eyes narrowed slightly.

This barbarian youth wasn't simple.

First of all, his fluent Xia language was already quite capable.

The barbarian army under the Prince's command had previously recruited barbarian tribes north of Xuehai Pass, not those familiar barbarian tribes in the Tian Duan Mountains near Jin.

In fact, familiar barbarian tribes could no longer be considered barbarians because they probably spoke Xia language and didn't speak barbarian language at all.

In the early years, in the era before Gou Moli rose to prominence, barbarians who could speak Xia language could often find a good position in the caravans traveling between Jin and the snowy plains. Gou Moli started out doing this.

Furthermore, he was tied up, but a group of barbarian comrades took up their knives to rescue him, proving that this Mao Shan was young but had a high level of prestige among his comrades.

Finally, there was his quick thinking.

He had already been beaten. He should hate them, right? How could any grown man swallow this humiliation and beating?

But…

"Mao Shan."

"I'm here."

"You remind me of someone."

Mao Shan didn't dare to respond and just lowered his head.

"You remind me of Jin Shuke."

"How can I compare to General Jin? I…"

Zheng Fan looked at Zhang Da, who was kneeling there, and said,

"Is that how it is?"

Zhang Da was a little stupid, but not an idiot.

When weighing between losing his head and admitting the marriage, he could still tell which one to choose, especially with the Prince's mention of "Jin Shuke." What kind of evaluation was that?

If the Prince was a myth of the common people rising to power, then in Jindong, another myth below the Prince was created by Jin Shuke.

Jin Shuke, who came from a penal colony, had risen step by step to the position of Chief Military Officer, and even held a Yan title. In the past, that would have been unimaginable.

"Reporting to Your Highness… that's… that's how it is… it is…"

Everyone knew it was a lie,

But the problem was,

You had to see if the person you were lying to was willing to be deceived.

"Were you there for the troop transfer to Fancheng?" Zheng Fan asked.

"Reporting to Your Highness, I was there."

"Can you still go now?"

"I can go!" Mao Shan said firmly.

"What about your injuries?"

"They can heal on the road. When I get to Fancheng, it won't delay the fighting!"

Zheng Fan nodded and said, "You should stay and recover."

"Your Highness, I don't want to stay. I was there when the city was attacked, and I was there when the rattan armor soldiers were charged. I want to fight, I want to fight for Your Highness!"

"Why?"

Mao Shan raised his head, looked at the Prince, and suddenly smiled, a little simple.

But unfortunately, there was already the number one simpleton in the family,

So the Prince of Pingxi's tolerance for "simple" was already very, very high.

"Following Your Highness in battle means there's meat to eat."

"Heh."

Zheng Fan raised his hand and said, "Chief Chen."

"I'm here!"

"Leave this matter to you to handle."

"I understand. Please rest assured, Your Highness!"

The Prince stood up

and walked out.

Military law was like a mountain, but outside the law, there was nothing but human sentiment.

If he rigidly enforced military law, he would easily lose sight of the big picture.

The existence of the law, for a ruling institution like the Prince's Palace, was to strengthen its foundation of rule and make the lower levels more harmonious.

Killing Zhang Da and others to uphold military law would be simple and satisfying, but it would only intensify the conflict.

This "everyone's happy" ending, although cliché, would make people feel uncomfortable, and wouldn't even play any role in mending the torn group, but at least it could paste a layer of paper that pretended to be very harmonious.

Everyone knew that there were dense and constantly cracking cracks under the thin paper, but even self-deception needed it.

Zheng Fan felt that he had expressed his attitude well.

The Prince's attitude was above the dignity of the law, and this was the law within the law.

…

The Prince returned to the Prince's Palace,

and soon,

Dai Li was summoned.

"Your Highness, I'm here!"

As the head of the Prince's first intelligence agency under Xue San, although he was nominally only in charge of the inns and caravans, his hand couldn't be so well-behaved, and shouldn't be.

"Have you heard about what happened just now?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, I know."

"Investigate for this Prince whether the whole thing was just a coincidence."

Dai Li's eyes lit up and he immediately said,

"I understand."

After all, the fact that the Prince was going to the schoolhouse at dusk wasn't a secret. The young men would definitely excitedly tell their parents and those around them about it.

Mao Shan's marriage proposal, and…

Zheng Fan added,

"If it really was just a coincidence, let this Prince know. If it wasn't a coincidence, then pretend nothing happened."

"Your Highness's heart is like the sea, I admire you!"

"Boss Dai."

"Yes, I'm here…"

The one who gave Dai Li his nickname had finally been revealed.

"I used to rely on these little tricks to climb up, and I'm not afraid of my subordinates being smart."

"Yes, I understand."

"But sometimes, don't be too clever."

Dai Li knew that the Prince was knocking on him, and proving that he was worthy of being knocked on. Dai Li immediately beat his chest and continued to pledge his loyalty.

At this moment,

Blindy walked in.

The Prince waved his hand,

Dai Li stood up, saluted Mr. Bei again, and then took his leave.

"Master, I just heard about the matter."

The Prince of Pingxi, sitting in his chair, nodded

and said,

"I didn't expect the conflict below to be so sharp."

"The conflict has always been there. In fact, what we've been doing, the family assets we've pieced together, is similar to the Sima family in the history of another time and space."

After the Sima family seized the world, the War of the Eight Princes broke out. This Sima killed that Sima, that Sima beheaded this Sima, and they even brought in the Hu people, eventually leading to the Five Barbarians Uprising.

And now, the barbarians and savages, who originally couldn't enter the Xia lands and couldn't be defeated, were already *biao hu* under the Prince's command. When Zheng Fan was there, it didn't matter. As long as the flag of the Prince of Pingxi was raised, the internal conflicts could be completely suppressed and there wouldn't be any major problems.

But once something happened to the Prince of Pingxi, this situation could very likely become the key to a major change in the future.

And this conflict would continue to intensify as the population continued to be absorbed.

"Can't it be mended?" Zheng Fan asked.

The emperor in the court could play a game by pulling a few parties into a ring and acting as the referee himself.

But this was his army. If he continued to let it go, the gap would become more severe, and it was very likely that one side would watch the other side burn without helping.

Blindy said,

"Has Master seen blacksmithing?"

"Of course I've seen it."

"Only after thousands of hammers can impurities be removed, achieving true refinement and sharpness. There is a way to mend the cracks and unite the various ethnic groups, and it's very simple."

Zheng Fan smiled

and looked at Blindy playfully.

Blindy pretended to be "blind" and didn't see it,

answering his own question:

"Constant… external warfare!"