Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Kind Are Often Victimized

Chen Xiaofu and his three companions arrived at the library.

As they sat before a low table on the ground floor, Liang Jingru spoke with a hint of anxiety, "He is the grandson of the Left Chancellor, Pan Bufou!"

"The eldest grandson!"

"The Pan family's main line has only this one eldest grandson!"

"His name is Pan Qingyun. Though he is a bit of a scoundrel, he truly possesses talent, which is why... he is deeply favored by his grandfather."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

An Xiaowei looked at Chen Xiaofu with deep concern as well.

Chen Xiaofu, however, smiled indifferently. "Had I known that brat was the eldest grandson of the main line, I should have kicked him hard enough to ensure he had no descendants!"

Liang Jingru: "..."

An Xiaowei: "..."

A-Lai stood straight as an arrow. "The young master is right!"

Liang Jingru glared at A-Lai. "Don't meddle!"

She turned back to Chen Xiaofu, speaking with great seriousness, "The Divine General's Manor may sound formidable, but when it comes to true political power, it is far inferior to the Left Chancellor's Manor!"

A-Lai seemed to only just process this. He looked straight at Liang Jingru and said, "I am meddling with my eyes wide open. That brat deserves to be left without heirs!"

Liang Jingru: "..."

Another lunatic who feared nothing but peace and quiet!

Chen Xiaofu pondered for a moment. "Does this Pan fellow dare to mobilize troops to attack the Huaxi Villa?"

"Since I am known as the illegitimate son of the Kaiyang Divine General's Manor, the first thing that Pan fellow must do is go to the Kaiyang Divine General's Manor to find my so-called father, right?"

"Correct. And if that father of yours demands you go to the Imperial Capital to beg for forgiveness at the Left Chancellor's Manor, what will you do?"

"I won't go. What can they do to me?"

"Then what about marrying Xiaowei? If you go, it will be a path to certain death!"

Chen Xiaofu smiled slightly. "I will certainly go to marry Xiaowei. As for it being a path to certain death... that is not necessarily true."

Liang Jingru frowned. "What trump cards or skills do you have to save your own life?"

"I won't tell you that just yet. I can only say this... whoever dares to take my life, I will certainly take theirs first!"

"So, I will be very busy from now on, though I will still have time to spend with Xiaowei."

"As for you, noble swordswoman, you are free to wander the world."

Was this an invitation to leave? It was indeed an invitation to leave!

The identity of this swordswoman was clearly not simple. She was not An Xiaowei's guard; she and An Xiaowei were like close confidantes, so she must be a resident of the Imperial Capital. Yesterday, she had drawn her sword in a righteous act, showing no fear of the Pan fellow, and even claimed that the Divine General's Manor might not necessarily fear the Left Chancellor's Manor. She was likely the young mistress of some prestigious house.

Chen Xiaofu knew he could not let her know what he planned to do next. If she ran to the Imperial Capital to inform on him, he would find himself in a disadvantageous position.

He needed money. A great deal of money!

He could not ask his grandparents for it. He had asked Cuihong, and though the villa possessed thousands of acres of fertile land, it held little stored grain or silver. So much grain was shipped away every year! Cuihong did not know where it went, assuming the old mistress had sold it. Yet, if it had been sold, the villa should have had plenty of silver... and sometimes they even relied on secret subsidies from that "father" in the Imperial Capital.

It made no sense. He felt his grandmother was mysterious, and the Huaxi Villa was mysterious as well. The head steward was mysterious. Old Huang was mysterious. They were friendly toward him, yet they seemed to harbor many secrets they refused to share. This gave Chen Xiaofu a sense of ominous danger.

He could not entrust his life to them, so he had to act on his own. For instance, he would select the strongest among the tenant farmers to form a villa guard unit. According to the laws of the Great Zhou, a private individual could not raise an army. However, since the Huaxi Villa had such vast assets, he was permitted to maintain a guard force of no more than one hundred men.

Since the numbers were few, he would need the best weapons and armor to compensate for their lack of strength. He needed his own smelting workshop and blacksmith shop. He was familiar with the forging of cold weapons. From what he had read, this world had only just stepped from the Bronze Age into the Iron Age; he had many methods to create weapons and armor that would surpass this era. This would be his foundation for survival, and it could never be revealed to outsiders.

Liang Jingru stared at Chen Xiaofu. Chen Xiaofu stared back, his expression unchanged. Liang Jingru bit her lip, displaying the stubbornness of a woman who refused to leave!

An Xiaowei noticed this. "She... she is not just a swordswoman."

"She is my best friend, the young mistress of the Tian-shu Divine General's Manor, and the Princess Changning, personally conferred by Her Majesty the Empress of the Great Zhou."

"Oh, I see," Chen Xiaofu withdrew his gaze. "For Xiaowei's sake, you... staying by Xiaowei's side is fine, but you must ensure her safety!"

Liang Jingru swallowed hard. No, she was a princess in her own right! Did he mean that if she wanted to stay, she had to serve as Xiaowei's bodyguard for free? If An Xiaowei were in danger, she would naturally draw her sword, but Chen Xiaofu stating it this way made her feel quite uncomfortable.

Yet, she had no way to refute him. It was truly frustrating.

Fortunately, at that moment, Master Jiang walked in. He looked at Chen Xiaofu and took a deep breath. "Why have you become so impulsive?"

Chen Xiaofu stood up and bowed. "Sir, it is not that I am impulsive, but that he went too far."

"Could you not have taken a step back?"

"If I had taken one step back, he would have bullied me by ten. And it would not just be him—many who are dissatisfied with me would likely close in as well."

"This is the principle that those who are kind are bullied."

"It is not that I am cruel, but to deal with such villains, one must be even more ruthless. Only by beating them until they are afraid and submissive can one live a peaceful life."

"How does that saying go? Strike once to prevent a hundred strikes—that is exactly what I mean."

Master Jiang pondered for three breaths. "But if you strike the small one, the old one will come out."

Chen Xiaofu smiled slightly. "Sir, I have elders too. Let the elders deal with the elders."

That was truly shameless. Master Jiang thought to himself that while Chen Xiaofu's grandfather had once served in the Hanlin Academy, that position could not be compared to the real power held by the Left Chancellor. His father was a Divine General, but there were seven Divine Generals in the Great Zhou! While they held military power, those troops belonged to the Empress. He would likely not provoke the Left Chancellor, who controlled the three most critical departments: the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, and the Ministry of Revenue.

As for Old Madam Zhuang... she had been quite famous in the former capital, Jiqing. It had been seventeen years since she left Jiqing with Chen Xiaofu, and the Great Zhou capital had long since moved north to Jicheng. As the saying went, "When people leave, the tea goes cold." There might be some old folks in Jicheng who remembered the name Zhuang Qingdie—the Left Chancellor certainly remembered it—but since his grandson had been beaten within an inch of his life by Chen Xiaofu, he probably would not fear Old Madam Zhuang any longer.

In this light, Chen Xiaofu had failed completely. His momentary impulse would likely bring unimaginable disaster to the Huaxi Villa!

"In any case, you must tell your grandmother about this."

"I spoke with your grandfather for a long time last night and asked him about that poem, 'Fisherman's Pride: Autumn Thoughts.' Although he was seven parts drunk, after hearing the poem, he said... he was not the author."

"Jie'an, did you truly write that poem?"

"If so, when Xu Zizhou enters the Imperial Capital, I will ask him to present the poem to Her Majesty the Empress."

"Her Majesty is a warrior who loves literature... she will surely be delighted upon seeing it. This might just become your protective talisman!"