Chapter 56 – Piercing Through The Facade

Upon seeing the baskets full of dazzling items, Zhuang Zhong was almost blinded. He had thought that Feng Huan was exaggerating, but he really did bring back a mountain of riches! There were heaps of gold and silver, countless pieces of jewellery, antiques, calligraphy pieces and paintings. None of the five thousand black cavalry troops returned empty-handed, and each horse was heavily hung with treasures.

Swallowing his saliva, Zhuang Zhong stammered. “The… the Blackwind stronghold is so affluent!”

He had been too short-sighted. Although he had received many rewards for solving cases before, it was nothing worth mentioning when compared to this. Here, an impulse to do nothing and just sleep on such a pile of riches crept up on him.

Feng Huan valiantly gulped down a cup of tea. “This is not everything. There are still weapons that have not been retrieved. They are of good quality and enough for 500 people to use.”

Weapons were contraband. For the Blackwind stronghold to possess so many weapons, it was apparent that they were not ordinary bandits.

“The Blackwind stronghold is that strong? No wonder news of it has not been brought to you for years. Even so, it took only one day for you and your men to destroy it. The black cavalry really deserves its reputation.”

Despite such words, Feng Huan did not take the opportunity to play up his role and honestly replied, “Although the encirclement and suppression only took one day, I have already ordered people to infiltrate in advance. Over these past few years, the Blackwind stronghold has become less formidable than they used to be. After their old leader died, they were like a nest of dragons with no leader. With their internal organization in disarray, they became disordered after some instigation. I took advantage of that weakness to win. Otherwise, there would have been a lot of losses, and even then, I may not have been able to win.”

“In any case, this victory was accomplished under your good leadership.”

Hearing this, Feng Huan’s heart was soothed, and he remarked, “Go and see if there is anything that you do not like.”

Zhuang Zhong was surprised. “You are giving me what I do not like?”

Feng Huan waved his hands dismissively. “You pick out what you dislike and the rest will belong to you.”

Zhuang Zhong felt slightly dizzy. “You must be testing my integrity. I will not be fooled!”

“What nonsense are you thinking of? What belongs to me is also yours. There is no need to be so courteous.”

Zhuang Zhong stared at Feng Huan fixedly but could not find any hint of a joke in his tone.

“If you do this, I will mistakenly think that you like me.”

“Cough, cough -” Feng Huan choked on his tea.

“I was just joking…”

With a calm expression, Feng Huan confessed, “I like you.”

Zhuang Zhong was stunned. He quickly waved his hands and said, “Do not make such a joke. If this happens too much, it will affect our feelings of brotherhood.”

Feng Huan coldly harrumphed, “Do not lie to yourself. As someone who is so perceptive, how could you not notice? No matter how good a relationship others have had with each other, they are not as close as us. You are aware that something is inappropriate about our interactions, and yet you still indulge in it. I do not believe that you do not harbour some ideas yourself.”

“I was…”

“Forced by me?” Feng Huan sneered. “Do you really believe in that?”

Zhuang Zhong turned silent. Although he did not want to admit it, he seemed to enjoy the process of them getting close to each other.

However, he had always thought that he was straight. While he never had a girlfriend, he had not thought of spending his life with a man. Moreover, the other party was Prince Si Zhao. Notwithstanding the fact that it would be impossible for him to marry a man, he would also have a number of wives and concubines. Zhuang Zhong could not stand sharing his partner with others.

Even if it was just for fun… it was not possible. He was just an ordinary person. He might be lacking, but it was not to the point of being unable to find a partner. It was taking a while only because he did not want to hold others back if there were no mutual feelings of affection. Once he met the right person though, he would pursue the relationship seriously.

After a while of unresponsiveness, Feng Huan broke the silence. “Do not tell me you are worried that I will bring misfortune to my wife?”

Zhuang Zhong could not help laughing. “Why do I have to be the one to marry you1?”

Feng Huan raised an eyebrow. “If you are able to get approval from the emperor, I do not mind marrying you.”

Zhuang Zhong let out a fake cough. “If it is like this, do not say such words in the future. I think we will be better off as brothers.”

“This matter is not negotiable. As you are still young, I will give you some time to accept it. When you return to the capital three years later, you will be 18. At that time, we will get married.”

Since everything had been laid out directly, Feng Huan no longer spoke in riddles. After all, it was not his style to hide, especially after tasting such moments of sweetness. As for whether such an approach would scare people away and whether the other party was willing, it was not in his consideration.

Zhuang Zhong was speechless. “Who does things like you? Also, how do you even know if I like you or not?”

Feng Huan narrowed his eyes, looking dangerous. “Who do you like if it is not me?”

Hearing that, Zhuang Zhong wanted to roll his eyes. In the end, with his hands clasped together, he just muttered “Amitabha” with a pious face.

“I am a Buddhist monk who entered the secular world due to some matters. When I finish, I will return to a life of Buddhism.”

Feng Huan flicked Zhuang Zhong’s forehead with his finger. “Three years. Whether you agree or not, I am marrying you.”

Biting back the pain on his forehead, Zhuang Zhong protested, “I am an official appointed by the imperial court. I do not condone such threats and intimidation. If you dare to fool around, I will raise an accusation against you before the emperor!”

“The emperor is my biological uncle,” Feng Huan retorted smugly.

“That is exactly why he will not accept you getting a male wife —— Don’t tell me you want me to be a male pet? Let me make this clear, I did not train my knifemanship for nothing. If you dare to fool like that, I do not mind cutting you up like one of those corpses and sewing you back up again!” Zhuang Zhong probed with partial truths and falses.

Feng Huan was about to get handsy again, but Zhuang Zhong dodged him. “What nonsense are you thinking about? Even if you want to be a male pet, I will not agree. You will be my main wife, and there will be no other people.”

“You plan to have no offspring?”

“There is no reason why I should. Besides, I do not like children.”

“Even if you do not like them, it does not mean that other people will let you have your way. There are three ways to be unfilial, and the worst is having no offspring.”

Feng Huan frowned. “Do you want a child? If you can give birth, we can have them. Otherwise, I can just pick one up for you. However, if you dare to find another woman, I will make sure to destroy your tool!”

Zhuang Zhong’s heart trembled. He knew that Feng Huan would really dare to do such a thing.

When Feng Huan saw Zhuang Zhong’s tense expression, he stroked his back and comforted, “A biological son is not necessarily a good one. There are many examples of unfilial sons. Besides, it would be the same if we just pick one up to raise well. Why don’t we do that?”

The last sentence was an earnest suggestion.

Zhuang Zhong sighed. “One should not impose on others what he himself does not desire.”

“I am the same.”

“Will your family accept this? Your mother has been so active in choosing a wife for you before. In the end, if you bring back a man, you will inevitably cause a big ruckus. As for the emperor, will he indulge you in this too?”

“The emperor will only feel more relieved, and the people in court will also agree. As for my mother…”

Feng Huan sighed. “Doing this will be for her own good.”

Zhuang Zhong could understand the first half of Feng Huan’s words. It was not difficult to discern his meaning considering Feng Huan’s awkward position at the moment, but the latter part of his words, he did not understand.

“What do you mean?”

Feng Huan took a sip of his tea. “My mother could not accept what happened in the past, and now she is getting more and more erratic. Thinking about it, this could be considered fate. Otherwise, why did my two fiancées get into trouble after visiting the temple? That old nun assaulted so many people, but she only impregnated a few. What are the odds that both of my ex-fiancées fall into that category?”

Imperial Concubine Xian’s state of mind was not difficult to understand. At the beginning, it was almost certain that Prince Xian would be the crown prince. However, something went wrong, and he unfortunately died when he was sent to YunZhou. With Imperial Concubine Xian’s dream of being an empress shattered, it was not surprising that she was feeling indignant now.

What was unexpected was that Feng Huan would give up so thoroughly, as Zhuang Zhong remembered him indicating that there was a chance when asked before. If his father had been the one who had ascended the throne, he would probably have become the crown prince by now.

Zhuang Zhong thought for a while and said, “From your words, does it mean that there is a shift in the imperial court?”

Feng Huan gazed into the distance. “From the moment my father died, this country has been none of my concern.”

Zhuang Zhong’s mouth opened, but he eventually did not say anything.

Although Zhuang Zhong did not understand political matters, he could see that Emperor Qian Xing was not a muddle-headed ruler. Besides, to be in the king’s company was tantamount to living with a tiger. Even though Feng Huan seemed to possess great power, only he knew the full extent.

“Those issues are too removed from me. I just want to be an official, absolve those who were wrongfully convicted, and find the real perpetrators. If I cannot fulfil this role in the future, I will choose to travel. After all, I would rather wander around if I were unable to utilize my skills.”

“If such a day were to come, I will wander along with you. If you cannot ride a horse, I will take the reins for you. If you cannot hunt down game, I will capture them for you. If you cannot protect yourself with martial arts, I will be a shield for you.”

Hearing that, Zhuang Zhong glanced at him. Feng Huan’s gaze was deep, and it looked as if it could suck people in.

Zhuang Zhong laughed. “Your words are so sweet that my teeth are falling out.”

Feng Huan’s ears turned slightly red. It had not been easy to say such honeyed words!

Zhuang Zhong held back his laugh and scolded, “Don’t think that I do not know that you meddled with those horses. I was even thinking of how clumsy I was to the extent that I could not even ride horses! As for hunting, is there anything that I cannot buy with money? Not only that, there are many people who do not know martial arts and yet can live well. It is not even a necessary skill. Besides, I am not bad at it either.”

Towards that, Feng Huan glanced around as if he did not hear anything.

“Three years later, if you still have the same intention, let us give it a try.”

Feng Huan froze.

“However, let us agree that if you already have wives and concubines, this agreement will not count.”

Feng Huan’s mouth split into a wide grin, showing his white teeth. “Then you just have to wait to be my bride!”

In response, Zhuang Zhong harshly spat at him.

At night, it was the first time since he was on the road that he had a room to himself and could sleep alone.

However, throughout the night, he found himself waking up several times and could not help cursing. Habit was really a terrible thing!

On the next day, both of them then set off in different directions.

1

In English, the word “marry” is pretty equal in terms of positioning. However, in Chinese, there are “嫁” (jia) and “娶” (qu) which denotes the role/gender. This is because women usually have to be married into the man’s family. In this case, Zhuang Zhong was asking why he was the one marrying into Feng Huan’s family as Feng Huan’s used the word “妻” (qi) which literally means “wife” in his words.