Chapter 231: Putting Eggs in Two Baskets
Mrs. Chang refused without a second thought: "How can I allow you to sacrifice yourself to save them? Xu Zhenying is only fourteen or fifteen years old, in the prime of his youth. And you, a pure and innocent girl, how can you always be around a man? If something happens in the future, won't the spit drown my Chang family?"
Zhou Houfang smiled coldly in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. "Mrs. Chang, if you're worried about this issue, there's no need to worry. First, Xu Zhenying is a woman. Second, most of the people around Xu Zhenying are women."
"What!?" Madam Chang stood up in shock. Someone in the room also looked over in astonishment. "You said that traitor was a woman? A female traitor?"
She sat down again, lost in thought. "Oh my God, what kind of world is this? It's fine for a woman to show up in public, but there's actually a woman who dares to rebel?! Do her subordinates know about this? Do those soldiers know about this? And are they willing to listen to a woman's orders?"
Zhou Houfang was annoyed, but had no choice but to deal with it. She pretended to be ignorant. "I don't know about this, but today I saw that her subordinates are quite loyal to her. I think this woman is quite resourceful. As the saying goes, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your child. For the sake of my father and Uncle Chang, and to protect the Zhou and Chang families, the only plan now is for me to pretend to serve the thief first, and then plan a bigger plan!"
Mrs. Chang was deeply moved. She quickly and affectionately took Zhou Houfang's hand, wiping her tears and saying, "My dear, I'm so sorry for you! But...but...please give me some time to think about it. After all, you and Dalang are getting married soon. I can't just watch you go into that dangerous place alone!"
Zhou Houfang couldn't help sneering in his heart, thinking that Mrs. Chang was exactly like Chang Dalang.
The heartlessness of this mother and son are really cut from the same cloth.
Isn't it because she is afraid that the truth will be exposed in the future and it will implicate her Chang family?
You have to pretend.
Zhou Houfang pretended to be filled with gratitude. "Madam, as long as I can rescue my father and Uncle Chang, I'm not afraid of anything. As for the marriage, now that I've entered the enemy camp, I need to infiltrate their ranks as quickly as possible. I won't be able to do anything else by then. Besides, my father and Uncle Chang are still in prison. I've been thinking...why not postpone the marriage?"
This is exactly what Mrs. Chang wants!
Mrs. Chang was delighted. In this way, as long as Zhou Houfang did not marry into her Chang family, the Zhou family would cover her if anything happened.
If Zhou Houfang could really rescue the master, then both families' official positions would be preserved. Perhaps His Majesty would be so pleased that he would reward the Chang family with some gold and silver items, and then marrying Zhou Houfang would be a good choice.
If Zhou Houfang is incompetent, and the imperial court investigates the case, they will only identify the Zhou family as accomplices, not her Chang family!
Not to mention that as long as Zhou Houfang didn't marry into the Chang family, they could use the fact that Zhou Houfang was unfaithful and exposed in public to demand a divorce in the future.
After much thought, Mrs. Chang could not come up with a better idea.
She nodded repeatedly with joy, but pretended to be sad, "Isn't this too unfair to you?"
"No, as long as I can save my father and uncle, how could Hou Fang feel wronged?"
"Since you have such intentions, I have no choice but to grant your wish." Madam Chang wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "Alright, let's postpone the wedding for now. We can discuss everything after both families have gotten over this incident."
She patted Zhou Houfang's hand again and said affectionately, "Houfang, I'm sorry for wronging you. If you really rescue your uncle Chang, my Chang family will owe you a huge favor. When you marry into my family in the future, I will definitely treat you as my own daughter!"
Zhou Houfang immediately acted shyly at the right time.
After seeing off Mrs. Chang, Mrs. Zhou looked worried.
Mrs. Zhou's background was not prominent, but she had been influenced by her surroundings for many years, so she naturally understood why Mrs. Chang immediately gave in and stopped trying to stop Zhou Houfang from joining the rebels.
If Zhou Houfang loses, his Chang family will immediately cut off ties with them.
Only if Zhou Houfang wins, will the two families have a chance to become in-laws.
Madam Zhou complained to her, "You shouldn't have suggested postponing the wedding just now. If something goes wrong in the future, your future mother-in-law will be so ruthless. She doesn't care about this marriage in the first place and is only thinking about supporting her younger sister. Houfang, if you give in a little, you might even lose your position as the legitimate wife."
Zhou Houfang didn't hide much from her mother and simply said, "Mom, I naturally know this."
"Then you still..."
"Mother," Zhou Houfang interrupted, lowering her voice to avoid the servants. "Do you know that the Li princes in the south now have an army of 200,000? And that rebellious Prince Ming is marching south, and the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions are about to be lost."
Mrs. Zhou was horrified when she heard this. "Why are you telling me this? It's not meant to scare people."
Zhou Houfang's eyes were dim, "Mother, I just want to tell you that the world is going to be in chaos."
Madam Zhou waved her hand. "What does it have to do with us, no matter how chaotic the world is? We still have to live our lives as usual."
Zhou Houfang smiled and said, "This is a great opportunity to make a name for myself."
"Making great achievements? That's a man's job. You've become wild after being out for a few days, girl. You'd better spend your time thinking about how to please your future mother-in-law."
Zhou Houfang did not comment, just smiled but did not refute.
When troubled times come, who will put all their eggs in one basket?
Mrs. Chang has her own plans, but doesn’t Zhou Houfang also have her own calculations?
This is an opportunity, she must seize it.
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But Feng'er, who was thousands of miles away in Shouzhou, was not so happy.
She held her chin and looked at Xu Huiming in front of her.
The man sat in front of her with a gloomy face, as stubborn as if he would sit there until dawn today.
Wang Sanniang and others were sitting beside them, looking at the two of them with an awkward look on their faces.
Feng Er sighed, then said to Wang Sanniang, "Miss Wang, that's it for today. I'll come back to take over from you tomorrow."
Wang Sanniang and her family were eager to leave, but Feng'er waved her hand and they immediately left.
After leaving the house, Wang Yin wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Oh my God, how could the city lord's brother be so cruel? It's as if... as if he wants to eat us alive. We came here after a long journey, and as soon as we arrived in Shouzhou, we immediately came to pay our respects and say hello, without wasting a moment. How did he annoy him? Could it be that he thinks we're not polite enough?"
Wang Sanniang was a little slow to react, then seemed to remember something and said anxiously, "Dad, did you notice that at first Master was quite nice to us, but then when we talked about the City Lord's recent situation, Master's face darkened."
Wang Yin also came to his senses. The father and daughter looked at each other and exclaimed "Oh" at the same time.
Mrs. Wang was unhappy and hurried forward to inquire about the situation.
Wang Sanniang said, "Mother, this is bad. Master doesn't seem to know that the city lord is rebelling——"
Xu Huiming stared at Feng'er with his eyes fixed, while Feng'er crossed his legs leisurely, looking like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.
"Xu Feng! Is this why you've been refusing to hand over your private salt account books?! Okay, my dear sister, you've occupied Lan County, attacked Jinzhou, and taken over Qianzhou. In the blink of an eye, you've become the biggest rebel in the southwest! Tell me the truth, did you already know Xu Zhenying was going to rebel?!"
Xu Feng leaned back slightly after being yelled at, then wiped his face gently with a handkerchief, and said with a smile: "Uncle Xu, calm down, calm down. What's the point of me knowing whether I know about this matter or not?"
"What about Dazhuang? Does he know too? Could it be that Xu Zhenying is the only one hiding this from me? If she hadn't sent someone to call us back this time, I'm afraid I would still be kept in the dark!" After a burst of yelling, Xu Huiming's face showed a sad expression. He sat dejectedly in the chair, "Why did she hide it from me alone? In her heart, am I not even as good as outsiders?"
Seeing Xu Huiming truly heartbroken, Feng'er also calmed down. "The City Lord didn't deliberately hide this from you. I don't think the Xu family knows. Besides, if the City Lord didn't trust you, why would he let you come south to open up trade routes? We're operating in Shouzhou, Prince Ming's lair. Do you think the City Lord wouldn't trust you?"
Xu Huiming covered her face in pain. "I've always known she could hide things, but I never expected her to be so secretive—Feng'er, she even sent mother and younger sister to Qianzhou as hostages! I never knew she harbored such a big ambition!"
Feng Er was speechless when it came to Xu Zhenying's family affairs. She could only say, "The chieftain of Qianzhou has also sent hostages. Both sides have leverage over each other. I think Madam and the others should be fine."
"Feng'er, I'm so confused," Xu Huiming said bitterly. "My sister is truly someone who would make a splash if she didn't make a sound."
"Master, isn't it only a matter of time before the City Lord rebels? She is capable, ambitious, and has the aspirations to rise to the top. The City Lord will not submit to anyone else."
Xu Huiming was at a loss.
He understood everything Feng'er said.
He was just too shocked and confused. Xu Zhenying didn't even mention a word about such a big thing to him, his closest blood relative.
You can imagine how deep her thoughts were.
"Sir, you've never been to Lan County, so you don't know what life is like for the people there. People in Shouzhou's countryside are so poor they've sold their children, but in Lan County, I'm sure every household will be able to eat pork this Spring Festival. Not to mention the 40% literacy rate. Sir, if you've been to Lan County, you'll understand why the city lord is rebelling."
Xu Huiming looked at her in confusion.
Feng'er's lips curled slightly, a look of pride on her face. "The City Lord wants all the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty to live like the people of Lan County."
Xu Huiming paused. From these words, he could already tell that Xu Zhenying and Feng'er often exchanged letters, and Feng'er knew the situation in Lan County very well. In other words, Feng'er had been Xu Zhenying's person from the beginning.
Xu Huiming looked at Feng'er. "So... why did Xu Zhenying ask you to come to Shouzhou? Or rather... what did you do in Shouzhou?"
Feng Er leaned back in her chair and said with a smile, "Of course, it's to earn military funds. Of course, we also have to smooth things over, infiltrate official circles, and obtain intelligence. Oh, and we also have to constantly promote the concept of equality for all in Lan County and help the city lord secretly build momentum. If the city lord wants to cooperate with Prince Ming one day, we must also ensure that Prince Ming has our own people on his side."
Xu Huiming took a deep breath.
He used to think Feng'er was bold, daring, and sharp, but he never discovered her scheming side.
They came to Shouzhou at the same time and saw each other almost every day. He thought there were always conflicts and disagreements between them, but they should also be teammates who could support each other at critical moments.
But who knew... Feng Er did so many things behind his back...
For the first time, he felt that he did not know the woman in front of him who had a smiling face and was at ease in the world of fame and fortune.
Feng'er was able to bypass his sight and do so many things for Xu Zhenying in a short period of time without telling anyone, but he knew nothing about it.
With this realization, Xu Huiming suddenly felt that he was actually far inferior to Feng'er.
He also gradually understood why Xu Zhenying trusted Feng'er more than him.
Feng'er will stand on Xu Zhenying's side unconditionally.
And he will be entangled, hesitant, and afraid.
He was a commoner of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and he had never thought of rebelling!
Xu Huiming couldn't help but feel dejected, but Feng'er smiled and comforted him: "Uncle Xu, from the beginning to the end, you never really understood what kind of person the City Lord is."
Xu Huiming bit her lower lip, raised her black and white eyes, and stared at the calm and composed woman in front of her. "Then tell me... who is she..."
"She..." Feng'er smiled, "She is a heartless person."
Xu Huiming was stunned.
Feng'er tilted her head and looked at him. "The City Lord has too many things on her mind. She's like a Buddha statue in the world. She won't waver, won't hesitate, and won't act on emotion. As long as she has a goal, she will only move forward towards it. Things like her closest relatives, her parents' love, may not be as important as the dream in her heart."
Xu Huiming felt mixed emotions. He recalled what Xu Zhenying had said before, about the yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu and the world being one, and he suddenly felt relieved.
"Her dream...is to create a world of universal peace?" Xu Huiming looked bewildered. "Does such a paradise really exist in this world?"
"I once asked her the same question." Feng'er smiled. "The city lord said, how can you know if you don't try? Since no one else in the world dares to do it, then she will do it! I am honored to live a glorious life with such a person."
Xu Huiming's mind suddenly went "boom".
Since no one in this world dares to do this, I will do it!
What a resounding and ambitious declaration!
He seemed to see the thin but resolute back through these words.
"Uncle Xu, you're already one of the most powerful rebels in the world. Now that you're on this pirate ship, there's no way you can stay out of it. Unless you want to betray the city lord..."
"Betray her?" Xu Huiming felt a chill on his back when he thought of what Wang Sanniang said about Xu Deyuan's sudden death. Although Xu Zhenying was not involved in this, for some reason, Xu Huiming felt that Xu Zhenying was involved in this matter.
"Would the Xu family dare betray her?" Xu Huiming let out a wry smile. "Second uncle's body is still warm. I'm afraid the entire Xu family is only afraid of her."
Feng'er restrained her expression and glanced at him sideways.
The once humble servant girl now possessed a sense of dignity. "Master Xu, considering our friendship over the past six months, I want to remind you. Jinzhou Prefecture is not like Shouzhou Prefecture. Now that we're back in Jinzhou Prefecture, there are some things you shouldn't say carelessly, even if you're the city lord's brother."
Xu Huiming's face turned pale immediately and he said nothing more.
"Pack up the account books and hand them over to the Wang family. Since he is the person sent by the city lord, he must be the city lord's confidant. Be polite to him!" Feng'er kicked Xu Huiming's foot, and Xu Huiming came back to his senses.
Feng'er's eyes suddenly showed anticipation, "Jinzhou Prefecture, I'm really longing for it. I really want to go back soon."
From now on, Jinzhou Prefecture will be her home!
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