Chapter 711: Unraveling the Mystery [Two-in-One]
"You...you dare?" The old rival looked at Zhao Feng as if he were a pervert, the muscles on both sides of his nose twitching, his eyes fierce like a wild beast, wishing he could devour him whole. "Zhao, for the humiliation you suffered today, I will take your life!"
Wu Xian listened in the tent with trepidation.
"Take my life? You old bastard?" Zhao Feng hadn't had a good time these past few years, and a large part of it was caused by this old man in front of him. Every now and then, this old man would make sarcastic remarks to Zhao Feng. Just because he didn't argue didn't mean he didn't understand. He had been holding back his anger for a long time, and today he vented it all out. "I'm doing you a favor by liking your son. Otherwise, with that gourd-shaped old face of yours, even if you married a woman as beautiful as an angel, your good-for-nothing son would still be paying my Zhao family a living hell and you wouldn't even get a chance to get into the main gate!"
Wu Xian: "!!!"
My old rival finally snapped!
He raised his hand and drew a sharp sword from his waist with a whoosh.
He cried out in grief and shame, "That scoundrel Zhao—"
Before he could act, Wu Xian forcefully flung open the tent flap, his face contorted with rare rage, and shouted, "What are you all doing? Are you preparing for a death match outside the main tent? Do you even respect your lord?"
Zhao Feng and his mortal enemy bowed in unison.
They all said in unison, "This humble general/subordinate dares not."
Wu Xian's anger hadn't subsided, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing. Fueled by his anger, his tone was much harsher than usual: "You two keep saying you wouldn't dare, but you dare in action, and you dare even more in your hearts!"
Zhao Feng and his mortal enemy exchanged a glance, each expressing their disdain.
Because of Wu Xian's interruption, the two didn't actually fight, but that didn't stop the gossip from spreading throughout Wu Xian's camp. Although Zhao Feng hadn't fared well these past two years, his strength was undeniable, and Wu Xian still needed to use him, so naturally many people were willing to associate with him. Zhao Feng returned to his tent, and before he could even warm his backside on the mat, arrogant laughter erupted outside.
Zhao Feng knew who it was as soon as he heard it.
He said, "If you want to laugh, come inside and laugh."
The tent flap was lifted, and a scholar with a goatee peeked in. He wore a dark green scholar's robe, though it was slightly faded from washing. Although it was standard scholar's attire, judging from his clothes, he wasn't doing very well. "Your righteous deed has spread far and wide. Have you changed your mind today? Why did you suddenly become so lenient and argue with him?"
Zhao Feng rolled his eyes in annoyance: "What's there to tolerate? If I keep tolerating him, I'll become a tortoise spirit! I'm already in a bad mood, and he's still haunting me. I've always disliked him, but I dislike him even more today! I've already cursed him, so what? Do I have to consult the auspicious day before I curse him? Does he deserve it? Bah! What bad luck!"
Having fought on the battlefield for so many years and experienced countless life-and-death situations, Zhao Feng knew the dangers all too well. How could he not be anxious when Zhao Wei left his sight to go to another battlefield? He was already worried about his daughter's safety. And then this eyesore suddenly appeared.
I couldn't control my emotions at all.
The scholar laughed heartily: "Your verbal skills have improved."
He then sat down opposite Zhao Feng.
Zhao Feng asked him, "Did Gong Su say anything?"
He was so focused on his own enjoyment that he momentarily forgot about Qin Li's predicament. When he calmed down, he became somewhat worried and couldn't help but ask the scholar for his opinion.
The scholar chuckled and said, "Now you're concerned about Gong Su?"
Zhao Feng scratched his head, which hadn't been washed for days, looking uneasy and guilty: "Alas, I had my reasons, I didn't mean to cause trouble. If you blame me for this, I have nothing to say."
The scholar reassured him.
He laughed and said, "Don't worry, Gong Su is laughing too."
It's lively, isn't it? Who doesn't like to watch?
Their faction had been marginalized in Tianhai for years. If it weren't for Qin Li's usefulness and Zhao Feng's considerable martial prowess, their lives would have been far more difficult. Their lord, Wu Xian, wasn't necessarily a bad person, but he was too easily swayed and too attached to old relationships. His concubines were either sisters or relatives sent by others. This put Qin Li's faction at a natural disadvantage. Even though Wu Xian followed Qin Li's lead in all official matters, the overt and covert marginalization he faced was always present and quite noticeable.
Zhao Feng's outburst this time also gave them a chance to vent their anger.
"It's good that Gong Su isn't angry."
Zhao Feng was finally relieved upon hearing this, but the other party's next words almost made him choke on the cold water he hadn't yet swallowed: "Dayi, when did you become into homosexuality?"
Zhao Feng, whose reputation was damaged: "..."
Enraged and humiliated, Zhao Feng exclaimed: "!!!"
"When did I ever become a homosexual?"
He was so terrified that his voice cracked.
The scholar said, "If you don't like men, why do you want to take someone's son as your male concubine? And a smooth one at that? If you really take his son, putting aside whether he'll fight you to the death, according to seniority, you'll have to call him father-in-law. That's too much of a loss."
Zhao Feng sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation: "...It was our eldest daughter who suddenly had the idea of wanting a male concubine. I was thinking about this, and coincidentally, he walked right into our lives, so I thought I'd give him a piece of my mind. How did it get turned into me wanting a male concubine? Aren't you ruining my reputation?"
He had now witnessed firsthand the power of misinformation.
After the scholar understood, he laughed heartily again and said, "So it's our eldest daughter who wants them, we have to give them to her! How many does she want? What kind? As her uncle, we can't be stingy."
Zhao Wei had endured hardship alongside her uncles and elders during her childhood, which led to them spoiling Zhao Feng's eldest daughter. In Zhao Feng's words, Zhao Wei wasn't asking for the stars, the moon, or the sun; keeping a couple of male concubines wasn't a big deal.
If this isn't enough, it makes the uncles seem stingy.
Zhao Feng rolled his eyes again: "Dawei has the guts to run away from home to resist marriage, it must be you old folks who let him do it."
Thankfully, Zhao Wei wasn't a man.
Otherwise, he would have been spoiled into a playboy by these people long ago.
The scholar stroked his chin: "Dawei? You can call yourself Dayi, why give your daughter such a casual courtesy name? Do you think our daughter can wear her Martial Tiger Tally?"
The name Zhao Feng, at first glance, seems sophisticated yet unassuming, suggesting a certain level of culture. But we're all from the same place; how could we not know his true nature? It's one thing for him to be unreliable, but how could he also betray his own daughter? Dawei, does that sound nice?
Clang—
Zhao Feng spilled his tea all over the table, and the bowl fell to the ground. He looked up at the scholar in alarm: "You, how did you know?"
Back then, he promised to keep Bai Su's secret of cultivating martial arts skills while disguised as a woman. Even after he vaguely guessed something, he never thought of telling Wu Xian, nor did he mention it to Qin Li. He kept his mouth shut, prepared to take the secret to his grave.
Later, upon learning that his daughter Zhao Wei had also become one of them, Zhao Feng was filled with joy and delight—joy that Zhao Wei was capable of protecting herself. Even if he were to die on the battlefield one day, his daughter would be able to stand on her own two feet. At this moment, he had even less reason to reveal the secret.
Not only will they not disclose it, they will also try their best to conceal it.
To my surprise, the person in front of me actually knew.
He knew whether this meant Qin Li also...
The scholar saw through his thoughts and lightly tapped Zhao Feng's hand with his fan, bringing him back to his senses: "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone. Not to mention that this concerns the safety of our eldest daughter, even if there were no such connection, there would be no need to tell Qin Gongsu."
Zhao Feng could vaguely detect a hint of dissatisfaction in his words.
What does this mean?
The scholar twirled the knife-wielding fan in his hand, his gaze deep, and his words tinged with a sigh: "Gongsu has been devoted to our lord all these years, serving him with utmost loyalty and repaying his kindness in taking us in and saving us from disaster... Such devotion should have warmed even a stubborn rock, yet our lord still wavers and refuses to fully trust us. Alas, I cannot help but feel resentful."
The Tianhai faction is too exclusive.
Wu Xian lacked the courage to truly suppress the Tianhai faction, which was stirring up trouble for Qin Li's lineage. As time went on, the conflict between the two factions gradually intensified. Wu Xian thought he had balanced the situation, but he didn't realize that the calm was the result of their faction's repeated retreats and forbearances. Given this, how could he expect them to be completely loyal without reservation?
It's normal that Zhao kept his promise to cover up for Bai Su and Shen Tang, and that the scholar, having noticed the clues, also kept silent.
"Did Gong Su... notice anything?"
This is what Zhao Feng is most worried about.
The scholar said self-deprecatingly, "Gong Su has been working so hard these past few years that his hair has turned a bit white. He's also had so much free time that he's had to keep up with us. If it weren't for me, a very idle person, having time to wander around, how would he have known?"
Zhao Feng was completely relieved, but also somewhat speechless.
He cursed, "You old bastard, you're stalking me?"
The scholar raised an eyebrow and said, "Who said that? We don't have that much time to follow you around. We only recognized her by seeing her marksmanship on the battlefield. If we hadn't recognized her, do you think she would have only suffered a minor shoulder injury?"
Shen Tang's army only had a handful of literary scholars; the focus was either on the military formations or on the various generals. Zhao Wei was just a young man with a low military rank, so how could he be qualified to enjoy the amplification of a general's words? It was only because his uncle opened a back door for him that he was allowed to do so.
To be honest, he was quite startled when he saw it.
Zhao Wei's marksmanship looked too familiar, and upon closer inspection, the young officer's face also looked familiar. Unsure, let's take another look.
The more I look at her, the more she resembles Zhao Feng's eldest daughter who ran away from home.
After that, he began to keep an eye on Zhao Feng's whereabouts.
Having finally witnessed Zhao Feng and Zhao Wei meeting privately, he was even more convinced that the valiant martial artist was indeed Zhao Wei. Today's bluff had proven it to be true. He raised an eyebrow: "Tsk, Zhao Dayi, you've kept this a secret for a long time."
Zhao Feng said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. Dawei is the apple of my eye. Can you bear to see her harmed as a heretic?" This was also the main reason why he didn't ask Zhao Wei to come back. If she stayed by his side, he couldn't protect her.
To forge martial spirit from a woman's body...
Zhao Feng was knowledgeable and shrewd. If his political enemies were a little more malicious, they could throw accusations of "a hen crowing at dawn" or "strange omens" at him, and then pin all sorts of disasters like drought, locust plagues, and floods on Zhao Wei, which would surely drive him to his death.
He said with deep concern, “It is clear that there are no tigers in the market, but three people talking about it can make it seem like a tiger… I fear the power of public opinion! I fear the terrifying power of gossip! I fear that when that day truly comes, even sacrificing my life will not be enough to protect her!”
What Zhao Feng could think of, the scholars could naturally think of as well.
He asked Zhao Feng a question: "Dayi, have you ever thought about this—why do you think that if the lord can't tolerate it, then Shen Jun can definitely tolerate it?" On this question, even Zhao Feng didn't realize that he subconsciously chose to trust Shen Tang rather than Wu Xian.
Zhao Feng explained, "There is a female general under Lord Shen's command, whose specific name I cannot tell you, but she is also a woman. If Lord Shen can tolerate her, he can naturally protect Dawei as well. Is there anything wrong with that?"
"Have you ever considered why Lord Shen could tolerate that female general?" The scholar looked at Zhao Feng with a half-smile, then cut off his escape route, "Don't try to fob us off with reasons like 'Lord Shen is open-minded and benevolent'..."
Zhao Feng stammered.
"What...what other reason could there be?"
The scholar tapped the table with his sword and fan: "Have you ever considered that this Shen Jun, who is always showing off in public, is also a woman? It is precisely because of this that she can accept the female general you speak of, and accept our eldest daughter, without any reservations?"
Zhao Feng: "..."
The scholar wasn't particularly useful under Wu Xian, but Shen Tang liked to visit people everywhere, and the scholar had seen her from afar before. Her face was so beautiful and delicate that, if one didn't see the embroidered monogram on her waist, one would surely assume she was a female ruler, and a stunningly beautiful one at that. However, all those thoughts vanished upon seeing that embroidered monogram.
"She looks like a woman no matter how you look at it."
Zhao Feng: "Shen Jun has a literary signature..."
The scholar rolled his eyes: "Our daughter still has the Martial Courage Tiger Tally, how come she suddenly grew roots after running away from home for two years?"
Zhao Feng: "...Could you please not be so vulgar?"
The scholar chuckled, as if mocking Zhao Feng for ever speaking of such refined manners. Zhao Feng was ridiculed, but being thick-skinned, he couldn't break down: "Even if, even if... so what if Lady Shen is a woman? It's meaningless."
We're all allies now.
Shen Tang's side once again demonstrated formidable strength.
Are the Dragon Slayer Alliance up to cause trouble again?
The scholar said, "How could it be meaningless? Aren't you curious about why this Lord Shen is able to gather literary inspiration? Something that no one had been able to do for over two hundred years has been accomplished by her/him..."
Something unusual must be going on!
Unsure of his colleague's intentions, Zhao Feng retorted, "Why are you so sure no one has achieved this in over two hundred years? Perhaps it existed long before, but it died before it could fully develop. In my opinion, you're overthinking it—"
The scholar tapped the table with the handle of his knife-fan.
The rhythmic "da da da da" sounds echoed.
After a long while, just when Zhao Feng thought he had stopped making a fuss, the scholar said quietly, "Speaking of which, there was a time when two dragons fought in the sky above Xiaocheng. You must know what that means. Why have we heard nothing from them since then?"
Zhao Feng was initially confused, not knowing what he was talking about.
Once he understood, his expression changed drastically.
He jumped to his feet, and the scholar reassured him, "There's no need for such a big reaction. I cast a spell on you before I came in, so no one will hear you even if you shout yourself hoarse. These private words are only meant to be said here, and will certainly not get out."
Even so, Zhao Feng lowered his voice.
He said solemnly, "This matter is of utmost importance..."
He was more worried about his daughter's safety.
The scholar echoed in a low voice, "Precisely because we know, we must understand even more clearly. You owe our lord a debt of gratitude for saving his life, yet you suffer such humiliation. Have you ever considered—"
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Feng raised his hand to stop him.
_(:з」∠)_
It really is tonsillitis; my voice is hoarse...
(End of this chapter)
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