Chapter 13: Fear

In the twilight, Zheng Fa could clearly see his younger sister Zheng Shan standing beneath the large elm tree at the village’s edge.

Before her stood three boys, each at least a head taller than she was, with the one in the center clearly leading them.

Zheng Fa instantly recognized the face of the boy in the center.

Thin and tall, with a hooked nose, sparse eyebrows, and a face that looked dull and lifeless.

This was Wang Gui, the only son of the Wang steward.

The previous holder of my current position as a book attendant.

A few days ago, Mother said he was beaten by the Lady and sent back home, still unconscious and unable to get out of bed when he arrived.

Yet today he’s standing here bullying my little sister.

Wang Gui’s complexion was indeed paler than usual, his face nearly devoid of color, making it look even more grim.

His posture was unnatural—he leaned one arm on the boy beside him, as if lacking strength.

Zheng Shan had just been speaking to these boys; the conflict between them was obvious.

Alone and small, she faced the older, outnumbering boys with her head held high.

Her tiny frame was tense, fists clenched tightly, and in her right palm lay half a flatbread.

The other half of the flatbread had been torn and thrown on the ground, covered in dirt.

Zheng Fa knew this flatbread was made by Mother—she’d given a bundle of them to the cart driver that morning.

This one was probably Mother’s special treat, saved just for her.

Though the flatbread was cheap, for Zheng Shan, white flour bread like this wasn’t something she ate daily—it was a precious snack, and under normal circumstances, she’d never let half of it fall to the ground.

Because he knew his sister so well, Zheng Fa could see the fear hidden beneath her stubborn posture.

He quickened his steps toward the four of them.

He heard Wang Gui’s hoarse voice say: “So what if your brother’s back? You think I’m afraid of him? Are you?”

He asked the boy beside him.

“Not afraid,” the boy grinned.

“What about you?”

“My dad’s dead—who’s afraid of him?”

Wang Gui laughed, clearly amused, but he clutched his neck as he did, still suffering from his wounds.

Zheng Shan couldn’t help speaking up: “When my brother comes back and sees you stealing my food, he’ll make the Lady beat you again!”

In her mind, being beaten by the Lady was the worst punishment imaginable.

“Pah! What’s your brother’s status? Who does he think he is, giving orders to the Lady?” At the mention of “Lady,” Wang Gui stopped laughing, but his anger burned brighter: “You really think just because I was sent back, your brother can become the Young Master’s book attendant?”

“Your brother can’t even read all the characters! Why would the Lady pick him?”

Wang Gui spoke with absolute certainty.

Zheng Fa realized Wang Gui truly didn’t believe he could replace him as book attendant.

But today he was angrier than usual.

Normally, he’d bully Zheng Shan, but only by ignoring her or occasionally mocking the Zheng family’s poverty to her face.

For him to ambush her at the village entrance like this was rare.

Especially since Wang Gui’s body was clearly still unwell.

Zheng Fa thought: He must have heard the Lady is choosing a book attendant for the Seventh Young Master, and realized he has no chance of returning.

So he took out his frustration on Zheng Fa, who now had a chance to enter the Zhao household.

And Zheng Fa’s little sister became even more unbearable to him.

That’s why he deliberately came to harass her today.

As he drew closer, his footsteps made both groups turn to look at him.

Zheng Shan had been glaring defiantly at Wang Gui and the others, lips pressed tight, refusing to show weakness.

But the moment she saw Zheng Fa, her tears spilled over: “Brother, they stole my bread!”

Wang Gui and the other two showed a flicker of panic.

After all, Zheng Fa was taller and bigger than all three of them, and his dark, approaching expression carried a quiet menace.

Seeing Zheng Shan’s tear-streaked face, Zheng Fa ignored the three boys entirely—he pulled her into his arms and placed the cart driver’s food box before her.

“Look, what did your brother bring you?”

Zheng Shan sniffed, as if catching a scent, her blurry eyes fixed on the unfamiliar food box before her.

“It smells so good!”

Seeing she’d stopped crying, Zheng Fa lifted the lid of the box.

It was a three-tiered food box: the top layer held three small dishes—one shaped like petals, one like butterflies, and one like round balls.

“Food!”

“Yes, these are snacks from Juxing Tower in the city—someone bought them specially for you!”

“For me?” Zheng Shan extended her chubby hand and pointed to her own little nose.

“All for you.”

Her joy was so simple she didn’t even bother wiping the snot and tears from her face before beaming Shashadi at Zheng Fa.

“Let’s see what’s underneath.”

Zheng Fa continued to soothe his sister.

“Okay!” Zheng Shan leaned forward, holding her breath as Zheng Fa opened the next layer.

“Meat! So much meat!”

The second layer held just one dish—a large platter piled high with slices of meat, plain and unadorned.

But for Zheng Shan, this was likely the first time she’d ever seen so much meat piled together.

She even rubbed her eyes.

Zheng Fa lifted the third layer—it held another dish: a plump, greasy roasted chicken, lying there in all its glory, making Zheng Shan nearly spellbound.

“Brother, all this is for me?”

Zheng Fa nodded with a smile, thinking inwardly that the cart driver must truly understand people—compared to fancy, ornate dishes, simply placing large chunks of meat before his sister would bring her far greater joy.

“All yours. But eat fast—don’t cry if it spoils.”

“Me, Mama, and Brother—we all have to eat fast!” Zheng Shan shook her head, beaming as she pointed to the box: “I’ll eat, Mama will eat, Brother will eat! We’ll finish it all!”

She suddenly patted her stomach with a worried frown: “Brother, my stomach’s growling—it says it can eat half of this all by itself!”

Zheng Shan had completely forgotten her earlier distress.

But the three boys behind Zheng Fa were suffering.

Wang Gui was better off—he’d seen more, his father’s household was wealthy.

But the other two were ordinary village boys, whose families were only slightly better off than Zheng Fa’s, and they rarely saw so much good food.

“Wang Brother, have you ever eaten from Juxing Tower?” one boy asked, swallowing hard.

“Like I haven’t! It’s not expensive! Next time I’ll bring some for you!” Wang Gui growled.

He was angrier still at Zheng Fa’s complete disregard for him—ever since childhood, Zheng Fa had never once shown anger toward him.

He’d always just ignored him, treated him as if he didn’t exist.

And it was precisely this attitude that had always made Wang Gui uneasy around Zheng Fa.

When he reached the city and became the Young Master’s book attendant, he thought he’d seen the world, and found Zheng Fa’s demeanor laughable.

But now, seeing Zheng Fa like this again, he felt the same fear he did when facing the adults of the Zhao household.

“What’s there to fear? Even if I’m back in the village and can’t be a book attendant, am I any worse than a boy with no father?” He comforted himself inwardly, took two steps forward, and opened his mouth to speak.

Outside the village, the sound of carriage wheels and hooves approached.

A boy stood atop a carriage, shouting toward Zheng Fa: “Zheng Brother, I’ve come to see you!”

Zheng Fa turned—standing on the carriage’s yoke, waving at him, was none other than Huang Yu.

Beside Huang Yu, a stout middle-aged man also smiled at Zheng Fa.