Chapter 70: Flattery and Humiliation

By now it was near evening; the red sunset hung on the horizon, dyeing the clouds there a rouge hue.

Under the afterglow, many more people had gathered around the Zheng family's small courtyard.

Only the steward Wu accompanied the Lady, yet further behind her stood numerous servants of the Zhao family.

They were quite clever; having noticed that the Lady not only did not resent their following but seemed rather indulgent, they dared not approach closely, yet still clustered in twos and threes at a distance.

Some swept, others pruned branches; each kept their gaze straight ahead, yet their ears were pricked up.

The Zheng family's home originally lay in a rather desolate section of the Zhao estate; the flowers, trees, and land here had never enjoyed such service. For a time, three people could gather around a single tree, and there still seemed not enough to go around.

Gao Yuan, standing before Zheng Fa, slowly turned his head, glanced at the Lady who stood less than three zhang away, then looked back at Zheng Fa, so frightened he nearly stuttered.

"The Lady... she didn't hear what I said, did she?"

"You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"The Lady is a cultivator."

"..."

"Don't cry; you did compliment her youth."

Gao Yuan's face turned deathly pale; he was not comforted at all.

Was the Lady's appearance something he could compliment?

Yet the Lady passed Gao Yuan as if she hadn't seen him, her gaze fixed entirely on Zheng Fa.

Zheng Fa still clasped his hands and bowed first.

Unexpectedly, the Lady also returned a slight curtsy.

Gao Yuan, standing aside, gaped, his dejection replaced by disbelief—he no longer seemed worried about the Lady's anger, but rather seemed concerned that the Lady had gone mad.

The crowd of servants behind the Lady also stirred, all unable to resist glancing in this direction.

"Please, Lady, come inside to speak." Seeing such commotion, Zheng Fa turned his body slightly and said directly.

The Lady paused, looked at Zheng Fa twice, said nothing, and simply followed him into the small courtyard.

Zheng Mother and the younger sister both stood within the courtyard, bowing to the Lady, their expressions rather constrained.

The Lady also stopped and sincerely returned the bow to both of them.

This sudden and solemn respect left Zheng Mother frozen in place, hands not knowing where to put them; she only murmured softly, "How can this be? How can this be..."

Zheng Fa nodded reassuringly to his mother and invited the Lady into the main hall.

"I still underestimated you."

"Why does the Lady say such a thing?" Zheng Fa was somewhat puzzled why the Lady would say this upon first speaking.

"A youth of your age loves glory above all. I intended to cater to that, deliberately granting you such glory before so many servants, yet you seemed unmoved and even invited me inside."

Whether because of the Lady's candor or because her original intent was to please Zheng Fa, when she spoke of these somewhat shallow little schemes, it was not particularly off-putting.

"Hmm... actually, I was a bit happy." Zheng Fa paused for a moment before saying.

"Hmm?"

"It is just that you are the Seventh Young Master's mother."

"Just for him? So you did not wish to lose face?" Hearing this, a genuine smile finally appeared in the Lady's eyes.

"Also, when my father passed away, you gave ten taels of silver."

This matter had always been on Zheng Mother's lips.

Regardless of why the Lady gave that silver, at that time the Zheng family was in its most difficult period; Zheng Father's funeral required money, Zheng Fa had not yet grown up, and the family's fortunes had plummeted.

Those ten taels of silver, to exaggerate slightly, saved the lives of the three of them.

The Lady's face showed considerable emotion; her gaze toward Zheng Fa finally carried seriousness.

She understood the meaning behind Zheng Fa's words—

Back then, you thought I was easy to control, thinking a little scare would make me bow and obey; you underestimated me.

Now you think that once I gained power, I would forget myself, even become ungrateful; you underestimated me even more.

After looking at Zheng Fa for a long time, she finally sighed and said, "Should I say you remain unmoved by favor or disgrace, or that you are even more proud than I imagined? If truly the fool has fool's luck, then Zhao Jingfan meeting you will make him a fool for eight lifetimes."

"..."

She seemed to have lost the feigned caution she had brought earlier; she clapped her hands.

The steward Wu, standing aside, brought up a box.

The box was opened, revealing a stack of contracts.

The Lady pulled out the top three.

"These are your family's servitude contracts; I have already instructed Steward Wu to go to the government office tomorrow to cancel your slave status."

This was only right.

Do not think this is merely an immortal-grade item; in a thousand years, the Zhao family has never had a single servant obtain this. Even the Zhao descendants fight bitterly over it every ten years, and sometimes even the Lady herself cannot decide the ownership of this immortal-grade item.

Moreover, in the Lady's eyes, with True Person Zhang's favor, Zheng Fa would certainly pass the Immortal-Grade Assembly.

Using these servitude contracts to control a disciple of an immortal sect would be a joke.

The Lady did not seem to treat this as the main point; instead, she pointed to the contracts below.

"These properties, I originally intended to offer as an apology. Since you are no longer people of my Zhao family, you should have some properties to rely on." The Lady paused for a moment and said, "Now, speaking of apology seems petty; let us instead consider it tuition fees for my foolish son."

"Properties?" Zheng Mother, standing aside, was already dazed by her family's sudden release from slave status; hearing the word "properties" now made her even more fearful: "Steward Bai already gave us a clothing shop."

The Lady remained politely silent for a moment.

Zheng Fa read a sentence on her face: Is that even considered a property?

That clothing shop was indeed considered a remarkable property for Zheng Mother.

Zheng Fa intended to hand over the shop's accounts to his younger sister, Zheng Shan, later, also to train her abilities.

But it is still under Zheng Fa's management; he knows that after the shop passed from Butler Bai to Zheng Mother's hands, the profits did not drop much.

There is still more than ten taels of pure profit a month.

For Zheng Mother, who was only a farmer's wife a few months ago, this is already an astronomical figure.

Zheng Fa flipped through the contracts in the box.

An expression of surprise appeared on his face as well.

The Lady's gesture was extremely generous; he saw several shops located on the main thoroughfares of Jingzhou City, and every time he passed by, the business inside was extremely lively.

He never expected they were all Zhao family assets, and all placed by the Lady in the box for Zheng Fa to choose from.

There were also deeds for eight or nine inner courtyards within Jingzhou City; more than half were deep, grand residences located in Xicheng, the wealthiest district as the old carriage driver had said.

No wonder the Lady had such an expression on her face.

Zheng Fa thought for a long while, then pushed the box toward the Lady.

"What? Not satisfied?" The Lady frowned slightly, then spoke decisively: "These assets are indeed not the most valuable; I actually have a few good shops in my dowry."

"No, the Lady is very sincere; it is just too precious." Zheng Fa shook his head.

"Precious?" The Lady suddenly laughed: "You probably don't know, True Person Zhang said you are worth much more than what she taught, right?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you know how great the price was for Lan'er to invite True Person Zhang?"

"I don't know." Zheng Fa shook his head.

"No money was asked." Speaking these three words, the Lady's face showed a somewhat melancholy expression: "The Nascent Soul Xuehe Laozu who founded the Zhao family owed a debt of gratitude to True Person Zhang's master, which created this favor... and this favor is too valuable."

"What do these assets amount to?"

Zheng Fa shook his head and said to the Lady: "I said it is too precious because... when a poor person suddenly becomes rich, disaster easily arises."

The Lady stared at him fiercely; when she spoke again, there was some gritted-teeth incomprehension in her voice:

"With this character of yours, that fool could make a friend like you. Even if he were my own biological son, I would still ask: on what grounds?"

... You are good at praising one while stepping on another.