Chapter 532: A Peaceful Life

The five counties have been initially pacified, and all neglected affairs are gradually reviving.

Roads are clear and people are at peace; grain, salt, cloth, and iron flow through the mountains. There are people resting in tea pavilions, and people driving carts on the official roads.

The able-bodied men newly recruited by the Joint Defense Corps are practicing with blades on the threshing floor, and the shops and secret outposts of the Hong Sect have spread from Qingxi all the way to the other four counties.

Everything has fallen into place, just as Cheng Feng had calculated from the start.

Cheng Feng does not hold any official post.

But those in the know understand Cheng Feng's status at this time.

In his daily life, Cheng Feng spends most of his time living in Qingxi County.

Jin Ying is ravaged almost every single moment.

Of course, this is something she brought upon herself.

Defeated repeatedly, yet fighting repeatedly.

Fighting repeatedly, yet defeated repeatedly.

It is all just to have a child.

Could Cheng Feng still say no?

This also served as a reminder to Cheng Feng that there are still women in his household without a child to rely on; if he were to go to the Immortal Sect later, he would always feel lonely.

Cheng Feng calculated an account.

Over this past year or more, he has fought one bitter battle after another, turned danger into safety, and walked along the edge of life and death several times.

If there is anything he most wants to do, it is nothing more than two things: first, to leave behind offspring, and second, to accumulate Fortune Points.

The former is easy to handle. The latter is not difficult either—have a few more children, and the Fortune Points will naturally come.

It is just that as soon as this thought of "having a few more" popped up, Cheng Feng himself felt it was somewhat absurd.

He is only eighteen years old...

And he already has fifteen children...

But what is meant to come will come.

In the half-month or so since the major affairs were settled, Cheng Feng has barely touched a blade.

His wounds have healed seven or eight tenths, and under the medicinal prescription Cheng Feng wrote for himself, the injuries on his body have not left any scars.

Wei Zhuang urged him several times to recuperate for a few more days; Cheng Feng agreed with his mouth, but his heart had already turned to other thoughts.

It is time to return to Heimu Prefecture.

With the Solar, it is basically express travel.

There is simply no such thing as a difficult journey.

Unfortunately, it seems Jin Ying still has not conceived.

Cheng Feng immediately took Jin Ying with him to return to Heimu Prefecture.

He must give those women without children a sense of security.

Otherwise, the Immortal Sect is far away, and if he does not return for several years, the feelings of women with children and those without will be different.

Right now, the five counties are roughly settled and military affairs have slightly ceased; he has already done everything he could.

If the Red Lotus Sect truly has remnants that stage a comeback, that will depend on how the successor at the helm handles it.

Foundations, retreats, money and grain, and the hearts of the people—he has arranged them all one by one.

The Hong Sect disciples who followed him through this, now having grain, fields, and livelihoods, he can consider himself to have treated them fairly.

Heimu Prefecture, Cheng Mansion.

This afternoon, Cheng Feng leaned on a rattan chair in the main hall, flipping through the farmland account books of the various counties sent by Wei Zhuang.

These are all private assets of the Hong Sect; even if Cheng Feng does not manage affairs, there will still be a share for Cheng Feng.

Even if Cheng Feng looks down on them, Cheng Feng's wives and children still need money to use.

The wind passed through the veranda, bringing the sound of the women in the Rear Courtyard talking and laughing softly.

Cai'er was hanging up bedsheets in the courtyard, and Meiniang walked in carrying a bowl of red date and white fungus soup, placing it gently by his side.

"Master, you have been looking at these for the whole morning," Meiniang said in a low voice.

"Your wounds have just healed properly, you cannot keep exhausting your spirit like this."

Cheng Feng raised his head to look at her, and seeing the stray hairs at her temples blown messy by the wind and her face slightly flushed from the sun, he smiled: "Fine, I won't look anymore. Bring me the room registry I asked you to prepare a few days ago."

Meiniang was stunned, then pursed her lips and smiled: "It was prepared long ago, just waiting for you to ask."

Cheng Feng took the registry and flipped through it; it listed twenty names, from Zhao Wei to Jin Ying, not one missing.

He nodded and said: "Tell them tonight that there is no need to do anything else for this period of time.

Starting from tomorrow, clear out the Elegant Garden in the rear garden."

Meiniang asked softly: "Are they all moving in?"

"They are all moving in," Cheng Feng closed the registry. "For this half-month, besides healing, I have nothing else to do.

For the next two months, this will be the only thing; it is also time to add some burden to you all."

Meiniang's face flushed, and she asked no more, turning to go out and pass on the message.

That night, lamps were lit in the Elegant Garden of the Cheng Mansion's rear garden.

The women sat in a circle in the flower hall, listening to Meiniang relay Cheng Feng's intentions.

Some blushed with shame, some lowered their heads and twisted their handkerchiefs, and there were also bold ones like Chen Min and Zheng Ya, who laughed and nudged each other.

Zhao Wei, who has the highest status among the women, coughed lightly and said: "Since the Master has spoken, then we shall tidy up properly. I dare not say anything else, but the affairs of this household must be handled decently for him.

Those without children go first; the Master has truly gone to great pains for your sake."

That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse. Cheng Feng washed away the medicinal scent from his body, changed into a clean green robe, and stepped into the Elegant Garden of the rear garden.

Warm lamps were lit in the courtyard; the women were either sitting or standing, and seeing him enter, they called out in unison: "Master."

Cheng Feng stood under the lamp, looking at the faces in the room, each with their own charm, and a sense of stability welled up in his heart.

Having rolled through mountains of blades and seas of blood, wasn't it all for this very moment?

He smiled and said, "From tonight on, I am not leaving."

The lamplight flickered.

The dark clouds outside the window obscured even the shy moon.

Over the next few days, the Elegant Garden in the back courtyard saw the figures of women coming and going from morning till night.

The mansion was quite lively.

Since that night, the Elegant Garden had not been quiet again.

During the day, the women came and went, tidying up the rooms, brewing soups and medicines, and sewing clothes and shoes; their laughter rippled from under the flower trellis all the way to the edge of the small pond.

At night, the lights in the Elegant Garden shone exceptionally warm.

Cheng Feng kept his word and truly "did not leave."

Yet, the meaning of these two words, "did not leave," felt very different to each woman.

Jin Ying was the most stubborn, and she refused to admit defeat.

She was naturally born with a slender waist and long legs, and while her temperament was usually gentle, she now exuded a wildness, and she found ways to get close to Cheng Feng every single day.

When Cheng Feng practiced boxing, she served tea and handed him a towel;

When Cheng Feng looked over the accounts, she ground the ink beside him;

No matter which room Cheng Feng slept in at night, she could always warm the bedding in advance.

Others said that Jin Ying had become obsessed, but only Cheng Feng knew that this woman was truly desperate.

Zhao Wei privately advised Cheng Feng: "They don't know you are about to travel far, and it's uncertain when you'll be able to return, so hurry up and give Jin Ying a child!!"

Cheng Feng cried out that he was wronged: "This kind of thing depends on heaven's will."

Cheng Feng was indeed taking it to heart.

In the time since he returned, he was almost never idle at night.

Sometimes it was just Jin Ying, and sometimes several people were in the same room.

Cheng Feng was young and physically fit, with vigorous Qi and Blood, and with the medicinal prescriptions to nourish him, he not only felt no fatigue but instead grew more and more energetic.

Every morning when he practiced boxing, his strikes were filled with a fierce intensity, as if he wanted to dissolve all the killing intent he had accumulated on the battlefield over the past year into the bedchamber.

The servants in the house would click their tongues at the sight, whispering privately: "The master isn't recovering from injuries; he's clearly practicing martial arts."

One person said with a straight face: "What do you know? The master is accumulating blessings."

The servant scratched his head: "Accumulating blessings?"

Another servant nodded: "A long line of descendants is a deep blessing. Great and wealthy families value this the most."

The servant seemed to understand but didn't dare to ask more.

This day, Cheng Feng was sitting in the back garden drinking tea, and Zhao Wei led several women to bring over a new batch of finished children's clothes for him to look over.

Those clothes were large and small, for boys and girls, mostly with red backgrounds and gold thread, embroidered with auspicious clouds.

Cheng Feng flipped through a few pieces and suddenly asked: "Who are these for?"

Zhao Wei smiled: "Naturally, they are for the young masters and misses who haven't been born yet.

Several in the house are already with child, and in a few more months, they will be of use."

Cheng Feng let out an "oh," his expression normal, but his mind was calculating rapidly.

Before he returned to Heimu Prefecture, he already had fifteen children.

Now that some time had passed, if one counted those who might have been conceived recently, there would likely be a few more.

He hadn't thought too far ahead about how to settle these children,

but looking at those little clothes now, he truly felt a bit like the Head of the Family.

"Nurses, midwives, and delivery rooms—have them all prepared in advance," Cheng Feng said to Zhao Wei as he put down the clothes.

"Don't skimp on the silver. Also, find a few tight-lipped and reliable women who understand medicine to enter the mansion, specifically to look after those who are with child. Take more care of the matters in the mansion."

Zhao Wei responded solemnly.

In the evening, Cheng Feng went to the Elegant Garden as usual.

Tonight's service was once again fully arranged.

A pair of mandarin ducks in the quilt.

Waves overturning clouds in the daylight.

Cheng Feng, having set his plan for having children,

black silk, white silk, Cheongsam,

all participated in the actual combat according to Cheng Feng's suggestions.

Afterward, he practiced a set of boxing every morning,

then immediately practiced his Riding Technique.

Next, he would drink tea and look at flowers in the back garden to conserve his energy.

The remnants of the Red Lotus Sect showed no signs of making a comeback, and the Five-County Joint Defense Group was also getting on the right track; he could finally slow his pace and live a few days of peace.

Cheng Feng shouted: "This kind of life is great!!!"