Chapter 1 Some Melancholy

Hearing this result, Zheng Fan felt a bit melancholy.

People are all biased creatures; absolute rational thought doesn't exist.

For Zheng Fan, he didn't have any sense of belonging to either the Barbarians or the Yan Kingdom, nor would he think from anyone's perspective.

Just on a personal level, he bought the scruffy man a meal, and the scruffy man carried the carriage and ran, smashing the carriage to pieces, and then acted in a play with him, building a ladder to the heavens for him before his death.

It was a very normal emotional response to feel good about someone who was good to you.

But now,

He was dead.

Because he was unconscious, he couldn't witness the other party's final brilliance, which was indeed a pity, but it could also be said to be a kind of luck.

"Now that you're awake, I'm relieved."

Zheng Fan finally broke free from his emotions and locked his gaze on his newly selected blue-chip stock, His Highness the Sixth Prince.

Seeing Zheng Fan staring at him, the Sixth Prince subconsciously reached out and touched his face,

Curiously asking:

"Is there something on my face?"

Zheng Fan shook his head.

The Sixth Prince's face was very pale, as pale as A'ming's.

But A'ming was naturally pale because he was a vampire. This Sixth Prince clearly gave off the feeling of having his body hollowed out by wine and women.

"The Princess has arrived!"

"Tsk, my good sister-in-law is here."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Fan immediately stood up. The wound on his abdomen was still throbbing with pain, but he couldn't care about it at the moment.

He wasn't a woman. If he were a woman, the Sixth Prince would probably hold her down and say, "It's okay, my sister-in-law is here; we're family, there's no need to worry about formalities, especially since you're injured."

But he was a grown man, a grown man in the army, and the Sixth Prince didn't say anything, facing the door.

Soon,

A woman in a purple dress walked in.

At this moment, a shocking scene appeared.

The Sixth Prince actually took a step to the side and knelt down to the Princess.

"Xiao Liu Zi pays his respects to Elder Sister."

A prince kneeling!

Zheng Fan was shocked. Looking at the back of the Sixth Prince in front of him, a chilling feeling washed over him. His intuition told him that beneath this Sixth Prince's gentle exterior was a ruthless character!

Fortunately, there was only Zheng Fan and the old loofah-faced Seventh Uncle beside the Princess in this room. There were no other servants, so not many people saw this scene.

"Xiao Liu, are you afraid that my family doesn't have enough crimes? Do you want to add another charge of disrespect and arrogance to my family?"

The Princess's voice was very pleasant.

"How dare I? Isn't it right for a younger brother to pay his respects to his older sister? When we were little, Elder Sister used to take me riding horses; she's practically half my teacher. Who would dare say anything about that?"

"Alright, are you okay?"

"Thanks to Elder Sister's blessing, I'm fine."

At this moment,

The Princess's gaze shifted from the Sixth Prince and landed on Zheng Fan.

Because the Sixth Prince's kneeling had disrupted Zheng Fan's rhythm, Zheng Fan hadn't knelt down to pay his respects yet.

And because of this, he happened to meet the Princess's eyes.

Back in the military tent, this woman was wearing red armor, and Zheng Fan had fantasized about whether it had a bra effect.

Now that he saw her in person, she was wearing a dress.

Huff…

All that could be said was,

This woman possessed the grace and elegance of the East in her temperament, and the tall figure of a Northern woman in her physique, not inferior to a foreign model.

A meaningful look suddenly appeared in the Princess's eyes.

Zheng Fan immediately knelt down on one knee,

And said:

"Zheng Fan, the Protectorate Commandant of the Zhenbei Army stationed in Tiger Head City, pays respects to the Princess!"

"Heh heh."

The Princess let out a laugh.

Zheng Fan lowered his head even further. In his heart, he had already regarded the woman in front of him as the incarnation of Wu Zetian.

She was definitely not the kind of girl who could be fooled with a love letter, a lollipop, or four or five coins.

"Oh, so you're the one who saved Xiao Liu Zi. It's you, Commandant Zheng. I really didn't expect that we'd meet again so soon."

"Elder Sister, you know him?" the Sixth Prince asked with a smile.

"The last time we attacked the Shatuo tribe, he was just a civilian laborer, but he obtained more than a dozen heads in the battle, including the head of the Shatuo tribe's leader.

It hasn't been long, and he's already saved His Highness the Sixth Prince.

Commandant Zheng, tell me, how come all the good things in the world seem to happen to you?"

"This humble officer only knows to be loyal to his duty and has no intention of taking credit."

"Loyal to your duty?"

The Princess took a step back,

And the sword-wielding old man behind her took three steps forward and grabbed Zheng Fan with one hand.

Zheng Fan's body trembled, but he still controlled his instincts and didn't resist.

"Buzz!"

His shoulder was grabbed by the old man's eagle claw-like fingers. Immediately, a warm force came, and the Qi and blood in Zheng Fan's body began to stir uncontrollably. A layer of black light emerged from his body.

The old man released Zheng Fan, took a step back,

And said:

"Martial Warrior, Ninth Rank."

The Princess's eyes narrowed slightly, and she asked:

"The last time?"

Seventh Uncle replied, "There was no Qi and blood flow fluctuation on his body last time."

"Tsk…"

The Princess took a step to the side, sat down on a chair, and crossed her legs, a common posture used by modern women when watching TV in the living room.

Moreover, the Yan Kingdom didn't place much emphasis on Confucian ethics, especially in the North, where women were even more free. Furthermore, she was a princess, and no one dared to demand etiquette from her.

"Commandant Zheng, you've really opened my eyes. Not only is your luck good, and you achieve merit wherever you go, but you're also a martial arts genius.

For ordinary martial artists, it takes three to five years to go from half-step Ninth Rank to entering the ranks, and that's considered extremely talented. But you're different; you've achieved it in such a short time."

"Thank you for the Princess's praise. In the past, this subordinate only knew how to fight with brute force. After becoming a commandant, I received guidance from martial artists in the army, and that's how I made progress."

"Could the progress be this great?"

"Yes, that military instructor said that this subordinate is a martial arts genius that is rare to see in a century!"

When saying this, Zheng Fan puffed out his chest.

In fact, Zheng Fan didn't expect to fall unconscious, nor did he expect that this Sixth Prince would actually bring him back to his residence, and even less did he expect that this Princess would come as soon as he woke up.

The most urgent task was to eliminate the other party's suspicion towards him. He couldn't let her suspect that he had ulterior motives.

Although he really did have ulterior motives.

"Seventh Uncle, what do you think?"

"Reporting to the Princess, this child's Qi and blood are vigorous, which is indeed a sign of just entering the ranks, but his Qi and blood are also particularly strong, proving that his foundation is very solid."

"Hmm?"

The Princess looked at the sword-wielding old man with some surprise,

Acting like a curious young daughter, she asked:

"From what Seventh Uncle says, are you taking a liking to this kid's talent?"

"Disciple Zheng Fan pays his respects to Master!!!"

"Plop!"

He went from kneeling on one knee to kneeling on both legs.

His forehead touched the ground!

Si Niang wasn't by his side, probably because something happened while he was unconscious, making it inconvenient for Si Niang to continue staying by his side to take care of him. That's right, her disguise could fool others, but there were countless experts in this Zhenbei Marquis Manor, and she really couldn't hide it from them.

Therefore, at this moment, he was left alone to face this situation again.

Zheng Fan felt that it wouldn't be a loss to kowtow at this time and acknowledge a master.

If Blind Man or A'ming were here at this time,

They would probably reach out and press his head to the ground to kneel together.

After all, the master's reputation wasn't important to them. Who knew if they would be terminated if the master was beheaded?

"Heh, look, look, Seventh Uncle, this kid is quick enough to climb up the pole."

Seventh Uncle just smiled implicitly.

"If you want to be Seventh Uncle's disciple, that's fine; but there's one thing that I think we need to talk about properly. The matter at Meijiawu a few days ago, was that you?"

"Yes!" Zheng Fan admitted it readily.

"And you used the name of my Zhenbei Marquis Manor?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because this subordinate wants to develop my power, I want to recruit soldiers and buy horses, I want territory, I want power, I want wealth and glory, I want to get more and more gold and silver, I want to sleep with more and more beautiful women!"

"Vulgar!" The Sixth Prince suddenly pointed at Zheng Fan and reprimanded, "You idiot, how dare you say such vulgar words in front of my Elder Sister."

The Sixth Prince seemed to be reprimanding Zheng Fan, but in reality, he was trying to excuse him.

It was better to be a fool who only knew about gold and silver,

Than to be someone who pretended to be incorruptible and sought fame!

"You're quite honest. Then I'll have to ask you, why did you refuse when I asked you to come to my Li family as a servant?"

"Because this subordinate was only thinking about returning home in glory at the time, wanting to go back and be an official and make money."

"That's a good answer, watertight."

The Princess stood up,

Walked in front of Zheng Fan,

Bent down,

Zheng Fan also slowly raised his head at this time,

At this moment,

His face and the Princess's face,

Were very, very close.

"My intuition tells me that you're not that simple. It's still possible to say that your merit the last time was due to luck, but I really don't think it's just luck that you saved the prince this time."

"Then it must be that this subordinate colluded with the Left Guli King of the Barbarians, and the Left Guli King agreed to help me put on a show and give me a meritorious service."

"Hahahaha…………"

The Princess straightened her body and covered her mouth, laughing.

Seventh Uncle also laughed,

And the Sixth Prince also laughed.

Obviously, they all felt that this was a huge joke.

Zheng Fan also laughed, but he was laughing in his heart;

It seemed that sometimes when you told the truth, they wouldn't believe you.

"Seventh Uncle, this child is not simple," the Princess reminded.

Seventh Uncle nodded, "I know."

The Princess looked at the Sixth Prince again,

And said:

"I heard that the capital has been infected by the customs of the Qian Jin in recent years, and more and more nobles in the capital are starting to have a liking for male beauty, Xiao Liu Zi, what about you?"

"Look at what you're saying, Elder Sister. I'm just a useless prince. My mission in this life is to breed like a boar and produce offspring for our Ji family.

If I can't even complete this task, Father will definitely punish me severely."

"That's a pity. Xiao Liu Zi, look at our Commandant Zheng. Not only does he have good luck, but he's also a good martial arts talent. If you could take him into your household, he would bring you good fortune."

"Elder Sister is joking. That's not possible, not possible."

At this time, a blue bird flew in from the window and stood on the Princess's shoulder, whispering to her.

"Elder Sister, is something the matter?"

The Princess nodded and said:

"People from the Barbarian royal court have arrived, saying that they want to retrieve the body of the Left Guli King."

"Heh, they've come to collect the body. What does Elder Sister plan to do?"

"If I don't sun him for seven days and seven nights, outsiders will think that my Zhenbei Marquis Manor is easy to bully."

When the Princess said this, she stared at the Sixth Prince.

"But, what if the Barbarian royal court doesn't plan to give up? After all, he was the Left Guli King of the royal court."

"Xiao Liu Zi."

"Younger brother is here."

"Let me put it this way, if Father hadn't given the seven major commanding officers a heads-up before going to the capital, preventing me from mobilizing more Zhenbei Army iron cavalry, do you think that what would be destroyed would only be a Shatuo tribe?

If Father had handed over the military power of the Zhenbei Army to me before leaving, I estimate that I would have directly led troops to wipe out the Barbarian royal court. Would I still be waiting for them to send people to ask me for an explanation today?"

"Yes, Elder Sister is mighty, a woman not inferior to men. I, as your younger brother, am ashamed of myself."

In fact, this sentence had another layer of meaning, which was a warning.

If it weren't for Father's order to restrain,

She, a daughter,

Leading 300,000 troops to attack the Barbarian royal court was naturally possible,

And directly marching south to attack the capital of the Great Yan,

Was also possible!

"Alright, it's Mother's birthday today, and I don't want her to be tired. I'll go and deal with the envoys. Xiao Liu Zi, you can play with your savior."

Saying that,

The Princess looked at Zheng Fan again,

And said:

"When your injuries have healed, you can go and find Seventh Uncle. As for whether Seventh Uncle is willing to accept you at that time, it's up to your own fortune."

After saying that,

The Princess left the room,

Seventh Uncle followed closely behind, without giving Zheng Fan another glance.

…………

"Huff… finally gone."

The Sixth Prince sat down in a chair and poured tea for himself.

Zheng Fan also slowly got up, holding his abdominal wound with one hand.

"I'm very curious, why did you save me?"

"Because from a young age, my mother told me to be loyal to the Yan Emperor, to be loyal to the Yan Kingdom, to be loyal…………"

"Stop, stop, I want to hear the truth."

"Because you're a prince. Otherwise, why didn't I help those Wangfu guards who were killed to block the blades?"

"Hiss……… Tsk tsk tsk, so honest?"

"That's what Your Highness asked for."

"Alright, I like your style of speaking. We'll just be straightforward and not complicated, and we can chat happily;

How about this, since you're my savior, let's address each other by age when we chat next time, what do you think? Otherwise, we won't be speaking from the heart."

Why did this line sound so familiar?

"Don't be reserved, just like how you talked to me just now, it's very good, really…………"

"My good younger brother ah."

"…………" The Sixth Prince.

"Good younger brother ah, I as your elder brother…"

"Alright, alright, that's enough, that's enough, stop, stop, I take back what I just said, I really can't stand it."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"I can see now that you're an ambitious person. What a pity, if my eldest brother or second brother were here, if you saved them, you might be on the road to success;

It's a pity that you saved a useless idle prince. The only place I have jurisdiction over is the Shanglin Garden. If you want me to help you ask for an official position, I can only let you go to the Shanglin Garden to be responsible for raising dogs or horses;

Dog official and Bimawen (a low-ranking official in charge of horses),

Neither of them sound very good, and I can't give them away."

"Actually, this subordinate also saw just now that Your Highness is not something in a pond."

Hearing these words,

The Sixth Prince's expression suddenly calmed down,

And said:

"You've really misjudged me. My biggest ambition in this life is to be a useless idle prince peacefully for the rest of my life."

"Generally, the emperor who finally ascends the throne will say such a sentence when he is a prince."

"Eh?"

The Sixth Prince let out a surprised sound and couldn't help but point at Zheng Fan, "Tsk tsk, that's a well-said line, worthy of a reward."

Immediately after,

The Sixth Prince pushed the teacup he had just brewed towards Zheng Fan,

And said:

"I invite you to drink tea."