Chapter Thirteen: The Stepmother Arrives

  "Xiao Chao! Xiao Chao! Get up quickly! Get up quickly!"

  It seems like someone is shouting in my ear.

  I opened my slightly heavy eyes.

  I was pushed awake from my dream by someone, and I don't know who had covered me with a blanket. In the corner, the charcoal fire was burning brightly, making soft crackling sounds. Only a few lamps were lit, and the light in the room was dim, which was actually a good atmosphere for sleeping.

  I rubbed my eyes: "Sister? How did I fall asleep? What's got you so excited?"

  It was Ma Wen who appeared before her eyes. Her face was full of joy: "Get up quickly, Father and De Ge have won a great victory and are back already!"

  "Wow, so fast!" I was shocked and hastily asked, "What time is it now? How long have I slept?"

  "It's already late afternoon now, if you don't get up quickly, it will be dark soon."

  "Has the Rooster time arrived? They're also too slow, right!" It's already six o'clock, I've had a pretty long nap, and I vaguely heard the commotion coming from outside. "Haven't they gone out yet? The sky is dark before they come back?"

  Because the generals pursued their victory, they killed all the way to Zhang Ji's camp and brought back Mrs. Zou, Zhang's wife. The door was wide open, and Pang Rou walked in with a bitter smile, apparently helpless about this outcome.

  "Zou?" I continued in shock, " Zhang Ji's wife?"

  "It's not her, who else!" The door burst into laughter again, and Lao Die swaggered in, followed by Pang De, Ma Dai, then Li Suo and... Zou Shi?

  Alright, I stood up and took a closer look at Mrs. Zou's eyes, she had a gentle and elegant demeanor, looked like a beautiful and mature wife, but I didn't like her strange hairstyle.

  But... if you know books and etiquette, why don't you resist at all?

  "What about the outcome of the battle?" I asked Pang De.

  "I led 5,000 light cavalry to launch a surprise attack on Zhang Ji's army from the north while they were resting in camp. Zhang Ji's army was thrown into great disorder, and as they retreated, they were cut off by another general who also had 5,000 cavalry coming from the south. More than half of the enemy's 20,000 soldiers were killed or wounded, several thousand escaped, and 3,000 were captured. Zhang Ji and all his generals died in the chaos." Pang De reported to me with a spirited expression.

  "Is Xiaodai okay?" I asked in time, showing concern for my younger brother Madai.

  "Not a single hair was hurt! You can stop worrying." Ma Dai proudly patted his chest armor, "I even personally killed Zhang Ji's ungrateful nephew with my own hands!"

  "Don't be too pleased with yourself, Xiao Dai," his old man reminded him very seriously. "If the enemy wasn't in chaos and Zhang Xiu hadn't been distracted, could your sloppy gun skills have killed him?"

  "He himself is clearly not good at martial arts..." Ma Dai pouted, very dissatisfied.

  Zou sobbed softly twice.

  Is she mourning the tragic death of her husband or younger brother? Or is she worried about her own misfortune in the future? Or is she just pretending to gain sympathy? Or is she showing weakness first and then waiting for an opportunity to strike back in their next encounter?

  None of this matters.

  She has fallen into Ma Teng's hands.

  This man who is normally not very promiscuous and doesn't like to get close to women easily.

  It's just that he has been a widower for four years, perhaps it has been suppressed for too long.

  Old man is already somewhat complacent and overjoyed, he chuckled: "Madam, from now on just follow Ma Teng, I'll make sure you live a better life than at Zhang Ji's place. Ma has been a widower for many years, today finally got the chance to remarry."

  Zou wiped away her tears with her sleeve and bowed her head, saying: "Thanks to the general's favor, how could I, a humble concubine, dare not obey?"

  Ma Teng stretched out his hand and wrapped it around Zou's slender waist: "Tomorrow I will set up a wedding banquet to welcome you over."

  "General, don't waste money on a concubine." Madame Zou said in a low voice.

  Everyone can see that Ma Teng is already delighted, with a rough appearance: "Madam is right, Wei Gongxian, you go down and help my brother set up, as Madam said, everything is simple, just a little bit decent."

  Li Su smiled and agreed. This matter could only be handled by him, as we young people were not yet married and couldn't possibly handle such things.

  "Is this... okay?" I whispered in Pang Rou's ear.

  "What can and cannot be done?"

  "Her husband was just killed and she immediately remarried?" Moreover, it's the murderer of her husband, not letting you commit suicide to follow him in death is already being good.

  Pang Rou smiled wryly and said: "The general has agreed, the madam has also agreed, but you don't agree?"

  I dryly laughed and said: "I have no opinion, I have no opinion..."

  Suddenly he thought of something and hastily said to Ma Teng: "My grandparents are still in Longcheng, how can you remarry?"

  "You didn't mention it, I had almost forgotten!" The old man slapped his forehead and shouted loudly, "Deng Shan, Deng Shan! Send two people back quickly on horseback to deliver a message to my elderly father-in-law. Tell him that his son is going to remarry and ask him to come to Chang'an as soon as possible!"

  "Then... should this wedding be postponed for a few days to wait for the old man's arrival?" Li Su asked.

  "It'll take at least seven or eight days for the fast horse to come and go," Father calculated with his fingers, "Let's put off the wedding for now, we can start making arrangements after Old Master arrives. Sorry to trouble you, madam."

  Zou Shi didn't mind at all: "I'm just a humble wife, but it's up to the general to decide."

  "Oh, right! If you have any relatives or friends to invite, hurry up and send someone to invite them together, so they won't miss the timing." Old Dad said with enthusiasm.

  "It's all right." Mr. Zou shook his head slightly, his face looking somewhat unpleasant.

  After all, remarrying the murderer is not something to be proud of. Moreover, the person she married was just a bandit from the northwest. Even if her parents and friends were invited, they might not have come. A daughter who has been married off is like spilled water, following the chicken or dog she marries, with no relation to her parents' life or death, wealth or nobility.

  Such things, such ideas, are not only seen in today's Han Dynasty, but also frequently appeared in the small towns and villages of past dynasties.

  Two thousand years have passed, but it has not changed in the slightest.

  It is deeply rooted and unshakeable.

  Even an ideally perfect communist legal system is powerless.

  To change it, any individual or era's power and belief are extremely small and weak.

  I never thought of changing this relationship, nor did I ever think about it, even when I heard that many women who are extremely difficult to describe can make a living in big cities and find a man to spend their days with.

  Inequality is multifaceted. Just think about it.

  Needless to say, the Zou family will definitely make a fortune - my father's woman, my stepmother, as long as she lives well, she will have everything in the future: status, wealth, and glory.

  She just needs to live a good life, living regularly and properly, without any extra effort.

  －

  Several days later, the fast horse sent to Long City returned to Chang'an again.

  The swift horse neighs repeatedly, the messenger is drenched in sweat.

  "When will the old man arrive?" The old father asked eagerly.

  The messenger swallowed his saliva: "The old master said he won't attend the young master's wedding banquet."

  The old man seemed to have expected it: "He said why didn't you come?"

  "The old master said that the young master has entrusted all the affairs of Liangzhou to him, and he is so tired that he cannot rest all day. He is already very unfilial...and still wants to invite his elderly father to attend his own wedding..." The messenger couldn't continue speaking.

  The old man shook his head: "This old fellow, let you manage the affairs of a state, and still get two thousand stones of high-ranking officials' salary, but still feel tired."

  －

  Three or four days later, the scouts from the eastern route also arrived in Chang'an.

  Yuan Shao's allied army had exhausted their food supplies and were all holed up, not daring to come out, waiting for the arrival of relief grain from Ji Province.

  "In just a month's time, they've lost all their momentum." Pang Rou said with a sigh, "Li Ru was right in his letter, the Guandong Allied Army is nothing but a motley crew, not worth worrying about at all."

  "No, there are still two armies that will not withdraw immediately." I thought for a moment and said decisively. Even Lian Huaxiong didn't die, this allied army's expedition against Dong is completely without any achievements.

  "Oh? Which two roads?"

  "Sun Jian and Cao Cao." I smiled as I spat out these two names.

  －

  The weather remains cold.

  Pang De was drilling his troops on the training grounds, while I and Ma Dai practiced spear techniques off to the side.

  Apart from rushing through my military service, I have never been lazy again.

  My marksmanship is as I wish, increasingly pure and sharp.

  The physical weakness gradually dissipated, and I became more confident.

  Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes came from near Lao Die's camp.

  Unlike the first two times which were fast but steady, this time the hoofbeats were fast and disorderly.

  The three of us were suddenly alerted and hastily grabbed our guns and rushed back to the camp.

  The servant had already withdrawn from the room, while old Mr. Wang sat vacantly on his chair.

  He weakly hummed a sound: "Lü Bu led an army of 50,000, and has already set out from the west gate of Luoyang City."

  Three halberds fell to the ground at the same time.