Chapter 48: The Complexity of Human Affairs and the Ease of Changing One's Mind (Part 2)

  "Xiao Qing, I recall that you've been serving Feng Zhen in my estate since you were seven years old, it's almost ten years now?" The elderly lady, who was over sixty years old, held a cup of hot tea and asked the maid standing before her.

  "Returning to the ancestors, in two more months, it will be a full ten years." Little Qing, although she was a brave girl, could only be honest and answer every question when facing the old ancestor who was the head of the family, afraid of making any mistakes.

  "You're the best, among all the servants in our household, you're the most capable. Over the years, your relationship with Feng Zhen has also been very good, I'm very satisfied." Old Lady Gao continued to say slowly.

  "Thank you for your praise, Master. I'm just doing my duty." Xia Qing listened to the old master's words, which seemed to have a hidden meaning, making her feel somewhat uneasy.

  "Feng's true nature, I think you're more aware of it than I am. She has been kind since childhood and doesn't like to argue with others, so she is naturally very good at home. However, if she gets married and goes to her husband's family, there will be big trouble." Old Lady Gao finally began to get to the point.

  Xiao Qing's heart also suddenly rose to her throat, and she didn't know why her ancestors wanted to tell her these things.

  "The old master has already made the decision to marry Feng Zhen off to Zhao Guo Gong Zhou Wenbo, and at the latest within a year, Feng Zhen will be married off. As someone close to Feng Zhen, you will naturally also follow her there as an attendant. Once there, in the grand Zhao Guo Gong Fu, Feng Zhen will be the mistress. She is kind by nature, but it's easy for her to be looked down upon and deceived by the servants and other concubines, making it difficult for her to maintain the dignity of the mistress. Do you know what to do?"

  The old lady who had just taken a sip of clear tea slowly put down her teacup and asked about Xiao Qing's thoughts.

  "I will definitely assist the young lady in managing the household chores, so that the young lady and the master can be at ease, and the family can live in peace." Xia Qing only then reacted to why the old ancestor of the Fu family had summoned her, and hastily replied.

  "Remember this well, you're just a servant born into a family. Your whole life is tied to Feng Zhen. You and Feng Zhen are bound together in honor and shame. Don't think that with your flirtatious ways you can climb into the bed of the young master, put on the airs of a young lady, and forget where you originally came from!"

  At this point, Old Lady Gao's tone suddenly turned fierce, her gaze sweeping across Xiao Qing's side like the sharpest blade.

  Xiao Qing thudded to the ground on her knees: "Ancestor, Xiao Qing is just a maid who was sold into the mansion, how dare she have the mind of being a young lady? Xiao Qing will definitely think for the second young lady at all times, help the second young lady take control of the power in the Zhao Guo Gong Fu and become a good Guo Fu Ren!"

  Looking at the maid kneeling in front of her, trembling all over as if frightened by her own words, Old Lady Gao nodded in satisfaction: "Get up, after a few days, I will teach Feng Zhen how to manage the household, and you can follow along and learn. Did you hear that?"

  "Yes!" Little Qing lowered his head and didn't notice the change in Lao Zu's expression, still replying with a trembling voice.

  "Alright, you can go now."

  Watching Xiao Qing's slender figure disappear from view, Old Lady Gao finally withdrew her gaze with a thoughtful expression.

  This maid, with a stunning appearance and good figure, also has a flirtatious face, exactly the type that men like. She will probably be taken to bed by Feng's husband sooner or later. If she doesn't get rid of her first, there might be trouble later on.

  Feng Zhen is clever and lovely, but to be honest, she's not the type to be a great lady. With Zhao Guo Gong's status, age, knowledge, and appearance, he must have been quite romantic. Relying solely on this second granddaughter of mine, I'm afraid it won't be enough to calm his ambitions. Coincidentally, little Qing is not only beautiful but also clever and lively. If she can help support Feng Zhen, and with Feng Zhen occupying the legitimate wife's position through a proper marriage, and quickly giving birth to an heir, then this old woman won't have to worry anymore.

  Alas, if that Phoenix girl were to get married, her old mother wouldn't have to worry at all. With Phoenix's abilities, not to mention suppressing the husband's family, even an average husband would probably have to listen to her orders...

  Unfortunately, the phoenix married the emperor and became a noble concubine, but now two years have passed and her belly has not moved at all. In the palace, she has endured countless hardships and struggles...

  In the warm sunlight of the afternoon, the elderly lady with a head full of silver hair was worried about the situation and future of several beloved younger generations, gradually falling asleep in a large high-backed chair with even breathing.

  ——————————————————————————————

  Just as Zhou Deyu was proposing to Fu Yanzheng, Zhou Wenbo was seeing off Meng Zhixiang, the newly appointed governor of Western Sichuan, at a pavilion five miles outside Luoyang. Xue Tao also set out for Shu with over ten attendants to handle his first major task since defecting to Zhou Wenbo.

  "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single farewell, take care! After exchanging pleasantries with Meng Zhi Xiang, Zhou Wen Bo tightly hugged his fourth senior brother and patted him on the back."

  "Jingyu need not worry, Yu Ding will not betray the mission!" Zhuge had lived for nearly twenty years and this was his first trip to Shu, a thousand miles away. However, at this time, he did not have much sorrow of parting, but was filled with the ambition of unfolding a grand plan.

  Watching Meng Zhi-Xiang and Zhuge Yu's group gradually heading west along the official road until they disappeared on the horizon, Zhou Wenbo then decided to return to his mansion.

  Sitting in the horse-drawn carriage returning to the city, Zhou Wenbo started up the system that had just made a prompt sound.

  Growing Task: Zhuge Yu's Conquest of Shu

  Task Prompt: Your subordinate Zhuge Yu is about to independently handle the task of finding and bringing back the Zhao State Duke's personal army, which will be extremely beneficial for the young man's growth.

  Difficulty level: Six-star

  Task Reward: Calculating...

  Zhou Wenbo only then discovered that it wasn't just himself who could trigger the task, but also his subordinates as determined by the system. He thought that if Zhou Yufei successfully completed the task and returned, he might be able to receive an extra reward as well.

  Zhou Wenbo has also made full use of the "Guang Qi Jian Cai Fa" which can only be used once a day, for example, he learned last night at the banquet that Ding Nan Jun Jiedushi Fu Yanqing's highest attribute is Tong Shuai, and it reaches 90, no wonder in this era where fierce generals are emerging, he can still become a military commander.

  Today's object of exploration is Meng Zhiyuan, the newly appointed governor of Chuanxi, who unexpectedly has a highest attribute that is not commander but politician, with a political score as high as 85 points, which makes Zhou Wenbo very envious.

  In fact, the system currently mastered by Zhou Wenbo is the same name as the system he saw before crossing over, but it's completely different.

  Firstly, other people's systems are all-knowing and all-powerful, while Zhou Wenbo's system relies on the intelligence and knowledge that Zhou Wenbo himself possesses, and cannot come up with things that Zhou Wenbo does not know out of thin air.

  Secondly, only when Zhou Wenbo himself has reached a certain level will some so-called tasks, achievements, and attributes appear. In fact, this is just a system formed by Zhou Wenbo's bad taste when he first constructed the recognition structure of the true boundary in the achievement of the Tao. Everything is still controlled by him personally. These attributes are just his cognition of others, not that this world is a game world. This world is still a traditional and material world, it's just that some of his abilities have dataized his cognitive data.

  Finally, Zhou Wenbo can now be compared to a game player who has reached the realm of a true immortal. The gold bars and some physical equipment he exchanged for can all be said to be rough magical artifacts produced by some crude methods in the realm of immortals. If he is able to obtain the highest quality powerful equipment in the future, it will probably only be possible when his "cultivation results" have far surpassed what they are now, and he has become a true great master, that he can create such abilities.

  After activating the system, Zhou Wenbo would often lie awake at night, thinking deeply and carefully, and it was only through the system's reactions over the past few days that he had come to the above conclusions.

  In fact, at this time, the five strategies proposed by Zhou Wenbo when facing Lüshi and Zhou Deyu, Zhou Dexiu brothers in the government had only one left to recruit new soldiers, which was also the focus of Zhou Wenbo's work.

  Although he has become the majestic Zhao Guo Gong, the people whose fate is directly controlled by him include several hundred people in the mansion. If you add the nearly 20,000 family members of the Zhao Guo Gong's personal army stationed in the suburbs, the population that Zhou Wenbo needs to consider far exceeds the scope that a web writer can control, which gives him tremendous pressure.

  But this is also something he has to do.

  As he lived in this world, as he gradually perceived the world through observation and thinking, Zhou Wenbo also found that he urgently needed to master an army of his own.

  He is now merely wearing the hat of a Duke of Zhao, but his intimidating power and governing power over the army are far from what he initially imagined.

  This era is a variant of the Five Dynasties, and the military men of this era are the descendants of the long-standing warlords of the Tang Dynasty. The ideological and independent nature of the military men in this era is far more complex than that of other dynasties.

  It was during this dynasty that the phenomenon of jiajun (personal armies) of jiedushi (military governors) appeared, where they would rebel against and kill their own commanders-in-chief due to conflicting interests. This led to instances where a jiedushi would borrow troops from other jiedushi to suppress his own subordinates, a rare occurrence in Chinese history.

  In the chaotic Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the military's aggressiveness and bloodthirstiness far surpassed that of dynasties such as Song and Ming. However, their discipline and humanity were probably far inferior, not to mention in comparison with the people's armies of later generations.

  Zhou Wenbo's move was like fighting a tiger with bare hands, extremely difficult and highly dangerous. However, only by doing so could he protect everything and everyone he had, live with dignity, and ultimately bring an end to this chaotic world, bringing peace to the land and letting all people live in prosperity.

  Zhou Wenbo looked up at the sun that was forever emitting light and heat to warm the world, pursed his lips.

  Zhou Wenbo told himself that sooner or later he would make all people under the sky sincerely recognize that he and the sun are of the same status!