Chapter 35: My Father’s Illegitimate Son

Chapter 35: My Father's Illegitimate Son

Day after day, Lady Zhou found such encounters tiresome. However, considering her and her son's future depended on her, she continued to advise patiently, "Don't panic. Remember, never lose your composure in front of Lord and Lady. You need to provoke her into creating a scene, forcing them to choose between you two. Only then will she fall out of their favor."

"I know, but she's not biting. I'm afraid I might lose my temper before she does," he replied.

Lady Zhou found the situation challenging. After some thought, she suggested, "Why don't we focus on stirring things up between Second Young Master and Third Young Master instead? Don't put Lord and Lady in the position of choosing between you and that country bumpkin. You could encourage Second Young Master and Third Young Master to compete for her affections, making them choose between their son and daughter."

Zheng Jinxiu felt a surge of joy in her heart, thinking that this was a brilliant idea.

Regardless of who emerges victorious or vanquished among them, it shall have no bearing on me.

It would be best if both sides suffered a devastating defeat.

Their own biological children are so wayward, highlighting how exceptional and virtuous her adopted daughter is.

Without delay, upon learning of Zheng Lao'er and Zheng Laosan's impending return, she set to work on the preparations.

Once again, she personally led the servants to clean their courtyard and even made folding fans for them by hand.

While crafting the fan frames, she accidentally cut her finger, causing her to shed tears from the pain.

Lady Zhou, upon seeing this, exclaimed with concern, "Miss, oh dear! I told you to let the servants handle it, but you insisted on doing it yourself. Now you've hurt your hand..."

Suddenly, an idea struck her, and her tone shifted.

"Come, let's widen the wound a bit and let more blood flow. Drench the fan ribs in it."

"What? Wet nurse, ouch..." The pain made her cry out in surprise.

Lady Zhou hurriedly said, "Miss, you injured your hand while making fans for the two young masters. How worried must they be? And look at their own sister, who hasn't prepared anything."

Zheng Jinxiu realized the ploy; Lady Zhou had used a self-inflicted injury tactic. She smiled happily once again.

Despite it being just a small cut, she endured the pain to make it seem more severe, even wrapping it with a large piece of gauze.

She deliberately let her blood seep into the folding fan's ribs and then sealed it with white paper, revealing a faint, dark red stain.

The next day, I rose early once more to venture outside the city walls to greet Zheng Hongxu and Zheng Hongqi.

Zheng Jinyu was also up quite early. It was out of the question for her to go and receive them herself. As long as she fulfilled her basic duties as a sister and observed proper etiquette, that would suffice.

She would never resort to cunning schemes to win over these two elder brothers, for their acknowledgment of her identity was insignificant. What mattered was the acceptance of her parents and, eventually, the eldest brother who would inherit the family's estate.

However, upon arriving at the front hall this morning, I unexpectedly encountered a youth, around eleven or twelve years of age, clad in a sturdy outfit with a face dark and sooty.

As Zheng Jinyu looked at him with a quizzical expression, he returned her gaze with equal curiosity.

"Are you my Second Sister?" The young lad spoke first.

Zheng Jinyu recalled that her father had two illegitimate sons. Which one was this?

"Who are you?"

"I am Zheng Hongxing. You can call me Little Wu, Second Sister," the youth replied.

Zheng Jinyu suddenly understood. "You're Lady Luo's child?"

The young man flashed a brilliant smile, revealing his pearly whites. "Yes, Madam Luo is my concubine mother."

As there was no one else in the main hall at that moment, Zheng Jinyu began chatting with Zheng Hongxing.

"I've been back for several months now, but why haven't I seen you before?"

"I'm training in the military and only return home every few months."

"Oh? You joined the military at such a young age?"

"Indeed, martial arts training often begins in childhood. Elder Brother also joined the military at a young age."

Zheng Jinyu smiled. "I've never met Fourth Brother either. Is he in the military as well?"

Zheng Hongxing looked at Zheng Jinyu peculiarly.

Zheng Jinyu rubbed his nose. "What's wrong?"

Zheng Hongxing replied, "Fourth Brother is indeed in the military. He's stationed on the border and won't return until the New Year."

"Ahh? Has he already gone to defend the borders?"

Zheng Jinxiu's fourth brother didn't have much of a role in the story, so she couldn't quite recall the timeline.

"Yes, he'll be away for three years. He might not even return for the New Year celebrations. When I turn fifteen, I'll also have to go for three years."

In the original novel, to emphasize Zheng Jinxiu's position as the family's darling, each of the Zheng children had impressive backgrounds, even the two sons born from concubines were exceptionally talented.

The two of them chatted leisurely on the steps outside the main hall for a while. Then, Auntie Luo supported Lady Zheng as they made their way over.

Zheng Hongxing promptly stepped forward, respectfully paying his respects to Lady Zheng, addressing her as Mother, and then bowed to his biological mother, calling her Concubine Xiao.

In this household, the official wife is addressed as Mother, high-ranking concubines as Noble Mother, followed by Concubine Xiao for those of lower status.

The lowest rank would be referred to as Auntie.

Lady Zheng had always been kind to former maid Auntie Luo, allowing her children to address her as Concubine Xiao.

Observing that he had been engaging in a cheerful conversation with Zheng Jinyu, Lady Zheng smiled as she helped him up. Gazing at him affectionately, she praised him and then, with concern, said, "Look at you, all sunburned. With such scorching weather, avoid going out unnecessarily. I'll speak to them later and allow you to stay home for a few more days."

"Mother, it's alright. My master said that one must never slacken in martial arts practice, not even for a single day. I'm not afraid of hardship."

"You little one, you speak like an adult despite your young age. You might not be afraid of hardship, but I, your stepmother, would be heartbroken to see you suffer."

Nuo Concubine couldn't help but feel pained seeing her son tanned like a little charcoal from the training.

However, as a maid, she had no authority to oversee the young masters of the household, even if this particular one was her own flesh and blood.

Soon, Zheng Hongqi and Zheng Hongxu returned. This time, Zheng Hongxu had learned his lesson. When Zheng Jinyu addressed him as Third Brother, he didn't fly into a rage but simply acknowledged with a calm 'mm.'

Madam Zheng's smile froze slightly. When Third Master didn't say anything further to belittle her, she didn't comment either.

"It's rare for all of you and Little Wu to be back together. This time, our whole family should have a proper gathering." Madam Zheng said, then turned to Aunt Luo. "Today, you don't have to stand and serve. Sit down with us."

"Yes, thank you, Madam."

"Oh, what happened to Jinxiu's hand?"

Zheng Jinxiu quickly withdrew her hand.

Madam Zheng had seen it all, so how could she allow her to hide it?

She pulled Zheng Jinxiu's hand from behind her back and saw the white cloth stained with blood. Her heart ached as she asked, "Your hand is injured, why didn't you tell Mother?"

Zheng Jinxiu replied, "It's just a small injury, Mother. It's alright."

However, Zheng Laosan spoke in a sardonic tone, "In Mother's heart, there's only Little Sister, where is Jinxiu?"

Madam Zheng: "..." What was with this piece of roasted pork? Why did he insist on disrupting the harmonious atmosphere?

"How did you hurt yourself?" She was still concerned about Zheng Jinxiu.

Zheng Jinxiu replied, "Mother, it was my own clumsiness. It's just a small cut, nothing serious."

At this moment, Zheng Laosan added, "Mother, Jinxiu noticed the hot weather and made us fans. Her injury occurred while she was helping Second Brother and me with them."

He took out the fan to show Mrs. Zheng, "Look, this one right here."

Mrs. Zheng expressed her concern, "Making a fan involves handling bamboo strips, which can be quite hazardous. You should have let the servants do it. Why did you do it yourself?"

Zheng Jinxiu said, "It has to be something made by myself for it to hold meaning for my brothers."

At this point, Zheng Laoer added, "Mother, this is our sister's way of expressing her care. We also feel quite guilty about her injury. Please don't scold her."

"Where would I scold her? Mother is worried. Jinxiu, don't touch anything dangerous like this in the future."

"Alright, Jinxiu will listen to Mother."

"You siblings carry on with your catch-up. I'll go see if your father has returned yet."