Fan Xingjia, unable to watch silently, quickly said, “Madam Sha, please wait. Young Master Yang had plenty of snacks before going out to play. He shouldn’t be too hungry. Besides, he refused Miss Yang’s company and had four or five servants with him. How could anything happen to him in Muwei Palace…”
“Of course, you don’t care, he’s not your son!” Madam Sha turned and scolded, “Master Yang has only this one child. If anything happened, could you take responsibility? Even Sect Leader Qi couldn’t protect you then!”
Fan Xingjia, unfamiliar with such a shrew, was at a loss. Suddenly, Cai Zhao stepped forward past him.
“Madam, what’s your rank in the family?” Cai Zhao asked with a smile.
Madam Sha was confused, “What rank? I’m an only daughter…”
“I’m not asking about the Sha family, but the Yang family. What’s your rank there?” Cai Zhao’s smile made Fan Xingjia uneasy. “You look so young and beautiful, I guess you must be after the sixth – seventh wife? Eighth, or ninth?”
“How dare you insult me?!” Madam Sha trembled with anger.
Cai Zhao replied sarcastically, “I’m complimenting your youth and beauty.”
“Junior Sister misunderstands. There are no seventh or eighth wives. Madam Sha is the only wife,” Chang Ning calmly interjected. “After Master Yang’s two sons died at the hands of Nie Hengcheng’s followers, he took in twenty or thirty concubines. Madam Sha became his wife after giving birth to young Master Yang.”
“Twenty or thirty?” Fan Xingjia wasn’t sure if he was amazed or shocked.
Cai Zhao feigned sudden understanding, “Oh, I see. To stand out among twenty or thirty, Madam Sha must be quite capable.”
Though arrogant in the Yang household, Madam Sha wasn’t completely foolish. Noticing Cai Zhao’s fine clothes and Chang Ning’s pockmarked face, she realized the former was not to be trifled with and the latter couldn’t be touched. Biting her lip, she angrily stomped her foot and turned away, “You wretched girl, come quickly! I’ll let your father deal with you!” She left, dragging Yang Xiaolan along with one hand and leading her son with the other.
Fan Xingjia watched worriedly, “Oh dear, I hope Miss Yang will be alright. With the ceremony approaching, it wouldn’t be good to have fighting and scolding now.”
“What good can come from having a father like Yang He’ying? Though even tigers don’t eat their cubs, so her life probably isn’t in danger,” Cai Zhao said, displeased.
“I’ve heard that Siqi Gate has had only single heirs for five generations, so the Yang family values offspring greatly. Poor Miss Yang, she’s fourteen or fifteen but looks only twelve or thirteen. Tsk, Junior Brother Chang, what do you think? Eh, Junior Brother Chang…?”
Fan and Cai turned their heads to find Chang Ning already seated at the table. “What’s there to say? If I were Miss Yang, I’d rip out that woman’s tongue along with her throat,” he said flatly, his words chilling.
Fan Xingjia laughed nervously, “Junior Brother Chang must be joking.”
“I’m not joking,” Chang Ning replied coldly. “That Yang brat is born weak; it’ll be good enough if he doesn’t turn out useless. But Miss Yang has excellent potential. Even with average comprehension, if she practices diligently, she’ll achieve greatness one day.”
While Cai Zhao hadn’t noticed the siblings’ differing potentials, Fan Xingjia considered it and agreed, “That’s true. Though Miss Yang is small, her potential isn’t bad.”
“Forget the future. With Miss Yang’s current skills, if she wanted to, that Sha woman couldn’t even touch her clothes. She’s just too timid to resist,” he said, never pitying the weak-willed.
Chang Ning’s sharp words surprised Cai Zhao. She frowned, “Madam Sha is one thing, but what about Master Yang? How could Miss Yang defy him?”
“It depends on whether she wants to endure silently for ‘filial piety’ or stand up for herself. The world is vast; she could find a place anywhere. One must walk their path; others can’t do it for them.”
Fan Xingjia found this too extreme and laughed it off, “Junior Brother Chang is a man, so naturally you think the whole world can be home. It’s not so easy for Miss Yang as a woman.”
Chang Ning looked directly at Fan Xingjia, “Cai Ping Shu was also a woman.”
Fan Xingjia was stunned.
“When she went to Tu Mountain to face Nie Hengcheng, she went alone, without anyone to boost her courage.”
“Some people can’t resist, which is understandable. Others can but are unwilling, only knowing self-pity. Miss Yang’s background and potential are already better than many women’s. If she’s willing to endure beatings and scolding, nothing others say will matter.”
Fan Xingjia was speechless.
Cai Zhao lowered her head, holding back tears.
After drinking the tangerine peel tea, Cai Han still had a stomachache. Fan Xingjia offered to take the boy to the medicine pavilion. Cai Zhao, worried, wanted to go along. This alarmed Fan Xingjia – if Cai Zhao went, Chang Ning would surely follow, and who knew what trouble these two might cause.
So Fan Xingjia volunteered to take Cai Han alone, asking his junior disciples to ‘behave’ and stay put, promising to return quickly.
Watching Fan Xingjia leave with the whimpering Cai Han, Cai Zhao turned to Chang Ning, “Were those words all from Great Hero Chang?”
Chang Ning nodded, “Yes, Father said Lady Cai was the person he respected most in his life. Strong but not bullying, powerful but not tyrannical, kind-hearted and open-minded, joyful and accepting of fate. Father always regretted arriving a step too late at the Tu Mountain battle.”
Cai Zhao shook her head, “Actually, Uncle Qi was supposed to accompany Aunt up the mountain, but Aunt had already decided to perish with the evil leader, so she incapacitated Uncle Qi beforehand.”
Seeing the girl’s lingering sadness, Chang Ning smiled lightly, “Let’s not dwell on these sad memories. Let’s talk about something interesting. When Father told stories about your aunt, I often wondered – she and Sect Leader Qi faced life and death together so many times, fighting side by side. How come no one ever speculated about any… uh, romantic feelings between your aunt and the Sect Leader?”
Cai Zhao burst out laughing, “Of course not.”
“Why?” Chang Ning was intrigued.
“Because my aunt had a fiancé.”
Chang Ning was shocked, a rare occurrence for him.
Cai Zhao suppressed her laughter, “Great Hero Chang is truly kind-hearted not to have told you this.”
“Who was it? Have we met him?”
“We just did. It’s the Lord of Peiqiong Manor, Great Hero Zhou Zhizhen. My mother said that when Uncle Zhou was young, he was noble and refined, like a piece of fine jade. He and my aunt were engaged since childhood, but the marriage didn’t happen, so people don’t mention it anymore to avoid awkwardness.”
Suddenly, they felt someone blocking the light above them. Looking up, they saw an elegant, handsome middle-aged scholar standing in front of their table.
“Zhaozao, why didn’t you come to greet me?” Zhou Zhizhen asked with a smile, one hand behind his back.