Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Young Master, they were talking about the Grand Princess just now.”

“I heard from the other servants that the Grand Princess is not inferior to any man. She’s incredible! After she turned 13 years of age, she headed to the front lines. I heard that the Grand Princess has recently led an army and won a huge battle not far in front of Mo City.”

Arriving at North Street, Xiao Die began to talk about the Grand Princess who was called “Princess General” by the civilians of the Great Yan Empire.

To many women in the Great Yan Empire, the Grand Princess was their idol.

At the age of 13, she joined the military and went to war.

At the age of 15, she personally led a cavalry unit and launched a surprise attack on the enemy camp, killing the enemy leader.

At the age of 16, she led an army to seize back the Whitewater Pass that Great Yan Empire had lost for seven years.

During this period, they successfully repelled numerous enemy assaults.

She was conferred the title of Grand Princess at the age of 17. Moreover, the emperor made an exception and allowed her to have her vassal state, called “Fiery Moon Nation”.

During that year, Prince Jin rebelled and led a 100,000-strong army to lay siege to the capital city, but he was defeated on the way there. Thousands of subordinates of Prince Jin and his family were beheaded and sent to the Capital.

From that year onward, many people labeled the Grand Princess as a bloodthirsty and ruthless woman.

And this year, she killed another 100,000 soldiers from the neighboring nation, the Hundred Blossoms Nation. People’s opinions of her were polarized into two extremes.

Of course, most of the women in the Great Yan Empire still admired her.

Luo Qingzhou sifted through his memories, but he could not find much information about the Grand Princess. Most of what he knew about her were legends.

Xiao Die, on the other hand, was chattering happily and nonstop, but what she knew was only hearsay from the maidservants in the Chengguo Residence. She did not know if it was true.

Both of them bought candied hawthorns and strolled around for a while before returning to the residence.

Luo Qingzhou had just returned to his room and was about to read when a maidservant barged into the small courtyard. She said angrily, “Luo Qingzhou, where did you go? Why did you take so long to return? Second Young Master wants you to go over!”

The maidservant’s name was Lu Er. She was Luo Yu’s personal maidservant.

She had never treated Luo Qingzhou as the Third Young Master of the Chengguo Residence and often bullied Xiao Die.

Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and then followed her out of the small courtyard.

Lu Er walked in front with a dark expression and urged him impatiently, “Walk faster. Don’t hold Second Young Master back from his martial arts training. He has been preparing for an exam recently, and in the future, he will be admitted to the capital’s Dragon Academy. If you hinder him, you won’t be able to bear the consequences!”

Luo Qingzhou stared into her eyes and heard what she was thinking.

“Damn it, why did he come back at this time? I was about to serve Second Young Master earlier. That damn Xiao He deliberately barged in to disrupt us.”

Luo Qingzhou suddenly asked, “Lu Er, do you and Xiao He often bully Xiao Die?”

When Lu Er heard this, she stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him. “Who did you hear it from? Do you have evidence?”

Luo Qingzhou narrowed his eyes. “Were you the one who pinched Xiao Die’s arm a few days ago?”

Lu Er snorted coldly. “That little slut complained to you?”

Then, she sneered and said, “How ridiculous. That little b*tch is lascivious in nature. Back then, she wanted to seduce Second Young Master, so she was about to be sunk into the well by First Madam. In the end, that b*tch of your… Your mother saved her. Now, she hasn’t given up and still seduced you! She’s a plain Jane, but she wants to take a shortcut to the top. Ha! She didn’t expect that you’ll be marrying into…”

There was a loud slap.

Before she could finish speaking, Luo Qingzhou slapped her hard across her face, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

“You… How dare you hit me?” Lu Er said incredulously.

She lay on the ground and pressed a hand to her burning cheek. She was shocked and furious. “I’m Second Young Master’s maidservant! You…”

“And I’m the Young Master of the Chengguo Residence! I’m your master!” Luo Qingzhou yelled.

Before she could finish speaking, Luo Qingzhou said in an imposing manner, “Even though I’m just an illegitimate son, I’m still your master! As for you, you’re just a lowly maidservant who was bought with money. So what if I hit you? You have such a disrespectful attitude to your superior. On top of that, you even dare to say such obscene words to me. Don’t you think I ought to teach you a lesson?” He stared at her with blazing eyes.

Lu Er glared at him with hatred as she held a hand to her cheek.

At the same time, her eyes flickered. She was inwardly shocked by Luo Qingzhou’s behavior.

In her impression, this kid who had appeared out of nowhere had always been submissive and timid. Usually, he did not even dare to speak loudly to the servants. He seemed like a completely different person today.

Did he think that just because he was marrying into the Qin family, he would have a backer?

How ridiculous!

“I’ll go and complain to Young Master about this later,”

she thought.

“If you want to complain, go ahead,” Luo Qingzhou said.

He smiled coldly at her. “As far as I know, Second Young Master is practicing martial arts during this period, so First Madam has already instructed that no one should disturb him. You rely on your looks to seduce Second Young Master, causing him to become obsessed with sexual pleasure and neglect his homework. If I tell First Madam about this, you’ll most likely be beaten to death or thrown into the well by First Madam.”

Upon hearing that, Lu Er was startled. “Y-you! What nonsense! I didn’t seduce Second Young Master!”

Luo Qingzhou sneered and said, “It’s not up to you to decide if you seduced him or not. If I tell First Madam about this, she will want to get to the bottom of it, so she will ask others. If she asks Xiao He, do you think Xiao He will lie to First Madam and cover up for you?”

“Y-you…”

Lu Er was about to stand up, but when she heard this, she became so terrified that her legs went limp and she fell to the ground. Her face was ashen white.

“If you want to bully Xiao Die again, think about how many lives you have.”

Luo Qingzhou said coldly and left quickly.

For maidservants who bullied the weak and feared the strong, blindly giving in and enduring them would only make them worse. They would push their luck.

Xiao Die was his woman.

Other than him, no one could bully her!

Anyway, what was done was done. He was going to marry into the Qin family soon. Even if the maid complained to Luo Yu, the latter would not do anything to Luo Qingzhou.

After all, as their tool, he had not been fully utilized yet.

Therefore, Luo Qingzhou could not be bothered to keep up the pretense anymore.

He went through a long corridor and walked toward Luo Yu’s abode, Hollow Pavilion.

He met Xiao He and the other maidservants outside the courtyard.

When Xiao He saw Luo Qingzhou, she urged, “Come with me. Second Young Master has been waiting for you for a long time.”

As she spoke, she led him into the courtyard.

They passed through the garden and walked toward a small martial arts arena.

Xiao He asked curiously, “Where’s Lu Er? Didn’t she come back with you?”

Luo Qingzhou said indifferently, “She left halfway. She probably had an upset stomach and went to the toilet.”

Xiao He frowned and did not say anything else.

However, Luo Qingzhou heard what she was thinking.

“Could it be that her period has come? No wonder she was about to perform fellatio on Second Young Master earlier! That slut! It’s best if she falls headfirst into the toilet and drowns.”

Luo Qingzhou was at a loss for words.

Indeed, no matter where or in which era, competition was inevitable.

On the surface, this residence looked calm and harmonious, but in fact, everyone was scheming and plotting against each other.

In the residence, maidservants had the lowest status. If they wanted to rise in position, they could only scheme and perform well.

The fewer opponents they had, the more chances they had.

The two maidservants, Xiao He, and Lu Er, usually seemed to have a good relationship. They were always laughing and joking together. They looked like they were intimate friends, but unexpectedly, they were secretly plotting against one another.

Luo Qingzhou followed Xiao He to the martial arts training ground.

In the spacious arena, a young man in a black martial arts suit was vigorously punching away.

He threw a punch at a speed that was neither fast nor slow, but there was the sound of air being torn apart. Moreover, as he continued to throw punches, that sound grew increasingly louder. It was similar to the sound of thunder slowly moving closer.

The momentum was astonishing!

“Second Young Master is practicing martial arts. You’re not allowed to peek!”

Xiao He immediately turned around and spread out her arms, blocking Luo Qingzhou’s view.

Luo Qingzhou looked elsewhere.

Not long after, Luo Yu finished a set of Thunder Fist.

After retracting his fist, a servant immediately handed him a towel.

After wiping his face, Luo Yu looked over to Xiao He and said indifferently, “Xiao He, let him come over.”

“Hurry up and go over. Second Young Master is calling for you.”

Xiao He urged him.

Luo Qingzhou walked over and stopped at the edge of the martial arts arena. He lowered his head and bowed. “Second Young Master,” he greeted.

Although this person was his brother in name, Luo Qingzhou knew his limits and did not address him as his brother.

No one had ever corrected him when he addressed Luo Yu as “Second Young Master.”

Even his father did not say anything when he heard that.

Therefore, to Luo Qingzhou, this was no longer his home.

He was bitterly disappointed with them.

Luo Yu stared at him calmly for a moment before saying with a smile, “Qingzhou, we’re brothers. You don’t have to be distant and reserved like a servant. I heard from my mother that you’re getting married in a few days, right?”

Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and said, “I just found out too.”

Luo Yu smiled and said, “It’s indeed a little rushed, but since the other party is the Qin family, you won’t be at a disadvantage.”

After a pause, he smiled and added, “I guess you already know this, so I won’t beat around the bush. You did me a big favor by marrying into the Qin family. The Dragon Academy will be recruiting students next year, but they only have three spots reserved for Mo City. It’s obvious that I won’t be able to get the first two spots, so I can only fight for the last one. Now, I’m putting all my focus on practicing martial arts and preparing for the exam, so I don’t have the mood or the time to get married. It just so happened that you’re able to help me with this. Qingzhou, getting you to replace me was Father and Mother’s decision. I only just found out about it.”

As he spoke, he chuckled and patted Luo Qingzhou’s shoulder. “Speaking of which, the eldest daughter of the Qin family would have been your second sister-in-law. I actually feel a little upset that you’re the one marrying her now… Fortunately, we’re brothers. Since things have come to this, I won’t mention this anymore. I’ve asked you to come for two reasons. Apart from wanting to thank you, I also want to gift you some things.”

After saying that, two servants immediately carried something over.

Luo Yu smiled and said, “I heard that you’ve been studying in your room all day, preparing for next year’s exam. I got someone to buy you some books, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. These are all good stuff. Go ahead and use them. If it’s not enough, you can get someone to look for me anytime.”

“Also, take this jade pendant. I killed a demon beast outside the city last year and got it from its stomach. It’s said that wearing this can calm one’s mind and help you to focus. It should be beneficial for scholars. It’s useless for me to wear this.”

Luo Qingzhou lowered his head and thanked him.

Luo Yu nodded and did not say anything else. He waved his hand and said, “Get them to deliver it to your abode. I still have to practice martial arts, so I won’t keep you.”

Luo Qingzhou bade farewell and left.

Before he left, he glanced at Luo Yu and heard what the latter was thinking.

“Strange, why do I feel that this kid is different from before? In the past, whenever he saw me, he would be quivering with fear. Even his legs were shaky. Now, although he is also respectful, he is neither servile nor overbearing. He seems to have become much bolder. Unfortunately, Father and Mother have given up on him and want him to marry that fool. That’s it for him, I guess. Otherwise, I can train him and then hand him to Young Master Meng as a gift. I heard that Young Master Meng of the City Lord Manor loves good-looking and weak scholars the most…”

These words echoed in Luo Qingzhou’s mind as he followed the maidservant and servant out. Luo Qingzhou clenched his fists tightly.