Chapter 69 - 69 69 Praise and Criticism

Words : 1532 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Praise and Criticism Chapter 69: Chapter 69: Praise and Criticism At this time, it was nearing evening, and the red sun hung on the horizon, dyeing the clouds at the skyline a rouge color. Under the sunset, there were quite a few more people around the small courtyard of the Zheng Family. The lady was only accompanied by Housekeeper Wu, but there were quite a few servants from the Zhao Family behind her at a further distance. They were also quite clever, probably realizing that the lady not only did not mind their following, but seemed to somewhat indulge them, they dared not come close, but still gathered in small groups in the distance. Those sweeping swept, those pruning pruned; everyone kept their eyes straight, but their ears perked up. The Zheng Family’s home was originally located in a more secluded area of the Zhao Family’s estate, and the flora and land here had never enjoyed being tended by so many people, surrounding one tree could have three people, and it still seemed not enough to go around. Gao Yuan slowly turned his head in front of Zheng Fa, glanced at the lady not three yards away from him, and when he turned back to look at Zheng Fa, he was almost stammering. “Madam... did you not hear what I said?” “Don’t you know?” “Know what?” “The lady is a cultivator.” “...” “Don’t cry, you were praising her for being young.” Gao Yuan’s face turned pale, completely unsoothed. Was her appearance something he could praise? But the lady walked past Gao Yuan, as if she didn’t see him, her gaze focused on Zheng Fa. Zheng Fa still first bowed respectfully. Unexpectedly, the lady also slightly performed a curtsy. Housekeeper Gao beside him opened his mouth wide, the disappointment on his face replaced by disbelief—he seemed not worried anymore about the lady getting angry, but rather a bit worried that the lady had gone mad. The group of servants behind the lady also stirred, all unable to resist looking this way. “Madam, please come in and talk.” Seeing such a commotion, Zheng Fa sidestepped and directly spoke. The lady was stunned, looked at Zheng Fa for a moment, and without speaking, followed Zheng Fa into the courtyard. Mrs. Zheng and the younger sister both stood in the courtyard, greeting the lady, looking quite constrained. The lady also stopped and sincerely returned the greeting to them. This sudden and serious respect made Mrs. Zheng completely freeze on spot, not knowing where to put her hands, only muttering softly, “How can this be? How can this be...” Zheng Fa nodded soothingly at his mother, and invited the lady into the hall. “I underestimated you.” “Why would Madam say that?” Zheng Fa was a bit puzzled as to why the lady would start with that. “You young people at this age love glory. I intended to cater to your likes and purposely gave you this glory in front of so many servants, but you seemed unmoved and even invited me inside.” It’s not known if it was because of the lady’s honesty, or her intention was initially to please Zheng Fa, that even when she brought up these somewhat shallow tricks, it wasn’t too repulsive. “Hmm... I’m actually a bit happy,” Zheng Fa said after a pause. “Hmm?” “It’s just because you are the Seventh Young Master’s mother.” “Just for him? So you don’t want me to lose face?” Hearing this, a genuine smile finally appeared in the lady’s eyes. “Also, when my father passed away, you gave ten silver.” This matter, Mrs. Zheng always mentioned. No matter the reason the lady gave that silver, but at that time the Zheng Family was going through the toughest period, the funeral of Mr. Zheng needed money, Zheng Fa had yet to mature, and their family’s fortune had plummeted. Exaggerated as it might sound, those ten silver basically saved the lives of three people. The lady’s face showed significant emotion, and her gaze towards Zheng Fa finally carried seriousness. She understood the meaning behind Zheng Fa’s words— Initially, you thought I was not easy to control, thinking that by frightening me, you could make me bow and obey, you underestimated me. Now you think that just because I have risen to power overnight, I have forgotten my roots, even become thankless and ungrateful, and even look down on me. After staring at Zheng Fa for a long time, she finally sighed and said, “Should I say you are unflappable, or should I say you are even prouder than I thought? If fools really have foolish luck, then Zhao Jingfan is foolish for several lifetimes meeting you.” ... It seemed she no longer had the previously cautious demeanor, and she clapped her hands. Housekeeper Wu brought up a box on the side. When the box was opened, it revealed a stack of deeds. The lady pulled out the top three. “These are the deeds of servitude of your family. I have already ordered Housekeeper Wu to cancel your servitude at the government office tomorrow.” This is only right. Do not look at it as just an Immortal Item, no servant in the Zhao Family for a thousand years could obtain this, even the descendants of the Zhao Family fight fiercely over it every ten years, the lady herself sometimes unable to decide whom it belongs to. Moreover, in the lady’s eyes, with Master Zhang’s favor, Zheng Fa was bound to pass the Immortal Item assembly. Trying to restrict a disciple of the Immortal Sect with this deed of servitude is a joke. The lady didn’t seem to focus on this, but instead pointed to the other deeds below. “These properties were originally intended for me to atone. Now that you are no longer people of the Zhao Family, you should have some properties to your name,” the lady paused then said, “Speaking of compensation now seems rather petty, why not consider it as tuition for my foolish son.” “Properties?” Standing aside, Mrs. Zheng, who was already bewildered by her family suddenly being freed from servitude, heard about properties and became even more anxious: “Housekeeper Gao had already given us a ready-made garment shop.” The lady remained politely silent. Zheng Fa read from her face: Is that called a property? To Mrs. Zheng, that garment shop was indeed an incredible property. Zheng Fa planned to hand over the shop’s accounts to his younger sister, Zheng Shan, in the future to hone her skills. But for now, it was still managed by Zheng Fa, and he knew that the shop’s profits had not decreased much after transferring from Housekeeper Gao to Mrs. Zheng. There was still a profit of more than a dozen silver per month. For Mrs. Zheng, who was from a peasant family just a few months ago, this was already an astronomical figure. Zheng Fa flipped through the deeds in the box. A surprised expression appeared on his face. The lady was extremely generous; he saw several shops located on the main thoroughfare of Jingzhou City, all bustling with business whenever he passed by. Little did he expect that all of these were properties of the Zhao Family, and now they were all placed in the box for Zheng Fa to choose from. There were also eight or nine land deeds for houses within Jingzhou City, more than half of them were grand mansions located in the wealthy West City as mentioned by the old coachman. No wonder the lady had such an expression on her face. Zheng Fa thought for a while, then pushed the box towards the lady. “What? Not satisfied?” The lady frowned slightly, speaking straightforwardly, “These properties are indeed not the most valuable ones. I still have some better shops in my dowry.” “No, the lady has shown great sincerity; it’s just too valuable.” Zheng Fa shook his head. “Too valuable?” The lady suddenly laughed, “You might not know that Master Zhang saying you teach better than her is more valuable?” “Uh?” “Do you know how much it cost Lan’er to invite Master Zhang?” “No,” Zheng Fa shook his head. “No money was involved.” Mentioning this, the lady’s face showed a somewhat melancholic expression: “The Nascent Soul ancestor who founded the Zhao Family had a favor with Master Zhang’s master, and only then did we have this favor... and this favor is too valuable.” “What are these properties in comparison?” Zheng Fa shook his head and said to the lady, “When I said too valuable, I meant... sudden wealth for the poor can bring disaster.” The lady stared intently at him, and when she spoke again, there was an almost teeth-gritting lack of understanding in her tone: “With your temperament, for him to have such a friend in you, even if he were my own son, I would have to ask why.” ... You really know how to praise and criticize at the same time.

Chapter 69 - 69 69 Praise and Criticism

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