Vol 10 Chapter 36 (2/2)

I do not if it’s because of the timing but Gan Qing and Mi Zhen rarely appear in such occasions. It feels like they prefer to wait quietly in the mansion for me so I felt different from usual.

I waved at them and Gan Qing waved back as well, in a rather ladylike and reserved manner. Even though she’s been with us for so long, she has not changed. And she’s always been bringing Mi Zhen along with her too.

As I thought so, I felt guilty as I left too much work to Gan Qing and I will soon leave even more to her. I looked down at Liu Feng and she seemed rather timid at seeing so many people and curled up, not daring to look at everyone.

For Liu Feng, these are all strangers to her after all. Even though the new faces are all either normal people like Gan Qing and Mi Zhen or refined scholarly types for the rest, there are still 2 rows of troops fully decked out in their plate armour behind them so it’s not unusual for Liu Feng to be afraid.

“Don’t be afraid, Liu Feng. Everyone here is a good person.” I said as I patted her head to calm her down, “No one here will make you have painful memories ever again.”

(TL: This part is really painful to read if you know about Liu Feng’s fate in history.)

“… Un.” Liu Feng grunted after a long while. Even though she replied as much, she still seemed rather timid and fearful. This will probably be the case for a long time to come.

This also worried me as I am beginning to think that she might not get along as well with Mi Zhen as I expect. In fact, they might even be at odds with each other given the vast difference in their demeanor.

“Un?” Just then, Zi Zhong seemed to detect that something was amiss and spoke to me, “My lord, may I ask who the child in front of you is?”

“Ah, un.” I was stunned and nodded. I tried to think about how I ought to explain it but it seemed like something that would take a long time to do so and decided to leave it for later, “It’s a long story. I’ll explain later.”

Zi Zhong looked at me and did not say anything. She merely saluted me, nodded and stepped back.

“Umm, Gan Qing, I’m sorry about this but this child, Liu Feng…” I stammered as I dismounted and helped Liu Feng off the horse as I turned to Gan Qing who looked at me and the child with a look of surprise.

But when she heard what I said, She seemed to regain her senses and jogged up, “Ah, alright.”

She then squatted down and looked at Liu Feng, touching her cheeks as she flashed her signature smile. She seemed to frown slightly when she detected how thin and frail Liu Feng was but she soon eased her frown.

“It will be alright.”

Even though Gan Qing did not know what had happened, she said these words to Liu Feng. Compared to when I said them, they seemed to have more impact from Gan Qing.

“… Un.” Liu Feng uttered as she looked at Gan Qing and hugged her.

Gan Qing smiled back in response and rubbed her cheeks as she carried her up. If I did not know better, I would have thought that they were mother and daughter. But speaking of which, where is Mi Zhen?

I felt a little worried and looked at Mi Zhen to see that she was walking over to Gan Qing with her eyes wide open.

No!

“Ah, Gan Qing, umm–” I tried to go up and speak with Gan Qing about this but Mi Zhen was quicker than I was.”

“Oi! New girl!”

“Eek!” Liu Feng trembled in Gan Qing’s arms as she looked at Mi Zhen. I thought that she would get a shock and be as timid as she usually was with other people but she did not react and held Mi Zhen’s stare.

“Un? … Ah, little sister Liu Feng, let me introduce you.” Gan Qing said as she got up and turned to Mi Zhen, “This is little sister Mi Zhen, you both must get along with each other.”

“Oh…”

“Un…”

They both nodded dazedly and then–

“Ah~ I have a new friend now~”

“Oh, oh, oh.” Liu Feng uttered somewhat frantically as she smiled back at Mi Zhen who shook Liu Feng’s hand vigorously.

Un… Looks like the feeling of friends.h.i.+p between them has won out over the feeling of compet.i.tion between them. Haha, that’s good. That will make it easier for her to fit in.

“I’m back, everyone.” I said as I saluted and bowed to everyone, “How is everyone doing?”

When I finished, everyone responded in kind. Everyone looks like they are in good shape. Nothing drastic or bad has happened in the city when we left, I thought as I advanced further into the city.

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