Fear

Fear

In the dusk, Zheng Fa could clearly make out his little sister Zheng Shan standing beneath the great elm tree at the village entrance.

Standing before her were three boys at least a head taller than she was. The one in the middle was clearly their leader.

Zheng Fa recognized the boy in the middle at a glance.

Tall and skinny, with a hooked nose and sparse brows, his face looked thin and bland.

This was Wang Gui, the only son of Steward Wang from the estate.

The former occupant of Zheng Fa's current position as a pageboy.

A few days ago, Zheng Fa had heard from his mother that Wang Gui had been caned by the madam and sent home. When he returned to the estate, he had still been unconscious and unable to leave his bed.

Yet today, he was already standing here bullying Zheng Fa's little sister.

Wang Gui's complexion was indeed paler than before, with scarcely any color in his face, making his features appear even more gloomy.

Even the way he stood was somewhat unnatural. One arm rested on the boy beside him, as though he lacked the strength to support himself.

Zheng Shan had just been speaking to these boys. It was obvious that the two sides had gotten into some sort of conflict.

Though Zheng Shan was alone and small in stature, facing several boys who outnumbered and outaged her, she held her head high.

Her tiny body was taut, her fists clenched tight. In her right palm was half a flatbread.

The other half had been torn away and thrown onto the ground, covered in mud.

Zheng Fa knew that the flatbread had been made by their mother. That morning, she had even given the old coachman a whole bundle of them.

This one had probably been specially saved for Zheng Shan as a snack, because their mother had dote on her.

The flatbread was not worth much, but for Zheng Shan, white-flour flatbread was not something she could eat every day. It was a precious treat. If there had been no conflict, she would never have let half of it fall to the ground.

Knowing his little sister so well, Zheng Fa could see the fear hidden beneath her stubborn stance.

He quickened his pace toward the four of them.

Then he heard Wang Gui say in a hoarse, dry voice, "So what if your brother has come back? Do you think I'm afraid of him? Are you afraid?"

He asked the boy beside him.

"Not afraid," the boy replied with a grin.

"And you?"

"He doesn't even have a father. Who'd be afraid of him?"

Apparently amused, Wang Gui began laughing. As he laughed, he covered his neck with one hand, clearly not yet recovered from his injuries.

Zheng Shan could not help saying, "When my brother comes back and sees you stealing my food, he'll have the madam beat you again!"

Apparently, in her mind, being beaten by the madam was already the greatest punishment in the world.

"Bah! What is your brother, that he dares order the madam around?" At the mention of the madam, Wang Gui stopped laughing, but the anger in his eyes became even more obvious. "Do you really think that just because I was sent home, your brother can become the young master's pageboy?"

"Your brother can't even recognize all his characters! Would the madam ever take a fancy to him?"

Wang Gui sounded utterly certain of it.

Zheng Fa realized that Wang Gui probably truly did not believe Zheng Fa could take over his position as a pageboy.

But today, he was even more irritable than usual.

Normally, Wang Gui would bully Zheng Shan, of course, but usually he merely ignored her or occasionally mocked the Zheng Family's circumstances in front of her.

It was actually rare for him to block Zheng Shan at the village entrance like this.

Especially when Wang Gui was clearly still unwell.

Zheng Fa thought it over. Wang Gui had merely heard that the madam was selecting a pageboy for the Seventh Young Master, and knew he had no hope whatsoever of returning.

So he had taken out his resentment on Zheng Fa, who had the chance to go to the Zhao Residence.

And Zheng Fa's little sister had become even more of an eyesore to him.

That was why he had deliberately come to make trouble for her today.

As Zheng Fa gradually approached, the sound of his footsteps made both groups turn to look at him.

Zheng Shan had been glaring fiercely at Wang Gui and the other two, her little lips pressed tightly together, unwilling to show weakness.

But the instant she saw Zheng Fa, the tears in her eyes finally spilled down in streams. "Brother, they stole my flatbread!"

A trace of panic also appeared on the faces of Wang Gui and the other two.

After all, Zheng Fa was bigger than all three of them. His dark expression as he walked over carried a faint air of intimidation.

Looking at Zheng Shan's little face covered in tears, Zheng Fa paid no attention to the three boys. Instead, he pulled her into his arms with an aching heart and placed the food box given by the old coachman before her.

"Look, what did your brother bring you?"

Zheng Shan sniffled. As if she had caught a scent, she stared through tear-blurred eyes at the unfamiliar food box before her.

"It smells so good!"

Seeing that she had stopped crying, Zheng Fa opened the lid of the food box.

It was a three-tiered food box. On the first tier sat three small plates of pastries: one shaped like flower petals, one like butterflies, and one round and plump.

"Food!"

"That's right. These are pastries from Gathering Star Tower in the city. Someone specially bought them for you!"

"For me?" Zheng Shan stretched out a slightly chubby hand and pointed at her own little nose.

"They're all yours."

His little sister's happiness was so simple that she did not even have time to wipe away her snot and tears before beaming foolishly at Zheng Fa.

"Let's see what's underneath."

Zheng Fa continued coaxing her.

"Okay!" Zheng Shan craned her neck, holding her breath as she watched Zheng Fa's hand open the food box.

"Meat! So much meat!"

The second tier held only one dish: a huge plate piled high with slices of meat, plain and unadorned.

But for Zheng Shan, this was probably the first time she had ever seen so much meat heaped together at once.

She even rubbed her eyes.

Zheng Fa opened the third tier as well. It still held just one dish: a plump, glistening roast chicken, sprawled there in all its oily splendor, leaving Zheng Shan nearly unable to tear her eyes away.

"Brother, is all of this for me to eat?"

Zheng Fa smiled and nodded. He secretly thought that the old coachman really did have some insight. Compared to all those fancy foods, putting great chunks of meat before his little sister would definitely make her happier.

"It's all yours. But you'd better eat it quickly. Don't cry if it goes bad."

"It's for me, Mother, and Brother. We all have to eat it quickly!" Zheng Shan shook her head and happily pointed at the food box. "I'll eat, Mother will eat, Brother will eat! We'll definitely finish it all!"

Then she suddenly patted her belly in worry. "Brother, my stomach is growling. It told me it can eat more than half all by itself!"

His little sister had finally forgotten her earlier unhappiness.

But the three boys behind Zheng Fa were having a hard time.

Wang Gui was not too bad off. After all, he had seen some things, and Steward Wang's family had quite a bit of wealth.

But the other two were ordinary boys from the estate. Their families were only a little better off than Zheng Fa's, and they rarely saw so much delicious food in daily life.

"Brother Wang, have you eaten food from Gathering Star Tower before?" one of them asked Wang Gui, swallowing hard.

"Who hasn't? It's not even expensive! Next time, I'll bring some for you too!" Wang Gui said bitterly.

What angered him even more was Zheng Fa's attitude of ignoring him when he arrived. For some reason, ever since they were young, Zheng Fa had never shown anger when facing him.

More often, it was this very attitude—ignoring him and refusing to pay him any heed.

Yet it was precisely this attitude that had always made Wang Gui somewhat afraid of Zheng Fa.

After going to the city and becoming the young master's pageboy, he felt that he had seen more of the world, and Zheng Fa's manner had seemed laughable to him.

But now, seeing Zheng Fa act this way again, he felt as though he were facing those important people of the Zhao Residence, and a little fear rose in his heart.

What is there to fear? Even if I return to the estate and can't be a pageboy anymore, could I possibly be worse than a fatherless nobody like him? He silently comforted himself, took two steps forward, and was about to speak.

Outside the estate, the sound of wheels and horses rang out.

A youth stood atop a carriage and shouted toward Zheng Fa, "Brother Zheng, I've come to see you!"

Zheng Fa turned around. Who else could the person standing before the carriage shaft and waving at him be but Huang Yu?

Beside Huang Yu, a portly middle-aged man was also smiling at Zheng Fa.