Simple Life Chapter 5: Zhang Shen

NOT EDITED

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The crown princess married over for a year now, almost two years actually, which meant that, for the moment, the young master Zhang was still vice general. He had yet to rise in rank. Thus, there was still some time before the male lead ascended the dragon throne. Two years again… or maybe three. In those years, the now vice general Zhang Shen would become general.

Though Lane had yet to see him to determine how he looked, the author's description of him floated to her mind. He was supposed to be quite scary, having been surnamed the red demon due to his fame for his killing spree on the battlefield. Rumors had it that he would be covered from head to toe with his enemy's blood. He sported a scary-looking scar on his face that he had received on the battlefield which led him to his title of general. So, for the time being, he shouldn't have that.

Some said he liked danger. Fierceless and ruthless, but not mindless. However, no matter the amount of precaution one could take, life or death was never guaranteed in the battlefield. Having only this one son, the madam was quite worried about him. He may never come back after all, at that time… that was something she forced herself not to think too much about. His father, on the other hand, wasn’t all that moody and rather basked in the well-known reputation of his legitimate son. The man was indeed quite satisfied with the distinctions and the prestige won by this child of his, boasting to who cared enough to listen that he was indeed worthy of being his heir.

This father Zhang who was an old scholar, had three other sons, concubines’ sons. They followed the scholars' routes like himself, so he was a bit closer with them, though, he didn’t dare neglect neither his wife nor his legitimate daughter, lest it angered the first son.

That was how renown Zhang Shen was, capable of making his own father break in sweat with his unforgiving gaze.

Zhang Shen was described as having a distinguishable presence, most of the time he was thirsting for someone's blood. There were very little passages written where he wasn't emitting bloodlust. Most of those passages were when he was with his family members that he approved of, meaning his mother and his sister. His future scar would run along his right eye up to his lower lip, accompanied by other scars all over his body, having been tortured once by the country’s enemies. It was after that when he would free himself and come back with victory, that the old emperor would raise his rank, making him a general of the first rank, after his upcoming victory against the barbaric tribes at the East. The protagonist had vouched for him and praised him heavily. In another two years though, that same protagonist would feel threatened by his power and would want the military seal back, killing the whole family in the process. In the end, his wife concubine cheating on him had been God-given chance or rather, the plot working in his favor.

Fu Bin wouldn’t want to dwell on the right or wrong of this, palace and power balances were a whacking mess and immoral, she really didn’t want to lose some brain cells. One couldn’t be an Emperor with a soft heart but in the end, those who died, she could only consider them pitiful. They just had the misfortune of not being the protagonists’ friends or trusted allies.

Standing in the middle of a passage and truthfully lost, she was quite upset now that this villain family was just sided characters else wouldn't she know her way with the authors' love of places description? She was certain actually that she could find her way in the imperial palace right now if someone dumped her there but here, tsk, tsk. Let's try going back on her track.

While walking, she kept on thinking. The book really didn’t dwell too much on this family, explaining them only in passings. However, being inside the manor, she was privy to the hearsays of the servants.

The first son, Zhang Shen, until now, had yet to touch a woman. Others’ sons were introduced to this since their teen days, sometimes even having an official wive at fourteen, but this one son, no matter what the main wife did, refuse to take a concubine, he didn’t want a concubine-servant either. 

He was already nineteen this year and considering his line of work, his mother was even more anxious than other women to let him settle down. He absolutely showed no sign of being interested in the fairer sex, no matter how much she pushed the women to him, no matter how beautiful they were. He was simply, unwilling. 

The web novel never talked about any concubines nor bedwarmers, but then again he was no main character, so Fu Bin couldn’t be sure how this would turn out. The story wasn’t, after all, focused on him so that they didn’t mention him having concubines didn’t mean he didn’t have, maybe he would end up yielding to taking bed warmers like his mom wanted, maybe no. For now, she was trying to ingratiate herself and become a good servant in case they were planning to chase her out, better be useful now. After all, these days weren’t good for those who had nowhere to go and certainly not for someone who had yet to grasp the common sense of this time.

So, bitterly, Lane held onto the full basket of clothes she was carrying and thought not for the first time today, just where the hell, where the laundries room again?

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