Zheng Fa had been away from Jingzhou City for nearly two years, and Zheng Shan was almost eight now. She had grown taller, but her little face was still round and chubby, clearly well-fed and not missing out on good food.
“Why are you running off? You need to write back to your brother and send him the homework he left in the last letter,” her mother called after her.
“…”
Zheng Shan pouted, glancing at the thick envelope in her mother’s hand, her eyes filled with despair.
When her brother first left, she had been heartbroken… she cried for a whole month.
She imagined her brother missed them too; less than a month after leaving home, he sent a letter. It was first given to Madam Zhao, who then passed it on to their mother.
At first, receiving Zheng Fa’s letter made her happy…
But that happiness didn’t last long.
In his letter, her brother had assigned her a test and insisted that she include the answers when she wrote back.
She cried for another month…
From then on, she lived the correspondence student life her brother had described.
She no longer looked forward to his letters.
“This letter is quite thin.”
Perhaps sensing her reluctance, Zheng’s mother smiled and said, “Madam Zhao mentioned she received a letter from your brother too. Come on, read it to me.”
Zheng Shan took the letter from her mother’s hand, opened it, and silently read through it once. Suddenly, she exclaimed, “Mom, Brother says he’s coming to take us to Jiushan Zong!”
“Ah?” Zheng’s mother exclaimed with joy, quickly asking, “Is that what your brother said? He’s coming to get us?”
Zheng Shan nodded, “He said soon, people from Jiushan Zong will come to pick us up.”
“Don’t get it wrong; read it out loud from the beginning!”
Zheng’s mother urged, a bit excited.
Zheng Shan read the letter aloud, and only then did her mother fully believe it, her face lighting up with joy.
Zheng’s mother counted on her fingers and suddenly said, “Your brother has been gone for five hundred and fifty-three days…”
Zheng Shan was taken aback, surprised that her mother remembered so precisely.
“Finally, we can see your brother. I wonder if he’s lost weight and how he’s doing at Jiushan Zong…”
Listening to her mother’s murmurs, Zheng Shan’s expression changed as she put the letter down and dashed toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To school!” Zheng Shan ran off quickly, not looking back. “When my brother sees me, he’ll definitely test me!”
“…”
The Zhao family wasn’t short on money, and the school was quite large with many students.
Since Zheng Shan was a girl and still young, she only needed to attend classes in the morning.
Older students had classes in the afternoon as well.
As she arrived at the school, she attracted quite a bit of attention—Zhao family’s school taught boys and girls differently, and due to the constraints of propriety, they were usually taught separately.
So, Zheng Shan’s classmates were all girls.
Seeing her arrive, a few older girls glanced at her with a hint of disdain.
Zheng Shan didn’t care about their looks; instead, she took out her math book, circled the problems she got wrong, and headed toward the math teacher’s study.
As she passed by those girls, she heard a soft snort.
Zheng Shan was already used to it—
From the moment she started attending school, she sensed that these girls had subtly excluded her.
At first, she didn’t understand why, but later, the family steward, Huang Yu, found out that these girls were the illegitimate daughters of the Zhao family head, who had previously clashed with the Seventh Young Master.
Since her brother was friends with the Seventh Young Master, it was only natural they would resent her.
Initially, Zheng Shan was a bit worried about being bullied.
But she soon realized that these girls only dared to whisper behind her back, especially after Madam Zhao invited her mother for tea every month; they didn’t even dare to speak, only snorting…
She studied hard every day to complete her brother’s assignments.
They secretly mocked her for trying to please the teacher, putting on a show for others.
That felt quite unfair to her…
If she dared to neglect her homework, not only would her mother be upset, but Madam Zhao would also ask the teacher about it…
Who could stand that?
To be honest, if she weren’t so busy, she might have cared about these girls.
But she simply didn’t have the time…
…
After leaving the teacher’s study, Zheng Shan noticed that the courtyard was filled with people—
All the students and teachers had come out.
They were gathered together, heads bowed, respectfully silent.
Zheng Shan was taken aback and looked ahead, her heart racing with surprise:
All the masters of the Zhao family were present.
Madam Zhao was at the front, accompanied by a pale-faced man—was he the head of the Zhao family?
Zheng Shan had never seen him outside.
Behind them stood the heads of the second and third branches of the family, whom Zheng Shan had seen occasionally.
In front of Madam Zhao stood a stern-looking middle-aged man.
Zheng Shan recognized him; he was the governor in charge of the area around Jingzhou City, and he seemed to be a disciple of the immortal sect.
The most powerful man in Jingzhou City!
Could it be that the governor had come to the Zhao family, which was why all the Zhao family heads were here to greet him?
That seemed possible…
But Zheng Shan quickly dismissed that thought.
The governor was also bowing his head, seemingly afraid to look ahead, appearing quite humble.
In front of her stood a woman with a serious expression, as if she never smiled.
The woman was actually quite beautiful, but her expression and the look in her eyes made it hard to judge her beauty.
“Honored guest, I… have prepared some humble tea and simple food…” Zheng Shan heard the governor say, his tone full of flattery.
“No need, I am from Jiushan Zong, and you are from the Hundred Immortals Alliance…”
The governor’s face stiffened, but he didn’t dare to say anything else.
Others could tell that this woman was not easily pleased, and her high status made them even more reluctant to look up.
The governor offered a few more suggestions.
All were flattering remarks.
But the woman showed no interest, and after a while, her face revealed some impatience, making the governor hesitate to speak.
The others held their breath, even their breathing barely audible.
Zheng Shan, being perceptive, quickly realized that this woman was a person of extremely high status and didn’t seem very kind.
After her brother left, her mother had repeatedly warned her not to cause trouble outside.
At this moment, she didn’t want to get closer.
Holding her book, she lowered her head and quietly tried to slip past the crowd, hoping to leave unnoticed.
But after just a few steps, Zheng Shan felt a gaze fixed on her. She stiffened and looked up, only to find that the important figure was staring at her, deep in thought.
The girls who had been unfriendly to her shot her sidelong glances, their lips curling into smirks, as if they were enjoying her predicament.
“Are you surnamed Zheng?”
The woman suddenly spoke.
“Yes…”
Zheng Shan was taken aback, her heart racing as she guessed what was coming, and she responded.
The woman, who had shown no smile despite the governor’s flattery, suddenly broke into a gentle smile.
Everyone listened as she spoke softly, “I am Huang, your brother’s master’s sister. I’m here to take you.”
The courtyard fell silent, all eyes on Zheng Shan, their expressions complex—Zheng Shan, at her young age, couldn’t comprehend it.
The governor looked Zheng Shan up and down, his expression almost fearful.
Huang Shixu stepped closer to Zheng Shan, glanced at the book in her hands, and with a slight twitch of her mouth, as if recalling something, said, “Your brother is quite naive, leaving you and your mother here… Have you suffered any grievances these past two years? I’ll speak on your behalf!”
As she said this, her tone turned a bit stern.
The governor and everyone in the Zhao family turned pale.
Zheng Shan looked at those girls and saw them all bowing their heads, retreating behind others.
“Will the honored guest help me, no matter who has wronged me?”
Zheng Shan thought for a long time before speaking.
The head of the Zhao family trembled slightly, almost losing his balance.
Huang Shixu looked at them, her face cold, and nodded.
“About my brother!”
“Hmm?”
“Honored immortal, since you are my brother’s master’s sister, could you please tell my brother to stop testing me…” Zheng Shan raised her math book, her face a picture of despair. “I can’t keep up…”
“…”
“Except for your brother…”
Huang Shixu fell silent for a moment, recalling the news from Jiushan Zong, and said, “The entire Jiushan Zong is almost ruined because of your brother…”
“I can’t help it…”
“…”
…
Huang Shixu took Zheng Shan’s hand and led the large group to meet with Shixu Pang, who was bringing thousands of disciples.
She also brought along tens of thousands of people related to Jiushan Zong.
“Junior Sister Huang!”
Shixu Pang glanced at her, his gaze landing on Zheng Shan’s face, filled with excitement.
“What did you call me?”
Huang Shixu smirked, a teasing smile on her lips.
“...Sister Huang! This is…”
“Zheng Fa’s sister.”