Chapter Eighty-Eight: Silver Lotus Is Pregnant

“Zhou Bao, I won this match. These aged herbs and land deeds, I shall gladly take them.”

A glimmer of delight flashed in Su Yang’s eyes. With a sweep of his hand, the servants and household retainers immediately stepped forward and gathered up the aged herbs and deeds placed on the table.

“Su Yang, now that you have reached the seventh rank, do you dare fight me again?”

A trace of chill crossed Zhou Bao’s eyes. Since this man had broken through to the seventh rank, so be it. He would personally cripple the brat before him, and by then Zhang Qingshi would surely be utterly disappointed in Su Yang.

“Why should I fight you?”

“What do you want, then?”

“Ten pieces of eighth-rank aged herbs, five pieces of seventh-rank aged herbs, and the deeds to the remaining occupied houses around the Su estate. All of them are to be handed over to me.”

Su Yang said this with perfect composure.

Earlier, he had been worrying over how to deal with the people living in those surrounding houses. Now it was all settled. He would simply let Zhou Bao play the villain and help him take them over.

With his father being the county magistrate, forcing a few households to move should be easy enough. Once the Zhou family came knocking with threats, Su Yang would deal with the stubborn ones by wiping them out, and the blame would all land on the Zhou family.

“Those houses are not even mine. Why should I give them to you just because you ask?”

Zhou Bao gritted his teeth.

“When you have the deeds in hand, that will be when we fight the next match. Surely you, Zhou Bao, are not incapable of handling even this little matter?”

“It’s getting late. My dear, since I have come all this way, I might as well stay home today and keep you company.”

After saying that, Su Yang stepped down from the platform. With one arm around Zhang Qingshi’s slender waist, he walked toward the inner courtyard, leaving only Zhou Bao’s eyes burning red with jealousy.

“Young Master, if I may say so, this man was not making an on-the-spot breakthrough at all. He must already have had seventh-rank strength. He merely played us for fools.”

The old steward came over and spoke.

“Nonsense. Did you think I would not know that myself?” Zhou Bao growled like a savage beast.

The steward lowered his head and said nothing. In the end, Zhou Bao could only leave in disgrace with the others. The news that he had been outmaneuvered that day would surely reach his two elder brothers very soon, and the thought left him extremely vexed.

Along the way, the steward suggested more than once that they might as well send the family martial experts to kill Su Yang’s entire household in the dead of night. That would be the most effective method.

Their informants had already confirmed that the Su family had no powerful backer in Yanggu County. They were nothing more than roots adrift in water. Wiping them out would not bring any trouble.

But in the end, Zhou Bao still rejected the idea sternly.

Last time, everyone had believed Su Yang to be only eighth rank, while Zhou Bao himself was seventh rank, so they had chosen an eighth-rank fighter from the family to duel him. Now that this live-in son-in-law was truly seventh rank, Zhou Bao could take the field himself.

He would personally break every limb on that live-in son-in-law and make the goddess in his heart look at him with new eyes.

...

“Has my husband been well these past few days?”

Though they had not yet formally married, Zhang Qingshi had already begun calling Su Young her husband, as though declaring her claim.

“Thinking of the fact that in just a few more days I shall be welcoming my beauty into my home, how could my mood not be good?” Su Yang said, drawing Zhang Qingshi into his arms with one hand. Her graceful figure rested against his chest, warm and fragrant.

“Hmph. I think your mood has been so good these last few days because you took in another concubine,” Zhang Qingshi said with a delicate snort.

“My good wife, that cannot all be blamed on me. The wives and concubines at home are all with child. Your husband had no choice...”

“Very well. How can a wife fail to understand her husband? After I marry in, you will no longer need to trouble yourself with such matters.”

“Sigh... I only wonder why it is that every wife and concubine who has shared my bed has ended up pregnant. By then, I fear even that will be inconvenient for you.”

She gave a soft laugh. “What nonsense are you spouting? I mean that I shall choose concubines for you myself. Then you will not need to waste any more thought on this matter.”

Zhang Qingshi smiled lightly, revealing seven parts reserve and three parts allure. The fair curve of her neck was enough, in the end, to make Su Yang yield to her completely.

...

Now that the greatest obstacle in the clan’s progress had been found a solution, Su Yang was in high spirits today. Still, hidden dangers remained, and he needed to begin preparations as soon as possible.

After returning from Zhang Qingshi’s home, Su Yang led the martial experts and maids back to the estate. Some martial artists who had come seeking employment had already been waiting for quite some time. Su Yang met them briefly; as for how many would ultimately remain, that was another matter.

Three more days passed.

Nothing happened at home. Another batch of ninth-rank martial artists was recruited, five in all. At present, he had seventeen ninth-rank martial artists under him, though there were still none of the eighth rank.

Now that his seventh-rank strength had been exposed, he could recruit some eighth-rank fighters. It was just that he had no industry and few resources. In the end, having no more than ten eighth-rank martial artists under his command would be about right.

Aside from that, the black-furred mouse demons he had been working with together with Zhao Mangong were still stored in the warehouse. Demon corpses were not like ordinary bodies; they did not rot quickly. Some demon corpses could even be kept for a year after death.

In a few more days, he would use the incense offerings to purge the tumors all at once and hand them over to Zhao Mangong. He could quietly keep back a good portion for himself, and these resources would be enough to push many ninth-rank martial artists into the eighth rank.

After testing Yin Lian with the pulse-reading method from the Holy Book of Gynecology, he confirmed that she was indeed pregnant. After assigning her a maid, he received twenty points of incense offerings. At present, only Qing Qin in the household remained without being pregnant.

But it had already been eight days since the first time he had lain with Qing Qin. Su Yang estimated that by the tenth day he would be able to detect a joyful pulse as well. After all, he had already experienced this hundred-percent success innate skill many times.

Xi Chun had been pregnant for a month already. On the panel, the clan’s offspring count had become three, providing him with three points of incense offerings each day.

The few occupied houses around the Su estate had all moved out one after another over these days. They must have been handled by Zhou Bao. Only two or three households remained, and it would not take long.

Outside the city, the black-furred mouse demons had been besieging the city without pause these past few days. Rumor had it that the government troops had suffered heavy casualties, Yanggu County was in grave danger, and it likely would not hold out much longer. Even within the city, panic was spreading.

As for the matter of his son Zhou Bao, County Magistrate Zhou had no heart to care about it. After all, he was merely a concubine-born son. Though the magistrate had affection for the boy’s mother, no household master placed too much hope or attention on children born of concubines.

The latest batch of mind-control worms had finally matured.

Five in total.

Raising the mind-control worms took time. Though twenty days was not very long, every few days only Steward Jiu from the funeral home would deliver a shipment, and each delivery contained only a few.

That would not do. He needed to select two ninth-rank martial artists from the household to help him lure the heart-devouring worms.

Of the five mind-control worms, four would be left for the newly recruited ninth-rank martial artists, while the remaining one was intended for Li Doudou.

Now that the rebel army had surrounded the city and the world was in turmoil, many human traffickers had sprung up. He killed two of the scum who specialized in abducting respectable young women and selling them to brothels, and had them condemned for their crimes.

After returning to the courtyard, he made his way toward Li Doudou’s room.