Chapter 27
Chapter 27
Face-Slapping the Son of a Concubine and a Transmigrating Girl (1)
Editor: ghost
In the vast space, Zhou Xu once again saw a blurry silhouette. It flitted past, and Zhou Xu could not find a trace of it despite looking for it everywhere. Eventually he gave up.
In a certain ward on the Noah Star, the highest ranked admiral laid on a bed. His little finger twitched, but a few minutes later, his hand sank down again. Only by seeing that his complexion took a turn for the better would one know that he really was recovering, albeit very slowly.
*****
When Zhou Xu woke up, upon seeing the heavy curtain in front of his eyes and stroking the brocade blanket on him, he knew he had transmigrated to the ancient times.
His little finger tingled slightly and Zhou Xu received the data sent by the system.
The original Zhou Xu of this world was General Zhou’s second son from the legitimate wife. Due to his weak body at birth, he had been spoiled from childhood. He also had a sickly complexion, but this complemented his seductive eyes, allowing him to appear more alluring.
The male protagonist was the son of a concubine, so Zhou Xu was the designated villain as a legitimate son, performing the role of creating difficulties for him.
The concubine’s son was named Zhou Zong Han, born from General Zhou’s little concubine.
This concubine was Ruan Qin, once a famous courtesan that caused sensations in Jiang Nan. She mesmerised General Zhou when he was on a trip, making him unable to forget her beauty.
Four years later, Ruan Qin was finally received by General Zhou as a concubine. At that time, Zhou Xu’s mother, He Yan Fei, granddaughter of the imperial tutor, did not express any opinion, even treating Ruan Qin like a sister.
However, He Yan Fei was no easy bone to chew. When General Zhou was around, she naturally behaved very well. But the moment the General left, she had the most authority in the house.
Hence Ruan Qin suffered many grievances, ultimately becoming mentally ill.
Naturally this was an illegitimate son’s counterattack world; thus the villains were the legitimate wife and son of General Zhou.
Zhou Xu also had another brother, named Zhou Yang. This brother shared the same name as Zhou Xu’s first world’s brother, however this Zhou Yang was a mute. Despite this, Zhou Xu still liked his older brother, finding him to play with when he was free. General Zhou, in contrast, disliked Zhou Yang for being mute. He felt that such an heir was disgraceful, hence he only brought Zhou Xu to social events, never his elder brother.
On the other hand, Zhou Zong Han was bullied from young in various ways. Only after growing up did he meet the girl that changed his fate – Qi Lan, the prime minister’s legitimate daughter. Qi Lan was a transmigrator, naturally knowing of many matters. With her help, Zhou Zong Han realised that social status did not define a person, rather, hard work would lead to success.
Together, Zhou Zong Han and Qi Lan retaliated against the maid and Zhou Xu’s mother who bullied him. They even used a self-injury tactic, making General Zhou believe that Zhou Zong Han had always been mistreated. Eventually, General Zhou chased Zhou Xu out of the house, greatly infuriating his mother, He Yan Fei.
Afterwards, Zhou Zong Han and Qi Lan found many hoodlums to provoke Zhou Xu, resulting in Zhou Xu killing one of them. Zhou Zong Han and Qi Lan took advantage of this and reported him to the officials. Zhou Xu was jailed, then raped by the prison warden. In a rage, he killed the prison warden, ultimately staying in jail to wait for death.
Zhou Xu died yet Zhou Zong Han’s life was still smooth-sailing.
General Zhou increasingly valued him as he never failed to meet expectations: Zhou Zong Han had become the top scholar* after taking the palace examination. General Zhou eventually gave all of the family’s properties to Zhou Zong Han, not even leaving a hair for the legitimate, albeit mute, eldest son, Zhou Yang.
The crown prince was saved by Zhou Zong Han when he fought for the throne. Upon ascension, he promoted Zhou Zong Han to prime minister.
Qi Lan opened hotpot restaurants in the capital, clothing shops, and even invented the art of paper-making. In any case, she took advantage of her golden finger as a transmigrator, demonstrating extraordinary talents as she went on with her life.
Zhou Xu got up slowly as he rubbed his shoulder. He had read through the data and now thoroughly understood this world. Zhou Xu smiled evilly: he ought to go out and meet that Zhou Zong Han.
The present Zhou Xu was no older than 15 years old. Zhou Zong Han was of the same age, but older by three months. So Zhou Zong Han was actually his elder brother. However, Zhou Xu would never admit that.
Drawing the bed curtains, Zhou Xu called for servants. Two maids walked in.
“Young Master, you’ve awoken?”
Zhou Xu nodded, “I will be going out for a stroll, make some light refreshments, then follow me to find Elder Brother.”
“Yes.”
Of the two maids, one was called Cui Yun, and the other was Cui Xue. They looked to be around 13 or 14 years old. These names were given by the original Zhou Xu of the world, but they matched the transmigrated Zhou Xu’s tastes as well. He originally liked the word “Cui”. Every time he saw it, he would feel a fresh, green feeling.
Only, this word was too commonly used and most people would not know its meaning.
Cui Yun and Cui Xue were this world’s poisonous maids, always bullying Zhou Zong Han. Eventually, Cui Yun was beaten to death by him and Cui Xue was sold into a brothel. Unable to bear the humiliation, she commited suicide, knocking her head against a pillar. They unfortunately died much too early, still merely teenagers.
In reality, the two maids never committed any great sin. Only because the original Zhou Xu disliked Zhou Zong Han that they followed him and also disliked Zhou Zong Han, occasionally glaring at him and throwing some insults. In the end, they had a truly undeserving, wretched fate.
However, this was the protagonist. As long as one did not treat him well, then regardless of gender, that person would not have a good ending; It was really laughable. Zhou Xu felt that Zhou Zong Han’s viciousness was really not inferior to his own.
The two maids have followed Zhou Xu since childhood and naturally knew what to prepare. One used a handkerchief to wipe Zhou Xu’s face while the other prepared a lunch box.
Also following Zhou Xu were a few servant boys who also shared the same tragic fate as the two maids, yet their biggest crime was merely pushing Zhou Zong Han to fall a few times.
At the moment, Zhou Xu was still the house’s little tyrant, spoiled by General Zhou and He Yan Fei. Furthermore, because his health was quite poor, no one dared to go against him. Thus the original Zhou Xu was very domineering, acting as the second ancestor in the house*.
Enemies meet on a narrow road. Just as Zhou Xu walked out the door, he saw Zhou Zong Han walking straight towards him while holding a bird he raised.
Hehe, the drama has started?
Previously, Zhou Xu had also encountered this scene. He snatched Zhou Zong Han’s bird and then humiliated him, eventually ordering servants to stew the bird into soup. Zhou Zong Han had borne a grudge over this matter: after Zhou Xu’s death, his corpse was used to feed the same species of bird.
Zhou Xu found it laughable. If the matter was done by a villain, it was a great sin; if done by the protagonist, there was no problem with it. Truly ridiculous.
Although Zhou Xu’s body was weak, his gaze towards Zhou Zong Han was still scornful. He coldly halted Zhou Zong Han, “Hm? Where are you going, ah?”
The original host never called Zhou Zong Han elder brother. Zhou Xu naturally would not do so either.
Zhou Zong Han lifted his head, silently gritting his teeth. Only now did Zhou Xu get a clear look at his face. Truly deserving of being the male protagonist: he had strong features, exactly up to the standard of a typical handsome man.
“This bird is quite good, let me play with it.”
With a turn of his body, Zhou Zong Han hid the red and black patterned bird behind his body, fixing his gaze onto Zhou Xu, “Not giving.”
Zhou Xu laughed coldly, “Humph, since when did your words matter? This son of a courtesan?”
“You…” Zhou Zong Han gnashed his teeth. In his life, the most painful thing was his family background. Because he was a concubine’s son and his mother was a prostitute, he had no status, so he was bullied. On what basis?
“You are upset?” Zhou Xu smiled lightly. His bewitching eyes held only mockery. “On what basis am I bullying you? On the basis that my mother is the official and legitimate Madame Zhou. What about you?”
Zhou Zong Han glared at Zhou Xu, “This is a matter concerning the older generation, it has nothing to do with me.”
“If you have the capability, then don’t enter the general’s manor. I will give you a sum of money, you can bring your mother to find a village to settle down in; I guarantee that your days will be comfortable. Why aren’t you leaving? Don’t claim to have no motive, Zhou Zong Han. Stop victimizing yourself. Since you want to use your status to strive for something, then don’t blame me for using my higher status to bully you.”
Zhou Zong Han was dumbfounded. Zhou Xu’s words made him uncomfortable. He did not want to admit that he indeed took advantage of his status as General Zhou’s son, but he could not deny it. Zhou Xu had seemingly saw through him. The sneer in his seductive eyes was much too piercing, as if a needle had pierced through his eyes.
Zhou Xu disregarded him, throwing a meaningful glance at the servants. The servant boys snatched his bird before swaggering off.
“Give it back to me…” Zhou Zong Han finally reacted, tugging at a servant boy and started to fight. However, one cannot win against many, and Zhou Zong Han ended up with disheveled hair and a dirty face, his clothes all torn.
“That’s enough. Leave.” Once Zhou Xu finished speaking, Zhou Zong Han’s mother arrived.
Upon arrival, she saw her own son being bullied by Zhou Xu again, and thus charged in while shrieking, wholly unbecoming of her title as Jiang Nan’s top courtesan.
Truly, in the ten or so years living in the Zhou manor, apart from the first 3 years where she still received attention and love from the general, she was largely ignored by the general. Firstly due to He Yan Fei’s brilliant schemes, and secondly because General Zhou really had nothing much to say to her.
However, He Yan Fei was different. She was familiar with war tactics and strategies, and naturally shared many conversation topics with General Zhou. Furthermore, they had two sons and Zhou Xu, in particular, was very favored.
This kind of lifestyle, as if locked up in the depths of the imperial palace, led Ruan Qin’s spirit to suffer greatly.
“Zhou Xu, you son of a bitch, if you dare bully my son again, even as a ghost I won’t let you off.”
Seeing her actions similar to that of a shrew, listening to her vile words, Zhou Xu’s demonic eyes stared at Ruan Qin like a venomous snake.
“You are talking about me?”
“That’s right, you bastard. You slut, there will be a day where you die in my hands. I will peel off your skin, drink your blood, eat your flesh…”
Unable to bear hearing her speak any longer, Zhou Zong Han pulled Ruan Qin. This was his mother and he had no choice. If he could choose, he would rather have a well-educated noblewoman as his mother, just like Zhou Xu’s mother. Alas, what could he do?
Ruan Qin was still scolding. Listening to her unbearably vulgar words, Zhou Xu stepped forward and slapped her squarely on the face three times.
Ruan Qin was stunned. Previously, despite bullying them, he never personally made a move. In addition, he had never hit her, giving her the courage to wildly scold him.
“You can scold me, but the moment I hear you scold my mother, I will give you a slap. You scolded her three times, these three slaps are my gift to you. Also, listen up, if she scolds behind my back, you have my permission to hit her for me; I will take responsibility.” The latter half of Zhou Xu’s words were directed to the manor’s servants who had rushed over to watch the bustle.
“Still want to scold? If you don’t, then I will take my leave. Otherwise, since my hands are still itchy, I can accompany you. What do you say?” Zhou Xu looked at Ruan Qin as he spoke.
Ruan Qin completely did not dare utter a sound anymore. Zhou Zong Han was also in shock. It was indeed the first time Zhou Xu personally hit someone. Moreover, his mother’s words were really too difficult* to hear.
Seeing them quiet down, Zhou Xu laughed lightly, “Since it’s like this, I will take my leave.”
Zhou Xu turned to leave; he was too lazy to care about what Zhou Zhong Han thought. He presently wanted to go find his elder brother Zhou Yang. If possible, he wanted to find a method to cure Zhou Yang’s disability so that it would be more convenient to go head-to-head with Zhou Zong Han and that transmigrator Qi Lan.
Translator’s Notes:
hello everyone, i’m takoyan, the new translator for VSFCA! to start off, i will be posting a chapter everyday until Saturday then start my regular schedule (posts on Mondays and Thursdays); thank you for continuing to read VSFCA and i hope my translations are easy to understand and still makes the story an entertaining read 🙂