Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7111 Zhong Yao Lost His Last Human Rights
Zhang Changpu looked Zhong Yu up and down, and finally smiled with a slightly condescending expression. As she said before, Zhang Changpu herself knew that she was developing very well and had an absolute crushing advantage over her peers, especially boys of the same age.

"Hmph, you say you don't want me to play? So I won't play?" Zhang Changpu looked down at Zhong Yu, and the arrogant look in her eyes made Zhong Yu feel a little pressured. After all, the other party looked much older than her, which did seem a bit dangerous.

“But you’re so much older than us, we can’t possibly get a turn,” Zhong Yu said, under pressure. He had only just finished elementary school and, although he had learned some knowledge, he was still quite young and inevitably prioritized games. So, he still wanted to continue playing football with the other children.

When children play, they can never grab what they want, and the fact that they didn't cause a scene is already a sign of good upbringing, especially since Zhang Changpu is indeed a size older than the rest of the group.

“I’m only ten years old too,” Zhang Changpu said with dissatisfaction. “I’m taller than you guys only because you don’t eat properly and grow slowly.”

Zhong Yuru was struck dumb, then carefully examined Zhang Changpu, unable to believe that this girl, who was so much older than her, was actually younger than her.

"Changpu, are you really only ten years old?" Liu Jiang looked at Zhang Changpu blankly. Wasn't she about the same age as him?

“Yes, I’ll only be eleven after the New Year,” Zhang Changpu nodded and said.

"But why are you so tall? You're almost taller than my mother!" Liu Jiang exclaimed in surprise. Usually, she would shyly hide to the side and remain silent, but this time she was genuinely shocked.

“It seems to be because I drank a lot of milk. Back in my hometown, I used to drink two big bowls of milk every day,” Zhang Changpu said after thinking for a moment. “I remember Chen Hou also said that drinking more milk can help you grow taller. Well, after coming to Chang’an, I can’t drink any more milk.”

Zhang Changpu was clearly disappointed when she said this. She felt that everything was fine in Chang'an, except that fresh milk was in short supply.

After all, there was no refrigeration technology back then, and milk only had a shelf life of one day. Therefore, even wealthy families could only order milk if they wanted to drink it. Obviously, this was not the custom in Liu Bei's household, so Zhang Changpu did not have any milk to drink. In addition, Zhang Changpu was staying there temporarily and did not want to appear too delicate, so she had not drunk any milk recently.

“It seems my brother-in-law did say that,” Liu Jiang said after thinking for a moment.

Among Liu Bei's children, only Liu Jiang truly called Chen Xi "brother-in-law." This was somewhat strange compared to the others who called Zhen Mi "sister." Liu Jiang had always called Zhen Mi "sister" since childhood, after all, Liu Jiang was born to Zhang Shi, and Zhen Mi shared the same mother. Therefore, Liu Jiang always called Chen Xi "brother-in-law."

Chen Xi couldn't very well ask Liu Jiang to change his mind on this point.

"Does drinking milk really make you taller and stronger?" Liu Jiang thought for a moment and asked. She also wanted to grow as tall and strong as Zhang Changpu, so that she wouldn't be so afraid to meet people.

"Is Marquis Chen my brother-in-law?" Zhang Changpu scratched his head and asked Liu Jiang with some curiosity, beginning to ponder the logic behind the relationship.

It's not that Zhang Changpu is stupid or anything, but it is indeed quite difficult for a ten-year-old child to sort out the kinship relationships caused by marriage.

For example, Zhang Changpu really couldn't understand why Liu Jiang called Chen Hou his brother-in-law. Shouldn't he have called him his uncle?

After all, Zhang Changpu had seen A Dou and Chen Qian, who were about to get engaged. Liu Jiang called A Dou "brother" and Chen Qian "sister." Thinking of this, Zhang Changpu started to feel dizzy.

"Are you Princess Chang Le?" Zhong Yu was clever after all, and quickly sorted out the relationship. After all, his father, Zhong Yao, had just scolded his uncle for meeting his aunt when she was only ten years old, so Zhong Yu also knew about his great-uncle Chen Xi's family relationship.

Therefore, he quickly realized that the seemingly weak girl in front of him was Princess Chang Le, Liu Jiang.

"Yes, that's me," Liu Jiang said somewhat weakly, then thought for a moment, "Who are you?"

"I am Zhong Yu," Zhong Yu said after thinking for a moment, unsure whether the other person recognized her.

At this moment, the boys and girls who had been playing here all gathered around. They were all from official families, either second sons or second daughters, or the offspring of old men who had children late in life.

“Zhong Yu, I remember now, you are Minister Zhong’s son.” Liu Jiang said after thinking for a moment. After all, Liu Bei would talk about some things at home, some less confidential matters, and he wouldn’t hide them from his daughter. So Liu Jiang knew about Zhong Yao, and also knew that Zhong Yao had this son when he was almost fifty years old. Of course, most importantly…

Liu Jiang looked at Zhang Changpu with some doubt. Just a few days ago, Zhang had complained to Liu Jiang that Zhong Yao was somewhat disrespectful to his elders and might have taken a liking to Zhang Changpu.

Of course, Zhang complained at the time that although Zhong Yao was a bit old, the position of principal wife was currently vacant, and if the other party was sincere, it didn't seem like a bad thing.

"Minister Zhong's son?" Zhang Changpu tilted her head, looking at Zhong Yu, who was half a head shorter than her. In the past two days, Zhang Changpu's super-long neural reflex circuit finally realized what Zhong Yao meant when he gave her the phoenix hairpin.

Even though it wasn't explicitly stated, Zhang Changpu at least realized that the older man was somewhat interested in her and seemed to want to take her as his wife.

A faint blush rose on Zhang Changpu's face as she thought of this, but she fell silent as she looked at Zhong Yu.

"Fine, here you go." After a while, Zhang Changpu handed the ball she was holding to Zhong Yu. After all, she had some self-awareness and knew that no matter if things went well or not, if your father was interested in me, it was better not to bully you.

Zhong Yu scratched his head, looking at Zhang Changpu with some confusion. Seeing that the other party had pulled the grinning Liu Jiang to find a seat, he took the ball and went back.

“Changpu, that’s Minister Zhong’s son,” Liu Jiang said, propping his head up with his hand as he looked at the group of his peers who were playing wildly again.

"Oh." Zhang Changpu nodded. "So I gave the ball back to him."

"Changpu, are you really ten years old?" Liu Jiang tilted his head and asked again.

"I'll be eleven in a few days," Zhang Changpu said with dissatisfaction.

“If Zhong Yu is here, then Minister Zhong should be here too. Shall I take you to find him?” Liu Jiang suddenly suggested. “I don’t think I can get along with them. I prefer to quietly watch others play or chat.”

Zhang Changpu also propped her head up with her hand, then picked up a biscuit from the small table next to her and asked with some doubt, "Grandma later told me that Minister Zhong had visited our home, right?"

"Yes." Liu Jiang nodded.

Zhang said that Zhong Yao was being hypocritical because of this. The other party definitely had feelings for Zhang Changpu, but he came to visit Liu Bei on official business. However, as the saying goes, at this time, his appearance at Liu Bei's house raises questions about his true intentions.

"What was I doing that day?" Zhang Changpu asked with a hint of reminiscence.

"You went out to have a snowball fight with some people, and when you came back you told me that you encountered some kids who were being beaten and running away with their heads in their hands, so you gathered a few of them and fought with them too," Liu Jiang said after thinking for a moment.

It's only in Chang'an that the danger is low for a little girl to go out alone in other places. Even though Chen Xi has repeatedly strengthened management and carried out crackdowns on organized crime, the inertia left over from thousands of years is still difficult to eradicate completely in just over a decade.

It can be said that there is sufficient safety in the core area of ​​the Han Dynasty, but in remote areas, to be honest, there is some degree of control that cannot be maintained.

"Let's go then," Zhang Changpu said after thinking for a moment. Zhong Yao hadn't seen him when he came to Liu Bei's house before, so now that there was a chance, let's go and see him. Anyway, there's nothing else to do, especially since there's Zhong Yao's son here. Ah, it's not good to have fun, really not good to have fun.

Liu Jiang was relatively familiar with the Kou family's front courtyard, so after Zhang Changpu spoke, he led Zhang Changpu left and right, and soon arrived at the main hall where the Han aristocratic families were gathered.

Of course, there aren't many children here; they're all old folks, each one a head of a major family.

In addition, children usually don't like places where adults gather, so when Liu Jiang and Zhang Changpu arrived, Zhong Yao, who had lost several rounds in a row, spotted them immediately.

Of course, the head of the local aristocratic family saw Liu Jiang as soon as she appeared and confirmed her identity: Liu Bei's beloved daughter, Princess Chang Le, Liu Jiang.

"Greetings, uncles and elders." Liu Jiang bowed first, followed by Zhang Changpu. The others smiled and returned the bow, saying they were unworthy of such respect.

"Your Highness, have you separated from your wife?" A group of people gestured back and forth, and soon nominated Chen Qun to speak, after all, the Yingchuan Chen family was indeed a prominent family.

"Yes, Mother went to see my great-aunt and told me and Changpu to play in the courtyard." Although Liu Jiang was weak-willed, he spoke very logically.

"Does Your Highness have something to ask?" Chen Qun bowed slightly and asked gently. He was actually quite good at dealing with children, after all, his second wife was Xun Yu's daughter, so he knew a lot about how to deal with little girls.

"Actually, I came here with Changpu." Liu Jiang turned his head to look at Zhang Changpu, and then the heads of the various aristocratic families naturally looked down at Zhang Changpu. However, it was just a glance. She was just an ordinary little girl, only relatively pretty. But those present had seen all kinds of beauties, so they weren't very interested.

Zhang Changpu's body was somewhat stiff at this moment. Although she was outgoing, she was a little shy in front of so many people. In fact, she was not as shy as Liu Jiang, who was not at all intimidated.

Zhang Changpu took a deep breath and bowed slightly to Zhong Yao, "I apologize for disturbing you, Minister. I was young and unaware of the value of that item until recently. I hope you will forgive me."

Zhang Changpu only learned yesterday just how expensive that phoenix hairpin really was. The reason was simple: she saw a phoenix hairpin at Huangfu Liangmiao's place that was similar to the one Zhong Yao had given her, but in a different style. And this thing was part of the Six Rites, and it was placed in the first three positions in the Book of Rites.

It was only at this moment that Zhang Changpu realized what he had actually received.

When Zhong Yao heard this, his sullen face, which had been covered in grievances from losing several rounds of cards, naturally broke into a kind smile, and he said to Zhang Changpu, "It's alright."

After saying that, he glanced at the looks on the faces of the people around him, smiled nonchalantly, pushed the cards over, and didn't care what they thought. Anyway, so many years had passed, and he really should remarry. As for the fact that Zhang Changpu was just a minor member of the Zhang family in Taiyuan, he didn't care at Zhong Yao's level.

At his level, talking about family support is meaningless. He might as well marry a woman he finds pleasing to the eye, someone with whom he feels a sense of destiny.

"Alright, we don't need to play cards anymore." Xun You calmly pushed the cards over. He was very familiar with Zhong Yao's eyes; they were the eyes of someone who had met their destined one. He had seen the same look in Zhong Yao's eyes back then, so Xun You didn't try to stop him at all. The position of the main wife in the Zhong family was vacant, so having a mistress in charge would actually be better.

As for the surrounding Jiangdong and Jingxiang aristocratic families, they didn't feel any jealousy or resentment upon seeing this scene. After all, they were all aware of Zhong Yao's family situation. Even if there were some troubles on the Ganges River, these troubles couldn't defeat Zhong Yao. This guy's future was very bright and promising. In fact, as long as he didn't follow Lu Su's example and go after Chen Xi, his future power and influence would be limitless.

Of course, the main reason was that Zhang Changpu's figure was too deceptive. At first glance, the heads of the surrounding aristocratic families all thought that Zhang Changpu was sixteen or seventeen years old. After all, he was so big, so they didn't think much of it. As for marrying a young woman, it was not a problem for these people.

Because in this era, this matter involved neither morality nor ethics. Moreover, judging from the fact that it was intended to be taken as the mistress of the Zhong family, Zhong Yao naturally had his own considerations. When taking a mistress, appearance would always only account for a small part.

As people present who had truly undergone various tests to become the head of the family and the person in charge, and who placed the family's interests in the most important position, they all believed that Zhong Yao's choice of Zhang Changpu was not impulsive, but rather the result of careful consideration. After all, everyone had passed the anti-addiction measures.

Probably only Xun You present knew clearly what this "anti-addiction" was all about. He knew that when you got carried away, you just did it. When you were clear-headed and calm, once you made up your mind, you just did it!
Zhong Yao took Zhang Changpu away quite naturally. After all, in Zhong Yao's view, since Zhang Changpu did not refuse, he could take her to see his own clan elders and then proceed with the formalities of the Three Letters and Six Rites.

Of course, if Zhang Changpu showed refusal, Zhong Yao could let it go, after all, he was at an age where he needed to cultivate his character.

"What?" After showing Zhang Changpu his outstanding eldest son, Zhong Yu, Zhong Yao finally realized that something was not quite right.

Incidentally, Zhong Yu is now so desperate he's practically dead. One minute he was fighting with the other person for the ball, and the next minute his father arrived with the other person, indicating there's a very high chance she's his stepmother.

Considering that Zhong Yao did not intend to take Zhang Changpu as a concubine, but rather as his principal wife, it means that once Zhang Changpu marries into the family, Zhong Yu will have to call her "mother," which is a recipe for disaster.

"Well, Minister Zhong, I'll only be eleven in a few days," Zhang Changpu said somewhat awkwardly. She wasn't really against it, but she couldn't get married right now.

It's worth mentioning that one of the laws Chen Xi forcibly abolished was that if a woman was not married by the age of fourteen, the head tax would be doubled. After its abolition, he enforced that women could only marry after the age of fourteen, and so far, this policy has been implemented quite effectively.

Although there are still women who marry at the age of eleven or twelve in remote areas, overall, in regions with strong national administrative capabilities, this law can still be maintained.

Of course, it's worth mentioning that when Zhong Yao was working with Chen Xi and others in Chang'an, he once promoted a policy of mandatory marriage at age twelve, with double the head tax for those who didn't marry. This policy was rejected by Chen Xi. Later, he promoted a policy that allowed marriage at age twelve. In short, Zhong Yao was indeed quite eccentric at times.

Even the eccentric Zhong Yao never imagined that Zhang Changpu, whom he had chosen to be the matriarch of the Zhong family, was only ten years old!

"Are you really only ten years old?" Zhong Yao pinched his brow and asked again. As he said this, Zhong Yao looked Zhang Changpu up and down very seriously. He couldn't believe that Zhang Changpu, who was so big and even shorter than him, was only ten years old. His development was too much!
"Yes, that's right." Zhang Changpu nodded with a dry laugh.

Zhong Yao looked at his eldest son, who was twelve years old.

"Doesn't Madam know your age?" Zhong Yao asked, still somewhat unwilling to give up. He genuinely felt that Zhang Changpu and he were destined for each other, and he had already given away all the gifts he had prepared to win her over, so he was still making a last-ditch effort.

"That old woman didn't even ask me my age," Zhang Changpu said awkwardly.

"Let me calm down." Zhong Yao took a deep breath, trying his best to calm his blood pressure. He had already started to recall how he had teased Chen Xi before. Now it was his turn. His wife was ten years old now. This was a big problem!

"I'll talk to the Zhang family in Taiyuan," Zhong Yao said after thinking for a moment.

Zhang Changpu nodded, but was still curious about what Zhong Yao wanted to talk about.

Perhaps sensing Zhang Changpu's confusion, Zhong Yao explained, "While not many people know your real age yet, I'll check your statements with them and change your age. At least change it to eleven years old this year, otherwise Chen Zichuan will laugh me to death!"

When I joked about the fact that my aunt was ten years old when my uncle first met her, my extraordinary wisdom told me that I had to change the age of my wife when I first met her to eleven, or I would lose my last human right!

Zhang Changpu tilted her head upon hearing this. What did that mean?
I've barely recovered; I can now seriously move the plot forward.