Becoming a Saint From the Iron Armor Skill
Chapter 303 - 167: Iron Armor Dragon Elephant
Of Mr. Zheng’s six wives, the First Madam, Gongsun Rou, was the most senior.
She had been by Mr. Zheng’s side since she was a teenager. Together, they had weathered many storms, and they had known and supported each other for nearly twenty years.
The Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Madams, on the other hand, came from the Four Great Clans of the Inner City. Theirs were political marriages, binding Mr. Zheng to the clans.
Mr. Zheng had not been wronged in this alliance, however. He had chosen these four women himself. Although their Martial Arts Talent was mediocre, their beauty and figures were top-tier, and each possessed her own unique talents and exceptional temperament.
For their part, these four madams also admired Mr. Zheng’s charisma and had genuinely married him of their own free will.
The Sixth Madam, Luo Yunzhi, was the youngest, and her Martial Arts Talent was only slightly above average. Her union with Mr. Zheng was a classic tale of a pretty, young fangirl pursuing her middle-aged idol—a case of a woman chasing a man through a thin veil, as they say.
According to rumor, on one chance occasion, Mr. Zheng had casually intervened to save the siblings Luo Mingxuan and Luo Yunzhi, who were escorting a merchant caravan’s goods. After that, the clever and quick-witted young beauty latched onto him and never let go.
Over the years, Mr. Zheng typically held down the fort at the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, while most of the Hall’s affairs, big and small, were managed by the First Madam, Gongsun Rou.
The other four madams had never cared for mundane matters, busying themselves only with supporting their husband and raising their children.
The Sixth Madam, Luo Yunzhi, couldn’t sit still, so she helped manage the business of her maiden family, the Luo Family.
This time, before Mr. Zheng left for Su State City, he had arranged for Chen Cheng to temporarily act as the Hospital Chief Steward of the Zheng Martial Arts Hall. Meanwhile, all other matters of the Hall were left to the Sixth Madam, Luo Yunzhi, to handle with full authority.
As for the other four madams, they still took no part in these affairs.
Perhaps because the Four Great Clans of the Inner City had only entered the marriage alliance to placate Mr. Zheng, these four madams had never received much attention from their families and had very little contact with them over the years.
Now that Mr. Zheng’s power was on the rise again, the attitudes of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City had naturally shifted. The relatives of these four madams began to reach out once more.
After so many years, however, the four madams’ feelings for their families had long since faded. Moreover, they preferred a quiet life and did not respond with much enthusiasm.
Their interactions mostly consisted of the Four Great Clans of the Inner City sending people with various gifts of silver coins and other treasures, which the four madams would accept before offering simple thanks.
The ones who reacted most strongly to Mr. Zheng’s resurgence were, ironically, the various small and mid-sized families from both the Inner City and Outer City of Linji City.
These days, the gates of the Zheng Martial Arts Hall were nearly bursting from the crowds of people sent by these families to deliver gifts.
Although Luo Yunzhi had long since announced the news of Mr. Zheng’s departure, it did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of these families who were eager to curry favor with him.
Every day, the Zheng Martial Arts Hall received mountains of gifts, along with all sorts of calling cards and visit requests.
As Mr. Zheng’s Closed-door Disciple, Chen Cheng was naturally a target for these families as well, with people coming to visit him every day.
Receiving and seeing off visitors took a great deal of time that Chen Cheng simply couldn’t afford, so he had no choice but to announce that he was entering seclusion for Cultivating Martial Dao.
The number of visitors gradually decreased, but the flow of calling cards and gifts did not slow in the slightest. In fact, because Chen Cheng was so young, most of the calling cards he received were from the young ladies of various families.
Perhaps because Mr. Zheng’s four madams were skilled in the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting, many people assumed that Chen Cheng, as Mr. Zheng’s Closed-door Disciple, would also appreciate such refined tastes.
Many of the young ladies’ calling cards came with little notes, such as:
"I am skilled in music."
"I am skilled in the art of chess."
"I am skilled in calligraphy and painting."
"I am skilled in poetry and song."
Some were even more direct: "I began playing the zither at three, the flute at five, at seven..."
The four arts were elegant and refined, which was certainly nice.
But Chen Cheng was just one person. How could he possibly entertain so many young ladies from prominent families?
When Luo Yunzhi brought up the calling cards from the young ladies of the Inner City’s prominent families again, she was clearly teasing him.
Chen Cheng could only shrug and reply with a wry smile, "I’ll have to ask you to handle them for me, Sixth Madam."
Luo Yunzhi chuckled. "You’re not even going to look? There might be a rare beauty among these young ladies."
"I’m not looking," Chen Cheng said, shaking his head.
"Sigh..." Luo Yunzhi let out a soft sigh. "Alright then. I’ll hold onto them for you. If you ever change your mind and want to look, just let me know."
The reason for her sigh was that among those calling cards was one from her own niece, Luo Chengfeng.
Her father, Luo Tiezhu—Master Luo—had repeatedly instructed her to make sure it got into Chen Cheng’s hands.
But Chen Cheng was already overwhelmed with calling cards; what difference would one more from Luo Chengfeng of the Luo Family make?
’The timing isn’t right,’ Luo Yunzhi, ever the pragmatist, decided silently. ’I’ll have to find another opportunity to have Chen Cheng meet my niece Chengfeng. That would be better.’
As for the money and gifts sent to him, Chen Cheng accepted them all without refusal. After all, who would ever complain about having too much money?
After accepting a gift, Chen Cheng would usually have Shi Fangdong make a list of the items. In the future, if it was within his power, he would try to look out for the families that had sent them.
This was about repaying debts and understanding the ways of the world!
Chen Cheng didn’t keep the silver coins and other money he received. He had Shi Fangdong give it directly to the Sixth Madam, Luo Yunzhi, on the spot.
After all, these families were sending gifts for his master, Mr. Zheng. Chen Cheng had no reason to take advantage of the old man.
However, when it came to Medicinal Materials and Elixir Pills that greatly nourished Qi Blood Power, Chen Cheng accepted them with a smile.
Because he was in desperate need of them and could put them to good use.
"Elder Shi, please make a list as usual and thank the gift-givers," Chen Cheng said, turning to Shi Fangdong.