Northern Dragon District, Zhao Family Garden.
The place had been planned and developed around the old Zhao family estate as its center.
It occupied roughly an eighth of the entire Northern Dragon District.
The perimeter was enclosed by walls several meters high, with numerous gates both large and small dotting the surrounding barrier.
But every gate was guarded by at least a full squad of soldiers who checked all who passed, and anyone entering or leaving was required to carry a valid permit.
Over the past two years there had been a few unpleasant incidents — none of which had caused any serious consequences before being stamped out.
But they were reason enough for vigilance.
That was why Zhao Family Garden was kept under such strict watch.
This was where the Zhao family spent most of their daily lives.
Of course, with more than ten thousand people living inside, they couldn't all be Zhao family members or household servants.
But most of the ordinary residents were people who had lived in Dragon City for several years and had established social ties, or people of unblemished background with comfortable families and wide circles of relatives and friends.
In short, the kind of people who wouldn't be easily bought.
Most of the Zhao family members were married by now, and quite a few already had two children.
There were nearly twenty Zhao family children living here at present.
Zhao Wenjing, the eldest young lady of the third generation, was already four years old.
Her parents had even given her a little brother.
At this moment she stood in the sitting room with her small head bowed. Zhao Baihui sat in the chair before her, his face stern.
"Do you know what you did wrong?"
"Master, Wenjing knows she was wrong. She shouldn't have hidden little brother."
Indeed — the girl had been playing hide-and-seek with her mother, hidden her baby brother somewhere, and then told Sarilang to find him.
Sarilang searched for a while without success, panicked, and then went to look for Zhao Wenjing — only to find her gone as well.
A whole group of people began searching, and in the end they found the baby inside a small chest, his face drained white from lack of air.
Sarilang now clutched her little son in her arms, her heart aching, tears streaming without end.
"Master, you cannot keep spoiling this girl. Who knows what trouble she'll cause when she's older?"
"Right, I'm sorry, I'm sorry — this one was on me. From now on you must discipline the child properly. I won't get in the way anymore."
Zhao Baihui sagged with dejection, feeling that he had genuinely made mistakes. He recognized the problem clearly now — he really had been too indulgent with Zhao Wenjing, always stepping in whenever someone tried to correct her.
This time it had nearly ended in disaster.
Sarilang gave a nod, took Zhao Wenjing by the hand, and led her away. Word came back that Zhao Wenjing had been given a spanking, and Zhao Baihui didn't dare listen to any further reports.
Her own mother, after all, surely wouldn't beat her own child to death?
As long as she wasn't beaten to death, it was fine. Just fine.
Jinyuan walked in wearing an oddly amused smile. "Master, I've invited a quack doctor to come examine you."
Zhao Baihui gave a shudder and closed his eyes in pained resignation. "I'll be along in a moment. Let me collect myself."
The girl was seventeen already and still hadn't married — she spent her days doing nothing but playing. And she seemed to be getting more and more wicked with every passing year.
*Master, First Sister, Second Sister — whose fault is it, exactly? Why are there no children?*
*She, Jinyuan, had worn herself to the bone worrying about this family! Ha ha ha!*
Since neither Jinyi nor Jinxiu had shown any sign of conceiving, who was to blame hardly needed to be said.
Zhao Baihui suspected that something had gone slightly wrong when he had crossed into this world.
It weighed on him.
In truth, he felt no burning need for more children — there were already more than enough. What troubled him was the fear that Jinyi and Jinxiu couldn't make peace with it in their hearts.
Both of them had said that being at the Master's side was already more blessing than they had dared hope for; that they now possessed boundless wealth, comfort, and standing, far more than the vast majority of people could dream of. If everything were perfect, they said, it would only frighten them.
Zhao Baihui believed they were simply trying to console themselves.
And so whenever a possible solution presented itself, he would pursue it with quiet persistence.
Even if that meant a quack doctor.
An examination was fine, of course — hearing a doctor explain the likely reasons, offer a few guesses — that was all perfectly reasonable.
Any medicine actually prescribed, however, would need to be considered carefully.