Taking Trivial Authority Too Seriously

Zhu Jun couldn’t help but laugh in frustration, “I only owe Zuo Ming a small favour, and it wasn’t even that big. Just bringing you aboard the warship should’ve repaid that favour in full. If weren’t for Zuo Ming, do you think I’d be happy to take care of you?”

“You’re an ungrateful wretch!” Zuo Lanruo’s eyes widened as she remembered her father saying Zhu Jun owed their family a massive debt of gratitude.

Zhu Jun snapped back irritably, “Ungrateful? If your family had saved my life, then sure, call it a great favour, and I’d have nothing to say. But all that happened was I stayed at a hospital near your home after an accident, and your brother brought me some fresh clothes.”

“I owe that thanks to your brother, Zuo Ming, not your entire family. Ungrateful? Since I became an officer in District 8, do you know how much I’ve repaid? Your family has always clung to that trivial favour like it was some life-changing gesture. Do you really expect me to sacrifice everything for your family just because your brother brought me a set of clothes? Do you honestly think your family can compare to our General? You’re really overestimating yourselves.”

“Who do the Zuo family think they are? The General doesn’t even consider you worth his attention,” Zhu Jun said, his patience wearing thin. He had always thought Zuo Ming was a decent guy, but the rest of the family acted like a bad rash—impossible to get rid of. It was nauseating and uncomfortable.

Zuo Lanruo was stunned. She couldn’t believe that the “great favour” her father had mentioned was simply her brother delivering clothes.

Zhu Jun left the medical bay, making sure to post guards outside this time. There was no way Zuo Lanruo was going to get another chance to annoy the General. To be honest, Zhu Jun himself found her intolerable. Even though she had only said a single sentence, it had been enough to infuriate him.

All the senior officers already knew that the General’s wife was a revered Master, so their respect for her even surpassed their admiration for the General himself. Zuo Lanruo’s insult hadn’t just angered Mo Mo, the General; it had upset all of them.

Zhu Jun felt too embarrassed to return to the main hall, so he went back to the duty room, only to be teased mercilessly by his colleagues. He couldn’t believe how unlucky he was—dealing with the relentless Zuo family was becoming more and more of a headache.

“What have I gotten myself into?” he muttered. His biggest worry now was if the General would hold a grudge over the incident. After all, his wife, the Master, was highly revered, and anyone disrespecting her was bound to incur the General’s wrath.

Feeling desperate, Zhu Jun returned to his room, searched through his belongings, and finally pulled out a bottle of rare wine. Sneaking over to the General, he hoped to smooth things over.

This wasn’t just any wine; it was a rare tonic, the kind that was almost impossible to come by in a world where even food was scarce. Zhu Jun had painstakingly acquired a bottle and was now reluctantly offering it as a peace offering.

Zhu Jun found General Mo inspecting the warship and approached him sheepishly, “General!”

Mo Mo frowned as Zhu Jun sidled up to him, “General,” Zhu Jun grinned nervously, “I brought you something special today!” He quickly handed the wine to Mo Mo.

Mo Mo eyed the bottle with suspicion, “What’s this?”

“General, it’s a powerful tonic. I worked hard to get it.” With food supplies dwindling, finding any alcohol was a rarity, let alone something like this.

Mo Mo had been about to refuse, but seeing the pained look on Zhu Jun’s face, he accepted it. “Alright, I’ll keep it.”

Mo Mo glanced at Zhu Jun, noticing that his genetic health hadn’t fully recovered yet. He handed him a small bottle of vitality water. “Go recover your genetic health.”

Zhu Jun’s face lit up. “Thank you, General!” It seemed the General wasn’t mad after all.

Zhu Jun had underestimated Mo Mo. No matter what, Mo Mo wasn’t the type to take his anger out on his brothers because of an unrelated woman. He understood that Zhu Jun was only keeping up ties with Zuo Ming out of loyalty, though that might change soon.

The Zuo family was too greedy. They’d been ‘making mountains out of molehills’ (this is a Chinese proverb I don’t know how to translate the characters properly but I guess the words will be like the title for this chapter)—turning a trivial favour into something monumental and expecting constant repayment. It was the kind of behaviour Mo Mo despised.

As far as Mo Mo was concerned, as long as that woman didn’t bother his wife, everything would be fine. He trusted that Zhu Jun knew what to do now. But still, Mo Mo couldn’t help but wonder what was in that bottle of wine Zhu Jun had given him. Why had he looked so pained?

Upon closer inspection, Mo Mo found the label and, after reading it, couldn’t help but feel speechless. Zhu Jun wasn’t even thirty yet—why was he giving him a bottle of aphrodisiac wine?

Later, Mo Mo brought the wine to Ye Mo. As soon as she caught a whiff of it, she gave him a startled look. Did this guy think he was not good enough?

“Let’s just put this away for now,” Ye Mo said, handing the bottle to the old butler and asking him to put it in the warehouse. “I don’t think you’ll need it any time soon.”

Mo Mo raised an eyebrow, leaning close to whisper, “So, ‘for now’ means I’ll need it eventually?”

Ye Mo shoved his face away and then asked unhappily, “What’s going on in your head? Do you really think you’ll need something like this?”

Mo Mo wrapped his arm around her waist, “Sweetheart, don’t you know how capable your husband is? There’s no way I’d ever need something like this. It’s just that Zhu Jun looked so miserable when he gave it to me that I couldn’t refuse.”

If Zhu Jun hadn’t shown such a painful expression, he would never have accepted it.

If Zhu Jun could hear this, he’d probably jump up in protest!

Ye Mo looked at Mo Mo with amusement, “You’re too hard on your subordinates.”

Mo Mo put his arm around Ye Mo’s waist and said, “How can I focus on them when I’m too busy taking care of my wife?”

Just then, their child Beibei squeezed over and in between the two of them, “Daddy, Mommy, hug!”

Ye Mo pinched his cheek, “Who do you want to hug? Daddy or Mommy?”

Seeing that his dad still had an arm around his mom, Beibei decided, “Both!”

Ye Mo pried Mo Mo’s hand off her waist, “Go hug your son.”

Mo Mo sighed, reluctantly letting go and scooping Beibei into his arms. “Looks like we’re both being cast aside, Beibei.”

Beibei curled his lips, “Mommy’s only mad at Daddy, not me!”

“She’s mad at you too! I’m just getting caught in the crossfire,” Mo Mo retorted.

“Mommy loves me. She’d never be mad at me!” Beibei said, pushing Mo Mo’s face away.

Mo Mo huffed, “Mommy likes me better at night.”

Beibei’s eyes immediately welled up with tears. Ye Mo, standing nearby, couldn’t help but sigh in exasperation. She looked at Mo Mo and asked, “When did you become so childish?” How could Mo Mo, a man who had lived for over a century, be bickering with a one-year-old? It is too embarrassing!

(End of Chapter)