Chapter 74: Making Trouble Out of Nothing

The brilliant afterglow of the sun finally disappeared below the horizon.

The sunset sank, and the bright moon rose but was covered by a dark cloud.

The sea and sky were suddenly pitch black.

But Pingyang Town on the ground had already turned into a world of lanterns that never sleeps.

Fried sweet balls, boiled yuanxiao, steamed jujube buns, steaming and emitting a rich fragrance of sweetness.

Dragon and lion dances, phoenix lanterns, jade rabbit pounding medicine, Chang'e dancing in the sky... The "Colorful Clothes Lantern Parade" organized by the leading figures of each ward with money and effort began to circle the town.

Groups of men, women, and children followed joyfully, so lively.

The fried food fried in big oil was fragrant and greasy, and was filled in a large basin for kneading dough.

Then covered with sticky yuanxiao.

Zhang Gui stood at the door of his house, eating and drinking heartily.

While laughing and talking with the neighbors, waiting for the parade to arrive.

Suddenly, a colorful figure different from the others squeezed out of the joyful crowd.

Stumbling and running to Zhang Gui, shouting with a pale face:

"Zhang Gui, something happened, something big happened, we are in big trouble!"

The surrounding neighbors were stunned and looked at each other.

Only Zhang Gui calmly continued to eat yuanxiao, while looking at the person, and reached out with a slap.

Slapping the middle-aged man who was disheveled, full of panic, and full of stubble, and looked like a scholar, spinning around.

After a while, he spat out two broken teeth with a "poof poof."

"Where did the lunatic come from, actually saying 'we' with me, are you worthy!

You are a street beggar with epilepsy, in such weather, you will die of cold if you say so.

Every day can be called a disaster.

I am the 'Dongyue Sea Siyang Commandery Militia Eighth-Rank Bandit-Suppressing Colonel, Seal-Holding Governor of Zhihai Stockade military and civilian affairs' appointed by the Ministry of War of the Imperial Court.

I haven't taken bribes, haven't broken the law, and haven't lost the camp.

Who dares, who can, who can make me in big trouble!

If it weren't for seeing that your brain is not clear, I could ask you for a great crime of attempting to disrupt the imperial court and deserving death for this sentence alone.

Get out of here!"

This escalation of the issue immediately stunned the disheveled middle-aged man.

He blinked, not daring to pretend to be crazy and stupid anymore, and said with a leaking mouth:

"Gui, Gui Ge, no, Gui adult, Gui Governor, it's me, I am Zhang Bazhen."

Zhang Gui actually saw that this fake lunatic was who it was, but still pretended to be surprised,

"Zhang Bazhen, Bazhen clerk head, what happened to you?

How could you be so down and out in just one month."

"I, I suffered a disaster." Zhang Bazhen originally wanted to cling to Zhang Gui and say "we," but the burning face made him dare not play small tricks again, and said crying:

"Didn't we hook up business with the Shuanghu Rong Family at 'Wangbei Manor' a few days ago?

As a result, Wangbei Manor was looted during the first lunar month, and people, wealth, and goods were all rolled away.

The Rong family couldn't find the robbers, so they hooked up with the 'Sushifang' in the clan and interrogated me again and again.

At first, they just asked questions, but last time they did it.

They also said some harsh words, saying that if I didn't tell the truth again, they would implicate my family.

But what I said was the truth, I was really wronged to death!"

The "Sushifang" of the Pingyang Zhang Family is equivalent to the "Crucian Carp Tail" in the ministries and commissions of Zhang Gui's previous life, whose position is not the highest, but whose authority can reach the sky.

It is the place that Zhang Family descendants fear most.

So Zhang Bazhen, who was driven to a mental breakdown, ran over to mess around when he knew that his former peer Zhang Gui had prospered.

Even if the hope was slim, he still wanted to hit a pole to see if there were any dates, and stir the water muddy.

Zhang Gui guessed his intention and said expressionlessly:

"Bazhen clerk head, although the Shuanghu Rong Family is an imperial merchant family, they wouldn't be able to make our Pingyang Zhang Family wrong the clan descendants without any reason.

Since they interrogated you again and again, there must be a reason."

As soon as the voice fell, a group of people rushed over.

The most eye-catching was a burly man with an amazing figure, solid muscles all over his body, and fists as big as sand pots.

Wearing dark gold finger tigers on both hands, with a livid face.

And a thin man, wearing a yin and yang fish robe hanging on his body.

With a gloomy expression and a string of fire boils on the corners of his mouth, the Taoist priest slowly said to Zhang Bazhen:

"Of course there is a reason to interrogate him.

We followed the two big cabinet young masters Anshan and Anqiu to visit family friends in Siyang Commandery on New Year's Eve.

As a result, the hundreds of manor guards, second cabinet, third cabinet, and many clerks left behind, and the tens of thousands of young and strong servants were all gone without a trace.

And this clerk head Zhang Bazhen of your Pingyang Zhang Family was also supposed to spend the New Year at Wangbei Manor according to the rules.

But he went home to keep the New Year, and didn't go to the manor once until the eleventh of the first lunar month.

Shouldn't this be interrogated carefully?

If he weren't a descendant of the Pingyang Zhang Family, he would have already used major punishment with such suspicion.

He still feels wronged, it's really unreasonable."

Zhang Bazhen was frightened by the Taoist priest's knife-like gaze and his lips trembled, and he didn't dare to speak anymore.

The pleading look turned to Zhang Gui.

But the problem was that he didn't have any good intentions when he first met Zhang Gui and wanted to take advantage of him, and he also had bad intentions when he came this time.

And Zhang Gui's temperament would not return evil with kindness.

Instead, he nodded to the Rong family's Taoist priest and agreed: "What you said is indeed reasonable.

It should be asked carefully."

As a result, the Taoist priest was actually at the end of his rope, and wanted to bite people indiscriminately like a mad dog, recruiting as many as possible.

Seeing Zhang Gui agreeing with him, he thought he was afraid of him, and suddenly had a whim and said:

"This little brother, I remember you were also at Wangbei Manor..."

"I hadn't been to the manor since before it was looted because of a sudden fainting spell."

"How could it be such a coincidence that you fainted?"

Zhang Gui felt the malice of the Taoist priest and suddenly laughed, explaining very carefully:

"I fainted because I didn't grasp the essentials of entering the Way.

After entering the Way, the clan helped me become a martial scholar.

And I felt the difficulty of the national situation, and took the initiative to submit a petition to serve the imperial court early.

After being examined by the Siyang Commandery Military Prefecture of Dongyue Sea Province, all subjects were Grade A.

Specially selected as, 'Militia Eighth-Rank Bandit-Suppressing Colonel, Seal-Holding Governor of Zhihai Stockade military and civilian affairs'."

The Taoist priest gritted his back teeth and said word by word:

"I know your current identity.

But do you think a mere militia Eighth-Rank Bandit-Suppressing Colonel can be seen by the Shuanghu Rong Family?

Still not with me..."

As a result, before he finished speaking, he saw Zhang Gui suddenly turn into a giant of eight zhang, and his right palm grabbed his upper body like lightning.

The Taoist priest didn't expect Zhang Gui to suddenly attack and grab him.

His head stiffened, and then various thoughts flashed,

"This, this, this transformation into a giant, is it the 'True Form Transformation' of the Pingyang Zhang Family's Kuafu bloodline!

I was really crazy under pressure, how could I provoke such a heaven-sent talent just to recruit one more person to stir up the situation.

I must have truly gone insane under the immense pressure; how could I have provoked such a heaven-sent talent just to insert one more person into the fray?

I was also too careless, a Taoist priest who practices magic actually approached a martial artist to make things difficult, isn't this looking for trouble for himself.

It's really forgetting the taboos completely under the shade of a big tree."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 75 =====

(End of Chapter)