Chapter 39: Luo Xianda's Scheme

Ma Yaozi rubbed his belly. He had eaten his fill. This young lord Zhang Erlang was certainly generous — the sesame flatbread was covered in sesame seeds, and the pepper in the mutton soup might as well have been free. Satisfying!

Zhang Zhao's gaze drifted toward the man. As for what Ma Yaozi was doing here with so many elite soldiers, Zhang Zhao actually knew.

It was obvious. Luo Xianda feared that Cao Shisi would lure him to Shouchang, so he had sent Ma Yaozi over, surely to persuade him to leave this place.

Persuade him how? Physical persuasion, of course! If he proved unreasonable, Luo Xianda probably would not mind quietly sending him to the next world.

But no matter how Luo Xianda schemed, he had not counted on one thing: Zhang Zhao had neither been coerced by the Uyghur horse bandits nor colluded with them — Zhang Zhao had simply subdued the bandits outright.

What surprised Luo Xianda even more, of course, was that Zhang Zhao actually commanded a certain amount of respect among the Shouchang garrison troops.

Unless these Shouchang garrison soldiers did not know — or pretended not to know — that this was young lord Zhang Erlang, they might have made a move. But once his identity was revealed, the Shouchang garrison soldiers would not lightly lay hands on him.

"Full!" Ma Yaozi shut his eyes and put on the look of a scalded pig that no longer fears boiling water. Even if young lord Zhang Erlang had subdued the Uyghur horse bandits, he surely would not dare seize Shouchang garrison troops! It was just that the task Commissioner Luo had given him could not be completed.

"You thieving slave! What did Luo Xianda, that Zhongshan wolf, send you here to do? Did he send you to harm the young lord? That dog, that rat! How dare he? How dare he be so ungrateful and treacherous!"

Loud cursing came from the distance. Zhang Zhao looked up and saw a nag galloping over from the direction of the stronghold. Fan Quan, who was on watch, had raised no alarm, so whoever was coming had to be one of their own.

Sure enough, after a cloud of dust settled, the old servant Zhang Zhong appeared before Zhang Zhao's eyes.

These past days, Zhang Zhao had sent Zhang Zhong rather far away, because he truly feared the old man's talent for causing trouble and did not dare let him take part in any decision-making.

At the same time, arranging the storage of the spoils taken from Geduo's stronghold was also an important and tedious task that required a reliable confidant to handle properly — exactly the sort of job to give Zhang Zhong.

Ma Yaozi's cheek twitched twice. He knew Zhang Zhong better than he knew Zhang Zhao. How had this old fellow guessed that Commissioner Luo meant to harm young lord Zhang Erlang?

Zhang Zhao studied old Zhang Zhong and found that the anxiety and fury on the old man's face were mostly put on. He dodged and darted, not daring to meet Zhang Zhao's eyes, deliberately reddening his face to play the part of a man bristling with rage, while his rapid tone was laced with guilt.

And why did Ma Yaozi also look like he was constipated?

Something was wrong! Could old Zhang Zhong have gone and done something big on his behalf again?

"Old Zhong, there wouldn't happen to be something I don't know about, would there? Out with it, quickly. I won't blame you!" Zhang Zhao sighed. This old fellow really was a handful!

"Young lord!" Zhang Zhong tugged Zhang Zhao a little toward a corner, looking uneasy.

"Truth be told, your servant is not as foolish as you say. When I went to see Geduo, I had actually made arrangements with another important person beforehand. It was just that Geduo — his lust knew no bounds. Ah!"

"Are you trying to tell me that Luo Xianda, the Defense Commissioner of the Shouchang garrison, is that important person you made arrangements with?" Zhang Zhao rubbed his forehead, speechless.

Should one call old Zhang Zhong bold, or merely overconfident? The man wanted to dance on two tightropes at once!

Zhang Zhong nodded, shamefaced and downcast. "Luo Xianda and his elder brother Luo Tongda were both trusted confidants of the Son of Heaven back in the day. Without the Son of Heaven, how would they have their present standing? Besides, all these years Luo Xianda has been squeezed out by Luo Yingda and the rest. He has long been nursing grievances!"

Zhang Zhao was even more speechless. However resentful Luo Xianda might be, he would not dare stake everything on a single Shouchang garrison. And whether the Shouchang garrison even all obeyed him was still unknown!

"I imagine that when Luo Xianda agreed to stand behind you and let you make contact with Geduo, he must have told you to find a chance to sound out the location of Geduo's lair?" Zhang Zhao sighed.

"My dear old Zhong! You must keep yourself out of trouble from now on. Luo Xianda was eyeing Geduo's fortune. Even if Geduo had not lost his head to lust in Qi Xiahu's stronghold, once Luo Xianda had located Geduo's lair, none of us would have come out well. Do you see Ma Yaozi and his men? They are here to take our lives!"

Zhang Zhong's face went pale, and a wave of helplessness washed over him. But when he looked at Zhang Zhao again, he felt immensely gratified.

"The young lord now shows real talent and vision. This old servant will naturally have no more need to worry. I need only manage the young lord's household property well!"

Zhang Zhao nodded in full agreement. The old servant was loyal, certainly loyal. In the eyes of the original Zhang Zhao, old Zhang Zhong was not only one of his few faithful servants but in truth like an elder kinsman to him!

Well, all right. The man was a bit foolish, but reliable, and he would do fine managing logistics.

"This time, though, it is not without use. When we could not protect ourselves, the secret pact with Luo Xianda was a death warrant.

But now that we have the strength to protect ourselves, that secret pact has become Luo Xianda's death warrant instead. Go over and tell all of this to Ma Yaozi!"

After thinking quietly for a moment, Zhang Zhao patted Zhang Zhong on the shoulder and gave a smug smile.

This was what one called a lucky mistake. He looked at the several dozen Shouchang garrison soldiers on the slope. These were all elite troops! That squad deputy surnamed Yan in particular was absolutely a veteran of the battlefield. If Luo Xianda did not bleed a little this time, the matter could not possibly end well!

Ma Yaozi stood stunned, as if struck by five thunderbolts. He had never imagined that Commissioner Luo had long been in secret dealings with old Zhang Zhong — that even Zhai Tongjin, the man who had abducted Lady Cao Sanniang, had been contacted with Commissioner Luo's help. If this were reported to the Military Governor's office, Commissioner Luo might well lose his life.

It was over now. Commissioner Luo's life was in young lord Zhang Erlang's grip!

"What? You also want to seize young lord Cao Shisi? Young lord, that won't do! Absolutely not!

Abducting Lady Sanniang is already a capital crime. If you seize young lord Shisi as well, you might be able to get away, but Commissioner Luo and I would lose our heads for sure!"

The moment he heard that Zhang Zhao also wanted him to pose as his deputy and seize young lord Cao Shisi, Ma Yaozi felt like weeping. This was a matter that cost heads!

"Fine. You can refuse too. Then I'll spread word of Commissioner Luo's dealings with old Zhong. I'm preparing to head to Khotan anyway, so the Military Governor's office can't catch me.

But as for Commissioner Luo, I'm afraid he'll still be a dead man. Oh dear — someone prides himself on loyalty and righteousness, yet in the end he only looks out for himself!" Zhang Zhao's tone was thoroughly mocking.

Ma Yaozi's face instantly flushed red. Call him a coward and he would not object, but if anyone said Ma Yaozi was disloyal or unrighteous, he would not stand for it.

"Young lord need not goad me. So long as you promise not to let slip the matter between you and Commissioner Luo, Ma Yaozi will stake his life and go with you this once!"

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