Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 149 Jiang Mingzhe's Interrogation

Jiang Mingzhe saw it clearly: when the name "Duan Zhengchun" was mentioned, Madam Ma trembled and almost collapsed.

But only he saw this scene. When the others heard that the Prince of Zhennan of Dali had arrived, they all looked over instinctively. They saw eight fine horses galloping up to them. The passengers dismounted, and the leader, dressed in fine clothes with a famous sword at his waist, clasped his hands and smiled, saying, "Duan Er of Dali greets the esteemed members of the Beggars' Sect!"

Qiao Feng hurriedly said to Madam Ma, "Sister-in-law, please rise."

He ignored them and quickly stepped forward, prostrating himself on the ground, saying, "Nephew Qiao Feng greets Uncle Duan."

Shan Zheng, Tan Gong, and the others were all taken aback, never expecting that Qiao Feng would actually kneel and bow to Duan Zhengchun.

Duan Zhengchun was also taken aback and quickly helped him up, saying, "Absolutely not! How can I, Duan, accept such a generous gift from Chief Qiao?"

Qiao Feng remained unmoved, raised his head and smiled, "Uncle, how could I not accept such an honor? I have just become sworn brothers with your son Duan Yu. Uncle is my third brother's father, so he is like an elder in my own family."

"Sworn brothers?" Duan Zhengchun was slightly taken aback, then overjoyed: "Oh dear, my dear nephew, please rise! My son is truly blessed to be sworn brothers with such a chivalrous person as you!"

Qiao Feng smiled and said, "Third Brother's nature is like pure gold and unpolished jade, extremely sincere and benevolent. It is my good fortune to befriend him."

After saying that, he got up.

Duan Zhengchun was overjoyed and patted Qiao Feng's arm, saying, "It is my first time meeting you, my nephew, and I should present you with a gift. However, I am far from home, and you are the leader of the Beggars' Sect. If I were to give you anything casually, it would be an insult..."

Qiao Feng was about to speak when Duan Zhengchun waved his hand to stop him and said with a smile, "How about this, from now on, any member of your Beggars' Clan who enters my Dali territory can stay at any post station, and their food will be provided by the post station. Consider this my small token of appreciation! However, it will be officially implemented only after I return to Dali and inform my brother, the Emperor."

Qiao Feng was taken aback, then overjoyed. In the past, when the Beggars' Clan members went out on business, they naturally ate and slept in the open. Now that they had this convenience, they didn't care about the food and bedding, but this dignity was of utmost importance.

He immediately said, "Uncle's generosity is truly appreciated by everyone in the Beggars' Sect!"

Having said that, he turned around excitedly, gathered his inner strength, and loudly proclaimed the news. The beggars cheered, feeling that they had made a great impression. Led by the two elders who were in charge of transmitting the power, the crowd shouted in unison, "The Beggar Clan disciples thank Lord Duan!"

Jiang Mingzhe nodded inwardly, thinking to himself that his uncle was truly a man of character. In reality, the Beggars' Sect disciples were used to their freedom and would probably not go to those inns unless absolutely necessary. They only cared about maintaining appearances. He truly embodied the phrase "beneficial without costing anything" to the extreme.

Then he thought: My uncle is a bit opportunistic. He gave Qiao Feng such a generous gift. When I became sworn brothers with Duan Yu, why didn't he give me a gift?

But then I thought about it again. As soon as we met, Duan Zhengchun confirmed his boast about being a retainer of the Duan family and later passed on the Duan family sword to him. Wasn't that a perfect gift for meeting him?

With just one sentence, Duan Zhengchun greatly increased the goodwill of the Beggars' Sect towards him. The four guards behind him exchanged glances, all with smiles on their faces, deeply proud of their lord.

The three women beside him, Azi, Mu Wanqing, and Zhong Ling, cheered and rushed towards Jiang Mingzhe.

"Big ginger!" "Young Master Jiang!" "Brother Jiang!"

The three women were young and beautiful, each with a different voice, yet all were delicate and melodious. The beggars couldn't help but glance at them. Some couldn't help but think: "I've heard that the Prince of Dali is a dashing and romantic man. It's only natural that he would bring three beauties with him when he travels the world. But why are they all ignoring him and rushing to Master Jiang?"
Just now, Jiang Mingzhe, Duan Yu and Qiao Feng swore brotherhood in public. The elders and leaders of the Beggars' Sect respected their status and only addressed them as "Young Master". However, the beggars below did not care about such things and whispered among themselves, saying "Second Master Jiang" and "Third Master Duan".

However, they regarded their own leader as Liu Bei, and Jiang Mingzhe and Duan Yu as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Seeing that the Beggars' Sect had gathered many experts, and that there were several people who were obviously martial arts masters present, Duan Zhengchun knew that this was no small matter. He said to Qiao Feng, "Nephew, please take care of the sect's affairs. We are all family from now on, so there is no need to be polite."

Then, with his four guards, he came to Jiang Mingzhe's side. Jiang Mingzhe's left hand was held by Azi, and his right hand was held by Mu Wanqing. Zhong Ling had nowhere to hold on and no name to hold, so she stood pitifully behind him, secretly tugging at the hem of Jiang Mingzhe's clothes.

Seeing Jiang Mingzhe's overwhelmed state, Duan Zhengchun's anger flared. He said in a low voice, "You asked Yu'er to tell me to come alone. I was willing, but Brother Chu and the other three were worried, and Wanqing and the others were also unwilling, fearing you would bring some other sisters back. Uncle had no choice but to bring them along." Jiang Mingzhe asked in surprise, "Uncle, why do you say that? I miss Wanqing and my senior sister terribly. How could I let you not bring them?"

Mu Wanqing was immediately annoyed and glared at her father, saying, "My master said that men are good at lying. It seems that it is because of you that she would not hate men so much if she had met a man like Jiang Lang."

Duan Zhengchun was dumbfounded. He thought to himself, "I originally thought this boy had the same style as me when I was young, but now it seems that I was arrogant. How could I have been so shameless when I was young?"
Seeing his expression, Jiang Mingzhe sneered inwardly: I asked you to come alone because I didn't want you to lose face in front of your daughters. I offered you my kindness, but you turned around and made fun of me. Master Duan, you don't deserve my kindness!

Azi angrily twisted Jiang Mingzhe: "Why did you bring up the wooden man first and then me? Am I less important than the wooden man?"

Jiang Mingzhe immediately turned his head and whispered a few words in her ear. Azi was overjoyed and quickly took the sword box off Jiang Mingzhe's back. Just then, she saw Zhong Ling make a move, kicked Zhong Ling in the butt, took the sword box and ran to the side to squat down, focusing on watching the little golden snake.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Zhong Ling lamented, "Brother Jiang, look at that poisonous girl..."

Before she could finish her sentence, she realized that Azi was not there. Her eyes lit up and she said, "She kicked me so hard..." She took the opportunity to grab Jiang Mingzhe's wrist. She was very pleased with herself and thought to herself: One day I will join forces with the Wooden Man, steal the Poison Girl's big ginger, drive away the Wooden Man, and make him my one and only Brother Jiang!

Duan Yu silently observed everything, becoming even more convinced of his understanding: only through checks and balances can there be equilibrium!
While they were flirting in that corner, Qiao Feng had already returned to Madam Ma and solemnly said, "Distinguished guests have arrived. As the leader of the gang, I have no choice but to receive you first. Please forgive any rudeness, sister-in-law."

After saying this, he clasped his hands in a deep bow.

Madam Ma lowered her head and said, "I dare not. Since my late husband passed away, the gang leader and all the uncles have taken care of the funeral arrangements. I, the widow, am deeply grateful."

She spoke these words very softly, but Duan Zhengchun, who was staring at Jiang Mingzhe while he was gathering his qi, turned around as if struck by lightning and stared intently at Madam Ma.

Then Qiao Feng said, "It's nothing to mention as a brother's duty. Sister-in-law, you've come all the way to Jiangnan, and Elder Xu even specially invited the Iron-Faced Judge Master Shan to lead the Five Heroes of Mount Tai to escort you. There must be a reason for this. If you have anything to say, please speak frankly."

Madam Ma seemed hesitant for a moment before continuing, "There's no need for further words. After my late husband passed away, I was sorting through his belongings and found a letter among his boxing manuals. It was sealed with sealing wax and had my late husband's handwriting on it. He said that if he died a violent death, he should give this letter to the elders of the gang to open and read together, and that there must be no mistakes."

She paused for a moment, then continued, "At that time, the gang leader had already gone south, and I couldn't find anyone to help me, so I took it upon myself to go to Weihui and deliver this letter to Elder Xu. As for what happened next, I ask Elder Xu to inform you all."

After saying this, he bowed and walked to a large apricot tree. Everyone looked at Elder Xu, but Duan Zhengchun frowned and kept his eyes on Madam Ma.

Elder Xu stepped forward, holding a letter in his hand, and said, "I watched Da Yuan grow up, and I recognize his handwriting clearly. When Madam Ma gave me the letter, the sealing wax was intact. I was worried about making a mistake, so I opened it and read it before meeting with the other elders..."

Before he could continue, a loud, strange laugh suddenly rang out. Everyone instinctively looked over, and Jiang Mingzhe gently broke free from Zhong Ling and Mu Wanqing, stepped forward, and said with a half-smile on his face: "Old Xu is truly a remarkable person. He has urgent military intelligence but doesn't bother to read it. Yet he is so impatient with a secret letter that he has specified to be read together with all the elders. Haha, wonderful, wonderful."

Elder Xu swayed slightly, took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth, saying, "When I opened the letter, Brother Shan, the Iron-Faced Judge of Taihang Mountain, happened to be a guest at my residence and can testify for me."

Dan Zheng frowned and glanced at Jiang Mingzhe, then nodded and said, "That's right. I was at Old Master Xu's residence at the time and saw him open and read this letter with my own eyes."

The beggars all nodded subconsciously, clearly because the Iron-Faced Judge had a very high reputation in the martial arts world, and everyone believed him as soon as he spoke.

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head and smiled, while Shan Zheng said with slight anger, "What, does this friend not trust my words?"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "How dare I? A person's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Senior's nickname is Iron-Faced Judge. What could I possibly distrust? I shook my head just now because I lamented the decline of morality. It's one thing for Madam Ma to go to see Elder Xu, an elder of our sect, as a widow, but Senior didn't even avoid her. Hehe, although people in the martial arts world are said to be unconventional, judging from Madam Ma's gait, she doesn't seem to know martial arts. I don't know whether I should be considered a person in the martial arts world..."

He kept rambling on and on, and Shan Zheng said impatiently, "Stop talking nonsense. I have always been a man of propriety. When Madam Ma came, I avoided her as soon as I heard the report. Later, I was asked by Elder Xu to escort her south, and I didn't even glance at her along the way."

"Oh!" Jiang Mingzhe replied casually, then his eyes sharpened: "In that case, I have a question for you, senior. Since you avoided me at the time, you probably didn't see Madam Ma give Elder Xu anything. And how can you be sure whether the letter Elder Xu opened was given to him by Madam Ma or prepared in advance?"

"Hiss!" Shan Zheng couldn't help but gasp!
(End of this chapter)