In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Due to strict social etiquette, most young women were not allowed to speak to strange men, let alone put their legs in front of them.

But Wuqing trusted Zhuge Zhengwo and knew that the man in front of her was only treating her illness.

After squatting down, Zhang Xiaoshan gently pinched Wuqing's leg bone with his large hand, spreading his true qi throughout the meridians of Wuqing's leg bone.

This scene looks somewhat frivolous.

But no one present felt anything was wrong; the only discomfort was the ruthlessness.

"This leg injury, Heartless Girl, was caused when she was young. Over the years, her leg bone has grown out of place, and it seems that the leg bone will need to be completely crushed and then treated with bone setting!"

Hiss...

Upon hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's proposal, even Zhuge Zhengwo couldn't help but frown.

He had never even considered this method. Crushing and reshaping the merciless shinbone would be too cruel; even anesthetic wouldn't be able to relieve the pain.

Zhang Yuan and the others were completely frightened by Zhang Xiaoshan's words.

Is this supposed to be healing and saving lives? It's clearly murder for money!

"What is the basis for your statement, Young Master Zhang?"

"Black Jade Broken Leg Ointment can treat comminuted leg injuries. Since ordinary treatments don't work, breaking down the old and rebuilding the new might be a good option."

"Mr. Zhuge, you can consult the Ghost Doctor. Just say I recommended you. I have some connections with the Ghost Doctor, and he'll give you some face, so you won't need to spend any money."

"Thank you for your guidance, Young Master Zhang!"

Ghost doctor!

Upon hearing the name of this extraordinary figure in the martial arts world, Zhuge Zhengwo had considered it.

But the Ghost Doctor's consultation fee is a thousand taels of gold, which is ten years' salary for Zhuge Zhengwo, so he can't afford it at all.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoshan could save a thousand taels of gold by giving him "face," which made Zhuge Zhengwo even more curious about Zhang Xiaoshan.

"Haha, I heard something incredible."

"Black Jade Rejuvenating Ointment—this is a secret medicine of the Vajra Sect in the Western Regions. The ingredients are extremely rare and hard to find. I never expected that you two would possess such a miraculous medicine."

Everyone looked at the newcomer, who turned out to be a carefree young man in fine clothes who stepped into the private room.

It was An Shigeng who had come to meet Zhang Xiaoshan.

Behind An Shigeng were two stunningly beautiful Western women with blonde hair and blue eyes, standing at eight feet tall.

Apart from Zhang Xiaoshan, he was at least half a head taller than everyone else present.

With a supermodel figure over 1.9 meters tall, she is exquisitely proportioned, graceful and slender, as perfect as a sculpture.

Even Zhang Xiaoshan couldn't help but be amazed when he saw the two stunning beauties from the Western Regions.

Both women possessed alluring and stunningly beautiful faces, especially their deep, ocean-like pale blue eyes, which captivated all who looked upon them.

Her features were exquisitely sculpted, yet perfectly proportioned, with flawless, snow-white skin and long, flowing golden hair that reached her waist, exuding a rich exotic charm.

While Zhang Xiaoshan was admiring his appearance, two stunning beauties from the Western Regions were also sizing him up, their beautiful eyes filled with spring-like affection.

These two characters from the Western Regions are the gifts that An Shigeng prepared today.

Although this is not as bad as human trafficking, the rich feast while the poor feast. These girls were collected and raised by the An family from a young age, all for this day.

The Zhang family went to great lengths to bribe Zhang Xiaoshan.

Chapter Twelve: Avenge the Shame and Make Peace?

"An Shigeng!"

Zhang Xiaoshan recognized him at a glance, even though he only vaguely resembled him.

Even on Ghost Street, Zhang Xiaoshan had seen An Shigeng dressed as the God of Wealth more than once, but this was the first time the two had come face to face directly.

An Shigeng looked at Zhang Xiaoshan, but he could no longer see the figure of the boy from the past.

But as the birthday celebrant of the day, and after the conversation just now, An Shigeng still looked surprised.

It should be noted that the two Hu women were carefully selected by the An family and were eight feet tall, but they were still half a head shorter than Zhang Xiaoshan.

A classic case of overnutrition!

"Young Master Zhang, it's been about five years since we last met."

"Not bad!"

Zhang Xiaoshan nodded, and at the same time stepped forward, delivering a simple horse stance punch that overwhelmed An Shigeng with his sheer height.

'He really holds a grudge!'

An Shigeng had anticipated Zhang Xiaoshan's sudden attack and raised his hand to block it.

Bang!

The collision of a punch and a palm strike was like a thunderclap, and a gust of wind swept around.

There was no earth-shattering force, but An Shigeng was secretly alarmed. Zhang Xiaoshan's punch was like a tiger pouncing, powerful and heavy.

If it weren't for his strong internal energy cultivation, he might have been sent flying by a single punch five years ago.

Zhuge Zhengwo narrowed his eyes, a hint of surprise in them.

The two's initial probing indicated that they possessed the strength of at least a first-rate expert, and perhaps even stronger.

To everyone's astonishment, a strange, illusory flame suddenly ignited in An Shigeng's hand.

Flames enveloped Zhang Xiaoshan's fist, intended to make him back down.

But Zhang Xiaoshan seemed completely unaffected. With a surge of power, he took another step forward and unleashed the immense force of the three cauldrons.

Bang!

Flames splattered, and the remaining force directly broke through An Shigeng's true qi, flowing away with the momentum.

pedal!pedal!pedal!

The three seemingly unsteady steps each shook the surrounding floor as if a thousand pounds had been dropped, causing the earth to tremble.

After An Shigeng released his power, a fleeting blush appeared on his face.

Peak of physical training!

He was unafraid of his Western Regions magic and his powerful, domineering strength; this level of mastery had definitely reached the peak of the Body Tempering realm.

For a moment, An Shigeng's mind raced.

The 'Little White' that was originally prey has transformed into a man-eating tiger in an instant.

"Interesting. Young Master Zhang's physical prowess is probably no less than that of the Eighteen Bronze Men of Shaolin!"

"I have to thank Brother An for his encouragement back then, otherwise how could I have been listed alongside Brother An as one of the most dissolute young men in Lin'an Prefecture, and earned such a reputation!"

The two exchanged a smile; this was the kind of opponent that was interesting.

Although An Shigeng was wary of Zhang Xiaoshan's strength, there was a huge drawback to practicing external martial arts – a weakness!

Moreover, he practiced the strange arts of the Western Regions and followed the path of a mage. Going head-on with the shield warrior was like throwing an egg against a rock.

"By the way, these two Western beauties are peerless dancers brought by an imported ship."

Years ago, my relationship with Young Master Zhang began with a disagreement over the young lady Yunyan. Today, as his elder brother, I'm presenting these two Hu (Central Asian) dancers to Young Master Zhang to settle our past unpleasantness.

"Then thank you very much, Brother An, for your generosity!"

Zhang Xiaoshan did not refuse; it would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted by two stunning beauties.

As for An Shigeng being able to send him two stunning beauties, it was also due to their different aesthetic views.

Although the two Central Asian dancers were extremely beautiful, their blonde hair and blue eyes ultimately did not conform to the aesthetics of the time, or rather, they were treated as outcasts.

The beauties of Jiangnan are known for their delicate and graceful figures.

The beautiful Hu woman before him was eight feet tall. Even though she was charming and graceful, she had a large frame and could only be displayed as a work of art.

However, not all Western dancers are so tall.

On the contrary, at this time, Westerners were generally half a head shorter than the Han Chinese in the Central Plains, and about the same height as the Japanese dwarfs.

Therefore, Western dancers were still very popular here. For example, the Yangzhou "slender horses" were popular throughout China, and many foreign dancers were kept in secluded mansions for people's enjoyment.

Those who were less attractive would perform the unique, provocative dances of the Western Regions in restaurants and brothels frequented by people from Central Asia.

However, Western dancers have one drawback: their peak period lasts only a few years.

People begin to age after the age of 24 or 25, and the aging process is extremely rapid.

"Greetings, sir!"

With a slender waist and a charming smile, she spoke standard Central Plains Mandarin.

The two Western orchids had resigned themselves to their fate; their destiny had been predetermined from the moment they were trained.

"Ok!"

Zhang Xiaoshan did not completely trust the two Western women, and his attitude remained lukewarm.

However, in a single glance, he saw Wuqing looking at him with disdain and disgust, and Zhang Xiaoshan immediately felt somewhat innocent.

"Gentlemen, please don't chat here, come inside and sit down."

The guests here now, apart from An Shigeng and Zhuge Zhengwo, are mostly big merchants from Lin'an Prefecture who have close cooperation with the Zhang family or are acquaintances in the same social circle.

They didn't seem like the invited aristocratic families.

In their eyes, attending the birthday banquet was a way to give face to the Zhang family, and they would never arrive early until the appointed time.

The fourth floor only has one large private room. Originally, there were supposed to be several top-tier private rooms, but considering it was a birthday banquet tonight, we didn't proceed with that.

Moreover, Zhang Xiaoshan's idea is that the fourth floor can be used to host large banquets for birthday celebrations in the future.

In the center of the private room was a seven-foot-tall cream cake with a maximum diameter of three feet, specially made by Zhang Xiaoshan. It was decorated with various colored creams depicting a goddess flying in the sky, making it look more like a magnificent work of art.

Surrounding the cake were some cold dishes:

A truly top-quality candied fruit platter, seafood sashimi that resembles jelly, and various exquisite pastries from Jiangnan...

"This is a birthday cake from Persia in the Western Regions... and it is only for the birthdays of the Persian royal family!"

Originally, when everyone looked at the large cake in the middle, they were not only struck by its incredibly rich aroma, but also by their curiosity.

You should know that this kind of strange pastry was something they had never seen before.

However, An Shigeng immediately revealed the origin of the cake, and compared to the rough cakes that An Shigeng knew, this gorgeous and exquisite cream cake in front of him was probably even better than that made by Western 'royal chefs'.

Even the two women from the Western Regions were immediately captivated by the exquisite cake before them.

It's impossible not to be excited when you see your own country's rarest specialty in a foreign land.

"Brother An, you have good insight. Indeed, this is a cake."

In the regions west of the Arab world, this was an evolved version of the bread of the Hu people, and only Hu nobles and royalty could enjoy it.

However, the Hong family will also provide these breads and pastries in the future. If Brother An likes them, please let Sister Feng in the hall know.

Every morning, a breakfast cake is delivered to your residence before 7:00 AM.

Zhang Xiaoshan's marketing skills caught the eye of An Shigeng and several other prominent businessmen.

Just from Zhang Xiaoshan's casual remark, they saw the huge business opportunity and Zhang Xiaoshan's marketing strategy—food delivery!

The student surpasses the teacher!

At this moment, everyone looked at the 'fat and ugly' Master Zhang with envy, thinking that he had a worthy successor.

"Master, master, Chief Minister Tong has arrived outside the shop!"

A flustered and chaotic set of footsteps was followed by a thunderous roar that rang in everyone's ears.

Chapter Thirteen: Minister Tong Guan bestows upon him the courtesy name Ziyu

"We have met with the Prime Minister!"

Tong Guan was an inner court eunuch, though he did not have the power and influence of the Ming Dynasty's Eastern Depot.

However, the position of Inner Minister was so powerful that he held immense influence in the court, ranking alongside Cai Jing as one of the two great prime ministers of the Song Dynasty, with a status far exceeding that of the Grand Eunuch.