The 18th year of the Da Yong reign: The beginning of the story involves rescuing revolutionaries.

The lord has taken in a new adopted son, the man who rescued the young lady and brought her back to the mansion. I heard he's some kind of gang leader.

The news spread like wildfire throughout the entire prefecture by the next morning.

The news was quickly confirmed by the Duke himself, as he solemnly informed the entire Wang family of the matter, which meant that he was no longer an ordinary adopted son.

He even personally handed Wang Zhi a jade pendant as a token of his status.

No one objected, and even if they did, they probably kept it to themselves and dared not speak it aloud.

The happiest person about this was Wang Lingguan, who had lost a loving older brother, and her father immediately found her a sworn brother.

In recent days, she seemed to have suddenly aged several years, becoming taciturn, which worried Pei Shi a lot. Seeing her daughter smile, she felt much relieved.

Although he is the sole heir to the title, seven or eight years old is not an age to bear so much.

With this matter settled, Wang Zhi prepared to return to Liuzhou County.

Before leaving, he went to Wang Donglai's study.

The study of a martial artist was decorated with a painting of a tiger descending a mountain, and the shelves were filled with armor and weapons. The wooden bookshelves were also filled with military treatises, exuding an aura of violence and ruthlessness.

Wang Zhi had memorized the sword manual last night. With over ten years of swordsmanship experience and Old Wang's careful instruction, memorizing it was not difficult. He then returned the copy to his godfather.

At the same time, he revealed his true colors in the study. Now that he was the godfather, hiding his true identity would make him, Wang Zhitai, seem insincere.

He also explained that his real name is Wang Zhi, and that he is actually the only son of the prominent Wang family in Liuzhou.

In order to deal with that ruthless magistrate, Wang Zhi had no choice but to put on two faces and pretend to be polite. He didn't forget to say a few bad things about Magistrate Hu to his godfather.

As a military officer, Wang Donglai never interfered in the affairs of local officials. As for whether Wang Zhi was a gang leader or the head of a prominent family, it made no difference to him.

After explaining all of this, Wang Zhi looked hesitant.

"Spit it out, stop beating around the bush." ​​Wang Donglai put away the copy, keenly sensing that Wang Zhi seemed to have something else to say.

"Hehe, you can't hide it from your godfather." Wang Zhi smiled and got straight to the point: "There are a few members of the New Central Society roaming around Liuzhou County. The provincial government has ordered the county government to investigate strictly and hand over the rioters within ten days. The county magistrate has entrusted this matter to me."

There are only two days left until the ten-day deadline, and there is still no trace of the rebels. They may have already slipped away right under the noses of the county militia. If they fail to hand over the people by the deadline, the provincial government will hold them accountable, and Magistrate Hu will surely find someone to take the blame.

If they then pin the blame on my child for colluding with rebels and working from the inside to help the rebels escape, my child would be truly wronged.

"Bullshit! My adopted son is also a traitor?!" Wang Donglai's eyebrows shot up as he uttered an angry remark.

"It's hard to say. Magistrate Hu is usually a hypocrite. As the local official in charge of Liuzhou, he doesn't do his job properly. When the provincial government gets angry, someone has to take the blame. Most likely, this corrupt official had already planned that if this is the outcome, he would hold me accountable."

"Godfather, look, which official from the provincial government has gone down to supervise? Could you find out for me and put in a good word for me?" Wang Zhi whispered.

Wang Dong looked at Wang Zhi, pondered for a while, and then said, "Alright, I understand the matter. You can go back to your Liuzhou."

"Thank you, Godfather." Wang bowed respectfully and withdrew.

Only after the study door closed did Wang Zhi finally feel a huge weight lifted from his heart and breathe a sigh of relief.

After Wang Zhiyuan left, a handsome and upright young general emerged from behind the screen in the study. He was Wang Donglai's personal guard, the flag bearer Wang Qi.

Wang Qi approached Wang Donglai's side and whispered, "General, this Chief Wang is quite cunning."

The lord stood up, went to the rack to get his robe, and casually said, "Those who have risen from the bottom are not very cunning. They would have been eaten alive long ago, leaving not even bones. As for the rebels and their Daxing Gang, you should secretly go to Liuzhou to find out more."

He also knew something about the New China Society, an organization that the court labeled as a rebel party, and he was very familiar with many of its members.

But Wang Donglai didn't understand politics. He was a general, and all he knew was how to defend his country and fight bloody battles.

"Yes," Wang Qi replied.

"Also, from now on you must call him Young Master." The Duke finished putting on his robes for going out.

Wang Qi was startled by these words and quickly lowered his head, saying, "Yes, General."

At the same time, a strange emotion arose in his heart. Over the years, so many soldiers in the army who were outstanding in talent and upright in character had not been adopted by the general. This man was really very lucky.

Before leaving the Earl's mansion, Wang Zhi went to say goodbye to Madam Pei, whom he now addressed as his godmother.

He still used the identity of Wang Zhi.

From the beginning, Madam Pei had a good impression of this gang leader. He was her daughter's benefactor and someone the Duke favored, so she didn't care whether he was disguised or not.

When the person arrived, Pei Huaiyin smiled and said, "Before you leave, your godmother has some things to give you."

After saying that, he waved and Manager Liu came up carrying a tray.

"These were prepared long ago. Here are a thousand silver dollars in banknotes and some gold. Take them with you. Stay in this remote part of the prefecture. You'll need the money a lot. I'm sorry to trouble you."

After saying that, he pointed to the item wrapped in red cloth on the tray and said, "And this is a 35-year-old Qingjing Grass, a spiritual medicine for opening the meridians in the Commoner Realm. I heard from the servants that you were inquiring about these things, so you can take it with you."

"My son thanks his godmother." Wang Zhi was overjoyed; this was much more than the five hundred silver dollars he had initially wanted.

Especially these thirty-five-year-old Qingjing grasses are extremely rare. This isn't just a godmother, she's a biological mother!

This trip was truly a windfall.

After carefully packing everything into the bundle, Wang Zhi said a few auspicious words, which made his godmother smile: "You have such a sweet tongue."

"Hmph, she's only sweet-talking to you, Mother. She was quite fierce to me on the way here," the little girl, Wang Lingguan, said, stepping forward with a pout.

"You silly child." Madam Pei naturally knew that this was her daughter joking, which just showed that the two had a good relationship.

Wang Lingguan stepped forward, looked up at Wang Zhi, and extended his right hand: "Brother, pinky promise."

The little girl blinked as she thought that her sworn brother was handsome and refined, even more pleasing to the eye than the composed middle-aged gang leader.

"Pinky promise? Why do we need to pinky promise again?" Wang Zhi asked, puzzled but still reached out his hand to cooperate.

The two hooked their right little fingers together and pressed their thumbs together. Wang Lingguan said, "This pinky promise means you've fulfilled your previous agreement with me, proving you're not a person who breaks promises."

"A childish trick," Wang Zhi chuckled. "Of course I keep my word."

......

The ancestral hall of the Marquis of Wuyi.

Wang Guangyou, with disheveled hair, looked as if his spine had been removed. He knelt swaying before the memorial tablets, his lips bloodless and his face full of dejection.

How could one still discern the appearance of that elegant young man from before?

The sound of a door being pushed open came from behind me.

The sound of footsteps grew louder as they approached.

"Son, have something to eat."

"Mother, why are you here?" Wang Guangyou slowly opened his eyes, looked at the gentle woman in front of him, and said in surprise, "Mother, you should go back quickly, the Duke won't let anyone bring me food."

"Son, how can you not eat?" the woman said worriedly, opening the food box to reveal several exquisite snacks inside.

He continued, "Eat a couple of bites quickly, no one will notice. Who in the manor cares about us now? My poor child, the Duke is too cruel. He crippled your cultivation and made you kneel in the ancestral hall. He treats you worse than an outsider. The Duke even took that gang leader as his adopted son and announced it to the entire manor. He has lost his mind."

Wang Guangyou's hand, which was eating, froze, and he stared blankly at his mother: "Mother, what did you say? That bastard was adopted as a godson by the Duke."

He even doubted that he had misheard.

"That's right, and I've even heard that he was secretly taught martial arts."

Wang Guangyou crushed the pastry into pieces with a single squeeze, a bitter smile spreading across his face. He let out a laugh that sounded like an old windowpane being pushed and pulled back and forth: "Hehehe, personally teaching martial arts, hahaha." Pastry powder sprayed everywhere, but he didn't care at all.

"My child, what's wrong? Don't scare your mother." The woman stepped forward and hugged her child.

Wang Guangyou stopped speaking, rested his chin on his mother's shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "Mother, call Father. I want that little gang leader dead. I want him to die."

The incense burner in front of the ancestral tablets emits wisps of smoke that rise upwards.