Water Margin: I am Zhu Biao

Chapter 82 The curtain is about to rise on Liangshan.

At midnight, at the Ximen residence.

Not long after Ximen Qing was beaten, Wu Da returned, and it turned out to be him who had been behind it all.

Wu Da was not injured, only pushed and punched a few times by the arresting officers.

However, he was frightened and stared blankly at people, stammering and not daring to speak. Wu Song took him to a side hall to comfort him.

The county government's reaction was exactly as Zhu Biao had predicted; they pretended not to hear, as usual, and did not hinder the matter at all.

Good heavens! The nephew of the prefectural judge, someone the county magistrates usually had to fawn over, was beaten up without warning, and his head was turned into a pig's head.

That imposing presence, that menacing aura.

By this time, the officials in the yamen were convinced that Zhu Biao must be a powerful military commander from the Imperial City Guard, passing through this area on official business.

They even came up with their own reasons for making things difficult for Ximen Qing.

Scrape the money!

After all, the Ximen family is the richest family in Yanggu.

As for his backer, no matter how powerful the judge was, he was still just a local official, while the Imperial City Guard was a capital official and the emperor's personal guard, which was truly not to be trifled with.

"Fatty, I have a question for you to answer."

At this moment, in the flower hall, Zhu Biao leaned back in his chair, his brows slightly furrowed, his eyes not even open, and said coldly.

"Dare to utter a single word, and I'll kill you."

"Yes, yes; I understand."

Before him, Wang Po, her face bruised and swollen, knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf.

Why did Ximen Qing protect you?

At this moment, Zhu Biao felt his temples throbbing, and without further ado, he got straight to the point.

Upon hearing this, Granny Wang's eyes darted around, and she stammered, "Old, I have a past with Master Ximen. It was I who brought about his concubine's marriage."

"Su Fang!"

After hearing her finish speaking, Zhu Biao frowned even more deeply. He still didn't open his eyes, only letting out a soft rebuke.

"Here you go!"

Su Fang responded, drew his short knife with a snap, and without saying a word, stabbed Wang Po in the arm.

"Ah~"

Granny Wang screamed as she saw blood flowing freely from her arm. Instantly, a warm, wet sensation arose from her groin, and a pungent, fishy smell assaulted her nostrils.

At this moment, Zhu Biao suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife, and said, word by word.

"Fatty, I'm giving you one last chance to answer the same question."

Su Fang cleverly flipped the short knife, pressing the back of the blade against Wang Po's short, thick neck, and shouted sharply, "You old hag, tell the truth! Are you looking for death?"

"Spare me! I'll talk!"

Startled, Granny Wang screamed and blurted out, "Master Ximen has taken a fancy to Wu Da's wife and asked me to act as matchmaker."

"Um?"

Zhu Biao's eyes narrowed.

"Have they already compromised their principles?"

"No, never."

Zhu Biao pressed further, "Really?"

"It's absolutely true, I swear to God!"

Although Granny Wang was afraid, she was not confused. She knew this was a matter of life and death, so she nodded hurriedly like a chicken pecking at rice, and swore an oath.

Zhu Biao felt a sense of relief, but continued to press, "Tell me in detail how they met!"

"Yes, yes."

Wang Po was already terrified and dared not hide anything.

"Ten days ago, Wu Da went out to buy cakes, and Wu's wife came to my shop to look at embroidery patterns. Just then, Master Ximen was drinking tea, and she took a liking to it at first sight."

Snapped!

Before she could finish speaking, Su Fang slapped her across the fat face without being told, while tightening his grip on the dagger in his hand.

"Nonsense! How could things be such a coincidence? Tell me, did you, you old hag, deliberately set this up?"

"Spare me!"

Wang Po screamed like she was slaughtering a pig.

"It's because this old woman's mind is clouded by grease~"

At this point, Zhu Biao no longer needed to listen and could roughly reconstruct the original events.

Ximen Qing was a womanizer, but he had important business to attend to and cared about his reputation, so he couldn't spend his days loitering on the street groping women.

Wang Po, who ran a tea shop, was a woman who used fashionable embroidery patterns to attract young women from various families to her shop, specifically to help Ximen Qing find love.

Or perhaps, they also help others find prey.

"Pah! You have a heart too?"

Su Fang spat fiercely in her face and raised his foot to kick her, but then heard Zhu Biao say, "Hey you hairy-faced man, go ask your master what he wants to do with this fat woman?"

This was said to the bearded guard.

Ximen Qing was now too ashamed to show his face, so he didn't dare to be seen by anyone. Wang Po was brought over by Big Beard, and he had been by her side the whole time.

"Yes."

The bearded man quickly replied, and when he turned around, his forehead was already covered in cold sweat.

At this moment, he was absolutely certain that the incredibly young Imperial City Supervisor in front of him must come from a prominent family.

This ability to manipulate people's minds is simply astonishing; it can only be learned from family tradition.

Soon, the bearded man returned, first carrying a heavy bundle in both hands, which he respectfully placed on the small table in front of Zhu Biao.

Immediately, he strode up to Granny Wang, his eyes flashing with a fierce light, and without warning, stomped on her calf.

Click!

The sound of bones cracking rang out instantly, and Wang Po's left calf immediately twisted and deformed. She rolled her eyes in pain and fainted.

The bearded man ignored her and instead bowed to Zhu Biao.

"My lord, my master has prepared a small gift to apologize to you, as this old woman has been bedridden for three months. I wonder if you are satisfied?"

Zhu Biao casually weighed the bundle in his hand.

Wow, five hundred taels of silver! Ximen Qing is quite generous; he's certainly willing to spend that much.

"Hehehe~"

He put down his bag and smiled sinisterly.

"Your master is not good with fists and feet, but he knows how to be pragmatic. Very well, I will give Judge Guan of Dongping Prefecture some face."

At this point, he abruptly changed the subject.

"Su Fang, break this fat woman's other leg so she can never get out of bed and harm people again. That's the end of this matter."

"yes!"

Su Fang's eyes lit up immediately, and he leaped up, bringing his feet together, and slammed them down hard on Wang Po's intact leg.

"Ah~"

Wang Po, who had fainted, suddenly awoke in pain, her eyes bulging out, and she let out a mournful wail that sounded inhuman.

She's ruined!

With current medical standards, even if you encounter a good doctor, you won't be able to get out of bed for at least six months, and you'll have to use crutches for the rest of your life.

That fat woman deserves to die; she's ruined the reputations of countless young women in the past. But Zhu Biao can't cause any deaths in the city.

This is the limit.

Once a murder case is involved, the yamen can no longer pretend to be dead, and he and the county magistrates will inevitably meet, so the charade can no longer continue.

Even if he could act, he wouldn't want to anymore.

As for Ximen Qing, having suffered such a great loss today, he would surely seek revenge. However, by then, Zhu Biao had already returned to Zhu Family Village.

Hey! Let him do whatever he wants.

Let's put it this way: as long as Zhu Biao is in Dulonggang, unless the imperial court sends an elite army to suppress him, no one can do anything about it.

Even dragons must coil up, and tigers must lie low. That's how arrogant the third son of the Zhu family is!

The long night finally passed, and dawn broke.

East of Yanggu City, a procession of carriages slowly departed the city.

At the front of the convoy, Zhu San and Zhu Wu led the way, while Wu Song and Su Fang brought up the middle. At the rear of the convoy, Zhu Biao and Pang Qiutang personally brought up the rear.

With such a lineup, Zhu Biao would dare to confront even a large group of bandits head-on.

To be honest, he hadn't fought such a rich battle in the past two months.

On the two-horse-drawn cart, Coach Zhang, looking as energetic as if he were ten years younger, steadily drove the cart, while Wu Da sat beside him on the crossbar, looking composed and constantly talking to himself.

Inside the carriage sat three women of unparalleled beauty: Ruyi, Lin Niangzi, and Pan Jinlian.

Each of them was beautiful in her own way: Ruyi was gentle and graceful, Jingniangzi was dignified, and Pan Jinlian was stunning. However, no one spoke, and Jing was somewhat embarrassed.

"Whoa~"

After traveling about two miles, Yanggu City was gradually receding into the distance. Zhu Biao suddenly reined in his horse, turned around, and gazed at it for a long time.

"Third Brother, what are you looking at? I've checked repeatedly, there's no tail behind it. Could it be that I'm mistaken again?"

Pang Qiutang raised an eyebrow, quickly spurred his horse over, pressed down on his bow, and asked in a low voice.

"Qiu Tang, what I'm not looking at is the tail."

Zhu Biao shook his head.

"What is that?"

"Hoo~" Zhu Biao let out a long breath and said with a sigh.

"Looking back at the road I've traveled, it's over 3,600 li long, and now I'm finally almost at the end."

"yes."

Pang Qiutang nodded with deep feeling, her tone becoming wistful.

"I've been feeling quite dazed lately. It's unbelievable that we actually made it all the way from Tokyo. Third Brother, you must be exhausted!"

"Yeah, I'm very tired."

"Third Brother, once we return to Zhu Family Village, you can finally get some rest."

"rest?"

Zhu Biao smiled wryly, his thoughts drifting away, and murmured to himself.

"After returning to the village, I will have to organize a local militia. My two troublesome older brothers, and I also have to deal with the difficult Li and Hu families."

"In a few months, the birthday tribute incident will be exposed, and the curtain will rise on Liangshan. Song Jiang, Chao Gai, Wu Yong, Gongsun Sheng..."

His voice grew softer and softer until it was barely audible and was carried away by the cold wind.

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