Chapter 168: Kill Them All

In the courtyard, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin were pacing back and forth under the persimmon tree. Old man Yao moved a chair over and closed his eyes to rest, not even lifting his eyelids a bit.

At this time, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin saw Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao, and Zhang Xia behind Mister Feng, and their eyes were about to crack.

Beside Zhang Zhuo, a young man rushed up as if mad: "Animal, release my sister! If you have something, go after the men of our Zhang family! Why must you make things difficult for women?"

Mister Feng quietly watched the young man rush forward, without the slightest intention of avoiding him.

He slowly raised his hand, as if to strike out with a palm.

At that crucial moment.

Chen Ji took a step ahead and blocked in front of Mister Feng, hitting the young man in the abdomen with a punch.

The young man suddenly curled up like a shrimp, vomiting non-stop.

Chen Ji said in a cold voice: "Dare to be rude to Mister Feng? You seek death!"

Mister Feng patted Chen Ji's shoulder and praised: "You indeed have quite the eye, eh! Make way, let me speak to the two adults."

After speaking, his gaze swept across the faces of Zhang Zhuo, Chen Liqin, and old man Yao one by one, finally looking back at Zhang Zhuo: "Adult Zhang, I have always heard that your chess skills are superb. I wonder if we could play a game of chess? I only fear that after today, there will be no more opportunity to play chess with Adult Zhang."

Zhang Zhuo supported his vomiting son and said in a bad mood: "What time is it now? Do you still have the mind to play chess, eh? What you should be doing now is protecting your mother!"

Mister Feng was startled, then burst into laughter: "You civil officials, ah, even scolding people is so roundabout, eh. Not straightforward enough!"

He sat down at the stone table in the courtyard as if no one else was present, raised his head and laughed at She Dengke: "Young man, trouble you to pour a cup of tea. I've been busy running around all day and haven't had a single sip of water."

She Dengke responded and quickly entered the covered building of Feiyun Garden to pour water.

Zhang Zhuo helped his son to the side and sat down opposite Mister Feng with a swagger, asking: "I heard you are also from a jinshi background. Why must you waste your ten years of hard study behind closed doors, hide your name and surname, and do this kind of headless errand?"

Chen Liqin said coldly from the side: "In the year at Donglin Academy, the teachers often praised you. How can you now degrade yourself and act as a house slave for the Liu family?"

Mister Feng sighed and said: "Donglin Academy, ah, in the year at the academy, I envied you all."

"Envied what?"

Mister Feng recalled: "You could all go out for excursions, drink wine and compose poems, stay drunk in brothels, and still be the teachers' treasures when you returned."

Chen Liqin frowned: "These are all ordinary matters. What's so good to envy?"

Mister Feng counted on his fingers: "Going out for an excursion requires hiring a carriage, right? A slightly poorer swift horse carriage costs thirty wen for a trip. A slightly better carriage costs over a hundred wen. In the wine shops, the wine you all like to drink daily costs several hundred wen at once. The only way I could go to Donglin Academy was by selling off our family's fields to gather enough school silver."

Zhang Zhuo retorted: "My origin is not good either. This may not be a reason to act as a house slave for others!"

Mister Feng laughed: "If Adult Zhang hadn't married the daughter of the Xu family, could you have today's position? How about when you were noble as a zhuangyuan in that year? Weren't you still suppressed by Xu Ge Lao and forced to work as a school books officer for several years? Good, good, eh."

Zhang Zhuo asked in a low voice: "You are detaining us, exactly what do you want to do?"

Mister Feng said indifferently: "I need the two adults to write a denouncement proclamation!"

"Denounce what thieves?"

"Xu Wenhe, Wu Xiu, Directorate of Ceremonial, eunuch party..."

Zhang Zhuo was not a fool and immediately took a deep breath, "Are you entering the capital under the name of supporting the pure monarch side?"

Mister Feng laughed but did not speak.

She Dengke brought the tea. Mister Feng gulped down a cup and handed it back to She Dengke: "Indeed thirsty, please pour some more."

Zhang Zhuo looked at Mister Feng's calm demeanor and felt somewhat angry: "Do you know that if I write this denouncement proclamation, I will also become an anti-thief? If your matter fails, I will also lose my head! What's the difference?"

Mister Feng said calmly: "I know, ah!"

Zhang Zhuo sat up straight: "You want to recruit us, you have to talk about conditions, right? It's not like you can just open your mouth and say you want us to write, and we'll write it for you?"

Mister Feng said sincerely: "Adult Zhang, if you write the denouncement proclamation for me, I will spare your entire family, old and young, from death. How about that?"

Feiyun Garden suddenly fell silent. The cold wind swirled in the courtyard, and the atmosphere became solemn.

Then Zhang Zhuo let out a cold laugh, "The Liu family's rise is hasty and bound to fail. Whether it's early or late, we will all be fully executed. What difference does it make?"

Mister Feng shook his head: "This Ning Dynasty seems prosperous, but it is actually corrupt. The vast empire is like a candle in the wind, it will be extinguished with one blow. It just depends on who comes to blow that breath!"

Zhang Zhuo stood up, tidied his red official robe, and said: "It's not necessarily good to make enemies before you succeed. If you kill my entire family, old and young, you will be making an enemy of the Xu family. At that time, you will suffer from enemies on both sides. What will you rely on to support the pure monarch side?"

Mister Feng said curiously: "Perhaps Adult Zhang thinks the Xu family will become enemies with my Liu family for your sake? Great families are great families. Great families never look at the gain and loss of one person, only at interests. That's why they can have prosperous official careers. My Liu family plans to divide the world together with the Xu family and the Chen family. I think Xu Ge Lao and Chen Ge Lao will certainly be interested."

Zhang Zhuo sneered: "You might as well try."

Mister Feng shook his head disappointedly and turned his gaze to Chen Liqin: "Adult Chen, what do you say?"

Chen Liqin said solemnly: "My Chen family is a family of scholars and rituals. How can we be in the same boat as you and be contaminated?"

Mister Feng said "Oh": "It seems you are all people who won't shed tears until you see the coffin. Adult Chen, your son Chen Ji is in my hands. At this moment, with one order from me, his head will fall to the ground. I will give you ten breaths to think. After ten breaths, you will have one less son!"

Chen Ji was slightly startled, then he reacted and realized that Mister Feng was bluffing Chen Liqin.

Mister Feng counted down: "Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one!"

Chen Liqin's face was dark, and he remained silent.

Mister Feng sighed: "A concubine's son is indeed a concubine's son. Everyone says that our dynasty doesn't distinguish between legitimate and concubine, and even if there is a difference between legitimate and concubine, the father should be kind and the son filial, and the elder brother friendly and the younger brother respectful. But great scholars always say one thing with their mouths, another with their hearts, and another with their faces."

After speaking, he turned his head to Chen Ji and said: "Zhang Yuan, go kill Adult Chen's concubine's son!"

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said in a muffled voice: "Yes!"

Before Chen Ji left, Zhang Zhuo suddenly spoke: "Wait."

Mister Feng turned his head unexpectedly: "Oh? Does Adult Zhang have something to say?"

Zhang Zhuo thought for a moment and said: "That Chen Ji turned against the Chen family long ago. He has lived in Taiping Medical Hall for many years and has not returned home once. What does this matter have to do with him? You all want to support the pure monarch side and claim to be righteous people. Why must you do things that harm heaven and reason and involve innocent people?"

Old man Yao, who was sitting on a chair in the courtyard, finally opened his eyes and said slowly: "Mister Feng, why don't I write this denouncement proclamation for you?"

Mister Feng was dumbfounded.

After a long time, he said, neither crying nor laughing: "You've all made me confused. How come the fathers haven't even opened their mouths to beg, but you two are more concerned than outsiders? Taiyi Yao, a taiyi writing a denouncement proclamation is useless. You all just don't join in the fun."

Old man Yao glanced at him and said: "I am at least a positive seventh rank."

Mister Feng laughed: "If I were to take a taiyi's denouncement proclamation to execute the rebellious party and wave a big banner, I would probably be laughed at by the world. At that time, the storytellers in the teahouses would all laugh at me: 'Feng Wenzheng, this person, ah'."

Zhang Zhuo raised his eyebrows: "Then don't make things difficult for a small medical hall apprentice. This is the act of a petty person."

"Also!"

Mister Feng's gaze shifted, and he instructed Chen Ji: "Bring Adult Chen's legitimate son over."

"Yes!"

Chen Ji brought Chen Wenxiao to the stone table: "Adult, what should I do?"

Mister Feng sniffed his nose: "Wait... what is this smell?"

He lowered his head and saw that urine was dripping from Chen Wenxiao's pants leg.

Mister Feng disliked it and waved his hand to fan his nose: "Pull him further away, cut off a finger!"

Chen Wenxiao was struck by lightning and cried out in pain: "Dad, save me, ah!"

Chen Ji dragged Chen Wenxiao under the persimmon tree and pressed him down. Then he pried open one of his fingers and pressed it on the ground, fixing it under his foot.

He drew out a saber from his waist, raised the knife, and was about to chop down.

Chen Liqin suddenly stepped forward and said: "Wait."

Mister Feng's eyes lit up: "How do you say?"

Chen Liqin was silent for a long time: "I can write the denouncement proclamation. But I can only write about denouncing the eunuch party. I won't manage anything else."

Mister Feng applauded: "Good, good, good. The eunuch party has misled the country for a long time. Everyone with ambition in the world wants to execute them. Compared to Adult Zhang, Adult Chen is truly a person with insight, ah!"

Zhang Zhuo said coldly from the side: "Chen Liqin, have you thought it through? If you act like a soft bone today, you will never be able to hold your head up in your entire life. You always seem to cherish your reputation more than me, so how is this now?"

Chen Liqin turned his head away and did not say a word.

Mister Feng laughed at Zhang Zhuo: "Adult Zhang, everyone has their own aspirations. If the pure monarch side succeeds this time, Adult Chen can also leave a name in history, right? How about it, Adult Zhang, are you willing to write this denouncement proclamation?"

Zhang Zhuo turned his head to look at his son: "Should I write it, ah?"

Zhang Zheng said angrily: "Write his mother's!"

Zhang Zhuo turned his head again to look at Zhang Xia: "Daughter, what do you say?"

Zhang Xia pursed her lips: "Can't write!"

Zhang Zhuo laughed heartily: "My daughter is still alright, at least stronger than Adult Chen."

Mister Feng stood up and walked outside: "It doesn't matter, Adult Chen's denouncement proclamation is enough. Take Adult Chen and his family away!"

An armored soldier asked in a low voice: "What about the rest..."

Mister Feng said casually: "Kill them all, ah!"