Chapter 56: Zhang Family's Peach Garden

  "Deng Fan!"

  Cao Peng took a closer look at the militiaman and couldn't help but let out a cry of surprise.

  Dian Wei and the other two had already shown a wary expression when that person called out Cao Peng's name, staring at him with a posture ready to strike at any moment.

  All I saw was a man of about 175 cm in height, with a dark bronze complexion and a sturdy build.

  Wearing a cloth armor, wearing leg wraps, holding a long spear. This is not someone else, but Deng Fan, the son of Hong Niangzi and Deng Juye.

  Deng Fan seemed completely unaware of Di Wei's three men lying in wait.

  He was all smiles, running up with a big grin on his face. Cao Peng put one hand on Dian Wei's shoulder and gently pressed down on Wei Yan with the other, shaking his head and laughing as he jumped off the carriage to greet Deng Fan.

  "Ah Fu, are your uncle and aunt doing well? It's been four or five years since we last met, and you look even more robust than before. I almost didn't recognize you just now." Deng Fan said with a cloud-shrouded tone, excitedly walking up to Cao Peng's side, planting his long spear in the ground, and giving him a warm bear hug. "Ah Fu, how dare you come back? The county magistrate has set up checkpoints and is about to arrest you."

  Cao Peng's ears were filled with Deng Fan's low voice.

  My heart skipped a beat, my face remained calm. "Deng Fang gege, you seem even more robust than before... When I left home, Father instructed me to visit you when passing by this place."

  Suddenly, he lowered his voice and asked, "Why are you after me?"

  Deng Fan glanced around cautiously and whispered, "This isn't a place for conversation. You turn back immediately and go to the Zhang family's peach garden twelve miles east of Neyang City. Everything will be clear then... I'm still on duty here and might be late in getting there, so be careful."

  "Ah Fu, have you settled down?"

  This furtive and stealthy conversation suddenly gave Cao Peng a feeling of being connected to people from his past life.

  Although surprised in her heart, her face remained normal.

  "Thanks for your concern, Brother Laodeng Fan. I'm actually preparing to visit an elder in Neyang and will be staying there temporarily. After finishing my business, I'll definitely come to visit you and your family."

  "It turns out there's still something important... Since that's the case, I won't keep you any longer. Remember to come see me after you've finished your business. I'll go back and tell Father and Mother, they will definitely be very happy."

  "Definitely!"

  Cao Peng bid farewell to Deng Fan with a bow.

  Then he got on the horse cart and whispered in Wei Yan's ear: "Turn your head, can you see Zhangjia Taoyuan?"

  Wei Yan shook his head, "I don't know, but the Zhang family is a prominent clan in Neyang. It's easy to find out by asking around. Let Xiahou make an appearance, it would be more convenient."

  He also sensed that something seemed slightly off.

  Cao Peng entered the carriage, while Wei Yan called over Xiahou Lan and whispered two sentences in his ear. Xiahou Lan nodded and turned to leave.

  "Dian big brother, things have changed, let's turn back."

  Wei Yan and Dian Wei exchanged a word, then Dian Wei immediately mounted his horse carriage, and Wei Yan whipped the horses to depart.

  Deng Fan stood by the side of the road, watching as the horse carriage gradually disappeared into the distance, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh...

  "Deng Fan, what are you spacing out for? And who was that person just now?"

  A large hand patted on Deng Fan's shoulder, scaring him so much that he shivered and let out a cold sweat. Turning his head around, it was a robust middle-aged man standing behind him, staring at him.

  "Mahzi, you scared me to death!"

  "What's wrong? Everything is fine."

  "Nonsense, you suddenly let someone take a picture, I reckon they were scared out of their wits... That's just because I'm fearless, otherwise I wouldn't have let you off so easily. He was a distant relative of my dad's, who fled during the Taiping Rebellion and went to Hongnong. Later on, he somehow managed to marry his daughter into a good local family as a concubine. I think her surname was Yang, but I don't quite remember what it was... She gave birth to a son, that kid just now... Look at that setup, it's really infuriating."

  Deng Fan is a big talker who speaks nonsense with confidence and in a very convincing manner.

  Cao Peng's family lives in Jiyang, but the time is short after all, and he rarely enters the city. Except for people from Deng Village, few people in Jiyang know him.

  Ma Heizi belonged to the unrecognized sequence, and as soon as he heard it, his eyes widened in surprise.

  "Hong Nong, surname Yang? Could it be that they are from the Hong Nong Yang family... No wonder they made such a big fuss. By the way, why didn't they go to your house instead of heading towards Nieyang?"

  "I'm so angry about this! After all, my parents are also the elders of that kid. But you also saw it, now they're successful and look down on us. If I hadn't stopped him just now, he probably wouldn't even come to our house. I invited him with good intentions, but he said he's going to visit his ancestors in the underworld... what kind of ancestor? Aren't my parents his elders? Ma Heizi, you judge this for me, isn't this guy looking down on people?"

  Deng Fan made a face of shame and anger, Ma Heizi also couldn't help but nod repeatedly, quite agreeing.

  "Never mind, don't get angry over this kind of person! Wu Chang asked me to come and see you. How is it that after all this time, you still haven't gone back? Let's go, in just one more hour, it will be time for the shift change. Brother invites you to drink, no need to bother with such things."

  Deng Fan sighed and nodded: "Well... But let's just forget about the wine, I still have to go home and tell my parents later."

  Ma Heizi also didn't persist, patted Deng Fan, turned his head and walked towards the sentry post.

  Deng Fan turned back and took another look, Cao Peng's horse carriage was already out of sight...

  He let out a light breath and quickened his pace, shouting loudly: "Ma Heizi, wait for me!"

  As he spoke, he chased after Ma Heizi's back, running towards the sentry post...

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  "A Fu, what's going on?"

  The horse carriage was getting farther and farther away from Nan's gathering at the ferry crossing. Dian Wei turned around and asked Cao Peng.

  Cao Peng's expression was serious, and he shook his head slightly. "It's still unclear, but my friend should be trustworthy. Let's go to Zhangjiapu Garden, and we'll understand then."

  There's a faint premonition in my heart: something must have happened at home!

  Kuai Zhengming knew his identity and even ordered his own arrest.

  There is only one possibility, that there is a huge force behind him exerting pressure on him. And the person who can exert pressure on him is probably only Huang She. The Kuai family is a prominent family in Xiangyang, but Kuai Zheng is just a side room and cannot be considered the main branch of the Kuai family. Cao Peng may have the identity of a student of the Lu Men Academy, but it's unlikely that Pang De would be willing to offend another powerful family in Jingzhou for his sake.

  Jiangxia Huang's family is really a huge and powerful clan...

  Cao Peng scratched his head, and couldn't help but feel a little worried. He must not have found his own body, so he decided to take action against his family.

  As Jiang Xia's military advisor and commander-in-chief of Jiucheng Dazhen, Qu Zheng was indeed unable to resist.

  But what does this have to do with the Zhang family? Could it be that she...

  Cao Peng's mind once again conjured up the image of Yueying's smiling face, and he nodded slightly. It must be her, it could only be her... She had heard the rumors, so she took the initiative to rescue her family members and hide them in Zhang's Peach Garden? This explanation seemed plausible. Cao Peng took a deep breath, poked his head out and asked: "Big Brother Wei, has Xiahou returned with any news?"

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  Zhang family is a big clan in Neyang.

  But it was just a big family, not a noble or aristocratic family.

  But on the ground of Naiyang, Zhang's family is a giant. Moreover, Zhang's family has been passing down medical skills from generation to generation, and every generation has produced famous doctors who have saved countless lives. Among the current members of the Zhang family, there is also someone like Zhang Ji. During the great plague in Nanyang, Zhang Ji saved many people, and the Zhang family almost exhausted their wealth to save people. Therefore, in Naiyang, there really isn't anyone who doesn't know about the Zhang family, and whenever the Zhang family is mentioned, everyone shows extra respect.

  Xiahou Lan easily found out the location of Zhang's Peach Garden.

  It is located outside Zhang Village, although it belongs to the Zhang family's property, it is independent of the Zhang family's jurisdiction.

  This is the private property of Zhang Ji, the former governor of Changsha. It was also a reward given to Zhang Ji by the governor of Nanyang after the great plague in Nanyang.

  On the other side of Apricot Blossom Mountain, the whole mountain is full of peach and apricot blossoms, drowning Peach Garden in it, the scenery is extremely moving.

  Wei Yan halted his horse carriage outside the Taoyuan Gate, while Xiahou Lan hastened forward, stepped up to the gate threshold, grasped the door ring and knocked loudly on the gate.

  In the peach garden, quiet and still, as if no one lives there.

  It was a good half day before footsteps were heard, and the large gate opened a crack. A white-haired head poked out from inside, "Who are you looking for?"

  "Ah..."

  Xiahou Lan suddenly didn't know how to speak, and was tongue-tied.

  "The old man said: 'This is a private residence, no lodging, please leave immediately.'"

  After finishing speaking, he withdrew his head and was about to close the door.

  Cao Peng had just dismounted his horse carriage and hastily shouted, "Old man, wait!"

  He quickly walked up the steps, pushed Xiahou Lan aside, cupped his hands and bowed, saying in a low voice: "I am Deng Fan from Cangyang Village, let me come over."

  Deng Fan

  An old man's eyes showed a bewildered expression.

  "Is this Miss Zhang's home?"

  "Miss Zhang?" The old man's bewildered expression vanished, replaced by a wary one. "I don't know any Miss Zhang, young master has come to the wrong place!"

  As he spoke, the big gate closed with a bang.

  Now, Cao Peng was also confused...

  What's going on here?

  "Xiahou, how many peach orchards are there in Neyang?"

  Xiahou Lan exclaimed: "There is only this one place called Peach Garden, there are no other places to go."

  What's going on? Deng Fan clearly said it was Zhang Jia Taoyuan! But why did the people of this Taoyuan reject themselves?

  Deng Fan didn't recognize him, but he also didn't recognize Miss Zhang?

  "Ah Fu, get out of the way!"

  Just as Cao Peng was puzzled, he heard a loud roar behind him. Cao Peng subconsciously dodged to the side, and Dian Wei rushed up with big strides, his hands pressed on the gate, without seeing any extra movement, his arms suddenly exerted force, and the gate burst open with a loud bang.

  Behind the door hung a thick iron bolt, which was surprisingly broken by Dian Wei.

  As the loud noise sounded, the old man who had just walked a short distance away turned his head to see that the gate was wide open and a giant of a man with the stature of a lion strode into the Peach Garden.

  "What do you want to do? Didn't I say that I don't know Deng Fan, and there's no Miss Zhang here either."

  Cao Peng hastily grabbed Dian Wei's arm, "Brother Dian, don't be impulsive."

  He turned around, wanting to apologize to the old man. But he saw a figure suddenly rushing out of the hall, rushing down from the steps of the hall, standing in the sky well, and shouting loudly: "I knew you guys would come to my door, Grandpa is here, if you want to catch me, just come!"

  Cao Peng suddenly heard a familiar voice and his body involuntarily shivered with a chill.

  He suddenly turned around, widened his eyes and stared at the robust young man standing in the attic, shouting: "Tiger Head Brother, you're still alive!"

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