Chapter 7: The Price of Boastfulness

  The night is like ink pouring down.

  Ye City wilderness, a broken temple.

  The flickering torch cast a reflection on that calm and serene young face.

  Footsteps sounded outside the temple, Yuan Fang's sword-shaped eyebrows condensed, and he subconsciously tightened his grip on the sword at his waist.

  A moment later, his trusted follower Yuan Gui led seven or eight masked men carrying a sack into the ruined temple.

  Yuan Fang's hand gripping the sword finally relaxed.

  Several people threw that sack of hemp onto the ground, from which came "wailing" sounds, and the contents inside were constantly struggling and twisting.

  "Is everything going smoothly?" Yuan Fang asked.

  Yuan Gui smiled and said: "I followed him out of the mansion, into a small alley, gave him a blow on the back of his head and put him in my pocket, no one noticed."

  "Well done." Yuan Fang nodded in satisfaction and gestured with a wave of his hand.

  Yuan Gui arranged for his men to keep watch outside, and then he drew out a dagger and cut open the sack.

  A middle-aged man with his hands and feet tied up and a gag in his mouth appeared before me.

  Yuan Gui pulled out the cloth that was blocking his mouth, and the man shouted: "You have a big nerve, I am the steward of the Che Ji General's mansion, you dare to tie me up, you are really daring!"

  Before a word had escaped his lips, Yuan Fang's foot was already pressed against his face.

  That man had a mouthful of mud, and was both shocked and furious. He wanted to scold again, but when he looked up and saw it was Yuan Fang, his whole body froze.

  "Second... Second Master! How is it you?"

  His sharp gaze fell on him, and Yuan Fang said coldly: "Zhao the steward, there is no master here to protect you. I advise you to restrain your arrogance, or you will bring trouble upon yourself."

  The man in front of him was actually the steward of the Yuan estate.

  The Yuan Mansion had two major housekeepers, one was Zhao and the other was Zhou.

  Zhao was a trusted aide of Yuan Tan and Yuan Xi, the two brothers. Zhou, on the other hand, was a trusted aide of Liu, Yuan Shao's second wife, and Yuan Shang.

  If Zhen's family really wanted to send money to Yuan Xi, in order to avoid suspicion, Yuan Xi would definitely let Zhao the steward receive it outside the city and then transport it to his other mansion.

  Yuan Fang had arrested this Zhao fellow precisely in order to interrogate him about the truth of the matter.

  Kill two birds with one stone.

  "What does this mean, and why have you brought me, an old slave, here?"

  Zhao Guanjia was after all a worldly person and quickly calmed down from the initial shock, staring at Yuan Fang with questioning eyes.

  "Why?"

  Yuan Fang's eyes gleamed like a blade, and a fierce aura suddenly emerged. "When we were in the great hall earlier, you took Yuan Xi's orders and deliberately didn't arrange a seat for me, making me lose face in front of everyone. You still dare to ask me why?"

  Zhao Guanjia was taken aback for a moment before he finally understood Yuan Fang's intentions. Not only was he not afraid, but his arrogance actually intensified instead.

  He sneered and said, "So it's that matter. I'm apologizing to you, Second Master, right here and now. Let me off the hook, and we'll consider this case closed. I won't bother you about it again."

  Zhao's tone was arrogant and tight, he even dared to say "I won't bother with you" to Yuan Fang.

  Yuan Fang's brow furrowed, and he shouted: "Yuan Gui, give this arrogant slave twenty lashes first!"

  Yuan Guide was furious and kicked Zhao Guanjia to the ground with one foot, raised his stick and was about to start beating him.

  Zhao was shocked, he never thought that the usually timid Second Master would become so "daring and unscrupulous", not only did he dare to secretly tie him up, but also dared to use private punishment on him.

  "Yuan Fang, you're so bold! I'm warning you, if you really dare to touch me, believe it or not, I'll make sure you can't swallow your own spit!"

  Zhao Guanjia was still arrogant and extremely arrogant, warning Yuan Fang. At this time, he still didn't believe that Yuan Fang would dare to move against him.

  "You dare to be so arrogant, you slave who relies on the power of others! Yuan Gui, why haven't you taken action yet? Give him thirty lashes!" Yuan Fang added ten more lashes in his anger.

  Yuan Gui didn't hesitate any longer and swung his big stick at Zhao Guan's buttocks.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  After several blows, Zhao the housekeeper was beaten until he felt pain to his bones and wailed: "Yuan Fang, I am a two-generation old servant of the Yuan family. You dare to beat me? Not to mention the eldest young master and third young master, even Master Yuan will not forgive you, ah~~~"

  Yuan Fang stood with his hands behind his back, enjoying the commotion of beating a dog with sticks, and seeing how long he could hold on.

  In the blink of an eye, after more than a dozen blows, Zhao's buttocks were already festering, his pants stained red with blood, and he was in so much pain that he couldn't even spit.

  "Spare my life, young master! I'll say whatever you want me to. This old slave was wrong, spare my life, young master!"

  Zhao Guan's arrogant and domineering attitude finally couldn't withstand the physical suffering, and he was in so much pain that he could hardly bear it, begging for mercy repeatedly.

  Yuan Fang was unmoved, and if it weren't for the fact that this Zhao still had some use to him, he would have liked to beat him to death with a stick right then and there.

  The thirty sticks have finally come to an end.

  Zhao was beaten until his skin split and flesh burst, wailing loudly in tears. Compared to his previous arrogance, he looked like a completely different person.

  "Your surname is Zhao, now I'm going to ask you a few questions. You must answer truthfully. If you do, I'll consider sparing your dog life. But if you dare not be honest, next year on this day will be the anniversary of your death."

  Yuan's voice was stern and his expression was severe, with a fierce killing intent flashing in his eyes.

  "The second master has anything to ask, the old slave will certainly confess honestly." Zhao's steward was frightened and hastily knocked his head in response.

  Yuan Fang's murderous intent slightly subsided, and he asked: "I'll ask you, sir, whether the Yan family wants to secretly send one million yuan to Yuan Xi, and also deliver it to Ye City tomorrow."

  Zhao Guanjia was taken aback, looking at Yuan Fang in shock and surprise, clearly having been hit by Yuan Fang's words, but also shocked that such a secret matter would be known to Yuan Fang.

  "This... is indeed... indeed true." Zhao's steward dared not conceal it and had to confess truthfully.

  Indeed it is.

  Yuan Fang could now be certain that what the secret letter said was true. There was indeed someone in the Zhen family who had been secretly helping him.

  "Who could it be?"

  Yuan Fang's thoughts were racing, and suddenly, the image of that female servant dressed as a man appeared in his mind.

  That day she was roughly pushed by Yuan Xi, and if it weren't for her own timely action, she would have rolled down from the steps.

  Could it be that she dislikes Yuan Xi and is grateful to me, so she secretly informed me?

  Yuan Fang thought about it and couldn't be sure, but one thing was certain: the Zhen family's support for Yuan Xi was absolutely true.

  "Hum, Yuan Xi, you let Guo Tukou deduct my salary, but secretly accepted bribes from the Zhen family. I'll take this ill-gotten wealth of yours..."

  Yuan Fang's mouth curled up with a hint of cold intent, and he already had a plan in mind.

  Wow!

  The long sword was drawn out of its scabbard, and the bright blade was placed on Zhao Guan's neck.

  "Your surname is Zhao, now I'm going to order you to cooperate with me on one thing. If you dare not obey, I'll take your head right now."

  In Yuan Fang's eyes, a fierce killing intent blazed wildly.

  Zhao's manager was so frightened that his soul flew away, and he didn't dare disobey, hastily answering with a flattering tone.

  ……

  The next day, on the northern outskirts of Ye City.

  The sky was about to brighten but had not yet done so, and there were still no travelers on the official road.

  Yuan Fang led Yuan Gui and seven or eight other trusted followers, standing still on the official road, quietly waiting.

  Zao's face turned pale and he sat stiffly on his horse, trembling with fear, looking like a man who was suffering from a terrible fate.

  Before long, at the end of the official road, a team of horses and carriages appeared, with more than 20 men holding knives, escorting several horse-drawn vehicles, slowly moving in this direction.

  That young man in the lead, dressed in bright clothes and riding a proud horse, was none other than Zhen Yao, the eldest son of the Zhen family.

  "Zhao Guan Jia is indeed punctual." From a distance, Zhen Yao had already recognized Zhao Guan Jia and smiled as he called out to him.

  Yuan Fang, hiding behind Zhao Guan's body, said in a low voice: "Zhao, honestly play this role, if you dare to make any mistakes, I will take your life immediately."

  The horse was under control, hands were tied up, with a sword on his back, Zhao's housekeeper dared not disobey in order to save his life.

  He secretly took a deep breath, forced out a smile and cupped his hands: "Governor Zhen is so generous, bestowing so much military pay on us. My young master is grateful and hasn't had time to thank you properly, how could he dare not keep the appointment?"

  At this time the sky was still dark, Yuan Fang and his party had all made disguises, dressing up as servants of the Yuan household. Zhen Yao, an outsider, naturally couldn't see through their deception.

  He then boldly handed over those several horse-drawn carriages full of copper coins to them.

  Zhao Guan Jia then thanked Yuan Xi repeatedly on his behalf, and acted as if it were true.

  Zhen Yao smiled and said, "Third Master, you're being too polite. Father is doing this to help you quickly capture Pingzhou, defeat that despicable Yuan Fang, and then he can marry me off to you as promised. In fact, we are already like one family, so there's no need for politeness."

  Sister Miao?

  Yuan Fang's heart skipped a beat as he thought to himself: "Could it be that the Miss Zhen from the Zhen family, Zhen Miao, is actually the Luoshen of legend?"

  In fact, if he hadn't been so focused on how to get away from the Yuan family, he would have thought of it long ago - that Miss Zhen was none other than the famous Luoshen Zhen Miao.

  If it weren't for his appearance, according to the original history, Zhen Mi would have married Yuan Xi smoothly and become the daughter-in-law of the Yuan family. Later, when the Yuan family was destroyed, Zhen Mi would have been forcibly taken by Cao Pi.

  Now that Zhen Yao has reminded him, Yuan Fangcai suddenly realized that the woman he and Yuan Xi were fighting over was actually Zhen Mu.

  "Hmph, a real man doesn't worry about not having a wife. Everything I do, would it be for the sake of just one woman? However, Yuan Xi is such a useless thing, can't even protect his own woman. Letting Zhen Mei, such an extraordinary woman, marry this kind of goods, is really a waste. I've also done a good deed along the way."

  Zhen Yao once again praised Yuan Xi, and sarcastically belittled Yuan Fang. Only then did he turn around and leave with his entourage of family soldiers.

  Looking at the carriage loaded with millions of dollars, and then looking at Zhen Yao who was gradually moving away, thinking that he had completed his task, and extremely underestimating himself, Yuan Fang felt a kind of monkey-like pleasure in his heart.

  "This million dollars, I'll take it for myself. Yuan Xi and Feng Yi, I really want to see what kind of expression you'll have when you find out that this million dollars has vanished into thin air, haha—"

  With a loud and crazy laugh, Yuan Fang whipped his horse and led the way, taking with him the huge sum of one hundred million, and departed triumphantly.

  PS: Yuan Fang wants to rise, please use the recommendation ticket, collection, and help this book rise. This week's goal is to rush into the top three of the new list category, Swallow needs everyone's assistance!