Chapter 169 Kill them all

In the yard, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin were pacing under the persimmon tree. Old man Yao moved a chair and closed his eyes to rest, without even lifting his eyelids.

At this time, Zhang Zhuo and Chen Liqin saw Chen Wenzong, Chen Wenxiao and Zhang Xia behind Mr. Feng, and their eyes were bloodshot.

A young man beside Zhang Zhuo rushed up like crazy: "You beast, let my sister go. If you have any trouble, come to the men of the Zhang family. Why are you making things difficult for a girl?"

Mr. Feng quietly watched the young man rushing towards him, without any intention of avoiding him. He slowly raised his hand and was about to slap him.

At the critical moment, Chen Ji took a step forward to block Mr. Feng and punched the young man in the abdomen.

The young man suddenly curled up like a shrimp and vomited continuously.

Chen Ji said coldly: "Dare to be rude to Mr. Feng? You are seeking death."

Mr. Feng patted Chen Ji on the shoulder and praised him, "You have a keen eye. Please move aside. I want to talk to the two adults."

After saying this, he glanced at Zhang Zhuo, Chen Liqin, and Old Man Yao, and finally looked back at Zhang Zhuo: "Master Zhang, I have always heard that you are an excellent chess player. I wonder if we can play a game together? I am afraid that after today, I will never have the chance to play chess with you again."

Zhang Zhuo helped his son, who was vomiting non-stop, up and said unhappily, "It's already this hour, and you still have the mind to play chess? What you should do now is to protect your mother!"

Mr. Feng was startled, then burst out laughing and said, "You civil servants, you are always beating around the bush when you scold people, it's not straightforward enough."

He sat down at the stone table in the courtyard as if no one was around, looked up and smiled at She Dengke, "Young man, please pour me a cup of tea. I have been busy all day and haven't had a sip of water."

She Dengke responded and hurried into the building of Feiyun Garden to get some water.

Zhang Zhuo helped his son to the side, and sat across from Mr. Feng with a swagger, asking, "I heard that you are also a Jinshi, why did you waste ten years of hard study and hide your identity to do such a head-breaking job?"

Chen Liqin said coldly, "When you were in Donglin Academy, the teachers often praised you. How come you have fallen into depravity and become a servant of the Liu family?"

Mr. Feng sighed and said, "Donglin Academy... I envied you when I was in the academy."

"What are you envious of?"

Mr. Feng recalled: "You can go out for a walk, drink and write poetry, get drunk in a brothel, and when you come back, you are still a treasure in the eyes of the gentlemen."

Chen Liqin frowned: "These are all common things, what is there to be envious of?"

Mr. Feng counted on his fingers and said, "You need to hire a carriage to go out for an outing. A poor carriage costs thirty coins for one trip, while a good carriage costs hundreds of coins. In the wine shop, the wine you like to drink every day costs hundreds of coins. I was able to go to Donglin Academy by selling my family's land to raise enough money for tuition. How can I waste my money here?"

Zhang Zhuo retorted: "My family background is also not good, but this is not a reason to be someone else's slave."

Mr. Feng sneered and said, "If Lord Zhang had not married the daughter of the Xu family, would he be where he is today? So what if you were the top scholar in the imperial examination? Weren't you forced to work as a proofreader among the piles of books by Lord Xu for several years? Okay, okay, let's not talk about these old things. Let's talk about business."

Zhang Zhuo asked in a serious tone: "Why are you detaining us?"

Mr. Feng said calmly: "I would like to ask you two to write an article to fight against the bandits."

"What thief?"

"Xu Wenhe, Wu Xiu, the Imperial Household Department, eunuch party!"

Zhang Zhuo was no fool. He took a deep breath and asked, "You want to enter the capital in the name of clearing the court of evil officials?"

Mr. Feng smiled but said nothing.

She Dengke brought some tea, and Mr. Feng gulped down a cup, then handed it back to She Dengke: "I'm really thirsty, help me pour some more."

Zhang Zhuo looked at Mr. Feng's calm demeanor and was a little angry: "Do you know that if I write this anti-traitor manifesto, I will also become a traitor? If you fail, I will also lose my head."

Mr. Feng said frankly: "I know."

Zhang Zhuo sat up straight: "If you want to recruit us, you have to negotiate the conditions. You can't just say let us write and we will write for you, right?"

Mr. Feng said sincerely, "Master Zhang, if you write me a letter to fight the enemy, I will spare your family's lives. How about that?"

Feiyun Garden suddenly became quiet, a cold wind swirled in the courtyard, and the atmosphere suddenly became solemn.

But Zhang Zhuo sneered, "The Liu family will fail if they start a rebellion in a hurry. What difference does it make if my whole family is executed sooner or later?"

Mr. Feng shook his head: "This Ning Dynasty may seem prosperous, but it is actually corrupt. Such a huge empire is like a candle in the wind, it will go out if it is blown. It all depends on who blows the candle."

Zhang Zhuo stood up and straightened his red official robe. "It's not a good idea to make enemies before accomplishing anything. If you kill my whole family, you will be an enemy of the Xu family. How can you clear the court when you are attacked from all sides?"

Mr. Feng asked curiously, "Master Zhang, do you think that the Xu family will become enemies with our Liu family for you? Aristocratic families are aristocratic families. They never care about the gains and losses of one person, but only about benefits. Only in this way can they prosper in their careers. Our Liu family plans to share the world with the Xu family and the Chen family. I think Lord Xu and Lord Chen must be interested."

Zhang Zhuo sneered: "You can give it a try."

Mr. Feng shook his head in disappointment and turned his gaze to Chen Liqin: "Mr. Chen, what do you say?"

Chen Liqin said solemnly: "My Chen family has a long tradition of writing and etiquette, how can we be in the same boat with you?" Mr. Feng said, "It seems that you are all the kind of people who won't cry until you see the coffin... Sir Chen, your son Chen Ji is in my hands. If I give the order now, he will be beheaded. I will give you ten breaths to think about it. After ten breaths, you will have one less son."

Chen Ji was slightly startled, and then he realized that Mr. Feng was trying to trick Chen Liqin.

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

Chen Liqin had a dark face and remained silent.

Mr. Feng sighed: "A bastard is indeed a bastard. Everyone says that there is no distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children in our dynasty. Even if there is a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, fathers should be kind to their sons and filial to their sons, and brothers should be friendly to their younger brothers. But the great scholars always say one thing and think another, say one thing to your face and another behind your back. Only when things really happen can you know whether there is any difference."

After that, he turned to Chen Ji and said, "Zhang Yuan, go and kill Master Chen's bastard."

Chen Ji cupped his hands and said in a muffled voice, "Yes."

Before Chen Ji left, Zhang Zhuo suddenly said, "Wait!"

Mr. Feng turned around unexpectedly: "Oh? Master Zhang has something to say?"

Zhang Zhuo thought for a while and said, "That Chen Ji had fallen out with the Chen family a long time ago. He has lived in the Taiping Clinic for many years and has not returned home. What does this have to do with him? You want to clear the emperor's side and call yourself a righteous man. Why do you do something that hurts the world and involves innocent people? Doctor Yao, what do you think?"

Old man Yao, who was sitting on a chair in the courtyard, finally opened his eyes and said slowly, "Mr. Feng, why don't I write this anti-thief manifesto for you?"

Mr. Feng was speechless.

After a long while, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said, "You two have confused me. How come the father hasn't even asked for mercy, but you two are more concerned than him? Imperial Physician Yao, it's useless for you, an imperial physician, to write an indictment to fight the enemy. You should stop joining in the fun."

Old Man Yao glanced at him and said, "I am at least a seventh-rank official."

Mr. Feng was amused: "If I use a royal doctor's manifesto to kill the rebels and raise the banner, I'm afraid people will laugh at me. The storytellers in the teahouse will laugh at me: 'Feng Wenzheng is not very smart.'"

Zhang Zhuo raised his eyebrows and said, "Then don't embarrass a small apprentice in the clinic. This is the behavior of a mean person."

"That's right," Mr. Feng turned his eyes and ordered Chen Ji, "Bring Mr. Chen's legitimate son here."

"Yes," Chen Ji brought Chen Wenxiao to the stone table and said, "Sir, how do we do it?"

Mr. Feng sniffed his nose: "Wait, what's that smell?"

He looked down and saw urine dripping out from Chen Wenxiao's trouser legs.

Mr. Feng raised his hand and fanned his nose in disdain: "Move away, cut a finger."

Chen Wenxiao cried out in pain as if he was struck by lightning: "Dad, save me!"

Chen Ji pulled Chen Wenxiao under the persimmon tree and pushed him down. Then he pried open each of his fingers and pressed them to the ground, then stepped on them and secured them in place.

He drew the sword from his waist and raised it to chop.

Chen Liqin suddenly stepped forward: "Wait!"

Mr. Feng's eyes lit up: "What do you mean?"

Chen Liqin was silent for a long time: "I can write an anti-traitor manifesto, but I can only write about attacking the eunuch party. I don't care about anything else."

Mr. Feng clapped his hands: "Well, well, well, the eunuch party has been harming the country for a long time, and everyone with lofty ideals in the world should punish them! Compared with Mr. Zhang, Mr. Chen is a truly knowledgeable person!"

Zhang Zhuo said coldly, "Chen Liqin, think carefully. If you act like a coward today, you will never be able to hold your head up for the rest of your life. You usually value your reputation more than I do. What's wrong with you now?"

Chen Liqin turned his head away and said nothing.

Mr. Feng smiled at Zhang Zhuo and said, "Master Zhang, everyone has their own ambitions. If we succeed in clearing the imperial court, Master Chen will also be remembered in history, right? How about it, Master Zhang, are you willing to write this anti-traitor manifesto?"

Zhang Zhuo turned to look at his son: "Should I write?"

Zhang Zheng angrily said, "Write his mother!"

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

Zhang Xia pursed her lips and said, "I can't write."

Zhang Zhuo laughed: "My son and daughter are not bad, at least better than Mr. Chen's!"

Mr. Feng stood up and walked out: "It's okay, Master Chen's manifesto to fight the bandits is enough, take Master Chen and his family away."

A soldier asked in a low voice: "Then what about the rest..."

Mr. Feng said casually, "Kill them all."

(End of this chapter)