Chapter 224 Husband is currently committing a crime
Li Ping’er has been married for only a few years, and her boudoir is decorated warmly and elegantly.

The room was not big, with several exquisite embroideries hanging on the wall, with patterns of blooming peonies or dancing butterflies. Below was a small dressing table, on which were placed various jewelry boxes and cosmetics.

The bed is located in a corner of the room, covered with soft and comfortable embroidered bedding in light yet luxurious colors.

There are also some daily necessities placed on the cabinets on both sides of the bed, such as sachets, embroidered handkerchiefs, etc., most of which are made by her.

Master Zhan sat down at the head of the bed and waited for Li Ping’er to come and serve him.

Sure enough, a moment later, Li Ping’er came in shyly, her pretty face slightly red, but she did not avoid him. Instead, she came directly to Master Zhan and whispered:

“Ping’er, come and help uncle to rest.”

Master Zhan was not very satisfied with Li Ping’er’s initiative. He stretched out his finger, placed it on her chin, lifted her drooping head, stared into her eyes, and said with a smile:

“Uncle is not very sleepy now, and he is not in a hurry to rest. Ping’er should change her clothes first. You worked so hard just now, and you must be very uncomfortable with the sticky clothes.”

Being teased by Master Zhan, Li Ping’er’s face immediately turned even redder. She quickly turned her head away, escaping from Master Zhan’s grasp, and said with a chuckle:

“It’s not that bad, uncle should rest first.”

“Hey, we are all family, there is nothing to be embarrassed about!” Seeing that Li Ping’er was shrinking again, Master Zhan became more and more aggressive, “Come on, you just served your uncle for a long time, now it’s your turn to serve you.”

“Good Ping’er, please sit here and let your uncle help you wipe it!”

Mr. Zhan pushed Li Ping’er to sit in front of the dressing table, grabbed a handkerchief, and started to help Li Ping’er with some cleaning.

“Ah… don’t…” Li Ping’er was so frightened that her face turned pale and she quickly shrank back, “Ping’er, just do it yourself, just do it yourself…”

“Don’t do it yourself! Master is just worried that you can’t clean it clean!” Master Zhan said considerately.

“It has been wiped clean, it has definitely been wiped clean.” Li Ping’er’s forehead was covered with sweat and her face was stiff from smiling.

“Okay…” Seeing Li Ping’er’s resistance, Master Zhan sighed regretfully, but did not force her. He just handed her the handkerchief in his hand.

Seeing that Master Zhan agreed, Li Ping’er hurriedly stood up and wanted to go out to change her underwear, but Master Zhan stopped her.

“What is Ping’er going to do?”

“Uh…” Li Ping’er hurriedly smiled and said, “Ping’er will go out and clean it up, and then come back to serve uncle.”

“Hey, why are you going out? Just clean up here. I will help you, so you don’t have to bother others.”

“No, no, that’s not right. How can I trouble my uncle with such a matter?”

“What trouble is it? We are all family, why bother talking about different things? Come on, let your uncle help you.”

Li Ping’er refused several times, but seeing that Mr. Zhan was determined, she understood his purpose. She was speechless and knew she could not escape, so she had to agree obediently.

Master Zhan pulled her to the bed, helped Li Ping’er stand on it, and then said with a burning gaze:
“let’s start!”

“With the master watching over you, there won’t be even a speck of dirt left.”

Li Ping’er subconsciously turned her head away, not daring to look at him. After hesitating for a long while, she slowly reached out her hand and untied her belt.

“Well, my nephew’s wife really has a good figure.” Master Zhan sat on the stool in front of the bed, watching with great joy and commenting with satisfaction.

Seeing the clothes falling at her feet one by one, Li Ping’er became more and more embarrassed, but her body was getting hotter and hotter, and she began to twist her body unnaturally. But Master Zhan refused to let her go and just kept urging her.

“Wipe it quickly!”

“Any slower, and it will flow down to your calves.”

Li Ping’er took a deep breath, closed her eyes, her legs trembling, and holding a handkerchief in one hand, she groped for the right place and began to wipe it again and again.

The magnitude of this friction has always been positively correlated with the dynamic friction coefficient and the pressure. The handkerchief is made of cotton, which has a larger dynamic friction coefficient, so the friction it brings is naturally greater.

While Li Ping’er used the same amount of force, every time she rubbed, she created considerable friction.

Some beans are naturally sensitive, and under the action of force, they will inevitably undergo biological reactions and produce new liquid substances.

So everything turned out to be just as Mr. Zhan had said before, the more you wipe, the more there becomes, and it is very difficult to wipe it clean.

Master Zhan had a sharp eye and would not tolerate any sand in his hands. Seeing that Li Ping’er was unable to complete the task on her own, he became kind-hearted and took the handkerchief and started to help.

But it’s like a mountain to climb to different fields. Mr. Zhan is not a regular worker and is not very familiar with the wiping work, so his joining did not make the work easier to complete. Instead, it had certain side effects and the workload became even larger.

As everyone knows, this is heavy physical labor. After the two of them worked for a long time, Li Ping’er was so tired that her legs became weak and she kept shivering.

Master Zhan was slightly better than her, but he was also so tired that his eyes were dizzy and he was panting.

“Uncle, otherwise, let’s not wipe it…” Li Ping’er hugged Master Zhan’s arm tightly and prayed in a low voice.

“Oh, how can that be possible!” Master Zhan said angrily, “We must wash our hands frequently, pay attention to hygiene, and love cleanliness… This is what we have been taught repeatedly in kindergarten. How can we just give up like this!”

Although she didn’t understand what Master Zhan was talking about, Li Ping’er didn’t care about anything else and just begged:
“Uncle, Ping’er will wipe it for you another day. Please rest early today. Ping’er is really tired and wants to rest.”

“Is that so…” Master Zhan has always been considerate and caring. He can’t stand women begging. Seeing that Li Ping’er is really running out of energy, he nodded and agreed with pity: “Well, in this case, then Ping’er will serve Master and rest!”

Li Ping’er then breathed a sigh of relief, and forced herself to cheer up. She helped Master Zhan take off his clothes and go to bed to rest.

But she had indeed consumed too much physical energy. As soon as she settled Master Zhan, her legs and feet went weak and she fell into Master Zhan’s arms.

“Oh, look at you, you are so tired, it makes me feel bad!”

Master Zhan was very considerate. He quickly embraced his nephew’s wife and gave her some secret medicine to help her recover her strength.

After a fierce battle, Master Zhan gained another magical power – the ability to change his appearance.

As the name suggests, this magical power can change other people’s appearance, but it cannot change their body shape. It feels a bit useless and not very useful.

However, after communicating with the main body, I found that it still has some uses.

The people in the Immortal Palace have always been the focus of attention from all parties in the court. When Master Zhan left the capital before, he was a clone, and his real body was still there, so he did not attract the attention of outsiders. But if Xue Pan leaves the capital this time, he does not have Master Zhan’s magical powers, so his whereabouts will definitely be discovered.

By then, even if Xue Pan did not want to alarm outsiders, it would definitely attract attention from all parties and they would start to investigate his whereabouts and purpose.

Master Zhan just wanted to gather the heroes of Liangshan together and didn’t want any unnecessary complications to avoid causing a butterfly effect, so it would be best if he could not alert the people in the court.

Now that he has this magical power, he can change Xue Pan’s appearance and travel the world with a different appearance.

After Master Zhan briefly understood the magical power, he continued to hold Li Ping’er and make love with her.

After a night of dancing and fighting, this beautiful boudoir was left with traces of battle everywhere.

The next day, Master Zhan hugged Li Ping’er and slept until noon. Then he slowly got up from the bed, put on his clothes with the help of Li Ping’er, and came out to eat breakfast.

Hua Zixu tossed and turned all night and did not sleep well. He was still a little tired. When he saw Master Zhan coming out, he hurried over to pay his respects.

“Uncle, did you have a good rest last night? If you have any inconveniences in getting used to your bed, just tell me and I will definitely help you adjust it properly.”

Master Zhan patted his shoulder and laughed:
“My dear nephew, you are so thoughtful. I, your uncle, slept soundly. But my wife, you have worked hard all night. I was so drunk that I made her suffer.”

“Well, everything is Ping’er’s job. It doesn’t count as hard work.” Li Ping’er blushed, rubbing her hands on the hem of her skirt, looking down at her feet, not daring to look up at her husband.

“Ahem…” Hua Zixu coughed dryly and agreed shamelessly, “Yes, yes, that’s true. If uncle gets drunk again, just ask me to serve him. I will definitely serve him comfortably.”

Seeing Hua Zixu’s self-respecting appearance, Master Zhan became even happier and smiled as he ordered:
“My dear nephew, please write down your resume. I will have someone send it to Kyoto. In three months at the shortest and half a year at the longest, good things will surely happen to you.”

After receiving the promise from Mr. Zhan, Hua Zixu suddenly felt that all his efforts were worth it, and even his voice began to tremble.

“Uncle, uncle, you have done me a great favor. I will never forget it. I will serve you like a slave without hesitation.”

“What are you talking about? Why do I need you to be my slave? I have my own slaves and horses to use.”

As Master Zhan spoke, he reached out and slapped Li Ping’er on the buttocks. Looking at the trembling buttocks, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

“Ah…” Li Ping’er exclaimed and glared at Master Zhan in reproach, but she no longer had the intention to resist at all.

Hua Zixu lowered his head quickly, pretending he saw nothing.

“Uncle, please have your meal first. I will go and write my resume now.”

“Ping’er, why don’t you go and serve your uncle dinner?”

Receiving a glance from her husband, Li Ping’er sighed inwardly, then put on a smile, helped Master Zhan to sit at the table, and started to eat breakfast.

The breakfast was very delicious. Master Zhan had just got a new toy and was enjoying playing with it over and over again. So he just opened his mouth and let Li Ping’er feed him rice and porridge, while his hands were still busy, searching for something.

Hua Zixu was also quite discerning. Even after he had finished writing his resume, he did not go in to disturb Mr. Zhan while he was having a meal. He just waited outside the door.

Mr. Zhan was such a kind gentleman, how could he let his nephew wait so hard, so he hurriedly called him in and ordered:
“My dear nephew, please read your resume to me.”

Hua Zixu lowered his head, covered his face with his resume, and recited his resume clearly, word by word.

He was afraid that Mr. Zhan might not hear clearly, so he read very slowly on purpose. He also suffered from intermittent deafness and ignored the sweet moans coming from the table.

The meal took half an hour to finish. Master Zhan wiped his mouth and praised with a smile: “My nephew is very generous and has the potential to be an official!”

“In the Song Dynasty, if you want to be an official, it doesn’t depend on how capable you are, but how thick-skinned you are.”

“That General Gao is just a national football player, yet he can become the head of the military officials. If he can do it, why can’t you do it!”

“You must be diligent in your future career as an official. I have high hopes for you, sir!”

Hua Zixu immediately fell to the ground and kowtowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.

Mr. Zhan stood up, put away his resume, waved his hand and said:
“Master, I have been out for a day, so I will go back home first. I will come to have a feast with you another day. You just wait for good news from me.”

Hua Zixu and Li Ping’er hurriedly escorted Master Zhan out, and drove the car themselves to take him back home.

After arriving at the Zhan Mansion, Hua Zixu carefully helped Master Zhan out. After a slight hesitation, he resolutely said:
“Last time at my uncle’s house, I felt that this wine was extraordinary. I wanted to let my wife learn how to make it. Is that possible?”

You can’t catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. If he can please Uncle Zhan, he would be willing to give away ten women, even his own master.

But Mr. Zhan had no intention of taking in Li Ping’er.

He is playing with other people’s wives, but he doesn’t intend to take every one he sees.

Before, he had no intention of taking Pan Jinlian and only wanted to have an affair with her. However, Wu Da cared too much about Pan Jinlian and always created obstacles, so Master Zhan had no choice but to accept her.

Now that Li Ping’er has her own husband, he has already eaten Li Ping’er and has obtained the magical powers. Whenever he wants to play in the future, he can just go and play with her. There is no need to bring her back to the mansion, and there is no need to take her in as his wife.

Seeing that Master Zhan had expressed his opinion, Hua Zixu did not dare to say anything more. He had to agree meekly and took Li Ping’er back home.

As soon as he got home, Ximen Qing came with his men to kill him.

“My dear brother, Mr. Zhan stayed at your house last night. Can you tell me from him why he came here?”

“Uh…” Hua Zixu rolled his eyes and said with a smile, “Yesterday I was just drinking and chatting with Uncle Zhan, and didn’t mention any serious matters.”

“Brother, don’t be anxious. We’ve only been together for a few days. How can you start exploring so quickly?”

“Brother, why don’t you give me a few more days? After I get to know my uncle better, it won’t be too late to find out.”

Ximen Qing’s eyes wandered over him for a moment, and when he found nothing wrong, he smiled and said:

“I am a little anxious.”

“Then you should know what Uncle Zhan’s hobbies are, brother!”

“I also want to invite Uncle Zhan to my house for a banquet, but I don’t know how to please him. Please teach me, brother.”

Seeing Ximen Qing’s impatience, Hua Zixu began to have doubts in his heart.

He was not a naive child. He knew very well that none of the officials in the court were good people. The promises they made were no different from farts and could not be trusted at all.

Although his uncle has already agreed to him, it is hard to say whether his uncle will change his mind if Ximen Qing gives him a few more beautiful girls.

It is better not to add competitors to your company out of thin air!

As for sworn brothers…haha, even blood brothers are not enough, let alone just sworn brothers!
To put it bluntly, you are just some drinking buddies. Those who recognize you will call you brother, and those who don’t recognize you will never know who you are!
What’s more, selling his wife for fame and fortune was a very disgraceful thing, and he himself didn’t want others to know about it.

So Hua Zixu just laughed casually and said with a smile:
“If we talk about my uncle’s hobbies, they must be antique calligraphy and paintings!”

“Especially calligraphy and paintings by famous artists, my uncle likes them the most.”

“My uncle once left a piece of calligraphy by Mr. Dongpo and gave it to my uncle. As expected, my uncle liked it very much.”

When everyone heard this, they took a deep breath.

The calligraphy and paintings of these famous artists are also divided into grades, and Su Dongpo’s calligraphy and paintings are undoubtedly the best in this dynasty.

If Hua Zixu gave Su Dongpo’s calligraphy, then they would have to give calligraphy and paintings of the same level, otherwise they would definitely be outdone.

When it comes to giving gifts, the most expensive gift will definitely be the most pleasing, while those gifts that are insignificant are probably not much different from not giving any gifts, and are not much better.

But Hua Zixu had an uncle who was a eunuch, who left him calligraphy and paintings of this level. No other family had such heritage.

Even if you pay a large sum of money to ask for it, it will still take some time and it definitely won’t be obtained in a short time.

And this is exactly what Hua Zixu wants to achieve.

He didn’t expect to be able to keep this group of people out of Uncle Zhan, but he could delay it a little longer. After Uncle Zhan sent in his resume and started the operation, he wouldn’t have to worry about Ximen Qing and the others.

Anyway, he must get the first bite. As for the benefits later, it depends on everyone’s ability. Whoever has the ability will get it.

Seeing that everyone was frowning, Hua Zixu tried to smooth things over:
“Uncle Zhan isn’t leaving tomorrow. Who knows how long he’ll stay in Yanggu County. There’s no need to be so anxious!”

“Besides, we still don’t know why Uncle Zhan came here. When we find out in the future, if we work harder and make greater contributions, we may not need to give too many expensive gifts.”

Everyone’s expressions then eased a little, and they turned their attention back to the purpose of Master Zhan’s visit.

“My dear brother, you and Uncle Zhan have a closer relationship now, so I will entrust the task of speaking these words to you.”

“As long as you know Uncle Zhan’s purpose, you will be the first to achieve success. You can leave it to the brothers to decide what to do next. You don’t need to worry about it. The brothers will definitely help you complete this task.”

“Haha, that’s great. I can take a break now. Once I find out the situation, I’ll leave everything to you brothers.”

Hua Zixu looked up to the sky and laughed, and pretended to be nice to the group of people for a long time before he finally sent them away.

But based on his understanding of this group of people, he was afraid that they would turn around and spend a large sum of money to buy calligraphy and paintings from famous artists.

But none of this has anything to do with him anymore. He has already taken the lead, and all he has to do now is delay.

I think if Uncle Zhan really needs them for something, he will definitely not choose outsiders, but will definitely use him, his filial son and grandson.

He didn’t need to find out any information at all. He just needed to maintain good relationships and wait for Uncle Zhan’s orders.

But Ximen Qing, after returning home, was still uneasy after thinking about it, so he called the housekeeper again and asked him to arrange some people to keep a close eye on Hua Zixu to see if he had received the news and was working secretly for Master Zhan.

But after watching for several days in a row, he didn’t see Hua Zixu make any moves. Instead, Master Zhan would run to the Hua family whenever he had nothing to do, and sometimes even stay there overnight.

Tsk!
How did Hua Zixu curry favor with Mr. Zhan?

Could it be just because of the relationship with Eunuch Hua?
Or is it that Su Dongpo’s calligraphy is so charming that Mr. Zhan likes it so much?

No matter how Ximen Qing thought about it, he felt something was wrong. He always felt as if something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out where the problem lay.

After all, he was a local tyrant who had expanded his family business to such a large scale. After careful consideration, he decided to find another way.

Since Hua Zixu was unreliable, he simply gave up on Hua Zixu, bypassed him, and set his sights on Zhan Fu.

One day, Ma Liu, the butler of the Zhan Mansion, was walking back after shopping on the street. When he reached a secluded place, a man suddenly came up to him and whispered, “I’m here to invite you.”

“Butler Ma, my master wants to invite you to the restaurant for a chat.”

Just as Ma Liu was about to refuse, two big men came over, held him on the left and right, and took him into a restaurant not far away.

There were not many people coming and going here, and the business of the restaurant was quite slow. When the waiter saw them coming in, he simply closed the door, bolted it, and stopped doing business.

The two men held Ma Liu and went up to the second floor, entered a private room, threw the man in, and then blocked him outside the door like a door god.

Ma Liu rolled on the ground, and when he got up, he saw Ximen Qing sitting at the table drinking tea. There was a small box on the table.

Ximen Qing was also a local bully, so of course he knew him. When he saw him, he was immediately frightened and kowtowed tremblingly.

“The master asked me to come here, but I don’t know what you want me to do.”

Ximen Qing smiled and stood up, helped him up, pulled him to sit at the table, and apologized with a smile:
“Oh, I originally wanted them to invite Butler Ma, but I didn’t expect the servant to be so rude and disrespectful. I hope Butler Ma won’t blame me.”

“I dare not, I dare not.” Ma Liu bowed and kowtowed hurriedly, not daring to accept his apology.

Although Ma Liu is now the steward of the Zhan Mansion, before becoming the steward of the Zhan Mansion, he was just an ordinary servant. He was casually chosen by Master Zhan to be the steward of the Zhan Mansion.

He was just an ordinary person in the county and had no knowledge at all. He didn’t even know the identity of Mr. Zhan and thought he was a merchant from Beijing.

However, Ximen Qing was a local tyrant, whom he could not afford to offend. He also did not think that his own Master Zhan could afford to offend him.

Now that he was captured here by Mr. Ximen, he was filled with fear, fearing that he would die here if he was not careful, and he couldn’t even get out of the restaurant.

Seeing him like this, Ximen Qing smiled and pushed him to sit on a chair, saying amiably:
“Don’t be afraid, Steward Ma. I invited you here with no ill intentions. I just want to ask for a favor.”

Ma Liu had half of his buttocks resting on the stool, looking nervous, and forced a smile:
“If you have anything to say, please tell me. I will do it.”

Ximen Qing then opened the small box on the table, revealing more than ten silver ingots inside. Each of them was five taels in size and shone brightly and dazzlingly.

He smiled and pushed the small box over to Ma Liu, saying in a friendly manner:
“These silver pieces are the gifts I prepared for Steward Ma. If the matter is successful, there will be a generous reward afterwards.”

(End of this chapter)