Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 217 Raising troops to investigate crimes
Outside the yard, there was a carriage waiting.

Beside the carriage stood a middle-aged man in brocade clothes.

The middle-aged steward saw a group of young gentlemen coming out, looked them over for a while, and then looked at Lu Zheng.

He bowed and said, "But Mr. Lu Zheng? I am the steward of the Yang Mansion. The master invites you to visit him. Are you free?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Let's go."

The middle-aged steward was stunned for a moment, then said, "Sir, please get in the car."

He had already prepared a lot of excuses, but he didn't expect Lu Zheng to agree so quickly. Things were too smooth.

Before coming, he was even prepared to not see anyone.

Lu Zheng slowly got into the carriage, calm and composed.

Zhang Bo said slowly, "Brother Lu, please come back soon. We brothers are waiting for you to come back for a drink!"

The steward couldn't help but look at these young gentlemen, all of whom were scholars of some status.

I thought these people would follow him and give Lu Zheng some support.

But no one seems to care too much about it.

The steward saw this, then sat outside the carriage and told the coachman to drive away.

Only after Lu Zheng disappeared into the street did Zhang Bo and the others look away.

Someone whispered, "Brother Lu is really brave! If it were me, I wouldn't dare go to the Yang Mansion alone. I've seen Mr. Yang many times. Even if he's not an official, he still has quite the authority..."

Zhang Bo said calmly, "He's just a wealthy man. Brother Lu has seen a lot of things, so he'll be fine."

Having said that, Zhang Bo was still a little worried and directly sent his servants to wait outside Yang's mansion.

If anything happens, you will be the first to know.

Lu Zheng sat upright in the carriage and took out a jade slip to examine it.

He had not had time to carefully examine the secret book that Yun Xiao sold him before, but now he had some time.

The art of taming beasts is not that difficult.

The method of communicating with beasts is to use one's own spiritual thoughts to contact the souls of beasts, and then communicate with them through consciousness.

However, if you want to communicate with all kinds of animals consciously, you need to maintain a good relationship first.

If you are not familiar with cats and dogs, they may not pay attention to you when you play with them, let alone have a deeper communication.

Lu Zheng felt that he already had a good relationship with the birds and could skip the intermediate steps.

What he needs to learn now is to try to guide and use his own thoughts.

Time passed by unknowingly, and soon they arrived at Yang's Mansion.

"Mr. Lu, we're here."

The steward lifted the curtain and whispered.

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng put away the jade slip, slowly got out of the car, and entered the Yang Mansion.

There were already some people sitting or standing in a hall of Yang Mansion.

The person sitting in the main seat was Mr. Yang, who looked to be about forty years old, tall and strong, with an air of majesty.

On his left and right sat three young men, all his sons.

Among them was Young Master Yang San, who was punished by Lu Zheng.

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat solemn. Even the servants serving nearby were cautious and didn't dare to make a sound.

The steward brought Lu Zheng to the hall and said respectfully in a low voice, "Master, Mr. Lu is here."

Lu Zheng had a calm expression on his face as he strode into the hall and glanced around.

Yang Yuanwai and the others all looked sideways at Lu Zheng.

Lu Zheng cupped his hands and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner, "Mr. Lu, nice to meet you all."

Yang Yuanwai's eyes were sharp as a torch, and he said slowly, "Are you Lu Zheng? Do you know why I asked you to come here?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "If you want to thank me, there's no need for that. As scholars, it's our duty to guide those who have gone astray back to the right path. This is something that sages praise."

Thank you? Mr. Yang narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this.

He made his son like this and made the Yang family lose face more than ever before, and he still has to thank Lu Zheng?

Mr. Yang couldn't help but ask, "What if it's not a thank you?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "If you intend to accuse me, then I think you are someone who does not understand morality and law... In that case, let's just draw a line. Between me and your Yang family, we will fight to the death, regardless of life or death."

"If you are worried about the consequences, please ask the governor and the provincial governor to be witnesses and sign a life and death agreement or something like that."

Everyone's face changed slightly when they heard this. You are a scholar, and you just start shouting for war and killing. Is that really okay?
Mr. Yang didn't expect that this young man would speak so directly and start fighting if he disagreed with something.

Mr. Yang stared at Lu Zheng and saw that Lu Zheng looked extremely calm. He was not joking, nor was he bluffing.

He was silent for a moment, then said, "My son only made a minor mistake, yet you humiliated him, made him kneel in the street, and even undermined his literary aura. He is a scholar with a high academic record; he wouldn't kneel before an emperor or a saint. You can't undermine his literary aura."

Lu Zheng said calmly, "I cultivate righteousness. They are incompetent and their hearts are not upright. They are suppressed by righteousness and have fallen into this state. This is due to the righteousness of the way. Are you questioning morality?"

Mr. Yang frowned when he heard this.

Lu Zheng continued, "You said your son is a scholar. I'm not very talented. I've read a few books, but I've never read a book about how to bully men and women. I'd like to ask you a few questions: what books did you let your son read, and what principles did he learn from them?"

"you……"

Yang Yuanwai looked unhappy, but he had nothing to say.

Lu Zheng continued, "Do you think your son's mistake was minor? Have you ever heard a story?"

"what?"

Mr. Yang tried hard to suppress his temper.

Lu Zheng said slowly, "In ancient times, there was a petty official who stole a penny from the treasury. The county magistrate found out and ordered a caning. The official refused to obey, saying, "I only stole a penny, so how could I punish him with a caning?" Even if he did, he couldn't kill him. The county magistrate heard this and changed the sentence, saying, "One penny a day, one thousand pennies a thousand days. A rope can break wood, and dripping water can wear away stone!" He then executed the official."

"Small mistakes add up to a great evil. Your son is associated with evil people and can molest women in the street. Is there anything else he does behind their backs?"

"As the old saying goes, if a child is not taught well, it's the father's fault. Your son is like this, aren't you at fault? How dare you blame me?" "Morality is on my side. Are you a traitor?"

As soon as these words were spoken, every word was heartbreaking and the whole room was shocked.

"How dare you! How dare you insult your father like that!"

The eldest son of the Yang family immediately stood up and glared at him.

Lu Zheng glanced at him and said coldly, "I'm talking to your father, what qualifications do you have to speak?"

"Shh!"

Young Master Yang was furious and drew the long sword from his waist, his aura emanating from him.

"Snapped!"

Yang Yuanwai slammed the table and said sternly, "How dare you! Put away your sword and sit down!"

"Father!"

Young Master Yang's face flushed red, and he was extremely angry.

When had their Yang family ever suffered such an insult?

Even the governor and the provincial governor had never had such an attitude.

And Lu Zheng, a young man, tore off their faces. Who could tolerate this?
"I told you to sit down!"

Mr. Yang's expression turned cold, and a sense of pressure was directed towards Young Master Yang.

Young Master Yang's body trembled slightly, but he finally gritted his teeth and sat down.

Yang Yuanwai took a few deep breaths, turned to look at Lu Zheng, and forced a smile, "My son is a man of temperament and acted impulsively. I hope Mr. Lu will not take it to heart."

Lu Zheng said calmly, "It's okay. It's just a small matter. I don't care about it, let alone take it to heart."

"you……"

Upon hearing this, Young Master Yang felt despised and insulted.

"Go down!"

Mr. Yang scolded Young Master Yang.

Faced with Mr. Yang's angry rebuke, Young Master Yang felt very aggrieved.

He turned his head and looked away, saying nothing and not leaving.

"Show the guests a seat."

Yang Yuanwai said in a calm tone.

The manager was trembling with fear, not daring to breathe, and quickly invited Lu Zheng to take a seat.

Lu Zheng remained calm from beginning to end, not being polite at all. He sat down and drank the tea slowly.

Mr. Yang looked at Lu Zheng with a hint of approval in his eyes.

If his sons had half of Lu Zheng's ability, the family would prosper.

pity……

Mr. Yang looked at his three sons again and sighed in his heart. The more he looked, the more dissatisfied he felt.

Mr. Yang said leisurely, "What the young man said just now is truly thought-provoking and thought-provoking. However, I am not an unreasonable person."

If Lu Zheng said that, he would use his power to suppress the other party.

If the news gets out, the reputation of the entire Yang family will be ruined.

Besides, even if he wanted to use his power to suppress others, it seemed that he couldn't suppress Lu Zheng...

I originally wanted to bring an army to hold him accountable, but unexpectedly, Lu Zheng brought an army to hold him accountable instead.

Mr. Yang sighed in his heart, feeling that he seemed to have grown old. When facing a young man, he had lost his former dignity.

He looked at his son and ordered, "San'er, serve tea to Mr. Lu and apologize sincerely."

"what?"

Young Master Yang was shocked when he heard this.

Mr. Yang said coldly, "Isn't this what you should do when you do something wrong? Is it true that your father can no longer teach you?"

"I dare not..."

Young Master Yang San said hurriedly.

Lu Zheng said, "Don't force it. The Third Young Master has already been punished. He may not be able to accept it right now, but if he can figure it out and get back on the right track, then we can congratulate him."

Mr. Yang glared at Young Master Yang San again.

Young Master Yang was reluctant, but he still stood up and served Lu Zheng a cup of tea, his movements and expression stiff.

"Speak!"

Mr. Yang said with regret that he was not as good as he thought.

Young Master Yang's face flushed red as he whispered, "I'll apologize to you, Master..."

Lu Zheng said calmly, "You didn't offend me, so why do you need to apologize?"

Yang Yuanwai was so angry that he slammed the table and said angrily: "You useless thing, tell me where you went wrong, and cut off all contact with those bad friends from now on. You can't even speak, what kind of books have you read all these years?"

Young Master Yang San's face was almost bleeding, but facing his father, he did not have the temper of his elder brother, and he gritted his teeth and said some words of apology.

Lu Zheng remained calm and took the fragrant tea and took a sip.

Young Master Yang San felt relieved and sat back in his seat, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

Mr. Yang looked at his eldest son again, but said nothing in the end.

Otherwise, the atmosphere that has finally been relaxed will be disturbed again.

(End of this chapter)