The world is like a prison, my body is holy

Chapter 46 A mess

After burying Chen Sandao, Wang Wenshun returned to Qinghe to have tea with Huang Xingde.

There was an eight-person table with four or five ordinary home-cooked dishes, and the father and son sat opposite each other.

After the father and son chatted for a while, Huang Xingde put a piece of braised meat into his bowl and asked with interest, "I heard that you adopted Chen Sandao's son as your adopted son?"

Wang Wen glanced at the old man, pretending not to notice the upturned corners of his mouth, and said "hmm" lightly.

The old man lowered his eyes and the corners of his mouth kept rising and falling.

"Click."

The chopsticks in Wang Wen's hand suddenly broke.

The old man quickly drank his tea and handed him a pair of chopsticks. "Let's have the servants replace all the chopsticks in the hall. These are too fragile."

Wang Wen lowered his head and ate stiffly.

The old man glanced at him quietly and said, "I heard that you had a quarrel with your superiors in the government office? It was quite fierce?"

Wang Wen's tense expression relaxed slightly, and he pretended to say "hmm" again.

The old man said, "Can you handle it? Do you need me to find some middlemen to mediate between you?"

Wang Wen gave a forced "Hehe" smile and said nothing.

The old man nodded, lowered his head, picked up a piece of vegetable, put it into his mouth and chewed it slowly.

Finally, he suddenly said, "I heard that you saw Chen Sandao die in front of your own eyes?"

"Snapped!"

Wang Wen slammed his chopsticks on the table and sneered, "Old Deng, don't you think you know too much?"

Huang Xingde's eyes narrowed with joy, and he sneered, "Can you still kill people to silence them?"

Wang Wen also narrowed his eyes and smiled nonchalantly, "I heard that the daughter of Lord Zhao will be coming of age next month. Old Deng, do you think there's any chance for me to become Lord Zhao's son-in-law?"

Huang Xingde's gloating look instantly cleared up. He put his hand to his mouth with a solemn expression and nodded heavily, saying, "I understand the rules. From now on, I will keep my mouth shut and never utter a single word!"

Wang Wen laughed again, lowered his head, picked up a piece of braised meat and put it into the old man's bowl.

The old man put down his chopsticks cautiously.

Wang Wen raised the corners of his mouth and said leisurely, "Lao Deng, you didn't hide anything from me. What shameful things did you do?"

The old man looked at him in confusion, but he didn't speak immediately. He thought to himself, "I have done many things that are shameful to the public. Which one are you referring to?"

Wang Wen also put down his chopsticks, crossed his arms calmly, and said calmly: "You also know my current status. I can hear some rumors. Those big deals of yours... are not solid."

The old man hesitated for a few seconds, then asked in a low voice in disbelief, "We've been involved in the salt and iron business, and it's already happened so soon?"

Wang Wen almost couldn't hold it in: "Think about it again!"

"Isn't it about salt and iron?"

The old man wondered, "Could it be about shipping? I haven't heard of any leaks..."

Wang Wen was shocked, thinking that these old-timers might be secretly plotting a rebellion.
"It's not about shipping?"

The old man rolled his eyes, blinked, and muttered in deep thought, "Apart from these little things, we haven't done anything illegal lately!"

Wang Wen was completely impressed by the bizarre train of thought of this middle-aged gangster. He thought to himself, "Could it be that you think chopping off heads isn't satisfying enough and you want to play a nine-clan elimination game?"

He flicked his index finger, knocked on the table with a whining voice, and said, "You are already in your forties, can't you just be quiet and save some trouble for me?"

The old man blew his beard and glared: "You idiot, watch how you talk to me!"

"Stop rambling!"

Wang Wen angrily asked, "Apart from those 'little things' you just mentioned, have you really not done any other big, life-threatening business? Think carefully before you answer!"

"I said, you kid..."

Huang Xingde rubbed his forehead in a headache. "You won't give me a hint? I'm busy with all sorts of things and have handled countless big deals. Who knows which one you're talking about?"

Wang Wen's face was stern, and he shook his head seriously: "I can't say, you should think about it carefully yourself... Let's not talk about the distant things for now, let's talk about the things that are close to us, the things that are right in front of us!"

"In front of my eyes?"

The old man hesitated and thought for a moment, then quickly shook his head firmly: "The rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its nest, so what big business can I do right here?"

Wang Wen stared at him intently: "Is it true or false?"

The old man stiffened his neck and shouted angrily, "If I say no, then I don't. Even if you take me back to the government office and torture me, I won't change my mind!"

Wang Wen stared at him, his heart slightly relieved, and a sly smile appeared on his face: "Lao Deng, we are grasshoppers on the same rope. If you have any big business in the future, don't hide it from me."

"Even if you want to rebel? Given our friendship, I won't even blink an eye. I'll join you in the fight, even if it means risking my life."

"But if anyone treats me like a fool and tricks me into becoming their scapegoat... even if I die, I will definitely take him with me!"

Huang Xingde's brows were knitted together, and he growled in fear and anger, "If you keep talking to me in a sarcastic way, do you believe I'll hang you up and beat you? What's going on? Tell me the truth!"

Wang Wen hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "It's not the time to tell you yet. It won't do you any good."

The old man stared at him furiously, his eyes fierce.

Wang Wen looked at him head-on without flinching.

After a while, the fierce light in Huang Xingde's eyes gradually faded. He sighed with a mixed feeling of joy and sorrow, picked up his chopsticks and put the braised meat in his bowl into Wang Wen's bowl, and said with a self-deprecating smile: "After all, I am old and useless!"

Wang Wen picked up the braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth. He winked and whispered, "What's wrong with it? Do you want me to introduce you to a doctor? He's a top-notch doctor for treating kidney deficiency!"

"Little bastard!"

Huang Xingde was so angry that he slapped him on the head and said, "Are you courting death?"

Wang Wen said in a low voice with grievance: "Didn't you say you were useless? I thought you hadn't even visited your old lover in recent years, so you must have a hidden illness..."

The old man blushed and slapped him on the head with his backhand: "Eat it if you want, or get out if you don't want. Don't grind your teeth here!"

"Go away!"

Wang Wen picked up the bowl, stood up, turned around and strode out the door with a hum.

As he stepped out of the door, both father and son breathed a sigh of relief.

The serious and heavy atmosphere just now made both father and son feel uncomfortable all over.

At this moment...

The old man felt relieved after beating Wang Wen. Wang Wen also felt at ease after being beaten.

He really wasn't being mysterious just now to whet Huang Laodeng's appetite.

Based on his understanding of Huang Laodeng, if he directly told Huang Laodeng: "The Chief Astronomical Supervisor suspects that you are colluding with the White Lotus Sect," Laodeng would definitely investigate the source of the Chief Astronomical Supervisor's suspicion...

Even if he verbally agreed not to investigate, he would definitely send someone to investigate secretly.

If he could endure this, he would not be Huang Tianba!

Yangzhou City may seem very large and prosperous to outsiders, but if you step into it, you may lose your way and not be able to tell the directions.

But for these locals who were born and raised here, Yangzhou City is really just a place as big as the palm of their hand. They can picture the sixteen gates, twenty-four bridges, and sixty-four blocks of Yangzhou in their minds with their eyes open, and they can walk from one end of Yangzhou City to the other with their eyes closed...

Especially for local tyrants like Huang Laodeng who are well-known in both the black and white worlds, in their eyes, Yangzhou City has no secrets at all.

If they find themselves in a major case that the government cannot solve, they can just open their ears and find out who committed the crime and what the story is.

If the government couldn't find someone, they just had to talk to them and that person would be tied up like a twisted dough stick and sent to them.

So there is no doubt at all, as long as Huang Laodeng is willing to put in the effort, he can really get rid of the White Lotus Sect demons in the city!
And if he were to pull out those evil people from the White Lotus Sect, it would be a real disaster!

No matter how powerful their Cao Gang is, it is just a gang, a loose folk association formed by a group of merchants and a group of thugs.

What is the White Lotus Sect? It's a cult in the shadows, a righteous army in the open. It's an extremely violent organization that managed to survive the Great Zhou court's crackdown!

Why didn't Chen Haonan stay in Causeway Bay to collect protection fees, cheat on his friends and pick up girls, but ran to the Middle East to engage in gunfights with those warmongers?
Then isn't that like lighting a lantern in a toilet, seeking death?

This is also why Wang Wen had always strongly opposed the Qinghe Gang's interference in this mess... The Qinghe Gang is really no match for the White Lotus Sect!
Given Huang Laodeng's experience in the underworld, Wang Wen knew exactly why he would get involved in such a mess.

The more this happened, the more he couldn't let Huang Laodeng get involved in this mess!
Even if it means falling out with Zhao Zhiling and the others, I will do it!

……

Wang Wen did not stay at home for too long.

After noon, he returned to his official residence in the Dusi Tianjian Yamen, closed the gate and continued to live his life as a lady of a noble family, never leaving the house.

He put himself in the open, firstly to completely clear himself of suspicion, and secondly to reassure Zhao Zhiling and the others.

As long as he stays in the Dusi Tianjian Yamen, the Qinghe Gang will never be able to collude with the White Lotus Sect to cause trouble.

But oddly enough...

Before he left, several groups of lobbyists came to his door every day, urging him to apologize to Zhao Zhiling and reconcile with each other.

After he came back, suddenly no one came.

Taoist Ji Liang didn't come, nor did Cheng Xian. Even Xu Ergou, who used to deliver food to him on time, disappeared. Instead, a clueless Si Tianwei came to deliver food to him.

This change made him feel a little uneasy.

He was worried that the people in the yamen would suspect that he had gone home and informed Huang Laodeng.

He was also worried that he would fall into the trap of these people and alert the enemy, which would harm Huang Laodeng.

It was not until the early morning of the third day that Xu Ergou finally returned home exhausted.

Wang Wen learned from him that three days ago, after returning from Chen Sandao's funeral, he received a haunted mission and went to Gaoyou County with more than 20 brothers...

Not only him, but also Cheng Xian, Li Heng, Zhang Qing, and even Taoist Ji Liang and Monk Shou'an, all rushed to various districts, counties, villages and towns under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Prefecture with tasks.

The entire Yangzhou Dusi Tianjian is currently in a state of complete shutdown. The case files transferred from the government office are piled up in the Anmin Hall, but there is no one to preside over them and no one to deal with them.

"You mean, ever since we returned from the Three Blades' funeral, the yamen's tasks have suddenly increased, and the cases are happening further and further away?"

After Wang Wen sorted out Xu Ergou's words and sentences, he quickly discovered the blind spot.

Xu Ergou nodded in confusion. "Yes, our hundred or so brothers were divided into five groups and sent out... But thankfully, they were just cases of minor demons and ghosts. With the protection of the Thunder and Fire Talisman and the Three Yang Talisman drawn by Taoist Ji, most of the cases went smoothly."

When Wang Wen heard the word "ghost", he felt a pity and was also a little shocked. He thought to himself: "Is Huang Laodeng really colluding with the White Lotus Sect?"

Otherwise, it would be too much of a coincidence that the workload of the Imperial Astronomical Observatory increased dramatically right after he came back from Qinghe Hall!
He and Cheng Xian had previously speculated that the sudden increase in cases of demonic activity in Yangzhou Prefecture was most likely due to the White Lotus Sect...

But now, the White Lotus Sect doesn't even bother to put on an act, and is openly using its tactics against the Chief Astronomical Observatory. I guess it's about to reach the stage of overturning the table.

But would a smart man like Zhao Zhiling willingly let the White Lotus Sect lead him by the nose?
It’s hard to say. Zhao Zhiling just doesn’t want to be led by the White Lotus Sect, but what else can he do?
The Yangzhou Dusi Tianjian's limited manpower is simply unable to break the deadlock!

"How's things at home?"

Wang Wen wandered back and forth in the courtyard, his right hand unconsciously shaking the gun, and the sense of crisis in his heart became stronger and stronger.

Xu Ergou looked at his anxious face in confusion and replied, "Nothing!"

Wang Wen: "Nothing is wrong, so what?"

Xu Ergou: "It's the same as it was before."

Wang Wen: "Don't you have any message for me from your uncle?"

Xu Ergou: "No...Brother, what happened?"

Wang Wen: "Don't ask about things on the road!"

Xu Ergou had no choice but to shut up and pour water from his teapot.

Wang Wen hesitated for a long time before suddenly asking, "Where is Lord Zhao? Is he still in the government office?"

Xu Ergou nodded subconsciously: "Yes, I came back to report. It was Lord Zhao who personally approved the closing document for me."

Wang Wen paused, turned back and stared at him: "Are you sure?"

Xu Ergou was at a loss for words: "Master Zhao, how can I admit my mistakes?"

Wang Wen's brows knitted together, and he muttered to himself, "This isn't right. Could it be that Zhao Zhiling has given up on treatment?"

But the next second, he shook his head and dismissed the idea.

He clearly remembered that Zhao Zhiling had served in the military for many years as a civilian officer, guarding the border. He was known for his strict discipline in the Western Army. Cheng Xian and Li Heng, the two young men, had both served as his personal guards...

How could such a ruthless person, who had been tempered in the battlefield for many years and dared to confront the entire Yangzhou officialdom as soon as he took office, be defeated by setbacks so quickly and lie down to be ridiculed?
'No, no, I have to go!'

Wang Wen suddenly looked up towards the lobby, and in a trance, he seemed to see a huge spider web hanging in the air, quietly waiting for its prey to take the bait: "I can't let them arrange it like this. I have to jump off the chessboard first, so that I can see clearly what they are trying to do!"

With a thought, he strode towards the gate, holding the fine steel silver spear upside down. "Ergou, call the brothers and follow me home!"

"Big brother..."

Xu Ergou couldn't guess what he was up to, but after a brief hesitation, he nodded and said, "It's just right. The brothers have just completed their mission. According to the rules, they can rest for a day or two before reporting back to the government office..."

(End of this chapter)