This son-in-law is wicked in a good way!

Zhang Pingan went out.

Su Xiu'e, the mother-in-law, stood in the courtyard with several burly servants, their faces full of anger.

On the other side, Zhang Xuanling, Zhang Qi, and others were also glaring angrily at Zhang Ping'an.

Su Xiu'e asked with a look of disgust, "Zhang Ping'an, Young Master Zhang Qi said you stole silver from the Zhang family and even bit him. Is that true?"

Zhang Ping'an gave a cold laugh: "Would you believe me if I said I earned that money?"

Holding the silver note, Zhang Qi shouted, "Zhang Ping'an, you've been caught red-handed, and you still want to deny it!"

"Father, we should take him to see the officials right now and make him spend a few more years in jail!"

Seeing Zhang Qi's face, Zhang Ping'an truly felt sorry for the original owner of this body.

Damn it, to serve three years in jail for someone like that, ugh...

Zhang Xuanling glanced at the silver note and was suddenly startled.

These are HSBC bank notes. HSBC has royal connections, but the Zhang family has never deposited any money with HSBC.

Where did this kid get HSBC banknotes?

However, he certainly couldn't admit he was wrong at this point.

Moreover, no one would believe that a good-for-nothing could earn two thousand taels of silver in just one day.

"You unfilial son, as long as you admit to stealing money from the family now and take the initiative to apologize, I can be lenient and not let you go to jail."

Zhang Ping'an sneered, "Heh, Old Deng, stop pretending to be a good guy. You can drag me to see the officials right now, I'm not afraid!"

"You unfilial son, I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it." Zhang Xuanling said with a pained expression.

"Madam, this rebellious son is now a member of the Prime Minister's household; I have no authority to make decisions. What do you suggest we do?"

He certainly wouldn't actually drag Zhang Ping'an to see the authorities; the truth would come out once the investigation was conducted.

Moreover, the Prime Minister's residence certainly wouldn't want to make a big fuss, as they couldn't afford to lose face.

Su Xiu'e snorted coldly, "Guards, administer the family discipline!"

A maid immediately brought over a rattan cane as thick as a thumb.

Then, two servants pressed Zhang Ping'an down onto the bench.

Su Xiu'e handed the rattan cane to Zhang Xuanling: "Lord Zhang, he is your son, so you shall carry out the family discipline!"

Just as Zhang Xuanling was about to nod, Zhang Qi volunteered, "Father, let me do it!"

"good!"

Zhang Qi took the rattan cane and walked excitedly toward Zhang Ping'an.

"Don't worry, Fourth Brother, I'll be very gentle."

Snapped!

Zhang Qi slapped Zhang Ping'an hard on the back.

hiss!

Zhang Ping'an clenched his teeth tightly, trying not to make a sound.

Damn it, Zhang family, you just wait!

With this punishment, Zhang Ping'an severed the last shred of affection between himself and the Zhang family.

From now on, it's a fight to the death!

After beating him, Su Xiu'e said coldly, "Guards, lock him in the woodshed. He's not allowed to eat without my permission!"

"Yes."

Two servants escorted Zhang Ping'an to the woodshed.

"Lord Zhang, are you satisfied?" Su Xiu'e asked with a forced smile.

Zhang Xuanling clasped his hands and said, "Madam handled it well. This rebellious son is incredibly audacious and has no sense of propriety. I will trouble the Prime Minister's residence to discipline him more in the future."

"Don't worry, Lord Zhang, the family education in my Prime Minister's residence is naturally much stricter than that in your Zhang residence."

"Then I'll take my leave."

"No need to see me out."

There was only one small window in the woodshed, letting in dim light.

Zhang Ping'an leaned against the firewood and slumped to the ground.

The skin on my back was badly bruised and burned whenever it touched my clothes.

"Damn it, I'll get my revenge sooner or later!"

This is a wicked feudal society devoid of human rights!

Family discipline and private punishment are commonplace, and there is nowhere to seek justice.

Even if someone gets beaten to death, they'll just have to pay some money and that'll be the end of it.

This experience further strengthened Zhang Ping'an's determination to make a name for himself.

This feeling of powerlessness, with others holding the power of life and death over him, made Zhang Ping'an very uneasy.

What good is a time traveler if they don't have their own power?

Zhang Ping'an was detained for three days.

He was fed only one meal a day, just enough to keep him alive and prevent him from starving.

In the past three days, a farewell poem titled "Yang Tai and Zhang Xiaoru bid farewell to their old friend Fang Jixian" has become a huge hit.

Fang Jixian, a renowned scholar from the academy, also became an internet sensation.

Because of that one sentence, who in the world doesn't know you!

Countless imperial relatives and powerful officials in the court were filled with envy and jealousy.

This one sentence is worth a thousand years of achievements!

Whether a hundred years or a thousand years from now, whenever this poem is mentioned, people of later generations will naturally think of Fang Jixian.

Of course, there were also two shameless guys who insisted on climbing up to him.

The academy, which had been silent for more than 60 years, was suddenly thrust into the spotlight because of a poem.

The people who least wanted to see this scene were naturally the scholars of the Imperial Academy, their old rivals.

How could those scholars from the Imperial Academy, who held great power and had no hope of even a career in government, be content with the fact that a dilapidated academy could gain such a reputation that everyone in the world knew it?

As a result, everyone frantically inquired about the author of the poem, hoping to find a masterpiece that would make them famous for all time.

Unfortunately, that person named Li Du seems to have vanished into thin air these past few days.

Among them, the Left Chancellor Lu Chongyang and Zhang Xuanling were both graduates of the Imperial Academy.

They were also frantically trying to find out who the author of the poem was.

No matter how many connections they used, they couldn't find Li Du.

Three days later, Zhang Ping'an was released.

The wounds on his body had scabbed over, but his clothes were covered in blood.

As soon as he left the woodshed, Zhang Ping'an went straight from the Prime Minister's residence to Wenxin Tower.

He wanted to earn money and then move out of the Prime Minister's residence.

Although he cannot voluntarily annul the engagement, he can choose where to live.

The Empress and Mo Yu waited at Wenxin Tower for three consecutive days, but they still couldn't see Zhang Ping'an.

"Xiaoyu, did we give him too much money last time? Did that make Zhang Ping'an lose his motivation to sell poems?"

Mo Yu calmly analyzed: "Young Master, perhaps he was delayed by something. It would be foolish not to make money when there is an opportunity. I don't think that Fourth Young Master Zhang is a fool at all."

"Well, let's wait a bit longer then." The Empress nodded; she thought so too.

"Brother Chu!" From afar, Zhang Ping'an saw Chu Tian and the pageboy in blue. He immediately waved and greeted them as if he had seen a relative.

"Your Majesty, it's Young Master Zhang!" Mo Yu whispered.

The Empress glared at her: "Watch your address, or you'll give yourself away."

"Yes, young master!"

The Empress greeted him with a smile, but her face darkened when she saw Zhang Ping'an covered in blood and dressed in tattered clothes.

"Young Master Li, what exactly happened these past three days? Why are you in such a sorry state?"

Zhang Ping'an said weakly, "Brother Chu, could you please treat me to a meal first? I haven't eaten for three days."

"Xiaoyu, go and make arrangements immediately." The Empress's beautiful eyes were frosty, and anger surged within her.

You, Zhang Xuanling, I ordered you to compensate Young Master Zhang, but you did the opposite.

Very well, so you like to go against me, huh...

Suppressing her anger, the Empress said, "Young Master Li, please come with me!"

Zhang Ping'an followed the Empress to a private room where a table was laden with dishes.

"I won't stand on ceremony, I'm just too hungry."

Zhang Ping'an devoured the food on the table like a starving ghost.

The Empress and Mo Yu watched silently from the sidelines, without uttering a sound.

However, a few more cold glints appeared in the Empress's eyes.