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

Zhang Ping'an looked in the direction of the voice and saw his good older brother, Zhang Qi.

What bad luck!

Zhang Ping'an cursed inwardly, too lazy to pay him any attention.

"Waiter, bring the food! Don't just stand there!"

Zhang Qi had no intention of letting him go, especially after learning that Zhang Ping'an dared to sever ties with the Zhang family.

Even if it's a matter of severing ties, it should be the Zhang family that expels him from the clan. He's a good-for-nothing, what right does he have to take the initiative to sever ties?

"Hehe, Zhang Ping'an, do you know how much silver the cheapest dish at Zuixianju costs?"

"You piece of trash who can't even produce a single tael of silver, are you trying to dine and dash?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter immediately stared at Zhang Ping'an with a wary expression.

Snapped!

Zhang Ping'an took out ten taels of silver from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

No amount of arguing can be as effective as letting the facts speak for themselves.

"Waiter, can you serve me the food now?" Zhang Ping'an glanced at Zhang Qi with a smug look on his face.

"Yes, of course, please wait a moment, sir!" The waiter bowed and scraped as he backed away.

Zhang Qi's face instantly turned ugly.

"Where did this good-for-nothing get the money? Did the Prime Minister's residence give it to him?"

"That shouldn't be the case!"

"He's just a son-in-law brought in for good luck; the Prime Minister's family doesn't treat him like a human being at all!"

"No, it must have been stolen from the Zhang residence!"

Zhang Qi immediately gave a wink to the two elegantly dressed young men at the same table, and the three of them walked towards Zhang Ping'an together.

"You bastard Zhang Ping'an! So that's why the money in the house was missing—you stole it!"

"Hand over the silver you stole right now, or I'll arrest you and take you to the authorities immediately."

Zhang Ping'an got a little annoyed and rolled his eyes.

"If you're sick, go get treatment, stop barking around. You've never told me where the Zhang family keeps their silver; how could I possibly steal it?"

"Besides, even if your Zhang family's money were given to me for free, I wouldn't take it. I find it dirty!"

"What did you say! Say it again!" Zhang Qi grabbed Zhang Ping'an by the collar and raised his fist to punch him in the face.

The original owner of this body had been beaten up quite a bit in the past.

boom!

Zhang Ping'an didn't tolerate him and kicked Zhang Qi in the stomach.

Zhang Qi's massive body crashed backward.

However, the force of the recoil from the fat on his belly caused Zhang Ping'an to take two steps back.

"Zhang Ping'an, you piece of trash, how dare you lay a hand on me! If I don't kill you today, I'll change my surname to yours!"

"Brothers, beat them to a pulp!"

Zhang Qi got up from the ground and led the other two to rush over.

Zhang Ping'an was not intimidated at all. He picked up a stool and smashed it over the head of the person in front.

boom!

The young man dodged to the side, but was hit by the impact, letting out a bloodcurdling scream.

At this moment, Zhang Ping'an was also held down by Zhang Qi and another person.

Thump, bang, crack...

The two men used both fists and feet to strike Zhang Ping'an with all their might, instantly leaving him only able to parry and unable to retaliate.

Damn, the original owner's physical condition was too poor. His hand went weak after grabbing a bench to hit someone.

Zhang Ping'an could only curl up on the ground, covering his head with his hands to protect his vital parts, as Zhang Qi and his accomplices punched and kicked him.

Suddenly, two silver notes fell out of Zhang Ping'an's sleeve.

Zhang Qi picked it up immediately.

"You, Zhang Ping'an, still denying stealing the Zhang family's silver? This is two thousand taels of silver notes! Where else could you have gotten it besides the Zhang family?!"

Oh no! Zhang Ping'an frowned. If the silver notes ended up in Zhang Qi's hands, it would be like throwing good money after bad.

In a moment of panic, Zhang Ping'an suddenly grabbed Zhang Qi's leg and, with a powerful jerk, flipped him to the ground.

Then, Zhang Ping'an straddled Zhang Qi and punched Zhang Qi's big round face repeatedly with both fists.

"Give me back the banknotes!"

"Or I'll kill you!"

Seeing Zhang Ping'an, whose face was covered in blood, beating him like a madman, Zhang Qi felt a chill run down his spine.

Zhang Ping'an used to never fight back or talk back when hit or cursed, so why has he suddenly changed his ways today?

"What are you two standing there for? Hurry up and pull him away! If you wait any longer, he'll beat me to death!" Zhang Qi shouted to his two companions behind him.

The two men then seemed to wake from a dream and stepped forward to pull Zhang Ping'an from the left and right.

However, Zhang Ping'an was filled with hatred and bit down on Zhang Qi's left ear, refusing to let go.

"Aww..."

Zhang Qi screamed in agony like a pig being slaughtered.

"It hurts, it hurts so much! Stop it, Zhang Ping'an, let go of me..."

Soon, Zhang Ping'an was pulled away by Zhang Qi's two companions, but half of Zhang Qi's ear was bitten off.

Zhang Qi groaned as he got up and rushed forward, kicking Zhang Ping'an in the stomach.

"Zhang Ping'an, are you fucking insane?"

At this moment, Zhang Ping'an recalled the humiliation and helplessness he felt in his previous life when he was cyberbullied by philanthropists, and the anger and resentment he felt when he was wronged.

His blood-covered face contorted into a hideous grimace: "Hahaha, come on, I've gone mad! Either you kill me, or I'll kill you!"

Zhang Qi shuddered in fright; facing Zhang Ping'an at this moment, he felt a sense of fear.

"He's gone mad, this piece of trash has really gone mad..."

"Let's go, I won't bother with a madman."

Zhang Qi was actually scared away.

Zhang Ping'an collapsed to the ground, all the silver and banknotes he had earned from selling his poems had been snatched away by Zhang Qi.

Damn it, I was careless!

I never expected the original owner's body to be so fragile. I should have just played the fool.

With a slight movement, Zhang Ping'an couldn't help but gasp.

The physical injuries weren't serious, mostly superficial wounds; the main problem was the loss of 2,100 taels of silver.

"So he's the fourth young master of the Zhang family, that bastard who humiliated a respectable woman and was sentenced to three years in prison."

"I never expected that he would start stealing again so soon after being released from prison."

"Pah, a leopard can't change its spots. This kind of trash shouldn't have been let out."

The people around Zhang Ping'an pointed and whispered, their words becoming increasingly offensive.

"You thief, you're not welcome at Zuixianju! Get out of here right now!"

The waiter also ran over and coldly shouted at Zhang Ping'an.

Ha, even after being reborn, I still couldn't escape the fate of being cyberbullied.

Zhang Ping'an smiled bitterly to himself.

Without offering a single explanation, he dragged his injured body and limped away.

The Imperial Palace.

Outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Zhang Xuanling, dressed in an official robe, had been kneeling for half an hour, and his legs were numb.

He couldn't help but look at the red-robed eunuch at the door: "Eunuch Xi, when will His Majesty return?"

With a professional, fake smile, Eunuch Xi said, "Oh, Lord Zhang, we can't say for sure about that."

Zhang Xuanling took out a bag of money from his sleeve, secretly stuffed it into the hand of Eunuch Xi, and smiled ingratiatingly.

"Eunuch Xi, what is the purpose of His Majesty's sudden summons?"

If Zhang Xuanling had known the inside story in advance, he could have taken countermeasures earlier.

Eunuch Xi pushed the silver back: "Lord Zhang, I really don't know anything about this. It was Lord Mo Yu who sent someone to deliver the message, saying it was an imperial edict. I know nothing else."

"Thank you, sir!"

Zhang Xuanling frowned as he began to recall what he had done wrong.

It's obvious that the Empress is trying to intimidate him!

After kneeling for another half an hour, just as Zhang Xuanling was about to faint, the door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation finally opened.

"Lord Zhang, Lord Zhang? His Majesty summons you!" Eunuch Xi called softly from beside Zhang Xuanling.

Zhang Xuanling was startled and quickly tried to stand up, but found that his legs were no longer under his control and he fell to the ground.