In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

For example, the annual disaster relief funds and river maintenance funds amount to at least one million taels of silver, but if 100,000 taels are actually used effectively, that's considered a lot.

Wealth can tempt people, and greed knows no bounds.

This move, at least for the first time, has no loopholes to exploit in the short term.

By the time they found it, the money was almost gone.

Chapter 175 Huang Rong with Someone Backing Her Up

"Since everyone has agreed, then this money will be handed over to Young Master Zhang for management!"

"You will depart in three days. The Zhang family will arrange your meals along the way. As for the rest, simply ensure the safety of the silver notes."

Zhang Xiaoshan raised his hand and handed the sandalwood box containing the gold notes directly to the bronze-armored warrior behind him for safekeeping.

The three bronze-armored warriors were so powerful that no one would even bother with them.

Even if someone wants to rob it, it would be more practical to go and snatch a bunch of martial arts masters three days later.

"The money issue has been resolved; the next step is oversight."

Deceiving superiors and concealing the truth is prevalent in officialdom and in the business world alike.

This enormous sum of money, in particular, has attracted the attention of countless people.

Therefore, they took a multi-pronged approach, with the Zhang family appointing three head managers to oversee the bookkeeping. These managers had been doing bookkeeping for decades, and they could spot any problems at a glance.

Supervision will be conducted among the disciples of each sect; any problems can be reported!

"That's how it should be!"

The roundtable meeting ended with the departure of the Golden-Faced Buddha.

Before leaving, the Golden-Faced Buddha handed over another 8.8 million taels of gold notes to Zhang Xiaoshan. The Zhang family would then use the money to build a private school.

···

"Seventh Duke!"

Inside the new villa.

As Zhang Xiaoshan led Hong Qi to the villa, Huang Rong was the first to rush out.

Young birds return to the forest!

Seeing the familiar, disheveled figure, Huang Rong didn't care about the grease stains at all, making Zhang Xiaoshan, who was watching from the side, feel a little jealous.

"Little girl, this old beggar has been craving your cooking lately. I never thought I'd have the chance to do it again today."

"Please wait a moment, Seventh Master, Rong'er will go prepare right away!"

Watching Huang Rong leave, Hong Qigong couldn't help but lick his lips.

After all, Huang Rong's cooking, after being trained by several chefs from the Zhang family, was at least at the master level, even surpassing the grand feast at the Hong Mansion.

"Young man, Rong'er is a good girl, don't let her down!"

With just a glance, Hong Qigong understood Zhang Xiaoshan's womanizing ways; he hadn't expected to find so many beautiful women here.

"···"

Zhang Xiaoshan also understood Hong Qigong's meaning.

In future generations, marrying even one of these women would be a blessing earned through several lifetimes of good deeds. Even a sea king like him couldn't possibly encounter so many beautiful women.

"Senior, please go inside and rest!"

Upon entering, Hong Qi was surprised, but also looked at Zhang Xiaoshan with inexplicable curiosity!

While it may be said that Zhang Xiaoshan is not a good match for Huang Rong, it must be said that he is a rare and outstanding individual, whose martial arts skills, moral character, and knowledge make him a true dragon prince.

But his flirtatious personality also left him feeling helpless.

No one is perfect, and that is perhaps the biggest flaw he could find.

"Kid, who did your Zhang family send this time?"

"Originally, the Mad Lion Iron Warrior was the most suitable, as he had just been promoted to a top expert and his personality was also fierce and straightforward."

However, Tie Zhan went to Persia, so the Zhang family only had one top-tier expert—Zhao Longxiang—plus a guard from the merchant guild.

"Your Zhang family has no shortage of top experts, so why did only one of them go?"

Hong Qi looked at Zhang Xiaoshan with curiosity.

According to his guess, even excluding the three eminent monks who went on a long journey, the Zhang family still had at least ten top experts on standby.

"Master Juexin and the River Fiends are protecting their father, Master Juezhi is guarding the Zhang family, and Ghost Yama is even less likely to leave Ghost Street."

As for this young man, Piaoxu, Rong'er, and Master Mingchen are all women!

"What about the bronze-armored warriors?"

Zhang Xiaoshan glanced at Hong Qigong, and finally said solemnly:

"Since you have asked, I will not hide anything, because I trust your character!"

The bronze-armored warriors were actually evolved from a type of puppet called the Ghost Corpse Puppet. Once in battle, they could not leave the area within fifteen feet of their juniors.

Ghost One, the former number one expert of the Jin Kingdom, was killed by me in the far northern wilderness; Ghost Two, Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, was encountered by me in Niujia Village and captured by me; Ghost Three, Bahangelong, the Tibetan monk who caused a great stir some time ago; and the black-armored warrior needs no further introduction!

The existence of the ghost corpse was created from the six Ghost Heart Pills that the Ghost Doctor gave to his juniors.

It's a walking corpse puppet controlled by Gu worms!

Ghostly corpses! Bronze-armored warriors! Walking corpse puppets controlled by Gu worms!

After Zhang Xiaoshan said this, the entire hall fell into an eerie silence.

No one expected that the seemingly normal, domineering, and powerful bronze-armored warrior was actually just a walking corpse puppet.

"A ghost corpse? What an eerie thing."

Jing'er said that Ouyang Feng had been captured by you, and that you had killed him. It turns out he was one of the bronze-armored warriors.

However, the Ghost Corpse's strength far surpasses that of Ouyang Feng.

It sounded like something out of the ordinary, but Hong Qigong didn't point it out.

Ultimately, Zhang Xiaoshan did not do anything wrong because of this!

Apart from the top expert of the Jin Kingdom, the other three basically deserved to die.

Moreover, the fact that all four experts were foreigners showed that the young man in front of him at least had his own bottom line.

Hong Qigong naturally didn't want to meddle in other people's business, nor could he.

"First, meteorite powder was added to the copper armor, allowing it to integrate into the body and greatly increasing its defense;

Secondly, to strengthen the ghost corpse's body, I specifically asked the Ghost Doctor to create a Chaotic Demon Pool, filled with the most potent poisons in the world, to soak the ghost corpse's body in order to enhance its strength!

"A genius!"

Upon hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's description of the Ghost Doctor, even Hong Qigong couldn't help but be amazed.

Back then, Ouyang Feng's poison skills were nothing compared to the Ghost Doctor's!

Not only did they refine such a miraculous Ghost Heart Pill, but the Chaotic Demon Pool they created also exudes an aura of dominance.

The effect was phenomenal; it actually elevated Ouyang Feng, who had cultivated into a ghost corpse, to a level capable of suppressing top-tier martial arts masters. At that time, his strength was first-rate.

"I see. In other words, the four bronze-armored warriors cannot stray too far from you, or they will be out of control."

"Not bad!"

The power of the four bronze-armored warriors is beyond doubt.

However, it is clearly not without its flaws. The reason is that once the young man kills Zhang Xiaoshan, the four bronze-armored warriors will lose control.

"Young man, aren't you afraid that if you tell this to the old beggar, he'll spread it around?"

Actually, quite a few people know this secret.

If it were you, senior or Master Zhang, I would naturally believe that you would keep your mouth shut.

Unfortunately, among those who know this is Zhuge Zhengwo, and it's likely that this secret has already been leaked to higher authorities. Therefore, this junior has no need to deceive his senior.

"Zhuge Zhengwo, how did you let the court know about this?"

· ········Requesting flowers· ········

Hong Qigong's expression turned solemn.

He naturally believed in Zhuge Zhengwo's character.

However, compared to Hengdao and Guo Jing, Zhuge Zhengwo was a true member of the imperial court, so it was impossible for him to keep Zhang Xiaoshan's secrets and remain silent.

Just as Zhang Xiaoshan had feared, it was probably already in the hands of someone in the palace.

"Because when the Ghost Doctor gave the Ghost Heart Pill to the younger generation, Zhuge Zhengwo happened to be present and did not try to hide it at all."

Ultimately, it's because our relationship has just been established, and the Ghost Doctor doesn't trust me.

If the boy gets out of control, we'll use Zhuge Zhengwo to eliminate the threat!

"That's no wonder."

Hong Qigong also strongly agreed with the Ghost Doctor's approach; how could such a dangerous thing not be restrained?

Zhuge Liang was the perfect candidate; his strength, reputation, and status were all sufficient to restrain the then-dominant young master of the Zhang family.

"Seventh Master, you heartless bastard, dinner's ready!"

Hearing Huang Rong's address, Zhang Xiaoshan knew that Huang Rong was angry about what happened during the day.

Hong Qigong glanced at Zhang Xiaoshan, his expression unreadable.

........ ....... 0

The dinner was extremely lavish, including a jar of 30-year-old premium Daughter's Red wine. Huang Rong even broke her usual rule to eat meat.

These are all exquisitely prepared dishes: Eight-Treasure Meatballs, Boiled Cabbage in Clear Broth, Braised Pork Intestines, Peony Fish Slices...

Although they lack the elegance of dishes like "Good Match Soup" or "Jade Flute Playing in a New Home," they are still truly grand dishes and a testament to the pinnacle of culinary skill.

"It smells so good, it's so exquisite. Rong'er's cooking is still the best. It's even more sumptuous than what we ate at the palace last night."

Unfortunately, I couldn't find the "Five Delicacies Stew" that Hua Zi from my hometown used to crave back then, last night.

"Mandarin Duck Five Treasures Stew? Rong'er knows how to make this."

Grandpa Lu taught Rong'er how to make this dish years ago. If Seventh Master wants to eat it, Rong'er will make it for you tomorrow at noon.

"Really?"

Hong Qigong was also extremely surprised. This was an imperial dish, and he never expected that the Zhang family would have such an ability.

However, considering the extremely prosperous Hong Mansion by West Lake, it's not surprising that the Zhang family's head chef must be a descendant of the imperial chefs.

Even after finishing the meal, Hong Qigong couldn't help but nod in approval.

"Rong'er, this tastes much better than before."

The savory aroma must come from those miscellaneous spices, far surpassing even the emperor's own cuisine in the palace.

Spices used by the wealthy are more valuable than gold!

Therefore, it's normal that Hong Qigong found it tastier than before.

However, in terms of culinary skills, she surpassed even the imperial chefs in the palace, demonstrating Huang Rong's exceptional talent.

"This is nothing. If we hadn't been in a rush and the food wasn't cooked properly, these things would have been barely edible."

Tomorrow at noon, Rong'er will treat Seventh Master to a real feast!

"Hahaha... Great!"

Hearing Huang Rong's boast, Hong Qigong, even if he didn't believe it, was still filled with anticipation.

You must know that the dishes just now were even better than the imperial cuisine in the palace, so how could they only be barely edible?

"Young man, this old beggar has no regrets in his life."

But at this point, one can't help but envy someone who has married such a good wife. One should cherish her and not wait until it's gone to regret it.

"Yes, this junior understands."