Being an emperor is not something he can do, so he can only rely on his connections.

Jinzhou, the largest prefecture in Hedong, has an extremely ambitious vassal king here, and the headquarters of the largest gang in the north is also in Jinzhou.

Mo Lang, the leader of the Salt Gang, loved making friends, both in the underworld and in the political arena. While he had many friends, few were truly exceptional. After separating from the Zhang family, the Salt Gang suffered from mismanagement and heavy losses, shrinking by half in just a few years. If it weren't for his strong foundation, his unpromising sons would have wiped it out long ago!

Zhang Jingwei's name was well-known even in Jinzhou. Mo Lang naturally would not miss such a good opportunity to win him over, so he sent his son to Yunzhou.

But what he never expected was that Mo Kuang, this incompetent man, jealous of Zhang Jingwei's fame, would actually humiliate that young role model in public, and end up being tricked into jail. After hearing about this incident from Yunzhou, he was almost pissed off to death.

At the gates of Yunzhou City, an exquisitely decorated carriage slowly pulled in. Through the window, two people could be seen seated inside. One of them was an imposing figure with a serious expression. This man was none other than Mo Lang, the renowned leader of the Salt Gang. The other was his trusted advisor, a man of shrewd and capable demeanor.

The master looked at Mo Lang, who had a serious expression on his face, and spoke cautiously, "Boss! We've traveled all the way here and finally arrived in Yunzhou. The leader of the Yunzhou branch has prepared some wine and food at his residence. Why don't we stop and rest for a while? That way we can get more energy before we get back to work."

However, Mo Lang glared at the master angrily and shouted, "Rest your grandma's legs! How can you even think about eating, drinking, and resting now?"

The master trembled with fear at Mo Lang's sudden rebuke, but he still gritted his teeth and continued to persuade, "Boss, calm down. If you are so anxious to visit the young master in prison, then we should first have the Yunzhou branch take care of things. This may save the young master some suffering."

Unexpectedly, Mo Lang remained unmoved. He waved his hand and shouted impatiently, "Who said I was going to see that rebellious son?! Not to the prison, but directly to Zhang's Mansion... Oh no, it's the Marquis' Mansion!"

The master was stunned when he heard this. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Are you going to see Zhang Xiaolian?"

Mo Lang nodded slightly and replied, "Well, after all, he is the one who really makes the decision on this matter!"

The master's face showed worry, and he said anxiously: "But I heard that the Northern Marquis has a very bad temper, and our young master insulted his son-in-law in public. If we go there rashly, I'm afraid we will suffer a great loss!"

Mo Lang frowned, pondered for a moment, and then gritted his teeth and said, "There's nothing we can do. Now that things have gotten to this point, we can only take it one step at a time. At times like this, we have to show our full sincerity. At worst, I'll go all out and kowtow to him hundreds of times to settle this matter!" After saying that, Mo Lang leaned heavily against the back of the seat, closed his eyes, and seemed to be thinking about how to deal with this difficult situation next.

In the Hou Mansion.

Zhang Jingwei had a bandage wrapped around his head and Huangfu Ling was feeding him porridge.

The bump on his forehead wasn't very noticeable yesterday, but after just one day, his head had grown like the South Pole Immortal's. When Jiuer came to help him apply medicine, she almost died of laughter.

Zhang Jingwei cried out in agony, "Oh my! It's so hot! Couldn't you blow on it first before giving it to me?"

Huangfu Ling glared at him and said, "Of course, you should drink the porridge while it's hot. Jiuer said that you can't eat cold food, drink alcohol, or eat greasy food these days..."

Zhang Jingwei yelled impatiently, "Alright, alright, I got it! I'll just drink it myself. You don't need to feed me!"

Huangfu Lingqi said angrily, "Don't be ungrateful. Even my father has never enjoyed being fed by me personally like this!"

As he spoke, a spoonful of hot porridge was stuffed into his mouth. Zhang Jingwei suddenly looked at Huangfu Ling pitifully and begged, "Blow... blow, please!" As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes. Those were not pretended, but tears were really scalded by the hot porridge.

Huangfu Ling muttered, "What a hypocrite!" but she didn't stop. She pouted and blew gently on the porridge in the spoon. After a while, she felt the temperature was about right, so she carefully passed the spoon to Zhang Jingwei's mouth.

At this moment, Zhang Jingwei said mischievously: "Don't spit your saliva in there!"

Huangfu Ling blushed upon hearing this and said coquettishly, "What nonsense are you talking about! You're so frivolous all day long!"

However, Zhang Jingwei did not stop there. Instead, he continued to jokingly say, "It's okay to eat a bite or two. After all, we are husband and wife."

As soon as these words left her mouth, Huangfu Ling froze, as if under a spell. She couldn't help but recall Zhang Jingwei's sudden kiss and the slap she had given him without hesitation. Suddenly, a complex mix of emotions washed over her, leaving her feeling bewildered.

Zhang Jingwei covered his face tightly with his hands, stared at the person in front of him with wide eyes, and said in disbelief: "What are you doing? I'm a patient! Do you want to slap me again?" There was a hint of fear and dissatisfaction in his tone.

Huangfu Ling's face flushed red upon hearing this, and she lowered her head, appearing extremely ashamed. She bit her lip gently and muttered softly, "Last time... it was indeed my fault. The situation was so urgent at the time, and I panicked. I'm so sorry!" Then, she raised her head and glanced cautiously at Zhang Jingwei, her eyes filled with apology.

Zhang Jingwei did not forgive her easily, but continued to ask: "Then how do you plan to make up for the harm I have suffered? You can't just perfunctorily do it!" He crossed his arms across his chest, looking as if he was unwilling to give up.

Huangfu Ling hesitated for a moment, then pointed to the bowl of porridge in her hand and answered timidly: "I... I'm feeding you porridge, this is also a way of compensation." As she said, she scooped up a spoonful of porridge and put it to Zhang Jingwei's mouth.

However, Zhang Jingwei turned his head and snorted coldly: "Hmph, this little favor doesn't show any sincerity!" Obviously, he was not satisfied with such compensation.

Huangfu Ling frowned upon seeing this. After thinking hard for a while, she finally seemed to have made up her mind and said, "Well...how about this, I'll let you slap me in the face to vent your anger. How about that? As long as it can make you feel better, anything is fine." As she spoke, she closed her eyes, turned her cheek to the side, waiting for Zhang Jingwei's slap to fall.

Zhang Jingwei suddenly stretched out his arms and hugged Huangfu Ling tightly. Huangfu Ling was caught off guard and was completely stunned by his embrace. She felt her blood boiling and her heartbeat accelerated instantly.

Zhang Jingwei, meanwhile, was also overwhelmed with emotion. The moment he embraced Huangfu Ling, he suddenly felt a strange sensation, as if he had returned to his first love. He couldn't help but be captivated by the naive yet electric pleasure of the experience.

At this moment, Huangfu Ling seemed to realize that the two of them were too intimate and began to twist her body to break free. As she struggled, she cried out in a coquettish voice, "Oh, stop it... Be careful of the injury on your head... Wait a minute... Can you... Can you close your eyes first?"

Zhang Jingwei let her go and asked curiously, "Huh? What are you doing?"

Huangfu Ling blushed abnormally, and she whispered, "I'll give you a kiss..."

Zhang Jingwei obediently closed his eyes, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a happy smile.

The two were so close that their noses could almost feel the warm breath of each other. Zhang Jingwei could even clearly feel the temperature rising on Huangfu Ling's face. She must be extremely shy at this moment. To better cater to her, Zhang Jingwei gently raised his lips.

Just as they were about to kiss, Douya's hurried voice interrupted them.

"Miss, there is someone looking for you outside...Ah!" Douya suddenly pushed open the door and saw this scene. She quickly turned around and covered her eyes.

"No, I didn't see anything!"