Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"Hey boss, don't go! You haven't collected your debt yet!" Lin Ping shouted sarcastically from behind, almost bursting out laughing.

Don't go? Are you waiting to be beaten to a pulp by Lin Ping? Do you think everyone else is stupid and can't see the relationship between you, Lin Ping, and the Prefect?

"Twenty thousand taels of silver is nothing to Jinmanlou, they don't lack that money." Diao Mao waved his hand coldly, trying to salvage his last bit of face, even though the price was high.

This doesn't mean that the Zhou family and Jin Manlou are even, since the debt is still in Jin Manlou's hands; it just means they won't be coming to collect the debt anytime soon.

"How boring..." Lin Ping shook his head helplessly, clearly showing off his victory.

"You audacious Lin Ping, do you know your crime?" Just after Jin Manlou and his group left, Xia Yeran's face suddenly darkened, and he said sternly.

Lin Ping was completely dumbfounded. He stared at Xia Yeran for a long time, unable to figure out what crime he had committed.

"This humble subject is unaware," Lin Ping said with a respectful bow, though his heart was pounding with anxiety.

The other party is the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, who wields considerable power. To deal with him would be as easy as crushing an ant.

Lin Ping thought that saving the other party once would make him a familiar face, but now it seems that he was just being used as a pawn.

Clearly, the Prefect of Yingtian Prefecture was also dissatisfied with Jin Manlou's actions and deliberately used Lin Ping to suppress him, rather than purely helping him.

This is the officialdom, a bottomless murky pool, and Lin Ping's tricks are really not up to par.

"Don't know? Then where did you get this crossbow? Do you think I'm easy to fool?" Xia Yeran saw right through him. He had personally witnessed Lin Ping using this crossbow, and it was definitely not a gift from Dou Tianzhang.

Stealing a crossbow is already a serious crime, and adding the crime of deceiving the prefect is enough to send Lin Ping to prison for life, or even to be executed by razor blade.

Seeing that Xia Yeran was already angry, several yamen runners, holding curved knives, fiercely surrounded Lin Ping, naturally fearing that he would become desperate and thus harm the prefect.

Lin Ping's heart was pounding, completely unable to fathom Xia Yeran's thoughts, and he secretly lamented that serving a ruler was like walking on thin ice.

Zhou Yecheng and Zhou Xiyin were also worried for Lin Ping. After all, he had done the Zhou family a favor, and he couldn't just be taken away by the prefect like this. Zhou Yecheng had to say a few words for him, both morally and logically.

Hahaha……

Suddenly, Lin Ping and Xia Yeran burst into laughter at the same time, even putting their arms around each other's shoulders, a truly shocking action.

"This is the first favor you owe me," Xia Yeran whispered in Lin Ping's ear, without mentioning the crossbow at all.

He first demonstrated his authority to Lin Ping, then offered him a favor, like slapping someone and then giving them a piece of candy. The slap hurt, but the candy was sweeter. Lin Ping had no choice but to be grateful.

"The first favor?" Lin Ping was a little puzzled, and secretly decided that he would never let Xia Yeran have any leverage over him again, so as not to be robbed by this guy again.

“That’s right, you’ll owe me three favors in total,” Xia Yiran said confidently.

Lin Ping scoffed at this, thinking to himself: I show off with my own skills, why should I owe you a favor?

But the other party was, after all, the prefect, so he couldn't very well just utter two loud words, "I don't believe you!"

So Lin Ping counted on his fingers and said, feigning difficulty, "You'll probably owe me seven favors."

This was clearly just him showing off. Lin Ping wanted to overwhelm the other party with his presence. Besides, Lin Ping had already planned some things and expected that the other party would have a lot of contact with him in the future.

"Good lad, you've got guts!" Xia Yeran was no longer angry; instead, he stared at Lin Ping with determined eyes, as if they were kindred spirits.

He had been saved by Lin Ping once and had the opportunity to overhear Lin Ping's words, leading him to boldly guess that this man was extraordinary. So he secretly investigated his whereabouts. Finally, he found an opportunity to meet him from a superior position.

After speaking, Xia Yeran turned and left, laughing heartily all the while.

"Is this guy crazy? How can he be more narcissistic than me? I, Ping, will never owe you three favors in my life!" Lin Ping muttered behind his back, but his voice was so loud that it must have reached Xia Yeran's ears, otherwise the other party would not have turned around with a wicked smile.

"Really not? You might need me to see Linglong in the future!" Xia Yeran continued to smile, but she didn't tell Lin Ping what she was saying.

He is the king's nephew and Xia Linglong's elder brother. He knows too many secrets that Lin Ping doesn't. Sooner or later, the other party will come to him for help, unless he has absolutely no feelings for Xia Linglong.

Therefore, Xia Yeran's words were not entirely unfounded.

But did Lin Ping really lie? He probably underestimated the amount by saying he owed seven favors.

Even before entering the city, Xia Yeran already owed him a favor. Now, this case of flower picking is another huge favor, and there will be one favor after another in the future. As long as Xia Yeran has the heart to serve the king, he will need Lin Ping's help.

There's nothing we can do; they just have so many clever ideas.

With just a few casual pointers, the entire Wu Kingdom could probably be governed in an orderly manner.

Lin Ping also had his own selfish motives. He wanted to use the opportunity of helping Xia Yeran to gradually stand out and eventually gain the king's approval. Only then would he have the chance to send an army of 100,000 to break through the Lotus Palace and rescue the woman he longed for.

At this point, Zhou Yecheng was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he couldn't find the words to describe Lin Ping.

Is he a master strategist? He seems rather upright. Is his wisdom bordering on the supernatural? He seems somewhat sinister.

In short, he admired Lin Ping to the point of worship, and was just short of calling him "son-in-law" to satisfy his urge to say it.

Unfortunately, his crazy daughter seemed unworthy of him, since those wicked gentlemen preferred refined and elegant ladies from respectable families.

"It's all my fault for not raising my daughter properly..." Zhou Yecheng kept sighing, and even the way he looked at Zhou Xiyin was different from before.

How did that precious daughter, whom we were so proud of, have her brilliance obscured?

Compared to Lin Ping, they were completely utterly crushed.

Therefore, Zhou Yecheng concluded that Lin Ping would not like his daughter and would likely refuse the opportunity to see her again.

“Mr. Zhou’s old injury hasn’t healed and he’s got a new one. He can’t stop taking his medicine! Miss Zhou will have to come to my place a few more times.” Lin Ping said with a half-serious, half-wicked smile, staring at Zhou Xiyin with a lewd look for several times.

There's no way around it; the woman in the chiffon dress is a sight to behold, far surpassing those girls who rely on beauty filters for survival.

Like a lotus emerging from clear water, naturally beautiful without any artifice! This description is perfectly apt for Zhou Xiyin.

"Hmph, I'm not going!" Zhou Xiyin pouted and glared at Lin Ping, not because of his lewd expression, but because Lin Ping had lied to her.

This guy not only concealed many of his identities, but also his name. Who knows how many secrets he's hiding from me? What if we get married?