High Martial Arts Three Kingdoms: The Incompetent Strategist

The imperial decree pardoning Zhang Rang was personally delivered to Zhang Rang in the imperial prison by Tang Ke. It is said that one should do good deeds thoroughly so that others will feel indebted to them.

Zhang Rang was naturally very grateful to Lord Tang for his help in his time of crisis, and repeatedly invited him to his residence.

Tang Ke had a guilty conscience and couldn't refuse no matter what he did, so he had no choice but to have the imperial guards escort him back to his residence.

The Zhang family had already arranged a series of exorcism rituals, such as stepping over a fire basin and washing hands with mugwort water. Zhang Feng and He Lingyi watched these rituals together. Zhang Feng was overjoyed and beaming, while He Lingyi looked haggard and listless. The two of them stood together in stark contrast.

To avoid embarrassment, Tang Ke went into the mansion first and led his men to tear off all the seals that had been affixed during the seizure. He was busy all morning.

When it was time for lunch, Zhang Rang, to show his respect, specially arranged for Zhang Feng and He Lingyi to serve him on either side of the meal. During the meal, he thanked them profusely, which made the atmosphere of the meal extremely awkward.

Fortunately, Tang Ke was wearing a pockmarked mask, so his complexion couldn't be seen, but this also caused He Lingyi to keep glancing at him.

She didn't harbor much hatred towards Tang Ke. Although she had lost her virginity to him, the real culprit was her husband, and in her heart, Tang Ke was also a victim.

She vaguely remembered seeing another side of Tang Ke when they were having sex, and she felt a mix of shyness and curiosity towards him.

Seeing her expression, Zhang Feng naturally understood what was going on, and his hatred for Tang Ke intensified.

"Feng'er, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and offer a toast to Lord Tang to thank him for saving your life. He can be considered your second father!"

"Lingyi, you should also toast Lord Tang. From now on, we're all family."

Seeing that the two men weren't very proactive in urging him to drink, Zhang Rang urged them on, reminding them that his case wasn't over yet and Tang Ke was a key figure in the trial.

His words were unintentional, but the listeners took them to heart, and each of the three felt differently about them.

The meal ended in this awkward silence. Tang Ke, completely drunk, staggered out of the Zhang residence.

Zhang Feng was ordered to see him out of the mansion, and stood watching his back for a long time.

A sharp voice rang out: "Young Master Zhang, what refined taste you have! You can remain calm even when facing an enemy who stole your wife. Tsk tsk, remarkable, truly remarkable!"

"Who?" Zhang Feng looked in the direction of the voice and saw a man wearing a straw hat squatting under the stone lion outside the gate, his head lowered. It was unclear how long he had been there.

"Young Master Zhang, may I speak with you in private?" Without waiting for Zhang Feng's reply, she got up and left.

"Stop right there and explain yourself before you leave." Zhang Feng, having his secret exposed, was naturally unwilling to let him go easily and quickly tried to stop him.

Strangely, no matter how fast or slow he walked, he always kept a distance of about ten feet from the other person, neither too close nor too far, until he stopped in a deserted, dark alley.

The man took off his straw hat, revealing his true face.

"Xu Feng? Is that you?" Zhang Feng regretted chasing after him so rashly. This was his father's great enemy. What good could he possibly want from him?

Xu Feng seemed to sense his worry and smiled, "Young Master Zhang, don't be afraid. I just want to chat with you casually. There's no need to be overly nervous."

“We have nothing to talk about.” Zhang Feng turned to leave.

"Is that so? We didn't settle the score with you for killing your father, but the fact that Tang Ke stole your wife is a real and established fact. You can drink and chat happily with him, so why can't you talk to me about it?"

Zhang Feng stopped in his tracks, abruptly changed his clothes, grabbed Xu Feng's shirt, and growled in a low voice, "What the hell do you want?"

Xu Feng slapped Zhang Feng across the face, sending him flying.

“Young Master Zhang, I advise you to be more polite to me. This is not your Marquis’s mansion. Even your father would not speak to me like this.”

"You!" The slap was really hard. Zhang Feng struggled for a long time before he finally got up and spat out a mouthful of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"You must be wondering how I knew about your offer of your wife for help, right? It's simple. Your Zhang family has many of my spies, just like your father certainly has spies in my household."

Xu Feng wiped his hands, a mocking smile on his lips: "To be honest, I admire you quite a bit. You're even willing to use your wife as a bargaining chip for a title. It's a pity that the immense wealth you've secured may not actually fall into your lap. In the end, you might end up working hard only to benefit someone else."

Zhang Feng sneered, "You don't need to sow discord. My father only has one son, me."

"It's a pity he's an adopted son. What if one day your father suddenly decides to adopt another one, like that Tang Ke, whom I think your father really likes? He even saved your father's life. He's young and promising, better than you in every way, and currently enjoys His Majesty's deep trust..."

Xu Feng spoke these words in a deliberately sarcastic tone, which only made Zhang Feng angrier.

He suppressed his anger and tried to control his tone: "You don't need to worry about the affairs of our household. It's my father's business who he wants to adopt as his godson. I'll just consider him another brother."

Xu Feng clapped his hands and laughed: "I'm afraid we're brothers-in-law, aren't we?"

These words ignited Zhang Feng's anger to its extreme, and he grabbed Xu Feng's collar again: "What exactly do you want?"

This time, Xu Feng did not slap him again. Instead, he held his shoulder, put away his mocking attitude, and said sincerely, "Young Marquis, as long as you are willing, we can help you take over the Marquis's mansion as soon as possible and avenge the loss of your wife."

Instead of getting angry, Zhang Feng laughed: "Do you think I don't know what you're up to? Trying to use me against my father? That's just wishful thinking."

Xu Feng said, word by word, "Your father is in good health, and you are just an adopted son. Until you take over the Marquis's mansion, you are nothing. Tang Ke now holds the important position of Commander of the Imperial Guard, and his relationship with your father will only become closer and closer. I'm afraid you will always be suppressed and unable to lift your head. If you don't want to cooperate with us, you should hurry back, clean up your wife, and send her to his mansion. Maybe that will allow you to prolong your life."

These words were extremely harsh, but Zhang Feng did not refute them further and fell silent.

It is not uncommon for fathers to kill their sons in the struggle for power, let alone adopted sons, who might be killed without batting an eye.

Over the years, he had seen too many people die at Zhang Rang's hands. The eunuch's psychological distortion was comparable to that of a pervert, and he was extremely cruel. To say that he had any fatherly affection for him was simply a joke.

Seeing that he was somewhat tempted, Xu Feng quickly added fuel to the fire: "If you cooperate with us, not only will you be able to keep your wealth and honor, but you can also remove Tang Ke, this thorn in your side. Why not? Otherwise, once your act of offering your wife for personal gain is exposed, which side—His Majesty, the Empress, or He Jin—will spare you?"

These words contained both persuasion and threat. After hesitating for a long time, Zhang Feng finally uttered, "How do we cooperate?"