After the interstellar female general died in battle, she transmigrated into the body of a dashing p

Zheng Zhian's expression remained unchanged as he looked at Lai Zhiwei with interest. "Not pretending anymore?"

I thought this person could keep up the act for a long time, but it turns out they couldn't.

In the morning, I just wanted to see what the prefect's mansion looked like and maybe use his help to rescue Xiang Ke. Now it seems I don't need to keep up the act with him at all.

Lai Zhiwei leaned forward slightly, his eyes filled with undisguised determination. He raised his hand and slowly reached out towards that androgynous handsome face, his mouth uttering the teasing tone he used when dealing with brothels, "So you like acting too? You should have said so earlier. Follow me, and I'll accompany you every day, no matter what you want to pretend to be."

Yuan Ming stepped forward, suddenly raised his foot and kicked him in the chest, his eyes filled with lingering killing intent. "Get your dog paws off me."

All of this happened in an instant. Lai Zhiwei had no time to react and was kicked over, rolling several feet away. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.

It was clear that Yuan Ming's kick was quite forceful.

The servants were stunned by this sudden scene. They stood there dumbfounded. How dare a mere plaything brought back by the young master lay a hand on him?

Seeing the group of indifferent cowards, Lai Zhiwei staggered to his feet and roared, "What are you all standing there for? Charge!"

Once everyone came to their senses, they swarmed toward the group of people at the stone table.

Zheng Zhian remained seated without changing his posture, and Ling Fei and Yuan Ming alone managed to knock down quite a few people.

This was something Lai Zhiwei never expected, and it further fueled his anger. "Useless! A bunch of useless trash! You can't even handle two people, what use are you?"

He kicked the guard blocking his way and said, "Go, go find the steward and call someone here."

"I refuse to believe that I can't deal with a few punks."

The person who was kicked darted out of the yard like the wind.

As soon as the man left the courtyard, he returned with the steward of the manor, and the influx of people instantly made the courtyard seem much more crowded.

Zheng Zhian glanced at them and saw that these people were obviously skilled in martial arts, and they were carrying finely forged iron swords.

She sat firmly on the stone bench, her voice cool and clear, "Since when have the guards of a prefecture been equipped with a configuration comparable to that of soldiers?"

"Heh, now you know fear?" Lai Zhiwei wiped the blood from his lips and pressed his tongue against his back teeth.

When the butler heard her say those words, his eyes visibly froze for a moment, and a murderous intent suddenly welled up in them.

This is not something an ordinary person could discern; even someone as astute as Ge Gao was unaware of it, yet this person could tell at a glance that their swords were different.

Clearly, their young master hadn't grasped the deeper meaning. The steward stepped forward, his deep voice ringing out, "Since this young master is a guest in our household, he should follow the host's arrangements!"

"Heh, what if I don't comply?" Zheng Zhian's smile was hidden in his eyes. He had acted kind and gentle this morning, but now he was putting on a tough attitude as the master. He was truly worthy of being a master and servant.

Before Lai Zhiwei could speak, the butler spoke first, staring at her with a sinister and sharp gaze. "Young master, have you ever heard the saying, 'Even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake'? When you arrive in Changfeng..." His gaze swept over the people around her, and he continued, "If you're a tiger, you have to lie low; if you're a dragon, you have to coil up."

"This is not a place where just anyone can run wild."

Zheng Zhian took out a folding fan from his waist, opened it with a 'whoosh', and gently shook it. "Really? I just learned about that saying."

"I'm neither a dragon nor a tiger, so I don't know how to coil up. I'd rather lie low. Why don't you give it a try and set an example?"

Everyone present knew perfectly well what Lai Zhiwei wanted to do by bringing them back. Yet, he still had the audacity to force them to surrender. Ge Gao bullied the people and acted arrogantly and arbitrarily. The prefect's son was even more greedy, and even the patrolling generals had to be subservient to him and obey his every command.

From this perspective, we can get a glimpse into the state of officialdom in Changfeng.

Lai Zhiwei pushed the butler aside and said, "Stop talking nonsense. Tie them all up and I'll teach you how to deal with them slowly."

He raised his hand and waved, and the guards behind him rushed forward.

"Kill the smallest one in the middle, and kill the rest."

The group of well-trained people responded in unison, "Yes."

The steward wanted to persuade him, "Young Master..." but seeing the unwavering resolve on his face, he swallowed the rest of his words.

The young master is currently in a fit of anger, and I'm afraid that no one but you, sir, can help him.

I just hope these people will know what's good for them.

Blocking the knife aimed at Yuan Ming, Zheng Zhian looked coldly at the arrogant Lai Zhiwei behind the crowd, "Ling Fei, grab him."

"Yes."

Ling Fei deflected the sharp blades thrown at him by several men, then stepped on the heads and shoulders of the guards, stopping in the blink of an eye beside Lai Zhiwei, a gleaming dagger resting against his neck.

"Stop it all!"

Everyone stopped and looked at Lai Zhiwei, but he stiffly looked towards the courtyard gate, where his father, dressed in official robes with a cold and stern face, stood, and shouted, "Father, Father... save me!"

Zheng Zhian looked towards the doorway and saw a man who was already in his forties.

Lai Hongyun, Prefect of Changfeng.

Lai Hongyun glanced at the chaos in the courtyard, saw the sharp blade at Lai Zhiwei's neck, looked away after just one glance, and said in a deep voice, "All of you, step back."

The group of people looked at each other for a moment, then put away their swords and weapons and left.

He looked at the butler who was standing to the side bowing, "You may also leave."

"Yes."

As the steward approached the courtyard gate, he glanced back and closed the gate, leaving only a few people in the courtyard. A dark glint flashed in Zheng Zhian's eyes.

"Can you release my son now?" Lai Hongyun looked directly at her, thankfully he had returned in time.

Ling Fei didn't move, but turned his head to look at his master.

Zheng Zhian lightly waved the fan in his hand, looking relaxed and at ease. "Doesn't the Prefect want to ask what happened?"

"It is truly an honor for our humble abode that you, sir, are willing to stay at our home."

"Is there some misunderstanding between you all and my son?"

"Misunderstanding?" Zheng Zhian curled his lips into a smile, but the sarcasm on his face was obvious.

It's unbelievable that he could say that, rushing here without even changing out of his official robes, yet now he's pretending to be ignorant when he knows the truth.

"My son may have wanted to get to know you because of your noble bearing, so he invited you to his residence. It was a well-intentioned gesture, but he was perhaps a little too excited and rude, which may have caused you to misunderstand. I really shouldn't have done that." Lai Hongyun glared at Lai Zhiwei and said, "Hurry up and apologize to Young Master Yun."

Upon hearing this, Danqin slowly moved to Zheng Zhian's side, looking at him warily.

Ling Fei's eyes flashed.

Lai Zhiwei looked at his father with great indignation, "But you told me to get that person out this afternoon, and now you're telling me to give this bastard..."

Lai Zhiwei.

Lai Zhiwei also felt a sharp pain in his neck, and hissed in pain. He quickly said in a muffled voice, very unwilling, "Yun An, I'm sorry." His father had scolded him for these people in the afternoon, but now his attitude had completely changed. What was going on?

Why not just call those people out and have them arrested? Why let this brat threaten you?

This doesn't seem like something an old man would do.

Lai Hongyun was in no mood to answer his questions. He turned his gaze back to Zheng Zhian and asked, "Young Master Yun?"

"Your Highness, surely Lord Lai knows what kind of person you are?" Zheng Zhian sat back down on the stone bench, put his folding fan aside, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a sip.

Lai Hongyun lowered his eyelids to hide the emotions in his eyes, then raised them again, his expression calm and unwavering. "I heard that a noble person has gone missing in Qingyang, and many people are searching for him."

"Judging from your accent, Young Master Yun must be from Qingyang."