Smack... "That's for scaring me outside Qingshi Town!"
"Ow, brat, let this official go!"
Smack... "That's for looking down on me from up high just now!"
"Ow... brat, let this old lady go!"
Smack...
"Ow... you little thief, let me go, let me go!"
After quite a while,
Ning Chuan had finally avenged the great grievance of Leng Hanshuang frightening him when they first met.
Ning Chuan sat grandly in the office chair Leng Hanshuang had just occupied, utterly pleased with himself.
"Women need to be handled with a big slap!"
"Female superiors need to be handled even more ruthlessly!"
If not for the moral restraints he had brought from another world,
Ning Chuan would have carried out some on-site business right here in this office,
And given Leng Hanshuang a "good-girl shot" while the iron was hot, making her completely obedient and docile!
Grinding her teeth, Leng Hanshuang poured Ning Chuan a cup of tea and sat down opposite him.
Her expression was resentful, and her hair was slightly disheveled. She looked even more like the girl next door who had just been thoroughly disciplined into submission.
She said softly,
"Now that you have joined the Imperial Guard, you should also understand who the Imperial Guard's enemies are, shouldn't you?"
"Please enlighten me, Lord Leng."
Ning Chuan adopted the demeanor of a subordinate and humbly asked for guidance.
Leng Hanshuang rolled her eyes at him, then continued,
"The Imperial Guard is directly under the Emperor. Its authority reaches the heavens, but it is also surrounded by enemies on all sides. The greatest of those enemies is the Han Family—the lineage of County Magistrate Han Zhang!"
"The Han Family?" Ning Chuan was puzzled. How could a mere lineage contend against the Imperial Guard?
Knowing that Ning Chuan came from the countryside and had seen little of the world, Leng Hanshuang patiently explained,
"The Han Family boasts, 'Three Dukes, Eight Orders, One Lineage; half the martial world and half the court.' Even the Emperor fears them immensely!"
Ning Chuan looked at Leng Hanshuang with puzzled eyes, waiting for her to explain further.
"The so-called Three Dukes means that among the six Ministers of the court, three bear the surname Han!
"Below those Three Dukes, countless Han Family descendants and retainers hold sway over government offices, forming a vast web of influence!"
"The so-called Eight Orders is only a rough figure. No one knows how many County Magistrates the younger generation of the Han Family has produced. This county's magistrate, Han Zhang, is one of them.
"Do not underestimate a County Magistrate. Every high official of Great Ming must have three years of experience as a County Magistrate!
"Once their term as County Magistrate ends, with the Han Family's power, a few years later they will become giants of officialdom!"
Ning Chuan sighed. A miserable, impoverished place like Qingshan County had actually received a princeling like Han Zhang!
Then Leng Hanshuang continued,
"The so-called One Lineage means that the Han Family is also a martial lineage. The Supreme Elder of the Divine Sect that protects the nation is surnamed Han, and the Divine Sect is practically controlled by the Han Family!"
"The phrase 'half the martial world and half the court' means that the Han Family's power reaches the heavens. Whether in the martial world or the imperial court, they occupy half the land under heaven!
"And this county's magistrate, Han Zhang, is the Han Family's princeling!"
After Leng Hanshuang finished speaking, her expression was grave.
"Gasp!"
Ning Chuan sucked in a breath of cold air.
"The Han Family is actually this terrifyingly powerful!"
"Are the Great Ming imperial clan all eating shit? How did they let the Han Family grow this big and this strong?"
Leng Hanshuang ground her teeth,
Ning Chuan had killed the conversation dead with a single sentence!
After a while, Leng Hanshuang said again,
"With the Han Family being this terrifyingly powerful, aren't you worried? Aren't you afraid?"
"Afraid? What I fear is trouble!"
Ning Chuan immediately recalled everything he had experienced since transmigrating: the attack on Second Dragon Mountain, the ambush at Eagle Sorrow Gorge, his younger brother and sister being captured, Ma Dayuan framing him...
That entire chain of events had begun after he rejected County Magistrate Han Zhang's attempt to recruit him!
Without realizing it, he had become enemies with a princeling like Han Zhang, whose power reached the heavens!
"Damn it, even after entering the system, I still can't lie flat!
"I can imagine it already—countless troubles will come knocking in the future!"
Though he was weak before the Han Family right now,
With his rocket-like rate of growth,
They were merely a private plot of land, planted full of Attribute Points!
The stronger the Han Family was, the more enemies they had,
And the more Attribute Points they could provide!
As long as he grew fast enough, the Han Family would be helpless against him.
Grow stronger. He had to grow stronger!
I'm a glorious cheat-user—how can I let a mere Han Family manipulate me? Wouldn't that disgrace all transmigrators?!*
A sense of crisis, urgency, and excitement rose within him.
Seeing Ning Chuan's expression change, Leng Hanshuang had thought he was frightened, and a flicker of disappointment passed through her heart.
Then, as though she had thought of something, she was relieved again.
Sigh, he's a country boy after all. It's only natural that he'd be scared stiff!
But shortly afterward,
She saw an excited expression appear on Ning Chuan's face. Where was there even the slightest sign that he had been frightened?
Leng Hanshuang thought Ning Chuan had been scared out of his wits and had gone mad.
Unaware of what Leng Hanshuang was thinking, Ning Chuan asked again,
"My lord, since the Han Family is so damn powerful,
"Why would Han Zhang come to a godforsaken place like Qingshan County to become an official?"
Leng Hanshuang's pretty face reddened slightly, and she looked somewhat unnatural.
It seemed either that Ning Chuan's question was difficult for her to answer, or that his language was simply too crude.
Just then, the door creaked open,
And Xiao Lian walked in from outside, contempt written across her face as she said,
"That dog Han Zhang, the County Magistrate, lusted after my young lady's beauty and chased her all the way here!"
Hearing Xiao Lian's words, Ning Chuan felt slightly displeased.
That dog Han Zhang is actually a simp. From Xiao Lian's words, it seems he hasn't succeeded yet!
No way. If anyone is going to root around in Lord Leng's cabbage, it'll be me.
Who the hell dares compete with me? I'll root around in his ancestral graves!
With that thought in mind, he hurriedly rose and saluted, a smile like the Big Bad Wolf's grandmother spreading across his face.
At a glance, Xiao Lian was the straightforward sort, easy to fool.
"Greetings, Lady Xiao Lian!"
Xiao Lian frowned slightly. For some reason, she deeply disliked the way Ning Chuan looked at her.
Damn it. Every time this brat looks at me, I feel like I'm not wearing any clothes!
Xiao Lian secretly ground her teeth, frost covering her pretty face. Reading her expression, Ning Chuan immediately changed the subject and asked,
"Lady Xiao Lian, may I ask what relationship Lord Leng has with the County Magistrate?"
As Ning Chuan asked this question, his eyes stared fixedly at Leng Hanshuang.
"Why are you asking about that?
"Don't tell me you're learning from that dog Han Zhang—like a toad lusting after swan meat?"
Xiao Lian looked Ning Chuan up and down with contempt, then glanced at Leng Hanshuang.
"That is indeed my intention!"
Ning Chuan's skin was far thicker than ordinary.
Xiao Lian looked him over from head to toe and snorted unhappily. "Hmph, you? You don't even qualify as a toad! It does no harm to tell you.
"My young lady and that dog Han Zhang share a hatred as deep as the sea; they cannot exist under the same sky!
"You were personally recruited as my young lady's trusted aide. Do not do anything to betray her!"
Upon hearing this,
The stone hanging in Ning Chuan's heart immediately fell to the ground, and a feeling of comfort spread through his entire body.
Good. My cabbage is safe and sound!
Ning Chuan hurriedly thrust out his chest and pounded it until it rang with smack smack, declaring with soaring spirit,
"Rest assured, Lady Xiao Lian. This subordinate will remain devoted to you and Lord Leng from beginning to end—from beginning to end!"
Seeing this, Xiao Lian's opinion of Ning Chuan improved somewhat,
And a slight smile appeared on her face as her view of him changed a little.
"You brat, at least you have some sense of responsibility!"
Beside them, Leng Hanshuang's pretty face darkened slightly as she heard Ning Chuan becoming more and more outrageous.
She gave a light cough. Ning Chuan and Xiao Lian immediately stopped talking and turned to look at Leng Hanshuang.
Once she had drawn both their attention, Leng Hanshuang's expression gradually became serious as she said,
"Ning Chuan, Han Zhang is petty and vindictive. Once he sets his sights on someone, there will be no peaceful end!
"The Han Family's power reaches the heavens. Killing you would be as easy as crushing a chick!
"I can protect you for a time, but not for a lifetime!
"For the sake of the great help you gave me today, I can give you a large sum of silver. Find somewhere to hide your name and live in obscurity.
"With your abilities, being a wealthy man for the rest of your life would not be a problem. Are you willing?"
After Leng Hanshuang finished speaking, she stared at Ning Chuan and waited for his answer.
Xiao Lian also turned her head to look at Ning Chuan, seeming somewhat nervous.
Ning Chuan looked at Leng Hanshuang, then at Xiao Lian, and an inexplicable anger rose in his heart.
These two girls are looking down on me a little! Sooner or later, I'll let you know what it means when the river flows east for thirty years and west for thirty years—never bully a poor young man!
But it had to be said that Leng Hanshuang was indeed speaking the truth. If it were someone else, taking a sum of silver and running away would truly be the best path.
But I'm a transmigrated system cheat-user, beyond the Three Realms and outside the Five Elements. That path isn't for me!*
Ning Chuan's thoughts turned, and he suddenly considered a possibility. Looking again at Leng Hanshuang's smile, it seemed to contain a deeper meaning.
Holy shit, this girl is too sinister. She's clearly testing me! After joining the Imperial Guard, how could there be such a good thing as taking silver and running away? If I chose to take the silver and flee, I'm afraid I wouldn't get a single coin and would still be despised!
Ning Chuan pondered silently,
If I'm going to survive in officialdom from now on, I'll at least become a leader! I must cling tightly to Leng Hanshuang's long legs!
Having made up his mind, he stood and said slowly,
"Thank you, Lord Leng. This subordinate is willing!"
Leng Hanshuang and Xiao Lian both showed disappointed expressions.
Then they heard Ning Chuan continue,
"This subordinate is willing to take the silver, but unwilling to run away!"
The two women were stunned. The tension in their hearts eased, then their eyes lit up brightly.
They could not help but grow curious, wanting to hear what Ning Chuan would say next!
Before you continue