Chapter 5, with significant origins

"Father, why don't you have the authorities capture her?" Young Master Zhang cried out in grievance, "That she-devil was so vicious when she attacked me, it was simply an attempt to kill for money. Why don't you have her arrested and let her face the law?"

"Rest assured, young master," Zhang Shitou replied with understanding, while secretly pondering—if the young master wants the young lady, the maid should belong to me, right? Our young master Zhang then turned to the beautiful tigress, Xiong Hu, and politely made an inviting gesture, "Miss Xiong, please follow me. Once we reach the street, I will have someone hire a sedan chair for you"

This truly is a case of losing the chicken while trying to steal the rice, a significant loss. Young Master Zhang scratched his head in frustration and sighed, saying: "Forget it, let me consider this as doing good deeds. After all, her father is about to be beheaded and will be sent to the nine borders, and the repercussions for the young girl are yet to come. It is not worth my time to stoop to her level."

Xiong Tingbi? Xiong Tingbi! Xiong Hu is actually the daughter of Xiong Tingbi? I almost tricked the daughter of Xiong Tingbi into my grasp?" Young Master Zhang lamented as he knocked his head vigorously—our Young Master Zhang, although he graduated from a second-rate university in his past life, had indeed heard of Xiong Tingbi's name—a military genius of the late Ming Dynasty, who led troops under the guise of a scholar, causing the Manchu Eight Banners to not dare to cast a glance into the interior. If he had not been framed and killed by treacherous officials, the Manchu invaders might not have been able to penetrate the Central Plains, and perhaps he would have eliminated them outside the borders! In short, this old fellow's military skills might even surpass those of Yuan Chonghuan! And our Young Master Zhang almost became his son-in-law, a feeling so complex that words cannot describe it.

"Stop the nonsense. If you don't go, I will have someone make your backside bloom right now!" Young Master Zhang threatened directly. Knowing Young Master Zhang's bear-like temper, Zhang Shitou, feeling helpless, had no choice but to assist Young Master Zhang in changing his clothes. Young Master Zhang was also afraid that his mother would find out, so he took some silver and the spring palace painting fan that the previous Young Master Zhang never parted with, leading Zhang Shitou to climb out of the window and sneak out of the house.

"Father, I am in pain." Young Master Zhang recognized the identity of this big fat man from his ex's memories, groaning and whining in response—this was not a display of affection from Young Master Zhang. That beautiful tigress, Xiong Hu, seemed to have practiced some formidable skills, leaving our Young Master Zhang still feeling a splitting headache and pain all over his body.

"Young Master, you truly are a great person." To everyone's surprise, the Young Master did not fly into a rage. Zhang Shitou, who had grown up alongside Young Master Zhang, was somewhat astonished. However, what surprised Zhang Shitou even more was another matter. After flattering him, he inquired further: "Young Master, why did you say her father is about to be beheaded? And that her father is to be sent to the Nine Borders?"

"Young Master, you were truly in a perilous situation at that time," Zhang Shitou sighed and then recounted the events of that day in detail. It turned out that after Zhang, the young master, was knocked unconscious by the beautiful tigress Xiong Hu, she, fearing that it might lead to a fatal incident, voluntarily ceased her actions, allowing Zhang to escape with his life. Later, Zhang Laocai and the magistrate of Linqing County rushed to the scene upon hearing the news. Initially, upon seeing his only son in such a state, Zhang Laocai pressured the magistrate to seek revenge. However, Xiong Hu revealed her identity, invoking the name of her father, Xiong Tingbi, the Minister of War, to intimidate them. This revelation frightened the magistrate of Linqing County so much that he hurriedly released the people involved, and it also deterred Zhang Laocai from pursuing the matter further. Xiong Hu then hired another boat to transport her deceased mother’s coffin to Beijing. What frustrated our young master Zhang the most was that the silver used to hire the boat was actually the funeral offering he had sent to Xiong Hu.

... ...

"Xiong Hu? So this beautiful young lady is named Xiong Hu." Our Young Master Zhang felt a surge of joy in his heart and hurriedly shouted to Zhang Shitou, "Shitou, immediately tell them to carry the old lady's coffin to our residence in the south of the city, and give them a generous reward! Also, instruct the servants there to prepare three sacrificial offerings and a fine banquet to welcome the old lady's coffin and Miss Xiong Hu."

"Xiong Tingbi?" Young Master Zhang suddenly sat up, his eyes wide with astonishment as he exclaimed: "She is the daughter of Xiong Tingbi? The very same Xiong Tingbi who once served as the Governor of Liaodong and defeated Nurhaci several times?"

"Going out?" Zhang Shitou was first taken aback, then shocked, and hurriedly advised, "Young Master, your illness has not fully recovered. It is best not to move around recklessly; otherwise, if the Master finds out, I will be in serious trouble."

However, upon seeing Young Master Zhang awaken, the eleven mothers who had just been crying inconsolably were either weeping tears of joy or exclaiming in delight, each one shouting and celebrating with great joy. Even Zhang Laocai, who had just been cursing and swearing that he would settle accounts with his son once he woke up, was now wearing a satisfied smile. He hurriedly pushed aside his ten or so wives and crawled to his son's side, excitedly saying: "Little Ancestor, you have finally awakened. I was almost driven to despair waiting for you. How are you now? Does it still hurt?"

"Yes, that's him." Zhang Laocai nodded in surprise, thinking to himself that his foolish son actually knew the title of the Liaodong Regional Commander and was aware of Xiong Tingbi and Nurhaci—could it be that the ancestors are showing their divine favor, allowing this foolish son of mine to gain some insight?

At this point, it can be said that our Young Master Zhang has basically secured victory. As long as he can lure the beautiful tigress Xiong Hu into his home and then feed her some exquisite dishes and tea laced with special ingredients, our Young Master Zhang will be able to enjoy the company of a stunning beauty tonight, and he can also collect gambling debts from a group of his dubious friends, reaping both wealth and pleasure. However, fate does not always align with one's wishes. At this moment, the two brothers Wu Qing and Wu Zhi, who have always been at odds with our Young Master Zhang, suddenly appeared from who knows where. Wu Qing pointed at our Young Master Zhang and shouted, "Zhang Dog Shao, are you trying to lure the young lady into your home to drug her again?"

Thank you, Young Master Zhang, but there is no need for the sedan chair. Xuangu's face turned crimson, and she shyly followed behind Young Master Zhang.

"Father, what about that beautiful tigress? The one that hit me at the dock." After taking a couple of sips of water to regain his composure, our young master Zhang immediately recalled the beautiful tigress that had knocked him unconscious. Upon hearing this, Zhang Laocai was furious and couldn't help but scold, "You scoundrel! What time is it? You are still thinking about women? She left! She knocked you out yesterday and then just walked away!"

Zhang, the young master, was so furious that his nose nearly crinkled. He thought to himself, "Here I am, suffering a headache over how to save Xiong Tingbi, and you want to find monks and Taoists to perform rituals for him, cursing him to die early?" However, just as Zhang was about to unleash a torrent of curses, he suddenly remembered something. He mused, "Indeed! Since I have no way of knowing whether the story of Zhang Haogu is true or not, I might as well go out to find a fortune teller. If a fortune teller really says that I will rank among the top three in the imperial examination, wouldn’t that prove that the story is true?" With this thought, Zhang leaped out of bed and shouted, "Shitou, help me get dressed; we are going out to stroll around the streets."

Do you want to know who the fraudster is that predicted fortune for our young master Zhang? Please see the next chapter

"Young Master, Young Master," Zhang Shitou called softly from outside the window, pulling Zhang Dashao back from his deep thoughts. Zhang Dashao replied irritably, "What are you howling about? If you have something to say, come in and speak!"

Mother, what is the background of that fierce woman? Even our Zhang family cannot provoke her?" Young Master Zhang was somewhat confused—although the Zhang family was not a family of officials, they had plenty of gold and silver, and it should be easy to make the county magistrate bow to them. Young Master Zhang's mother cried and scolded: "That damned little vixen is the daughter of the former Minister of War of the court. Although her father is now in prison for committing a crime, a dead camel is still bigger than a horse, so the county magistrate of Lingqing does not dare to arrest her at all. Your father has no way to do anything and can only watch her leave helplessly. That damned county magistrate, who usually takes advantage of our family, is now even more cowardly than a woman!" Young Master Zhang's mother cried and scolded: "That damned little vixen is the daughter of the former Minister of War of the court. Although her father is now in prison for committing a crime, a dead camel is still bigger than a horse, so the county magistrate of Lingqing does not dare to arrest her at all. Your father has no way to do anything and can only watch her leave helplessly. That damned county magistrate, who usually takes advantage of our family, is now even more cowardly than a woman!"

"Kong Tingbi." Zhang Laocai replied through gritted teeth

Is this story true? Did the Ming Dynasty really have a chancellor named Zhang Haogu? Young Master Zhang carefully flipped through the meager historical knowledge in his mind, but after much searching, he sadly and dejectedly discovered that all he knew about that era was that there was a powerful eunuch named Wei Zhongxian in the court, and he did not even know who the current chancellor was... Of course, if our Young Master Zhang had known that the Ming Dynasty had not appointed a chancellor since Hu Weiyong, he would have been even more dejected...

Sigh, if only I had some relatives in the court. Young Master Zhang sighed, regretting that he had not sought the son of a powerful official in the court to borrow a corpse for resurrection; otherwise, he would not be in a position of wealth without power as he is now. However, at this thought, our Young Master Zhang naturally recalled the story of Zhang Haogu—enticed by a greedy fortune teller, he foolishly rushed to the capital to take the imperial examination, accidentally colliding with the horse of Wei Zhongxian, who was a powerful figure, and nearly faced execution. Yet, by a twist of fate, he was unexpectedly sent into the examination hall by Wei Zhongxian's people with a name card, and without writing a single word, he achieved second place in the highest degree, becoming a successful candidate. He then rose rapidly through the ranks, continuously promoted, and eventually, after Wei Zhongxian's downfall, he was promoted three levels, entered the cabinet, and became the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty! If this story were true, it would be much easier for Young Master Zhang to rescue Xiong Tingbi through the connection with Wei Zhongxian.

In the next two days, our young master Zhang lay in bed nursing his injuries, humming and enjoying the gentle service of the beautiful maid while contemplating how to rescue Xiong Tingbi from prison. However, upon careful consideration, our young master Zhang soon realized that his previous thoughts had been overly simplistic and naive. To rescue Xiong Tingbi from the jail, not to mention anything else, even if young master Zhang wanted to bribe with silver, he had no connections in the court. Moreover, he found it difficult to even find a place to launch a sugar-coated cannonball—after all, the Zhang family had only produced a salt official a hundred years ago, and since then had fallen to the status of a local landlord, having no ties with the powerful in the court. Attempting to rescue someone from the Ministry of Justice's prison was akin to climbing to the heavens. Furthermore, young master Zhang was completely in the dark about why Xiong Tingbi was imprisoned, who the treacherous villain that framed him was, and whose connections he should leverage to save him. All these matters left young master Zhang utterly clueless, making the task of rescuing Xiong Tingbi as difficult as a tiger trying to bite a hedgehog—there was nowhere to start.

With a loud slap, Old Zhang was furious and for the first time personally struck Young Master Zhang, leaving his cheek swollen. Young Master Zhang completely forgot his usual tricks of crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang himself. Old Zhang's eleventh wife did not cry or make a fuss with her husband; instead, she held Young Master Zhang's hand and wept, saying: "My little ancestor, please cause your father a little less trouble. That little vixen has a powerful background, and our family cannot afford to provoke her."

"It's nothing, young master, I am blessed and have a strong fate, I won't die." Young Master Zhang waved his hand generously and then asked, "By the way, after I was knocked unconscious by that tigress last time, what exactly happened? Please tell me in detail."

"It’s good that he’s not dead?" Old Zhang and his eleven wives exchanged glances, utterly perplexed by what this ungrateful son meant. Meanwhile, our young Master Zhang was grinning from ear to ear, his mind already calculating the possibilities—since Xiong Tingbi was still alive, it meant there was still hope for the Ming Dynasty. If he could find a way to rescue Xiong Tingbi and keep him safe for the time being, then when the situation in Liaodong became critical, the emperor would most likely reinstate Xiong Tingbi. Perhaps he could even prevent the Manchu invaders from breaching the pass or eliminate them outside the gates! In this case, he wouldn’t have to worry about being executed after the Manchus entered the pass, nor would he have to live the rest of his life dragging a pig's tail behind him. There was even a chance that Xiong Tingbi, in gratitude, would marry his daughter Xiong Hu to him. Not only would he gain a beautiful wife for free, but he could also take Xiong Hu and mold her to his liking, thus avenging the humiliation he suffered at the docks!

"Stop right there, you dog bastards! If I don't beat you two little brats to death today, I won't be surnamed Zhang!" Young Master Zhang was increasingly furious, almost wanting to tear the Wu brothers apart and feed them to the dogs. But at that moment, our Young Master Zhang suddenly felt a chill running down his spine, an invisible aura of killing intent enveloping him. As Young Master Zhang slowly turned around, he immediately saw the beautiful tigress, Xiong Hu, whose charming face had turned a shade of iron blue, her hands cracking her knuckles loudly... But at that moment, our Young Master Zhang suddenly felt a chill running down his spine, an invisible aura of killing intent enveloping him. As Young Master Zhang slowly turned around, he immediately saw the beautiful tigress, Xiong Hu, whose charming face had turned a shade of iron blue, her hands cracking her knuckles loudly...

"Shut up! Zhang Shitou, hit me!" Just as he was about to succeed, unexpected complications arose, causing our Young Master Zhang to become so furious that his nose twisted. He picked up a stone and charged forward, ready to beat up the Wu brothers. However, the Wu brothers, Wu Qing and Wu Zhi, who had intentionally stirred up trouble, shouted those two sentences and immediately disappeared into the crowd. The onlookers from Linqing, mostly aware of Young Master Zhang's background and knowing that he intended to commit an outrageous act, could only laugh silently.

"Is Xiong Tingbi still alive?" Young Master Zhang's eyes lit up as he eagerly asked, "Father, are you sure that old man Xiong Tingbi is still alive?"

"Hurry, someone, quickly go and call the doctor!" Zhang Laocai's youngest wife, who is also the biological mother of Zhang Dashao, screamed anxiously, her expression so frantic as if she feared that her wayward son would lose his life if the doctor arrived too late. The other wives of Zhang Laocai were equally anxious, bustling about either calling for the doctor or administering water and medicine, treating Zhang Dashao as if he were their own son. Although Zhang Laocai was furious with his only son for his reckless behavior, the fact remained that this son was the sole heir of ten generations, and thus Zhang Laocai was so anxious that he stamped his feet, nearly kicking the servant out the door to fetch the doctor.

As he pondered, Young Master Zhang broke into a silly grin, and before he knew it, drool began to trickle from the corner of his mouth, startling both Zhang Laocai and the eleventh mother of Young Master Zhang into a flurry of exclamations, "Doctor! Quickly call the doctor! My son's head has been knocked silly..."

"Pretty girl, you must not be fooled!" Wu Zhi, with a bruised face, also came to disrupt, shouting: "This Zhang Haogu, nicknamed Dog Shao, is a notorious scoundrel in our Lingqing City, known for luring innocent young women. If you enter his house, you will definitely be mistreated by him!"

"Miss Xiong, you must not listen to the nonsense of those two little brats." Young Master Zhang retreated step by step, stammering as he explained, "I am a good person, I truly want to help you, and I have no ill intentions towards you... Oh my! Helpーー!"

"Oh, I see now," Zhang Shitou said, suddenly enlightened, and with a sly smile suggested, "Young Master, why don't we do as we usually do—find a few monks and Taoists to perform a ritual, so that her father can be executed sooner?"

Evil begets evil; the scheming woman failed and was brutally beaten. When Young Master Zhang awoke, he found himself lying in his own bedroom at home, with his mother, the eleventh wife of Young Master Zhang, weeping beside him. His father, Zhang Laocai, wore a worried expression, constantly sighing and lamenting, cursing Young Master Zhang for his disobedience and mischievous behavior

The daughter of the former Minister of War?" Young Master Zhang shook his still dizzy head and turned to ask Old Master Zhang: "Father? Minister of War? That former Minister of War?"

"Not dead, but already sentenced to death," replied Old Zhang with a nod. Young Master Zhang, upon hearing this, was overjoyed and exclaimed, "It's good that he is not dead; there is still hope for this matter!"

The history book... Young Master Zhang originally intended to say that it was written in the history book, but realizing the awkwardness just as the words were on the tip of his tongue, he quickly changed his tone and scolded: "Fool! That old man was killed, and that beautiful tigress, Xiong Hu, lost her support. When Young Master catches her again, won't it be easy to crush her if he wants to? To roll her into a ball if he wishes?"

"Pervert! I will kill you!" The nearly enraged Xiong Hu displayed his might, leaping into the air and delivering two consecutive kicks to Young Master Zhang's back, sending the poor Young Master Zhang tumbling to the ground. Before Young Master Zhang could get back up, Xiong Hu had already mounted his back, raining down punches like a torrential downpour, each punch more ferocious than the last, each one more venomous, until our Young Master Zhang was left with a head full of lumps, crying out for his parents. Ultimately, our Young Master Zhang could no longer withstand the assault, and with a final kick of his legs, he fainted, foam bubbling from his mouth.

... ...

"My child, do not act foolishly and harm yourself. Do not be afraid, your mother and father will protect you." Upon seeing Young Master Zhang frustratedly hitting his own head, his eleven mothers and Zhang Laocai misunderstood Young Master Zhang's intentions. The eleven mothers held Young Master Zhang's hand, while Zhang Laocai advised, "Son, do not be afraid, and do not rush. I have already inquired with the county magistrate, and that old scoundrel Xiong Tingbi has been imprisoned in the capital's dungeon. He might even be executed this autumn during the trial. Once he is dead, I will immediately spend money to bribe the authorities to deal with that little girl from his family, to avenge you!"

Peeking in through the window, Zhang Shitou saw that there was no one else in the room. Only then did he climb through the window and, bowing and smiling apologetically, said: "Young Master, I truly apologize. These past few days, the Master has been in a bad mood over the matters at the dock, so I did not dare to come in front of him and others, nor did I have the opportunity to see you. Today, hearing that the Master went outside the city to check on the tenants' spring plowing, I finally dared to come and visit you." At this point, Zhang Shitou added with concern, "Young Master, how are you doing now? I heard from the doctor that that fierce woman hit you on the head, which might affect your brain."