In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

Page 171

He sneered at the Sixth Prince's failure, even his sudden and complete defeat.

The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit!

They only look at the results, not the process. Undoubtedly, the Sixth Prince being confined to his quarters makes him a clear loser.

"Alright, the Sixth Prince's failure has also served as a reminder to me that the Zhang family is a tough nut to crack."

The granary was a heavily fortified location, riddled with traps and dangers. Unless one infiltrated, it would be extremely difficult to breach it from the outside. Furthermore, the Zhang family's defenses were exceptionally tight!

Dressed in a white lotus robe, the Holy Mother's dignified and graceful demeanor made the disciples and protectors below dare not look her in the eye.

"Holy Mother, why not launch a direct attack?"

"A frontal assault?"

The White Lotus Saintess gently shook her head. "Who are the Zhang family? Their defenses are so dangerous even from the side, let alone from the front."

"Holy Mother, since you can't deal with the Zhang family, why not drag them down with you?"

"Drag the Zhang family down with you?"

Upon hearing this, most people thought the man had gone mad.

They couldn't even manage a single granary, let alone the Zhang family.

Countless people have considered this plan, paid a heavy price, and ultimately failed.

"Your Majesty, the only direct descendants of the Zhang family now consist of a father and son."

Although the young master of the Zhang family is romantic and amorous, he is actually unfathomable and his character is even more difficult to fathom.

The head of the family, Zhang Yuan, has not remarried or taken a concubine all these years because of his business. If…”

"Honey trap?"

The Holy Mother of the White Lotus understood what that person meant.

If force won't work, then we'll use a honey trap, but not targeting the young master of the Zhang family, but rather the head of the family, Zhang Yuan!

As long as Zhang Yuan is dragged into this mess, even if Zhang Xiaoshan doesn't fall into the trap, he will absolutely have no chance of escaping.

Even though everyone's eyes lit up, they didn't expect this person to come up with such a good idea by taking a different approach.

However, this candidate needs to be carefully selected.

Although Zhang Yuan is not as difficult to deal with as that other young master Zhang, since taking over the Zhang family, no one has ever gotten close to him.

Not only does that old bald monk Juexin stay within three zhang of him, but recently he's also been joined by the two evil spirits, the River Fiends. Last time, the two of them actually managed to fight against Yuwen Huaji together; their strength is probably no less than that of the Ten Protectors!

The high-ranking members of the White Lotus Sect are divided into the leader, the Holy Mother, the Holy Maiden, the Elders, and the Protectors!

The leader was originally a separate figure, but in this generation, the Holy Mother holds the position!

Our Lady is the highest deity!

The Holy Maiden is the successor of the Holy Mother, selected from among the four disciples.

The two elders are in charge of criminal law, and their power is second only to the leader and the Holy Mother.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the four disciples of this generation are all outstanding individuals, and they essentially monopolize the power of the future leader, the Holy Mother, and the elders.

If the leader or elders also have disciples in the future, they can compete with the Holy Mother's disciples. In the end, the best will be eliminated, and if the loser is not weak, he will be demoted to a protector.

The ten protectors of the White Lotus Sect are all top-notch experts with different roles and extremely secretive identities.

This is the foundation of the White Lotus Sect over the past few centuries.

"He is indeed troublesome (King Nuo). I heard that the Zhang family has recently gained a new monk named Mingchen, who is a disciple of some South Sea Divine Nun? Does the Holy Mother know about this?"

A disciple of the Divine Nun of the South Sea?

Suddenly, the White Lotus Saintess revealed a strange look. When did she gain a junior sister?

Indeed, she is the disciple of the South Sea Divine Nun.

Zhang Xiaoshan's so-called fabrication may not actually be true; it's just that the person was too mysterious and has become a lost art in the martial arts world.

"Red Lotus, tell me more about it."

"Yes, Holy Mother!"

After Honglian turned back, she quickly brought back a scroll.

“Master, the origin of this Master Mingchen is extremely mysterious.”

It is said that the Zhang family sent two Hu women to the South China Sea Goddess for training. After three years of training, they came to the Zhang family for further experience along with the two Hu women.

They used to stay at the Zhang family's house, but then they moved directly to the new residence. It seems they've already gotten involved in the salary increase scheme.

"So, this Master Mingchen has never shown his face before? He only has a title."

"Not bad!"

This caused the White Lotus Saintess to reveal a strange smile, clearly an attempt to mislead people by using the name of the South Sea Goddess.

However, she still decided to test the waters, and smiled lightly as she said:

"In a few days, there will be a waterway association in Suzhou that will chant the Rebirth Mantra for the disaster-stricken people and pray for their ascension to heaven. Send her an invitation!"

"Yes, Master!"

Chapter 223 Returning to Suzhou, Speaking Frankly

A waterway ritual for the deceased?

New Mansion Villas!

Master Mingchen, who received an invitation to the Water and Land Dharma Assembly, was clearly there to expose frauds.

And the fight against counterfeits has even reached the Zhang family!

It was obvious that some people realized that Master Mingchen was an imposter, a fake nun, and therefore wanted to use this to attack the Zhang family.

It might even be to sow discord between the Zhang family and Buddhism!

However, Zhang Xiaoshan was quite interested, but he dismissed the Buddhist approach with disdain.

Without leaving the mountains, providing food, or sending any people, a group of well-fed monks now want to use this opportunity to solicit merit and spread their faith.

All he ever talks about is good intentions.

"Since they want to play, then let them play slowly!"

Zhang Xiaoshan smiled inexplicably, and everyone present felt a moment of silence for the organizer of this Dharma assembly.

Be prepared to be outmaneuvered by the Zhang family if you scheme against them.

At least every time Zhang Xiaoshan smiles like that, it's never a good thing.

"Perfect timing, let's go to Suzhou together for a stroll and relax."

Without hesitation, Zhang Xiaoshan set off immediately.

Still using the fishing boat as his vehicle, and after meticulous cleaning every day, Zhang Xiaoshan simply carried his bag onto the boat.

This time, the new government did not leave many people behind.

Besides Murong Jiu, the young lady obsessed with concocting poisons, medicines, and pills, Lianxing has not yet returned, so Zhang Xiaoshan can only recall his stand-in bodyguards.

As for the Sixth Prince's diet?

Having become familiar with the environment of the Sixth Prince's mansion, the stand-in would go to poison him at noon each time. At this time, the Sixth Prince was already in a state of despair, relying on the White Lotus Holy Water to keep his spirits up.

A jar of white lotus holy water can last for several months without being used up.

In addition, Zhang Xiaoshan also prepared a golden Buddha statue!

This 963-gold Buddha statue, cast with a total value of 500,000 taels of gold, was intended by Zhang Xiaoshan to be used for political purposes.

Scamming those high-ranking Buddhist monks is no easy feat; without a hefty investment, their skin might be thicker than a city wall.

Spending a fortune doesn't necessarily work, but Zhang Xiaoshan can ruin their reputation.

"Don't scratch here, it itches!"

"Wow, Master Mingchen, your..."

Mermaids swam and frolicked in the pool.

While admiring the graceful figures of the women, Zhang Xiaoshan used pure yin energy to condense ice shavings and make jelly pudding.

There was also a tub of ice cream that had already been made. Ice cream existed in ancient times, but the conditions for making and storing ice were very demanding, so only wealthy families could afford it.

Zhang Xiaoshan's ice cream even uses cream, jam, nuts...

Jelly and pudding require gelatin, which can be extracted from beef bones and fish bones.

Therefore, after a series of dazzling operations by Zhang Xiaoshan, several transparent and exquisitely beautiful jelly puddings were made, along with a papaya cream smoothie.

"Ladies, fruit pudding and papaya cream smoothie!"

"Thank you, sir!"

The creamy, jam-filled smoothie, combined with the refreshing and sweet jelly, makes for a moment of unrestrained, lively laughter.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoshan took out a piece of dragonfish meat and slowly chewed it.

These shaved ices have no nutritional value; no matter how much he eats, they will instantly turn into water and be excreted.

Even if it satisfies one's appetite, it cannot compare to the aroma of dragonfish meat.

"My husband, since we're free, let's play a duet of 'The Smiling, Proud Wanderer'!"

Huang Rong's composition is complete, but the guqin has not yet been made (bjbj). The ancient wood suitable for the guqin does not meet the reinforcement standards, and those ancient woods that are thousands of years old are not suitable for the guqin.

As for using jade to make a guqin?

It's not a simple matter either; the largest piece of jade that meets the quality requirements is no bigger than the palm of your hand.

Finally, Zhang Xiaoshan offered a reward of 30,000 taels of gold for the ancient wutong tree, which shocked many people.

The paulownia wood has been used to make the guqin since ancient times. Thousand-year-old paulownia wood is extremely rare, let alone ten-thousand-year-old wood, which is a treasure. That is why Zhang Xiaoshan asked for the sky-high price of 30,000 taels of gold!

Otherwise, even with ten thousand taels of gold, the person who possesses this wood might not be able to make the decision.

As for the strings, they are naturally made of silkworm silk, which is sturdy and durable.

Having slaughtered several factions, Zhang Xiaoshan certainly had no shortage of these rare materials.

Ding!

With his internal energy imbued with it, Zhang Xiaoshan's first sound was as lofty and distant as if it came from the depths of the clouds.

The music was melodious and serene, bringing a sense of tranquility to the soul. If one didn't know better, one might mistake it for the work of a great master.

Woohoo...

Then, the sound of the xiao flute rose slowly, carrying a sense of desolation and melancholy, as if it were a journey through a distant land.

The zither and xiao played with dramatic ups and downs, sometimes like a fierce battle in the martial world, their tones sudden and violent like a storm; sometimes like tender love between lovers, their low notes melodious and lingering; sometimes grand and majestic, their soaring and stirring sounds like a vast and boundless landscape…

This song, "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," is also one of Huang Rong's masterpieces.

"What a beautiful piece!"

Suddenly a loud voice echoed, which Zhang Xiaoshan found not strange at all.

On the riverside restaurant, many people stared at the man and woman playing the piece, never expecting them to be such a handsome couple.

"May I ask, Young Master Zhang, what is this piece of music?"

"The Smiling, Proud Wanderer was just a casual creation of my wife!"

Hearing Zhang Xiaoshan's boastful talk, everyone looked at him with envy, never expecting that Zhang Xiaoshan had such a talented wife.

"Young master, do you have the sheet music...?"

If it were a normal piece of music, they could remember the general idea after listening to it, but this piece was exceptionally complex.

"Haha, you are all scholars and talented men, so it would be useless for you to ask for the sheet music."

When my wife was composing, she thought of the hand speed of martial arts masters. Without the internal strength of a first-class master, she simply couldn't play the rapid and violent part, nor could she play the high-spirited and exciting momentum.

You are all proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, so I'm afraid you wouldn't remember even three or four tenths of what you heard.

It's not that you can't remember it, but this part deviates from the usual tone. Unless you are a master musician, you simply cannot play it.