Chapter 1202: Clever Cao Wushang, Dangerous Zhang Family
The next day, it was still dark.

Su Mingzhe brought Cao Wushang to find Zhang Li and went to the county town to close the case.

The process of closing the case is a bit troublesome, after all, the matter has become a big deal.

However, after Zhang Li said that he could use his title to replace the punishment, the county magistrate thought for a moment and agreed.

When the three of them returned from the county town, the deeds to Zhang Li's house and land were all changed to Su's surname.

Fortunately, Su Mingzhe only took away the Zhang family’s house and land, and did not do anything extreme.

All the furniture that Zhang Li had purchased, as well as the grain, copper coins, gold and silver that he had accumulated, were taken away by Zhang Li.

Cao Wushang looked at the house that had been built in good condition and became empty. He felt a little reluctant and came to Su Mingzhe and whispered:
"Master, I see that rich man Zhang is full of resentment. I'm afraid he is dissatisfied and will cause trouble in the future... Why do you let him go?"

"What do you know? What I want is for him to not obey!"

Su Mingzhe looked at Cao Wushang who had a confused look on his face, and suddenly felt that what he said to him was like talking to a cow.

Then, Su Mingzhe remembered the original purpose of wanting him to be a slave, and immediately turned around and smiled:
"Wu Shang, do you want to be free in advance?"

Cao Wushang felt so uncomfortable with the laughter, but he still said honestly:

"Of course I want to be free, but now that the government has sentenced me to two years of slavery, how dare I run away?"

“No need to run away!”

Su Mingzhe slowly stopped smiling, his eyes started to grow deeper, and his voice slowly lowered:

"I heard that your cousin is now a widow at home. If you can introduce her to me as a concubine, I will let you go free. How do you think?"

"This one……"

When Cao Wushang heard that his freedom would have to be exchanged for his cousin's innocence, he immediately became unwilling.

But he didn't dare to refuse directly. For a moment, he could only lower his head and remain silent, silently resisting Su Mingzhe's shameless behavior.

Seeing this, Su Mingzhe couldn't help but smile coldly and threatened directly:
"Cao Wushang, I am discussing with you now. If you help me, we will be a family in the future. It will be good for you, me, and everyone else. Don't think that I can't take down your cousin if you don't help me. If I wait for you to take down your cousin myself, and you want to find a backup, it will be too late!"

Cao Wushang was not a tough guy to begin with.

According to official history, he betrayed his boss Liu Bang because he was afraid of Xiang Yu's power.

Now, under the pressure of Su Mingzhe, Cao Wushang could only bite the bullet and explain:

"Master, don't think that my cousin is a widow at home now. In fact, she has been with Liu San since last year. Otherwise, you can find someone else and I will definitely help you take her down!"

Facing Cao Wushang's plea, Su Mingzhe just showed a fierce look on his face and said sarcastically:
"It's because she's Liu San's woman that I fell in love with her! I'm asking you one last time, do you agree?"

"Master, how about...I go and give it a try!"

Cao Wushang looked at Su Mingzhe, whose expression suddenly changed, and suddenly guessed why Su Mingzhe would let the Zhang family go so easily.

After guessing the reason, Cao Wushang suddenly realized that his cousin might be doomed. In desperation, he could only "weigh the pros and cons and choose the lesser of the two harms" and agree to the matter.

After a while.

Cao Wushang was feeling depressed and came to the tavern at the entrance of the village. Just as he was about to push the door open, he saw a beautiful young woman coming out with a bag on her back.

When the young woman saw Cao Wushang, she immediately pulled him into the store in panic, and screamed in a low voice:
"Brother, aren't you a servant of the Su family? How did you escape?"

"I didn't escape."

When Cao Wushang saw his cousin, his face darkened. He stopped hesitating and immediately explained the purpose of his visit.

When the young woman Cao heard that her cousin actually wanted her to be the new pavilion chief's concubine, she was so angry that her face turned pale. She slapped her cousin in the face and said angrily:

"Cao Wushang, who do you think I, Cao Ziyun, am? I am your elder brother Liu San's woman. The man surnamed Su sent Liu San to jail, and you still want me to accompany him? Are you still a man? Are you still Liu San's brother? Why are you so cowardly!"

"Little sister, listen to me first."

Cao Wushang was speechless after being asked by his cousin. After a long time, he finally remembered the excuse he had made up on the way:

"We all underestimated Su Er! If he was only good at fighting, I wouldn't be afraid of him. After all, even if I can't beat him head-on, when Liu San, Lu Wan, and Shen Yiji come out, the four of us can still hit him with clubs and sprinkle lime powder. We can always find a chance to kill him."

When Cao heard her cousin say this, she was puzzled and asked:
"In that case, then you want me to be his mistress?"

Cao Wushang smiled bitterly and recounted how Su Mingzhe solved the grain theft case yesterday, and then told how Su Mingzhe dealt with Zhang Gongshi's family property.

After hearing this, Cao looked suspicious and said:

"From what you said, it seems that Su Er is quite kind and righteous. He only took the reward from the government and didn't take anything more!"

"what!"

Seeing that his cousin did not immediately discover Su Mingzhe's sinister trick, Cao Wushang simply exposed Su Mingzhe's plan and said:

"This Su Er is not a good person, how could he let the Zhang family go so easily!"

"I guess that Su Mingzhe let Zhang Li go so easily just because he didn't want to be criticized. Once Zhang Hong arrives, Su Er will definitely take action again. By then, without the protection of his title, Zhang Li will be a real bandit's family member. After Su Er captures him and Zhang Hong, he can confiscate his property in accordance with Qin law!"

"Is this Su Er... so sinister and cunning?"

Cao was also frightened by Cao Wushang's speculation. Thinking of her lover who had been sent to be a slave, she became anxious:
"Since he is so bad, he won't harm Liu San, right?"

"How could I know this?"

Cao Wushang sat on the stool and sighed.

Cao was also panicked.

Even though she could open a tavern in the village and control the place, her temper and personality were much more aggressive and fierce than that of ordinary women.

However, this is all in comparison.

In fact, Cao was just an ordinary woman. If she didn't have her lover Liu San and her cousin Cao Wushang supporting her behind the scenes, her tavern would have been ruined long ago.

Now, Cao Wushang kept exaggerating Su Mingzhe's cruelty and cunning, which frightened Cao and made him panic and at a loss.

Just when Cao Wushang was discussing with Cao.

On the other hand, when Zhang Li moved all his belongings to Zhang Qing's house, the villagers began to talk about it.

Weishan Lake's spies in the village immediately reported the news to their superiors.

At night, five figures sneaked into the village.

Zhang Li, who had not yet rested, was frightened when he saw his nephew Zhang Hong suddenly appear in front of him. For a moment, his face turned pale and his voice was hoarse:
"Why are you back at this time?"

"The Su family dared to bully our Zhang family. I am here to seek justice for our Zhang family!"

Zhang Hong had been a pirate in Weishan Lake for several years and had developed a lawless character. Whenever he opened his mouth, he was murderous.

"What justice are you asking for?"

Although Zhang Li was old, he was not confused. He pulled his last nephew over and shouted:
"Go quickly and don't come back anytime soon! Otherwise, our Zhang family will be in danger..."

"What danger? He's just a kid!"

Zhang Hong thought that he had been a pirate for several years and had seen blood on his hands, so he was not afraid at all:

"I came back this time for two reasons. First, I want to bring people to kill the two brothers surnamed Su to vent my uncle's anger. Second, I want to take my uncle and sister-in-law with me to Weishan Lake to live a good life of eating meat and not being restricted by the heavens!"

Seeing that his nephew was so reckless, Zhang Li wanted to persuade him.

Unfortunately, Zhang Hong didn't listen to his uncle at all. He bowed, turned around and went out with a few friends, running towards Zhang Li's former house.

(End of this chapter)