Chapter Ninety-Eight: Suppressing Zhang Rang (Requesting Collections, Requesting Recommendations)

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As for Zhang Rang, he remained in a state of extreme terror, unable to react for some time. The commoners nearby were all pointing at him with mocking smiles on their faces.

"My lord..." A household servant called out while nudging Zhang Rang.

"Ah!!" Only then did Zhang Rang snap back to his senses. His legs gave way beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground. He then looked around blankly, appearing as though his soul had not yet returned to his body.

The next moment, seeing the commoners around him all gathered and pointing at him, he was overcome with shame and fury, and roared, "You low-born rabble, get out of my sight at once!"

The commoners, naturally knowing how vast Zhang Rang's power was, hurriedly scattered in all directions and vanished from sight in no time.

Just then, a cool breeze blew past, and Zhang Rang suddenly felt a chill in his crotch. On closer inspection, he discovered to his horror that he had already wet himself. "Liu Yao, you little brat!" Zhang Rang roared inwardly. Setting aside the matter of Liu Yao having crippled his nephew, the mere fact that Liu Yao had made him lose such face in public was enough for Zhang Rang to consider himself irreconcilable with Liu Yao to the death.

"My lord, please get up." The two household servants each took one of Zhang Rang's arms to help him to his feet. But the moment he stood up, Zhang Rang began lashing out at the two servants with fists and kicks, cursing furiously, "Wretches! All of you are useless good-for-nothings!" He dared not seek revenge against Liu Yao, so he could only vent his emotions on these household servants.

The servants suppressed their anger, enduring the beating in silence until Zhang Rang had vented to his satisfaction and stopped.

"Hah..." Perhaps feeling some relief after releasing his frustration, Zhang Rang let out a long sigh. Suddenly, he called out anxiously, "Quick, prepare my carriage! Back to the residence!" It was only then that Zhang Rang remembered his nephew, who was still half-dead. Even though he guessed that Zhang Rong's fate might be sealed, he could not help but cling to a thread of hope, wanting to return and confirm it.

At Zhang Rang's residence in Luoyang, the moment he returned, he went straight to wash up thoroughly, scrubbing away the humiliation of the day. Then he hurried toward Zhang Rong's room.

The moment Zhang Rang stepped into the room, he saw Zhang Rong sitting there with vacant eyes and a wooden expression, occasionally letting out a foolish giggle, with drool dripping from his mouth. The imperial physician and the household servants nearby all looked at the approaching Zhang Rang with terror-stricken faces.

"What exactly happened?" Seeing this scene, Zhang Rang knew things were bad and bellowed furiously.

The crowd looked at one another, and in the end, everyone's gaze fell upon the imperial physician.

Having no choice, the physician steeled himself and stepped forward, gritting his teeth as he said, "I report to Lord Zhang: your nephew, due to excessive shock and stimulation, has contracted the affliction of a lost soul."

"Lost soul affliction... lost soul affliction..." Zhang Rang muttered to himself, his face a picture of utter collapse. Contracting the lost soul affliction meant the person had become a complete fool—that is, Zhang Rong would spend the rest of his life as an idiot.

Then a gleam of light flashed in Zhang Rang's eyes. He grabbed the imperial physician by the collar and demanded, "Then what about the rest of his body? Are there any other problems?" As he spoke, he glanced toward Zhang Rong's crotch. In his view, even if Zhang Rong was now an idiot, that was tolerable—so long as the precious tool for continuing the family line could be preserved.

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"This..." The imperial physician dared not speak, fearful that Zhang Rang's burning anger would fall upon him.

"Speak!" Zhang Rang roared. At this moment, he was like a rampaging lion; if the physician continued to hem and haw, the next thing awaiting him would be the sharpness of Zhang Rang's claws.

"Lord Zhang, your nephew's... that place is already a bloody mess. Even if an immortal descended from heaven, it could not be saved." The physician said hesitantly.

"Hahahaha!" Zhang Rang suddenly burst into maniacal laughter. With Zhang Rong crippled, that meant the Zhang family line was cut off. For him, Zhang Rang, to have entered the palace as a eunuch was already an offense against his ancestors; now with Zhang Rong ruined, he felt even more unworthy before his forebears.

"All of you, get out!" Zhang Rang roared at everyone present.

The crowd was more than eager to leave; staying any longer, there was no telling when Zhang Rang might kill them in a fit of rage.

As for what Zhang Rang said to the now-addled Zhang Rong inside that room afterward, no one could know.

It was not until noon that Zhang Rang emerged from Zhang Rong's room. He instructed several people to look after Zhang Rong, then ordered his servants to prepare the carriage and made his way to the imperial palace.

Within the palace in Luoyang, Emperor Liu Hong was in the midst of frolicking with several palace maids when Zhang Rang walked straight in. Given his status as a Changshi, naturally no one would stop him.

The moment Zhang Rang saw Liu Hong, he dropped to his knees at once and wailed loudly, "I beg Your Majesty to see justice done for this old servant!"

Annoyed at having his amusement interrupted, Liu Hong shot Zhang Rang a displeased glare, but still dismissed all the palace maids. After all, he still held the Ten Changshi in high favor.

"Father Rang, what matter do you need me to adjudicate for you?" Liu Hong asked.

Hearing this, Zhang Rang immediately burst into a torrent of tears and snot, sobbing, "Your Majesty! This old servant has only this one nephew! Yet today on the streets of Luoyang, His Highness the Eldest Prince actually allowed his underlings to commit violence in broad daylight, beating my nephew to the point of crippling him! The bloodline of the Zhang family has been severed because of this! I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of this old servant who has served you diligently all these years, to see justice done for me!"

Liu Hong let out a cold snort and said, "By your meaning, you want my son to pay with his life for your nephew?"

Zhang Rang shivered at these words, his eyes rolling as he viciously said, "I report to Your Majesty: His Highness the Eldest Prince's underling acted on his own; surely Your Highness was unaware. I beg Your Majesty to render judgment and have the one who attacked my nephew executed by a thousand cuts."

"Oh? The one you speak of should be a general under my son's command, a man by the name of Zhang Fei, I believe." Liu Hong said with a smile.

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Zhang Rang was startled and asked, "How did Your Majesty come to know this? It is indeed that dark-skinned Zhang Fei. I beg Your Majesty to see justice done!"

"But Father Rang, why is it that the information I received tells a different story?" Liu Hong said coldly. As he spoke, he drew a memorial from his sleeve and tossed it to Zhang Rang.

Puzzled, Zhang Rang took the memorial and read it carefully. The next moment, he was like a cat whose fur had all stood on end, cold sweat streaming down his body. It turned out that this memorial was precisely the one Liu Yao had sent to Liu Hong earlier, containing a detailed account of everything that had happened that day—such as Zhang Rong's utter disregard for the law, and how Zhang Rang himself had threatened Liu Yao. It also stated that hundreds of commoners had witnessed the events, making it impossible for Zhang Rang to deny anything.

"Your Majesty, this... I... I..." For a moment, Zhang Rang became incoherent, at a loss for words.

"Father Rang, do you think that because I have favored you all these years, you now have the audacity to threaten my own son? Had my son not had some capability, would he have been forced to yield to you? And then what face would the imperial family have left?"

"And that nephew of yours, this Zhang Rong—he spent all day using your reputation to commit evil deeds, and even dared to show contempt for the law in public. Is he not contemptuous of me? Of the entire Great Han? For your Zhang family to produce such a creature, it is already a mercy that he was not beaten to death." Liu Hong roared, releasing all the indignation pent up in his chest in one breath. All these years, Liu Hong had been suppressed, and this was a rare opportunity for him to vent.

Zhang Rang knelt at Liu Hong's feet, trembling all over, cold sweat pouring down, hurriedly trying to defend himself: "Your Majesty, this old servant was deceived..."

"Say no more." Liu Hong directly cut off whatever Zhang Rang wanted to say. He sighed and continued, "Father Rang, after all, you have looked after me for so many years. Let this matter be settled here. You remain my Father Rang. But if I discover that you go looking for trouble with my son again, then..." Liu Hong did not finish the sentence, but the implication was clear enough.

"This old servant understands." Zhang Rang gritted his teeth and swallowed this bitter fruit. After all, his backing was still Liu Hong; if he lost Liu Hong, then he, Zhang Rang, would become worthless. He did not dare to provoke the whiskers of the tiger that was Liu Hong.

"If there is nothing else, take your leave." Liu Hong waved his hand.

"As you command." Zhang Rang reluctantly acknowledged the order and turned to leave the palace. Though he could not take revenge, the hatred for Liu Yao in his heart was buried deep within him.