Zhang Fang was relieved that he had managed to cross over just in time; if he had been even a moment later, he would have been thrown into jail!
Mu Qing was slightly taken aback, looking at Zhang Fang with a suspicious gaze. Both young masters of the Zhang family were known for their debauchery: Young Master Zhang Si was often in a drunken stupor, while Young Master Zhang Wu indulged in gambling, drinking, and other vices! It was hard for him to believe that these two were the ones engaging in undercover enforcement.
He Jiu stared at Zhang Fang in shock and shouted angrily, “Young Master Wu! What grievance do I have with you? Why do you want to harm me like this?”
Zhang Si’s reaction came a bit slow; as he figured out the situation, he suddenly burst into laughter, praising Zhang Fang, “Old Five, well done! No wonder you fainted earlier; it turns out you were stalling for time waiting for the officers to arrive! If Dad knew you did this, he would be thrilled!”
Seeing this, Mu Qing remained skeptical and took out a note, handing it to Zhang Fang and asking, “Did you put this in the magistrate’s office?”
Zhang Fang nodded seriously, “Yes! I know that these drugs are not good. After hearing from the Chunmei Pavilion that someone was selling them, I came up with this idea to bait them into exposing themselves!”
Mu Qing still found it hard to believe. After all, in his impression, these young masters of the Zhang family were all useless playboys, not the sort of people who could carry out such heroic actions.
However, Zhang Fang insisted that it was he who reported the situation, and Zhang Si said he was accompanying Zhang Fang. Indeed, the two of them did not have the smell of drugs on them, unlike someone who had been using them. When they had burst in, Zhang Si had effectively subdued He Jiu. The three of them did not seem to be in cahoots at all. Mu Qing could only tentatively believe what Zhang Fang claimed.
They released Zhang Fang and Zhang Si, only taking He Jiu away.
Zhang Si patted Zhang Fang on the back and said with irritation, “Old Five, can you please communicate clearly next time? I genuinely thought you came to buy drugs! This stuff is dangerous; if Dad finds out you’re using drugs, he will surely punish you! Fortunately, you were not actually there to buy drugs; you were luring them out. Next time, bring more people with you! Just the two of us, what if we encounter trouble and can’t fight them off?”
Zhang Fang stumbled and fell forward, and with that fall, he was knocked unconscious.
Zhang Si: ???
He kicked Zhang Fang’s leg and said helplessly, “Alright! Stop pretending! Get up! We’re going home to enjoy some new wine!”
But Zhang Fang showed no response. Zhang Si sensed something was wrong and crouched down, shaking Zhang Fang.
“Old Five? Are you really out cold?” Zhang Si was shocked, scratching his head in agitation, and rushed to find someone to help carry Zhang Fang home.
The sky was painted with brilliant colors at dusk, while Young Master Zhang had been lost in the comforts of his indulgences since the previous night. He had successfully won over two beautiful women, who were so precious that they refused to step out of the room.
Young Master Zhang Er frequently visited the casino, while Young Master Zhang San stayed there, bringing gourmet food to accompany him.
When the news of Zhang Fang’s accident reached them, Young Master Zhang opened his heavy eyelids, rubbed his bluish eye circles, and with a slight ringing in his ears, loudly asked, “What did you say? What happened to Old Five?”
“Young Master, Fifth Young Master has had an accident outside! He has been carried back,” the steward responded, flustered and full of helplessness.
The brief ringing in his ears made it hard for Young Master Zhang to hear clearly. He asked loudly several times until the ringing subsided, at which point he finally understood what the steward was saying. He climbed out of bed, completely naked, and opened the door; had it not been for the steward’s reminder for him to get dressed, he would have run out naked to see Zhang Fang.
Old Master Zhang was out conducting business and was not home during this time; Young Master Zhang Er had taken the opportunity to gamble without restraint. His emotions fluctuated wildly, alternating between excitement and anger. Yet he remained clear-headed. Upon hearing about Zhang Fang’s accident, he immediately threw the dice down on the table and pulled Zhang San, who was eating, to return home.
Zhang San was lazy and wanted to be carried back in a sedan chair.
“What do you mean by a sedan chair! Old Five is in trouble!” Young Master Zhang Er rolled his eyes in exasperation, dragging the over 200-pound Zhang San out of the casino.
Even when the casino owner tried to keep them there, Young Master Zhang Er would not give him any face. He hurried back home to check on Zhang Fang.
Madam Zhang’s health had been poor since giving birth to Zhang Fang, but she repeatedly told her sons to take good care of Fifth Young Master. Even when Zhang Si was only two years old, he remembered Madam Zhang’s words.
Thus, the older brothers pampered Zhang Fang excessively, giving him the best they had. Eventually, Young Master Zhang, charmed by beauty, led Zhang Fang into the dangerous world of indulgence. Young Master Zhang Er loved gambling, Young Master Zhang San loved food, and Young Master Zhang Si loved drinking. Under the influence of these older brothers, Zhang Fang developed into the kind of person who indulged in all vices.
“What happened to Old Five?”
Young Master Zhang Er, panting heavily as he pulled the out-of-breath Zhang San, anxiously shouted before they even entered the house.
Days of indulgence left Young Master Zhang weak; after standing in the room for a while, he became tired and lay beside Zhang Fang.
Zhang Si went out to greet them, helping to support the plump Zhang San and said, “Today, Old Five asked me to accompany him to buy something. We only discovered at the location that the seller was selling drugs. This stuff is no good, so I advised Old Five not to buy it. Can you guess what happened next?”
Young Master Zhang Er and Zhang San’s faces changed drastically; they asked urgently, “Old Five didn’t take that thing, did he?”
All of them had their own interests, and even though Young Master Zhang Er loved to gamble, he could control himself. But drugs, once one got involved, it was nearly impossible to quit! Therefore, they never touched that sort of thing.
“Old Si, why are you dragging this out? Quickly say whether Old Five took that thing or not!” Young Master Zhang Er urged Zhang Si with an impatient expression.
Zhang Si assisted Zhang San over the threshold and told them, “Old Five didn’t take it! He reported the person selling drugs! Today, he specifically lured them out! To wait for the officers to arrive, he pretended to faint to buy time! But unexpectedly, he ended up truly fainting after he fell. The doctor said his body is too weak…”
At this point, Zhang Si glanced over at Young Master Zhang.
Hearing their voices, Young Master Zhang had already sat up from the bed; his eyes were dark and appeared haggard from overindulgence.
After the doctor examined Zhang Fang’s pulse, he looked at Young Master Zhang’s pale complexion and subtly inquired if he also needed some medicine.