The white-sailed boat sailed back to Suzhou City and stopped directly at Xujia Wharf in Humble Administrator's Garden.

Xu Fan actually went to the dock to greet him in person.

His younger brother had been held captive for three days, and he hadn’t dared to tell his grandfather back home in Songjiang.

After returning home, Lord Xu fell ill. If he knew about Xu Kun's affairs, and if he got angry and something happened to him, the Xu family would be in ruins.

Therefore, Xu Fan was anxious to get Xu Kun back. In addition to asking Lin Xun'an to help put pressure on Kunshan County, he also spent a lot of money to invite Wang Zhideng, the first talent in Suzhou, to go to Xishan Island as a lobbyist. Let's see how the surnamed Zhao can release him?

Wang Zhideng was a disciple of Wen Zhengming. He was a talented young man who grew up to be more and more successful. He was considered the successor of the Four Great Talents of Jiangnan and was known as the leader of Suzhou poetry.

Isn't Zhao Hao known as the 'fig leaf of Ming poetry'? In Xu Fan's opinion, these two people should be like-minded, and maybe the one surnamed Zhao can give some face to the one surnamed Wang.

When Uncle Xu, who was full of expectations, saw the talented Wang with pale lips, ashen face and disheveled hair being carried out of the cabin, he was completely stunned.

"What's going on?" Xu Fan saw that Wang Zhideng and his group's clothes were covered with mud and traces of water plants, and asked in astonishment: "Did you go to the Dragon Palace as a guest?"

"That's about right. Let a little brat... plant the lotus flowers..." Wang Zhideng said tremblingly.

"Ah? Zhao Hao threw you into the water?" As expected, the enemy knows the enemy best, Xu Fan hit the nail on the head.

"I didn't see Mr. Zhao..." Wang Zhideng said with a wry smile, "Just a little brat threw him into the water over and over again."

"That little brat is Zhao Hao!" Xu Fan closed his eyes in frustration.

"Ah?" Wang Zhideng's jaw dropped. "He's still a child?!"

"What do you think?" Xu Fan sighed speechlessly. It was indeed true that 'scholars are completely useless'.

Hey, why is this poem so annoying? Oh, it turns out it was written by Zhao Hao!

Bah, cross this sentence out.

"Then I didn't see the Second Master either." Xu Fan sighed in disappointment.

"I really saw it..." Wang Zhideng was about to boast about his achievement, but then stopped abruptly.

"What happened to him? Is he injured? Is he missing an arm or a leg?" Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Xu Fan's heart tightened, and he asked hurriedly: "Or was he tortured and covered with bruises?"

"I wasn't injured, I was just forced to work by them..." Wang Zhideng sighed.

"That's not bad..." Xu Fan breathed a sigh of relief. It was just some work, it would be a little dirty and tiring, but he wouldn't lose any limbs. "What did they ask him to do?"

"Pouring night incense..." Wang Zhideng's voice was as soft as a mosquito.

"What?!" Xu Fan couldn't believe his ears. "What are you pounding?"

"It's just like pushing a dung cart to dump night incense." The great scholar Wang sighed again. His mind was not much bigger than that of Mr. Zhao.

Zhao Hao had humiliated him so much, so of course he had to stir up trouble in front of Xu Fan so that the Xu family would kill Zhao Hao.

"It means emptying the toilet..." The attendant beside Xu Fan hurriedly translated in a low voice, fearing that the old man might not hear him.

"You're so talkative! I don't know what you mean!" Xu Fan turned his anger on him with a dark face, saying hatefully: "Starting tonight, all the night fragrance in the Humble Administrator's Garden belongs to you!"

"Ah..." The attendant fainted.

"Get out, get out now!" Xu Fan sent the useless Wang Zhideng away, then paced back and forth on the dock angrily.

He just felt his face burning, and his anger was so intense that he had no place to vent it. This kid surnamed Zhao was too unscrupulous!

A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated! How can the Xu family, the most powerful family in the southeast, allow him to be humiliated like this? !

If we don't retaliate immediately, where will the Xu family put their face? Just use it as a cushion under your buttocks!

Xu Fan finally couldn't hold back his rage anymore, and ordered his men with a dark face, "Send the order to Kunshan immediately, and start the action tonight! Burn him to ashes!"

"Yes!" The manager immediately took the order, boarded the boat at the dock, left the city, and sailed downstream along the Lou River. In more than half an hour, he arrived in Kunshan and conveyed the master's order.

~~

It was the longest day of the year, and just as dusk fell, the night watchman struck the gong to signal the start of the night watch.

"Water and fire are merciless, be careful of fire..."

In the big house at the end of Xitang Street, Goatee, Big Mole, Stutter and a group of people gathered together again to report their progress.

"I spent the whole day at the City God Temple today. As usual, five grain ships arrived at the dock, and two more ships went out to deliver grain to the embankment." Big Mole reported.

"It's been like this every day for the past half month. There should be 45 ships and 18,000 dan of grain stored in the warehouse. It's really a lot." The man with the goatee twirled his goatee and nodded with satisfaction. He asked another man, "What's the situation with the night patrol?"

"I've found out. The night patrol in Southeast City is led by Wang Bantou. He has sixteen white servants under him, who patrol in two shifts every night. They pass through the reserve warehouse about once every quarter of an hour."

"Well, a quarter of an hour should be enough." The goatee man pondered for a moment, then said to the man, "Take another ten or so people and hide in Fangjia Lane. If the patrol comes back early, or if the fire hasn't started when they come back, you should find a way to hold them back."

"Okay." The man nodded in agreement.

"How's Curry?" the man with the goatee asked the stutterer again.

"Ambassador Tang Pu Tang is going home tonight. Deputy Envoy Liu is bringing ten kuding to look after the treasury." He stuttered, "Already, there is already a kuding who has taken our money. He said that Deputy Envoy Liu went to bed early and slept until the fourth watch."

"Wait, wait until Deputy Envoy Liu falls asleep, then he will open the back door. Then, he will start the gambling. There is no one in Ku who doesn't like to play, and play for money."

"Then we'll take the opportunity to sneak in through the back door and set fire?" The man with the goatee couldn't hold it in any longer and rushed to speak for him.

"No," he said after a pause, "not bad."

Goatee rolled his eyes and thought to himself that he thought something was wrong.

"What's the right time?"

"Three, three o'clock in the morning."

"Where's the warehouse door?"

"Yes, I have a spare key." Although he stuttered, he was more efficient than most people. Otherwise, Goatee wouldn't have entrusted him with such an important task.

"That's good." Goatbeard asked if the kerosene and retreat ships were ready. After getting a satisfactory answer, he said solemnly:

"I just received an order from the master before dark. I will take action tonight and burn him to ashes!"

"Yes!" everyone responded in unison.

"Everyone, the master said that as long as you do a good job, you will all be included in the Xu family tree!" The goatee said in a deep voice: "I don't need to repeat what this means, right?"

"We will not let you down and will try our best to serve the Xu family!" A group of fake members of the Xu family shouted excitedly.

"Keep your voices down." The man with the goatee had his ears buzzing from the shock. He rolled his eyes at everyone and said in a slow voice, "Rest for half an hour and set off at the second watch!"

"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.

ps. This is the third of three consecutive updates.