“Violating military discipline, committing violence in the streets – I’d like to see just what kind of miraculous words this brat can possibly say to turn this around!” Chen Qingfang slapped the window frame again, snorting coldly.

“What could a snot-nosed brat who hasn’t even grown all his hair say?” Advisor Shao chimed in with his own contemptuous remark, then sighed. “Ye Haoran’s martial arts truly are unparalleled. This boy is so young, yet already possesses such skill.”

It wasn’t just Chen Qingfang watching. Every eye on the scene was focused on Ye Kong, waiting for him to provide a reasonable explanation. If his explanation didn’t satisfy everyone, the next wave of public outrage would likely be even stronger.

However, Ye Kong didn’t explain his actions at all. Instead, he ordered people to go inside and bring out a large eight-immortals table.

No one knew what he intended to do. They all watched patiently as thousands upon thousands of people stared unblinking while the large table was carried out and placed at the entrance of Treasure Spring Pavilion.

“Liu Changqing!” At that moment, Ye Kong roared again.

“This subordinate is here!”

“Get up there!”

Liu Changqing now trusted Ye Kong completely. Without a second thought, he leaped onto the large table, feet shoulder-width apart, hands clasped behind his back, standing tall and proud.

“What’s he doing now?” Chen Qingfang frowned.

Advisor Shao shook his head, speculating, “Could he be planning to publicly punish his subordinate? That move could indeed resolve the immediate crisis, but it still wouldn’t change the nature of his public misconduct. In fact, it would raise suspicions of selling out his subordinates at a critical moment.”

Of course Ye Kong wasn’t punishing Liu Changqing. He shouted again, “Remove your shirt!”

“Yes!” Liu Changqing didn’t hesitate. He raised his hand, stripped off his shirt, tossed it onto the table, then stood tall and proud again with his hands clasped behind his back.

Just as everyone thought Ye Kong was about to publicly flog the man, they heard him bark, “Liu Changqing! How many scars are on your body! Answer honestly!”

The onlookers hurriedly looked closer. Sure enough, on Liu Changqing’s bare torso, black and white marks and spots were everywhere – the body was covered in all kinds of scars.

They heard Liu Changqing declare loudly, “Reporting stolen contentto Eighth Young Master! This subordinate has eighty-six scars on his body!”

“Louder!” Ye Kong roared.

“This subordinate has eighty-six scars on his body!” Liu Changqing bellowed in response.

“How did you get them!”

“Reporting to Eighth Young Master! This subordinate followed the General at age fifteen. It’s been thirteen years now, through forty-six battles large and small…”

Ye Kong roared, cutting him off. “How did you get them? Keep it simple!”

“Gifts from the barbarian enemy!”

The crowd erupted in an uproar. This was a hero! Words meant nothing – those scars covering his body were real. If these soldiers hadn’t fought with their blood, this place would still be grassland now.

A hero visiting a brothel shouldn’t really count as misconduct, right? The common people had never enjoyed any benefits from Iron Bailiff, but they had always enjoyed the stable ​stolen content​environment the Ye family army provided them. Where people’s hearts leaned was immediately clear.

But this wasn’t over yet. Ye Kong roared again, “Next one!”

Another soldier stepped up, removed his shirt, and stood tall and proud.

“Name! Rank!”

“Wu Weiguo! Centurion!”

“How many scars on your body!”

“Seventy-five!”

“How many barbarians have you killed?”

“Reporting to Eighth Young Master! This subordinate lacks talent and ​Read on Jormuntl​skill in martial arts. Through more than fifty battles large and small, I was wounded in every single one. In total, I’ve taken five hundred seventy-two enemy heads!”

“Wow!” Someone in the crowd gasped in amazement. No one laughed at the person’s surprise – they all looked at this military officer, who wasn’t particularly tall, with worshipful eyes.

When he first said something about lacking skill, people had been muttering to themselves, wondering if he really did lack skill, which was why he got wounded every time he went to battle.

But when they heard the number of heads he’d taken, they were instantly shocked. An average of ten enemy heads per battle – this wasn’t lacking skill at all! This was charging at the front, fearless of death!

Cangnan Continent revered the strong. For heroes like this who feared neither life nor death and slaughtered so many enemies, there was an even greater kind of worship. Immediately, the common people’s gazes toward the personal guards on the scene became even more reverent.

At this point, Ye Kong asked, “Wu Weiguo, five hundred seventy-two heads – you remember so clearly. Are you bullshitting me?”

When the crowd heard this, they thought, yes, is this guy bullshitting?

After all, there’s no proof in just words. Wu Weiguo raised his head and declared loudly, “Reporting to Eighth Young Master, the military merit register records it very clearly – five hundred seventy-two heads. If there’s a single false word, this subordinate is willing to offer up his head!”

“It’s real, it must be real – otherwise how would he dare guarantee it with his head?” The onlookers began whispering to each other again.

Then Wu Weiguo continued, “Ye Family Army regulation! Without slaying a hundred men, one cannot be called a Ye Family personal guard! Without slaying two hundred men, one cannot be promoted to Squad Leader! Without slaying five hundred men, one cannot be elevated to Centurion!”

When Wu Weiguo finished shouting this once, all the Ye family personal guards roared in unison, “Without slaying a hundred men, one cannot be called a Ye Family personal guard! Without slaying two hundred men, one cannot be promoted to Squad Leader! Without slaying five hundred men, one cannot be elevated to Centurion!”

Their voices rolled like angry waves, their spirit swept across the sky!

The onlookers also felt their blood boiling, their hearts surging with passion. Following Ye Kong’s shout of “Long live the Ye Family Army!”, all the common people joined in the roar.

“Long live the Ye Family Army!”

“Smack!” Chen Qingfang slammed the window frame hard, snorted angrily, closed the window, and sat back down at the table in fury.

Advisor Shao, who had been so pleased with himself just moments ago, couldn’t help but nod. “Seeking recognition through military merit – Eighth Young Master of the Ye family truly is remarkable!”

Chen Qingfang drank some water and also nodded. “This boy’s quick wit and deep scheming will definitely become a great threat in the future. However, we can’t do anything to him right now. We must guard against him carefully.”

Below, Ye Kong continued speaking loudly. “Fellow townspeople, you all have wives and concubines. Have you ever thought that the men of my Ye family army are also men with needs? When you’re in bed embracing your fragrant warmth in comfort, the soldiers guarding the border outposts are still standing alone in the cold wind, alert for barbarian invasion! Before long, these iron-boned warriors will put on their armor again and go to the frontier fortresses. Coming to enjoy a bit of tenderness – is that wrong?”

“No!” the people roared in unison.

“I invited them to Treasure Spring Pavilion to spend a bit – is that appropriate?”

“Appropriate!”

“Yet some people still want to stir up trouble and obstruct them – should they die?”

The crowd clamored in unison, “They should die! Kill them!”

“Send these bastards to the battlefield!”

“Send them to the palace to become eunuchs!”

Women’s voices were mixed in too. “General Liu, General Wu, you’ve been wounded protecting the people but suffer without wives or concubines. This young woman is willing to offer herself to you!”

All the Ye family soldiers were beaming with joy. The Lu brothers and their gang members were also excited beyond measure. This Eighth Young Master really was formidable! This time he made such a spectacle that even they felt like they wouldn’t be human if they didn’t visit a brothel. He made whoring righteous, made whoring natural and proper. Following Eighth Young Master from now on – there’s a future in that!

Only Iron Bailiff was so terrified his face had lost all color. Gone was his previous official prestige and arrogance, replaced by bowing his head like a chicken pecking rice as he confessed his crimes.

“Eighth Young Master, spare my life! This lowly one had eyes but failed to recognize gold and jade, and offended the military lords. This lowly one deserves death! Military lords, spare my life!”

Of course, Ye Kong didn’t kill Iron Bailiff. After all, he was still a court official. If he really killed him, that would be causing huge trouble.

Next, Ye Kong displayed high moral character by actually pleading on behalf of Iron Bailiff and the others. This action made the common people praise him even more.

After the morning’s commotion, the Ye family personal guards basically had no desire to patronize Treasure Spring Pavilion anymore. Liu Changqing, Wu Weiguo, and several others with officer ranks had actually found girlfriends on the spot and went off with them to meet their families.

The Lu brothers didn’t stay long either. They left first to reorganize the Dragon-Snake Gang members, preparing to rename it the Dragon-Tiger Gang. Ye Kong didn’t want to be the gang leader, so Lu Jun would serve as gang leader with Lu Yi as deputy.

With the Nine Dragons and Nine Snakes gone and Lu Jun and Lu Yi in their place, the gang members had no feelings of resistance at all. Their days would basically continue the same as before anyway. What made them happy was knowing their gang had a capable backer – Eighth Young Master of the Ye manor.

What? You don’t know about Eighth Young Master of the Ye manor? Then I really need to fill you in – if you don’t know Eighth Young Master of the Ye manor, you’re behind the times! Out of touch! You’d be embarrassed to call yourself a person from Southern Capital City!

Ye Kong had become famous. In just one morning, there wasn’t a person in the entire city who didn’t know about Eighth Young Master of the Ye manor. Everyone was talking about Eighth Young Master of the Ye manor. Even the servants inside the Ye manor couldn’t stop discussing him.

At noon, in the rear courtyard of the Ye manor, in Second Wife’s quarters.

Little Hong was giving Second Wife a vivid account of the news she’d heard, making Second Wife gasp in surprise repeatedly, constantly asking, “Really?”

“He really said that?”

“He’s really that formidable?”

“Of course it’s true! The household servants who went to buy vegetables saw it with their own eyes. How could it be false? Everyone’s saying the Ye manor has produced an Eighth Young Master who will definitely bring glory to his ancestors in the future.” noodles Little Hong fantasized about Ye Kong calmly handling the crowd, shouting orders like a great general. Her heart actually stirred, and thinking back to when Ye Kong had teased her, she couldn’t help but let her imagination run wild.

Second Wife, however, was pondering silently. “This boy – who knows what he’s been eating, but not only is he no longer an idiot, he’s become extremely clever.”

“The master is currently under house arrest in the capital. The Ye family may very well face a storm. Perhaps with this boy around, he can contribute some strength to the Ye manor, block some disaster. More importantly, even if this boy becomes successful, that ugly mother of his won’t compete with me for favor.”

“However, being so flamboyant and high-profile, he’ll definitely displease the new City Guard. This boy violated the master’s instructions before leaving not to cause trouble. I must reprimand him a few times.”

“But this boy has such a bad temper – he explodes at the drop of a hat. What if I criticize him and he throws another tantrum? That would backfire. His wings are hardened now. If I push him into leaving the Ye manor, that would be bad.”

Second Wife, who had always made driving out Ye Kong her mission, now that he’d displayed outstanding ability, had actually started worrying about him leaving the Ye manor.

Just as Second Wife was torn left and right, unable to decide how to handle things, Ninth Wife arrived. As soon as she came in, her face was full of anger. “This Ye Kong is too outrageous! He’s hit someone again!”

Second Wife smiled bitterly. “His temper really is bad enough.”