The Glory After Rebirth [ɇÇ”Ÿä¹‹Å°Šè£] Chapter 115- 117

Chapter 115: The Burglar in Prefecture Yamen

If nobody intervened, those people might not survive after being taken into the Prefecture Encampment.

“We can’t stand by and let this happen,” said Ling Zhang after a few moments’ silence. He had had no original intention of getting any innocent people involved, but he needed to figure out a way to stop Zhang Chong. “Those people have already been taken to the Prefecture Encampment. If, while they are in there, the burglar who ‘killed’ Lu Kui committed another theft, those people will naturally be cleared of suspicions.”

This would also be a delaying tactic. As long as they managed to delay Zhang Chong for a couple of more days, he would definitely be too occupied with saving his own life to investigate the murder case.

“It sounds like a pretty good plan. What are you going to do?” Yuwen Tong asked him.

“I’m afraid common people cannot endure the interrogation of Prefecture Guards…” Ling Zhang said after pondering for quite a while. “I’ll have Wang Dashan disguise as a burglar and come to steal from Ling family. Ask that guard who went to Lu family that day to leave some more footprints.”

Yuwen Tong smiled, “It’s okay to have him leave footprints, but if soldiers of the Prefecture Guards come here to investigate, they will find the secrets in Ling family.”

Ling Zhang was vexed. “I got anxious and forgot about this. Then what should we do?”

Suddenly his eyes lit up. “I can just ask Lord Tao to do me a favor.”

‘Isn’t a theft in the Prefecture Yamen far more serious than it’s like in my family?’ he wondered.

“There’s no need to ask him for help. If by any chance you disclose too much, Tao Feng will guess the secrets of Lu family. Just send someone to pay a visit to Prefecture Yamen.”

“How do you plan to do it?”

Yuwen Tong summoned his bodyguard and gave him some instructions.

The bodyguard answered, “I’ll go there right now.”

“There’s no hurry. Wait until after Zi Hour (23:00-01:00).”

“Those people will be tortured if we don’t take immediate action.”

Ling Zhang watched Yuwen Tong in confusion. Yuwen Tong explained in a calm tone of voice. “Rest assured, I won’t let them die. They will only have to endure some lashing or something like that. It’ll be more favorable for us if we make this bigger.”

Ling Zhang thought for a while but raised no objections.

Late that night. In Prefecture Yamen.

Except for Yamen runners on patrol and those on night duty, most people in Prefecture Yamen were asleep. It was very quiet and all areas beyond the lighting range of lanterns were pitch-dark. Tao Feng and all his family members lived in the rear yard of Prefecture Yamen, which Yamen runners on night patrol focused their attention on.

A Yamen runner on patrol let out a big yawn. It was very natural that people felt sleepy late at night.

The patrol team had just walked past the door at the corner of the rear yard. The door was tightly closed and locked from the inside. There was nothing unusual about it and Yamen runners didn’t pay any extra attention to it. They all believed that nobody would be so bold as to steal from Prefecture Yamen.

However, something beyond all their expectations was going to happen on this night.

The Yamen runner, who had just finished the yawn, was just about to lower his head when suddenly he saw a black figure flash across the corner of the walls of the rear yard. He gave an instantaneous shudder and yelled, “Who is it!”

All others were taken aback and on the alert. “What’s the matter?”

“A black figure jumped into the rear yard. I think it was a person,” replied the Yamen runner who had seen the black figure.

“What? Let’s go inside and check,” the leader of the patrol team hurriedly said.

“Chief, the door is locked from the inside. We can’t get in,” another man said.

“Knock the door!” ordered the leader of the patrol team.

Two Yamen runners immediately grabbed the knockers and started knocking. “Anybody in there? Open the door. A burglar intruded!”

They kept yelling for quite a while and finally someone woke up and lighted a lantern. A voice asked aloud, “Who intruded? The door is still locked.”

“We saw someone jump inside from the top of the wall!” said a Yamen runner anxiously. “Open the door immediately so we can go inside and catch the intruder.”

The voice of the man inside went nervous. “Wait a moment. I’ll get Supervisor Wang here to open the door.”

Yamen runners looked at each other in dismay, worrying that the burglar would have been long gone when the door was opened.

“What if the burglar intended to hurt Lord Tao?” someone asked in nervousness.

“Someone run to the front gate and tell the guard to report!” the leader ordered immediately.

“Yes!” A Yamen runner rapidly rushed towards the front gate.

Soon some others hurried over after hearing the noises. “What’s going on here?”

“A burglar jumped inside from the top of this wall. We’re waiting for someone to open the door,” replied the leader of the patrol team.

Right at this moment, the door was opened and Yamen runners hurtled inside.

Tao Feng had already been woken up by the noises. Hearing that there was an intruder, he was shocked. “Who was it?”

“Your Lordship, that person was wearing night suit and moved very quick. I didn’t see his face,” answered the Yamen runner who had spotted the black figure.

“Your Lordship, I brought bad news. There was a theft in the vault!” Someone came to report in haste.

Tao Feng’s face went cold. “What were stolen?”

“Several pieces of jade ware that you purchased at high prices are gone!”

Tao Feng went furious. “This is unbelievable! A burglar actually dared to steal from a county official. Search the city! Nobody stop until the burglar is caught!”

“Freeze!”

All of sudden, a commotion came from the front hall, mixed with constant footsteps and yelling.

Tao Feng’s countenance changed. “Go and check!”

When Tao Feng hurried to the scene, the burglar was already gone, while all Yamen runners had a strange expression.

“What happened? Where’s the burglar?!” thundered Tao Feng.

“That person’s lightness skills are very good. I regret to report this to you, but we failed to catch him. Head Constable Zhao has taken some men to go after him,” someone answered, “and…”

“And what? Keep talking.” Tao Feng’s eyebrows furrowed.

“That burglar was wildly arrogant. He said… He said…”

“He said what!”

“He said that if Your Lordship kept investigating the murder of Lord Lu, he would come back here and apart from stealing things, he would also… he would also cut your head off.”

“Outrageous!”

Tao Feng’s face changed drastically, fury and alarm bubbling up inside him. “How dare a mere burglar threaten me!”

Everybody kept silent for fear of angering Tao Feng further.

“Pursue him. Send out more men to hunt him down. Nobody come back until you get him!”

“Yes, Your Lordship!”

There were a lot of noises in Prefecture Yamen, and Yamen runners also made quite some noises during the hunt for the burglar late at night. Though residents who heard the commotion had no idea exactly what was going on, it did come to their knowledge that something had happened and Yamen runners were hunting someone.

These days, there had been a string of crimes in Tanyang, and the murderer of Lu Kui was still at large. It had been a few days after the murder, and residents had just let down their guard somewhat when Yamen runners were dispatched to hunt a burglar at night. All people tightly closed their doors and windows, too afraid to go outside.

The city gate was shut. All Yamen runners intended to catch the burglar before daybreak when the city gate would be opened, but the hunt lasted a full night yet the burglar was still at large.

That burglar had tricked Head Constable Zhao and his men into running around for a whole night and they had actually been to every corner of Tanyang, but they hadn’t even once approached the burglar. Head Constable Zhao’s face was dark with rage.

What they found more annoying was that they could no longer find any traces of the burglar when the dawn was about to break, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Head Constable Zhao and his men searched every inch of the area where the burglar’s figure had been last seen. They even intruded into civilian dwellings but still found nothing.

“Damn it. The burglar ran so fast. He was literally toying with us!” said a Yamen runner who had been chasing the burglar all night with Head Constable Zhao.

“No wonder we had never found any clues to the identity of the murderer after investigating for such a long time. Head Constable Zhao, that burglar is a kung fu expert!”

“I thought that the murderer had already fled from Tanyang. It never crossed my mind that he’s still in the city. This guy’s unbelievably arrogant!”

Other Yamen runners were also very indignant and started cursing.

Face dark with anger, Head Constable Zhao brought his men back to the Prefecture Yamen and gave an account of the hunting process to Tao Feng, who listened with anger bubbling beneath the surface.

“So you failed to catch the burglar?” asked Tao Feng flintily.

“Please punish me for my incompetence, Your Lordship,” replied Head Constable Zhao with a sulky face, head lowered.

Tao Feng was consumed with rage. He had never expected that some burglar would act so boldly as to threaten him in Prefecture Yamen, which was an unmistakable indication that the burglar showed total disregard for his authority.

“Continue the investigation and bring me the burglar or see yourself relieved of your position!”

Head Constable Zhao involuntarily tensed his back and answered in a deep voice, “Yes, Your Lordship.”

As soon as Head Constable Zhao left, Tao Feng rose to his feet. “Prepare the palanquin. Let’s go to Ling family!”

After Lu Kui’s “death”, Ling Zhaowen had once asked Tao Feng to help him delay Jia Zhong and Zhang Chong and prevent them from taking advantage of this event. Though having no idea exactly what was going on in Lu family, Tao Feng had an intuition that people of Ling family knew something about it, but now a burglar had intruded into the Prefecture Yamen and threatened him right in front of him!

Early in the morning, Ling Zhaowen met Tao Feng and was very surprised to hear what had happened in the Prefecture Yamen. “A burglar intruded into yamen?”

Tao Feng stared at Ling Zhaowen. After he confirmed that Ling Zhaowen was not affecting that expression, his face grew slightly milder. “That burglar has never left Tanyang. Last night, he boldly came to yamen and made threats against me. Tongzhi Ling, do you by any chance know anything? Is the matter of Ling family really as simple as it seems?”

The night before, Ling Zhang had informed Ling Zhaowen of his plan. Ling Zhaowen knew very well that Tao Feng would surely become suspicious, so he had already thought of an idea how to deal with Tao Feng.

He feigned a shocked expression and then replied with affected grief that he didn’t feel, “Your Lordship, had I known anything, Lord Lu wouldn’t have been murdered. I just feel that the timing of the murder was too coincidental – I was about to be promoted to the Left Tongzhi, and Lord Lu was about to be promoted to the Right Tongzhi, but suddenly he was murdered by a burglar, one who was familiar with his study. I’m just worried that the burglar was hired by someone.”

“By ‘someone’, are you referring to… Zhang Chong?” asked Tao Feng.

Ling Zhaowen gave a bob of the head. “Exactly. Jia Zhong had always been coveting the post of Tongzhi. During this appraisal concerning official promotion, the competition between Jia Zhong and Lord Lu had been very intense, but regrettably, he still lost to Lord Lu. How could he have been convinced? In the last appraisal, after he lost to me, people of Jia family made several attempts to frame my family, which made it very difficult for me not to suspect Jia family and Zhang Chong of the murder of Lord Lu.”

Tao Feng had already believed Ling Zhaowen’s words. After all, Lu Kui had indeed died. Since Ling Zhaowen and Lu Kui had always been close friends, he believed that Ling Zhaowen wouldn’t keep anything back about the murder of Lu Kui.

At this time, Ling Zhaowen said through gritted teeth, “It never crossed my mind that the burglar has been staying in Tanyang all along, watching us as we searched every inch of this city. I can only imagine how many times he laughed at us. This goddamn burglar. Incidentally, Your Lordship, have you been informed that Prefecture Guards arrested several people last night?”

Tao Feng had been having headaches for a whole night due to that burglar, so he had paid no attention to this matter. Hearing that Prefecture Guards arrested some people, he knitted his eyebrows. “Who did they arrest?”

Chapter 116: Zhang Chong’s Suspicions

“It was a couple of men having kung fu skills that got arrested. It is rumored that they are under the suspicion of the murder of Lord Lu. They were apprehended last night and are now in custody in the Prefecture Encampment, but the problem is that the burglar has shown himself again, which means that those people were wronged. How they have been treated in the Prefecture Encampment is still unknown,” said Ling Zhaowen.

Tao Feng had a displeased look on his face. ‘Zhang Chong arbitrarily arrested those people but didn’t even have the courtesy to inform me?’

“I’ll send someone to have Zhang Chong release those people immediately.”

In the Prefecture Encampment, Zhang Chong had also heard that Lu Kui’s murderer threatened Tao Feng the night before. He instantly came to realize that Bai Jun had arrested the wrong people, and Tao Feng would no doubt hold him responsible for this.

“Bring Bai Jun to me!” Zhang Chong thundered.

Bai Jun was interrogating the couple of men he had arrested. Because none of those men made any confessions, he tortured them.

After being told Zhang Chong summoned him, Bai Jun was worried that Zhang Chong was eager to know the results, but he had got nothing yet. Somewhat anxious, he intended to delay the audience and resort to heavier torture to force those men into confessing.

“Deputy Commander Bai, Commander seems to be very angry. You’d better go there right now.” Seeing that Bai Jun had no intention of leaving, the messenger gave him a prod.

Bai Jun was surprised. “Angry? Why is Commander angry?”

The messenger sighed, “Word has it that there was another burglary in Tanyang, that the burglar even intruded into the Prefecture Yamen to threaten Tao Feng.”

“What?!” Bai Jun’s face changed drastically and it suddenly struck him why Zhang Chong got angry.

“Please hurry. Otherwise Commander might vent his anger on me, which I’m sure I won’t be able to survive,” the messenger pleaded.

Several different expressions crossed the face of Bai Jun consecutively. At last, he clenched his teeth and walked outside.

Unsurprisingly, Zhang Chong hurled a torrent of rebuke at Bai Jun and barely forbore from giving him a kick sending him flying.

Bai Jun broke out in a cold sweat. “I made a misjudgement. Please give me a chance to make amends for my guilt by meritorious service.”

“Make amends for your guilt by meritorious service? I’ll give you a second chance only if you deem yourself capable of catching the burglar. If not…” Zhang Chong looked at him coldly.

“I swear I’ll catch him!” Bai Jun hurriedly made a promise.

With a sepulchral look on his face, Zhang Chong watched as Bai Jun left the tent. He felt that all circumstances had been conspiring against him recently. ‘Originally, all people in Tanyang were afraid to disobey me, and everybody was respectful to me no matter how displeased they were with me, but ever since… Yes, ever since Jia Yuanling failed to frame Ling Zhang who afterwards retaliated, I keep having this feeling that somebody has been deliberately making things difficult for me.’

Even that fledgling of Ling family had dared to mess with him, and there had been nothing he could do to immediately sort him out. When he had intended to set about eliminating Ling Zhang, the murder of Lu Kui had happened. Originally, Lu Kui’s death could have been favorable for him, but the murderer had been at large all along, which was a humiliation for him. Those bandits had also disobeyed him at first, and he had had to risk compromising his big plan dispatching the heavily armored infantry to handle them. The emperor had turned his request down, and there seemed to be some secret forces at work in the capital city. Not long ago he had lost Jia Zhong who had always been his right-hand man, and Jia Yin had nearly got him into deep trouble. Now, he wanted to cut the Gordian knot and put a quick end to the matter of Lu family, but the operation was forced to stop midway…

With a deeply concerned look on his face, Zhang Chong sat down. Previously he had never done any careful thinking about this matter, but now he came to realize that this string of happenings were unduly coincidental. His intuition told him that there was more to these things than semblance suggested, but he had no idea where to start even if he wanted to investigate.

‘Exactly where does the problem lie?’ he wondered.

Before Zhang Chong could figure it out, the man sent by Tao Feng arrived and asked Zhang Chong to release the couple of innocent commoners, saying that their family members had already gone to the Prefecture Yamen demanding that the injustice be redressed.

Zhang Chong heavily smacked his fist onto the table and nearly broke it apart.

“Go and bring those men here. Send for the medic.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Zhang Chong decided to investigate the burglary committed in the Prefecture Yamen himself. He felt that this case was not as simple as it seemed either, that this matter might prove to be a breakthrough.

…

“Young Master, Zhang Chong sent the couple of men back to the city. He also had a medic treat their wounds and gave them a lot of money as compensation. Family members of those men making trouble in the Prefecture Yamen have been appeased and returned home.” Li Fu, Ling Zhaowen’s attendant, came back from the Prefecture Yamen and reported to Ling Zhang what had happened there.

“What about Zhang Chong? Did he go back to the Prefecture Encampment?”

“No. He’s still in the Prefecture Yamen questioning those Yamen runners who saw the burglar. Head Constable Zhao and some others who conducted the hunt for the burglar were also summoned.”

“I see. If there’s anything else, I’ll have to ask you to take the trouble to go there again.”

“It’s been an honor to serve you, Young Master. If you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go back now.”

Ling Zhang nodded and followed Li Fu with his eyes as he left.

Yuwen Tong walked out and said, “Zhang Chong probably has sensed that something is not right.”

“Do you think he’ll be able to find out anything?” Ling Zhang was fairly worried.

“The guard was in disguise and faked an accent as well. Besides, they didn’t catch him. Even if Zhang Chong intended to investigate, he won’t be able to find anything anytime soon.” Yuwen Tong was very composed.

Just like Yuwen Tong said, Zhang Chong had indeed asked those Yamen runners, who had witnessed the burglar, about the burglar’s clothing, accent, kung fu skills and bodily movement techniques. However, Yamen runners’ answers suggested that the person was nondescript, and Zhang Chong didn’t find anything of value.

“I’ve also asked them about these. That burglar is very cunning, and his kung fu is very good as well, so no clue has been found, but…”

“Feel free to say what’s on your mind, Lord Tao.”

With a somewhat concerned look on his face, Tao Feng replied, “It is rumored that a lot of Jianhu scum have joined the bandit gang on the Grand Mang Mountain. All those people are kung fu practitioners. Is it possible that the burglar is one of them? Has Commander Zhang ever been to the Grand Mang Mountain to investigate?”

Zhang Chong unnoticeably knitted his eyebrows briefly and said, “Of course I have. Unfortunately, bandits on the Grand Mang Mountain haven’t left the mountain for a long time. None of my men at the monitoring points around the mountain have never spotted any bandits coming out.”

“Are you sure there’s no omission?”

“Lord Tao, you may suspect me, but please don’t suspect my soldiers. All of them are dedicated to their duties. Speaking of duties, may I ask when Lord Tao will appoint a new County Magistrate of Tai County, County Magistrate of Wu County and select the successor of the Right Tongzhi? If Lord Tao has difficulty finding suitable candidates, I can make some recommendations.”

For an instant Tao Feng’s face was sullen. ‘Three job vacancies have popped up all at once. Is Zhang Chong bursting with impatience to plant his men around me again?’

“Maybe you should put your concern elsewhere, Commander Zhang. I’ve already had a plan. What Commander Zhang needs to do is keep your soldiers under control. It is bandits and bushrangers that Commander Zhang should figure out a way to handle. The battle on the Lee Mountain has proved that Prefecture Guards are powerful enough to eradicate those outlaws. Why don’t you continue your victorious pursuit and eliminate the couple of bandit gangs on other mountains as well? If you do that, people of Tanyang will be able to embrace long-lost peace, and I’m sure they’ll be forever grateful to you for your kindness.”

Zhang Chong had a flinty look in his eyes. “Prefecture Guards suffered heavy casualties during the battle on the Lee Mountain. Lord Tao saw our victory but overlooked those who died securing it. Currently, what Prefecture Guards need to do is recuperate and build up strength. Given that Lord Tao doesn’t have the expertise, it’s advisable for you to stop making suggestions.”

“Likewise. I’d appreciate it if Commander Zhang would stop interfering with my duties.” Tao Feng talked back immediately.

Zhang Chong flintily looked at Tao Feng, who looked back at him.

“Okay, then. I’ll make no further remarks. But Lord Tao, no good luck lasts forever. You should keep this in mind.”

Hearing Zhang Chong’s threat, Tao Feng remained composed. “If there’s nothing else, please return. I have a lot of official business to attend to.”

Zhang Chong coldly snorted and took his men out of the Prefecture Yamen. The moment he walked through the front gate, his face darkened.

If it were in the past, Tao Feng would never have dared to provoke him like this, no matter how displeased with him Tao Feng was, but now he had become so bold as to make confrontational remarks of this kind in front of him.

Three posts – County Magistrate of Tai County, County Magistrate of Wu County as well as the Right Tongzhi, had fallen vacant all at once. He didn’t believe that he wouldn’t be able to plant his men into these positions.

“Commander, should our men continue to patrol the streets in the city?”

Originally Zhang Chong had wanted to give a positive answer, but then something came to mind and he replied, “Pull out them all.”

“What kind of explanation should we give to Lord Tao?”

“Explanation? So many soldiers of Prefecture Guards died and even more were injured in the battle on the Lee Mountain. We’re terribly short-handed. Can you not see it?”

“Please pardon me for my stupidity, Commander.”

Soon, news that Zhang Chong had withdrawn all patrol teams came to the knowledge of everybody. Tao Feng was nearly infuriated to death by Zhang Chong’s shameless excuse.

“What is Zhang Chong trying to do? This is sheer effrontery!”

A thoughtful look flashed across the eyes of Ling Zhaowen who was standing on the side. ‘Zhang Chong suddenly pulled all patrol teams out of the city and also offered an acceptable reason. There won’t be any dramatic reaction of residents in the city, even if they have grievances.

But why did he do this? Last night, there was a burglary in the Prefecture Yamen, and early this morning, he withdrew all patrol teams. Does he by any chance want to see more misfortunes happen to the Prefecture Yamen?

It doesn’t seem like it. Zhang Chong has always been good at pretending in front of residents. It’s not like him to have done such a thing which has manifestly left him vulnerable to criticism,’ pondered Ling Zhaowen. It struck him that there was something else at work behind this matter.

Ling Zhang, who was in the mansion of Ling family, shared his uncle’s opinion. “Now that Zhang Chong has already fallen suspicious, by no means will he give up investigating. As far as I can tell, he is intentionally doing this to lull the ‘burglar’ into a false sense of security, and he will, without doubt, covertly have his men stake out the Prefecture Yamen.”

“That’s right. This concerns his own life, so Tao Feng will definitely continue the investigation. Since the burglar made a threat, Zhang Chong believes that the burglar will surely intrude into the Prefecture Yamen once again, so as long as he sends someone to keep a close watch on that place, he will find a clue sooner or later.” Yuwen Tong agreed with him.

“If there were really a burglar, his method will prove pretty effective. Unfortunate for him, there isn’t one,” said Ling Zhang coldly. Then he brought up another issue in a different tone of voice. “But people of Lu family might not be able to delay any longer.”

Yuwen Tong kept silent, which was a manifest indication of tacit agreement.

Lu Kui’s ‘body’ had been placed in the residence of Lu family for quite a few days, and his family members were under great pressure and might not be able to conceal the truth any longer.

“After my uncle comes back, I’ll pay a visit to Lu family with him and sound out Old Master Lu. Hopefully, they could hang in there for a couple of more days.”

Yuwen Tong nodded, “Okay. Certain parts of the plan are of little confidentially, which you may disclose to them, so that they’ll be slightly more assured and less anxious.”

“All right.”

After saying this, Ling Zhang bade someone to prepare the horse-drawn carriage with the intention to visit Lu family with Ling Zhaowen after he came back from the Prefecture Yamen.

Chapter 117: Brushing Past Each Other

Meanwhile, on the main road leading to Jiangzhou.

“We should arrive in Jiangzhou before noon,” said Wang Xingfeng.

After hearing this, Ling Xingzhong looked at the guard named Xie Shi, who had been assigned to protect them by Yuwen Tong. In an undertone, Xie Shi informed Ling Xingzhong, “There is a branch not far away ahead. We may take it and head for Yanzhou.”

Ling Xingzhong gave a nod. Before departure, they had consulted with each other and decided that they would part from Wang Xingfeng and others when they reached the fork.

“I’m sorry, my dear friend, but I’m afraid we have to take another road and go to Yanzhou first.”

Wang Xingfeng was stunned. ‘Go to Yanzhou?’

“Ur… Old Master Ling, did anything happen? Why did you suddenly decide to go to Yanzhou?” Zhou Gaoyi couldn’t help but ask.

“No more questions, my friends. We have some urgent business to attend to and must go to Yanzhou. Please pardon us,” said Xie Shi flintily with a sulky face.

From their departure from Tanyang until now, Xie Shi had caught the attention of Wang Xingfeng and Zhou Gaoyi many times, because Xie Shi seemed very different from other security guards. There was an air of sternness and callousness about him, which was impossible to ignore and also deterred people from messing with him.

Seeing that Xie Shi stated his stand, Wang Xingfeng and Zhou Gaoyi exchanged glances. “Well, Old Master Ling agreed to come with us to Jiangzhou.”

“I did agree to go with you to Jiangzhou. How about this? We’ll go to Jiangzhou after we return from Yanzhou. What do you say?” said Ling Xingzhong.

Xie Shi flicked a glance at Ling Xingzhong. ‘As far as I know, Childe Ling seems to dislike these two traveling merchants very much, as if he holds some kind of hatred towards them, but why does Ling Xingzhong seem to be unaware of this?’

“This–” Zhou Gaoyi wanted to insist.

But Wang Xingfeng interrupted him, “We got it. Then we shall wait for Old Master Ling in Jiangzhou. May I ask what kind of urgent business that Old Master Ling has to go to Yanzhou to attend to? Is there anything we can do to help?”

“That’s very kind of you, but there’s nothing we have to bother you with for the moment,” replied Ling Xingzhong.

“Then I wish you a safe journey, Old Master Ling. We’ll go to Jiangzhou first to await you,” said Wang Xingfeng.

Zhou Gaoyi intended to say something but eventually swallowed back the words on the tip of his tongue.

As soon as Ling Xingzhong and others took the branch heading for Yanzhou, Zhou Gaoyi blurted, “What is wrong with Ling Xingzhong? He agreed to come to Jiangzhou with us. Why did he suddenly want to go to Yanzhou?”

Wang Xingfeng said, “Stop it. Let’s go back to Jiangzhou and wait.”

“What is this fucking thing? All circumstances conspired against us in Tanyang. First we were rudely asked to leave by that Ling Zhang, and then when we believed that they had finally changed their minds, they decided to go to Yanzhou halfway! They are clearly toying with us, don’t you think? Maybe we should give up inviting Ling Xingzhong and find someone else to help us with the appraisal instead,” said Zhou Gaoyi angrily.

Wang Xingfeng frowned, “I’m afraid people of Ling family have never meant to help us from the very beginning.”

“Why did they leave the city with us if they had no intention of helping us?” Zhou Gaoyi was puzzled.

“Their destination should have been Yanzhou all along,” responded Wang Xingfeng.

“Ah?” Zhou Gaoyi was completely baffled. “Why did they do this? Were they really toying with us?”

After thinking for a while, Wang Xingfeng shook his head. “It puzzles me as well, but no matter what, we’d better not offend Ling family. Did you not see that security guard? He is by no means just a security guard. The look in his eyes was cold like hell, as if he once killed anybody.”

Zhou Gaoyi was taken aback. “Killed anybody?”

Wang Xingfeng gave a bob of the head. “If we had dared to stop them just now, he would no doubt have killed us unhesitatingly.”

Zhou Gaoyi broke out in a cold sweat. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Wang Xingfeng said, “Let’s go. It’s money that we are after. There’s no need for us to risk our lives. We should return to Jiangzhou first and figure out the rest of this matter after that.”

Scared by the speculation of Wang Xingfeng, Zhou Gaoyi made no further remarks and returned to Jiangzhou with Wang Xingfeng and their men.

Right at the moment when Ling Xingzhong and others took the turn heading for Yanzhou, another team brushed past them, galloping in the direction of Yanzhou.

One of those people on horseback was very arrogant. He rode in front of others and, when approaching Ling Xingzhong’s team, yelled, “Move aside! Get out of our way!”

Since Ling Xingzhong and others needed to keep a low profile on their way to Yanzhou and couldn’t afford to attract anybody’s attention, it was advisable for them to try not to have any disagreements with anybody.

Seeing that those people were so aggressive, the carriage drivers hurriedly drove the carriages to the side and made way for them.

Those people left clouds of dust in their wake.

Xie Shi, who had been slightly keeping his head down, darted a cold glance at the team of people and faintly knitted his brows.

“What is the matter, Guard Xie? Are there any problems with those people?” Yang Liuzi riding side by side with him hurriedly asked after seeing this.

All of them had been recalled from the herb farm and assigned to escort Ling Xingzhong and others to Yanzhou. They didn’t know much about Lord Yuwen, who was an honored guest, or any of his bodyguards, but during this journey, the air about Xie Shi had brought them into an instinctive realization of the difference between them and Xie Shi. Added to this was Ling Xingzhong’s trust in Xie Shi, which had left them thinking highly of Xie Shi all along.

“Nothing. Keep heading for Yanzhou. If we encounter that team again, try to stay away from them,” replied Xie Shi.

Yang Liuzi, who had become somewhat wary of that group of people after hearing this, said, “Okay.”

At noon, they arrived in a small town of Yanzhou and found themselves an inn.

The inn was very small and also rather far away from the town center, so there were few customers. The inn-keeper was very happy to see people of Ling family and received them with warm hospitality. “Greetings, Master. Is it accommodations or a meal that you are seeking?”

“A meal. Please prepare some food for us,” a personal servant of Ling Xingzhong told the inn-keeper.

The inn-keeper was somewhat confused. He had thought that these people would spend the night in his inn. Unexpectedly, they were just here to have a meal.

He could see it a mile off that these people were visitors from the south, the likes of whom would, ordinarily, check into the large inn on the main street after entering this town. Only when there were no rooms available in the large inn would they come to his inn to seek accommodations. If these people just wanted a meal, any restaurant on the main street was a better alternative for them than his inn.

The inn-keeper couldn’t help mumbling in his mind, but he was not a fool who would say no to money, so he didn’t show any suspicion on his face but just hurriedly bade the waiter to tell the chef to prepare food.

When the meal was ready, Xie Shi was gone.

Yang Liuzi and others were somewhat dismayed, having no idea how he suddenly came to disappear. They didn’t even notice when he had left. ‘He’s indeed a kung fu expert!’ he exclaimed in his mind.

Xie Shi, the kung fu expert that Yang Liuzi thought he was, had scouted all of the several large inns and restaurants in the town, and eventually located the targets. They were in a restaurant.

Those people paid for a private room. The door was closed and there were two guards on duty at the doorway.

“… Second Young Master, why did Marshal suddenly want you to leave Tanyang? We had already received your message and were about to enter the city,” said one of the men.

An angry snort was heard. Then someone replied, “Who the fuck knows? It was already unlucky enough of me to have been spotted by him, and now he even evicted me from Tanyang. The task my father assigned me still stands unfinished. You think I’m willing to return to the capital city like this?”

“Then, what does Second Young Master plan to do?”

“Going back to Tanyang is not a choice for the moment. Who knows what that maniac is going to do?” said Yuwen Qi in an indignant tone of voice. Though bitterly unreconciled to the situation, he didn’t dare to rashly challenge the authority of Yuwen Tong.

“But what about Ling family? Master wants us to do whatever we can to have people of Ling family call off the engagement on their own account.”

“Currently, Ling Zhang is under his protection and my hands are tied. I have to switch to a different target,” said Yuwen Qi in a fidgety tone of voice.

“Who?”

“Ling Xingzhong. He was the one who concluded the marriage contract with my father. If he objects, Ling Zhang will definitely listen to him.”

“But Marshal is living in the residence of Ling family. What should we do to prevent Marshal from making contact with Ling Xingzhong?”

Yuwen Qi paced up and down in the room for a while and eventually replied, “Have someone deliver a letter to Ling Xingzhong. Invite him to somewhere and talk about this. Do it yourself. I cannot go back to Tanyang for the moment, so you’re on your own. Don’t be spotted by him again.”

“Yes, Second Young Master. I’ll go back to Tanyang right now. You may just stay in this town. I’ll keep you informed of any developments.”

“So be it.”

After eavesdropping on their conversation, Xie Shi left with a cold face.

“Guard Xie is back. Where have you been?” Yang Liuzi asked Xie Shi the moment he returned to the inn.

Xie Shi flicked a glance at him and then said to Ling Xingzhong, “Lord Ling, after this meal, we should leave here immediately without any delay.”

Seeing the serious look on his face, Ling Xingzhong couldn’t help but ask, “Is there a problem?”

Xie Shi shook his head. “I must escort you, your wife and your youngest son to Yanzhou where it’s safe. And I’m perturbed because the job stands undone.”

Ling Xingzhong believed him and nodded. “All right. Then we depart after the meal.”

But Yang Liuzi felt that there was more to this matter than what Xie Shi had just said. He had an intuition that this had something to do with the group of people they had met on their way to this town.

After the meal, Ling Xingzhong and others got on the carriages. While riding side by side with Xie Shi, Yang Liuzi asked him, “Guard Xie, is the team we met halfway in this town as well?”

Xie Shi cast a glance at him and grunted, “Yeah.”

Yang Liuzi asked nervously, “Who are they?”

Xie Shi replied in a bland tone of voice, “Just a bunch of loafers. Yuan… Marshal will sort them out. We can just ignore them and keep going.”

Yang Liuzi had only a vague notion of this matter, but when he persisted with his questioning, Xie Shi made no further reply, which made Yang Liuzi very confused.

The group of people soon left the town heading directly in the direction of Yanzhou.

At the same time, a couple of Yuwen Qi’s men departed from a large inn in the town going back to Tanyang.

In Tanyang, Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowen had just returned from the residence of Lu family.

Lu Fengnian had indeed been in concern, since Lu Kui seemed to have lost a lot of weight these days, appearing rather haggard, while Zhang Chong looked pretty well. Not knowing anything specific about the plan of Ling family, Lu Fengnian was very worried that Lu Kui might fall ill before Zhang Chong was brought down.

Ling Zhaowen had had to spend a lot of time consoling Lu Fengnian, telling him that all he had to do was wait for another couple of days.

“Alas. I’m afraid Lu Fengnian has to endure another several days’ wait. Fortunately Zhang Chong has never been to Lu family lately. Otherwise he will definitely have noticed that something has been bothering Lu Fengnian,” Ling Zhaowen observed.

“Rest assured, uncle. Soon Zhang Chong will be too busy to spare any time making trouble for Lu family, and Uncle Lu will be rid of the pressure,” said Ling Zhang.

The deadline was drawing near. News from the capital city would definitely arrive during the next several days. When informed of Yuwen Tong’s presence in Tanyang, Zhang Chong would surely be alarmed and brush these matters aside.