Linan Town.

Xie Zheng finished selling pork and frowned as he wiped his hands clean with a handkerchief.

He then raised his eyelids to glance at the sun, realizing it was nearly noon. His handsome brows furrowed even deeper.

Linan Town wasn’t far from the county seat. Why had she been gone for so long?

Xie Zheng closed his shop door. While passing through the tile market, he noticed a Hu merchant selling various animal furs and leather goods at his stall. His gaze fell on a pair of wristbands.

Seeing him staring at the wristbands, the Hu merchant called out, “Young master, would you like to buy these wristbands? They’re made of deerskin, truly excellent quality. Although for you, young master… they might be a bit small. I have some made of roe deer skin here, would you like to take a look?”

As he spoke, he picked up a pair of wristbands several sizes larger and offered them to Xie Zheng.

Xie Zheng didn’t take them. Instead, he picked up the deerskin wristbands and examined them. He raised his hand and gently gripped them as if measuring the size from memory. After a moment, he said to the Hu merchant, “I’ll take these.”

He paid and was about to leave with the wristbands when he heard several people sighing in the nearby teahouse.

“Those poor souls from Ma Family Village, dozens of lives lost. Those officials are truly heartless bastards!”

“Let’s hope that scholar escaped and can expose all the misdeeds of these corrupt officials!”

Xie Zheng paused and looked in their direction. The Hu merchant, seeing his interest in what the men were discussing, sighed and said, “It’s about the tragedy in Ma Family Village. A scholar there couldn’t bear the brutal grain levies by the officials and wanted to lead the whole village to kneel and petition at the Ji Prefecture yamen, asking to leave some seed grain for the farmers. The villagers, fearing discovery by the officials, set out last night. This morning, they were found massacred on the official road. All the villagers were slaughtered, and the scholar vanished. No one knows if he was captured alive or managed to escape.”

A cold glint flashed in Xie Zheng’s eyes. He asked, “Were the villagers killed by the officials?”

The Hu merchant replied, “That’s what everyone suspects. After all, they were just poor peasants. Even if bandits wanted to rob travelers, they’d target the wealthy, not specifically wait there to kill dozens of poor folk just to sharpen their blades, right?”

“It’s strange, though. As soon as the Ma Family Village people died, all the roads to Ji Prefecture were blocked by mountain bandits. How convenient is that? Isn’t it just to prevent anyone from going to Ji Prefecture to file a complaint? The farmers from neighboring villages have already taken up arms, saying they want to join the rebels in Chong Prefecture.”

The Hu merchant shook his head as he spoke. Though not a native of Da Yin, he traveled far and wide for his fur trade. But as a fellow commoner, he couldn’t help but sigh when hearing of such a tragedy.

Xie Zheng’s long eyebrows were tightly knitted. As one in power, he naturally saw the irregularities.

The Ma Family Village tragedy seemed like someone was deliberately trying to incite the people of Qingping County to rebel.

If that scholar hadn’t died and had escaped, he would surely report the massacre to Ji Prefecture or even the capital.

The officials, in their zeal to collect grain, had pushed the people to the brink. When the people knelt at the county yamen and were ignored, they planned to go kneel at the prefecture. Yet they were massacred halfway there. Anyone hearing of such a tragedy would be filled with rage, wanting to grind those officials to dust and scatter their bones.

The tragedy could incite public outrage and force the people of Qingping County to rebel, which would undoubtedly be a military blow to the imperial court.

Thinking of the tragedies reported from the grain levies in Tai Prefecture, the cold intent in Xie Zheng’s eyes intensified.

It seemed that someone was deliberately exacerbating all the tragedies caused by the grain levies.

And the beneficiaries were undoubtedly only the rebels in Chong Prefecture-

Ji Prefecture Yamen.

Wei Xuan sat in the main seat, looking impatiently at his subordinates counting the grain and fodder collected from various counties.

Soon, a guard reported, “General, the grain from Qingping County hasn’t arrived yet.”

Wei Xuan’s already poor mood worsened to the extreme. He kicked over the low table in front of him and cursed, “A mere county magistrate dares to defy my military order?”

He stood up, drawing his sword, “Men! Muster the troops! I’ll go to Qingping County myself to collect the grain!”

Just then, another scout rushed in, “Report — urgent message from Yan Prefecture, 800 li express!”

Wei Xuan looked displeased. Yan Prefecture was just a poor, mountainous place by Yan Mountain, where he had banished Xie Zheng’s old subordinates. What urgent news could there be?

Opening the letter, when he saw the familiar handwriting, all the blood in his body seemed to surge in that instant.

The guard didn’t know why his general’s face had suddenly become so ugly, but the next second, he saw Wei Xuan suddenly draw his sword and viciously chop the table he had kicked over in half, his eyes bulging with rage: “He’s not dead! He deliberately waited until now to show himself, just because I suffered a defeat, wanting to humiliate me!”

The confidant picked up the letter that had been thrown on the ground. Seeing the bold and unrestrained handwriting, and the three characters “Xie Jiuheng” at the end, he was also greatly shocked.

The Marquis of Wu’an of Da Yin had the surname Xie, given the name Zheng, and courtesy name Jiuheng.

This courtesy name was given by his teacher, Grand Tutor Tao, who said the character “Zheng” was too fierce and feared he might act rashly in pursuit of quick success. He gave him the courtesy name “Jiuheng” to restrain him, saying that while others only need to think thrice before acting, he should consider nine times.

Over the years, Xie Zheng had indeed lived up to Grand Tutor Tao’s expectations. He had never been rash on the battlefield, and though he became famous at a young age, he was as steady as veteran generals.

The guard, being Wei Xuan’s confidant, naturally knew about how the Wei father and son had plotted against the Marquis of Wu’an on the Chong Prefecture battlefield.

He immediately said, “The Marquis of Wu’an has been lying low until now, surely gathering strength in secret to avenge that day’s grudge. In his letter, he tells you to retreat and guard Hui Prefecture, to protect the northwest gateway against foreign enemies. It might be a trick. It’s not advisable to stay long in the northwest! The Prime Minister’s transfer order will arrive in a few days. General, returning to the capital first would be the best strategy!”

Wei Xuan grabbed the guard’s collar and snarled viciously, “You think I’m afraid of him?”

The guard knew that Wei Xuan liked to compare himself to the Marquis of Wu’an in everything and especially couldn’t stand others saying he was inferior to the Marquis. However, he couldn’t care about touching this sore spot now and earnestly said, “General, don’t fight over this momentary anger! The northwest is already in such chaos. The remaining 70,000 soldiers in Hui Prefecture were all trained by the Marquis of Wu’an. They only followed your orders to avenge the Marquis because they thought he had died at the hands of the Chong Prefecture rebels. Now that the Marquis is still alive, we’re like fish on a chopping board under the Marquis’s knife in the northwest!”

How could Wei Xuan not know that what the guard said was true? But the more he understood, the more furious he became. Since childhood, he had always been overshadowed by this man. Xie Zheng was like a thorn in his eye.

If he didn’t pull out this thorn, he would never be at ease in his life.

But in the end, Wei Xuan had to swallow this bitter pill temporarily. He left Ji Prefecture in a rage with two thousand personal guards.

When He Jingyuan heard of this at his residence, he let out a long sigh, half relieved and half ashamed.

Relieved that the famous “Killing General” was only ruthless towards foreign enemies, but still had compassion for the Da Yin people.

And ashamed that he, as a local official, had allowed Wei Xuan to push the people of Ji Prefecture to this point.

Zheng Wenchang asked for instructions, “Sir, how should we handle the military provisions that have been collected?”

He Jingyuan said, “Return all the seed grain to the farmers. Spring is approaching, we can’t delay next year’s planting.”

Zheng Wenchang acknowledged.

He Jingyuan asked, “I heard that one county didn’t send up any grain. Do you know which county it is?”

Zheng Wenchang answered, “Qingping County.”

Hearing this place’s name again, He Jingyuan’s gaze darkened. He said, “County Magistrate Cui Shoude is a coward. How dare he not send up the grain? This matter seems suspicious. Take some men to investigate.”

Just as Zheng Wenchang was about to salute, a guard hurriedly entered and said, “Sir, it’s not good. There’s a scholar at the front of the yamen beating the drum to appeal for justice. He’s written a poem bitterly denouncing the officials for forcefully collecting military grain and slaughtering peasants in the fields. It’s causing an uproar throughout the city!”

Both He Jingyuan and Zheng Wenchang were shocked.

Zheng Wenchang hurriedly saluted and said, “After receiving your orders, the subordinate has been having people keep an eye on Wei Xuan’s soldiers who went to collect grain. We haven’t discovered them killing people or robbing grain.”

He Jingyuan only instructed the guard, “Bring the person here. I’ll question him myself.”

The guard accepted the order and left-

Qingping County.

Madam Wang flatly rejected Fan Changyu’s suggestion to kidnap the county magistrate. She said helplessly, “The county yamen has over a hundred bailiffs in total. How could we possibly kidnap the magistrate?”

Fan Changyu, afraid of frightening Madam Wang, hung her head without a word. But she was thinking, no matter how many people there were, surely they couldn’t be with the magistrate twenty-four hours a day. The magistrate must have times when he’s alone.

Madam Wang was about to say something when a commotion came from the street ahead.

A group of fierce-looking official soldiers marched past, escorting a crowd of tightly bound people. Fan Changyu recognized their clothing and exclaimed in shock, “Aren’t those the waiters from Yixiang Building?”

Madam Wang’s heart also skipped a beat, “Is the county magistrate moving so quickly?”

Fan Changyu didn’t see Yu Qianqian among those being escorted. She hurriedly stepped forward, squeezing into the crowd of onlookers to get a better look.

The surrounding spectators were also discussing animatedly: “Why have all the cooks and waiters from the Yixiang Building been arrested?”

“I heard that someone died from eating at Yixiang Building. After that family carried the coffin to make a scene at Yixiang Building’s entrance, the officials sealed off Yixiang Building to investigate the case and took all the staff back for questioning.”

Fan Changyu stood on tiptoe to look into the procession of soldiers and finally saw Yu Qianqian walking in the middle with her hands bound. Yu Qianqian also saw her and imperceptibly shook her head, signaling her not to come over. She mouthed two words silently.

Fan Changyu deciphered the two words from her lip movements as “Bao’er”.

Fan Changyu looked carefully at the escort group and didn’t see any children. She knew that Yu Bao’er must have been hidden somewhere by Yu Qianqian. Yu Qianqian mouthing those words to her meant she wanted her to take care of Yu Bao’er.

Madam Wang had caught up, and fearing she might act rashly, kept a tight grip on one of her hands. She lowered her voice and whispered in her ear, “No matter how close you are to that manager, don’t go forward now. If the soldiers notice you, it might bring trouble upon yourself.”

Fan Changyu understood this point too and forcibly restrained herself from moving.

After the soldiers had passed, Madam Wang looked at Fan Changyu and said, “If you need maps of the county yamen and the magistrate’s residence, I can get them for you.”

Fan Changyu knew that given her situation in the Wang family, it was already not easy for Madam Wang to offer this. She thanked her and said she would come to get them when needed, then hurried off towards the Yixiang Building.

Yu Qianqian had been arrested at the Yixiang Building, so Yu Bao’er might have been hidden somewhere there by her.

When she reached the main street, Fan Changyu could see from afar that sealing notices had already been pasted on the grand doors of the Yixiang Building. She went around to the back alley and saw that the courtyards where the Yixiang Building servants lived had also been sealed. She looked at the back wall of the Yixiang Building, just about to climb over when a hand suddenly stretched out from her side and pulled her into a narrow, dark alley between two courtyard walls.

Fan Changyu immediately grabbed the person’s collar, her arm tensing as she was about to slam the person to the ground. But when she smelled the bitter scent of medicine and tangerine peel candy on the person, her grip suddenly loosened.

She called out, “Yan Zheng?”

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes, signaling her not to make a sound. His phoenix eyes coldly swept towards the outside of the dark alley. Fan Changyu also became alert.

The footsteps of a group of soldiers approached from afar and stopped outside the back door of the Yixiang Building. “By order of the county magistrate, until the Yixiang Building murder case is solved, Yixiang Building shall not be unsealed. To prevent the destruction of evidence, guard this building strictly!”

Fan Changyu said quietly, “Yu Bao’er wasn’t taken away by the soldiers. I’m worried Yu Qianqian might have hidden him somewhere in the building.”

They were extremely close, and each other’s breathing could be heard. To prevent the soldiers outside from hearing anything, she kept her voice very low.

Xie Zheng felt as if insects were crawling in his ear. He frowned slightly and straightened up, moving away from her a bit. He said, “I arrived a quarter of an hour before you and already went into the building to bring the person out.”

Fan Changyu breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did she think to ask him, “Weren’t you at the butcher shop? Why did you come to the county town?”

Xie Zheng’s gaze turned slightly cold. He only said, “After selling all the pork, I saw you hadn’t returned for a long time, so I came to check.”

Fan Changyu said, “I’m fine, it’s just that Manager Yu has run into trouble.”

After telling him her and Yu Qianqian’s speculations, she added, “I plan to kidnap the county magistrate to save Manager Yu. You take Yu Bao’er and Ning Niang to find a place to hide. If I get caught, please take care of Ning Niang.”

Xie Zheng frowned at her, “Who gave you such a stupid idea?”

Fan Changyu was baffled by his rebuke. After thinking for a moment, she figured he must be angry that she was putting herself in danger and leaving two children for him to take care of if she got caught. She said, “I thought of it myself. I’m just mentioning the possibility of getting caught. I’ll make my move when there aren’t many people around the magistrate. How could I possibly get caught…”

Xie Zheng snorted, “Many farmers in the countryside have already rebelled and are about to storm the county yamen before going to join the rebel king. Do you think the county magistrate, if he’s the mastermind, would put himself in such danger?”

Fan Changyu understood the meaning of his words. Kidnapping the county magistrate wouldn’t save Yu Qianqian.

She thought for a moment but couldn’t come up with a plan. She raised her clear and honest eyes to look at Xie Zheng, “Then what should we do? Who’s the mastermind? Would it help if we kidnapped them?”

Hearing her still considering the idea of kidnapping, Xie Zheng couldn’t help but feel a mix of frustration and amusement.

He replied, “Capturing anyone would be pointless. Someone is stirring up discord to incite the people of Qingping County to rebel, which would then invite the troops from Jizhou to suppress the rioters. This way, the rumors about the court forcing the people to pay taxes would gain credibility.”

If Qingping County failed to deliver the requisitioned grain to Jizhou, given Wei Xuan’s temperament, he would undoubtedly march into Qingping County in a rage. When confronted with the rebels, there was a strong possibility that he would order the slaughter of the entire county.