In the end, Zheng San went to the street to call for the night patrol officers.
Drinking wine at the brothel and causing trouble in the middle of the night, harassing young wives without knowing their background, and forcing people to buy and sell under his protection—few in Zhang Ye City didn’t know Feng Dahu, especially these officers who had regular dealings with him and had even received many favors from him. But when they burst into Fu Tingyun’s house and saw the blood-soaked man lying on the ground, his face bitten beyond recognition, with groans as faint as a mosquito buzzing, they had to stare wide-eyed for quite some time before daring to confirm this was indeed Feng Dahu.
Looking around the room, in the corner crouched two black wolf dogs almost as tall as a person, baring their snow-white teeth while eating meat with relish.
Where did the meat in this room come from?
Everyone’s gaze involuntarily fell back on Feng Dahu.
His left calf and right thigh were a bloody mess… They were just night patrol officers, and Zhang Ye City rarely saw more than a few deaths a year… When they realized what the two wolf dogs were eating, they all stepped back, and two officers even bent over and started vomiting.
Looking at the furnishings in the room, it was a lady’s boudoir.
The black lacquered furniture was neither new nor old; the master chairs were covered with coarse blue cloth cushions, but on the windowsill sat an elegant celadon Yue kiln flower vase.
The lead officer, over forty years old, had quite discerning eyes. He knew that the more well-bred a family was, the more they liked to make their possessions appear neither new nor old to show their heritage, and then place a few items in inconspicuous places that looked ordinary but were actually quite valuable to those who knew better, to demonstrate their wealth… Looking at the furnishings in this room, it was exactly the style that those gentry families liked to show off.
He immediately realized the seriousness of the situation and promptly asked, “Who is the owner of this house?”
Zheng San approached the officers with a mournful face and bowed: “Sir, my surname is Zheng, given name San. I am Miss Fu’s servant. This is my young master’s residence. My master’s surname is Zhao, given name Ling. He is currently serving as a Captain in the Zhuanglang Guard. A few days ago, he went with Commander Lu to the Xining Guard to fight in a battle. Household matters have been temporarily managed by our young mistress. Because she is friendly with the wife of Zhuanglang Guard Commander Wang, and our master is not at home, Mrs. Wang invited our young mistress to stay with her for a few days.” As he spoke, his expression grew even more dejected. “Our young mistress entrusted household matters to me. Who would have thought that as soon as Miss Fu left, thieves would break into the house? Not only that, they even sneaked into our young mistress’s room…” As he said this, he repeatedly bowed to the officer. “Sir, I have already sent someone to the Commander-in-Chief’s mansion to report to our young mistress. When our young mistress returns, please put in a good word for me. It’s not that I wasn’t diligent in my duties, but these thieves were too audacious, daring to break into any place…”
Before he could finish speaking, the officers all felt that there was no need to ask further; the situation was already clear—given Feng Dahu’s character, he must have set his sights on this Miss Fu, and then taken advantage of the homeowner’s absence to attempt a forceful seduction. But Miss Fu wasn’t even at home, and not only that, the house kept two extremely fierce wolf dogs. Feng Dahu had gone hunting but ended up being pecked in the eye by his prey!
But this matter involved Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu of Gansu, the Marquis of Xiping who was stationed in Liangzhou, Zhuanglang Guard Commander Lu, and Zhuanglang Guard Commander Wang… Additionally, the homeowner was from Xi’an Prefecture—who knew what kind of backing they had?
They couldn’t afford to offend any of them.
No one dared to speak up about how to handle this situation.
The officers looked at each other, and the leader only felt a throbbing pain in his temples.
He pointed to one of the officers: “Quick, go report this to Master Jiang.”
Master Jiang was the official in charge of Zhang Ye City’s patrol, their direct superior.
The matter was beyond his authority; he could only seek his superior.
The designated officer responded and hurriedly ran toward the Commander-in-Chief’s mansion.
Outside the door, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered in layers. Someone recognized the designated officer and called out: “San Dan, what happened? Was the wall-climber that Feng Dahu?”
“Yes!” San Dan responded without looking back as he left the back street.
“I never thought Feng Dahu would meet his downfall in such a way…”
“I wonder if he made it to the bed?”
Suggestive laughter erupted from the crowd.
Someone said: “Speaking of which, I once saw Zhao’s young lady at the street corner. I don’t know where she was going, with a headscarf and a maidservant. She was truly beautiful. If I were Feng Dahu, I would also sneak in at night…”
A head peeked out from the door crack of Mo Yi’s house, looked around for a while, and then withdrew.
“Miss, Miss, something terrible has happened,” Xuemei ran into the hall in one breath, saw Concubine Lu anxiously wrapped in clothes, and only then slowed down. “The one in trouble is Feng Dahu!”
Concubine Lu’s heart sank.
When she was awakened by that miserable cry, she already had a premonition that Feng Dahu was in trouble. She just couldn’t understand how, given Feng Dahu’s experience and the fact that he had thoroughly investigated Fu Tingyun’s household situation, he could have gotten into trouble.
“Miss, what should we do?” Xuemei saw Concubine Lu’s face turn pale and grew anxious herself.
Fu Tingyun had already returned home, and Madam Feng had sent someone to confirm this with Concubine Lu. Now that Feng Dahu was in trouble, would Madam Feng direct her anger at their mistress? Everyone knew how domineering Madam Feng was—when her temper flared, she wouldn’t give face to anyone…
Concubine Lu also didn’t know what to do.
Initially, she hadn’t wanted to get involved in this matter, but when Madam Feng came to her home a second time asking for help, she happened to encounter Fu Tingyun. As soon as she saw Fu Tingyun’s haughty demeanor, she changed her mind… In truth, it was all because Fu Tingyun was too arrogant. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have wanted to take her down a peg by helping Madam Feng.
Concubine Lu’s expression became somewhat obscure.
Xuemei knew she had no solution at the moment. After thinking for a bit, she tentatively suggested: “Miss, why don’t we go inform Madam Feng first? That way, if Madam Feng blames us, we can at least claim credit for reporting in times of crisis… We didn’t anticipate this!”
Concubine Lu’s spirits lifted.
Yes, what was the use of thinking about all this now? The important thing was to prevent Madam Feng from implicating her. Otherwise, her reputation would be ruined. The Mo General’s family was not like that worthless Deputy Commander-in-Chief Liu’s family. Liu was just an ordinary hereditary captain who, through flattering his superiors, coincidentally became Deputy Commander-in-Chief, which was why that Feng woman could so easily enter the Liu household. The Mo family, however, was truly distinguished. No matter how much General Mo cherished her, without the family’s consent, he had consistently refused to formally take her as a concubine. This was also why General Mo wanted to take her back for the birthday celebration of the Mo family’s old lady—perhaps if the old lady was pleased, she would approve her entry into the family.
She immediately instructed Lu Mama: “Go inform Madam Feng.” Then, still concerned, she asked Lu Mama, “You know what to say, right?”
“I know,” Lu Mama replied. “If Madam Feng asks, I’ll just say we were paying attention to the commotion next door, and as soon as we heard Master Feng’s cries, we knew something was wrong. You’ve already gone to check and sent me to inform Madam Feng first.”
Concubine Lu nodded with satisfaction, her expression easing slightly: “Go ahead!”
Lu Mama acknowledged and left.
As she approached Fu Tingyun’s door, she heard Mrs. Qi’s voice: “…Didn’t you hear that Zheng San say Miss Fu wasn’t even home? If she had been, how could Feng Dahu have sneaked into her room?”
Afraid of being recognized by the gossipy Mrs. Qi, Lu Mama quickly lowered her head and slipped out of the back street along the wall.
Inside the house, the lead officer was still questioning Zheng San: “How did you discover the other two men?”
Those two men were well-known troublemakers in Zhang Ye City, and all the officers recognized them. Both had some martial arts skills, but surprisingly, they had been beaten unconscious and were still in a coma.
Zheng San respectfully replied: “I used to be a caravan guard when I was young, which is why my master left my wife and me in Zhang Ye to look after the young mistress.”
The lead officer was surprised and asked: “But where is your wife?”
“In response to your question, sir, our young mistress needs someone to attend to her, and since our master’s sworn brother is still young, he accompanied the young mistress to Mrs. Wang’s place.”
At that moment, from the dimly lit east wing came Zheng San’s wife’s barely audible voice: “Can you manage it?” Her tone carried a hint of worry.
“No problem!” The response came from A-Sen. “I used to follow the Ninth Master…” Remembering they were no longer salt smugglers, he swallowed the words “did this plenty of times” and said, “I used knockout powder. These two fellows won’t wake up until dawn.” He chuckled a few times. “By dawn, everyone will suddenly see two men running out of Concubine Lu’s house… With Mrs. Qi’s gossiping mouth spreading the news, just wait and see how Mo Yi deals with that Lu woman!” As if visualizing the scene of Concubine Lu being punished by Mo Yi, A-Sen gave another satisfied chuckle.
But Zheng San’s wife didn’t share A-Sen’s confidence. She asked, “What if they suddenly wake up when you’re dumping them at the Mo household?”
“Oh come on, if there wasn’t a little risk in doing something, would it even be worth doing?” A-Sen said dismissively. “The Ninth Master once said that if a matter has a 70% chance of success, there’s no need to hesitate; if it has a 50% chance, you can still do it; if it has a 30% chance, it’s worth trying. This matter, I have at least a 70% chance of success.” Then, impatiently, he added, “These two guys are too heavy, help me drag them.”
Zheng San’s wife responded with an “Oh” and hurriedly helped A-Sen drag one of the men to the window.
Mo Yi’s west wing was the kitchen, separated from the east wing where A-Sen lived by just a wall.
In the darkness came two dull “thud” sounds.
Unfortunately, with the commotion at Fu Tingyun’s place and Concubine Lu’s anxiety, no one noticed these unusual sounds.
An officer approached the lead officer and whispered: “Brother Hong, I think we need to call a doctor!”
The lead officer suddenly realized and quickly said: “You’re right, you’re right. Quick, go find a doctor.”
If this Feng died, the situation would escalate significantly.