Ye Chongming saw that Ye Hongchang’s injury was indeed not severe—only a cut on his thigh that hadn’t damaged any tendons or bones—and he finally let go of the worry he had been holding.

Now that the weather was cooler, and with the Huichun Hall doctor’s good medical skills, Ye Hongchang should recover well with proper care.

However, two escorts under Guan Canghai, one escort from the Capital Escort Agency, and Ye Hongchang’s servant, who had been severely wounded while saving his master, all had relatively serious injuries.

Fortunately, the bandit attack had occurred not far from Linan City, and Guan Canghai’s men had carried medicine while escorting. With timely bandaging and medicine application, all the injured were out of danger.

“Rest well and recover. All medical expenses will be covered by the Ye family, along with a reward to thank you all for protecting my son,” Ye Chongming said, bowing deeply to everyone.

As he spoke, he waved his hand, and several servant boys presented gifts to the wounded escorts. There were silver, valuable medicinal herbs, pastries, and fine silk. Those with severe injuries received more silver, while those with minor injuries received less.

The two escorts under Guan Canghai who were seriously injured were from Linan City. After a discussion between Guan Canghai and Ye Hongchang, messages had been sent to their families, who had already arrived.

As for the escort from the Capital, he was being cared for by his companion and Ye family servants.

Regarding Ye Hongchang’s servant, since the matter needed to be kept secret from the Ye family members, no notification had been sent. He was being looked after by Ye family servants who had accompanied Ye Hongchang on the journey and had not yet returned to the mansion.

Though Huichun Hall would accommodate some patients overnight to facilitate care, space was limited—only providing one room or bed, with rather expensive fees—and meals and daily necessities were not included.

To show his gratitude to the escorts who had risked their lives to protect him, Ye Hongchang, being generous with his wealth, had rented an entire courtyard for these escorts and their families and companions. Meals were ordered from restaurants.

Now, as Ye Chongming offered another large sum of silver in gratitude, the escorts and their families were deeply moved, repeatedly praising the Ye family for their generosity.

As escorts, they made their living by risking their lives. Once they accepted payment for an escort job, they had to bear any injuries or even death themselves, with no blame placed on their employers.

Many employers, after being injured during a bandit attack, would only blame the escorts for failing to protect them, causing injuries to family members, or losing valuables. Using the excuse that they had already paid the escort fee, they would argue that protection was the escorts’ responsibility and wouldn’t provide any additional money for medical treatment or recovery.

Therefore, the Ye family’s actions left a very favorable impression.

“Elder Master Ye, there’s no need for such courtesy. We live by the blade, this is our profession. Injuries are common—as long as we don’t lose our lives, everything else can be dealt with.” Guan Canghai quickly stepped forward to help Ye Chongming.

After Ye Chongming had offered his consolation to each of the wounded escorts and the servant, Guan Canghai said to him in a low voice, “Elder Master Ye, may we speak privately?”

The two went to a quiet place, and Guan Canghai directly asked, “Has your family recently offended someone?”

Ye Chongming tensed up and asked, “What do you mean by that, Chief Escort Guan?”

“The road from Capital to Linan is one we travel frequently, and it’s generally peaceful. Even if we were unfortunate enough to encounter bandits, they usually only rob without taking lives.”

“But I observed that these men were aiming to take the Young Master’s life. They must have been watching the Young Master’s party for some time. It was only because we arrived in time and met up with the Young Master’s group early that the bandits had no opportunity to strike, so they held back. Later, seeing that we were about to reach Linan City, they realized it was now or never, so they finally made their move.”

At this point, he secretly felt relieved.

If they hadn’t been close to Linan City, his two brothers, even with the wound medicine they carried, might not have made it this far.

“This whole affair is suspicious. Those people were specifically targeting the Young Master’s party. You should investigate thoroughly to see who might be behind this.”

Ye Chongming naturally understood the situation.

He first raised his hand in a gesture of respect: “Thank you for the reminder, Chief Escort Guan. I understand.”

Then he bowed deeply again, “I’ve already been to the government office and reported this matter to Prefect Qi. He asked me to submit a formal complaint, and he will do his utmost to investigate. I wonder if Chief Escort Guan was able to see the bandits’ faces? If so, could you provide a lead for the officials?”

He was well aware that in the escort business, they typically had to navigate both legal and criminal worlds. Unless the bandits were wandering brigands, large escort agencies would usually reach an understanding with the criminal elements: the escort agencies wouldn’t provide clues or assistance to officials in investigations, and the bandits, recognizing familiar escort agencies, would give them face and let them pass.

What he was asking now was somewhat putting Guan Canghai in a difficult position.

Therefore, he quickly added, “Rest assured, Chief Escort Guan, you won’t need to appear in person. You just need to tell Hongchang what you saw of the bandits’ appearances, and he can relay it to the officials. I will certainly reward you generously.”

In the past, Guan Canghai might not have agreed to Ye Chongming’s request.

There are no secrets that can be kept forever. If he provided clues to the officials, even without appearing in person, Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang might inadvertently let something slip at some point, which would ruin his reputation in the underworld.

Those bandits could be extremely cruel when seeking revenge.

But these bandits were not ordinary ones—they might be enemies of the Ye family disguised as bandits. Most importantly, they had seriously injured two of his brothers. This was a grievance he was determined to avenge. His purpose in pulling Ye Chongming aside for this conversation was precisely for this reason.

Moreover, Ye Chongming and Ye Hongchang’s actions just now had also made him willing to help the Ye family. The close relationship with officials that Ye Chongming had hinted at also gave him pause.

If Ye Chongming became displeased and deliberately caused trouble with officials against the escort agency, accusing them of colluding with bandits, they would be finished.

He nodded, “Very well, call the Young Master over now, and I’ll tell you both immediately.” If they were going to investigate, they needed to act quickly.

Ye Chongming waved to Zhou Xiang in the distance, asking him to summon Ye Hongchang.

Shortly after, Ye Hongchang arrived, and Guan Canghai told the father and son all the clues he had discovered.

During the bandit attack, Ye Hongchang had been completely terrified and hadn’t noticed what the bandits looked like, how many there were, how they were dressed, or what accent they spoke with. He hadn’t noticed anything, let alone the specific appearances of the bandits.

But Guan Canghai, an old hand in the business, had observed everything clearly and could explain in detail.

The Ye family father and son were extremely grateful, resolving to send Guan Canghai another generous gift later. They wrote up a formal complaint and headed to the government office together.

Prefect Qi was also an efficient man. After receiving the complaint, he had a clerk record the clues provided by Ye Hongchang and dispatched constables to track down the bandits.

Upon leaving the government office, Ye Chongming took Ye Hongchang home.

Ye Hongchang had originally wanted to stay at the medical hall until all the escorts were recovered before returning home. However, having already left, there was no need to go back.

Sending more silver over would be better than anything else.