The three envoys widened their eyes in struggle, lifting their heads and making muffled sounds at Zhao Hanzhang. Unfortunately, their mouths were stuffed with cloth, and despite their utmost effort, they could only produce quiet muffled noises.
Qiu Wu finished tying the ropes and threw all three men in front of Zhao Hanzhang. “Nulang, they’re all tied up. They definitely won’t be able to break free.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded with satisfaction.
Magistrate Chai clutched onto Changning, trembling.
Zhao Hanzhang turned her head to look at him. Seeing him hiding entirely behind Changning, she gave him a gentle smile. “Magistrate, don’t be afraid. Rest assured, I won’t kill them.”
Magistrate Chai forced out a smile on his bitter face and said ingratiatingly, “Sanniang is so imposing. This, this, you make the decisions.”
But Changning said, “Only dead men are the safest.”
Zhao Hanzhang squatted down to face the three men, staring into their eyes as she answered Changning, “But I’m still in mourning and shouldn’t take lives. So I’ve decided to take them back to the fortified estate. If they behave, once this matter passes, I’ll naturally let them leave. This gives me a chance and gives them a chance. But if they don’t behave…”
Zhao Hanzhang reached out and patted their shoulders, smiling slightly. “It won’t be too late to kill them then. This will make me feel better about it, so you can choose to escape if you want.”
The three envoys all shivered and shook their heads repeatedly.
Zhao Hanzhang didn’t care whether they truly didn’t want to escape or were just trying to deceive her. With a wave of her hand, she had people put sacks over them, carry them out, and throw them directly onto the cart to take away.
Magistrate Chai’s lips trembled, unable to speak.
Zhao Hanzhang stepped forward. “Magistrate, I’m taking these people from your place. If the provincial governor’s office sends people…”
“I haven’t seen them,” Magistrate Chai immediately said. “Shangcai County has never seen any envoys.”
Zhao Hanzhang nodded with satisfaction. “Since you haven’t seen any envoys, then there’s no reason to detain Ma the Horse Master either. Why don’t you release him?”
Magistrate Chai nodded repeatedly. “Release him, release him. I’ll have someone release him immediately.”
Seeing that Zhao Hanzhang was still standing in the courtyard without moving, Magistrate Chai lifted his sleeve to wipe his forehead and stepped forward ingratiatingly. “Sanniang, look, it’s getting late, and don’t you still need to go to Xiping? I…”
“I’m waiting for Ma the Horse Master and the others.”
Hearing this, Magistrate Chai immediately looked at Changning urgently, saying in a low voice, “Go quickly and bring them out.”
Hurry up and send this evil spirit Zhao Sanniang away. He never imagined that the seemingly virtuous and gentle Zhao Sanniang would just arrest envoys when she said she would.
Changning didn’t move. Instead, he asked, “Is Zhao Sanniang going to send Ma the Horse Master back to the horse ranch, or take him somewhere else?”
Zhao Hanzhang said, “With such a major incident, he can no longer return to the horse ranch.”
Magistrate Chai was startled. “You, you’re going to kill Ma the Horse Master?”
Zhao Hanzhang asked, “…It seems the magistrate has misunderstood me. Am I that kind of fierce and evil person?”
“Ma the Horse Master lent me horses to save Xiping County and Shangcai County. He did nothing wrong. Why would I kill him?” She sighed. “But with such a major incident, the provincial governor’s office will definitely send people to retrieve the horses later. This matter still can’t be avoided. Better to let Ma the Horse Master leave. As long as everyone at the horse ranch maintains the same story and puts everything on him, the matter can be resolved.”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled at Magistrate Chai. “Then this matter will have nothing to do with you, Magistrate. The horses from the ranch were privately sold by Ma the Horse Master. Now the man has fled. In the vast sea of people, if they can’t find him, naturally they can’t punish anyone.”
Magistrate Chai still hadn’t completely recovered his wits. He asked tremulously, “But, but didn’t Sanniang already make arrangements with horse merchants to buy horses?”
Zhao Hanzhang sighed. “The key is it’s not enough. We simply can’t buy two hundred horses.”
“Even if we’re short some, we can slowly repay them later,” Magistrate Chai asked carefully. “How many are we still short?”
Zhao Hanzhang looked at Magistrate Chai playing dumb, turned her head to glance at the calm Changning, sighed, and punctured the pretense for Magistrate Chai to see. “Still short two hundred horses.”
Magistrate Chai: …
After a moment of silence, he asked, “Where are you taking Ma the Horse Master and the others?”
Zhao Hanzhang smiled. “Rest assured, Magistrate. I won’t treat them poorly. After all, they’re suffering because of me, so I’ll make proper arrangements.”
Ma the Horse Master and the others knew nothing. When the four men were brought out, their faces were still excited. Seeing Zhao Hanzhang and Magistrate Chai, they immediately knelt down, saying happily, “Thank you, Magistrate and Sanniang, for saving our lives.”
Magistrate Chai said nothing, instead looking at him with a complex expression—both sympathetic and… conflicted.
Zhao Hanzhang stepped forward to help them up. “No need to thank us. Let’s go. We’re going to pick up your families.”
Ma the Horse Master asked, “Ah? Pick up our families? Pick up our families for what?”
To go to Xiping together, of course.
Ma the Horse Master and the others hadn’t recovered their senses even when they saw the boundary marker of Xiping County. They sat dazedly on the ox cart.
The horse official squeezed in the same cart with him saw Shangcai County getting farther and farther away. Unable to hold back, sorrow welled up from within, and he buried his head in Ma the Horse Master’s chest and wept.
Ma the Horse Master held his head, and unable to restrain himself, also began to cry bitterly.
Zhao Erlang was startled by their crying. He quickly rode his horse to catch up with his sister. “Sister, why are they crying?”
Zhao Hanzhang looked back, then simply pulled her horse to a stop and tapped Zhao Erlang on the head. “Go find Qiu Wu to play with. Practice scouting ahead.”
She waited for the ox cart to catch up. Originally intending to wait for them to cry for a while before comforting them, but seeing the two men crying more and more heartbrokenly, with their families about to join in crying behind them, she tapped the ox cart with her riding crop. “Hey, hey, what are grown men crying about?”
The men of Dajin really cry too much.
“Even if you’re going to cry, at least cry quietly. Although there aren’t many travelers on the official road, there are still some. What if you scare people?”
The two men’s crying paused, then their voices lowered, though they still couldn’t help sobbing.
Zhao Hanzhang rode her horse alongside them to comfort them. “Xiping and Shangcai aren’t far apart. In a few years, once things blow over, if you want to go home to visit relatives, you can. Just think of it as changing work locations. What’s there to cry about?”
Ma the Horse Master couldn’t help saying quietly, “But we were originally commoners. Now we’re about to become hidden households.”
“It’s only temporary,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “Once things blow over, I’ll immediately register you in Xiping County. Rest assured, Xiping County is in my Zhao family’s hands. My word counts.”
“But… but it’s still different. We’ve built up our lives in Shangcai for many years. In Xiping, we’ll have to start everything from scratch.”
“Whatever you had in Shangcai, I’ll make sure you have in Xiping,” Zhao Hanzhang said. “I’ve already decided—I’ll build a horse ranch in Xiping, and you, Ma the Horse Master, will still be the horse master. The three of you will also raise horses for me. Wages remain the same. I’ll build new houses for you. If you don’t like having your homes at the ranch, I’ll allocate you a courtyard in the county town. As long as you don’t randomly leave Xiping County, I guarantee your safety.”
Ma the Horse Master lifted his reddened eyes. “Really?”