This time Linlang had not brought Sui Qiye with her, but the two attendants at her side were martial world friends that Sui Qiye had found — both possessed exceptional skill and nerve.

When the bailiffs moved to surround them, the two men did not hesitate for a moment — with a ringing clang of steel, they drew the ghost-headed chopping blades at their waists and positioned themselves in front of Chu Linlang.

They also knew that even the bravest fighter could be overwhelmed by numbers, and the only way to make the bailiffs hesitate was to seize control of the prefect himself. So they advanced together, menacing and fierce, pressing toward the prefect with clear intent to strike.

Prefect Bai’s expression changed. He had not expected this woman and her two bodyguards to show not a shred of fear toward his official authority — if this wasn’t the boldness of the ignorant, then these people genuinely had something to back them up.

A man of wealth does not sit beneath the eaves. As the local potentate of this entire prefecture, he felt there was no need to take risks — better to investigate this woman’s background thoroughly before deciding on a course of action.

So he let out a hollow laugh and said: “Lady Xinmei, what is the meaning of this? I only wished to call you in for questioning, and yet you have your people draw blades against me?”

Chu Linlang smiled slightly but made no move to have the two bodyguards sheathe their blades. She simply picked up his thread of words and replied: “Prefect Bai truly does enjoy his jokes. I have just arrived in your distinguished territory and am completely in the dark — I wouldn’t even know where the Gong Family’s front gate is. What does their being broken into have to do with me? Why would you suddenly want to question me? Unless, of course, you believe the Gong Family truly did something to offend me?”

Prefect Bai found himself outmaneuvered in a single move, and his expression soured immediately. But the position he was standing in was poor — Chu Linlang’s two guards had him perfectly pinned in the corner of the table with no room to maneuver, and the bailiffs outside the door were too far away to help in time.

So he dared not throw out any more harsh words either, and could only grit his teeth and narrow his eyes slightly as he said: “It was this official’s misunderstanding. Does Lady Xinmei wish for this official to offer an apology?”

By now, Chu Linlang had also set aside any intention of pressing this official for answers.

This place was a den of wolves and tigers — not even an imperially bestowed title could intimidate these audaciously corrupt officials.

This was not the moment to push him into a corner and make him act desperately.

So she softened her tone and said with a smile: “If I’m not mistaken, you are a distant relative of Vice Minister Xin of the Ministry of Finance, are you not?”

Prefect Bai’s eyelid twitched slightly. He could not fathom why this titled lady from the capital would bring up that connection.

Chu Linlang had taken the trouble to look into Prefect Bai before coming, and continued calmly: “With the northern military campaign imminent, every prefecture and county will need the wholehearted cooperation of experienced long-serving officials like yourself. If assignments are handled well, a promotion will be just around the corner. Last month, when I attended the full-month celebration banquet for Vice Minister Xin’s little grandson, I heard his wife mention how Vice Minister Xin had once been obscure and unnoticed in the Ministry of Finance — and it was only because of the northern campaign, and the few assignments he handled well, that he gained prominence and was finally given real responsibility. Your territory, though situated in the northwest, is still a critical hub for logistics collection and transport. At this crucial moment, stirring up trouble over gold and silver ingot lawsuits is not good for either of us — it gives the appearance of failing to see the bigger picture. So this is what I propose: let’s set this lawsuit aside for now and wait for the military situation to ease. I’ll return to the capital and have a word with Vice Minister Xin — then you can take your time looking into this matter for me. How does that sound?”

Chu Linlang’s relationship with Vice Minister Xin’s wife was only superficial, and that Vice Minister Xin himself had repeatedly made things difficult for Situ Sheng at court.

But with the Emperor far away and the heavens high above, she could spin a web of half-truths and loosely claimed connections, and this Prefect Bai would have no way of telling what was real from what was not.

By invoking Vice Minister Xin — the very man who had helped advance Prefect Bai — at this critical juncture, she had, as expected, set the prefect’s mind spinning.

He had originally assumed this Chu woman was nothing more than a merchant wife with a few connections and some dirty money who had bought herself a title.

But to his surprise, this woman was so fluent in the workings of the capital’s officialdom and inner households — and from her manner of speaking, she clearly knew Vice Minister Xin and his wife quite well.

If that were truly the case… by treating Chu Linlang with such contempt, had he not been disrespecting Vice Minister Xin’s face?

With that thought in mind, he looked Chu Linlang over more carefully once again.

With a cold and steady eye, the more he looked, the more he felt that this Chu woman’s entire bearing was extraordinary!

The fabric on her person, the shoes on her feet — all of it seemed to be of the sort only available as imperial-tribute goods, utterly inaccessible to ordinary people.

Chu Linlang had dressed with genuine care that day — her entire outfit had been bestowed by the Empress Dowager. Anyone with even a little exposure to fine things would be able to recognize the quality, and at the very least see that this was no ordinary garment.

This Prefect Bai had seen good things in his time, and the longer he looked, the more startled he became — he realized he had underestimated this woman.

If the Gong Family affair had truly been her doing, didn’t that prove this woman had real power behind her, enough to act without fear?

At this point, the prefect began to lose his footing, turning over in his mind just who this Chu woman’s background and backing might be.

His expression too, responding to her words, gradually began to ease, and he pulled his words back: “Lady Xinmei makes a valid point. This official, what with being so busy with official duties, has indeed left many minor matters in the territory to subordinates to handle. You’ve asked so suddenly — I’m truly not entirely clear on the details… But since it involves your establishment, I’ll ask my advisor in a moment and handle it at my discretion on your behalf.”

Chu Linlang knew when to stop pressing. She smiled and thanked Prefect Bai first, then turned and led her people out of the government offices.

The advisor, who had been keeping his distance all this while, now sidled over and asked: “Your Honor, shall we send people to arrest them?”

Prefect Bai heard this and shot him a sidelong glare: “I ask you — the fabric she’s wearing, what is it? Do you recognize it?”

The advisor was taken aback. He had noticed the woman was dressed in lavish splendor throughout, but truly couldn’t identify what she was wearing — only that the cloth had a shimmering, shifting quality that was strangely beautiful.

Prefect Bai looked down his nose at his advisor’s ignorance and sighed as he explained: “That outfit of hers is made of imperial-tribute gold-woven brocade — worth its weight in gold by the inch. Even palace concubines don’t necessarily have a single piece of it. Yet she wears a whole outfit of it without a second thought! It was only when she came close enough that I recognized it — I broke out in a cold sweat. This woman’s background is absolutely not simple. She was even able to attend a banquet at Vice Minister Xin’s residence… At this critical juncture, if I offend her, am I not applying poison to my own eyes?”

Just as Lady Chu had said — with the military campaign underway and his location being strategically important, if word got out of embezzlement, he might end up like the case two years ago when Minister Situ and the Sixth Prince conducted their northern inspection and someone got summarily cut down.

With that in mind, Prefect Bai finally came to his senses and decided it was better not to offend a noble figure who had come from the capital. He ordered his men to tally up the gold ingots previously seized from the shop and return them to Chu Linlang.

As for Chu Linlang — once she stepped out of the prefect’s gate, she hurried to regroup with Xia Qingyun and the others and decided to get on the road and leave the northwest first.

She had originally assumed the people escorting Wen Shi were just hired martial world escort agents.

But hearing from Prefect Bai that the Gong Family residence had been forcibly entered and people taken, that was absolutely not the work of ordinary security escorts.

She had rescued Wen Shi at great effort — she absolutely could not let Wen Shi fall back into Yang Yi’s hands. Better to leave quickly.

After briefly recounting the situation to Sui Qiye, he had people prepare the carriage and prepared to head to the river wharf to board a fast boat, while he himself went out to assess the situation.

When Sui Qiye returned from outside, his expression was not optimistic. He said quietly: “The post-station docks have many suspicious faces — they appear to be searching for someone. If we set out now, we will definitely be spotted and followed. If we encounter them on the road, it will only be more difficult to handle.”

Chu Linlang was somewhat alarmed: “He… how can he be this brazen even on Jin territory?”

Sui Qiye unrolled the military map and indicated the terrain and direction to Chu Linlang.

Though this area was not the northern territory proper, it was in the northwest — and separated from Jing Kingdom territory by only a few mountain ridges. If one had a guide familiar with the terrain, crossing those ridges could bring a person here very quickly.

So there were quite a few Jing merchants in the northwest, and the place was full of mixed eyes and ears.

Yang Yi had certainly learned that Wen Shi had been taken through carrier pigeon or something similar, and had urgently dispatched people to investigate.

Judging by how his people had seized and taken the Gong Family father and sons, he was clearly capable of using any ruthless means necessary.

Chu Linlang asked Sui Qiye quietly: “What do you think we should do?”

Sui Qiye thought it over and said: “This is still Jin territory after all — as long as we stay within the towns, we need not fear Yang Yi pulling anything. I’ve already sent someone to notify General Li Chengyi — if he can dispatch troops to protect us, we can set out. But until then, we should not move…”

Events proved that Sui Qiye’s judgment was correct.

Three days after Chu Linlang’s visit to Prefect Bai, someone discovered the bodies of the Gong Family father and sons dumped by the roadside.

Their bodies bore extensive wounds, and it appeared they had been subjected to severe torture before death.

The father and sons had been local tyrants of the far northwest, notorious for bullying men and oppressing women, and had offended countless people — so people speculated without settling on who might have had reason to deal with them so harshly.

The effect the two corpses had on Prefect Bai was potent.

He grew increasingly suspicious that this murder case had been committed by Chu Linlang, the titled lady who had come from the capital. Such ruthless and cold-blooded efficiency was not the work of an ordinary woman!

Thinking again of how her two attendants had drawn blades and threatened him that day, the prefect felt a chill running up the back of his neck.

The gold ingots he had previously confiscated were promptly returned in full — and not only that, he included an extra small chest of silver, inside which were unmistakably the five hundred taels Qiu Shi had originally sent to Prefect Bai to secure Xia Qingyun’s release.

When Xia Qingyun saw this, he was puzzled: “This Prefect Bai has always eaten people alive without spitting out the bones. How did he willingly spit out meat he’d already swallowed? Miss, what exactly did you do to make this black-hearted official back down?”

Chu Linlang gave a rueful smile. She couldn’t quite explain it herself — but she had an uneasy feeling stirring inside.

If Prefect Bai mistook her for the true mastermind behind the Gong Family murder case, then word of her, this noblewoman from the capital, would sooner or later spread through the town like a storm.

At that point, certain people would likely come calling uninvited.

She just didn’t know when General Li’s reinforcements would arrive. She feared it wouldn’t be long before Yang Yi’s people tracked her down.

But the speed of Yang Yi’s subordinates was clearly faster than she had anticipated.

The very day after the Gong Family bodies were discovered, someone came to deliver a calling card to Chu Linlang.

The card was written with considerable politeness — it simply stated that the writer hoped Lady Chu would hand over the person in question, in which case all past offenses would be forgiven, and they would absolutely ensure Lady Chu’s safe return home.

Every word and sentence was laced with veiled threat — if Linlang did not comply, the fate of the Gong Family father and sons would serve as her cautionary example.

Chu Linlang read it over, picked up her brush, and wrote a reply.

Her message was even simpler — she wished to host a modest private dinner and wondered if General Yang Yi would grace her with his presence for a cup of simple wine.

Despite having received Yang Yi’s threat, the residence where Chu Linlang was temporarily staying showed no sign of increased security.

Because of the Gong Family raid, the wealthy households in the county had these past few days all kept their doors tightly shut, with household guards patrolling inside and outside without pause, and in the night hours, the occasional bark of fierce dogs rang out.

By comparison, the courtyard where Chu Linlang was staying was so relaxed it seemed almost irresponsible — the gate was half open, not a household guard was seen patrolling, and it projected an entirely “welcome, come in” kind of ease.

Xia Qingyun was a little worried and asked Linlang whether she should buy some fierce dogs for the household.

But Linlang shook her head: “No matter how many soldiers and weapons we buy, we won’t have tighter security than the Gong Family. If they could come and go from the Gong Family as if the place were empty, then no matter how much we fortify our defenses, we can’t stop someone who has their eye on us.”

It was precisely because she had thought through this point that Chu Linlang had deliberately ordered the courtyard gate left half open — she intended to stage the “Empty City Stratagem” she had once heard about in the history lessons at the girls’ school.

Linlang knew she was no Zhuge Kongming, but she was gambling that Yang Yi had the temperament of Sima Yi.

She had heard Situ Sheng say that people who wage war and command armies always have a degree of suspicious nature about them.

Without some sharpness of mind, the brothers under one’s command could fall into an enemy’s trap, and dying a hundred times wouldn’t be enough.

So her courtyard with no defenses at all was a bet — a bet on whether Yang Yi would become suspicious and dare to send men to storm her open and unguarded gate.

Yang Yi’s boldness, however, exceeded Chu Linlang’s expectations entirely. At the very hour specified in Chu Linlang’s invitation, he appeared alone at Chu Linlang’s gate, exactly on time.

This was, by reckoning, the first time Chu Linlang and Yang Yi had met alone in a formal setting.

When the two met, both examined the other carefully.

From the moment Yang Yi first heard of a woman called Chu Linlang, he had never given her a second thought.

After all, she was nothing more than a divorced merchant wife who, trading on her experience with men and women, had bewitched someone as green and inexperienced in romance as Situ Sheng until he was utterly infatuated.

But after several indirect encounters with her, Yang Yi had gradually come to understand why this woman had managed to hold his son’s attention.

Setting aside her looks and appearance — this nerve alone was enough to make Chu Linlang stand out as a little different from the rest.

She had first, in the capital’s shop, single-handedly confronted and outsmarted that vicious inspector wolf, escaping unscathed. Then on the road, she had used a sedative to knock out so many seasoned and experienced escort agents.

And now, this woman was actually smiling with perfect composure and playing the “Empty City Stratagem” with him.

Where on earth had his son found this woman? She truly was… a little different.

By now, Yang Yi had slightly put away his contempt toward this Chu woman.

And his reason for coming alone today was to send Chu Linlang a message — your little tricks have already been seen through by me. But I still have some patience for a conversation with you. I sincerely hope you won’t fail to appreciate what’s good for you.

Chu Linlang understood Yang Yi’s meaning but feigned ignorance, having long since set out a full private dinner and inviting Yang Yi to be seated.

Yang Yi glanced at Sui Qiye standing to the side, then calmly sat down and opened with: “So… is Wen Shi really here with you?”

Chu Linlang smiled slightly and answered his question with one of her own: “So, was it really General Yang Yi who dealt with the Gong Family father and sons?”