"What? Say it again. The young master was kidnapped..." In the study room in the backyard of the Luquan County Magistrate's Mansion, Luquan County Magistrate Zhou Shouren stood up suddenly after hearing the officer's report, almost overturning the desk. He stared with his eyes wide open and asked in an unbelievable tone, "The young master was stationed at Shili Mountain, with a whole battalion of soldiers around him and expert guards. How could he be kidnapped?"
Seeing the governor angry, the officer who reported the incident felt guilty and couldn’t even speak clearly. “Well… we were intercepting their convoy for inspection, and the convoy didn’t want to be inspected, so the young master wanted to use force, and as a result… there was a man in the convoy… with extraordinary skills, and we… we didn’t even see what was going on, and the people around the young master were knocked over by him, and the young master also… fell into that man’s hands…”
"You bastards, there are so many of you, with swords drawn and armors fully equipped, why did you let the young master be kidnapped? What use are you..." The governor of Luquan County was furious. Without thinking, he picked up the inkstone on the table and smashed it hard at the officer who reported. The inkstone hit the officer's helmet and shattered. The ink in the inkstone also splashed all over the officer and his face. The officer didn't even dare to move and endured Zhou Shouren's anger. "Where is Zhou Lai? Why didn't he come back to see me? I asked him to take care of the young master by his side. Now the young master has been kidnapped. Where is he?"
"Captain Zhou... Captain Zhou was killed by that young man at that time..."
“What about you? You, a battalion of soldiers, were just watching the show from the sidelines, watching that man kidnap the young master, and then you only come to tell me the result…” Zhou Shouren’s eyes looked like he wanted to eat someone.
"Please calm down, sir. It's not that we don't want to rescue the young master, but we just don't dare to do it. The man who held the young master hostage was ruthless. When we surrounded him, he cut off one of the young master's ears. Blood was seen on the spot. If we had taken action at that time, the young master would have been killed. The young master was in the hands of that person, so he ordered us to move the barricades and make way, and not to stop those people..."
Hearing that his son's ear had been cut off so neatly, the angry county magistrate was stunned for a moment, as if someone had poured cold water on his head, and he calmed down immediately, "Are you saying that the man already knew the identity of the young master, but still cut off the young master's ear?"
"Yes, Not Bad!"
"Where did you say those people came from?"
"Those people claim to be the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division's men, and they are carrying out important tasks!"
The county magistrate's eyes condensed, he took a deep breath, then sat down on the chair, frowned, and muttered to himself, "The Imperial Mabu Division, how could it be the Imperial Mabu Division..." After muttering it twice, the county magistrate suddenly turned his head and looked at a middle-aged scholar sitting next to him, "Mr. Sima, has the county magistrate's office received any official documents reporting that the Imperial Mabu Division will pass through Guzhou recently?"
The scholar looked to be in his forties, with three strands of long beard, handsome face and narrow eyes. He had just been listening beside him without saying a word, which showed his calm demeanor. Hearing Zhou Shouren's question, the scholar just shook his head and said slowly, "Sir, the governor's office has not received any notification about the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division coming to Guzhou recently. The only notification the governor's office received before was an official document stating that a battalion of the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division would pass through Guzhou in April when His Majesty was leaving Beijing for a southern tour. Now that His Majesty's life and death are unknown and his whereabouts are a mystery, those people are naturally not the ones mentioned in the previous official document!"
"Why did so many people from the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division suddenly appear in Luquan?"
"Please sit down for a moment, sir. I'm here to ask you about this matter. It's a little strange, and some details are not clear yet, so it's hard to make any conclusions..."
The Luquan County Magistrate nodded with a frown on his face, then sat in his chair and said nothing.
Mr. Sima then looked at the officer and continued to ask softly, "Since those people claim to be from the Imperial Cavalry and Infantry Department, can you tell me the name of the person who held you hostage?"
The officer being questioned shook his head. "That man never told us his name from beginning to end. Before he took action, we thought the leader of that group of people was another lieutenant officer from the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division. It was not until after that man took action that we heard that the people from the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division were completely following his orders. Only then did we know that the young man was the leader of those people!"
"What does the young man who held you hostage look like?"
The officer being questioned described Yan Liqiang's appearance, but Mr. Sima had no impression of him. He just frowned and said, "Sir, you usually don't pay much attention to the checkpoints and rarely stay at the checkpoints. Why did you stay at the checkpoint today and insist on checking the team? Did someone instigate you to do this?"
"Well..." The officer hesitated...
"Just tell the truth!" Mr. Sima said calmly, "If you dare to hide anything, I will let the county governor chop off your head today!"
The officer was frightened and said, "I say, I say, the reason why you insisted on checking that group of people today was because you met them on the road before. There were several women in the car of the group who were outstanding in appearance, one in a million. You were fascinated by them at first sight and wanted to keep them. That's why you made trouble at the checkpoint and ordered us to intercept those people..."
"Just a few women?"
"Yes, it was a few women. Not only were they very pretty, but the maids beside them were also very pretty. They were rare beauties in Luquan County, which is why the young master was obsessed with them. If you don't believe me, you can ask other people in the camp. That's what the young master told us at the time. He wanted us to keep those women for him at all costs, and we were not allowed to hurt them when we took action..."
"Where's Hou Xing? He was also by your side protecting you. You just said he was shot by those people. How did he die?"
"At that time, Hou Xing shot an arrow from the arrow tower to rescue the young master, but he didn't expect that the arrow he shot was shot down by an archer in the team. At the same time, another archer in the team also shot an arrow at Hou Xing, piercing his head. Hou Xing fell from the arrow tower and died on the spot..."
"What else did the man who held you hostage say?"
"That person asked us to tell the county magistrate that if he wants the young master to live, then no soldiers from Luquan County are allowed to appear within a one-mile radius of their team. Once they leave Luquan County and pass Luming Pass, they will naturally release the young master!"
"You are not allowed to tell anyone about the young master's accident for the time being. If the news leaks out, you will be held accountable!"
"yes!"
"Go down!"
The officer breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, and after saluting, he hurriedly left the county magistrate's study!
"Sir, this is trouble!" Mr. Sima turned his head and looked at the governor of Luquan County. "I feel that the identities of those people must be real, and their backgrounds are extraordinary. Young Master, you have offended these people for a few women this time. I am afraid that there will be endless troubles. Those people are now in a hurry to leave Luquan County, so I don't want to bother with you for the time being. Once those people arrive at the place, your actions today will probably cause great disasters for you and the Zhou family!"
The county magistrate's face changed. "Why do you say that, sir?"
"The women that the young master has taken a fancy to must be of extraordinary status. The people from the Imperial Horse and Foot Division took them and their maids with them on the road. It is very likely that they were escorting those people on the road. Once those people arrive at their place, those women and their husbands or families will tell them that they encountered the young master's rudeness in Luquan County. Your Excellency, do you think this matter can be resolved peacefully?"
"This... I'm afraid there's no way to resolve it peacefully..." The county magistrate shook his head. How could a man allow his woman to be bullied by other men and remain indifferent? The more capable and the higher the status of the man, the more likely he would be like this.
Mr. Sima's eyes flashed coldly, and his tone became low. "At this juncture, the only people who can mobilize the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division are the high-ranking officials in the Imperial Capital. Now that something happened in the Imperial Capital, all kinds of news are flying around. I don't know how many officials in the court survived. Those people in the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division are most likely entrusted by a certain official in the court to escort that official's family, wife and daughter away from the capital and back home. If the officials in the court who can mobilize the Imperial Horse and Infantry Division retaliate, are you sure you can handle it?"
"What can I do, sir?"
"At this time, it depends on whether you want to save your family's lives or both your life and the wealth in front of you..."
"How to say?"
"If you want to save your family's lives, it's easy. You just need to meet the demands of those people and do nothing else. Once they pass through Luming Pass, you can bring them back alive. Then you'd better hide your identities with me and flee from Luquan County. The world is so big that we can definitely find a place to stay and live under a different name!"
This answer made the county magistrate look unhappy. "What about the other method?"
"This other method depends on whether you dare to take risks and be ruthless..."
"Does the master want me to sacrifice my family's power?"
"Your Excellency has only one son. How could I let you sacrifice your son?" Mr. Situ smiled.
"What does that gentleman mean..."
"We just need to do this and that..."
Listening to Mr. Sima's words, the brows of the Luquan County Magistrate slowly relaxed...
(End of this chapter)