I actually think highly of Wei An.
Wei An, who was so highly regarded by others, finally arrived in Gaotang Prefecture after several days of travel. It was here that Shen Chen was abducted.
Because the imperial envoy was abducted, officials from all levels in Dongchang Prefecture have been feeling very uncomfortable recently - a good person was abducted in their territory, and they cannot escape the blame in any way. At the very least, chaos under their rule is inevitable.
It was also because of this that after entering Dongchang Prefecture, Wei An and his men discovered that Dongchang Prefecture was heavily guarded from top to bottom, with patrolling officers and soldiers everywhere.
If they see a strange face, they will come up and question you.
Wei An and his friends had typical foreign accents and were questioned as soon as they arrived.
Fortunately, Tan Xi had been around a lot and was adept at dealing with such situations, so he was not stumped at all.
Wei An and his friends managed to escape several times and finally arrived at the inn where Shen Chen disappeared.
This posthouse was quite large and was qualified to receive officials below the second rank, but it now seemed somewhat deserted. Wei An stood at the door and saw people coming in and out from time to time, so he turned around and glanced at Tan Xi.
Tan Xi went in immediately.
They borrowed the identity of merchants, but they were not ordinary merchants. They were merchants working for the Weaving Bureau and had the right to live in the post station with the bureau's post.
This post station is very large. According to the rules, it has both main halls and branch halls, but it is also unique in that it has two branch courtyards built in the station. The style of the courtyards is not the northern style, but the Jiangnan style. They should be prepared for officials coming from the south.
According to the weight of their current posts, they certainly could not afford to live in such a place, but they were people from the Weaving Bureau after all. The Jiangnan Weaving Bureau had always been managed by people directly sent by the palace. The dogs there were more valuable than those in other places, not to mention that they were merchants working for the Weaving Bureau. Therefore, although they could not live in the upper hall and the separate courtyard, they could still occupy some seats in the separate hall.
The postman sent them to the place and was about to leave, but was stopped by Tan Xi. After greeting them with a smile, he rubbed his hands and asked nervously, "Sir, is it safe here?"
The postman's eyes widened.
I have been bullied a lot recently. I dare not lose my temper with those officials. After all, even the postmasters have to bow and nod to them, so they have no choice but to endure the bullying.
But there was no need to hold back his temper when facing the servants of these second-rate merchants. He put his hands on his hips and sneered, "It's up to you to stay here. If you think it's unsafe, go find another place!"
There is a post station every thirty miles, some are big and some are small. This one is the largest one within three hundred miles, and it is usually the only one in the city. Otherwise, no matter how valuable these merchants are, they cannot stay here - many officials below the fifth rank have to wait for a seat!
Tan Xi was not angry either. He just laughed foolishly, took out an exquisite purse from his bosom and stuffed it directly into the postman's hand: "Don't be angry, don't be angry. After all, we are doing business. We are not afraid of anything else but encountering robbers. If we do this, a year or two of our hard work will be in vain..."
The postman's expression softened a little.
People who do business do care about these things. They often carry money or goods with them. If they lose them, all their hard work will be gone. In serious cases, they may even lose everything.
He frowned and glanced at them. After all, he was holding a post from the Weaving Bureau. Even if he was not a big businessman, he should not offend them. He coughed and took the purse. He was surprised to find that it was still heavy. He smiled again and looked at them and nodded slowly: "No wonder, you businessmen are the most informed. You must have heard some gossip, right?"
When Tan Xi saw that there was a way, he quickly agreed with a smile: "That's right, we heard that... the imperial envoy disappeared here, so we are afraid..."
Suddenly there was a big commotion in front of him. The postmaster was startled, and then he saw a large group of people rushing in. He quickly slammed the door shut and said in a low voice, "Silence! The Jinyiwei masters are here!"
To most people in the Great Zhou, the Jinyiwei were as scary as the Ox-Head and Horse-Face Demons, and they were extremely afraid of them.
Everyone cooperated and didn't make any sound.
Tan Xi's voice was so low that it was barely audible: "Officer, are they here to investigate the disappearance of the imperial envoy?"
The postman cursed angrily and stamped his feet, obviously very scared. The corners of his mouth twitched, and he felt a little relieved when he pinched the purse in his hand: "Besides this, what else can happen recently? We are all busy looking for the imperial envoy, but the imperial envoy has disappeared. There is no news at all. I am so worried."
Tan Xi sighed and followed suit: "The Jinyiwei are so powerful, how could a living person like the Imperial Envoy escape from their hands?"
The postman became even more annoyed: "That's right, it's like seeing a ghost in broad daylight, the Imperial Envoy disappeared without a sound! The Jinyiwei officials almost turned the posthouse upside down and notified the government, but there is still no news. What can we do?"
It seems that this postman doesn't know much and keeps repeating the same things over and over again.
Tan Xi frowned, smiled and dismissed him, then turned to look at Wei An who had remained silent the whole time: "Miss, what can we find out in this inn? Should we look for the place where the body was found?"
Just as he was saying this, the door was kicked open with a bang, and several Jinyiwei with broad shoulders and narrow waists, tiger backs, wasp waists and mantis legs stood at the door.
They pushed the door open, and the light from outside rushed in, casting a mottled light on the ground. Tan Xi subconsciously took a step back and stood in front of Wei An.
The group of Jinyiwei looked at him indifferently and asked coldly: "Are you from the south?"
Having been accustomed to seeing Young Master Lin and Lou Bing, he actually slowly forgot the horror of the Jinyiwei. Looking at his gaze, Tan Xi felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet. After a long while he hurriedly responded with a "yes", hurriedly took out the post from the Weaving Bureau from his arms and presented it to him with both hands.
The man didn't extend his hand, but just asked, "What's your last name?"
He looked past Tan Xi coldly, his eyes sweeping over the people behind him: "It just so happens that I just came back from the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau, and I also want to meet some merchants who used to work for the weaving bureau. Who is this kind of god who can come here?"
It's nothing when other people say these things, but when this Jinyiwei says these things, it makes people's scalp tingle.
Young Master Lin has stayed in the capital for too long, so long that people have forgotten that he had offended Cao An and Cao Wen in the past, and that he had been dealing with the famous Luo Yanwang in Jiangnan.