Lin’an Town.

After selling the pork, Xie Zheng frowned as he carefully wiped his hands clean with a handkerchief.

Only then did he lift his eyes to glance at the sun, discovering it was already close to noon. His handsome brows furrowed even more deeply.

Lin’an Town was not far from the county seat. Why had she been gone for so long?

Xie Zheng closed the shop doors. As he passed through the market district, he noticed a foreign merchant selling all sorts of animal pelts and leather goods at his stall. His gaze landed on a pair of wrist guards.

Seeing him staring at them, the merchant called out, “Young master, interested in wrist guards? These are made of deer hide—excellent quality. Though for you…” He sized Xie Zheng up. “They’d be a bit small. I also have some made from muntjac leather in larger sizes. Would you like to take a look?”

As he spoke, he picked up a much larger pair and offered them to Xie Zheng.

But Xie Zheng did not take them. Instead, he picked up the deer-hide pair and examined them. He lightly wrapped his hand around them, as though estimating the size from memory. After a moment, he said to the merchant, “I’ll take these.”

After paying and preparing to leave with the wrist guards, he suddenly heard several people in the nearby tea house sighing heavily.

“How pitiful, those dozens of lives from Ma Village. Those officials really aren’t human!”

“I just hope that scholar escaped alive and can expose all the filthy things those corrupt officials have done!”

Xie Zheng paused and looked toward them. Seeing his apparent interest, the merchant sighed and explained, “It’s about the massacre in Ma Village. There was a scholar in the village who couldn’t stand the government’s brutal grain requisition anymore. He planned to bring the entire village to kneel before the Jizhou Prefecture office and beg them to leave some grain seeds for the farmers. Fearing the authorities would find out, the whole village set out secretly last night. But this morning, they were discovered murdered along the official road. Every villager was slaughtered. The scholar is missing—no one knows whether he was captured alive or managed to escape.”

A cold glint flashed through Xie Zheng’s eyes. “You’re saying the villagers were killed by the government?”

The merchant replied, “That’s what everyone suspects. They were just impoverished farmers. Even bandits rob the rich when they raid roads. Surely no one would deliberately block the road just to slaughter dozens of poor people for sharpening their blades.”

“Strangest of all, right after the people of Ma Village died, every road leading to Jizhou Prefecture suddenly got blocked by bandits. Isn’t that too much of a coincidence? Isn’t it obvious someone wants to stop people from going to file complaints at the prefectural office? The farmers from neighboring villages are already grabbing weapons and saying they’ll go join the rebel king in Chongzhou.”

The merchant kept shaking his head as he spoke. He was not from Great Yin himself and merely traveled everywhere doing fur business, but as a commoner living at the bottom of society, hearing such a tragedy inevitably moved him.

Meanwhile, Xie Zheng’s brows remained tightly furrowed.

As someone who had long wielded power, he immediately sensed something wrong.

The massacre in Ma Village felt as though someone were deliberately trying to force the people of Qingping County into rebellion.

If that scholar had survived and escaped, he would surely spread news of the massacre all the way to Jizhou Prefecture and even the capital.

The government’s grain requisition had already driven the people to desperation. When the villagers knelt before the county office, the magistrate ignored them. Then they tried to go plead at the prefectural office instead, only to be slaughtered halfway there. Anyone hearing such a tragedy would wish they could grind those officials to dust.

Such massacres stirred public outrage and pushed the people of Qingping County toward rebellion, which was undoubtedly another blow against the imperial court from a military standpoint.

Thinking of the tragedies caused by grain requisitions in Taizhou, the coldness in Xie Zheng’s eyes deepened.

Every disaster caused by the grain requisitions seemed to have someone deliberately fanning the flames behind the scenes.

And the only beneficiaries were undoubtedly the Chongzhou rebels.

—

Jizhou Prefecture.

Wei Xuan sat in the seat of honor, impatiently watching the officials below tally the grain collected from the various counties.

Soon, one of his guards stepped forward to report, “General, the grain requisition from Qingping County has not yet arrived.”

Wei Xuan’s already foul mood instantly worsened. He kicked over the low table before him and cursed, “A mere county magistrate dares disobey my military orders?”

He rose with sword in hand. “Men! Muster the troops! I’ll personally go to Qingping County and collect the grain myself!”

At that moment, another scout rushed in hurriedly.

“Report! An eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch from Yanzhou!”

Wei Xuan looked displeased. Yanzhou was merely a barren, impoverished region leaning against Yan Mountain, the place where Xie Zheng’s former subordinates had been exiled. What urgent matter could possibly come from there?

But the moment he unfolded the letter and saw the familiar handwriting, all the blood in his body surged violently upward.

The guard had no idea why his general’s expression had suddenly become so terrible. In the next instant, Wei Xuan abruptly drew his sword and viciously split the overturned table in half, his eyes bloodshot.

“He’s not dead! He deliberately waited until now to show himself because he saw I lost the battle and wants to humiliate me with it!”

The trusted guard picked up the letter Wei Xuan had thrown to the ground. Upon seeing the bold, unrestrained handwriting—and the signature “Xie Jiuheng”—his face also changed drastically.

The Marquis of Wu’an of Great Yin bore the surname Xie, given name Zheng, courtesy name Jiuheng.

His teacher, Grand Tutor Tao, had given him that courtesy name. Grand Tutor Tao believed the character “Zheng” carried too much aggression and feared he might become reckless in pursuit of success. Thus he named him “Jiuheng,” meaning “nine considerations,” to temper him. Ordinary people only needed to think things through three times before acting; Xie Zheng, ideally, should weigh matters nine times over.

And throughout all these years, Xie Zheng had indeed lived up to Grand Tutor Tao’s expectations. On the battlefield, he had never acted rashly. Though he became famous young, his steadiness surpassed even many veteran generals.

As Wei Xuan’s confidant, the guard naturally knew about the Wei father and son scheming against the Marquis of Wu’an on the Chongzhou battlefield.

He immediately said, “The Marquis of Wu’an has hidden himself all this time to secretly recover his strength and seek revenge for what happened back then. In his letter, he tells you to retreat to Huizhou and guard the gateway to the northwest against foreign enemies. This could very well be a trap. The northwest is no place to remain for long! The Chancellor’s transfer order will arrive within days. Returning to the capital first is the wisest course!”

Wei Xuan grabbed the guard by the collar and snarled, “You think I’m afraid of him?”

The guard knew Wei Xuan constantly compared himself to the Marquis of Wu’an and especially hated hearing that he was inferior to him. But at this moment, he could no longer care about provoking him.

“General, do not fight over pride at a time like this! The northwest is already in chaos. The seventy thousand soldiers remaining in Huizhou were personally trained by the Marquis of Wu’an. They obeyed your commands only because they believed the Marquis died at the hands of the Chongzhou rebels and wanted revenge for him. But now that the Marquis is alive, we in the northwest are nothing more than fish on his chopping block!”

How could Wei Xuan not know his guard was speaking the truth?

But the more he understood it, the more furious he became.

Ever since childhood, he had always been overshadowed by that man. Xie Zheng was like a nail driven straight into his eye.

If that nail was not pulled out, he would never know peace for the rest of his life.

Yet in the end, Wei Xuan still had no choice but to temporarily swallow his pride. Burning with rage, he departed Jizhou Prefecture with two thousand elite cavalry guards.

When He Jingyuan learned of this at the residence, he let out a long sigh, feeling both relieved and ashamed.

Relieved that the infamous “slaughter general,” feared throughout the realm, was ruthless only toward foreign enemies and still retained compassion for the people of Great Yin.

Ashamed that, as the governing official of an entire region, he had allowed Wei Xuan to drive the people of Jizhou to such desperation.

Zheng Wenchang asked him, “My lord, how should we handle the grain that has already been collected?”

He Jingyuan replied, “Return the grain seeds to the farmers. Spring is coming soon. We cannot delay next year’s planting.”

Zheng Wenchang acknowledged the order.

He Jingyuan then asked, “I heard one county failed to submit its grain requisition. Do you know which county it was?”

“Qingping County,” Zheng Wenchang answered.

Hearing that place name again, He Jingyuan’s expression darkened. “Magistrate Cui Shoude is a cowardly rat. He would never dare refuse to submit grain without reason. Something strange must be happening there. Take men and investigate.”

Just as Zheng Wenchang was about to salute, a guard suddenly rushed inside.

“My lord, bad news! A scholar is outside the prefectural office beating the grievance drum. He composed poetry condemning the officials for forcibly seizing grain and slaughtering innocent farmers. The whole city is already in an uproar!”

Both He Jingyuan and Zheng Wenchang were shocked.

Zheng Wenchang hurriedly said, “Ever since receiving your orders, I’ve had men watching the soldiers under Wei Xuan responsible for the grain requisitions. We never discovered them killing civilians or stealing grain by force.”

He Jingyuan merely instructed the guard, “Bring the man to me. I’ll question him personally.”

The guard accepted the order and left.

—

Qingping County.

Fan Changyu’s proposal to kidnap the magistrate was unsurprisingly rejected by Madam Wang.

With helplessness in her voice, Madam Wang said, “Counting all the yamen runners together, there are over a hundred men in the county office. How could we possibly kidnap the magistrate?”

Afraid of frightening Madam Wang, Fan Changyu lowered her head and stayed silent. But inwardly, she thought: no matter how many people there were, they could not possibly follow the magistrate every hour of the day. There would always be times when he was alone.

Madam Wang was just about to continue speaking when loud commotion suddenly erupted ahead on the street.

A group of fierce-looking government soldiers marched through the street escorting several tightly bound prisoners.

After getting a clear look at their clothes, Fan Changyu’s expression changed dramatically.

“Aren’t those workers from Yixiang Tower?!”

Madam Wang’s heart also skipped a beat. “The magistrate is moving this quickly?”

Fan Changyu did not see Yu Qianqian among those being escorted and hurried forward, squeezing into the crowd of onlookers.

The surrounding townsfolk were all discussing the matter noisily.

“Why have all the cooks and workers from Yixiang Tower been arrested?”

“I heard someone died after eating food from Yixiang Tower. The victim’s family carried a coffin to the restaurant entrance to cause trouble. The authorities sealed the restaurant to investigate and arrested all the workers for questioning.”

Standing on tiptoe to look through the escorting soldiers, Fan Changyu finally spotted Yu Qianqian walking in the middle with her hands tied.

Yu Qianqian saw her as well. Without changing her expression, she subtly shook her head, signaling Fan Changyu not to approach. Then she silently mouthed two words.

From the movement of her lips, Fan Changyu recognized them as “Bao’er.”

Carefully examining the escort line, she saw no child among them. She immediately understood that Yu Qianqian must have hidden Yu Bao’er somewhere, and the silent message was asking her to take care of him.

Madam Wang had already caught up and tightly gripped Fan Changyu’s hand, afraid she might act impulsively.

Lowering her voice, she warned beside her ear, “No matter how close you are to that shopkeeper, don’t go near them now. If the officers notice you, you might drag yourself into this disaster too.”

Fan Changyu understood that as well and forcibly restrained herself from acting.

After the officers had passed, Madam Wang looked at Fan Changyu and said, “If you need maps of the county office or the magistrate’s residence, I can get them for you.”

Given Madam Wang’s position within the Wang household, the fact that she was willing to say even this much was already no easy matter.

Fan Changyu thanked her, saying she would retrieve them when needed, before hurrying toward Yixiang Tower.

Yu Qianqian had been arrested at Yixiang Tower. Yu Bao’er was likely hidden somewhere inside.

Upon reaching the main street, Fan Changyu saw from afar that official seals had already been pasted across Yixiang Tower’s grand entrance. She circled into the rear alley and saw that even the courtyards where the restaurant workers lived had been sealed off.

She glanced at the rear courtyard wall of Yixiang Tower and was just about to climb over it when an arm suddenly reached out from beside her and dragged her into a narrow hidden alley between two walls.

Fan Changyu instantly grabbed the person by the collar and exerted force with her arm, about to slam him into the ground. But the moment she caught the bitter medicinal scent and the smell of dried tangerine candy on him, the strength in her hands abruptly loosened.

She called softly, “Yan Zheng?”

Xie Zheng lowered his eyes, signaling her not to speak. His phoenix eyes swept coldly toward the alley entrance, causing Fan Changyu to instinctively become alert as well.

The footsteps of a squad of officers approached from afar and stopped outside the rear entrance of Yixiang Tower.

“The magistrate has ordered that until the murder case at Yixiang Tower is resolved, the restaurant is not to be unsealed. To prevent destruction of evidence, guard this building strictly!”

Fan Changyu whispered, “Yu Bao’er wasn’t taken by the officers. I’m worried Yu Qianqian hid him somewhere inside the building.”

The two stood extremely close, able to clearly hear each other’s breathing. To avoid the guards outside overhearing anything, she kept her voice very low.

Xie Zheng only felt as though insects were crawling inside his ears. Frowning slightly, he straightened and moved farther away from her.

“I arrived a quarter of an hour before you. I already went inside and brought the child out.”

Fan Changyu finally relaxed in relief. Only then did she ask, “Weren’t you at the pork shop? Why did you come to the county seat?”

A cold light flickered in Xie Zheng’s eyes as he answered simply, “After selling the pork, I saw you hadn’t returned for a long time, so I came to check.”

Fan Changyu said, “I’m fine. It’s just that Shopkeeper Yu ran into trouble.”

After explaining her and Yu Qianqian’s suspicions to him, she added, “I was planning to kidnap the magistrate and rescue Shopkeeper Yu. You should take Yu Bao’er and Ningniang somewhere safe. If I get arrested, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Ningniang.”

Xie Zheng frowned at her. “Who gave you such a stupid idea?”

Fan Changyu was baffled by his sudden criticism. After thinking about it, she assumed he was angry because she intended to throw herself into danger while also forcing two children onto him right before he was about to leave.

“I thought of it myself. I only mentioned the possibility of getting caught. Obviously I’d wait until the magistrate had fewer people around before making a move. How could I possibly get captured…”

Xie Zheng let out a mocking laugh. “A good number of farmers in the countryside have already rebelled. They’re planning to storm the Qingping County office before joining the rebel king. Do you really think the magistrate, as the mastermind, would place himself in such danger?”

Fan Changyu finally understood his meaning.

Even capturing the magistrate would not save Yu Qianqian.

She thought for a while but could not come up with any better plan. Lifting a pair of clear, honest eyes toward Xie Zheng, she asked, “Then what do we do? If we figure out who the mastermind is, would kidnapping him work?”

Hearing that she still had not given up on kidnapping people, Xie Zheng was nearly angered into laughter.

He said, “Kidnapping anyone is useless. Someone is deliberately sowing discord. Their goal is to force the people of Qingping County into rebellion and then lure the Jizhou army into suppressing the so-called rioters. Once that happens, the rumors that the imperial court drove the people into rebellion through grain requisition will become undeniable truth.”

Since Qingping County had failed to deliver the requisitioned grain to Jizhou Prefecture, with Wei Xuan’s temperament, he would undoubtedly come personally to Qingping County in fury. And once he confronted the rebelling civilians, it was entirely possible Wei Xuan would order his men to massacre the entire county.