Chapter 259 Threatening

The situation was just as Tao Qizhong had expected. Two strong men walked in one after the other.

The follower attacked suddenly, catching the enemy off guard, and knocked the strong man walking behind him to the ground with one blow.

The strong man walking in front heard the noise and just turned around, he was punched in the face. He groaned and fell to the ground.

The follower picked up the heavy pottery and rushed out.

There are stars all over the sky outside.

The pottery was filled with tears.

"Sir," the attendant said hurriedly, "We seem to be in the back garden of some wealthy family!"

"It should be the Dou Mansion!" Tao Qi turned around and looked towards the room where he was locked up.

There were two small stone houses.

It stood alone in the corner of the yard, like a place that had not been cleaned for years and was full of miscellaneous items. It was gray and inconspicuous.

"How smart!" He couldn't help but whisper, "The safest place is often the place that everyone thinks is ordinary and unremarkable!" Tao Qizhong ordered his followers, "Let's go quickly to the nearest guardhouse!"

The follower responded "yes" and trotted along, carrying the heavy pottery on his back, through a bed of withered flowers.

There was a commotion behind them.

"Quick! Stop them!"

The follower froze at the sound and ran faster.

Seven or eight figures chased after them.

Two men walked out of the woods behind the stone house.

One is tall, the other is short; one is strong, the other is thin.

"Aren't there too many people chasing us?" asked the thin man.

The moonlight shone on their faces. One of them had clear eyes, was bright and elegant, and turned out to be Chen Qushui, who the strong man said would be back early tomorrow morning. The other one had a strong body and bright eyes. Who else could it be but Duan Gongyi?

Duan Gongyi laughed twice and said, "Don't worry, I have already given instructions. If anyone catches the thief, one month's salary will be deducted; if anyone does not make an effort to catch the thief, one month's salary will also be deducted."

Chen Qushui was both amused and confused when he heard this, and asked, "So, are you letting people chase you? Or are you not letting people chase you?"

Duan Gongyi smiled and said, "It's up to them to experience it themselves!"

Chen Qushui couldn't help shaking his head.

Dou Zhao's marriage came suddenly. Before that, they had never thought that they would settle down in Kyoto. Many things were not explained or arranged in time. After sending Dou Zhao out of the pavilion, Chen Qushui, Duan Gongyi and others set off back to Zhending.

Or perhaps they were not as urgent as Tao Qizhong, so even though they came to Kyoto before Tao Qizhong, they fell behind him.

On the way, he received news that someone was inquiring about Dou Zhao. After describing Tao Qizhong's appearance, Chen Qushui, who had met Tao Qizhong several times, immediately recognized Tao Qizhong.

According to his idea, he would first send someone to keep an eye on Tao Qi Zhong, and after they rushed back, he would invite Tao Qi Zhong to threaten and bribe him, so that Tao Qi Zhong would know how powerful Dou Zhao was. Although Tao Qi Zhong would not defect to Dou Zhao or Song Mo, he would also be wary of Dou Zhao from then on and would not dare to flatter Dou Zhao in front of the Duke of Ying at will, thus clearing some obstacles for Dou Zhao to get the power to preside over the reward of the Duke of Ying's Mansion as soon as possible.

But before he could discuss this with Duan Gongyi, Duan Gongyi urged his horse angrily: "If the tiger doesn't show its power, he will think we are sick cats. I will hurry back to Zhending and try to stabilize that Tao. I will make a decision after you come back."

With Duan Gongyi stepping in, he has nothing to worry about.

Who knows...

Thinking of this, Chen Qushui couldn't help but sigh.

It was all my fault for not saying a word less at that time. Duan Gongyi hit Tao Qizhong with a club when he came back and even set up a trap to scare Tao Qizhong... But, since he hit him, shouldn't I also pay compensation to Tao Qizhong?

He comforted himself.

Maybe this is better! There is a saying that goes, when a scholar meets a soldier, he cannot explain his reason clearly. Maybe Duan Gongyi's blow is more effective than his words.

However, this is not Chen Qushui's nature after all, and he couldn't help but sigh again.

The burly men who should have been knocked unconscious in the stone house walked out, one holding the back of his chest and the other covering his face.

"Guard Duan, Mr. Chen." The two men saluted Duan Gongyi and Chen Qushui with their teeth bared.

Duan Gongyi and Chen Qushui nodded.

The pursuers also came back one after another.

After the greetings, someone said, "We can just send someone to escort him from a distance. What if Mr. Tao gets scared and runs back to his hometown?"

One of the burly men patted the man on the head and said, "Why does the fourth young lady always like to send Uncle Duan when she has something to do? You are a useless person. After being frightened by us, isn't he afraid of being killed on the way? He must be looking for a safe place to hide - the safest place is the guardhouse. He is an aide and has no title of the Duke of England. Who in the guardhouse knows him? As long as he goes to the guardhouse, those people will report his affairs to the Duke of England immediately in order to please him. Where can he escape to?" Then he asked Chen Qushui, "Mr. Chen, do you think I am right?"

Chen Qushui laughed out loud: "Not bad, not bad!"

The person who asked the question earlier couldn't help but smile awkwardly.

The burly man came in front of Chen Qushui and Duan Gongyi and said with a playful smile: "Mr. Chen, Uncle Duan, I heard that the fourth young lady is going to take some people to Kyoto. Do you think I am suitable?"

Chen Qushui and Duan Gongyi were a little surprised. They exchanged glances and then looked at the burly man at the same time.

The burly man subconsciously straightened his chest, as if he was accepting examination.

Chen Qushui and Duan Gongyi couldn't help but laugh.

"You'd better think it over carefully." Chen Qushui said, "I'm afraid you'll have to settle down in Kyoto this time. At the very least, you'll have to stay here for five or six years."

"I've thought about it a long time ago." The burly man said, "My wife's aunt from her mother's family and the wife of Tian Fugui who followed the fourth young lady to Kyoto are from the same village. Now, Tian Fugui has not only bought fifty acres of good farmland in his hometown, but also built a big tiled house with green bricks... When I heard that the fourth young lady was going to take people to Kyoto, I told my family that as long as Mr. Chen and Uncle Duan liked them, I would pack up and leave without saying a word."

After hearing this, the others also said, "Mr. Chen, Uncle Duan, we all want to go to Kyoto too."

Chen Qushui took a quick look and found that most of those who said this were young people who were not married.

He couldn't help but smile slightly.

Song Mo's position is unstable now, and this is exactly when he needs this kind of passionate young people like a newborn bull.

"Okay!" Chen Qushui said with a smile, "If any of you want to go, just tell Guard Duan, and I'll discuss it with Guard Duan later."

Everyone swarmed to Duan Gongyi.

The person who was responsible for tracking the heavy pottery has returned.

"Mr. Chen, Uncle Duan, that Tao guy ran into Zhendingwei."

Tao Qizhong and Duan Gongyi couldn't help but smile at each other.

A servant came running over, panting.

"Mr. Chen, Mr. Chen," he waved the letter in his hand, "Mr. Yan in Kyoto sent you a letter by express delivery at 600 li."

Chen Qushui's expression changed slightly. He hurried forward to take the letter, turned around and started reading it. When he turned around, his expression was very strange.

Duan Gongyi couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

"It's nothing serious." Chen Qushui's expression became even more strange after hearing this. "He asked me to hurry back to Kyoto. He has something to discuss with me." After that, he ordered the servant, "Quickly harness my horse. I'm going back to Kyoto right away." He also said Duan Gongyi, "When I'm not at home, I'll leave the family affairs to you and Xiaofeng. We have to work out what to do and come up with a plan as soon as possible..."

Duan Gongyi was completely confused. While following Chen Qushui to his study, he secretly wondered: If it was not a big deal, why did Mr. Chen run to Kyoto without even having a firm foothold?

※※※※※

But Tao Qizhong, who had escaped to Zhendingwei, was still in shock.

If a conflict came into play between the guard post and the local officials, it was a very serious matter and usually had to be reported to the higher authorities.

Tao Qizhong, as the commander of the Zhending Guard, only said that he was passing through Zhending and was robbed by bandits and lost his money and belongings. He asked him to help contact the Duke of Ying and send someone to pick him up and take him back to Kyoto.

The guard's commander looked confused.

Zhendingwei is the only way to Baoding. I don’t know how many wealthy people, dignitaries and even royal relatives from Jiangnan have passed by. The public security has always been good, so how could there be a little thief?

But he was still a little unsure about Tao Qizhong's identity, so he said a few polite words and smiled as he wanted to hold a banquet for Tao Qizhong to surprise him.

Tao Qizhong knew at a glance that the commander was still doubting his identity, so how could he take other people's polite words as the truth!

He declined with some excuse.

The commander did not insist. After a few pleasantries, he had someone take him to the guest room to rest.

He could not help but pace around the guest room.

Now his life was saved, but how could he explain it to the British king?

Their luggage was now in the inn, and they didn't even have a change of clothes. The attendant who arranged for someone to go to the inn to get their luggage also brought in the food boxes.

"Mr. Tao, please eat something!" He felt guilty for not protecting Mr. Tao. While placing the dishes and chopsticks, he comforted Tao Qizhong, "It will be fine once we return to the Duke of Ying's Mansion!"

Tao Qizhongpan sat on the big kang by the window, staring at the table full of dishes in a daze.

The attendant had followed him for more than ten years and knew his temper, so he did not dare to disturb him and poured a cup of hot tea for Tao Qizhong.

If only he wasn't the one instigating this marriage!

Tao Qizhong raised his head gloomily and saw his followers with worried faces.

An idea came to his mind and a look of hesitation appeared on his face.

The attendant was a man who could read the expressions of the people, so he took the initiative to ask, "Sir, what do you want?"

"It's not that I need to give an order." Tao Qi pondered, "I was just thinking about the new wife of the Crown Prince... If the Duke asks about it, what should we say?"

The attendant listened to the words and said, "I am a common man, so I will listen to you, sir."

Tao Qizhong calmed down and said, "No matter what, the Crown Prince's wife has already entered the house, which involves the reputation of the Duke of Ying's Mansion... There are some things that cannot be said no matter what, do you understand?"

"I understand." The follower said calmly, "I won't say anything."

Pottery nodded again.

It was four days later when the news reached Dou Zhao's ears.

She couldn't help laughing and asked Su Xin, "Do you know when Mr. Tao will be back?"

Su Xin smiled and said, "I've asked someone to keep an eye on me. I should be back in the next two days!"

Dou Zhao felt that although Duan Gongyi's move was a bit unfair, it was understandable from their respective standpoints.