When Fatty Wang arrived in Tongzhou, it was not yet noon.
Since the East-West Escort Agency went directly to the docks and wasn't on the way to the yamen, Fatty Wang got off at the fork in the road, said goodbye to the people from the East-West Escort Agency, and then hailed a carriage to go home.
They were originally going to escort him, but he thought there was still a long way to go, and the streets of Tongzhou Prefecture were still very lively during the day. The escort agency's caravan was quite long and troublesome, so he decided not to let them escort him.
As he approached the yamen gate, he saw many yamen runners hurrying to and fro, which intensified his unease. He quickly grabbed one of the runners and asked, "Old Tan, what's going on at the yamen?"
He was the son of the prefect, and he could name quite a few of the yamen runners in the prefectural government.
He's completely changed now, and people don't recognize him anymore.
Tan Laoqi glanced at Wang Pangzi, frowned, and wanted to shake him off, but then felt that the man in front of him looked somewhat familiar, so he said impatiently, "Something has happened. Is there something you need to do at the yamen? The yamen is quite busy today. If it's not urgent, please come back later."
Wang Pangzi panicked even more, grabbing Tan Laoqi tightly and demanding, "What happened? Where's my dad?"
Tan Laoqi: "...I'm not your father, how would I know your father?"
Fatty Wang was so angry he wanted to hit someone, but then he realized the other person might not recognize him, so he explained, "It's me, Wang Shoucheng, your Lord Wang's son."
Tan Laoqi: "!"
He stared wide-eyed at Fatty Wang in disbelief.
Fatty Wang said, "Speak up! I've only been gone for half a year, what? Don't you recognize me? Where's my father? Why is there no order in the government office?"
After saying that, he took out the jade pendant he often wore and waved it around: "You should recognize this, right?"
Tan Laoqi looked over and saw that it was indeed the item that his family's hooligan son often wore. Then his expression changed: "Young master, why did you come back alone? Didn't you run into Officer Jin and the others? Officer Jin led his men to the capital this morning to pick you up."
Fatty Wang said, "I set off the day before yesterday afternoon, but the carriage broke down on the way, so I stayed overnight in a small village. Yesterday it rained heavily and I couldn't travel any further, so I only made it back today. What happened that made Uncle Jin have to go to the capital in person?"
Tan Laoqi looked around, then pulled Wang Pangzi behind the stone lion next to the gate of the yamen and said, "Young master, I heard from Constable Jin that you followed General Lu and Princess Xinxin and received military training. I suppose your physical and mental health should be quite good, right?"
Wang Pangzi's unease intensified, and he frowned as he looked at Tan Laoqi.
Tan Laoqi said, "Yesterday, the master took a break and went to Hongyuan Temple with the old lady, the madam, the young mistress, and the young master for a vegetarian meal. This morning, the abbot of the temple came and said that the master and the others had all perished."
Tan Laoqi looked at Wang Pangzi cautiously.
Fatty Wang seemed not to understand and asked, "What do you mean by 'misfortune'?"
Tan Laoqi whispered, "Lord Wang, the old lady, the madam, the young mistress, the young master, and all the servants and maids in the house are dead. There is no survivor."
Fatty Wang staggered back a few steps, and Old Tan quickly supported him: "Young master, please accept my condolences! Lord Xu has already sent Constable Jin to the capital to report to the higher authorities. Lord Xu has now ordered the yamen runners to take control of Hongyuan Temple. Young master, would you like to rest for a while, or go there now?"
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