Master Zhou had been serving the prefect for almost ten years and had never seen such a powerful group of people coming to beat the drum. He couldn't help but take a closer look at the group. The lady in the middle had a noble air about her, and the two women beside her were clearly maids. The tall, silent man behind her was probably a guard, and he had even brought a eunuch with him to beat the drum. Just who were these people?
Master Zhou muttered to himself, then looked at Lan Qin and said, "Please wait here for a moment, I will go in and inform them."
On the other side, after Lord Wang met with Master Zhou, he had no choice but to get out of the Third Madam's arms again, put on his official robes and hat, and hang his court beads before stepping out in his auspicious cloud boots.
Because the Tongpan was neither the prefect nor the magistrate, they only questioned visitors and did not conduct trials. There were no yamen runners standing in the hall with wooden sticks, nor any demonstration sticks.
"Who are you? What brings you here?" Prefect Wang Hui asked Lan Qin and the others with a serious expression.
"Your Excellency, my wife has something to tell me. May I speak to her in private?" Su Peisheng naturally wouldn't let Lanqin speak again, but spoke on her behalf.
Lord Wang had already heard Zhou's report, so he focused his attention on Su Peisheng, wanting to see if he was truly a eunuch. A person served by eunuchs must be a member of the royal family or a member of the imperial clan.
Lord Wang carefully examined Lanqin's attire and the two maids and guards beside her, then changed his words, saying, "I didn't know that Madam came from the capital?"
Seeing that he had already figured things out, Lanqin gave Su Peisheng a wink. Su Peisheng then said, "Lord Wang, you don't need to inquire about our lady's identity. You only need to listen carefully to what our lady has to say. Because this matter is of great importance, please treat it with caution, Lord Wang."
Wang Huiling seemed to sense the authority in Su Peisheng's words and dared not be negligent. He concealed the doubt on his face and said, "Madam, please come with me to the inner room. There are too many people and too much noise here."
Seeing that he was finally willing to receive her, Lanqin, along with her two maids, Gesang, and Su Peisheng, followed Lord Wang into the inner hall.
After the host and guests were seated, Lanqin had Sihua take the bottle out of the package and place it in front of Lord Wang.
"Lord Wang, please take a look, what is this?" Lanqin asked.
Upon seeing the bottle, Lord Wang immediately stepped forward to examine it closely. He lifted the bottle and looked at the bottom, and indeed found that the porcelain at the bottom appeared to have been altered.
"Lord Wang, something like this doesn't look like a fake, nor could it be fired in just any kiln. Someone actually painted over the origin of such a thing and then put it in an antique shop to sell!" Lan Qin said.
Lord Wang was shocked. He understood perfectly what Lanqin meant by those words. He had been a prefectural judge in Xudu for seven or eight years and knew that this was a serious matter. If it wasn't handled properly, he could lose his official position.
"Lord Wang, do you realize the gravity of this matter? You must immediately take men to search that shop, arrest the shopkeeper, interrogate him, and ask him where these goods came from. Then, report this to the court as soon as possible, otherwise, if someone reports it to the higher authorities, you will be held accountable!" Lan Qin said.
Lord Wang no longer doubted Lanqin's identity; she must be the wife of some imperial relative in the capital or something else.
"Thank you for your guidance, Madam!" Wang Huiling immediately stood up and bowed to Lan Qin. "May I ask what your identity is, Madam? Could you please tell me so that I can receive you properly?"
Shui Ling and Si Hua exchanged a glance and smiled, "Our lady is..."
"My lord, you don't need to know my identity. Just take your men to search this shop, arrest the shopkeeper, and search all the items. This matter is urgent, so don't delay any longer," Lanqin interrupted Shuiling.
Lord Wang immediately clasped his hands and said, "Yes, I will send someone to do it right away. Please do not worry, Madam. Please stay here while I make the arrangements and capture that person, and then we will confront each other."
Lanqin thought about it and realized that his words made some sense, so she said, "Alright, I will wait here. Please send men to arrest the criminal as soon as possible."
Lord Wang immediately agreed and ordered someone to take Lanqin and the others to a more elegant room to rest, while he hurriedly went outside to give instructions.
Meanwhile, after Wang Huiling and Zhou Shiye arrived at his study, he immediately picked up his pen and wrote a letter. He then rolled the letter into a small slip of paper and handed it to Zhou Shiye, saying, "Quickly send a message by carrier pigeon to that lord in the capital. Ask him who this person is and how he discovered the place so soon."
"My lord, what should we do now? This woman's identity is suspicious, and she's accompanied by a eunuch. What should we do?" said Master Zhou.
“Now that she’s caught us, we can’t let her live any longer; we have to take her down.” Wang Huiling seemed like a completely different person, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes as he spoke.
“But what if the person behind her comes looking for her? How can we refuse?” said Master Zhou.
"Well, the key is that we still don't know their identities. Keep them here for now, and go quickly to deliver the message," Wang Hui ordered.
Meanwhile, Lanqin and the others were unaware that they had fallen into the other side's trap. Little did she know that the prefect she had just met actually knew the origin of these tributes and was even more aware of the intricacies involved.
“Consort, if we just wait here like this, what if the master comes back and doesn’t see us?” Su Peisheng said.
“Then why don’t we wait here while you go back and wait for him, so that when he returns, he won’t not see us and won’t know where we are?” Lanqin said.
“Very well, why don’t we let Shui Ling go back and wait? This servant will stay here with you,” Su Peisheng said.
"Shui Ling, go back to the inn first and wait there. If Fourth Master and the others return, you can tell them where this concubine is," Lan Qin said.
“Yes, then this servant will go back first,” Shui Ling said.
“Gesang, take Shuiling back first, then come back to meet us,” Lanqin said.
Gesang silently accepted the order. After Shuiling and Gesang went out, they were blocked by several yamen runners.
"What are you doing? Our lady asked me to go back and get some things. Why won't you let us leave?" Shui Ling scolded.
"We don't know. We just received orders from our superiors to stay in that room," the constable said.
Upon hearing this, Shui Ling immediately retorted angrily, "What do you mean by this, sir? How dare you restrict our master's freedom?"
Master Zhou walked over, scolded her a few times, and then smiled at Shui Ling, saying, "May I ask what brings you here, Miss?"
“Our lady told me to go back, but for some reason, she won’t let us leave,” Shui Ling said.
"They didn't hear what the master said clearly. The master meant that he was afraid of neglecting everyone," Master Zhou quickly said.
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