"Oh, really? Can we go now?" Shui Ling asked.
Seeing that Shui Ling was determined to leave, and seemingly having no reason to stop her, Master Zhou had no choice but to let her go.
After Shui Ling and Ge Sang left, Master Zhou immediately went to see Wang Huiling and told him that a maid and the seemingly taciturn guard had just left.
"What? You let them go?" Wang Huiling frowned immediately.
"Yes, sir. Right now, all we need to do is keep that woman calm. If we don't let her maid leave now, wouldn't we be alerting her?" said Master Zhou.
"Well, that's the only way. Wait a little longer, then have someone serve them tea," Wang Hui ordered.
"Yes. Then I'll go right away." Master Zhou glanced at the prefect.
Lord Wang nodded. He knew that this matter had to be dealt with thoroughly, otherwise, if it were exposed, the consequences would be unimaginable.
"Wait, quickly send someone to keep an eye on those two, find out who they are and where they live," Lord Wang said to Clerk Zhou, who had already turned away.
“Yes.” Master Zhou stopped in his tracks and replied immediately.
Meanwhile, Lanqin and the other two sat in the room for a long time before a maid brought in a teapot with four small porcelain cups on it.
"Distinguished guests, please have some tea!" the maid said to Lanqin after pouring three cups.
"Thank you," Si Hua said to the maid.
“Madam, why should we wait here? Let’s go back. We’ve already told them; now it’s their problem to solve,” Su Peisheng said.
“Yes, Master, there’s really no need for us to wait here,” Si Hua also said.
“Alright, let’s go back. We’ve already told the prefect about that place and the matter; they wouldn’t dare ignore it,” Lanqin said.
"Then let's not delay, Madam, let's go now," Su Peisheng said.
Lanqin and Sihua walked out together, with Su Peisheng following closely behind. Neither of them touched the tea.
"Madam, please wait!" Two guards at the middle gate blocked their way.
"I need to see your prefect, please go and invite him here immediately," Lanqin said.
“Please go back, Madam. I will go and fetch you immediately,” one of them said.
Lanqin thought she still needed to explain things to the magistrate before leaving, so she took Sihua and Su Peisheng back to the house.
A moment later, Lord Wang arrived with a beaming smile.
“Madam, why do you need to leave? I have already sent men to fetch you. Please wait a little longer,” Wang Hui said.
“Lord Wang, this is a matter for your prefect. Now that I have informed you, you should report it to your superiors yourself. I will not interfere further. I think we should go now,” Lanqin said.
“Madam, now that we’ve brought the person back, someone needs to identify them,” Wang Hui ordered. He glanced at the teapot and teacups out of the corner of his eye; the tea inside hadn’t been touched.
Lanqin had no idea what Lord Wang was thinking. Just as she was hesitating, she suddenly heard him say, "Madam, this tea is a fine tea transported from Tonglu. Why don't you have some tea? The man will be brought back soon."
Su Peisheng was feeling a bit thirsty, so he picked up the teacup and drank from it.
"Madam, this is indeed excellent tea," Su Peisheng said to Lanqin after taking a sip.
"Hehe, since it's good tea, have a few more sips," Lord Wang said with a smile.
Lanqin was also a little thirsty, so she gestured to Sihua to get it.
"Lord Wang, then I'll wait a little longer," Lanqin said, taking the teacup from Sihua's hand.
Meanwhile, Shui Ling and Ge Sang drove the carriage back to the inn, and sure enough, Fourth Master and the others had not returned. Ge Sang then drove the carriage alone to the Tongpan Mansion to pick up Lan Qin, leaving Shui Ling alone at the inn to wait.
When Gesang arrived at the prefect's residence, the people at the gate refused to let him in, and even denied ever seeing him before.
"Get out of the way, my wife is still inside. If you don't move aside, don't blame Gesang," Gesang said with a stern face. He was usually quiet, and this was probably the most he had ever spoken.
The constables completely disregarded him and still refused to let him in. Gesang quickly knocked down two of the constables with a few punches. Gesang strode into the magistrate's hall and ran towards the room. But before he could take more than a few steps, several dark figures suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked his way.
"How dare you! Who are you? Where is our master?!" Gesang roared.
"Guards, arrest the traitors! Where did these thieves come from, daring to trespass on the residence of the Prefect?" the man in black said.
In a short while, more and more constables surrounded Gesang with long spears.
"Grab him!" the man in black said.
Meanwhile, Master Zhou and Wang Hui had already secretly packed the drugged Lan Qin and the others into boxes and transported them out the back door. The carriage carrying Lan Qin and the others sped towards the outskirts of the city.
Although Gesang was highly skilled in martial arts, he was no match for four fists, especially since his opponents were armed guards. Gesang was eventually wounded, captured, and thrown into the deep prison of the magistrate's office.
"Sir, it's been resolved. That fellow's martial arts skills are exceptional; he doesn't seem like an ordinary guard. Moreover, he speaks Mongolian, which means the woman's identity must be related to the royal family or imperial relatives," said Master Zhou.
“Now, no matter who she is, she already knows about that matter, so we have to get rid of her. Otherwise, the one in the capital won't let us off the hook,” Wang Hui ordered.
"Sir, everything over there has been removed, that person has left, and the shop has been sold," said Master Zhou.
"Hmm, good, you're quite quick. What about that girl, the one who went back?" Lord Wang asked.
"Don't worry, sir, she's already under our surveillance. We can bring her over at any time," said Master Zhou.
"No rush, let's see who her master is first!" Lord Wang said.
“But if we take her now, the people behind her might not be able to find us here,” said Master Zhou.
“We don’t even know who our opponent is. Let’s see who this woman really is,” Wang Hui ordered. He never imagined that the escape of the maid Shui Ling would be such a fatal blow to him.
The Fourth Master, far away in the suburbs of Xudu, never imagined that Lanqin had been drugged and was heading in the opposite direction from him.
As darkness fell and Lanqin and Gesang still hadn't returned to the inn, Shuiling grew extremely anxious. Unable to rush to the magistrate's office in the dead of night to look for them, she could only wait alone in her room, hoping for their swift return. However, as more than half the night passed, Shuiling had already fallen asleep at the table, and Lanqin and the others still hadn't returned.
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