"No need, I'm fine," Fourth Master said. At this moment, his mind was entirely on Lanqin. He hadn't waited in vain; he had finally caught them red-handed.
Knowing that the Fourth Prince was worried about Lanqin, Shuiling immediately knelt in the carriage and said, "This servant failed to protect the Consort well. Please punish me, Your Highness."
Fourth Master glanced at Shui Ling and said, "This matter has nothing to do with you, so don't blame yourself. Get up."
Shui Ling lowered her head, not daring to say another word. Ling Feng followed the carriage ahead, only to see that it was heading out of the city.
"Master, they're heading out of the city!" Ling Feng said to the Fourth Master in the carriage.
"Follow them, but don't let them spot you. The person in the car must be Gesang," Fourth Master said.
Ling Feng was a skilled driver; he had been driving for the Fourth Master for seven or eight years, and he drove with ease, as if navigating a flat plain. The carriage wheels ahead were making a lot of noise, but Ling Feng's driving skills were so superb that the sound of the wheels was very faint, and thus they hadn't noticed him at all.
Because it was night, the carriage was pitch black. After an unknown amount of time, Ling Feng finally stopped the carriage.
Fourth Master pulled a tinderbox from his pocket, and with a hiss, a spark appeared in the darkness, instantly illuminating the previously pitch-black, cramped space.
"Master!" Shui Ling had been dozing in the dark, but she hadn't fallen asleep. As soon as Fourth Master lit the tinderbox, she opened her eyes.
"Lingfeng, what's the situation outside?" Fourth Master ignored Shui Ling, held up a tinderbox, and lifted the curtain of the carriage in front to ask the people outside.
"Master, we've arrived at a manor, and they're going in!" Ling Feng drove the carriage, following the one in front, to a farm in the suburbs.
"Lingfeng, go, follow them inside. Shuiling, you stay here and wait for backup. Don't make a sound, wait for us to come back!" Fourth Master said, then stuffed the tinderbox in his hand into Shuiling's hand.
Fourth Master and Ling Feng led the carriage to a more secluded spot, then the two of them crept up to the base of the farm wall, found a relatively easy place to climb, and climbed up by stacking themselves on top of each other.
Meanwhile, several constables from the magistrate's office were escorting the bound Gesang inside. They led him to a cellar and then took him inside.
"You'd better stay here obediently!" The constable pushed the man inside, then said to one of the men who had come with them, "You'll bring him food every day. The master has instructed us not to kill this man."
"Yes, yes, brothers, you've come all this way, why don't you go upstairs and have a drink?" the servant said ingratiatingly.
"Alright, it's so late anyway, we'll leave tomorrow," the constable said.
Gesang's hands were tied behind his back, and the bag over his head was finally removed. He fell to the ground; the room was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything. He had heard the conversation of those people, and judging from the sound of the door closing, this must be a basement or something similar.
He tried to break free of the ropes binding him, but they were tied too tightly, and his hands were bound behind his back, making it impossible to escape. Gesang groped around in the darkness until he found a protruding rock on the ground. He leaned against it and rubbed the ropes binding his hands and feet against the rock.
Meanwhile, Fourth Master and Ling Feng searched everywhere in the farm. It was like being trapped in a dark room, groping around, but they couldn't find what they were looking for.
"Lingfeng, go find a place with lights on. The other rooms are all dark; they're probably all asleep. Those two have been traveling for so long; they must be hungry. They wouldn't just be sleeping like this; they'll definitely go get something to eat," Fourth Master stopped and analyzed.
“What you say is absolutely right, Master,” Ling Feng nodded.
The two ran towards the house with only one light on. Fortunately, it was dark, and it was winter; anyone who had nothing to do had already crawled into bed. Fourth Master was absolutely right; in the entire estate, only a few places still had lights on.
They found themselves in front of a house that was still lit, and saw the shadows of people inside reflected on the paper windows.
Fourth Master and Ling Feng walked to the corner of the window. They looked at each other and saw Ling Feng put his index finger in his mouth, then tap the paper window and poke a hole in it.
As a prince, Fourth Master had never before been so secretive, eavesdropping on others by pressing his face against the wall like a spy. Ling Feng had already set his sights on the hole and was peering inside.
Inside, there were two men, one with his arm around a woman, and the other constantly pouring wine and serving food to the two men dressed as yamen runners.
Because the two men were dressed in the uniforms of yamen runners, Ling Feng knew at a glance that they must be the two men escorting Gesang.
He gestured to Fourth Master, indicating that the person inside was the one Fourth Master wanted. Fourth Master's eyes lit up. Although it was night, it was clear that after receiving a definite answer, a strange light flashed in Fourth Master's eyes.
Fourth Master signaled to Ling Feng to continue listening and see if they could reveal the information he wanted. He advised against taking action unless absolutely necessary.
"Brothers, you've worked so hard, bringing prisoners here so late." A woman raised her glass and urged him to drink.
"That's right, oh my darling, you have no idea how ruthless this criminal is. He took down several of our brothers." The constable saw the woman wink at him and then pressed his hand against her chest.
"Then brother, you must have a few more drinks to calm your nerves!" the woman said with a fawning smile.
"Alright, with you keeping me company tonight, little sister, I won't get drunk even if I drink a thousand cups." With that, he let out a lewd laugh. Outside, both Fourth Master and Ling Feng wore pale expressions, but remained completely unmoved by the obscene words coming from inside.
"Brother, those guys who were sent over a few days ago, they were really hard to please! Especially that man, he was so sarcastic and dared to insult me. If the master hadn't specifically instructed me, I would have really taught them a lesson. But those two women are really beautiful..." The servant said this with a lewd smile.
"Then you mustn't move them. Keep a close eye on them and make sure they're safe. Otherwise, if the magistrate blames me, I won't be able to cover it up," the constable said.
"Brother, who exactly are they? They dared to offend the master, yet they're being treated to such good food and drink?" the servant asked, puzzled.
"Don't ask about this. It's not something you need to know. Knowing it might actually make things worse," the constable said.
"Come on, let's drink. Such good wine, and you insist on talking about other things instead of drinking it, aren't you wasting it?" The woman in green standing to the side said unhappily.
"Haha, very good, Yan Hong's little mouth is the softest. Come, feed me one?" the constable said lewdly to the woman.
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