Chapter 42: The old ones are still the best
Xie Zechuan was escorted into the backyard of Duke Xie's mansion by two followers, and the rest of the people from Duke Xie's mansion followed closely behind.
Soon, the followers formed a circle in the backyard, lighting up the entire backyard with torches in their hands.
Xie Zechuan looked calm, which made Yao Ningde feel dissatisfied.
He kicked at Xie Zechuan but failed to move him. Seeing Xie Zechuan standing there motionless, Yao Ningde felt even more annoyed.
Now that they are prisoners, they are still so tough.
Looking around the entire backyard of Duke Xie's mansion, Yao Ningde pretended to be loud and said, "Miss Zhou, I think you don't want to see General Xie suffer so severely. I'll give you one stick of incense to think about it. Come out obediently, otherwise..."
He narrowed his eyes slightly, but when he thought about what he was going to do next, Yao Ningde laughed wildly. He sat on the chair brought to him by his followers and waved his hand to ask his followers to light incense.
The incense was lit quickly, and Fu Chang took the order and stood in front of Xie Zechuan with a knife in hand. Yao Ningde looked Xie Zechuan up and down, as if he was thinking about how to strike.
A dark light flashed in his eyes, and he continued, "When the incense burns out, you will be waiting to collect General Xie's body!"
After saying that, there was a flash of knife light, and the long knife in Fu Chang's hand was already on Xie Zechuan's neck.
Seeing his eldest son being held at the neck by Fuchang's long knife, Duke Xie was furious. He roared at Yao Ningde, "Yao Ningde, do you know what you are doing? You are resorting to lynching! Lynching!"
Yao Ningde heard what Duke Xie said, and disdain flashed in his eyes. "Private execution? What is private execution? Duke Xie, please don't be ridiculous. I have always enforced the law impartially. It is you who are harboring a serious criminal, isn't it, General Xie?"
Xie Zechuan still looked unwilling to pay attention to Yao Ningde.
Yao Ningde curled his lips, his eyes dimming. "General Xie is truly boring. I don't know how Miss Zhou can stand you. But it's okay. If Miss Zhou is willing to come out later, I don't mind being gentle with her during the interrogation."
Although that old man Zhou Yiming is really annoying, his only daughter is indeed a good-looking one. After catching her, if we can... that would be perfect.
Xie Zechuan didn't even look at Yao Ningde's face. His eyes were filled with disgust. "Master Yao, please do as you please. There's no need to deliberately provoke me. I still say the same thing. There's no one else in the mansion."
"Oh? General Xie, do you think I'm easy to fool? You actually came up with such false words to deceive me." Yao Ningde glanced sideways at the incense stick that was only half burned on the table.
"It seems that the friendship between General Xie and Miss Zhou is not as good as I thought. Even at this time, she is unwilling to come out to save you."
As the incense gradually burned out, Yao Ningde's patience finally ran out: "Since Miss Zhou is still unwilling, then don't blame me for being unfair! Fuchang, take action!"
Fu Chang saluted Yao Ningde with his knife. He looked at Xie Zechuan and raised his knife: "Thank you, General. I'm sorry."
Xie Zechuan didn't even glance at Fu Chang: "Whatever you want."
The knife in Fuchang's hand glowed strangely in the moonlight and firelight. Xie Zeqing watched the tip of the knife approaching his elder brother. Having never been to the battlefield, he couldn't bear it and closed his eyes.
He screamed wildly in his heart, who could come to stop him? His elder brother just came back to life, don’t let anything happen to him again!
At this moment, an attendant ran into the backyard and saluted Yao Ningde: "Sir, we found a secret passage!"
Xie Zechuan was shocked and thought to himself, "Could it be that... Lan'er is going to be discovered by Yao Ningde?"
Yao Ningde's panic naturally caught his eye, and he raised a smile: "Fuchang, stop first and take our General Xie with you to take a look."
Then, he looked at the attendant who came to report: "Come on! Take me to have a look!"
Yao Ningde followed his entourage to the side of the backyard, where entourage were already waiting.
Seeing Yao Ningde, the attendant who had been waiting for a long time pointed to a place on the ground and said, "Sir, the secret passage is here."
Yao Ningde scanned the passage on the ground, turned his head to look at Xie Zechuan who was being escorted over by Fu Chang, his eyes darkening: "General Xie, is Miss Zhou hiding down there?"
Xie Zechuan's eyes flickered, but he didn't answer.
However, his silence made Yao Ningde more convinced that Zhou Tinglan was right there.
"Let me search them all!" Yao Ningde's smile grew bigger and bigger, as if Zhou Tinglan had been caught by his followers from the secret passage.
After a long while, the followers crawled out of the secret passage. Yao Ningde's smile froze on his face. "Where's the person? Where's the person I asked you to capture?"
The attendant lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "Sir, I have searched every corner and found no one. Perhaps I am looking in the wrong place."
Xie Zechuan looked at him and said in a cold tone: "It's not that you are looking for the wrong person, it's our Lord Yao who doesn't believe what I said and insists on looking for someone who doesn't exist."
Fortunately, I was careful and hid Lan'er in a more secluded cellar. If she had been found, everything would have been in vain!
Yao Ningde took a deep look at the dark passage in front of him, and kicked his follower in frustration: "Useless thing, go back!"
Could it be that my followers really saw it wrong, and Zhou Tinglan did not actually come to Duke Xie’s Mansion?
Yao Ningde once again ordered his followers to search Duke Xie's mansion from top to bottom. Seeing that there was still no trace of Zhou Tinglan, he ordered his followers to take everyone in Duke Xie's mansion back in disappointment.
**
In the cellar of Duke Xie's mansion, Zhou Tinglan was hiding behind several wooden boxes.
She didn't dare make any sound, and she could faintly hear the sound of chaotic footsteps outside the cellar.
Zhou Tinglan gritted her teeth. She wanted to go out with Xie Zechuan, but was persuaded by Xie Zechuan.
Xie Zechuan whispered in her ear: "Lan'er, you stay outside and collect evidence to rescue us."
She looked at Xie Zechuan suspiciously: "Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Of course, Lan'er can definitely do it."
She agreed, and then Xie Zechuan arranged her to live in this cellar.
Zhou Tinglan was holding something in his hand.
It was given to her by Duke Xie before he went into hiding, and it felt like paper.
The cellar was dark and she couldn't see what it was.
She didn't know how many hours she had stayed in the dark cellar. Even when there was no more movement outside, Zhou Tinglan still didn't dare to go out.
She was afraid that Yao Ningde and the others had not gone far. If they were caught, the plan would fail.
Zhou Tinglan waited quietly. After a long time, she stood up and rubbed her legs which were numb from sitting cross-legged for a long time.
She put the thing in her hand into her arms and quietly moved closer to the cellar door.
After opening the cellar door, it was bright outside and the sun was hanging in the middle of the sky. Zhou Tinglan looked around cautiously and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that there was no one around.
"It seems that Yao Ningde and the others are no longer at home."
After walking out of the cellar, Zhou Tinglan quickly checked the situation in Duke Xie's mansion. The delicacies on the table in the hall were scattered on the ground. Because the weather was still warm and they were left overnight, there was a faint smell of decay.
Porcelain fragments were scattered all over the place, and last night's lively and joyful reunion was gone, leaving the room in a mess.
Zhou Tinglan cursed Yao Ningde in his heart for being despicable, as he actually went to the mansion to arrest people during the Dragon Boat Festival reunion.
She muttered to herself, "I wonder how Xie Zechuan and the others are doing now after being captured by Yao Ningde. Will they end up like Xiao Ruo?"
"No, it's impossible!"
Zhou Tinglan quickly dismissed the idea. Xiao Ruo was an ordinary citizen of the Dazhao Kingdom, but everyone in the Xie Guogong Mansion, except Xie Zeqing, held official positions and imperial edicts, so the decision must be made by His Majesty himself.
She looked up at the sky outside. There was no time to lose. She couldn't stay in Duke Xie's mansion for long. She had to leave quickly.
Zhou Tinglan came to a low wall in the backyard last night, jumped up, and successfully climbed up the low wall of Duke Xie's Mansion.
She looked at the height of the wall and said, "Although the wall isn't very high, it seems I did pretty well for my first time climbing it."
She left without staying any longer.
However, at a tea stall not far down the street, a dark figure stared at the woman who had climbed over the low wall. He murmured, "No wonder we couldn't find her last night. Turns out she was hiding deep inside."
Zhou Tinglan knew that she didn't have much time left, so she was thinking about where to go to stay temporarily.
"The inn is no longer safe after the assassination. Xie Zechuan was worried that I hadn't recovered yet, so he stayed in the inn to recuperate."
She changed her mind and said, "Since I can't go to the inn, I'll just have to stay in the dark for a while."
Thinking of this, Zhou Tinglan quickened his pace and walked towards the dark spot.
**
Arriving at the familiar grain and oil shop, the spy welcomed Zhou Tinglan into the back room.
"Miss Zhou, we've gathered information that the Lord has been personally imprisoned by the Minister of War, Lord Yao, on charges of deceiving the emperor."
Zhou Tinglan's eyes were cold: "Where are the other people in Duke Xie's mansion now?"
The spy replied respectfully, "They are all in prison, awaiting your majesty's judgment. The evidence previously seized from Duke Xie's mansion has been sent to the Dali Temple. Once the matter is verified, the Dali Temple will present the evidence to your majesty."
"I see."
Zhou Tinglan lowered her brows in thought. It would take some time to verify the evidence. As long as she could present the real evidence, she would be able to clear her father and everyone in the Xie family of the charges.
Before leaving the room, the spy told Zhou Tinglan: "Although the master is not here at the moment, if Miss Zhou has any requests, please let us know."
Zhou Tinglan nodded and let the spy go out.
On the way here, she saw the scene when she passed by the gate of Duke Xie's Mansion.
The once majestic gate was sealed, and the white seal was particularly glaring in the sunlight.
Zhou Tinglan sat on the bed in the side room, feeling a sudden sadness in her heart. She lowered her head to prevent her tears from falling. Xie Zechuan had been captured, and now she was the only one left.
"Xie Zechuan, wait for me, I will definitely rescue you all."
She was thinking about what she should do next to collect evidence of Yao Ningde's conspiracy to collude with court officials and slander and frame him.
A light bulb went off in her head, and she suddenly remembered what Xie Guogong had given her.
"I wonder if what Duke Xie gave me will be helpful in my collection of evidence?"
Zhou Tinglan took something out of his pocket and looked at it in front of his eyes. It turned out to be several folded pieces of paper.
Puzzlement flashed in her eyes. Why did Duke Xie give her paper?
When Zhou Tinglan opened it, she was secretly surprised. The old ones are still the wisest. The paper that Duke Xie gave her was indeed not simple.
It is a list of imperial officials who had close contacts with Yao Ningde.
As she read line by line, Zhou Tinglan looked more and more surprised.
"I got it!" An idea popped up in Zhou Tinglan's mind.
Let her check it one by one!
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