Chapter 76 Forcibly Abducting a Man: He Screamed His Throat But No One Responded
"On the contrary, it seems that you, Lu Shifu, do not even know what His Highness likes. Even if the gift is very precious, I'm afraid no one will appreciate it."
When Shen Lianzhou finished speaking, there was a faint hint of disdain in his eyes. Lu Lingyue understood his expression, felt a pang in her heart, and remained silent.
He couldn't refute what Shen Lianzhou said.
Lu Lingyue recalled the gifts she had given Yuan Yan when they were engaged, and it seemed there were only a few items: a famous painting and a Duan inkstone.
Although they were valuable, they were all just for show, and Yuan Yan, a person who didn't love literature, would never have liked them.
However, Yuan Yan had feelings for her at that time, so she was happy no matter what Lu Lingyue gave her in return.
That special connection is gone now. Yuan Yan no longer needs to suppress his own feelings to please him.
Lu Lingyue was distraught.
He didn't realize it when he had it, but now he feels more and more that he truly owes Yuan Yan a lot.
Yuan Yan rested at Zheng Qing's place, so Lu Lingyue naturally didn't get to see her.
Back in the secluded courtyard.
Seeing that the young master was disoriented, Hengwu sighed, "How could you say such a thing just now, Shen Shuqing?"
“What he said was harsh, but there was nothing wrong with it,” Lu Lingyue said, her eyes lowered.
"Hengwu, go and find out for me the best craftsman in the capital. I want to have a fine bow made."
Hengwu was slightly surprised.
Is the master trying to please His Highness by finding a renowned craftsman to forge bows and arrows for him?
"Yes, I'll take care of it right away." Hengwu felt that her master had finally come to his senses after hearing his master's decision, and immediately turned around to find someone to do it.
...
Soon, Yuan Yan spread the news that he had dismissed Zhong Lang and that Miao Quanbo had been dismissed.
Yuan Yan submitted a memorial to the Empress Dowager, impeaching Miao Quanbo, detailing his misdeeds, requesting his dismissal, and recommending Yuan Shi to succeed him as Zhonglang General.
Yuan Hao had already received a report about Yuan Yan's activities in the military camp.
"I was right. Yan'er does indeed have some talent for leading troops." Yuan Hao put down the memorial, inwardly approving.
"So they agreed to her request, and dismissed Miao Quanbo from his post, and promoted Yuan Shi to the position of Zhonglang General."
Miao Quanbo felt deeply humiliated by Yuan Yan's treatment of him in the military camp and went to Yuan Xiao to complain.
"How dare the King of Qin treat my people like this."
"No, I, the Empress, must petition the Empress Dowager to punish Yuan Yan!" Yuan Xiao's anger burned fiercely as Miao Quanbo embellished her story, and she gritted her teeth.
Yuan Xiao completely forgot that it was the two of them who had previously conspired to prevent Yuan Yan from taking over military affairs, which led to this outcome.
Miao Quanbo hated Yuan Yan even more. "Yes, it is nothing for this humble servant to be humiliated. But it concerns Your Highness's reputation, Your Highness must not let him do as he pleases."
"The King of Qin deliberately humiliated me because he knew I was His Highness's disciple. Removing my seal of office in front of so many soldiers shows he completely disregards His Highness."
"If Your Highness backs down today, I'm afraid the Prince of Qin will become even more reckless," she added fuel to the fire.
These words struck a chord with Yuan Xiao.
Yuan Xiao couldn't swallow her anger any longer and said to Miao Quanbo, "Don't worry, this princess will seek justice for you."
However, before Yuan Xiao could submit his memorial, the Empress Dowager's decree arrived the next day. Yuan Xiao was furious and had no choice but to consult with Yuan Jing again.
"Eldest sister, you must think of a solution quickly. If this continues, and Yuan Yan gains power, your position may be in danger," Yuan Xiao said.
Yuan Jing was somewhat annoyed by Yuan Xiao's words. Could it be that she didn't want to deal with Yuan Yan?
Since she took office as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, she has been constantly trying to cause trouble for Yuan Yan through officials from various departments and suppress the officials around Yuan Yan, but Yuan Yan has resolved them one by one.
Furthermore, Yuan Yan had long since changed his nature, becoming cautious and prudent. His maternal grandfather and she kept a close eye on Yuan Yan every day, but they couldn't find any fault in him, and their attempts to harm him failed.
In this situation, unless Yuan Yan commits some wrongdoing, it would be difficult to remove him.
Yuan Jing's expression was not good. "Let's wait and see. I don't believe Yuan Yan will always be so lucky."
After seeing Yuan Xiao off, she thought it over and over again, and then went to see her maternal grandfather, Sun Shijun.
...
A few days later.
As the training session ended, Captain Zhang said with a smile.
"...Since Your Highness took over the Ruijian Battalion, the soldiers have trained twice as hard and have made faster progress than before. These changes are all thanks to Your Highness's guidance."
"All the soldiers have worked hard these days. I will treat you to wine when we have a break," Yuan Yan said to the men around him.
"Then we thank Your Highness in advance," Yuan Shi said.
Just as Yuan Yan was about to continue forward with them, a guard from the Prince's Palace stepped forward to report, "Your Highness, Commandant Yu has returned with his men."
Yu Liu has returned from Zou Town.
Yuan Yan immediately thought of Pang Guoan's matter and ordered, "Someone, prepare the horses and return to the manor."
Inside the Qin Prince's residence.
As soon as Yuan Yan dismounted, he summoned Yu Liu and his party to inquire about the results.
"Your Highness, I have successfully completed my mission and have captured Pang Guoan and his daughter, bringing them back to the capital." Yu Liu's eyes gleamed.
Through the accounts of Yu Liu and others, Yuan Yan learned what had happened.
When Yu Liu arrived in Zou Town that day, fearing to attract attention, she had the garrison soldiers disperse. She and Che Ju, along with only a few others, quietly inquired with the local townspeople.
"Grandma, may I ask if there are any families with the surname Pang in town?"
Che Ju originally intended to pretend to be looking for relatives and asking for directions, so as not to arouse suspicion.
As soon as the surname Pang was mentioned, the townsman's expression changed immediately, and he shook his head repeatedly, trying to avoid the topic.
Having no other option, Yu Liu and the others had to ask someone else.
"You surnamed Pang, you mean Pang's family home? It's the biggest house at the east end of here."
The family did answer, but when Yu Liu asked who else was in the Pang family, the person refused to answer.
"Who is it? Go ask around in the nearby villages and towns, anyone can tell you." With that, the man closed the door.
"What's going on? What's wrong with the Pang family in this town?"
Those present were somewhat puzzled.
Zhang Xiaoju seemed to be thinking, "Let's move on to another household. This time, don't say anything, I'll ask them."
However, before Zhang Xiaoju could even make a move, they learned the reason.
Not long after leaving the farmhouse, the people from the royal palace spotted a local tyrant forcibly abducting a man.
The woman was dressed in brocade robes and accompanied by three or five servants, exuding an air of grandeur.
At that moment, he was pulling at a man carrying a basket of steamed buns, making joking remarks.
"Hehe, where are you going, little beauty? You're quite pretty. It's such a waste to sell pancakes here. Why don't you come and play with your Granny Pang?"
The woman in brocade grabbed the boy's clothes to stop him from leaving, and forcibly touched his face with her other hand.
The servants surrounded the young man, blocking people for their master.
Surrounded and teased by so many women, the young man was too frightened to speak. He clutched the basket of steamed buns tightly to his arm, turning his face away to avoid the women's hands reaching out to touch him, his handsome face filled with panic.
"Don't touch me, Mother, save me... Ah!"
Seeing the young man shouting, Pang Shao Niangzi's face instead showed an excited expression.
"Haha, go ahead and yell, go ahead and yell."
"Do you know who I am? In this place, I, Lady Pang, am the law! You can scream your lungs out and no one will dare to answer you."
Lady Pang laughed heartily, patted her fan in her palm, and ordered the servants to carry the young man away.
There were other townspeople by the roadside, but they all recognized Pang Shao Niangzi. Seeing this, they dared not speak out in anger, and none of them dared to step forward to stop her.
"Madam Pang?" Yu Liu realized, "This person is from the Pang family!"
Seeing the young man crying so pitifully, and about to be taken away by Pang Shao Niangzi, Che Ju couldn't bear it any longer. He grabbed the hilt of his sword and was about to step forward to save him.
However, at this moment, Zhang Xiaoju put his hand on her shoulder and pressed down on the car.
"Wait, don't be impatient."
Che Ju exclaimed in surprise, "Saving lives is the priority, what are we waiting for?"
"Naturally, we should first investigate the situation of this Pang residence," Zhang Xiaoju said solemnly.
"If Commandant Che steps forward now, putting aside everything else, and alerts the enemy, ruining His Highness's important plans, can you bear the responsibility?"
Upon hearing Your Highness's name, Che Ju hesitated, lowered his sword, frowned, and remained silent.
Yu Liu took this to heart, and her impression of this advisor worsened even further.
However, Zhang Xiaoju was right about one thing: if they rashly took action and started a conflict before understanding the situation of the Pang family, it would indeed expose them and make it difficult to capture them.
"So what should we do now?" Yu Liu asked Zhang Xiaoju.
Zhang Xiaoju: "Let's go to Pang's residence first."
The Pang residence occupied a vast area with high walls. It housed numerous servants and contained pavilions and towers of all kinds.
At this moment, Lady Pang and a group of servants returned to the Pang residence.
Pang Guoan was enjoying a performance in his own theater, surrounded by servants. He was taking a meticulous leg massage from his male servants while keeping an eye on the actors on stage, feeling quite at ease.
"Great!" Pang Guoan exclaimed in approval at the exciting part, and the manager threw copper coins onto the stage.
A large number of copper coins were scattered in front of the actor, making a pleasant sound.
Seeing so much money as a reward, the actors were overjoyed and sang even more energetically.
However, Pang Guoan's excitement was interrupted at this exciting moment.
When Pang Shao's wife and her entourage returned from outside, they saw Pang Guo'an and she didn't even call him "Mother." She tried to sneak away, but Pang Guo'an immediately frowned and scolded her.
"Stop! What have you been doing today?" Pang Guoan asked his daughter.
Pang Shao's wife was in a hurry to take the young beauty back to the house, but her mother called her back, and she reluctantly stopped.
"What can we do? There's nothing in this town, it's so boring. We'll just take some people out for a walk." Pang Qingyuan stood in front of the kidnapped boy, casually giving a perfunctory answer.
Pang Guoan knew his daughter's character and didn't believe a word of it.
Just then, the boy whose mouth was gagged struggled desperately and made a sound, trying to call for help. Pang Guoan looked back and saw him.
"Pang Qingyuan, where did this man come from?" Pang Guoan immediately guessed what was going on and his face darkened.
"It's nothing, just some wildflowers I picked by the roadside. Why does Mother have to meddle with even this?" Pang Qingyuan said impatiently.
"Aren't the male servants in the manor enough for you to play with? Why do you have to go outside and snatch people?" Pang Guoan scolded her.
"Not enough. I'm already tired of all this in the manor. If I don't go out and find some fun, I'm afraid I'll go crazy," Pang Qingyuan replied with a pout.
"I told you, you should behave yourself these days."
Pang Guoan, suppressing his anger, scolded his daughter, "I've only just lost my official position and returned here to avoid trouble. If you forcibly take a man and cause a big fuss, it'll be another problem. Who can protect you this time?"
Pang Qingyuan, however, didn't care at all.
"What are you afraid of, Mother? I've done this kind of thing countless times. Those people are just ordinary folks; they wouldn't dare offend the Pang family. Who would dare to make a scene?"
"Besides, if something really happens, Mother can just go find that Lord Sun again... With that Lord's abilities, a little money can easily settle such a small matter."
Pang Qingyuan was referring to the matter of Pang Guoan bribing Sun Shijun to save his life.
At this moment, Yu Liu and the others who had controlled the servants outside heard the key point.
She was referring to Sun Shijun, saying he was willing to do things for money.
"You wretched girl! You wretched girl!" Upon hearing this, Pang Guoan was so angry that his hands trembled. He stood up and pointed at Pang Qingyuan's nose, cursing her.
"Do you think the money in our house grows on trees? In this day and age, where would we find ten thousand taels of silver to give away so easily? You unfilial daughter, it's a disgrace to our family to have raised such a fool like you!"
Pang Qingyuan was unconvinced and wanted to retort.
But by this time, Yu Liu and his group had already figured out the situation at the Pang residence and confirmed the identities of the two people in front of them, and they were no longer willing to wait.
"Men, arrest the fugitive Pang Guoan immediately!"
At a single command, the soldiers of the Prince's Palace rushed in.
The sudden appearance of a large number of soldiers startled Pang Guoan and his daughter.
The singing on the stage had long since stopped.
Pang Guoan was bound by a saw and his men. Pang Qingyuan was so frightened by this sudden scene that his legs went weak, and he only managed to stay upright by supporting himself with the help of his servants.
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