It was not until Xu Ying was carried into the dormitory and a doctor was called to treat the wound that Xu Bangning came to his senses.

He took out a handkerchief to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and said to the housekeeper with a changed face, "Let's go back to Nanjing."

Although everyone has the surname Xu, if something really happens, you can still rely on your father.

"Sir, shall we go by land or by water?" the butler asked tactfully.

"How can we travel by water during a typhoon?" Xu Bangning rolled his eyes at him.

"Prepare the car! Let's go back from Jiaxing."

Don't be fooled by the young master's aggressive words. He is actually very cowardly when it comes to the real thing. Not to mention crossing the border to Kunshan, he doesn't even dare to leave from Nanzhili.

Go directly to Zhejiang from Songjiang, and take a big detour back to Nanjing, just for one word: "safety".

Xu Bangning left as soon as he said he would. An hour later, the convoy set off from Afang Garden without even bothering to say goodbye to Xu Ying.

When leaving Afang Garden, he lifted the curtain of his carriage and looked back at the garden that had brought him countless joys, only to find that the servant was taking down the plaque with the words "Afang" written in gold on a black background from the lintel.

This gave Xu Bangning a bad feeling, and he hurriedly whispered, "Hurry up."

After saying this, he lowered the car curtain and dared not show his head again.

The young master was in a state of panic all the way. He was terrified when he heard the sound of horse hooves, fearing that the little devil would chase him and kill him.

He traveled during the day and slept at night, and entered Zhejiang Province and then left Jiaxing as if he was running for his life. When he finally arrived in Huzhou, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At this time, they were several hundred miles away from Kunshan, and the typhoon had subsided. The young master finally dared to abandon his car and switch to a boat, heading north to Nanjing.

~~

On the other hand, Kunshan County blocked the water and land routes through the border and carried out a large-scale inspection of passing merchants and travelers, but naturally found nothing.

In fact, Xiong Dianshi, who was in charge of maintaining public security and catching thieves, had already left Kunshan. He took four constables and boarded a small official boat, sailing north along the Yangtze River via the canal to rush to Nanjing City.

It took five days for Xiong Dianshi and his party to arrive at Jiangdongmen Wharf.

After getting off the boat, Dianshi Xiong did not dare to knock on the door of the Duke's Mansion.

He first asked his men to find an inn in the city to stay in, so that he could get a feel of the situation, then wash up and have a good sleep before going to the Duke of Wei's mansion for official business tomorrow.

Traveling on business with public funds is so capricious.

Unexpectedly, the next morning, when the five people gathered in the lobby to have breakfast, they saw that everyone had dark circles under their eyes and looked very bad.

"Why didn't you sleep well?" Xiong Dianshi took the duck blood vermicelli soup offered by Wang Bantou.

"Didn't the Fourth Master sleep well either?" Bantou Wang smiled bitterly.

"How the hell can he sleep well! How heartless he must be." Xiong Dianshi sipped his soup.

"Haha, of course." The detectives laughed in agreement.

"How heartless that is."

While eating breakfast, several detectives chatted with each other about the news they had learned yesterday.

"Fourth Master, I observed the wind yesterday and found that the common people in Jinling City are afraid of the Duke's Mansion."

"Yes, Fourth Master, they said that the Xu family has thousands of slaves in Jinling City alone, and they are tyrannical and overbearing."

"They even set up their own courts, and killing people is commonplace. Jiangning County and Yingtian Prefecture dare not intervene."

"Alas, I heard that Duke Wei treats this youngest son as his concubine and is determined to let him inherit the title. I'm afraid it's wishful thinking for us to ask him to hand over the man."

Xiong Dianshi said nothing and ate the vermicelli soup in his bowl silently. This was exactly the same as what he had heard.

After settling down yesterday, he was not idle either. He went to have a drink with his fellow villager who worked as a prison warden in the Nanjing Ministry of Justice.

After learning his purpose, his fellow townsman advised him all night not to fall for the trick of Zhao Yanei. The fellow townsman told Xiong Dianshi that the Xu family had been involved in countless cases over the years, and no one from the Xu family had ever lived in the prison of the Ministry of Justice.

The Xu family has occupied the city of Jinling for two hundred years. The old master has served as the garrison commander of Nanjing for more than forty years and also played a role in supporting the enthronement of the previous emperor.

No matter how useless he was, his influence on Nanjing had already accumulated to an incredible degree. As long as Duke Wei was around, the government would have to turn a blind eye to his family affairs, let alone arrest his beloved youngest son.

Even if the Xu family opened the door for him to arrest, he would not be able to take Xu Bangning out of Jinling City. He would be beaten to death by the Xu family's brocade-clad slaves on the way.

Fellow villagers even speculated that he might have offended Master Zhao, and that Master Zhao wanted to use the Xu family to get rid of him.

Dianshi Xiong thought about it carefully and realized that he had never offended Master Zhao and had always been careful to flatter him. Zhao Hao should not be so cruel as to harm him.

That can only mean that he is overestimating his own abilities and trying to shake a big tree with his own strength.

After tossing and turning in his mind all night last night, Xiong Dianshi still couldn't remember why he didn't refuse the job at that time.

I can only say that I believed in Zhao Hao's ghost.

It wasn't an official order from the county magistrate. As an official appointed by the imperial court, why should I listen to the blind orders of a yamen official?

"Oh..." Xiong Dianshi finished the last mouthful of soup and stood up resignedly.

It’s no use thinking about anything now. We’ve come all the way here, how can we shrink our eggs at this time?

Even the King of Hell has to be visited once.

~~

After breakfast, Xiong Dianshi took Wang Bantou and another officer and walked towards Xufu Lane on the bank of Qinhuai River, asking for directions along the way.

There is no need to ask around when you arrive at Xufu Lane, because in this huge alley, there is only one household, the Duke of Wei's Mansion.

Xiong Xiasheng looked at the pair of large stone lions squatting outside the mansion gate. They were indeed as arrogant and domineering as the young master had said.

Looking up at the four powerful characters "Mansion of Duke of Wei" on the old nanmu plaque, Xiong Dianshi felt that he was almost as small as an ant.

He took a deep breath, turned around and said to Wang Bantou: "Go, deliver the letter."

"Uh..." Wang Bantou was stunned and asked in a low voice: "Fourth Master, aren't you going to show your ticket?"

"Let's see first whether the letter from the young master is effective." Xiong Dianshi replied in a low voice.

What use is the ticket of Kunshan County in Jinling City? If Zhao Hao's letter doesn't work, it's better for everyone to return home early to avoid retaliation from the Xu family.

Band Boss Wang took the handwritten letter from the young master and walked to the door of Xu's mansion. Before he even stepped onto the steps, he was stopped by the gatekeeper.

"Don't step on this place. Is this a place you can step on?!"

Wang Bantou was so frightened that he quickly retracted his feet that were hanging in the air, and smiled at the slaves standing on the steps, saying, "Excuse me, gentlemen. I am Wang Chao, the leader of the thief-catching squad of Kunshan County. I have come to deliver a letter to you on the orders of our yamen."

The so-called seventh-rank official in front of the prime minister, the doormen of the Duke's Mansion all consider themselves to be fourth-rank officials.

Several slaves didn't even look at him, and stared at Wang Chao with their belly buttons, saying, "Where did this stray toad come from, running here to make a noise?"

"Is the county magistrate's son worthy of being called Yanei? Pah!" The slaves burst into laughter.

"Go away, stop being an eyesore and go somewhere cooler."

Fortunately, Wang Bantou was knowledgeable about the matter. He hardened his heart and took out all the five taels of silver and presented it together with the letter.

The other party reluctantly took it, but saw that Wang Bantou was still standing there.

"Why aren't you leaving yet?"

"This...Sir, please wait for the master to reply to my son." Wang Bantou said with an embarrassed smile.

"What are you thinking about?" Hao Nu rolled his eyes at him and said, "When will the lord read the letter and reply to it? Is it up to you or me to decide?"

“None of them count…” Wang Bantou shrank his neck.

"Go away quickly and don't be an eyesore here." Hao Nu waved his hands as if chasing away a fly.

"When will there be a letter?"

"Let's talk about it in two days."

Xiong Dianshi had no choice but to stay in the store with his men and wait for news.

ps. The first of three consecutive updates. Please vote for me!