He left a letter explaining the situation to Cheng Qingyan, and also left the letter that Mu Zhiyue had sent over at home.
Moreover, Yun Yue was still at home. Ye Lingyu touched Cheng Qingyan's face, who was still drunk, one last time, and led the group away, heading towards the county town.
When I left home, it was almost 9 PM. Traveling at night was difficult, and my progress was much slower.
On this trip away from Mengjia Village, I took Shen Ziyu, Ruan Banxia, and the messengers Guo Zhi and Meng An with me.
As for the people hiding in the shadows, Ye Lingyu didn't know them. They were all people that Yun Yue had Shen Ziyu select from her guards.
With them secretly protecting her along the way, Yun Yue wasn't too worried.
The night road was difficult to travel, and we hurried along without resting at all. It wasn't until dawn that we finally entered the city.
The wide avenues of the city, the bustling shops lining the streets, and the pedestrians like Ye Lingyu and her companions who had gotten up early to make their way—none of these attracted their attention. After entering the city, Meng An drove his carriage directly to the restaurant where Liu Baisheng was staying, Qianweiju.
Liu Baisheng was so anxious about Mu Zhiyue's matter that he didn't sleep all night and waited in the restaurant.
So Qianweiju has remained open since Guo Zhi left yesterday. Of course, it hasn't been open for business either; Liu Baisheng has kept the doors open, waiting for Guo Zhi to invite him back.
When Guo Zhizhen brought the person to Qianweiju, Liu Baisheng felt like he was about to stand like a statue.
When he saw Ye Lingyu, he was so excited that he almost lost his footing.
Yesterday, I sent Guo Zhi with great haste to deliver the message, and to my surprise, Ye Lingyu and the others arrived overnight. This shows how important Mu Zhiyue is to Ye Lingyu and the others.
Liu Baisheng had met Mu Zhiyue, and ever since then he had been restless and uneasy.
Mu Zhiyue was tortured; his condition was horribly appalling.
He was beaten so badly that the whip marks on his body were so deep that the bone was visible. When he went to see Mu Zhiyue, Mu Zhiyue had already been tortured beyond recognition.
He was not only worried that Cheng Qingyan and the others would arrive too late and Mu Zhiyue would be unable to protect them, but he was also worried that his and Mu Zhiyue's plans in the county town would fall through.
After all, these were Cheng Qingyan's hopes from the very beginning.
Upon seeing Liu Baisheng, Ye Lingyu hurriedly stepped forward and asked, "Manager Liu, how is Uncle Mu now?"
Liu Baisheng felt extremely guilty. He had tried to pull strings, but to no avail. Ye Zongzhi and his group seemed to have some trump card that made the county magistrate wary. In trying to save Mu Zhiyue, he almost got himself arrested and imprisoned by the magistrate.
"Madam, please hurry and save Brother Mu! His condition was already very bad yesterday."
"The magistrate had him tortured; the wounds were horrific. Brother Mu was almost tortured to death."
Ye Lingyu felt a pang in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes: "What happened? Didn't you go to see Officer Nie?"
"I did look for him, but Officer Nie was also punished with twenty strokes of the cane for speaking up for Brother Mu, and was also dismissed from his position as officer. He is currently recuperating at home."
Ruan Banxia helped Ye Lingyu sit down: "Sister-in-law, don't worry. We'll go to the prison now. Once we're here, Uncle Mu will be alright."
Shen Ziyu stepped forward and said, "Perfect timing, it's dawn. Let's go to the yamen to find out what's going on, and also check on Uncle Mu."
After leaving Qianweiju, the group drove straight to the government prison.
When they arrived at the prison, the county magistrate, along with the county clerk and others, were already waiting at the prison gate.
This newly appointed magistrate had neither met Shen Ziyu nor known Ye Lingyu. He had previously invited Cheng Qingyan to his residence for a chat, but Cheng Qingyan had declined.
Moreover, he didn't get a recommendation for the Marquis of Ping Le later, which made him somewhat resentful.
After all, who would have thought that a marquis would spend so much time in this remote little place? Moreover, his superior, who had just taken office in the capital, told him directly that the Marquis of Ping Le was not here at all.
The person holding the Marquis's token here is very likely just a servant of the Marquis's household.
Between his immediate supervisor and Cheng Qingyan, he naturally chose to trust his immediate supervisor.
However, this morning, before he even got out of bed, he was pulled out of bed by someone.
The person who pulled him out of bed was from the Ping Le Marquis's residence.
He couldn't understand how so many people from the Marquis's Mansion could be in such a small county as Yuanning.
Although he was merely a county magistrate, a minor official, he was still a legitimate official appointed by the imperial court. The people from the Marquis's residence should not have been so rude, barging into his bedroom and dragging him out.
He was still yawning when Shen Ziyu and Ye Lingyu got off the carriage.
The people from the Marquis's residence were exaggerating. They told him to bring the county magistrate to greet him. He really didn't believe that the Marquis would come to this filthy place.
Before he could react, Shen Ziyu was kicked when she stood in front of him.
The official robes and hat were both knocked askew.
Before he could even get up, Shen Ziyu stepped on him, unabashedly releasing murderous intent: "You are Wei Yong, the newly appointed magistrate of Yuanning County after Chen Shengsen was dismissed?"
Wei Yong groaned in pain at Shen Ziyu's feet: "It is indeed I! How dare you beat an official of the imperial court in public!"
Shen Ziyu stomped his foot, and heard a cracking sound of bones breaking: "Wei Yong, you really have quite the airs of an official. You were disrespectful when you saw me, and I didn't kill you, I just broke two of your ribs. Shouldn't you thank me?"
At this moment, Wei Yong was drenched in cold sweat, hot sweat, and all kinds of sweat, which had soaked his official robes.
The Marquis of Ping Le, whom he had been longing to see, had actually appeared before him in this way, and under such circumstances—it was truly a disaster.
But didn't his superior just tell him that the Marquis of Ping Le is in the capital?
The journey to Kyoto and back would take a month. How could Marquis Ping Le have arrived here so quickly? This person must be an imposter!
After Shen Ziyu released his foot, he ignored the pain and hid behind the yamen runners.
While dodging, he shouted, "Capture her! She's not the Marquis of Ping Le at all; she's an imposter! Capture her quickly and kill her!"
Shen Ziyu was so angry he laughed. This county magistrate dared to arrest people and torture them without holding court. He really dared to do that.
The yamen runners dared not disobey the magistrate's orders, and even though they knew they were no match for him, they still drew their swords.
Shen Ziyu's sword was not drawn, but in less than a minute, all of these people were knocked down.
The county magistrate stood trembling to the side, not daring to move or walk.
Wei Yong was so frightened that he ran straight into the prison cell. There were still some guards in the cell, and he wanted to find someone to take the knife for him.
Shen Ziyu calmly approached the county magistrate and produced the imperial token bestowed by the emperor, which was sufficient proof of his identity.
The county magistrate knelt down with a thud and kowtowed repeatedly: "This humble official was unaware of the Marquis's personal arrival and has failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me, Marquis!"
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