Having been in the Wu Dynasty for so long, Song Liyun had never really dealt with these powerful and noble families, which gave her a headache.
Lin Qingyuan, who had been a little anxious, now comforted Song Liyun: "We don't need to be in such a hurry. It's only our first night in Hecheng. Even if the Qi family is bold, they won't dare to make a move. Let's choose another time to come."
Inside the garrison commander's residence, several maids stood to one side carrying hot water, while a beautiful concubine helped Zhao Tinglei remove his official robes and boots.
The calling card that Abu sent was thrown into a book box in the corner by one of the maids.
Those who associate with Zhao Tinglei are all from the military camp. They would visit him directly if they needed anything, and they didn't have the habit of using name cards.
These things are only for those who want to include gifts with their purchases; anyway, the master doesn't really look at them and just throws them away however he wants.
Over at the garrison's prison, the Lin family members were tied together with a rope and moved from their wooden cages.
This is a secluded little courtyard. Although it is still simple, at least it has a roof to keep out the cold wind.
After going through all this ordeal, Lin Qinghua, who has always been in poor health, finally developed a fever.
At this moment, his face was flushed, his hands and feet were cold, his whole body was trembling, and he was delirious.
Madam Lin was extremely anxious, and she held Lin Qinghua, who was lying on the cold kang, and wept.
Several concubines ran to the door and asked the guard for hot water and medicine.
As the head of the family, Lin Shouzhou turned pale at the sight of the tragic scene, but he kept his eyes closed and remained silent.
They finally managed to get some hot water, but there was no medicine, only a bowl of ginger soup.
Fortunately, after drinking the ginger soup, Lin Qinghua regained consciousness and began to groan loudly.
His mouth was slapped and bled, and the ginger soup made it burn with pain.
Lin Qinghua mumbled a curse: "That bastard hid away from his parents; he's disloyal, unfilial, heartless, and unjust."
He knew perfectly well that Lin Qingyuan had been bailed out, while he himself would have to endure the hardship.
As the night deepened, the city fell silent after the first drumbeat, and now all that could be heard were the clattering hooves of the sentries and the eerie whimpers of wild dogs.
A fire suddenly broke out in a courtyard, followed by chaotic shouts and screams.
Amidst the knocking on the door, Zhao Tinglei sat up, his clothes neatly arranged.
The guard who rushed in paid no attention to the beautiful concubine trembling under the covers beside him, and said directly, "General, thieves broke into Su Bei Alley and set it on fire. The brothers killed three and captured five, but..."
"But what? Tell me quickly!" Zhao Tinglei was a little anxious.
When he was a commander of the Zhenbei Army, he had no direct conflict with the Qi family.
Now that I'm the garrison commander, the first thing I need to do is to eradicate the Qi family, this cancerous tumor.
However, the Qi family has deep roots and a large branch, while Hecheng is just a small branch. Without solid evidence and catching the guilty red-handed, it is impossible to shake its foundation.
The guard knelt down with a thud and said, "Those five people committed suicide on the spot by taking poison!"
Zhao Tinglei slapped his thigh: "Sigh! Such a good opportunity! I'd rather lead my troops into the grasslands and die on the battlefield than waste my time dealing with these snakes, insects, and rats."
The guards were also annoyed. They were all seasoned warriors who had fought on many battlefields. It was really frustrating to play mind games with these cowardly people.
There was nothing more to say in the dormitory, so soon the lights in Zhao Tinglei's study came on, and Old Yu arrived with several soldiers.
Zhao Tinglei asked, "What's the situation?"
Old Yu said, "I checked the identity tokens, and they all belong to cattle and sheep traders who came in from outside the pass today."
These were all people from the Wu Dynasty. They frequently traveled between the two places, which allowed them to transmit the latest tribal news to the Wu Dynasty. However, they were also the most unstable factor, making the Zhenbei Army both love and hate them.
"They're all dead?"
"They're all dead, without leaving a single confession. They must be Qi family assassins."
"A merchant can afford to keep assassins? The Qi family is really bold!" Zhao Tinglei's face darkened.
The Qi family is indeed quite bold.
Previously, the Qi family colluded with the prefect of Hecheng, using the name of the government and their imperial merchant license to almost monopolize the trade route in Hecheng.
Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, the prefect of Hecheng has returned to the capital and entered prison, while the Qi family, with the eldest princess and the imperial concubine as their backers, naturally has no worries about being implicated.
It's just a personnel change; some downstream merchants need to be cleared out.
Old Master Yu continued, "Actually, the Qi family has not given up on the Lin family. Their people have been following us since Pingyang Prefecture, and our new house is also under their surveillance."
Zhao Tinglei's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot: "So, it turns out that Censor Zhou and the others' attempts to distance themselves from the situation were all in vain."
"It can be said that all our actions are under the control of the Qi family."
If Zhao Tinglei hadn't stationed fifty men around the Lin family's residence, the Lin family would have been filled with corpses tonight.
This time, however, the conflict was brought to the forefront, alerting the enemy.
What made Zhao Tinglei realize, in particular, that he, the commander of the Zhenbei Army and the garrison commander of Hecheng, was being completely monitored by a merchant was a very unpleasant feeling.
"Yes, my lord, Qi Kexian will be inviting the two censors as guests at dawn!"
This is a blatant demonstration.
Zhao Tinglei lowered his voice and said in a deep voice, "Old Yu, what if a fire suddenly falls from the sky and burns down the Qi family..."
"No! Our lord is no longer fighting on the battlefield. Remember not to act rashly."
Without Zhao Tinglei needing to say anything more, Old Yu categorically denied it.
Burning down the Qi family would be simple, but it would inevitably cause a huge uproar in the court.
The key to governing a country lies in the word "weighing".
The court is relatively peaceful now, but if the eldest princess and the imperial concubine are angered, the senior officials in the court will be divided into two rows.
This is not a good thing for the new emperor who has just taken over the government and the Duke of Anguo.
On the rooftop of an ordinary inn in Hecheng East Alley.
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