Chapter 113 Feigning Amnesia
"Get out! All of you get out! If you take another step forward, don't blame us for using force." The soldier in samurai robes drew his sword and threatened loudly.
"You dare to trespass into the garrison commander's residence! Who gave the order? Where is the official document?" The steward stepped forward and questioned.
"Don't you all know where the person who can give the order is?" Du Li glared angrily. "You have some nerve, daring to kidnap and imprison the county magistrate."
"How dare you! If you dare to spout nonsense again, you'll be sorry today. What kind of place is the Garrison Commander's Mansion? What kind of place is the South City Military Camp? You trespassed into the military camp and slandered Garrison Commander Lu. You deserve to be beaten to death."
“We’re not slandering him. Last night, someone slipped a letter into the yamen. It said he saw Magistrate Du being carried into the garrison commander’s mansion three days ago.” Du Li took out a pre-prepared letter and handed it over. “Look.”
The butler ignored him, saying, "Who can prove the authenticity of this letter? Your most important task now is to find this person. If the other party dares to come forward and testify, we will open the door and let you in to search."
“How can you prove this letter isn’t real? Let us in to search; if we don’t find it, we’ll leave on our own,” Du Li insisted.
"Insolence! Throw him out!" The butler stopped wasting his breath on him.
Meng Qing and Wang Zhou were then pushed out by a group of servants. She held Wang Zhou's hand and said, "The pontoon bridge is broken. People from above will come down to investigate. I want to see how long you can keep him locked up. Let's go."
The butler's gaze lingered for a moment.
Du Li and a group of yamen runners immediately retreated.
A crowd of people had gathered outside, drawn by the commotion. These were the families of the soldiers from the southern city. To maintain the dignity of the garrison commander's office, the steward warned them with a fierce but weak tone: "Today, out of respect for Magistrate Du, we will let you off the hook. But if it happens again, even if you bring government officials with you, you will still be given ten strokes of the cane before you can leave."
Upon hearing this, Du Li immediately shouted, "You've done something shady and you still want to beat us? You even despise the government officials. With such audacity, it's no wonder you dared to imprison the county magistrate."
With a "boom," the crowd erupted in excitement.
"Do you dare let us in to search?" Du Li shouted provocatively. "If we go get the official document signed by Magistrate Sun now, can we then enter and search the place?"
"What's all this commotion?" Lu Zhenjiang returned.
“General Lu, someone slipped a letter into the yamen last night. It said he saw your men carrying away Magistrate Du three days ago.” Meng Qing stepped forward to confront him. “Magistrate Du has been missing for three days, and now the pontoon bridge is broken. There are still a lot of things that urgently need his attention. Can you please release him? We’ve guessed it. Magistrate Du is hindering your funeral arrangements, and you’re kidnapping him to make it easier to give your father a proper burial. Today is the day of your father’s funeral, but the pontoon bridge to Beiman Mountain is broken, and the funeral procession can’t cross. Even if he appears, it won’t affect you. Please release him.”
General Lu was so angry that his face turned ashen. "Nonsense! I have always supported Lord Du's policies. My father's funeral was conducted in accordance with the principle of a simple burial from beginning to end. How could there be any talk of an extravagant burial? How dare you accuse me of kidnapping the magistrate? It seems you have a death wish."
“Lord Lu, we did receive the letter accusing you,” the county constable said, forcing himself to speak up. “Could you allow us to enter the mansion to search? If we find nothing, we will leave you alone and give you peace and quiet.”
"Where's the letter? Who slipped it in?" General Lu asked.
Du Li handed over the forged letter of denunciation, saying, "I don't know who slipped the letter in. Last night, the wind and rain were so strong that the yamen runners didn't hear anything."
General Lu took the letter, glanced at it, and threw it into the rain. He scolded, "What kind of place is the General's mansion? How dare you search it at will? Who knows if there are unidentified people among you? If military documents are lost, who will take responsibility? A letter of denunciation with no owner can be used to make a big fuss. I now suspect that this letter has ill intentions. Last night, the pontoon bridge broke, and General Wu was too busy to take care of himself. This letter is trying to drag me into this mess. What is the mastermind behind this?"
“You’re right. Let’s wait until the Prefect arrives to oversee the situation before investigating.” Meng Qing picked up the paper that had fallen into the mud and said, “But this letter might be real. What if Magistrate Du is really being imprisoned in your residence? We can’t just believe your side of the story. You can’t allow the officials to enter and search, but surely they can stand guard outside your residence?”
"Who are you? By what identity are you ordering government officials around?" Lu Zhenjiang stared at her scrutinizingly.
The county constable realized that Magistrate Du might indeed be in the garrison commander's mansion. To prove the letter was fake and to prevent them from searching the mansion, Garrison Commander Lu even dragged the broken pontoon bridge into the mix, linking two completely unrelated events and fabricating a mastermind behind it all. This explanation was utterly absurd. Heqing County was located in the heart of the Central Plains, not in a turbulent frontier. What traitor would be so blind as to cause trouble here?
“Lord Lu, I am the county constable of Heqing County. I can command the county yamen runners. We are currently investigating the case of the missing magistrate. You are a suspect, but you are preventing us from entering the mansion to search. I can only arrange for the runners to guard outside the mansion.” The constable stepped forward.
General Lu stared at him, but County Lieutenant Lin did not back down. This man would soon be observing mourning for his parents, and a toothless tiger cannot kill. If he caught General Lu in a compromising situation and ended up in jail, the man surnamed Lu would still have to call him grandpa. He directly ordered the six yamen runners behind him, saying, "Go and see how many gates the General's mansion has. Arrange two people to guard each gate. If you don't have enough people, go back to the county office and get more. Keep a close eye on them all."
"Yes." The constables sprang into action.
Lu Zhen walked into the mansion with a flick of his wrist.
Those watching sensed something was wrong and quickly left in unison.
The county constable looked at Meng Qing and Du Li and asked, "Is that letter real or fake? How can you be sure that Magistrate Du is at the garrison commander's residence?"
Meng Qing smiled, ignoring the first question and answering the second: "It's just a guess. I'm not entirely sure until General Lu returns. First, the South City is a military household area. The people living here are the garrison commanders, soldiers, and their families. The garrison commanders and soldiers are more vigilant than others. If you, Magistrate Du, are kept outside, there's a risk of being discovered. It's safer to keep them under your own nose. Second, the garrison commander's mansion is holding a funeral. There are many carts and goods entering the mansion. Carrying a sack or a large vat in won't attract any attention at all."
The county constable nodded. "That makes sense."
"Lord Lin, as you've noticed, Magistrate Du is very likely in the town general's residence. Keep a close eye on him," Meng Qing instructed.
The county constable nodded again, "You all go back first, I'll stay here and keep watch."
Du Li picked up Wang Zhou and retraced their steps with Meng Qing.
Back at the county office, they ran into Magistrate Sun, who was leading more than twenty constables out. Upon seeing the family of three, he frowned and asked, "Madam Meng, where did you take Magistrate Lin? Where is he?"
"He's guarding the town garrison in Nancheng. We received a letter of denunciation saying that Magistrate Du had been kidnapped by General Lu and is being held in the garrison's mansion," Meng Qing said calmly.
Magistrate Sun stared at her with suspicion. Judging from her expression, was the news true? He gradually realized that Meng Qing didn't want Du Min to show up in the next few days. She wanted to make a big scene so that Du Min could escape responsibility.
"You, you, and you, all three of you, go to the garrison commander's mansion immediately and have County Lieutenant Lin arrange shifts to guard the area day and night." County Magistrate Sun sighed. If the head of Heqing County could escape responsibility, what responsibility could his subordinates possibly bear?
Meng Qing and Du Li exchanged a smile. This would put another lock on Du Min's career path. With yamen runners guarding him day and night, it would be difficult for General Lu to send Du Min out.
"Magistrate Sun, what's the situation on the other side of the pontoon bridge? Are there any casualties?" Meng Qing asked.
"Yes, Wuzhen will arrange for people to salvage the broken bridge section. People who go into the water are easily swept away," said Magistrate Sun. "There's nothing else wrong, but traffic between the two counties will be affected. You all stay home, I'm going to take care of things."
“You and Wangzhou stay at home. I’ll go with Magistrate Sun to check on the situation,” Du Li said.
“Hey…” Meng Qing grabbed him.
“It’s okay, I won’t go into the water,” Du Li said.
"Be careful," Meng Qing advised.
Du Li nodded and followed Magistrate Sun.
*
The General's Residence.
Lu Zhenjiang walked into a room with his face covered. He glanced at the dark bloodstains on the ground, stepped over and walked to the low couch. The person on the couch was sleeping with a pale face, and the bloodstains on his neck had not yet dried.
"How is it?" he asked in a rough voice.
"He's bleeding quite a bit, and his injuries are rather serious. We'll have to wait until he wakes up to see the full extent of his condition," the doctor said gravely.
"What's the worst that could happen? Death?"
The doctor shook his head. "He won't die, but it's hard to say whether his brain will be damaged."
Lu Zhen's face was even more ashen than on the day his father died. He asked thoughtfully, "Can he be moved now? If he gets wet in the rain or catches a cold, will it kill him?"
"Yes," the doctor replied affirmatively. "It's best not to move him. In his condition, it's hard to say whether he'll wake up."
Lu Zhen was about to close his eyes. How did things turn out this way?
There was a knock on the door, and Lu Zhen was about to go out.
"My lord, the clansmen have all arrived, and they are inquiring about the funeral arrangements," the steward said in a low voice. "A servant has come to report that the new grave has been dug. What time would you like to hold the funeral?"
General Lu was barely breathing. The general's mansion was guarded by yamen runners, so he could only borrow a funeral procession to send Du Min out. But the damned Du Min was in such a state that he couldn't be moved.
"Cousin, what are you still doing here?" Master Lu appeared silently outside the courtyard. He stared coldly at the open door and asked, "Is Du Min locked up here?"
Lu Zhen ignored him and strode out, scolding, "Who gave you permission to wander around my residence?"
"Is Du Min locked up here by you? What did you do to him? Are you trying to kill us?" Master Lu shouted. "Lu Zhan, what are you doing? Are you trying to kill us for your own selfish reasons? If you don't explain yourself clearly today, your father won't need to be buried either."
Lu Zhen stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide with anger. "Are you threatening me?"
“Yes.” Master Lu nodded. He walked through the door and went straight to the open door.
"My lord?" The steward looked at General Lu, "Should we stop them?"
Lu Zhenjiang remained silent, and the steward lowered his hand.
Master Lu smelled the blood. He walked in heavily, and when he saw the person on the bed, his heart pounded. He felt all his strength drain away and almost collapsed to the ground.
Lu Zhenjiang followed him in and confessed in detail: "I didn't send anyone to hurt him, he crashed into the door himself. I kidnapped him to keep him locked up for a few days, thinking that after my father's burial, I would knock him out and send him away. Today, his brother and sister-in-law brought people to cause trouble, and his nephew rushed in shouting that the pontoon bridge had collapsed. He probably heard that and crashed into the door himself."
Master Lu ripped off the black cloth covering his face. "He heard everything. He knows it was you. What's the point of this disguise?"
“I have a plan now, let’s just make him disappear completely.” A ruthless glint flashed in Lu Zhen’s eyes. “Open my father’s coffin, put him in, and bury him today.”
Master Lu nearly gasped for breath, “No, you can’t kill us.”
“As long as he dies, no one will know that we were the murderers,” Lu Zhenjiang said.
“If the pontoon bridge breaks, the governor and the imperial court will send people to investigate. If the county magistrate disappears at this time, and the people in the county government still believe you are the murderer, do you think you can withstand the investigation?” Master Lu shook his head. “The sage is determined to suppress the aristocratic families. If you give him a handle, do you think the Lu family will suffer?”
"Then what do you suggest we do?" General Lu asked.
"Send a letter to the Prime Minister and ask him to handle this." Master Lu didn't know what to do either, but he knew he absolutely couldn't let Du Min die. If Du Min lived, at most Lu Zhan's family would be imprisoned, but if Du Min died, at least three generations of the Lu family would be wiped out.
"Go and hold a funeral for your father. I'll stay here and keep watch." Master Lu was afraid that this warrior would resort to another foolish trick.
Master Lu guarded the town general's mansion for four days before Du Min regained consciousness. When he opened his eyes, he saw a stranger who waved his hand and asked, "Do you remember who you are?"
Du Min looked around. This was the room he had lived in after he was kidnapped. It seemed he was still being held in the town magistrate's mansion.
"Don't you have any questions?" the doctor asked.
Du Min didn't answer. He lowered his eyes and pondered carefully. He figured that pretending to be stupid would get him sent out sooner. He wondered what the situation was like outside.
"Who am I? Who are you? Where am I?" Du Min asked, following the idiot's lead.
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Author's note: Okay, I won't stay up late anymore. See you tomorrow night at 8 PM.
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