79
Just as the sky was getting light, a mule cart left the courtyard and headed towards the city gate with a "de-de-de" sound.
The driver was a tall man with a hunched back, a dark yellow face, drooping eyebrows, and protruding teeth, looking quite rustic. The little woman sitting in the van at the back also had a dark face, her hair was tightly wrapped, and she wore a half apron around her waist, but she was dressed neatly and cleanly.
Beside her were a few baskets filled with some miscellaneous goods, and it looked like someone who had made the difficult trip to the city.
Neither of them said a word and drove slowly along the avenue.
Although it was early, there were many pedestrians and vehicles on the road. This was the way the seaport was, with many vendors running between towns, and it was common for them to get up early and go to bed late.
However, today was a little different from the past. There were several times more people patrolling the streets, and from time to time one could see a group of soldiers passing by with knives and guns.
There was such a big commotion last night that some people heard the noise, but some knew nothing about it. Gradually, people started whispering to each other to find out what was going on.
The man driving the mule cart was quite honest. He didn't ask any questions and just kept on going. When he finally reached the city gate, he was blocked by a long queue of people.
It turned out that the city gates were under martial law, and the people leaving the city were being checked, causing traffic congestion and traffic jams that stretched for a long distance.
Who has ever seen such a scene? What happened in the city that required so many soldiers to investigate?
However, once you get here, there is basically no way to retreat. There are soldiers everywhere. If you really leave, you might be arrested and interrogated.
Some were nervous, some were curious, not to mention those smugglers, everyone was worried.
The woman sitting on the mule cart also leaned over and grabbed the sleeve of the man in front of her, whispering something in his ear.
After hearing this, the man pressed his forehead, and his face looked a little more anxious, and his expression was similar to that of the others.
After enduring this for a long time, the mule cart finally arrived in front of the gate. Seeing it was a car, a soldier immediately shouted, "Get off! Where are you from? Where are you going?"
The young woman quickly got off the car and stood aside with her head down. The dark-faced man bowed his head and said carefully, "General, we are going to the city to buy groceries. Our home is in Liuyao Village. We need to go back early..."
The soldier snorted coldly and glanced at the two men several times. Finding nothing unusual, he bent down and rummaged through the car. The contents of the basket were turned into a mess, and the cloth was torn apart. Someone even squatted down to check under the car.
Suddenly, the sergeant shouted, "Why is there blood on this cloth?"
This shout caused everyone to raise their weapons. However, the village woman standing nearby let out an "Ah!" and reached out to touch her dress. Her head drooped even lower as she murmured, "Yes, my period has come..."
It was only then that someone noticed that there was a wet spot on the back of her skirt, and it was easy to guess what had happened.
The soldier who had just shouted suddenly retracted his hand, shook it violently, and spat twice: "Damn it, what bad luck!"
This made many people laugh. He couldn't hold back his smile and waved his hand impatiently: "Hurry up and go!"
The village woman quickly got back on the car. The dark-faced man's face turned red at this moment. He glared at the woman before pulling the mule out of the city.
After they left the city and were far away from the crowd, the young woman whispered, "Let's go."
There was no more shame or anger in her voice, and it was as calm as usual.
Sitting on the shaft of the carriage, Yan Yuan breathed a sigh of relief. It was indeed time to go faster, as Tian Yu was still stuck in the interlayer of the carriage.
This mezzanine was designed in advance and can accommodate an adult man. Its structure is very simple. As long as you completely lift up the cloth lining the car, you can find that the connection between the wooden boards is not correct.
Such a crude method was blocked by a small bloodstain. No one would touch such filth in public!
This is not a question of courage or not. No man could come up with such a method, but she did it so openly. Her determination and thoughtfulness are so impressive that one cannot help but admire her.
Now that we have left the city and rescued the people, everything will be easy as long as we reach the private port.
Not knowing when the man in the car would wake up, Yan Yuan did not delay any longer and immediately whipped the strong mule to trot quickly.
After the mule cart disappeared, another cart was stopped at another city gate.
A general covered his nose and shouted, "Check them all thoroughly! Even the manure carts can't be spared!"
A man jumped onto the cart and opened each bucket to look inside. The color and the smell were enough to make anyone sick. He quickly checked six buckets, but not one was empty.
The unfortunate soldier then jumped down, covering his nose and waving his hands.
"Go, go, go!" Seeing that the cart was fine, someone immediately drove the two men pushing the manure cart away as soon as possible.
The two men hurriedly bent their backs and drove the donkey, holding the bucket, and drove forward with difficulty, causing everyone on the road to cover their noses and avoid them. The cart, which was emitting a strange smell, gradually disappeared from everyone's sight.
…
When Lu Jian finally met Prefect Lin, it was already three quarters past noon.
After not sleeping all night, Prefect Lin's face turned pale, his eyes turned blue, and there was something wrong in the look in his eyes when he looked at Lu Jian.
"Mr. Lu, was it your granary that caught fire last night? And someone was trying to assassinate him?" Prefect Lin squeezed out the words from between his teeth.
"That's right. We have also captured a few assassins. Please let your Excellency deal with them." Lu Jian replied in a cold voice without changing his expression.
Prefect Lin could no longer suppress his anger and slammed the table, "Do you know what happened last night?!"
If you come to the government office at this time, even the dullest person can see the charred houses.
The government office caught fire, how could it be a small matter?
However, Lu Jian said calmly: "Kid, cherish your life, your own life is more important."
This look infuriated Prefect Lin, who pointed at his nose and cursed, "Don't think you can get away with this so easily! Last night, thieves attacked the government office, and they struck right when your shop in the east city was on fire! Such a coincidence, it can't be accidental, right? Could it be that you were in cahoots with the prison breakers?!"
The so-called "county magistrate who destroys families, prefect who wipes out clans", if Prefect Lin really wants to get ruthless when he is in charge of a place, he can really put people in jail.
Faced with such a harsh accusation, Lu Jian's eyes also flared with anger: "Colluding with bandits, letting them burn my shop and take my life? Prefect Lin, this is the second time I have brought assassins here. Why don't you ask those people to find out who did it!"
Where could he ask people? All those who had been locked up before had escaped! However, his heart suddenly trembled, and Prefect Lin thought of a possibility. Yes, that group of people had escaped. If they could be caught again, wouldn’t they be able to find out the real culprit? No one could tell how the thieves broke into the prison, but what if someone was colluding with them? It was certain that the Lu family would launch assassinations one after another as soon as Lu Jian arrived. And the Jiangdong Lu family was so powerful that it was not impossible for them to collude with the Suoyi Gang!
Of course, this kid surnamed Lu couldn't run away! Such a big incident was ultimately related to the feud between the Lu brothers. He didn't want to lose his official position or even his life for nothing. Someone had to suffer the consequences!
…
"What did you say? Someone robbed the prison when the fire was set last night?" Upon hearing this news, the steward's face turned green.
He did not sleep the whole night. First, the fire was so big that it almost burned down the whole street. Then he received the bad news that the assassins failed and were surrounded by officers and soldiers.
The chief steward was almost going crazy, but who would have thought that there was even worse news waiting for him!
The confidant's face turned pale as he trembled as he spoke, "It was indeed a prison break. I heard the two bandit leaders of the straw raincoat bandits escaped. We made a fuss all night but only killed one, and the other hasn't been found yet. I don't know how many people escaped from the prison, and even the government office was burned down."
The steward slumped down in his chair. How could this happen? He was just ordered to kill someone, so why did the straw raincoat thief choose this very moment to do it?
"No, that bastard must be behind this!" The chief steward reacted with a start and screamed, "Where is Manager Liu? Go find him!"
The assassins sent out last time were handled by the old shopkeeper named Liu. That group of people ran into trouble as soon as they entered the prison. Maybe it was a trap!
However, the searchers brought even worse news: Old Shopkeeper Liu had escaped! It was said that he had left the city last night and was nowhere to be found.
The head shopkeeper felt his breath catch. This method was too cruel. Could it be that the Liu family had been bribed by Lu Jian all along, waiting to trick him? However, even if he knew now, he would be unable to defend himself! Shopkeeper Liu had worked at Lu's for a full thirty years. Who could believe that he was Lu Jian's spy? Now that he was gone, and such a big fuss had happened, how could Lu deny his involvement?
The head shopkeeper felt his eyes go dark. He clutched the handrail and gasped for a long time before struggling to speak: "Quick, hurry to the capital and inform the master of this matter..."
I can no longer take care of the mistress. This matter is likely to be exposed. I have to let the master know as soon as possible so that he can be on guard.
The Second Young Master has truly gone mad. With such a commotion, isn't he afraid that the entire Jiangdong Lu Clan will be implicated? If this ruins the Master's promotion... The Chief Steward shuddered and stood up shakily: "Go, check if the assassins have escaped. If they do, kill them first!"
He couldn't leave any more evidence, he had to clean it up...
…
Upon hearing his subordinates' report, Yang Qing's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "The Red Flag Gang and the Straw Clothes Gang teamed up to rob the prison? Young Master Lu entered the government office? What the hell is this?!"
Is this what the Red Flag Gang did without Master Lu's knowledge? Was it necessary to be so ruthless? Wait, Master Lu really didn't know about this? Or did they all work together to keep him in the dark?
Well, at least Gang Leader Cheng didn't lie to him. This was truly dangerous! Why the hell did he leave a few people with him? Isn't this harming him?
Not even a penny was confiscated, and this huge incident had already happened. Yang Qing was practically in tears. What kind of fortune-telling is this? This is definitely a disaster!
After turning around twice, Yang Qing finally managed to say, "Everyone should hide well. Let's not show up recently. Let's endure it for now. When we get back..." He almost choked up, "...I'll report to the gang leader later."
Woohoo, can't he just avoid that evil star from now on? What's going on?
…
A mule cart pulled up to the shore, and a man and a woman got off the cart, carrying a large straw mat and got onto the boat.
Half an hour later, an oxcart arrived at the private port, and two young men carrying a large wine barrel staggered onto another small boat.
When all the "goods" arrived, the five ships raised their sails, left the private port, and headed north along the coastline.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
