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"Well..." Mei Shuang suddenly recalled many things, including Anriyan taking out the mark that had once fallen from Shijieyu. She decisively altered their course; if he followed behind, it meant he would know everything about their actions, yet he did not interfere with their sudden change of route.
"Did you know there was something wrong with Historical Consort Shi from the beginning?" Mei Shuang stopped and asked.
Yun Kong shook his head. "I only found out then."
"How could that be?" Mei Shuang's pupils suddenly constricted. "Could it be you?? Anriyan? You all?"
Yun Kong shook his head again. "You're overthinking it. He has an agreement with the emperor of the Great Qin Empire, and I merely follow the orders of the emperor of the Great Qin Empire. So, we each have our roles to play..."
Speaking of the past inevitably brought back memories of the dangers and tragedies along the way. However, those were all in the past now, mere wisps of smoke, except for Shijieyu's death, which weighed heavily on her mind.
Thinking of Shijieyu's tragic death, Mei Shuang's emotions became unsettled. "If you were right behind us, why didn't you save Shijieyu?"
Yun Kong gazed into the distance at the fishing lights by the river, his eyes deep and his voice somewhat hoarse. "I couldn't save her..."
"Why not?" Mei Shuang seemed unwilling to let it go. "Could you bear to watch her being stabbed to death by Zhao Prince? Even if she was at fault, she could have left earlier! In the end, it was all to protect me..."
At this point, Mei Shuang's voice choked up as she recalled that graceful woman from the carriage and their mutual care for each other along the journey.
Yun Kong remained silent for a moment before saying softly, "Let's go; they are still waiting for us..."
Mei Shuang's sudden disappearance caused chaos in Wang Guantun, shaking Yangzhou Prefecture as well.
The heartfelt complaints of his beloved concubine Wang Yin made Yangzhou Prefect furious. Who dared to act so recklessly on his territory? He immediately ordered a lockdown.
Hearing that the government was moving to apprehend Shen Sujun from Wang Guantun and Little Wang Village made Lin Yuan uneasy.
There was nothing more to say; if Lin Shoutong were caught by the local government in unfamiliar territory, it would spell disaster.
He instructed his subordinates to quickly find out what was happening with the government while he began writing a letter to send to the capital.
The manager's young ladies from the capital had already gone out to enjoy the lanterns, leaving the large hall nearly empty.
Who would have thought that just after sending out a letter, the officials from Yangzhou Prefecture would arrive?
Poor Lin Yuan was taken away by the local officials, who were as fierce as wolves, without any explanation. The entire hall was turned upside down, but they still couldn't find Shen Sujun.
However, capturing one person was considered an achievement. After a chaotic commotion, the group returned to report back.
Meanwhile, the young ladies by the riverside were happily chatting and holding their lanterns until one of the hall's attendants hurriedly found them, making them realize the seriousness of the situation.
When the government officials came to inquire earlier, the attendant had pretended to ask for directions to escape trouble and quickly rushed back to inform those in charge.
Upon hearing the attendant's account, the manager wore a worried expression, stamping his foot in frustration. He lamented, "This is terrible; things have escalated! That Wang Duo has always acted recklessly, relying on his sister Wang Yin, who is a concubine of the prefect. Now we will surely have to pay a hefty sum to smooth things over... I wonder if anyone has a good plan to save our master?"
The young ladies were unconcerned. They had come to spend money for leisure, not to help someone else with their legal troubles. Besides, it was their master who had caused this mess; why should they let it ruin their fun?
Li Chun scoffed lightly, "I really don't believe it; a small place like Yangzhou Prefecture can't possibly be beyond control..."
The person in charge had heard of this young lady's significant background but wasn't sure how much influence she truly had. However, since this fiery young lady was willing to step up, he could only treat her like a last resort.
"Well, you see..." he said with a bitter smile, "Forget it; I'll go get some silver first..."
Li Chun stopped him and said firmly, "No need for that; what they want right now is probably not silver... Alright then, let me have a word with Yangzhou Prefecture..."
Li Chun spoke boldly, but in the eyes of the person in charge, she was just an inexperienced girl. No matter how powerful her family was in the capital, it didn't necessarily extend its influence here.
Fine, even if her words held weight, whether they would be taken seriously by others remained uncertain. Moreover, this time they were determined to find fault with her; it wouldn't be easy for them to let it go.
The person in charge felt flustered and had no mood to accompany the young ladies any longer. He quickly instructed the tour guide and hurried back to the hall to start gathering information and preparing silver.
Li Chun returned to the establishment feeling frustrated, her mind racing with thoughts about the recent events, sensing that things were not as simple as they seemed.
She called over a waiter to inquire about the situation in detail and learned that Lin the Steward had gone to a temple fair with a woman. That woman happened to catch the eye of Wang Duo from the Black Three, leading to a conflict between them.
Lin the Steward, being a frail scholar, was no match for them, but the woman was skilled in martial arts. Wang Duo was knocked down by her strength, and their family did not take it lightly...
"Well, Lin Yuan, you scoundrel," Li Chun fumed, her brows furrowing in anger. "So all this time you had someone on the side! Tell me, what’s that woman’s background?"
The waiter was confused by Li Chun's sudden outburst. "W-what do you mean by background?"
"Oh, you fool! I mean what does that woman do? Where does she live?"
The waiter shook his head. "I don’t know. But I heard from others that she’s from out of town and has stayed in Little Wang Village. After the incident, she ran away..."
Upon hearing this, Li Chun was left speechless with rage. "You Lin Yuan actually deceived me! You said she was standing up for you, but it turns out you got into a fight over a woman. And now look—she's run off and you're caught up in this mess, taking the blame for someone else! Serves you right!"
Seeing Li Chun so indignant, the waiter thought she empathized with Lin the Steward's unfortunate situation and cautiously asked, "Miss Li, do you have any good ideas on how to handle this?"
"Good ideas?" Li Chun shot him a glare and coldly replied, "You brought this trouble upon yourself and wasted my time; you deserve to rot in jail!"
"Uh..." The waiter was taken aback by her sharp words and quickly turned to leave.
Li Chun's fiery temper and sarcastic remarks left the waiter unable to process what had just happened. As he hurried to find the Manager, he reported on Li Chun's behavior.
The Manager shook his head. "I told you before that relying on her is not reliable at all. This matter has nothing to do with our Lin the Steward; the trouble lies primarily with that woman who injured someone from the Wang family. It wasn’t Lin the Steward who made a move. Therefore, we should quickly gather some silver to find a way out. If that woman returns after being apprehended, Lin the Steward might be fine... What’s urgent now is to get some silver to smooth things over so that Lin the Steward doesn’t suffer in jail; he’s already seriously injured!"
"Understood," the waiter nodded while preparing to leave with the silver notes when suddenly he heard an angry shout from behind him, "You’re not going anywhere!"
He abruptly halted his steps, looking at the person in charge with hesitation.
Hearing that tone made the person in charge feel a headache coming on. He could only sigh and bow slightly with a bitter smile. "Miss Li, I know our establishment has caused trouble and disrupted your lantern viewing. However, we can’t just ignore Lin the Steward being inside there; we’re just servants after all. The Yamen in Yangzhou Prefecture are as fierce as tigers and wolves. Lin the Steward is still unwell; if we delay and something happens to him inside, we won’t be able to bear it... Please, if you have any connections, help us out a bit. Once Lin the Steward is released, he will definitely thank you."
Although Li Chun hated Lin Yuan, she would still feel sorry if anything happened to him. So she found a way to excuse herself, saying, "I will write a letter to my father now; it will help address the corruption in Jiangnan."
The person in charge quickly bowed and sent her off, thinking that by the time her letter arrived, Lin the Steward would likely be long gone. He signaled to the waiter to hurry and take care of things.
After Li Chun finished writing, she sealed the letter and had someone deliver it. Then she considered whether she should go to the yamen to check on Lin Yuan.
However, being an outsider, she was not familiar with the geography of Yangzhou, let alone the location of the Yangzhou Prefecture Yamen. It was dark, and even if she tried to inquire about it, it would be quite difficult.
After wandering around on horseback for a while, she finally found the imposing Yangzhou Prefecture Yamen.
From a guard at the side gate, she learned that a young man had indeed been brought in today and was currently being held inside, awaiting interrogation tomorrow.
Li Chun became anxious and pulled out a silver ingot to hand to the guard. "Could you please help me? I want to see him."
The guard weighed the silver in his hand and thought he was having good luck today; just as one person had left after being bribed, another had come along. In no time at all, he had two silver ingots.
He looked Li Chun up and down before speaking in an official tone, "Who are you to him?"
"Uh, sister..."
"Alright then, please come in..." He opened the door behind him.
Li Chun responded and entered. Just as she stepped inside, she heard the door slam shut behind her.
"Why did you close the door?" Li Chun's alertness heightened.
The guard sneered, "Ha! You really chose to come here when there was a path to heaven; you walked right into hell. You came here on your own; this saves me some trouble... Come on! I definitely didn't mistake this; this woman must be the one who injured someone. Capture her... Hahaha..."
After the lantern festival ended, the Young Ladies returned home satisfied, but Li Chun was nowhere to be seen.
The person in charge looked anxious and asked, "Did Miss Li not come looking for you later?"
The young ladies were surprised and replied, "Did she not return with you all earlier?"
The person in charge explained the situation, and everyone suddenly felt that the matter was quite serious. "Where could she have gone?"
Upon hearing that no one knew Li Chun's whereabouts, the person in charge nearly pounded their chest in frustration. Emma, if they lost a living person like this, it would be a small matter for the establishment to close down; if something happened, they would owe a hundred lives in compensation.
Everyone at the establishment was mobilized, searching throughout the night without any results.
The person in charge's hair nearly turned white overnight.
Mei Shuang and Yun Kong walked together, the riverside bustling with more activity than during the day, with people enjoying lanterns and selling goods, stalls lining the way.
After walking for a while and feeling thirsty from the salty food they had eaten, Mei Shuang spotted a tea vendor not far away. Yun Kong said, "There are too many people over there; you shouldn't go. I'll be right back."
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