Chapter 7: Impossible to Escape Insanity

Chapter 7: Impossible to Escape Insanity

Flaming torches illuminated the entire Zhou Village as bright as day.

"Village Headman, where did these officials come from!" a villager asked anxiously.

Seeing the soldiers who had surrounded the village, the Village Headman's face turned pale. "They don't look like our Hezhou officials...!"

The uniforms of these soldiers were unfamiliar; each one exuded an icy and intimidating presence.

"Search every household, not a single one should be missed!"

Soon, chaos erupted like never before.

Barking dogs, cries, pleas for mercy, accusations, curses—all mingled together.

A woman holding her daughter peeked from behind the courtyard gate, her eyes wide open, as if she had glimpsed dawn.

...

As dawn approached, the family members in the Prefectural Governor's residence in Hezhou were awakened from their sleep.

"What's all the noise this early in the morning? Are you mourning?" a fat man grumbled as he sat up on his bed.

"My lord, something terrible has happened..."

The man glared at the servant. "What could possibly be so terrible?"

This is Hezhou!

His father is the Prefect of Hezhou!

The servant trembled. "It's from the Capital... people have come from the Capital!"

The man frowned and got up, putting on his robe. "So what if they came from the Capital? My father isn't without allies there!"

...

Prefectural Governor Zhao Fu was walking quickly toward the front courtyard.

He had no idea that an imperial envoy had arrived in Hezhou!

And they had silently traced his dealings through the trades in Zhou Village, surrounding his residence before dawn!

If it were anything else, he would have noticed, but by starting with Zhou Village, they left him no room to react!

"There's no need to panic, sir. Just deny everything..." a strategist whispered beside him as they walked.

"I know what I'm doing, but we must send a message to the Capital as soon as possible!" Zhao Fu forced himself to stay calm. "I've been in contact with him for years; we're in the same boat... he won't abandon me!"

As he spoke, he suddenly asked, "By the way, do you know who the envoy is?"

"We're still not sure; they've kept everything completely secret..."

As they spoke, they reached the front courtyard.

Outside the residence, two rows of guards with swords at their waists entered swiftly. Between them, a tall figure approached.

The young man wore a wide-sleeved cloak, strolling with his hands behind his back. His deep-set eyes seemed to carry the chill of the early spring morning, yet his tone was casual and relaxed. "Long time no see, Prefect Zhao."

Upon seeing the other person's face, Zhao Fu froze, his complexion draining of color, his lips moving several times. "Wei..."

It was him!

...

News of the incident at the Prefectural Governor's residence spread quickly.

In the early morning, when the inn had just opened, many people gathered in the hall, chattering in surprise and shock.

After finishing her morning exercises in her room, the young girl heard the commotion and stepped out.

"My lord... you're awake!" A boy standing by the railing, looking down into the hall, turned around upon hearing the door open. "They're talking about Zhou Village and the Prefectural Governor's residence!"

The young girl approached the railing and looked down into the hall.

"They say everyone in Zhou Village was involved in kidnapping children! Last night alone, over ten were rescued!"

"And they found many unidentified corpses..."

"Thankfully, the imperial envoy came here; otherwise, who knows how many more..."

"Hold on, hold on, I don't understand. How does the incident in Zhou Village relate to the Prefectural Governor's residence being raided and charged with crimes? Could it be—"

"Do you think it's a coincidence!—the people in Zhou Village committed heinous acts but were never exposed because they had the protection of the Prefectural Governor's residence!"

"This Prefect Zhao... as a local official, how could he commit such inhumane acts!" someone slammed the table in anger.

"Not only did he profit from it, but his son Zhao Dingxun also harmed countless innocent women, using cruel methods. There's a separate residence in the city, right across Liu Ke Lane... filled with evidence!"

"The Zhao family, truly worse than beasts!"

"A great disgrace to Hezhou!"

The young girl leaned against the railing, listening. As she heard the praise for the imperial envoy from the people in the hall, she nodded in agreement.

She had thought it would take at least three to five days.

Never did she expect that after just one short night's sleep, Wei Jia Erlang had resolved everything.

This Wei Jia Erlang is indeed capable.

As she silently approved in her heart, the people in the hall grew increasingly curious about this decisive imperial envoy and began to pester a somewhat knowledgeable scholar for more information.

The scholar spoke with admiration: "To speak of this Lord Wei, he truly stands apart from ordinary men. Born into the prestigious Duke Zheng's household in the Capital City, he did not rely on his family's influence to enter government service. At seventeen, he was personally selected by the Emperor as the top scholar, becoming the youngest zhuangyuan since the inception of the imperial examinations!"

Huh?

The girl, who was about to return to her room, paused, frowning slightly in confusion.

How could she not know about this?

Forget Wei Yu—when did Da Sheng ever have a seventeen-year-old zhuangyuan?

Her first thought was that the scholar was exaggerating to attract attention.

The exclamations in the hall continued—

"At only twenty-something, he has already entered the Office of the Undersecretary and serves as the Deputy Minister of the Eastern Platform... Such talent and fortune are beyond our reach!"

The girl's frown deepened.

Why don't the positions match up?

Someone finally realized: "I heard about this before. It turns out that the one who came here is none other than the rumored only son of Duke Zheng—Wei Shuyi, Deputy Minister Wei!"

"Exactly!"

Upon hearing this, the girl abruptly turned around.

"That imperial envoy—" she stared intently at the waiter bringing food upstairs: "What's his name?"

"Why..." the waiter paused for a moment, then smiled: "To serve the people!"

"...Does the imperial envoy from the Capital City go by Wei Yu or...?"

This was really important to her—

"Wei Yu... You mean the second young master of the Wei family?" In a family of such standing, even a minor figure would be significant. Moreover, the Capital City is only a thousand miles from Hezhou, so the waiter, being part of the inn's staff, knew quite a bit. He smiled and said: "Didn't you hear what the guests downstairs were saying? The one who came is not the second young master but his nephew, the heir to Duke Zheng, Deputy Minister Wei Shuyi!"

"..."

After saying this, the waiter went back to his duties, leaving the girl standing there as if petrified.

After a while, she stiffly raised her hand and carefully measured the height of the railing in front of her.

—Wei Shuyi?

—That little brat who, relying on some natural talent, started picking fights indiscriminately from the age of three?

Now...

Her hand rose higher and higher until it was above her head, as if the youth who had come out of the teahouse yesterday was standing right in front of her.

Now—how could he suddenly be so grown up?!

Under the immense shock, the girl's face became expressionless.

She slowly turned and walked back to her room.

She needed to calm down.

She needed to sort things out.

Otherwise, if this situation continued, she might lose her mind.

...

Seeing the girl return to her room and close the door, the boy looked puzzled but did not dare to disturb her.

Inside the room, the girl sat in front of the mirror, staring fixedly at her reflection.

If Wei Shuyi has grown up and is now over twenty years old, then...

She lifted her hand and gently touched the red mole on her chest—

Then, Ali should be the same age as the girl in the mirror.

The girl in the mirror furrowed her brows.

The child she had once saved was now at such a good age, yet had been kidnapped and harmed.

Her emotions surged like a hurricane, and she closed her eyes, images flashing through her mind.

She only knew that she had miraculously survived, but the world remained the same. She never imagined that today was no longer yesterday, and everything from yesterday had become a thing of the past.

At that moment, a group of men dressed in dark green uniforms entered the inn and quickly ascended to the second floor.