Chapter 208

Chapter 208

After waiting for about half an hour, a soldier hurried over and whispered a few words to the Marquess.

Li Mu's face instantly darkened. "Dammit! Seal the city! We'll find this man even if we have to dig three feet deep!"

Xu Mao and Prefect Feng, standing opposite, were startled by the intense aura around him. Prefect Feng, gathering his courage, asked softly, "Your Lordship, what happened?"

"Jiang Daoming has escaped."

Xu Mao said, "That's impossible! I saw him just yesterday!"

"That's truly bizarre!" Li Mu snorted coldly and stood up to leave.

The man was indeed cunning. Somehow he had received the news and not only escaped but also cleared out his residence. Apart from a few servants, all his confidants and subordinates had vanished. The soldiers only found two boxes of silver he hadn't been able to take away, totaling just over two thousand taels.

The city gates were immediately sealed, strictly prohibiting any carts or travelers from entering or leaving. Soldiers and yamen runners, carrying wanted posters of Jiang Daoming, conducted a city-wide search.

It wasn't until the afternoon that Chen Qingyan and the others learned from the Marquess that Jiang Daoming had escaped.

"He escaped? The Marquess's arrival was so sudden. How could he have received advance notice?"

Li Mu said, "That's why I'm convinced this man must still be hiding in the city. I've already sealed off the entire city and sent people to search. We should have news soon."

"Were those refined iron shipments intercepted?"

"They were intercepted, thanks to the young man you sent. Otherwise, if those seventeen cartloads of refined iron had been delivered, who knows how many of our soldiers would have been casualties when the fighting starts."

Wang Ying asked, "Is the messenger alright?"

"The young man is unharmed and has returned with the army."

Li Mu praised, "That lad has quite some courage. He rode alone for such a long distance, encountering bandits and wild wolves along the way. His martial arts are decent too; he only suffered some superficial wounds."

Upon hearing that Huang Baiguan was safe, Chen Qingyan and Wang Ying finally relaxed.

"That's good. This lad came with us from Jizhou. We used to live in the same town. Later, there was a great flood and an epidemic. His father entrusted the two of them to our care. We must ensure nothing happens to him."

After not seeing each other for a long time, they chatted about personal matters after discussing official business.

"It's been so many years since I returned to Jizhou. I wonder how things are at home." Li Mu's mother, Madame Luo, was still in Jizhou. A few years ago, he had sent people to bring her over, but she was used to living in Jizhou and didn't want to move. In the end, it came to nothing.

However, the border climate is harsh, and the old lady might not adapt well. When Qing Er is a bit older, let Lin Sui take her back to discuss marriage matters and look after his mother while she's there.

Chen Qingyan said, "From what Brother Sui says, the border conflicts are continuous. I'm afraid the nomads still have ill intentions and will invade again."

Li Mu sighed. "To be honest with you, these past few years the Turkic tribes have been constantly testing the border's limits, waiting for an opportunity to attack. That's why I can't stay here too long. If we haven't caught Jiang Daoming by tomorrow afternoon, I'll have to return."

Lin Sui said urgently, "Then let me go back with you."

"You and Qing Er stay here for now. I'll leave a few guards here to protect you. You can return in the autumn."

Lin Sui felt uneasy. "You take good care of yourself. Don't get hurt."

"Don't worry. During this time, I'd appreciate it if you, Chen Qingyan and Wang Ying, could look after them."

Wang Ying said, "Don't be so formal. Lin Sui is our own cousin. We will naturally take good care of him."

After a brief conversation, Chen Qingyan and Li Mu went to the main government office, while Wang Ying and Lin Sui stayed in the rear courtyard waiting for news.

*

At this time, the people in Shanzhou city were on edge. Early in the morning, all four city gates were closed. Everyone was only allowed to enter, not leave.

Shops were ordered to close, and people were forbidden to roam the streets. No one knew what was happening.

Liu Yuan came out of the gambling house to find the streets empty, not a soul in sight. Puzzled, he walked toward a nearby tavern and knocked on the door. The owner's voice came from inside.

"Customer, please go back. We're not open today."

"Manager Cai, what's going on? Why is there no one on the streets?"

"A group of soldiers just came and ordered us to close. I don't know what's happening either."

Liu Yuan scratched his head and turned to go home. As soon as he pushed the door open, someone suddenly held a knife to his neck from behind.

"Ouch!" Liu Yuan shouted in fright, almost wetting his pants.

"Don't make a sound! Quickly bolt the door!"

"Spare me, strong man! I'll bolt the door right away." Liu Yuan tremblingly bolted the door and glanced out of the corner of his eye to find that the person behind him was actually his own uncle-by-marriage!

"Uncle, why is it you..."

"Let's talk inside."

Bewildered, Liu Yuan was dragged into the house. Once inside, he discovered that besides his uncle, there were also Deputy Prefect Jiang and four people he had never seen before. These people were communicating in a foreign tongue he couldn't understand, shocking Liu Yuan speechless.

He never expected his uncle to speak the foreign tongue. He had heard that his aunt found him in the mountains. Earlier, he had broken his leg while hunting, and his mother's family healed him and took him in as a live-in son-in-law.

Later, somehow he made connections with officials in the government office and became a head constable. Liu Yuan also got this opportunity through his connection, managing to get a clerkship.

Privately, Liu Yuan only knew that his uncle was on good terms with Deputy Prefect Jiang. He never expected both of them to speak the foreign tongue...

After the group finished discussing, his uncle pulled Liu Yuan aside and said, "There's some trouble in the prefectural city. Deputy Prefect Jiang and I will hide at your place for a few days. We'll leave once the situation calms down."

Suppressing the turmoil inside, Liu Yuan didn't dare ask anything. "Uncle and Lord Jiang, please stay as long as you need. If there's anything you need me to do, just say the word."

"Good child." Liu Huaian took a letter from his pocket and handed it to him. "Find an opportunity to deliver this letter to the courier station thirty li outside the city. Someone will be there to meet you."

"But the city is under strict control now. I'm afraid I won't be able to get out."

"The city gates won't stay closed forever. They'll open in at most two days. It won't be too late to send it out then."

Liu Yuan took the letter hesitantly. "What about you and Deputy Prefect Jiang?"

"We have other matters to attend to."

Jiang Daoming sat upright on the bed, staring intently at Liu Yuan. "If you handle this matter well, you'll enjoy riches and honors for the rest of your life. If you mess it up, someone will come to take your life."

Terrified, Liu Yuan's legs went weak and he knelt on the ground kowtowing. "Don't worry, my lord. I will do everything in my power."

Liu Huaian frowned and said in Turkic, "Don't scare him. This child is timid; you might frighten him too much."

Jiang Daoming sneered. "After playing this role for so many years, have you really developed feelings? Don't forget you're a Turkic man, loyal to the Khan and the Eternal Blue Sky!"

"Of course I haven't forgotten. But this matter has nothing to do with him. We still need his help to escape, so let's be a bit more polite."

The two others also added, "Huaian is right. Lord, please be more polite."

Jiang Daoming fell silent, tacitly accepting Liu Huaian's suggestion.

Just as the group was speaking, the door suddenly rattled with urgent knocking.

The four men instantly became alert. Liu Yuan quickly said, "Uncle-in-law, are the people outside looking for you? What should I do?"

"Don't worry, just pretend you know nothing," he said, heading toward the back of the house. He moved aside a ceramic vat, and the men jumped down one after another, leaving Liu Yuan dumbfounded.

He had no idea there was a tunnel in his own home!

Thinking back carefully, when he bought this house, his uncle had handled the arrangements. It seemed that the tunnel had been there all along.

Before he could think further, as the knocking outside pounded louder. Liu Yuan hurried to open the door.

A team of government constables poured in without a word and began searching his house.

Seeing the leader was an acquaintance, Liu Yuan quickly stepped forward to greet familiarly. "Old Li, what brings you here? This show of force is quite scary."

The officer in charge of the search said, "We're acting on the Prefect's orders to search for fugitives. Have you seen any suspicious people these past few days?"

"No, no, there are no fugitives here," Liu Yuan replied, sweat beading on his palms.

After searching the courtyard and finding nothing, the constables exited.

"You should come to the yamen too. We're short-handed right now. If the higher-ups blame us later, we’ll all face punishment."

"Ah, but I haven’t even had time to eat…"

Old Li grabbed him along without another word. "Is eating more important than earning merit? If we can catch these men, the Prefect will reward us handsomely!"

Liu Yuan was dragged to the yamen, where a large crowd had already gathered. Such a massive operation made his legs go weak—could it be that the incident involving the shipment of refined iron had been betrayed?

It must be!

Deputy Prefect Jiang had been ordered arrested; aside from the refined iron matter, he couldn’t think of anything else.

Liu Yuan was never a very brave man, and the more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, until his legs trembled uncontrollably.

Suddenly, someone clapped him on the shoulder from behind. Liu Yuan fell to his knees instantly. Turning around, he saw it was Huang Baiguan, and his heart leaped into his throat—he had only discussed the refined iron shipment with him.

"H-Huang brother…"

Huang Baiguan said gravely, "I'm your friend, so let me give you a word of advice. This matter doesn’t concern you much. If you confess voluntarily, you’ll at most receive a few dozen lashes and lose a few months' pay. But if you hide the truth, the punishment will be severe."

"I…"

"At a time like this, if you know something, you should speak up quickly. If this comes to light and you’re implicated, it could mean exile or execution!"

Liu Yuan’s face turned as pale as paper. After a long moment of thought, he seemed to make up his mind. He scrambled up from the ground and said, "I-I have something to report! I have something to report!"

Huang Baiguan immediately took him into the back hall. Border Marquess was seated at the head, with Prefect Xu and Prefect Feng on either side. Chen Qingyan, Clerk Cao, Clerk Zhang… Under the gaze of all these officials, Liu Yuan lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to breathe heavily. Stammering, he confessed everything he knew and even produced the letter.

The letter was written in Turkic, and only Lang Qianping could read it. After reading it, his face turned pale with shock.

"Deputy Prefect Jiang is a Turk! He is the own nephew of Jieli Khan and has been lurking in Shanzhou for eight years! This letter records the locations of Shanzhou’s mines and the number of border troops…"

Everyone was astonished. A Turk had been an official in the Wu Dynasty for so many years—no wonder he dared to conspire with the enemy. This was clearly an attempt to drain the Wu Dynasty to supply his own people!

"Where are they now?"

Liu Yuan stammered, "Th-th-they’re all at my house. There’s a p-p-pottery jar at the back of the house. Under the jar is a tunnel—th-th-they went through there. I don’t know where it leads…"

Li Mu waved his hand commandingly, and then his subordinates immediately led a team of elite soldiers toward Liu Yuan’s house.