Chapter 417 Incident

Chapter 417: The Incident

That night, thick clouds gathered and the wind howled. The docks at Shijian Post Station blazed with light. Meng Wan and his station crew waited on the pier. A cool, damp breeze off the river felt nice against the skin. Dock lanterns swayed in the breeze, scattering silver light across the water like foil.

Chi Yu, despite his disability, stood firm beside Meng Wan. Everyone knew he was Meng Wan's personal guard. His absence would've tipped off the Luo family.

"Master Meng's early—guess we're the late ones." Luo Zhan stepped down from his carriage with a smile, a dozen guards at his side and two more carriages trailing behind.

Meng Wan glanced up. The guy clearly valued his life, bringing that many men. Of course, his own crew wasn't small either—Na Tuo and the mountain fortress boys were all built like oxen, and just standing behind him was enough to scare anyone.

"Skip the small talk. Load the goods on my ship, hand over the deeds, and we're done." The night wind was strong, so Meng Wan had thrown a dark cloak over his shoulders. His face was solemn, pale skin and red lips stark in the dark—a ghostly, haunting kind of beauty.

Luo Zhan swallowed, tilted his head, and licked the corner of his mouth before gesturing to his men. They laid a plank at the dock's edge so the carriages could roll up.

Big merchant ships could haul vehicles aboard, but it was a hassle, and nobody bothered unless the trip was really long. Tonight, Shijian Post Station had a medium-sized merchant ship. To keep things quiet, the Luo family had driven the carriages right onto the dock—they'd still need dockhands to haul the goods onto the ship later.

Na Tuo stepped forward with his men to take the Luo carriages, but the Luo guards blocked them.

Meng Wan frowned, annoyed. "What's this? Changed your mind?"

Luo Zhan wasn't having second thoughts. He kept a careful distance from Meng Wan, always on guard, and spoke softly without giving an inch: "Easy for you to say, Master Meng. Once our goods are on your ship, what's stopping your men from dumping them halfway?"

Meng Wan laughed—cold, mocking. "What do you take me for? Two cartloads of goods—if I said I'd do it, why would I screw you over for fun? Unless your goods aren't clean."

Apart from Luo Second Uncle's rogue move that had pissed off Meng Wan, the Luo family and Meng Wan had kept a delicate peace.

Luo Zhan kept his tone polite. "Master Meng, do us a favor and don't make this hard. I've got the deeds. Once your ship sails, the goods are yours. Inspect them all you want—yeah, there's some contraband, but I swear it won't get you in trouble with the law."

Luo Zhan pulled the deeds from his robes—the same ones he'd shown Meng Wan before. Meng Wan studied them under the dock lights, confirmed they were real, and relented. "Fine. Ship sails, you hand over the deeds. Otherwise, you know what happens. Worst case, I lose the deeds and we all go down together!"

"Master Meng's a man of action. Go ahead." Luo Zhan smiled and stepped aside, waving Na Tuo and his men over.

Na Tuo carefully lifted the carriage curtain. Inside, eight huge wooden crates packed the compartment to the brim. He picked a crate at random, sliced the rope with his blade, and pried open the wedges. Inside was packed wood shavings—brushing them aside revealed dark, heavy iron ore.

This was strictly banned. Moving it out of the region was a death sentence. But the Luo family just needed Meng Wan to move it to a nearby town—one night's trip—and as long as nothing went wrong here, nobody in that town would check.

In the city, the only one with any real standing in front of Xu Yun was Meng Wan. So it made sense the Luo family would hand him this shipment.

"Master, all clear." Na Tuo turned and reported.

"Mm." Meng Wan nodded. "Load it aboard."

Luo Zhan hadn't expected Meng Wan to check just one crate. His eyes flickered, and he gave him another long look.

Was he that confident, or did he just not care?

The two sides watched each other as the station crew hauled the sixteen big crates—two cartloads—onto the ship. The ore was heavy, two men per crate, but with plenty of hands and not much cargo, everything was stowed in no time.

Na Tuo personally rode with the cargo. The ship sailed off, and the shore went quiet except for the cicadas. Only when the ship disappeared did Meng Wan finally look away, turning to Luo Zhan with eyes sharp as knives. "The ship's left port, Young Master Luo. Time to keep your word."

Luo Zhan's smile didn't flicker. He handed over the deeds without a beat. Chi Yu took them and passed them to Meng Wan. "Master."

After a careful look, Meng Wan finally smiled. He grabbed an oil lamp from one of his men and set the deeds on fire. A faint, unreadable smile tugged at his lips. "Didn't expect Young Master Luo to be so trustworthy—makes me look like the petty one."

Luo Zhan watched him coldly. "What's this, Master Meng? Crossing the bridge and burning it behind you?"

His guards caught the shift in their master's tone and stepped forward, hands on their sword hilts. The station crew tensed up too. The air between them went thick, ready to blow.

Then a burst of fire flared up on the river in the distance. The ship that had already left suddenly turned back, its tall mast and merchant flag coming into view.

Neither Luo Zhan nor Meng Wan moved. Luo Zhan watched the ship pull closer until it docked, his face going cold.

"Young Master Luo's a big-shot merchant who's got Lin'an in his pocket. Surely you've been played at least once in your life?" Meng Wan stood with his arms crossed, totally relaxed, not a shred of guilt for lying, cheating, and breaking his word. Someone even brought him fresh grapes, washed and glistening, in a fancy glass bowl—hard to say which was more precious, the bowl or a beauty like Meng Wan.

Luo Zhan really had never been treated like this. The Luo family, riding on their ancestors' coattails, had always swaggered through Lin'an and the whole south. Nobody dared cross them.

In recent years, their biggest screw-up was backing the wrong horse, losing a ton of their main branch, crippling their foundation, and leaving them holed up in Lin'an while some official's husband like Meng Wan walked all over them.

The river wind kept blowing, rustling Luo Zhan's robes. Something complicated flickered in his eyes, and after a long pause, he let out a heavy sigh. "Master Meng, the Luo family never wanted to be your enemy. The clan head who crossed you—we killed... replaced him." He caught himself, then went on, "You can see our sincerity. I know you don't need money. Ji Ning's close to you, right? He calls me cousin."

Meng Wan popped a grape into his mouth, sweet juice bursting on his tongue. "So? Trying to play the sentiment card? Don't bother—even my own brother wouldn't move me."

His total disregard for family threw Luo Zhan off his rhythm. Luo Zhan laughed softly, fist to his mouth.

That laugh put Meng Wan on high alert. Luo Zhan had just been played, yet he wasn't angry—he was laughing?

"Master! There are living people inside the Luo family's crates!"

While they'd been talking, the station's merchant ship had already returned and docked. Na Tuo didn't wait for the ship to fully stop before leaping onto the pier and rushing to Meng Wan. "Master, while stowing the goods, I noticed something odd seeping through a crack in one crate. I pried it open—inside was a dying child! Wedged between the iron ore. Not just one—fourteen in total!"

The crates were tall, the children small—some crates even held two kids squeezed together. According to plan, Na Tuo was supposed to return anyway, but not this urgently, not this quickly. It was a sudden, unexpected situation.

As Na Tuo finished speaking, hoofbeats thundered from the direction of the city gate. Xu Yun, leading the charge in official robes, stepped onto the dock and looked at Meng Wan with a complicated expression. "Master Meng, I've received a report accusing you of using the station's merchant ship to traffic people."

Under the laws of the Yu Kingdom, privately transporting people by sea was punishable by strangulation; the ship and cargo would be confiscated, and accomplices and those who turned a blind eye faced the same penalty.

Moreover, this crime was usually an aggravating charge, because the premise of trafficking people was the crime of abduction and sale.

The Yu Kingdom's legal code on theft and banditry stipulated: those who by scheme abduct free persons or sell free persons into slavery were to be beaten with one hundred strokes and exiled three thousand li. If the child was under ten, even with consent, it was treated the same as abduction, and the penalty applied even if not yet sold. For consensual enticement, one hundred strokes and three years of penal servitude; if injury resulted, strangulation; if death, decapitation. For three or more children, or for repeat offenses: regardless of whether sold or not, a hundred-catty cangue for one month, then permanent exile to the farthest frontier.

In other words, if Meng Wan admitted to trafficking people, he would face multiple stacked charges with no way to overturn them.

A thin mist rose over the river, and the already dark sky grew even heavier. The clouds were thick and low, as if brewing a massive storm.

A thunderclap boomed. Meng Wan's pupils contracted sharply. The glass bowl in his hands, along with the ripe purple grapes, tumbled to the ground. He whipped his head toward Luo Zhan, fury surging in his eyes, his striking face now laced with icy killing intent: "Luo Zhan! You dare play me?!"

A group of children—the youngest barely three or four, the oldest no more than seven—were dragged off the ship by the yamen runners. The little ones seemed to have been drugged, sleeping soundly, while only a few of the older ones remained awake.

"Master Meng, you see..." Xu Yun wore a troubled expression.

Meng Wan's gaze shifted from Luo Zhan to him, and he let out a cold laugh. "If I said these children were planted on my ship by the Luo family, I suppose you wouldn't believe me either."

Xu Yun hung his head, looking meek. "Master Meng, this is difficult. The ship is yours, and these children were found aboard. Even if I wished to protect you, it would be hard to justify."

Meng Wan saw it all clearly now. Xu Yun was siding with the Luo family, working with them to spring this trap on him?

His chest heaved with agitation. Without sparing Xu Yun another glance, he turned directly on Luo Zhan. "Young Master Luo spoke so sweetly just now, yet now you're not only trying to ruin my reputation—you're trying to kill me? A fine move indeed!"

Luo Zhan let out a light chuckle, a hint of smugness in it. "Clearly, Master Meng broke his word first. How can you blame me now? If you'd sincerely cooperated with our Luo family, you wouldn't have ended up in this position, would you?"

They'd long suspected Meng Wan wouldn't willingly be manipulated by the Luo family. Everything was a smokescreen—killing him, threatening him, was never the true goal. Dragging him onto the Luo family's ship so he couldn't get off—that was their real scheme.

Luo Zhan's second uncle was nothing more than a sacrificial pawn, a piece to lull Meng Wan into complacency.

"What do you want?" Meng Wan's tone was low and dejected. This was the second time he'd said those words to Luo Zhan—the first was an act, and this time he played it even better.

Luo Zhan respectfully bowed to Meng Wan. "Master Meng, I'll say it again: the Luo family wishes to befriend you. If we take responsibility for this, you'll walk away unscathed. But we've been showing our sincerity all along—isn't it time Master Meng showed us some of his own?"

He spoke prettily, but he'd staged this whole production and even brought Xu Yun. There were at least a hundred people on the dock right now. Was that what "taking responsibility" looked like? No—it was clearly meant to drag Meng Wan under.

Meng Wan's expression turned even more grim. "What proof of good faith does the Luo family want from me?"

"Nothing much." Luo Zhan's voice was gentle, his tone almost tender. "Since Meng Fulang arrived in Lin'an, the Luo family has invited you to visit several times. Surely you'll do us the honor of a visit this time?"

Meng Wan was not afraid of going to the Luo residence. If they dared to harm him, once Song Tingzhou arrived in Lin'an, both Xu Yun and the Luo family would be finished. But he dreaded the traps they might spring on him—after all, on their turf, their schemes would be impossible to guard against. He'd already walked into their biggest trap; under someone else's roof, what choice was there but to lower his head?

Meng Wan spat out one cold word: "Let's go."

Luo Zhan smirked and made a gesture of invitation toward Meng Wan, then didn't let Xu Yun off the hook either. "Lord Xu, please, won't you join us as well?"

Xu Yun's face shifted between dark and uncertain, but in the end he had his men follow along.

Bringing more men was pointless—the Luo family would only have more of their own. Meng Wan decided to leave everyone behind and bring only Chi Yu.

After disembarking, he boarded the Luo family's carriage, with Chi Yu following close behind. His right hand's bones hadn't fully healed, so his climb in was a bit clumsy, and Na Tuo silently gave him a boost from behind.

The Luo family's resources ran deep. From the outside it was an unremarkable carriage, but inside it was a world unto itself. The cabin was spacious and bright, with room to spare even after two couches were laid out. The walls were draped in dark purple brocade woven with gold threads, incense tables and tea stands sat in the corners, and the floor was covered in white felt rugs—stepping on them in bare feet made no sound at all.

When the cloud-patterned brocade curtains hanging from the walls were drawn aside, two young servants invited Meng Wan to take the seat of honor. Seeing his displeased expression, they placed a basin of ice holding fruit inside the curtained area and withdrew silently.

The air off the dock was muggy and stifling, but the carriage was remarkably cool. Meng Wan opened all the windows in the cabin, propped his elbow on the frame, and gazed at the dock growing smaller in the distance.

The sky remained dark, and muffled thunder rumbled through the black clouds, striking here and there without breaking loose.

A flash of lightning tore through the night, illuminating several dark figures hidden in the shadows. One of them spoke in a steady, weighty voice that carried an unyielding authority: "Follow from far behind. Have Ge Quan and the Jinyiwei guards protect him up close. The moment the Fulang makes any move at the Luo residence, charge in at once—don't hesitate."

"Yes, my lord!"

The dark figures silently acknowledged the order, melting into the shadows around the dock like drops of ink vanishing into darkness.