Chapter 247 - 173: Accident
"Good, you’ve done well. I will gather my men at once and see who in the world thinks they can run wild in Denglai City. Plotting... and they dared to plot against me! If I don’t teach them a lesson, then my name isn’t Lin!"
For the past two days, County Magistrate Lin had felt his official position was precarious.
He had almost offended Fang Yue twice, and if he hadn’t been so quick-witted, he feared he would have been stripped of his official robes long ago.
’Now that I have this tip, I must seize the opportunity and earn some merit in Lord Fang’s eyes.’
Besides, anyone making a move against Fang Yue’s party was probably a spy sent by the Rebel Army. Cracking this case would be a major accomplishment in and of itself.
His mind made up, County Magistrate Lin immediately gathered a team of government constables and personally led them toward the target.
Meanwhile, Chen Shicheng, who had discovered Fang Yue’s location, was humming a little tune as he headed for Commander Liu’s residence in the city.
’Since that Commander Liu has designs on my wife, I’ll have to take care of this ’love rival’ first.’
In truth, Chen Shicheng couldn’t quite explain why he was acting this way.
’Why do I hate Fang Yue so much? Perhaps it’s because of my current situation.’
’A nobody like Fang Yue actually managed to escape from Shanyang Prefecture, and it looks like his whole family got out too.’
’And yet I, the great young master of a Noble Family from Shanyang Prefecture, had to expend the Nine Oxen and Two Tigers’ Strength and spend a great deal of silver coins just to pull some strings and make it to Denglai City.’
’By what right are you doing better than me!’
To say nothing of the fact that his own wife seemed to have some ambiguous relationship with that Fang Yue. How could Chen Shicheng possibly let him off the hook?
Before long, Chen Shicheng arrived at Commander Liu’s residence in Denglai City.
As the deputy commander of the Navy, he was considered a high-ranking Military Officer; of course he wouldn’t live in the Navy barracks.
However, just as Chen Shicheng was about to walk toward the residence ahead...
At that very moment, he felt a sharp pain in his head. His vision went black as a cloth sack was thrown over him.
"Take him back for a thorough interrogation."
County Magistrate Lin unclenched his fist, snorted coldly, and kicked the sack-covered Chen Shicheng on the ground before leading his government constables back to the Government Office.
~~~~~~
「Five days later.」
For the past few days, ever since realizing his family was being watched, Fang Yue had been trying to figure out how to find the person responsible.
However, plans rarely keep up with reality. Explosive news began to spread through Denglai City.
Shanyang Prefecture City had fallen. The Shanyang Prefecture Guard Army had retreated to the Boundary Mountain area.
To prevent the Rebel Army from passing through, Denglai City was immediately placed under martial law.
Under martial law, people would only be allowed to leave, not enter. In three days, all entry and exit would be completely forbidden.
When Fang Yue first heard the news, he could hardly believe it. ’Shanyang Prefecture City has high, thick walls and is filled with Martial Artists. How could it have been breached in just a few short days!’
While he was shocked at the Rebel Army’s strength, Fang Yue also knew they had to leave immediately.
Otherwise, if they delayed, they would be trapped inside Denglai City. ’We went through so much to escape Shanyang Prefecture; how can we get trapped in Denglai City?’
So, as soon as he heard the news, Fang Yue took his family and left Denglai City.
This time, however, was different from when they had arrived. When they left, there were two more people in their group.
They were Zhang Shu and her personal maid, Xiaolv.
It was a coincidence. On the road out of Denglai City, Fang Yue happened to run into Zhang Shu and her maid, who were trapped outside the city walls.
The two of them had originally been looking for Chen Shicheng, but after searching high and low both inside and outside the city, they couldn’t find him anywhere.
Only when they tried to return to the city did they discover that Denglai City was already under martial law and entry was forbidden.
The mistress and maid were out of options. Just then, they ran into Fang Yue’s group leaving the city, so they decided to follow Fang Yue to the next county town and figure things out from there.
After all, Denglai City was about to become a warzone. Staying outside the city was definitely risky.
~~~~~~
「Three days later.」
At a customs checkpoint on the border between Denglai City and Sishui County, Fang Yue and his party had their path blocked.
The customs checkpoint had been established by Guangfeng Prefecture to collect commercial taxes from passing merchant caravans.
But now, with corruption rampant everywhere, these checkpoints, which were originally meant only to tax merchants, had also begun extorting taxes from any wealthy families passing through.
"Ten taels of silver per person, collected by the head," a soldier holding a leather whip shouted at Fang Yue’s party.
Hearing this, Fang Yue couldn’t help but frown. ’Just as I thought. These soldiers are just using this as an excuse to get rich. They don’t even bother with an inspection before demanding a toll.’
It was no matter, however. Fang Yue had a travel permit, which naturally exempted him from the checkpoint’s jurisdiction.
"Hurry up! What are you dawdling for? Trying to evade the toll, are you? Move it! There are plenty of people waiting behind you!" the soldier urged impatiently, seeing that Fang Yue was making no move to take out his money, nor was he trying to beg for mercy or flatter him.
"Heh."
Fang Yue chuckled, not in the least bit angry. He simply took out his travel permit. The soldier took one look at it, and his expression changed instantly.
The soldier’s indifferent expression immediately became obsequious. "Ah, it is Lord Fang himself! Please, go right ahead."
While spewing these compliments, the soldier quickly ordered his subordinates to open the barrier and let Fang Yue’s party pass.
Fang Yue nodded and led his party through the checkpoint, the horse-drawn carriage proceeding slowly.
"Hold it! You, up ahead! Stop!"
But just then, a gruff voice shouted out.
Immediately, a squad of soldiers in light cyan uniforms ran over and surrounded Fang Yue’s party.