Chapter 91: Consequences (Bonus Chapter for 960 Pink Votes)
In the end, it was Zheng San who went out to summon the night patrol officers.
Feng Dahu was notorious in Zhangye City—whether it was for causing drunken disturbances after visiting brothels, harassing young wives and being reported by those unaware of his background, or acting as a guarantor in coercive business deals. Few in the city didn’t know him, let alone these officers who had dealt with him for years and even received many benefits from him. Yet when they barged into Fu Tingyun’s home and saw the man lying on the ground, covered in blood, his face mangled beyond recognition, his moans as faint as a mosquito’s hum, they had to stare for a long moment before daring to confirm it was indeed Feng Dahu.
Looking around, they spotted two large black wolfhounds, nearly as tall as a person, crouched in the corner of the room, gnawing on meat with their gleaming white teeth.
Where had the meat in this room come from?
Their gazes involuntarily returned to Feng Dahu.
His left calf and right thigh were both torn and bloody... These were just night patrol officers, and Zhangye City rarely saw more than a few deaths a year... When they realized what the two wolfhounds were eating, they all recoiled, with two of them even bending over to vomit on the spot.
As for the furnishings in the room, it was clearly a lady’s boudoir.
The dark lacquered furniture was neither new nor old, the Grand Tutor chair covered with a simple blue cloth cushion, yet on the windowsill sat a celadon Yue ware flower vase.
The lead officer, a man in his forties, had a discerning eye. He knew that the more aristocratic the family, the more they preferred to keep their belongings looking slightly worn to flaunt their heritage, while placing a few seemingly ordinary yet priceless items in inconspicuous spots to display their wealth... The arrangement of this room was exactly the kind of ostentation favored by those from noble families.
He immediately grasped the gravity of the situation and demanded, "Who is the owner here?"
Zheng San stepped forward with a woeful expression, bowing to the officers. "Honored officers, this humble one is Zheng San, a servant of Miss Fu. This is the residence of our family’s young master, Zhao Ling, who currently serves as a Centurion at Zhuanglang Garrison. Recently, he accompanied Commander Lu to battle in Xining Garrison, leaving household affairs temporarily in the hands of our young miss. As she is close friends with the wife of Zhuanglang Garrison Vice General Lord Wang, and with our young master away, Wang Furen invited our young miss to stay with her for a few days." His expression grew even more dejected. "Our young miss entrusted the household to me. Who could have guessed that no sooner had she left than thieves would break in? And not just that—they even dared to intrude into our young miss’s private chambers..." He clasped his hands and bowed repeatedly to the officers. "Honored officers, I’ve already sent someone to the General Military Headquarters to inform our young miss. When she returns, I beg you to put in a good word for me—it’s not that I failed in my duties, but these thieves were simply too brazen, daring to trespass anywhere..."
Before he could finish, the officers had already concluded that no further questioning was necessary—the situation was clear. Given Feng Dahu’s character, he must have taken a fancy to this Miss Fu and, seizing the opportunity of the master’s absence, attempted to force himself upon her. But not only was Miss Fu not home, the residence was also guarded by two ferocious wolfhounds. Feng Dahu had aimed for the falcon but ended up pecked by the falcon instead!But this involved Lord Liu, the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Gansu, the Xiping Marquis guarding Liangzhou, Commander Lu of Zhuanglang Garrison, and Lord Wang, the Brigadier General guarding Zhuanglang Garrison... What's more, the homeowner was from Xi'an Prefecture—who knew what powerful figures stood behind them?
None of these were people they could afford to provoke.
No one dared speak up about how to handle this matter.
The constables exchanged uneasy glances, their leader feeling a dull throb at his temples.
He pointed at one of them: "Quick, go report to Lord Jiang."
Lord Jiang was the official in charge of Zhangye City's patrols and their direct superior.
This matter was beyond his authority—he could only defer to his superior.
The designated constable acknowledged the order and hurried toward the General Military Headquarters.
Outside, crowds of onlookers had gathered in layers. Someone recognized the constable and called out, "Sandan, what's going on? Was it Feng Dahu who climbed over the wall?"
"Yeah!" Sandan replied without turning back as he disappeared down the alley.
"Never thought Feng Dahu would trip up like this..."
"Wonder if he even made it to the bed?"
Suggestive laughter rippled through the crowd.
Someone remarked, "Speaking of which, I once saw that Zhao girl at the street corner. She had a scarf over her head with a maidservant—don't know where she was going, but she was really beautiful. If I were Feng Dahu, I'd sneak in after dark too..."
At Mo Yi's residence, a head peeked through the gate crack before quickly withdrawing.
"Consort! Consort Lu!" Xuemei rushed breathlessly into the hall, slowing only when she saw the anxious-looking Consort Lu clutching her robe. "It's Feng Dahu—he's in trouble!"
Consort Lu's heart sank.
When she'd been awakened by those terrible screams, she'd already suspected Feng Dahu was involved. What she couldn't understand was how someone as experienced as Feng Dahu—who had thoroughly scouted Fu Tingyun's household—could have gotten into trouble.
"Consort, what should we do?" Xuemei asked anxiously, seeing Consort Lu's pale face.
Fu Tingyun had already returned home. Grandma Feng had previously sent someone to verify with Consort Lu. Now that Feng Dahu was in trouble, would Grandma Feng blame their mistress? Everyone knew how domineering Grandma Feng was—when her temper flared, she spared no one's feelings...
Consort Lu was at a loss too.
She hadn't wanted to get involved initially. But when Grandma Feng came a second time seeking help, they happened to encounter Fu Tingyun. The sight of Fu Tingyun's haughty demeanor had changed her mind... Really, it was all Fu Tingyun's fault for being so arrogant. Otherwise, she wouldn't have helped Grandma Feng put the girl in her place.
A shadow crossed Consort Lu's face.
Seeing her hesitation, Xuemei tentatively suggested, "Consort, perhaps we should inform Grandma Feng first? That way, if she blames us, at least we'll have shown loyalty by reporting promptly... We never expected this to happen!"
Consort Lu's spirits lifted slightly.Yes, what's the use of thinking about these things now? The important thing is to prevent Grandma Feng from exposing her. Otherwise, her reputation would be completely ruined. General Mo's family is nothing like that worthless Liu Fuzongbing's household. Liu Fuzongbing was merely an ordinary Hereditary Commander of One Hundred Households who happened to rise to the position of deputy commander through flattery and luck. That's why Feng Shi could so easily enter the Liu family. But the Mo family is a true aristocratic lineage. No matter how much General Mo dotes on her, he has never relented on the matter of taking a concubine without the family's consent. That's also why General Mo wanted to take her back during the Mo family matriarch's birthday celebration—perhaps the old lady would be pleased and grant her entry into the household.
She immediately instructed Mama Lu, "Go and send a message to Grandma Feng." Then, still uneasy, she asked, "You know what to say, right?"
"I do," Mama Lu replied. "If Grandma Feng asks, I'll just say we've been keeping an eye on the neighbors. As soon as we heard Uncle Feng's shouts, we knew something was wrong. You've already gone to check, and you sent me ahead to inform Grandma Feng."
Consort Lu nodded in satisfaction, her expression easing slightly. "Go on then!"
Mama Lu obeyed and left.
As she passed by Fu Tingyun's door, she overheard Qi Taitai's voice: "...Didn't you hear what Zheng San said? Miss Fu isn't even home. If she were, how could Feng Dahu have sneaked into her room?"
Afraid of being recognized by the gossipy Qi Taitai, Mama Lu quickly lowered her head and slipped along the wall, exiting through the back alley.
Inside the house, the lead constable was still questioning Zheng San: "How did you discover the other two men?"
Those two were notorious members of the Freelance gangs in Zhangye, well-known to the constables. They were all skilled in martial arts, yet they had been beaten unconscious and remained sprawled on the ground, still unresponsive.
Zheng San answered respectfully, "I used to work as an escort guard in my youth, which is why our young master assigned my wife and me to stay in Zhangye to look after the young miss."
The lead constable paused in surprise. "Why haven't we seen your wife?"
"Reporting to you, sir, the young miss needs someone to attend to her, and our young master's sworn brother is still young, so he accompanied her to Wang Furen's place."
Meanwhile, in the pitch-dark eastern wing, Zheng Sanniang's barely audible voice could be heard: "Are you sure this will work?" Her tone carried a hint of worry.
"No problem!" A Sen replied. "Back when I followed Ninth Master..." He caught himself, remembering they were no longer the salt smugglers they once were, and swallowed the rest of his words. "I used a sleeping drug. These two won't wake up until dawn." He chuckled darkly. "By then, everyone will suddenly see two men running out of Consort Lu's house... Once Qi Taitai spreads the news, just wait and see how Mo Yi deals with that woman surnamed Lu!" As if picturing Consort Lu being punished by Mo Yi, A Sen snickered again in satisfaction.
But Zheng Sanniang wasn't as confident as A Sen. "What if they wake up suddenly when you're tossing them into the Mo household?""Oh come on, if there wasn't at least some risk involved, would it even count as doing something?" A Sen said dismissively. "Ninth Master once said that if something has a seventy percent chance of success, you shouldn't hesitate at all; if it's fifty percent, you should go for it, and even at thirty percent, it's worth trying. This thing I'm doing has at least seventy percent certainty." Having said that, he added impatiently, "These two guys are too heavy, help me pull one."
Zheng Sanniang responded with an "Oh" and quickly helped A Sen drag one of the men to the window.
Mo Yi's west wing room was the kitchen, separated from A Sen's east wing room by just a single wall.
In the darkness, two dull thuds sounded.
Unfortunately, with all the commotion on Fu Tingyun's side and Consort Lu being too distracted, no one noticed these unusual sounds.
A constable leaned in close to the leader and whispered, "Brother Hong, I think we need to call a doctor!"
Only then did the leader snap out of it and hurriedly agreed, "You're right, you're right. Quick, go get a doctor."
If this Feng guy dies, things will escalate badly.
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Continuing the drama... Sisters, brothers, please keep those pink votes coming!
O(∩_∩)O~
(End of chapter)
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