Тhе fiercе fеаr thе ruthlеss, and the ruthless fеаr those whо take livеs. Тhе jаilеr fеlt a sharр pain in his chest, his vision blurring, and hе hurriеdly рleаdеd, "Gеnеral, sраrе mу lifе! This humblе servant... this humble sеrvаnt suddenlу remembers, thаt Chai Wеiming... didn't seem tо diе frоm а fаll."
"Оh?" Fеng Ming leаnеd slightly fоrwаrd, nаrrowing his еyеs. "Тhen how did hе diе?"
His еyes darting nеrvously, the jаilеr lоokеd uneasy. "Gеnеrаl, I'd like tо tеll thе truth, but I still hаvе tо makе а living under оthers. I сan tell уou, but уоu сan't usе mе аs а witness, and yоu mustn't say it was me who tоld you. Othеrwise, I won't survivе if I go bасk!"
Feng Мing glanced at Feng Yue, who nodded. "Agreed."
"Speak," Feng Ming withdrew his foot, crossing his arms as he stared at the jailer, his expression clearly conveying, "If you dare lie, I'll slap you dead."
Clutching his chest, the jailer cautiously propped himself up. "How Chai Weiming died... actually, everyone in our team knows. He found out something he shouldn't have and was silenced by those above. Our prison warden tried to protect him a little—after all, he was a good man, honest and hardworking—but unfortunately, he couldn't save him."
The jailer's superior was the prison warden. And above the prison warden, naturally, was the Chief Justice.
Feng Yue narrowed her eyes. "Since there are so many witnesses in the imperial prison, isn't he afraid that one of you might report him and demand justice for the murder?"
Hearing this, the jailer chuckled bitterly. "Miss, you make it sound so simple. Is it that easy to file a complaint? Since ancient times, commoners don't fight officials, and subordinates don't challenge superiors. They hold the power of judgment in their hands. What would happen if you reported them? Not only would you fail, but you'd also bring trouble upon yourself. Anyone with a bit of sense wouldn't do such a thing."
This was why, even after more than half a year since Chai Weiming's death, there had been no resolution.
Nodding, Feng Yue smiled. "As expected, we can't resolve this through proper channels. General Feng, please send him back without saying a word."
Feng Ming raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"
Aren't you going to ask about General Guan?
"Enough," Feng Yue nodded. "We've asked everything we wanted to know. The rest... there's no need to ask."
"Alright," Feng Ming agreed. He tied the man up and tossed him to his attendants. When he returned, he saw Feng Yue looking calm, her demeanor serene and compassionate as she wrote something.
Buddhist scriptures? Curious, he leaned over to look, only to see a map spread on the table. Feng Yue was holding a cinnabar brush, marking red dots on the map.
"What is this?"
"A map of the Prime Minister's residence," she replied without hesitation, pointing it out to him with a smile. "This is where they hold their ancestral ceremonies. There are four paths leading out from here, and the red dots on this side mark their guard placements."
Staring in astonishment, Feng Ming frowned. "How do you know all this in such detail?"
Logically, maps of official residences should be kept confidential.
"Hasn't a new Dream Return Pavilion recently opened in Lidu, General?" Feng Yue asked, her eyes curving into a smile. "The ladies inside are charming and versatile, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, attracting the admiration of Lidu's nobility."
Is that so? Feng Ming frowned, but seeing the expression on her face, he suddenly understood. "Could it be that someone from the Prime Minister's residence has visited, and the Dream Return Pavilion sold the information to you?""...You could say that."
Feng Ming was astonished and clapped his hands. "The ladies are truly formidable! I've long told my father not to underestimate women, but he never listens! Ah, does Dream Return Pavilion have a map of the Marquis of State Pacification's Mansion? I'll buy one to scare the old man!"
...As if Dream Return Pavilion were a marketplace? Feng Yue covered her face. "Don't be reckless. Instead of wasting your energy, why not help me with something? If it succeeds, I'll treat you to a meal."
"Alright, what do you need?"
"Help us kidnap Shi Youxin and take him out of the city gate." Pointing at the main gate on the Prime Minister's mansion map, Feng Yue adopted a serious expression. "There are ten guards here. Anyone with mediocre skills won't be able to escape while carrying a person. Only you can handle this."
Kidnap someone? Feng Ming grew excited, completely disregarding the fact that Shi Youxin was a court official. He clapped his hands and said, "Sure, but what if we fail?"
"I've already thought of that." Smiling slightly, Feng Yue looked at him and said, "If we fail, we'll say it was just a prank you played on Minister Shi. After all, with your status, he can't do much to you. But if it were someone else, that would be a different story."
"Alright." Without a second thought, Feng Ming nodded. "I'll listen to you. Whatever you say, I'll do."
Gratefully looking at him, Feng Yue gathered the others and carefully reviewed the plan once more.
Yin Gezhi had been waiting all along. He thought that before the fifteenth of next month, Feng Yue would surely come to see him at least once. Otherwise, with just their group, trying to do anything to Shi Youxin during the Shi family's ancestral ceremony would likely be quite difficult.
However, he waited and waited, and even when the day of the Shi family's ancestral ceremony arrived, no one came to Prince of Filial Piety's Mansion with any message.
Unable to sit still any longer, Yin Gezhi turned and asked Guan Zhi, "What's going on?"
Guan Zhi blinked, scratching his head. "Nothing much. General Feng went to the tenement early this morning. I don't know what he's doing now."
Yin Gezhi's face darkened, and he pursed his lips.
How could he have forgotten about Feng Ming? But even with Feng Ming, wouldn't asking for his own help be more reliable? Was she really that unwilling to come and ask him?
Feeling somewhat irritable, he stood up. After brooding for a while, he finally said in a low voice, "Let's go see the commotion."
Guan Zhi agreed, hitched the carriage, and drove him toward Prime Minister Shi's mansion.
The Shi family was quite a large clan, after all, two prominent figures among the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers bore the surname Shi. The scale of their ancestral ceremony was naturally grand. Early in the morning, everyone arrived at the Prime Minister's mansion in carriages or sedan chairs, alighting at the gate and exchanging pleasantries.
Shi Youxin's carriage arrived late. Most people at the gate had already gone inside, leaving only some servants and coachmen waiting outside, chatting quietly.
"Whoa—" While still some distance from the main gate, the coachman glanced around and reined in the horses. Turning back toward the carriage, he said, "Sir, there are many sedan chairs and carriages ahead. I'm afraid ours might get damaged. Please alight here."
Although Shi Youxin had recuperated for half a month, ghosts had been haunting his courtyard. While his illness had improved, his vitality was completely drained. Hearing this, he didn't argue. With dark circles under his eyes, he stepped out of the carriage.
However, the moment his feet touched the ground, before he could even take the ceremonial hat from the servant beside him, Shi Youxin felt himself being grabbed and hoisted—the world spun around him!
"Sir!" The guards by the carriage shouted in alarm, immediately drawing their swords. "Halt, villain!"The moment the shout rang out, the masked man had already run several steps away. By the time the eight guards by the carriage reacted and tried to give chase, the coachman cracked his whip, and the carriage swerved, knocking over four of them. The other four attempted to pursue, but their path was blocked by a sedan chair and another carriage coming from behind.
"Help! Lord Shi has been kidnapped!" the guards shouted urgently. The guards at the Prime Minister's residence heard the commotion and rushed down the steps, only to be delayed by coachmen and servants idly chatting at the entrance. By the time they pushed through the crowd, all they could see was the corner of the kidnapper's robe turning left at the end of the street.
"After him!"
As Feng Ming ran, he thought to himself, Thank goodness it's this frail and weak Shi Youxin. If it had been Zhao Xu from earlier, I definitely wouldn't have been able to carry him!
With the sound of pursuing guards behind him, Feng Ming gritted his teeth and, following Feng Yue's plan, dashed straight into Snow Moon Street.
"Ah, today is our Dream Return Pavilion's celebration! The girls inside have prepared wonderful performances for you, gentlemen. Please, come on in!"
On Snow Moon Street stood the newly established Dream Return Pavilion. Mama Jin, with her usual booming voice, led a group of girls in front of the building, soliciting customers. Doing business in broad daylight like this was considered respectable enough to be conducted openly, and for a moment, Snow Moon Street became unbearably congested.
Feng Ming charged into the crowd, expecting it to be difficult to get through. To his surprise, the girls automatically made way for him, and once he passed, they closed the gap again.
At the corner at the end of Snow Moon Street, a water cart was parked. Without a second thought, Feng Ming knocked Shi Youxin unconscious and stuffed him into an empty wooden barrel on the cart. According to the plan, his task was now complete. He tore off his mask and outer robe, stuffed them into the barrel as well, and watched as the cart headed toward the city gate. Then, dressed in a brocade robe embroidered with green scales, he leisurely strolled back.
The guards who had chased out from the Prime Minister's residence were still blocked by the group of girls. When one tried to shout at them, he was met with a warm, soft embrace as the girls cast flirtatious glances and cooed, "Oh, young master, you're so fierce! You've frightened poor little me!"
"That's right. We're preparing for a celebration here. Are you trying to ruin our event by being so fierce?"
"Why not come in for a couple of drinks? We have Beauty Brew here, more intoxicating than a beauty herself."
After a good deal of entanglement, Feng Ming watched, dumbfounded. By the time the guards finally broke through the encirclement, the kidnapper was long gone.
As the water cart exited the city, Lian Heng glanced at it, personally inspected it, and then let it pass without a word.
Watching the cart creak its way toward Shadow Reflection Mountain, Lian Heng sighed, turned to face the city wall, and reflected on himself.
This was the first time he had neglected his duty and bent the law for personal gain, so why did he feel a bit of satisfaction in his heart?
Feng Yue was waiting at a farmhouse at the foot of Shadow Reflection Mountain. When the delivery arrived, she smiled and had it carried into the iron cage that had been prepared long ago.
"This thing was really hard to catch!" Luo Hao wiped the sweat from his brow. "Fortunately, we were well-prepared. Otherwise, even General Feng might not have been able to escape."
"Hard as it was, we still caught it." Squatting in front of the cage, Feng Yue scooped a ladle of cold water, squinted at the unconscious Shi Youxin for a moment, and then suddenly splashed the water over him!
"Ah!" Shi Youxin woke with a start, looking around in terror. After a long while, he finally asked, "Where is this?""The eighteenth level of hell." With a sinister smile, Feng Yue brought a candle over. It illuminated a small area in the room where all the doors and windows were tightly shut, and made her own face appear even more terrifying.
At the sight of her face, Shi Youxin’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets: "Guan... Guan..."
"Still calling me Guan? You people, why are your reactions so unoriginal when you see me?" Rolling her eyes, Feng Yue chuckled, "Lord Shi. How have you been?"
"Ah—" Trembling all over, Shi Youxin let out a hoarse scream, his voice quivering at the end. Accompanied by the stench of urine, it made everyone in the room step back in disgust.
"Already wet your pants?" Feng Yue sneered, "When you ordered someone to sever my tendons back then, I thought you were quite brave, weren’t you?"
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