The Ming Dynasty took an unconventional approach

At 1:00 PM, the Feng family's martial arts contest to find a husband officially began, with the arena set up outside the prefectural school.

The Feng family announced on the spot who had passed the written test, with Xue Wen ranked first. However, after reading the names, he glanced around and did not see Xue Wen.

Feng Hongde frowned and continued reading. After finishing the list, he immediately lowered his voice and said, "Go find him quickly. Although I like him, such neglect is really too much!"

The butler hurriedly sent someone down to look for him, whispering, "He was the last one to go on stage. He's probably hiding somewhere, waiting to appear at the crucial moment."

"Hmph, he's not even my son-in-law yet, and he already thinks he's so special. What will he be like if he actually marries into the Feng family?"

Feng Hongde planned to give Xue Shao a hard time once the others arrived: "Tell Tang Jing to teach Xue Wen a lesson, just don't hurt him. Let him know that even if I've taken a liking to him, my daughter isn't so easy to marry."

The butler quickly bowed his head and agreed.

But neither the master nor the servant expected that the servants of the Feng family could not find Xue Shao, and that Xue Shao did not appear even after the martial arts contest for marriage ended.

Tang Jing, who stood on the stage until the very end, was completely bewildered, having inexplicably won in the end.

Feng Hongde was so angry that his eyes turned red. He snapped the armrest of the chair in half and said through gritted teeth, "Find Xue Wen for me! Find him even if you have to dig three feet into the ground!"

Upon receiving the order, the steward immediately led soldiers and servants into the county town to conduct a large-scale search and arrest of Xue Shao.

These people, taking advantage of Xue Shao's power, didn't care whether the person had any connection with Xue Shao or not, and barged in to search.

The search was carried out with excessive force, smashing and breaking countless items. Some people even stole a lot of things, causing chaos throughout the entire Chaozhou city.

Prefect Lin couldn't stand by and watch, so he had to step in to stop it.

If it were other officials from the prefectural government who came forward, Feng Hongde would not bother with them. But since Prefect Lin came to him personally, even the most domineering Feng Hongde had to give him face.

Only then did he restrain his men and soldiers.

The number of looting and vandalism incidents has decreased, but people's resentment remains high. After all, who would want their home to be broken into and searched for no reason?
Seeing that Feng Hongde was unwilling to give up completely, Prefect Lin could only leave with a cold face.

"Scholar Xue and his pageboy, along with their junior sister, left the city together. Many people at the city gate saw this. Feng Hongde wasn't looking for Xue Shao; he felt he had lost face and wanted to get back at him."

"He's trying to save face by harassing the people of Chaozhou?" Prefect Lin's son was furious and questioned, "Father, you are the prefect of a prefecture, how can you allow a mere commander to act so recklessly?"

Prefect Lin sneered repeatedly: "His good days are numbered. You just wait and see."

Young Master Lin rolled his eyes: "Ordinary people have no choice but to wait. Father, you are the prefect, you have the power and the law, why should you wait?"

Young Master Lin had long been disgusted by his father's forbearance and concessions. After traveling and studying for three years, he returned to find his father still the same, and said irritably, "If all you can do is endure, what kind of prefect are you? You might as well stay in the water."

"What did you say, you brat?"

“Father, you are in a position to fulfill your duties. As the prefect, you are responsible for the civil administration of Chaozhou. By allowing Feng Hongde to harass the people and damage their property, you have neglected your duties!”

Young Master Lin clutched his head and collapsed to the ground, looking up at him with a accusing expression: "See, I touched a nerve, and you got angry and started hitting me, didn't I?"

Prefect Lin took a deep breath, pointed to the door, and said, "Get out of here!"

Young Master Lin snorted, got up from the ground, and left without looking back. Prefect Lin was extremely annoyed. His son was good in every way, except that he couldn't tolerate evil and was too quick to hate it.

He looked up at the roof with a guilty conscience, glancing around anxiously, wondering if any Imperial Guards were watching him, or if his son had overheard his words.

After pondering for a long time, Prefect Lin finally had his steward summon the prefect, assistant prefect, and other officials at various levels, as well as the county magistrate of the prefecture.

Within half a day, every word spoken by Young Master Lin and Prefect Lin reached Feng Hongde. Before he could react, his subordinates returned to report that the Assistant Magistrate and the County Magistrate had personally led their constables to the streets to maintain order, and they almost got into a fight with the people searching them.

Feng Hongde sneered, "Prefect Lin is just embarrassed and angry because of what his son said, and he wants to save face."

The steward couldn't help but advise, "Master, it's not good to go against Prefect Lin. If you're really so angry, why don't you go hunting outside the city?"

Feng Hongde lowered his eyes and remained silent.

The butler smiled slightly and said, "Master, if you find hunting wild boar, roe deer, and deer uninteresting, why not try being a hunter?"

Feng Hongde raised an eyebrow: "Hunter?"

"Yes, now that the rice has been harvested, there's no work to do in the fields, and the soldiers are all idle. It's the perfect time to train them. Sir, why don't you try hunting? I think that in war, besides killing enemy soldiers, you also need to avoid their attacks. If you hunt them, aren't you training their ability to escape?"

Commander Feng reached out and slapped his cheek, his eyes full of contempt and sneer: "Run for your life? Are you looking down on the soldiers of my Great Ming? Who told you that fighting is about training to run for your life?"

The steward shuddered, immediately realizing that his attempt to flatter had backfired.

His face turned pale, and he knelt down with a thud, slapping himself repeatedly across the face: "It was my ignorance that led me astray. I know my crime. I beg you, sir, to spare my life."

Feng Hongde kicked the man away, straightened his robes, stood up, and looked down at him, saying, "You are wrong, but your suggestion is good. I have hunted wolves and even tigers in my life, but I have never hunted people. This time, we can give it a try."

The butler swallowed the metallic taste in his throat, scrambled to his feet, knelt properly, and said with a fawning smile, "Then, then I'll go find someone right away?"

"No need. I'll take my men and train them at whichever military camp we end up at. Perfect timing. Didn't they say Xue Wen left through the south gate? He's heading south. I want to see if his horse is faster or mine! I'll see if I can actually catch him."

The steward was taken aback and quickly reminded him, "Master, you cannot leave the territory of Chaozhou Prefecture without an order..."

“If he goes north, I really can’t do anything about him. Once he crosses the border of Chaozhou Prefecture, he’s in Fujian. But if he goes south, not to mention that Chaozhou Prefecture still has a lot of land, even if he enters Huizhou Prefecture and Guangzhou Prefecture, who will come after me? Who can come after me?”

Feng Hongde became more and more excited as he spoke, his fists clenched: "Men, prepare the horses, muster the men, and set off immediately!"

The butler's face turned pale: "Master—"

He was now truly regretting it; he shouldn't have brought up the idea of ​​the hunter.

He just felt that Feng Hongde had been in a terrible temper these past two days, and was difficult to serve both inside and outside the mansion. Not only the ordinary servants, but even he, the steward, was exhausted by him, so he wanted to send him to the military garrison.

Anyway, those military households were tough and could withstand the hardships, but he didn't expect that Feng Hongde would be so bold as to want to go all the way south to Huizhou Prefecture and Guangzhou Prefecture.

Xue Shao has been on the run for three days, and the men they sent out haven't even found a trace of him. How could they possibly catch up? (End of Chapter)