Union

Chapter 43 Come with me

The sounds of fighting that night were deafening, and most of the families living near the Shang family heard the commotion. They thought the Shang residence was haunted again, and the whole family huddled together, blocking the door and trembling inside.

Yunying only learned about the major event that had occurred in Yungui County the previous night when she got up early the next morning to pay her respects to Aunt Ding.

The stronghold of Magistrate Fan has been found, and Magistrate Fan was caught red-handed selling smuggled salt. The soldiers arrested quite a few people last night, including both buyers and sellers, totaling more than a hundred. With such a great achievement, Second Master can finally have a noteworthy political accomplishment this time.

Aunt Ding was very pleased, and wrinkles appeared on her smooth cheeks as she smiled. But after the smile faded, Aunt Ding's face hardened again, and she said that Magistrate Fan was "indeed a cunning man; in the end, he managed to escape."

Yunying asked in surprise, "He got away?"

"That's right. I heard that the secret passages are interconnected, with more than a dozen exits. Second Master sent people to surround the Shang residence and found quite a few exits outside the city. You can imagine that there must be some exits inside the city, maybe even in the houses those people bought in private. How could they all be found at once?"

Yunying had already guessed that the stronghold of Magistrate Fan and his gang was probably beneath the Shang residence, but Ruizhu and the others didn't know that. Because they didn't know, they listened to Aunt Ding's words as if they were hearing a foreign language, and couldn't help but ask her, "How come there are so many exits? It's not like a rabbit hole. Are there exits everywhere, in the sky and on the ground? Aunt, please explain clearly, where exactly did Second Master catch those bandits?"

Aunt Ding slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "Oh!" Only then did she realize that she had forgotten to tell the others about the tunnel under the Shang residence.

After Aunt Ding explained the situation to the group, she told them that the residents near the Shang residence had been quite frightened last night, but fortunately it was a false alarm. Otherwise, they would probably have had to pack up and go to their relatives' houses to avoid the scare today. This made them both laugh and cry.

After laughing for a while, they talked about the capture of the bandits. Aunt Ding sighed and said, "That Magistrate Fan is too cunning. He left a loyal and brave brother to take the knife for him, while he ran away with a box of gold."

Ruizhu asked, "Someone like Magistrate Fan would actually take a knife for him?"

"That beggar has three good brothers, so why doesn't Magistrate Fan have a single loyal brother or subordinate?"

Aunt Ding said, "But he was a pitiful man, I heard his name was Qi Sou or something. It's said that his son, who was studying at a private school, was pushed into the river and drowned by some thugs in the county. His family came to seek justice, but the thugs denied it and even made fun of them. His father died of anger on the spot, and his mother and wife fought with the thugs and were seriously injured. His mother died a few days after returning home, and his wife suffered even worse; I heard she hit her head and became mentally impaired. Qi Sou couldn't bear it, and while the three thugs were drunk, he took a kitchen knife and chopped off their heads, then went to the county government to turn himself in. He was sentenced to death, but Magistrate Fan found an old beggar to get him out of prison, and after that, Qi Sou followed Magistrate Fan."

Not only did he save Qi Sou, but Magistrate Fan also made sure Qi Sou's wife was taken care of. Qi Sou was so grateful that he sold his life to Magistrate Fan.
On the other hand, his life was given to him by Magistrate Fan, so it wouldn't be unfair to sell it to him.

Whether it's finding an old beggar to die in their place or selling smuggled salt, it's all a matter of losing one's head.

The death of just one Qi Sou is not enough. Magistrate Fan has been abusing his power and acting recklessly. This time, he has been convicted of a serious crime and a public notice has been posted throughout the city to apprehend the murderer. I do not believe that Magistrate Fan can escape.

Yunying was lost in thought when Aunt Ding spoke again, "That old man Qi isn't dead. They say he's still clinging to life, being kept alive by the doctor. I heard that if he gets through today, he'll be fine. Sigh, to keep him alive, Second Master even sent someone back to the manor to get ginseng. I can't bear to give away that century-old ginseng; it was prepared for Second Master by Madam. But a few ginseng roots are enough to keep him alive. If it weren't for the fact that he's still useful to Second Master, I wouldn't even give him those few roots..."

As Aunt Ding was rambling on, she heard a maid outside the door call out, "Second Master has returned to the manor."

There was no time for anyone else to say anything else, and everyone quickly left the flower hall.

They had just arrived outside the flower hall when the Second Master strode in.

This was the first time Yunying had seen the Second Master in the past half month since they parted ways at the Shang family.

The Second Master was dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, wearing a golden crown and black boots. Apart from the golden crown, he had no other decorations, which only accentuated his sharp facial features, upright posture, and noble and dignified appearance.

Yet this noble and dignified Second Master now had a cold look in his eyes, and his face was covered with a layer of ice.

The group of people who were about to approach stopped in their tracks when the Second Master gave them a cold look, and they dared not go any further.

Aunt Ding's heart was also racing. She felt that the Second Master's expression was terrifying, but she had to force herself to remain calm and stepped forward to ask him, "Have you had breakfast? Do you need to wash up? Can a servant come and serve you?"

Chen Yanzhou coldly replied, "No need," and strode away, about to walk past the group.

Yunying lowered her head, not daring to look at the Second Master's ugly face.

She could probably guess why the Second Master looked so grim; it was definitely related to the escape of Magistrate Fan and his men.

However, if this happened to her, she would also be very irritable.

I started making all sorts of preparations half a month ago, but at the last minute, they still got away. Anyone would be frustrated in that situation.

As Yunying was thinking this, she heard a cold gust of wind brush past her, and she quickly lowered her head even further.

The moment Second Master walked past, Yunying breathed a soft sigh of relief; she was so happy she hadn't been called out by him. "Yunying!"

Yunying slowly raised her head and saw that the Second Master was staring at her with slightly narrowed eyes. Yunying gently licked her lips, which had become dry from nervousness, and belatedly replied, "What?"

"Come with me."

After saying this, the second master turned and walked into the courtyard.

Before Yunying could fully recover, Aunt Ding gave her an anxious push, "Oh my good girl, what are you dawdling for? Second Master is in a bad mood today, so hurry up and catch up."

Qiu Ning also said sarcastically, "Sister Yunying, you'd better hurry up, or Second Master won't be able to wait any longer."

Ruizhu and Mujin remained silent, but their gazes towards Yunying were rather meaningful. There was a hint of resentment, but also a hint of schadenfreude.

Seeing that Yunying was not moving, Aunt Ding urged her again, "Don't dawdle any longer, or we'll all suffer if the Second Master gets angry."

Yunying said "Oh" and quickly followed. But even then, her mind was still blank, and she didn't understand why the Second Master had called her over.

When the second master entered the courtyard, Mo Xue returned sometime earlier and had already prepared hot water and everything else that might be needed.

He stepped forward and whispered a few words. The Second Master responded in a low voice and continued to give instructions: "They can't leave the city, so search carefully along all the exits of the secret passage. Also, have people beat drums and gongs and spread the word along the streets. Anyone who knows anything will be richly rewarded by the government."

Upon hearing this, Mo Xue withdrew, but before leaving, she saw Yun Ying standing in the courtyard and was momentarily stunned.

But it was only for a moment. A moment later, Mo Xue nodded slightly to Yun Ying and instructed her, "Second Master has a scratch on his back. Please help him bandage the wound in a bit."

Yunying: "I..."

Mo Xue: "Thank you for your trouble, Miss. My brothers and I are all tied up, and Second Master doesn't like being waited on. I'll take my leave now."

Yunying was about to say, "Am I not just anyone?" but before she could finish speaking, Moxue had vanished without a trace.

Yunying hesitated at the door for a while, but finally gritted her teeth, steeled herself, and went inside.

The soft sound of splashing water came from the washroom. Yunying thought of the Second Master bathing naked in the washroom, and her face flushed. She couldn't help but turn her head slightly to look at the scenery outside the door, feeling extremely uncomfortable.

Just as she was thinking about whether she should go out and hide for a while, and then come back in when the Second Master called for someone, she suddenly heard someone inside say, "Bring in a change of clothes."

When Yunying realized that the words were directed at her, her hand trembled, and after a long while, she slowly uttered an "Oh".

The person in the clean room was clearly impatient and urged, "Are you a tortoise? Hurry up."

Yunying, no longer able to think about anything else, hurriedly went to the inner room to find the wardrobe.

After selecting suitable clothes from the wardrobe, Yunying hurried towards the clean room.

But her steps slowed down, until she stood at the door and dared not move another step.

The second master couldn't hold back any longer and coldly called out, "Yun Ying!" His voice suddenly carried a hint of impatience and irritation.

Yunying shuddered, clenched her fist, closed her eyes, and went inside.

When she opened her eyes, she saw a four-panel screen standing before her, taller than herself. The screen was embroidered with flowers and birds of the four seasons; the embroiderer's skill was superb, and even the antennae of the bees and butterflies were clearly visible.

With a splash, the Second Master got out of the bathtub. Yunying felt a chill run down her spine at the sound, and goosebumps rose all over her body. Without thinking, she draped her clothes over the screen and, without saying a word, ran away.

Thank you to readers 1602 and lulu169 for the book points! Thank you everyone for your support of "The Bond of Love". I received a notification from the editor that this book will be available for purchase on November 1st, with over 8000 words updated that day. If you like it, please subscribe! Thank you all so much! *kiss*

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(End of this chapter)