After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 86 Because of Your Words
Yang Cong glanced at Magistrate Hu but didn't speak. Instead, he focused his gaze on Lin Yunche. He knew that if it weren't for this man last night, he would have died at the hands of those Northern Dynasty assassins.

"Who are you?" Yang Cong asked Lin Yunche.

Lin Yunche glanced at Magistrate Hu, then stepped forward and said, "My surname is Lin, and I am a farmer from Linjia Village."

"Why did you save me?" Yang Cong was full of suspicion.

Magistrate Hu wanted to stop him, but Lin Yunche stopped him with a look. "Someone is openly killing people in Huai'an County. No one with any sense of justice would stand by and watch someone die."

Yang Cong naturally didn't believe it, but he had no other choice. At the very least, this person must have considerable power and extraordinary skills. He was able to rescue him from five assassins; perhaps...
Thinking of this, Yang Cong suddenly rolled over and fell off the bed. Bai Wanqing wanted to help him up, but Lin Yunche stopped her.

Yang Cong struggled to his feet, knelt down, and choked out, "Young Master Lin, please, please save my family."

Lin Yunche raised an eyebrow, but Magistrate Hu's face darkened. What was going on? He, a dignified magistrate, was right there, and instead of asking the magistrate for help, the magistrate had to ask a farmer from Linjia Village for help. Where was he supposed to put his face?

Magistrate Hu coughed heavily twice, but it did not attract Yang Cong's attention.

Magistrate Hu couldn't help but say, "Yang Cong, do you know that you are now a spy for the Shang Kingdom? How dare you ask us to save your family?" Magistrate Hu finished speaking and gave a heavy snort.

Yang Cong gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his body, and said, "If you don't help me save you, I won't say anything and I won't know anything."

"At worst, I'll give you my life."

After saying that, Yang Cong stopped kneeling and sat down on the ground, acting like a rogue.

Magistrate Hu stood up in anger, about to reprimand him, but was stopped by Lin Yunche. Yang Cong looked at the scene before him with a meaningful glance at the farmer surnamed Lin, and then sat even more firmly on his seat.

Lin Yunche squatted down, smiled at Yang Cong, and asked, "Then, Chairman Yang, why don't you tell me where your family is? And what dangers are they in?"

Yang Cong was taken aback and immediately said, "My wife and children are in the hands of General Luan Heng of the Northern Dynasty. They have been placed in Ruicheng. Do you have any way to rescue them?"

"Are your wife and children in the Northern Dynasty?"

When Yang Congshua mentioned his wife and children again, tears welled up in his eyes. "Otherwise, why would I, a perfectly good president in the Shang Kingdom, risk my life for the Northern Dynasty?"

Lin Yunche and Magistrate Hu felt a chill run down their spines. "Could it be that the Northern Dynasty can now arbitrarily abduct citizens of our Shang Kingdom within its borders?"

Yang Cong immediately shook his head, "No, this is actually my fault."

"I recently received a letter from the president of the Northern Dynasty Trade Association. Although he is the president of the Northern Dynasty Trade Association, he was a citizen of our Shang Kingdom fifteen years ago."

Everyone present knew this. Fifteen years ago, Ruicheng was still a city in their Shang Kingdom, so it was not surprising that Yang Cong knew the president of the Ruicheng Chamber of Commerce.

"He wrote to me, lamenting that trade between the Shang Kingdom and the Northern Dynasty was not going well, and wanted to join forces with me to open up a trade route that would allow them to travel to each other. Of course, this route would not be openly discussed, but rather arranged privately in the name of our Chamber of Commerce."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Hu felt a surge of anger. "Smuggling is smuggling, why make it sound so high and mighty? You are a citizen of our Shang Kingdom! Are you willing to disregard everything for money?"

Yang Cong was embarrassed by Magistrate Hu's scolding. "That's right, it's all my fault! If I hadn't been greedy, I wouldn't have fallen for his trick."

"Liu Yan, the president of Ruicheng, tricked me into going to the Northern Dynasty, and then detained me there. He then wrote to my wife and children, saying that I had found a better place in the Northern Dynasty, and then tricked the whole family into going there."

"They used my family to coerce me into returning to gather information about the Shang Kingdom and selling it to them. I really had no other choice!" Yang Cong said, then slapped his thigh a few times in regret.

"Then how did you obtain the Shang Kingdom's secrets?" Lin Yunche asked, seizing the opportunity.

"I mean," Yang Cong started to say, but then realized what he meant, "I can't say it. If I do, you won't go to save my wife and children anymore."

Magistrate Hu was quite angry with Yang Cong. Lin Yunche was not without other ways to find out who Yang Cong had bribed, but he felt that Yang Cong was still useful, so he agreed to his request.

Lin Yunche felt that Yang Cong could no longer stay in the century-old medical clinic, so he wanted Magistrate Hu to take him to the county jail. Magistrate Hu agreed, but in the end, it was decided that Bai Wanqing would examine the injury.

“Lord Lin, why did you agree to Yang Cong’s request? Even if he doesn’t talk, we will find a way to get him to talk.” Magistrate Hu was very confident about this.

Lin Yunche said, "Lord Hu certainly has a way. However, Yang Cong was able to establish a network of contacts in such a short time, which shows that he is quite capable. He happens to need our help. If we can get him to work for us again, it may be of great benefit."

Magistrate Hu agreed with this point. After all, Yang Cong was a rare talent in terms of both intelligence and ability. Otherwise, he would not have been chosen as the president of the Chamber of Commerce, especially in the impoverished Huai'an County. He was able to make the business in the entire county thrive. He was indeed quite capable.

"But...he betrayed the Shang Kingdom, can this man still be trusted?" Magistrate Hu was somewhat worried.

Lin Yunche smiled and said, "Lord Hu! Whether it's believable or not, we'll find out when the time comes. They haven't agreed to surrender to us yet!" After saying that, Lin Yunche rode away on horseback. Magistrate Hu ordered his men to secretly move Yang Cong out of the century-old pharmacy and bring him back to the county government office. Every morning and evening, Bai Wanqing went to the county government office to check on his injuries.

Bai Wanqing, who had been busy all night, was also feeling a bit tired. She informed her grandmaster Luo and returned to the Bai family ahead of schedule.

Bai Chenming was worried all night after hearing about what happened last night. Only when he saw his daughter return unharmed did he feel relieved.

"Qing'er, is everything alright?" Bai Chenming asked anxiously, as he really couldn't take any more frights.

"Father, don't worry, everything's alright." Bai Wanqing helped Bai Chenming back to the front hall.

"It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright! I heard from your Uncle Liu last night that the situation was really dangerous! By the way, were those men in black really spies from the Northern Dynasty?" It's not just the Bai family, but the whole of Huai'an County is now spreading the word that men in black from the Northern Dynasty infiltrated Huai'an County to kill some prominent figures as a warning, and last night was the first warning.

“Father, it’s best if we don’t get involved in these matters. Whether it’s right or wrong, Magistrate Hu will take care of it,” Bai Wanqing advised.

“Father naturally knows, but since it involves the Northern Dynasty, I’m afraid it will affect the Bai family.” Bai Chenming sighed with slight worry.

Bai Wanqing paused for a moment, then remained silent. After escorting her father back to his courtyard, Bai Wanqing also went back to rest for a while. She slept soundly and even missed lunch.

"Miss, are you hungry? I'll have the kitchen make you some snacks to tide you over," Ruixin said, stepping forward to serve Bai Wan as soon as she saw that Bai Wan was awake.

"No need, I'm not very hungry yet." Bai Wanqing asked Ruixin to fetch a basin of water, washed her face first, and then she felt a little more energetic.

Bai Wanqing pondered the events of last night. For the first time, she personally experienced the conflict between the two countries. After all, she had only vaguely heard about the war fifteen years ago from her mother.

Outside, Magistrate Hu offered an explanation to appease the people of Huai'an County.

What happened last night was not the work of spies, but rather a burglary at the home of the Chamber of Commerce president. The county government is now offering a large reward; anyone with clues can report to the government and will be rewarded handsomely.

When everyone heard that they had been robbed, they were still a little uneasy, but they were not so scared anymore.

"Magistrate Hu said that the reason why Chairman Yang was so badly injured last night was not because of the thieves, but because of a hidden weapon that Chairman Yang's family had planted. The thieves accidentally triggered the hidden weapon, which caused Chairman Yang to be so badly injured."

"I knew it! How could a few petty thieves have such great skills? It turns out that Chairman Yang injured himself!"

"Then do you think Chairman Yang's family must be very rich? Otherwise, what would he do with those hidden weapons?"

"Hey! What you're saying is, whether you have money or not has nothing to do with you."

"It doesn't matter. I'm at ease even though I don't have any money. Thieves can't possibly be after my meager savings."

Within a day or two, the people of Huai'an County accepted this explanation. A few days later, Magistrate Hu said that a few petty thieves had been caught, and everyone forgot about the matter even more.

As for Yang Cong, the association president, he was seriously injured, and Magistrate Hu said that he was sent to Huaizhou, where Yang Cong's relatives were taking care of him. Naturally, no one else pursued the matter further, and a substitute president was appointed, so the matter was dropped.

Bai Wanqing returned to the yamen on time to treat Yang Cong's injuries, but since she was dressed in men's clothing, most people didn't notice her.

Every time Yang Cong saw Bai Wanqing come, he would ask, "How are my wife and children? Still no news?"

Bai Wanqing looked down at his injury without answering, but patiently treated it.

Yang Cong suddenly grabbed Bai Wanqing's arm and asked sharply, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"What can I tell you?" Bai Wanqing said calmly, "I can only tell you that Young Master Lin has already used various means to gather information in the Northern Dynasty."

"You should focus on recovering from your injury as soon as possible."

Yang Cong didn't believe Bai Wanqing's words, but he didn't press her for more information.

"What's the point of healing this injury if I lose my wife and children?" Yang Cong didn't know why Bai Wanqing was more attentive to his injury than he was to his own, and he couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

Bai Wanqing frowned, then immediately stopped what she was doing, and said calmly, "I don't know if you're useful or not! But I do know that someone is risking their life for your wife and children because of something you said."

Yang Cong suddenly looked up at Bai Wanqing, unable to utter another word.

(End of this chapter)