Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Who is it?"

Just after Jia Lian placed the garrison commander and others under house arrest, on his way back to his residence, a slender and agile black figure flashed past on the high wall in front of him, immediately prompting his personal guards to shout for alert.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp arrow pierced the air with a whooshing sound, hurtling towards Jia Lian with incredible speed.

The guards' expressions changed drastically. Fortunately, someone reacted in time and pushed Jia Lian away, narrowly avoiding the attack.

The dark figure, seeing that its attack had missed, didn't hesitate and immediately jumped off the wall and ran into the shadows.

"Chase!" Liu Xianglian breathed a sigh of relief after seeing that Jia Lian was unharmed, but his personal guard Feng Fei had been shot. He knew that his chance to make a contribution had come, and he immediately gave chase.

"There's no need to chase after them."

Jia Lian appeared very calm. Seeing Liu Xianglian and the others looking at him with surprise, he said, "I know who wants to assassinate me. There may be more than one assassin. You must not panic. Light up all the offices and patrol quickly."

"Yes……"

……

News of the assassination attempt on the imperial envoy spread like wildfire.

"These salt merchants are incredibly audacious! What are we going to do..."

Inside the government office, Wu Zhirong was in a terrible predicament, knowing that the trouble was getting worse, but he had no choice but to immediately change into his official robes and head towards the Salt Commissioner's office.

Accompanying him were two assistant prefects and several colleagues from Yangzhou Prefecture who had rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.

However, upon entering the Salt Commissioner's office, they did not see Jia Lian, but only some menacing soldiers who abandoned them in the courtyard and left them there without a care.

After a long while, a low-ranking official from the Salt Commissioner's office revealed the news to them:

Although the imperial envoy was unharmed, he was furious.

This undoubtedly brought a sense of relief to Wu Zhirong and the others, but also filled them with apprehension, wondering how Jia Lian would react after the assassination attempt.

This is something no one could have predicted.

The news reached Prefect Wu Zhirong and others, and naturally the salt merchants also learned of it.

Wang Shanxiang, the vice president of the salt trade association, was stunned when he heard the news.

"Who did it?"

He couldn't understand who had such courage. Even he himself had only mentioned it casually that day; if he were actually asked to do it, he would still have many reservations.

His wealth is far more than a million. With so much riches, he did many bad things while accumulating this wealth, and he always lacked fear in his heart.

But regardless of the circumstances, anyone living in that era would still have some reverence for imperial power.

"Is it that old fox Zhou Boru, or the Bai family?"

After thinking for a long time without finding a solution, Wang Shanxiang decided to go to the Zhou residence anyway.

Usually, when it comes to major matters concerning the entire salt trade, everyone will unanimously go to the Zhou family to discuss them. This has been a tacit understanding among the salt merchants for many years.

Although they are all competitors, the profits in the salt trade are so great that they need to unite to prevent outsiders from taking advantage of them.

Wang Shanxiang harbored doubts, as did the other salt merchants.

Inside the Zhou family manor, Zhou Boru, upon hearing this news, immediately thought, like everyone else, that some colleague had become restless, deviated from his plan, and launched the first attack on Jia Lian!

Just as he was getting angry and about to call the other families over to question them, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Having served as the head of the salt merchants' association in Yangzhou for many years, if we're talking about understanding the overall situation in Yangzhou, he's second to none.

Upon careful consideration, he concluded that in Yangzhou at present, there was probably no reason for anyone to risk their life to eliminate Jia Lian.

Although Jia Lian was sent by the emperor, he was a sword hanging over the heads of all the salt merchants. Therefore, they had a motive to take action against Jia Lian, but the time was not yet right.

Although Jia Lian appeared too greedy and domineering that day, according to their plan, by using multiple methods, they were still confident that they could force Jia Lian to back down.

Their plan hasn't even been implemented yet, so who would be so foolish as to assassinate Jia Lian?

Excluding the salt merchants, only the officials from the Salt Transport Bureau remain. However, most of them are not minor officials, and even if they fear Jia Lian discovering their crimes, they probably wouldn't dare to take action against Jia Lian.

After all, even if Jia Lian dies, the imperial court will immediately send down an even stronger force. They will suffer the same fate then, or perhaps even worse.

Only salt merchants, with their powerful connections in the court, would dare to assassinate high-ranking officials, because they were confident that they could use their connections to suppress the matter after it happened.

That's the case with An Siyuan. The only problem was that things didn't go as planned; the forces behind them failed to completely suppress the matter, leading the court to send a Marquis of Zhenyuan down with him.

As he was pondering, his son came in to announce, "Master, Master Bai and the other masters have all arrived because of the assassination attempt on the imperial envoy."

"Let them in."

……

Just as the salt merchants gathered together, suspecting and attacking each other, a group of people rode in from the gate of Yangzhou.

"Open the city gates!"

Although it was long past the time to close the city gates according to the established time, the city guard dared not disobey the order and opened the gates because the visitor was a person close to the garrison commander and carried the garrison commander's token.

"I wonder why the garrison commander wants the city gates opened so late?"

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."

The people around the officer had their share of bad habits, and the city garrison commander could only put up with it.

Before long, the faint sounds of clashing swords and galloping horses could be heard outside, and the city guard was greatly alarmed.

Could it be that bandits are planning to launch a surprise attack on Yangzhou?

He quickly realized he was wrong; a large contingent of soldiers had arrived. As the soldiers entered the city, he understood the gist of the matter:

An assassin attempted to kill the imperial envoy inside the imperial headquarters. The imperial envoy was furious and dispatched troops into the city to capture the assassin!

This……

The city of Yangzhou is in some chaos.

Even late at night, ordinary people could hear people riding horses and the sounds of swords clashing in the streets.

The common people, unaware of the situation, could only keep their doors tightly shut and stay at home praying to Buddha for peace.

Those who were bolder only dared to climb ladders onto the wall and look outside, but they couldn't see anything.

Inside the Salt Commissioner's office, Wu Zhirong and his entourage waited for most of the night before finally seeing Jia Lian.

Jia Lian came out wearing a cloak, surrounded by his personal guards, staring at them expressionlessly.

"grown ups……"

Several of the top officials of Yangzhou, who were usually so powerful that a stomp of their feet could shake the entire city, were now filled with unease.

With a wave of his hand, Jia Lian fluttered his cloak, exuding a free and unrestrained elegance.

"I know why you've come. I can only tell you that I am fine, but my loyal brother who has protected me for many years has been wounded by an arrow and is in critical condition, almost losing his life."

Therefore, I am in a very bad mood. Do you gentlemen understand?

Only then did Wu Zhirong and the others realize why Jia Lian had not summoned them despite their long stay here, and why the Imperial Guards, though ignoring them, seemed intent on keeping them under guard.

It turned out that the imperial envoy suspected that one of them was plotting something.

"It is our dereliction of duty that we have caused you such alarm, sir. Rest assured, sir, we will immediately order the constables and soldiers of Yangzhou Prefecture to apprehend this audacious villain throughout the city..."

"No need. The assassin has already been captured."

As soon as Jia Lian finished speaking, soldiers immediately dragged out a man who had been beaten black and blue and was covered in dirt.

Upon seeing Wu Zhirong, the man immediately crawled forward like a dog, crying out, "Your Excellency, please save me!"

Wu Zhirong's expression immediately changed, and he hurriedly retreated, shouting, "Where did this dog come from? I don't know you at all! The Imperial Envoy is wise and powerful, with keen insight. Don't even think about trying to implicate me and deceive me. You dare to assassinate the Imperial Envoy? You have the audacity to do so! You only have one way out: death."

As Wu Zhirong cursed, he glanced at the expressions of the people around him.

Seeing the other officials staring at him in shock, Wu Zhirong's heart sank. He quickly said to Jia Lian, "Please investigate, Your Excellency. I really don't know this person, and I would never dare to be disrespectful to Your Excellency, much less send someone to assassinate you."

Someone is definitely trying to frame me. Your Excellency must stand up for me and not be deceived by such a villain.

Seeing Jia Lian's indifference, and beginning to suspect that Jia Lian was about to frame him, he heard Jia Lian coldly say, "What are you panicking about? I have already interrogated him thoroughly; this man is a servant of the Zhao family, a salt merchant family. Heh heh heh, I haven't even laid a hand on them yet, and they've already struck first. Do they think I can't do anything to them?!"

Wu Zhirong's expression suddenly relaxed, and upon hearing the murderous intent in Jia Lian's tone, he immediately echoed, "That Zhao family is courting death! They actually sent someone to assassinate you, sir. I will immediately send men to arrest Zhao Ye and his entire family..."

"No need. I have my own plans. You may all wait here. Just a word of advice: it's best if you don't leave this place before I return, otherwise, it would be quite troublesome if any misunderstandings arise."

After saying this, Jia Lian, in front of Wu Zhirong and the others, mounted his horse and led a group of personal guards around the side gate, galloping out of the Censorate.

Wu Zhirong and the others' expressions changed. Looking at the meticulous Imperial Guards who were keeping a tight watch on the entire compound, they exchanged glances and realized that something was wrong.

After waiting in the main courtyard for a while, and seeing Gao Kui and his group in the side courtyard through the corridor, Wu Zhirong and the others turned even paler. By this point, even the most oblivious among them would realize that something terrible was about to happen.

(End of this chapter)