From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

"this……"

Everyone's eyes widened again when they saw Pei Guozhang bow to Xiao Fengxiao.

It's not Zou Shichang's man, it's Xiao Fengxiao's man!

"Commander..."

Zou Shichang stared wide-eyed and slumped to the ground.

Liu Dalu, whom he befriended, was merely a low-ranking officer.

He claimed to be on good terms with Liu Dalu, but in reality, he was just showering him with money to curry favor.

Merchants, the lowest of the four classes!

If he weren't Xiao Fengxiao's man, Liu Dalu probably wouldn't even give him a second glance.

It was already so difficult for him to get to know a battalion commander, let alone a centurion.

To him, the high and mighty Commander Qianzong was nothing more than a lowly soldier in front of Xiao Fengxiao.

Zou Shichang looked at Xiao Fengxiao and couldn't help but burst into tears. She was too high up and couldn't reach her. Xiao Fengxiao was like the bright moon in the night sky, something that ordinary people like him could not possibly reach.

"Are you all alright?"

Immediately afterwards, Yun'er and the hornless black sheep entered the main hall.

He quickly walked up to them, looking at them with concern.

Seeing Yun'er appear, the martial arts practitioners blinked. The third person was there, and everyone looked exactly like the person in the portrait.

Coming to their senses, they were secretly amazed. This was no maid; in terms of appearance and demeanor, she was several times better than any of the young ladies from noble families they had ever seen.

"fine."

Chen Shi smiled and subconsciously grabbed Yun'er's hand.

"Did it go smoothly?"

"Um."

Yun'er nodded gently, then quickly withdrew her hand, her cheeks flushing red in front of so many people.

Before reaching Wuxing City, the three separated. Chen Shi and Xiao Fengxiao went into the city to raid Zou Shichang's stronghold. Yun'er, carrying Xiao Fengxiao's notes, went to find nearby government troops under the escort of the hornless black sheep.

Xiao Fengxiao suspected that, in addition to employing assassins, Zou Shichang was likely colluding with the local government, and he had to be on guard.

After a slight hiccup, Yun'er found Pei Guozhang, the commander stationed nearby.

Pei Guozhang was from the Jing'an Marquis's faction. Upon hearing that the Second Mistress was in danger, he immediately led his troops to the scene.

After entering the city, they went directly to the Zou residence and took down Liu Dalu, who was colluding with Zou Shichang, but they did not see Chen Shi or Xiao Fengxiao, and Zou Shichang was not there either.

Interrogating the people from the Zou family revealed that Zou Shichang was hiding here, so they rushed over immediately.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Fengxiao and Chen Shi were already here. Fortunately, neither of them was injured.

"They're just a bunch of chickens and dogs, what business could we possibly have with them?"

Xiao Fengxiao gave a soft snort, then turned to Pei Guozhang.

"General Pei."

"Your subordinate is here!"

"This filthy stuff has offended my eyes. You and Steward Chen can deal with it."

As he spoke, Xiao Fengxiao stood up.

Yun'er helped Xiao Fengxiao to the back hall to rest.

Pei Guozhang accepted the order, first respectfully seeing Xiao Fengxiao off, then turning to Chen Shi and bowing with clasped hands.

"This humble general, Pei Guozhang, greets Chief Steward Chen."

"General Pei, you're too kind."

Chen Shi smiled and returned the greeting with a slight bow.

Even a seventh-rank official is beneath the prime minister's notice. Chen Shi, as the chief steward of the Marquis's residence, usually didn't even respect local officials of the fourth or fifth rank. Pei Guozhang, being only a sixth-rank captain, felt inferior.

Of course, even so, Pei Guozhang did not dare to be negligent. He pointed to the people in the main hall and asked respectfully.

"Steward Chen, what do you think we should do?"

"Take them all!"

Chen Shi's gaze darkened, and he let out a cold shout.

"yes!"

Pei Guozhang's expression hardened, and he immediately turned around and shouted at the soldiers he had brought.

"Take them all! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

"yes!"

The soldiers obeyed the order, and hundreds of them rushed into the hall, holding long spears and aiming them at the people, herding them like ducks.

First, they pinned Zou Shichang to the ground, then captured the martial arts figures who were trying to evade them.

These martial arts practitioners looked flustered and instinctively wanted to resist, but in front of them were hundreds of regular soldiers, far more powerful than ordinary yamen runners, and they became somewhat timid.

In reality, even if they were no match for these troops, some of them could still escape.

But don't forget, Chen Shi is still there.

Not to mention those eighth-rank and seventh-rank martial artists, even those three sixth-rank martial artists didn't dare to make a move!

If we don't resist, we might still have a way to survive; if we resist, we'll face certain death.

It was not difficult at all; in just a few moments, everyone was locked up.

"Steward Chen, what's next?"

"Interrogate overnight!"

"yes!"

Pei Guozhang responded and immediately ordered his men to separate and detain all the people, and then he and Chen Shi would interrogate them one by one.

In addition, those captured from the Zou family were also arrested.

Xiao Fengxiao's grain reserves this time are distributed throughout Jiangnan Road, not just in Wuxing Prefecture. Now, in this famine, this grain is priceless!

Driven by greed, Chen Shi worried that grain merchants in other places might also have ulterior motives.

Furthermore, if it were just Zou Shichang alone, how could he dare to assassinate Xiao Fengxiao? He might have had accomplices!

First, they interrogated Zou Shichang, which went much more smoothly than expected.

Before Chen Shi even resorted to torture, the terrified Zou Shichang spilled the beans. His guess was correct; he had other accomplices.

Of course, these people could also be deliberately framed by Zou Shichang, but it's better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free, so let's arrest them all first.

Following this, Chen Shi interrogated Zou Shichang's confidants and other people who had handled the matter, thus further confirming the facts.

Pulling out the radish brought out mud with it; after a night of interrogation, the matter was basically clarified.

"Sir, Prefect Bao has arrived."

As dawn approached, someone came in to report.

Pei Guozhang dared not make a decision on his own and looked at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi sat there and nodded slightly.

A moment later, a middle-aged man dressed in the robes of a fourth-rank official entered; he was Bao Xing'an, the prefect of Wuxing.

"Greetings, Steward Chen!"

He quickly approached Chen Shi and bowed deeply.

Chen Shi sat there, coldly watching Bao Xing'an.

According to Zou Shichang's confession, he gave Bao Xing'an a considerable amount of silver every year.

Bao Xing'an stood there, wiping away sweat repeatedly, unsure whether it was from the rush he had taken to get there or from the fear in his heart.

"Lord Bao, you're too kind. Please have a seat."

Chen Shi suddenly smiled and gestured.

Bao Xing'an was the prefect of Wuxing, so it was perfectly normal for Zou Shichang to give him money.

According to last night's interrogation, Bao Xing'an was not involved in the plot to murder Xiao Fengxiao.

I doubt he would dare.

"Thank you, Steward Chen."

Seeing that Chen Shi's expression had softened, Bao Xing'an finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Upon learning that Xiao Fengxiao had come to Wuxing and had been assassinated, Bao Xing'an was nearly scared out of his wits.

"Lord Bao has come at the right time. This Wuxing area will be left to Lord Bao to handle."

Chen Shi looked serious, then turned to Pei Guozhang.

"As for the other locations, I'll leave it to General Pei to make the arrests!"

"This subordinate obeys!"

"Yes, yes, I obey."

Bao Xing'an had just arrived and didn't know the specifics of the situation, but since Chen Shi had given such an order, he quickly stood up and responded.

Immediately afterwards, Bao Xing'an and Pei Guozhang went out.

As instructed by Chen Shi, Bao Xing'an went to arrest Zou Shichang's subordinates in Wuxing, while Pei Guozhang, carrying Xiao Fengxiao's letter, rode at full speed to other prefectures and counties in Jiangnan Road to arrest the grain merchants' accomplices.

"snort."

That's about it. Chen Shi smiled slightly and got up to go to the back to see Xiao Fengxiao.