The person knocking on the Wei Family’s door late at night was unexpected.
It was actually Magistrate Yang, whom she had met once before through the door.
The large gap in the Wei Family’s gate still hadn’t been repaired, so there was no need to even open it.
Nan Yang led Grandma, the two of them standing behind the gate, while Magistrate Yang stood outside. He wasn’t carrying a lantern, and under the dim starlight, his face appeared solemn.
“You’re sending us away tonight?” Nan Yang was greatly surprised.
Magistrate Yang’s expression was grim. “Marquis Xiao’s influence is immense, and the officials of Shanyang Commandery won’t be able to delay for much longer. Sending the Wei Family’s young lady away as soon as possible is Prefect Lu’s intention.”
Marquis Xiao had already issued a strict order. By tomorrow morning, all eligible young women in the town would be gathered for him to inspect personally.
According to him, this was to search for a young lady from Ping An Town whom he had once met by chance.
But this so-called young lady he had met by chance couldn’t provide any specific clues—not her appearance, figure, or voice—only insisting she was a young woman… Wasn’t this just a random excuse?
Magistrate Yang couldn’t help but think too much.
Marquis Xiao was searching for all the young women in the entire town.
Whether it was to abduct and violate them or to abduct and devour them… both were unimaginably horrific scenarios.
The more Magistrate Yang thought about it, the more his face turned ashen.
Thus, when Prefect Lu, the head official of Shanyang Commandery, sent someone to relay the matter of the Wei Family’s young lady, he came immediately.
“Wei Erniangzi, your ancestors were founding heroes of the dynasty, and your father, Yongxing Earl, is a descendant of nobility with a hereditary title. I cannot save everyone, but I also cannot stand by and watch a young lady of the Wei Family suffer humiliation under my jurisdiction.”
“Prefect Lu shares the same sentiment. He has entrusted me to escort you out of Ping An Town tonight!”
Grandma suppressed her overwhelming joy as Nan Yang took half a step forward with a lantern, listening through the gap in the gate as Magistrate Yang outside spoke faster and faster:
“Prefect Lu has written a letter, which he entrusted me to deliver to the Wei Family’s young lady. Please ride swiftly back to the capital and truthfully report Huaiyang Marquis’s shocking actions in Shanyang Commandery to your father, Yongxing Earl, so he may petition the court!”
“Once the court issues an order to recall Huaiyang Marquis to the capital, it will stop him from continuing his evil deeds—”
Before Magistrate Yang could finish his impassioned speech, Nan Yang took half a step back and shook her head.
“County Magistrate Yang does not know my father’s temperament. He will not petition the court.”
Magistrate Yang: “…”
His previously fervent and boiling emotions felt as if a basin of cold water had been poured over a hot iron plate—sizzling!—leaving him utterly chilled.
Behind her, Grandma anxiously tugged at Nan Yang’s sleeve.
Nan Yang swayed back and forth from the pulling but continued speaking: “I am the daughter my father values the least, which is why I was sent to this town to recuperate. Even if County Magistrate Yang and Prefect Lu send me back to the capital, my father will not petition the court out of gratitude for this favor.”
“I do not wish to disappoint either of you. County Magistrate Yang, please return. And convey my thanks to Prefect Lu.”
Magistrate Yang walked away a few steps with a disappointed expression but suddenly hurried back.
“Do what you can and leave the rest to fate, young lady. You need not worry about the rest. Prefect Lu’s letter is already written—just take it with you! Once you enter the capital, simply copy Prefect Lu’s letter twenty times and post it on the walls beneath the city gates. Someone will surely take notice of the matter in Ping An Town!”
Nan Yang: “…Ah, this…”
Before she could think of a response, Grandma hastily replied in a trembling voice: “Excellent, excellent! Once my young lady returns to the capital and copies the letter, this old woman will gladly post it on the city walls everywhere!”
Magistrate Yang: “Good! I entrust this to the Wei Family’s young lady!”
Both sides spoke with increasing urgency, and Nan Yang, falling a step behind, could no longer interject. The matter was settled on the spot.
Magistrate Yang immediately took a letter from his robe and handed it to Nan Yang, arranging for them to leave the town in the dead of night, under the cover of darkness, before hurrying away.
In a single evening, the situation had taken a dramatic turn. Grandma began rummaging through chests and cabinets, packing clothes and valuables, while Nan Yang sat clutching a bundle, lost in thought.
Were they really leaving this town they had lived in for over half a year so suddenly?
A sense of emptiness washed over her.
The personal letter from the Governor of Shanyang Commandery was clutched tightly in her hand, turned over and over again.
Upon the first reading, she was deeply shocked by its contents; upon the second, for some reason, the bold and upright handwriting seemed vaguely familiar…
Nan Yang silently tucked the letter away.
It must be because she had stayed indoors for too long, feeling stifled and restless.
First, she found a stranger rescued from the river familiar; now, she thought the handwriting of the Governor of Shanyang Commandery, whom she had never met, seemed familiar as well.
It must be an illusion.
Grandma urged her to change her clothes.
“Prefect Lu and Magistrate Yang are taking great risks to help us leave the town, all out of respect for the ancestors of the Wei Family. Second Miss, do not disgrace the honor of the Wei Family ancestors.”
That made sense.
Nan Yang put on her best set of clothes, held her small bundle, and tucked the letter close to her body. Neither mistress nor servant dared to close their eyes, forcing themselves to stay awake until the very end of the third watch, when a faint light appeared through the large gap in the door.
The carriage arranged by Magistrate Yang had arrived.
The night was deep and silent, with all sounds hushed. The journey out of the town was eerily quiet, the sound of the carriage wheels rolling over bumps in the dirt road seeming deafeningly loud. Grandma was so nervous that sweat poured from her like rain.
Nan Yang lifted the carriage curtain and leaned out to look, whispering to the driver:
“Wasn’t it said that the Huaiyang Marquis’s troops had sealed off the town? How come we haven’t seen a single person along the way?”
The driver kept his head down, focused on driving, and did not reply.
Grandma closed her eyes and muttered, “It’s best not to see anyone on the road. Please, please, don’t run into anyone…”
Nan Yang continued leaning out, uneasily questioning the driver.
“Ahead, there’s a row of dark shapes—are those wooden barricades blocking the way? Can we still proceed? Will we crash into them?”
The driver’s sturdy arms remained steady, showing no intention of slowing down. “No. The master has arranged everything.”
No sooner had he spoken than five or six figures emerged from the roadside, pushing the entire row of wooden barricades aside. The carriage sped past along the dirt road.
Nan Yang couldn’t help but feel moved. Magistrate Yang was truly reliable!
“Thank you, County Magistrate Yang, for the arrangements… Huh?”
Before she could finish expressing her gratitude, the tall and burly driver suddenly yanked hard on the reins, causing the carriage to lurch violently: “Whoa—stop!”
Nan Yang and Grandma inside nearly tumbled forward.
Nan Yang, still holding the curtain open, stared wide-eyed as the driver pulled on the reins to slow down, guiding the carriage toward the roadside.
A rare two-horse carriage stood quietly by the side of the road.
The carriage was tall and wide, a colossal presence in the pitch-black night, nearly twice as long and one and a half times as wide as her humble little cart.
Two large black horses stood by the roadside, lowering their heads to graze, occasionally flicking their tails.
Nan Yang’s small carriage came to a stop almost side by side with the two-horse carriage on the roadside. The driver took a deep breath and shouted toward the larger carriage:
“Master, the person has been delivered!”
Nan Yang: …?
Something seemed off?
Two bright Glazed Lamps lit up by the roadside.
Their brilliant glow illuminated the darkness, casting light on both the two-horse carriage parked by the roadside and the humble little cart stopped in the middle of the road, leaving nothing hidden.
The light of the glazed lamp in the dark night clearly illuminated the ornate decorations on the large carriage, as well as the armor and waist swords of the escorting soldiers.
Two fine horses harnessed side by side leisurely lowered their heads to graze on the grass.
Nan Yang: …
Was she seeing things in the middle of the night, or what? A general with a sword at his waist stood by the large carriage, arms crossed, and turned his face toward the direction of their small carriage—
Why did he look more and more like General Di, who served under the Huaiyang Marquis?!
Nan Yang cautiously observed the opposite side, where the curtain of the large carriage was also lifted a corner.
A vaguely familiar man’s hoarse voice said, “Has the Wei Family’s young lady arrived? Bring Magistrate Yang out as well.”
Several soldiers pushed two bound and disheveled figures out from the shadows.
The first was tall and thin—Magistrate Yang himself. The second was dressed as a coachman, clearly the one originally arranged by Magistrate Yang for the Wei Family.
“…” Nan Yang’s heart skipped a beat.
The situation was growing increasingly dire. Instinctively, she let go of her hand, and the window curtain fell, blocking the glaring light of the glazed lamp outside.
She gently tugged at Grandma beside her. Grandma’s palm was icy cold, covered in cold sweat despite the sweltering heat.
A carriage drawn by two horses, a glazed lamp, General Di guarding the carriage, and Magistrate Yang bound and brought to the roadside in the dead of night…
The “master” sitting in the opposite carriage, lying in wait in the middle of the night—who else could it be but the Huaiyang Marquis himself?
Grandma was so frightened her voice turned hoarse.
Though she didn’t know where the escape plan arranged by Magistrate Yang had gone wrong, tonight’s attempt had clearly been exposed.
Trembling, she pushed Nan Yang.
“Second Miss, I’ll stall for a while. You… you must go quickly! Pull open the carriage floorboard, from underneath… I’ll protect you…”
The rear wall of the carriage was struck heavily.
“Pulling open the floorboard won’t help. Don’t run—you’re surrounded on all sides.”
Di Rong, unable to sleep in the middle of the night, was in no mood for the young lady in the carriage to attempt an escape. He irritably tapped the rear wall of the carriage again with the hilt of his sword, urging:
“Come out, Wei Erniangzi. Marquis Xiao requests your presence.”
Nan Yang was utterly stunned.
She didn’t even know how she got out of the carriage, drifting like a ghost toward the front of the opposite carriage.
General Di gestured for her to come closer to speak.
Nan Yang took a small step forward.
General Di gestured for her to come even closer.
Nan Yang took another small step forward, still two or three steps away from the half-lifted curtain of the large carriage, stubbornly refusing to move any further.
“I greet Marquis Xiao.”
The words “Huaiyang Marquis” felt even more terrifying, so she instinctively changed her form of address: “What instructions does Marquis Xiao have for this humble girl?”
A low, ambiguous laugh came from inside the large carriage.
The curtain was lifted a little higher, and under the glazed lamp, the lower half of a man’s sea-blue brocade robe with cloud and mountain patterns was revealed, his long legs casually splayed apart.
The man’s slightly hoarse voice carried a hint of amusement as he instructed her, “Come a little closer. What are you afraid of? Could it be that this Marquis would eat you?”
Nan Yang: “…” This joke really wasn’t funny.
She nervously stared at the dark, half-open curtain before her.
Outside the carriage was bright, but the interior was pitch black. Behind the curtain, it seemed as though a monstrous beast had opened its bloody maw.
Reluctantly, she took another small step forward, standing before the swaying curtain.
“What instructions does Marquis Xiao have… Ah?!”
Suddenly, a hand reached out from inside the carriage and pulled her in.
Nan Yang, her nerves already taut, trembled all over!
At the same time, Grandma, who had been watching intently from the small carriage, cried out in panic, “Ahhh—!”
The curtain drifted lightly back into place.