"Tell me slowly, what exactly happened?"
Inside the military tent, Zhong Li looked at A Qiang, who was on the opposite side with a look of panic, and placed a cup of warm water in his hand. After he calmed down a bit, she asked.
A Qiang took a sip of water, took several breaths, and then said, "Didn't my lord ask my young master to find the Li family?"
"Mm!" Zhong Li nodded.
"It's like this, when my young master went to find the Li family, Young Master Li wasn't there, so he left a message for the Li family's butler and soon left the Li manor.
Originally, my young master was going back to the yamen, but he thought that the money of the Jinzhou people couldn't be delayed any longer, and he couldn't always rely on Lord Zhong. So, he thought about going to other sea merchants' residences to find a way.
He hadn't walked far on the street when he met two merchants who said they wanted to buy the merchant ship in his young master's hand. My young master was very happy, and they arranged to meet in a private room at the Jinzhou restaurant to discuss. I accompanied him at that time.
During the conversation, these two did not ask about the merchant ship, but instead inquired about the progress of the yamen's thorough investigation into the Wu family's silver house. My young master felt something was wrong, so he prepared to leave with me, but then... but then... *sob sob*..." At this point, A Qiang couldn't help but burst into tears.
He sniffled, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes forcefully, and said, "Who knew these two would reveal their fierce nature and kidnap my young master? I also struggled with them at the time, but... I am not as capable as my lord and the young prince, and I couldn't protect my young master, and I was injured myself."
Zhong Li looked down as he spoke and noticed that A Qiang's pant leg was covered in blood.
She stood up, got the medicine box from the corner, and went to A Qiang's side to examine his wound.
At first, A Qiang was a bit resistant, after all, their statuses were different, and Zhong Li was a woman.
After Zhong Li threw down a sentence, 'I've seen plenty of male corpses, there's nothing here,' A Qiang twitched the corner of his mouth, endured the pain, and let her treat his wound.
"When something so significant happened, why didn't you go to Lord Ren first, but instead came here to find me and Lord Zhong?" Lu Wuxie asked, suppressing the urge to laugh at A Qiang, who looked like he was on his way to an execution.
Hearing Lord Ren's name, A Qiang shivered and said, "Ever since my young master was hit on the head last time, my lord has attached great importance to my young master's safety. No one expected that something like this would happen when he went out on an errand. I was truly scared, which is why I sought help from you two esteemed lords."
As he spoke, his face showed grievance, begging the two lords for help.
Zhong Li finished what she was doing and stood up, looking at Lu Wuxie.
"Does Li'er have an idea?"
Zhong Li glanced at A Qiang and asked, "A Qiang, I'll ask you, how much time has passed since the incident?"
A Qiang counted on his fingers and muttered to himself, "I went out with my young master, went to the Li mansion, from when my young master was captured, to when I found you two lords, it's been... two days."
Hearing this number, Zhong Li exchanged a look with Lu Wuxie.
She then asked, "Since Young Master Ren was kidnapped, did those two say what they planned to do?"
A Qiang bit his lip and thought for a moment, then shook his head, "No."
"Did they leave any message?"
"No."
Zhong Li asked quickly, and A Qiang answered concisely.
After a while, Zhong Li walked to the bedside and began to pack her belongings.
"What is my lord doing?" A Qiang was very surprised.
Zhong Li slung the medicine box onto her back. Lu Wuxie stepped forward and took the items she had gathered, saying, "We are preparing to rush back to the yamen overnight."
"What?" Hearing the word "yamen," A Qiang's legs trembled. It seemed that Master Ren had indeed scared him quite a bit.
"Then the matter here..." A Qiang said, hesitating.
Zhong Li walked towards the outside of the tent and said, "It will take another half a day for A Wang's progress. They are all tired today, and this case cannot be rushed. Young Master Ren's matter is the most important now, what do you think, Mo Cang?"
Lu Wuxie nodded, appearing to agree with Zhong Li's opinion.
"Then I..." A Qiang looked as if he was about to cry.
Lu Wuxie stepped forward and patted his shoulder, saying, "It's alright, don't worry! We will explain to Lord Ren when we get to the yamen, and you'll be fine."
A Qiang swallowed a few times, wanting to say more but unable to utter a single word.
Three fine horses galloped through the city of Jinzhou. It was just dawn, and they had already arrived in front of the yamen.
It was not yet time for the morning roll call. Apart from two dozing guards at the gate, the yamen was so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.
Zhong Li dismounted and quickly walked into the yamen.
However, as soon as she rounded the main hall, a heart-wrenching cry erupted from the inner hall.
"My Shu'er! It's my fault, Father is useless, Father is useless! Heaven, if you want to punish, punish me! Don't harm my Shu'er. He has already lost his mother; he cannot lose his life!"
...
Zhong Li's urgent steps faltered. A bad premonition flashed through her mind. She grabbed a passing errand runner and said, "Young man."
"Lord Zhong!" The errand runner recognized Zhong Li and saluted with clasped fists.
Zhong Li stopped his unnecessarily time-consuming gesture and asked, "Is it Lord Ren crying in the inner hall? What happened?"
The errand runner sighed and said, "Reporting to my lord, something happened at the yamen last night."
"What do you mean?" Zhong Li pressed.
The errand runner replied, "Last night, Lord Ren received a small box delivered by an imperial courier and a letter. At first, the lord didn't know, so he opened the letter and read it. His expression immediately turned grim.
Then, the lord opened the box to look. I don't know what he saw, but after just one glance, he fainted. Now, as soon as the lord woke up, he started crying and wailing. We subordinates dare not ask further."
"Alright, I understand. You may go and attend to your duties!" After hearing the errand runner's words, Zhong Li quickened her pace towards the inner hall.
As soon as the two entered, they saw Ren Zhong holding a box in his arms, crying with snot and tears. He seemed truly heartbroken, and several times he gasped for breath, looking as if he was about to faint again.
Zhong Li stepped forward and stood beside Ren Zhong, asking, "Lord Ren, what happened?"
Ren Zhong looked at Zhong Li, not even having time to wipe away his tears. He sobbed and called out, "Lord Zhong, you're finally back." Then, he took a letter from his embrace and stuffed it into her hand.
Zhong Li opened the half-wet letter and managed to read the smudged characters through the tears. She then looked at the box in Ren Zhong's hand, and her expression turned extremely grim.
Lu Wuxie took the letter, scanned it, then took the box from Ren Zhong's hand and, holding his breath, carefully opened it.
As he had expected, inside was a bloody severed finger.