"Feng Ling Village?" Prefect Lin heard these words, and his gaze turned somewhat cold.
"Yes, sir." The servant replied.
"This official understands. You may withdraw!" Prefect Lin said slowly.
After the servant left, he paced back and forth several times before leaving the room and heading towards the inner residence.
Entering the courtyard, the sound of a wooden fish came from within. His steps halted at the doorway; he did not move forward. Just as he was about to turn away, a voice called out from inside, "Since you are here, come in!"
He froze. After a moment of hesitation, he finally entered. The first thing he saw was the woman kneeling on a mat. She was devoutly striking the wooden fish, one beat after another, without pause.
About the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Madam Yu put down the wooden fish and tried to stand. However, she had been kneeling for too long, and her body was unsteady. He quickly stepped forward and helped her up, "My lady, be careful..."
"Thank you, sir." Madam Yu glanced up at him before lowering her eyes.
He helped her to a chair. She poured a cup of tea and pushed it towards him, "Sir, do you have business with this humble one?"
Hearing the clear coldness in Madam Yu's voice, he couldn't help but ask, "If I have no business, can I not come? Madam Yu, am I not your husband?"
Madam Yu did not lift her head, merely drinking the tea she had poured. "Sir need not remind me constantly. This humble one knows her status and what she ought to do."
Hearing Madam Yu's increasingly cold words, he sighed. "Madam Yu, I did not come here to argue with you."
"Sir has come for Shi Shu?" Madam Yu put down her teacup. The Prefect would not seek her out for any other reason; she was accustomed to it.
"Shi Shu has been kidnapped," he said after a pause.
Madam Yu looked up at him, her voice indifferent. "Sir, such words cannot be spoken lightly."
"I am not speaking lightly. Shi Shu has indeed been kidnapped."
Madam Yu frowned. "Sir, if Shi Shu has been kidnapped, should you not be finding a way to rescue her? Speaking to me here is of no help."
"Madam Yu, do you still remember Feng Ling Village?"
Madam Yu's gaze faltered. She looked up at him, her tone icy. "Sir, why do you mention this place again? Has sir still not let go?"
"My lady, do not be anxious. I have never not let go, but rather..."
Madam Yu interrupted him before he could finish, standing up and walking towards the mat. "Since you have let go, then sir must have no other business. I request sir to leave, as this humble one needs to recite scriptures."
Saying this, she knelt on the mat, her devotion profound.
"My lady, the kidnappers of Shi Shu are from Feng Ling Village," he stood and said to the kneeling figure, word by word.
Madam Yu's hand, poised to strike the wooden fish, stopped mid-air. He continued, "I did not wish to disturb my lady, but it concerns Shi Shu, so I could only come and inform my lady."
Madam Yu let out a low laugh, filled with unspoken sarcasm. "By telling me these words, what do you wish for this humble one to do?"
"No, I merely hope my lady can draw out the location of Feng Ling Village, to facilitate my..."
"To facilitate your annihilation of them?"
He froze. "My lady..."
"Then, does sir also wish to annihilate this humble one?" Madam Yu stood up and turned to face him.
"My lady, you are no longer from Feng Ling Village..."
Madam Yu sneered. "Is that so? But I still carry the same blood as the Great Chieftain of Feng Ling Village, Xu Yangshuo."
"Xiao Shu..."
She turned her head away. "After so many years, sir finally deigns to call me by my given name. I recall I am called Xu Shu."
"Xiao Shu, Shi Shu is in great danger..."
Xu Shu lowered her gaze. "This humble one knows the consequences for a woman who falls into Feng Ling Village."
"Xiao Shu..." He stepped forward and put his arm around her shoulders. "Rest assured, for your sake, I will do nothing to Feng Ling Village."
"No... Sir..." Xu Shu looked up at him and said slowly, "Sir, for my sake, you have spared Feng Ling Village for so many years, and that is enough. But my brother still does not know how to restrain himself. Even if you do not go, someone else will. Therefore, I hope it will be you..."
"Xiao Shu..." He held her, his Xiao Shu, tightly.
"However, this humble one still hopes sir can spare my brother's life. Though I know it is a vain hope, if possible, spare his life so that this humble one does not fail the ancestors of the Xu family."
"Rest assured, Xiao Shu."
"Sir, hurry, do not delay. Otherwise, this humble one cannot guarantee Shi Shu's safety."
"Alright, Xiao Shu, wait for me to return."
Lin Feng left.
Xu Shu watched his retreating back, her face etched with sorrow. Turning, she knelt on the mat, her devotion profound. "I implore Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Savior of Suffering, to protect Shi Shu's safety, to protect my husband's safety, and to protect... to protect my brother's life..."
Returning to his study, Prefect Lin quickly summoned someone and handed over the hand-drawn map to his subordinate. "Ensure this is delivered to Young Master Yan."
After the person left, Lin Feng slumped into his chair, hoping everything would be in time.
He tilted his head back, gazing out the window into the distance, his thoughts also drifting far away.
At that time, he was still a minor official of the seventh rank. He met Xu Shu by chance and was captivated by her at first sight. He then persistently sought her hand, but Xu Shu rejected him many times.
Later, he learned the reason for her rejection: she was the sister of a bandit, and he was an official of the court.
Two people who should have been enemies fell in love.
But he knew that his love for Xu Shu was not tolerated by the world.
Therefore, he used a stratagem, replacing Xu Shu with Yu Rou, the eldest daughter of the Yu family who had been lost long ago. Because Xu Shu did indeed resemble Yu Rou quite closely, the Yu family did not become suspicious.
And because a commoner family like the Yu family became involved with an official of the court, who could possibly stop it?
Many years had passed, and Xu Shu had never set foot in Feng Ling Village again. Feng Ling Village had also become a taboo for him and Xiao Shu.
But now, he could no longer remain silent. He knew what Feng Ling Village was all about. For years, he had turned a blind eye to what Feng Ling Village was doing, precisely because Xiao Shu was Xu Yangshuo's sister, and he did not want to put Xiao Shu in a difficult position.
But now, Xu Yangshuo had captured his daughter, and he could no longer stand idly by.
He knew Xiao Shu felt the same way.
"Someone, gather everyone! Depart immediately!" Lin Feng commanded outside.
He knew he could no longer sit and wait.
At the doorway, he looked back at the Lin Mansion, then left without looking back.
Inside the gate, a figure slowly emerged. It was none other than Xu Shu, her fists clenched tightly.
"My lady..."
"Prepare the horse," Xu Shu said coldly.
The maidservant Cui Hua was stunned. "My lady, you..."
"Prepare the horse..." For the first time, she spoke with an assertive tone.