Leaving the tea house, seeing Madam Qian sitting tiredly in the carriage, Dong Yan couldn't help but ask, "Madam, since donating some silver for charity can get you protection, why not continue the family business?"
Dong Yan understood Zhan Feiyu's suggestion. If the estate hired more disabled soldiers, it might establish a connection with the military camp. Furthermore, if they used silver to sponsor poor scholars, these scholars would repay the Qian family in the future. In this way, why would they need to sell off all their family businesses?
Leaning against the inner wall of the carriage, Madam Qian looked at Dong Yan, whose face was full of concern. A warmth welled up in her heart, and she explained in a low voice.
"If the business is sold off, the Qian family will just be ordinary gentry. If someone targets the Qian family again, it would be pushing their luck. But if the Qian family's business remains, it will be normal business competition. It's understandable that those supported by the Qian family might not step in."
That little bit of silver was not enough to make those people protect the Qian family. In addition to relying on the third branch of the Qiu family, Madam Qian had also used silver to grease palms over the years. But who was willing to extend a helping hand at this moment? Relationships maintained solely by money were inherently unstable.
Dong Yan nodded, understanding only half of it. Fortunately, even if the business was sold, the Qian family would not be short of money.
On the other side.
Zhan Feiyu, rarely venturing out, decided to stroll around the market.
"Miss, someone is following us," He Nuan said in a low voice, glancing behind them. "These two have been following us since we left the tea house."
Standing by a stall selling sugar figurines, Zhan Feiyu was not afraid of alerting them. She turned to look, and saw two men in dark blue jackets not far away.
Upon meeting Zhan Feiyu's gaze, both men were startled, likely not expecting Zhan Feiyu to look so openly.
The two exchanged glances, then strode over. They cupped their fists towards Zhan Feiyu, their attitude respectful. "Miss Zhan, our master requests your presence."
"May I know your master's surname?" He Nuan stepped forward to block the two, her gaze warily sweeping over the bustling market. Daring to stop someone on the street suggested they had some standing.
"Miss Zhan will understand once she sees this," one man said, pulling out a token from his embrace. It was the bronze waist token worn by a hundred-household officer of the卫所 (Wei Suo - military garrison).
In the Great Qing Dynasty, all civil and military officials had identity tokens. Unless hiding their identity, when on duty, they were required to wear their waist tokens. Both the borrower and the lender would be punished.
Zhan Feiyu looked at the palm-sized, round bronze token. "Is this Commander Sun's waist token?"
"Since Miss Zhan recognizes it, please come with us." The man put the token away again. Commander Sun's eyes had been blinded by Zhan Feiyu's sword. Outsiders believed Commander Sun was still recuperating at the medical clinic.
In the noisy market, Zhan Feiyu suddenly laughed. However, this bright laughter gave the two men an ominous premonition.
Two quarters of an hour later, at the Suzhou Prefecture Yamen.
Upon hearing the news, Officer Yao hurried over from the rear yamen, accompanied by Officer Zheng and Vice-Prefect Zhao.
Uh...
Looking at the two bruised and swollen men on the ground, their arms dislocated, and one leg seemingly broken, leaving them only able to lie on the ground, Officer Yao's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
Constable Hu and other constables also looked sympathetically at the two pathetic figures. It was fortunate they arrived in time, otherwise, these two would have been in an even worse state.
But it was also their own fault for seeking death. Daring to intercept Miss Zhan on the street, did they not know that Miss Zhan was surrounded by experts? To make a move against just two people, wasn't that asking for a beating?
"Miss Zhan, can you tell this official what happened?" Officer Yao suddenly suspected that Scholar Gu's decision to prevent Zhan Feiyu from returning to the capital might not only be to avoid the turmoil in the capital but also because this young lady was too prone to causing trouble.
Officer Yao knew that Zhan Feiyu had gone out that morning. Madam Qian had sent a messenger the previous day. Officer Yao hadn't paid much attention to it at the time. Who knew that less than an hour later, she would bring two unidentified individuals back to the yamen?
Zhan Feiyu grinned, seemingly unaware of Officer Yao's helplessness, and said crisply, "Replying to Your Honor, I am also unsure who these two are. They first targeted me. After being discovered, they actually attempted to kidnap me on the street. How can such scoundrels be allowed to run rampant in broad daylight!"
Wuwu... The two lying on the ground let out silent moans of pain, as if trying to explain. But when they opened their mouths, only whimpers came out, and saliva flowed down their chins. They looked as pathetic as could be.
Officer Yao and Officer Zheng took a closer look and realized that the two men's jaws had been dislocated, which was why they couldn't speak!
Who in Suzhou Prefecture didn't know Zhan Feiyu's identity? Even ordinary citizens knew that this young lady was not to be trifled with. After all, when Inspector Chu had acted recklessly that day, Zhan Feiyu had blinded Commander Sun with a single sword strike.
The citizens who witnessed this incident spread the word, and soon everyone knew. The citizens were almost celebrating, as Commander Sun had been a tyrant for years, preying on the common people.
Therefore, as Zhan Feiyu walked through the streets now, no one with eyes would dare to intercept her, let alone kidnap her. With Commander Pang, who had been taken away by the Forbidden Dragon Guard, his fate was unknown. Who would dare to make a move against Zhan Feiyu?
Officer Yao nodded in understanding, looking at the pretty, fair, and tender young lady before him. Even though he knew she was talking nonsense, he could only agree. "Since that is the case, this official will have someone investigate their identities."
No matter who these two belonged to, they had taken this beating for nothing. It was likely their master behind them would not dare to cause trouble for Zhan Feiyu.
"Thank you, Your Honor." Zhan Feiyu accepted the sentiment and then added, "Besides attempting to kidnap me on the street, these two also stole a Wei Suo token. This token is currently in this man's possession. Your Honor can search him."
Officer Yao was stunned for a moment and looked again at the swollen and bruised faces of the men lying on the ground. However, the faces were too unsightly. But with a Wei Suo token, could they be from the Wei Suo?
"Replying to Your Honor, according to the laws of the Great Qing, those who steal tokens will be punished with杖刑 (zhang xing - beating with a stick) for minor offenses, and for serious offenses, they will be executed," Zhan Feiyu unceremoniously attributed the crime to them.
Wuwu... The two on the ground shivered and whimpered agitatedly again. Unfortunately, their limbs were disabled, and they couldn't speak. They could only look pleadingly at Officer Yao.
"Constable Hu, you search them." Officer Yao's head began to ache even more.
Constable Hu immediately stepped forward. Looking at the two men who were filled with gratitude, Constable Hu put on a stern face and quickly searched them, finding only one waist token. "Your Honor."
If the two were military officers of the Wei Suo, they would definitely have waist tokens. But now there was only one, and it was a commander's waist token. This led Officer Yao to suspect that these two were not from the Wei Suo.
Officer Zheng took the waist token handed over by Officer Yao, looked at it for a moment, and then passed it to Vice-Prefect Zhao beside him. "Officer Yao, why don't we let these two speak and hear what they have to say?"
With two clicks, the dislocated jaws were put back into place.
Finally able to speak, the two dared not seek revenge on Zhan Feiyu. Their priority was to quickly declare their identities, otherwise, if they were truly mistaken for token thieves and executed, that would be truly unjust.
"Replying to Your Honor, we are guards of the Min family," the man kneeling on the ground said. But the movement pulled at his broken right leg, causing him to gasp in pain. If not for his willpower, he would have collapsed by now.
The Min family? Not only Officer Yao and Officer Zheng, but even Vice-Prefect Zhao beside them was stunned. Why did Commander Sun dare to act so arrogantly in Suzhou Prefecture? It was precisely because his cousin was a concubine to Inspector Chu.
Inspector Chu, who had previously been so arrogant that he wanted to set fire to the yamen, relied on the Second Prince in the palace and the Second Prince's maternal family, the Min family.
Knowing their identities, let alone Vice-Prefect Zhao, even Officer Zheng looked at Zhan Feiyu with a complex expression. This young lady had already provoked the First Prince and the Liu family, and now she was not letting go of the Second Prince and the Min family. Was she planning to antagonize all the princes in the palace?
Officer Yao had known for a long time that the Second Young Master of the Min family was in Suzhou Prefecture. Not only the Min family, but also members of the Liu family, the maternal family of the First Prince, were present, but they were hidden deeply and seemed unwilling to do anything. Officer Yao couldn't be bothered to deal with them, and more importantly, he couldn't manage them all.
After all, besides the First and Second Princes, other princes must have also sent people. Even Zhu Xiao, the former heir of the Zhenbian Marquis Manor, was hidden in Suzhou Prefecture. Coupled with the Forbidden Dragon Guard, the water in Suzhou Prefecture was too deep.
"So what if they are from the Min family? Can the Min family's guards steal military tokens?" a retort rang out. Zhan Feiyu's round eyes were filled with confusion. "Longyou Dao is a critical border area. The Wei Suo is responsible for local security. If war breaks out, they must also cooperate with the border camps to resist the enemy. What is your Min family plotting by stealing military tokens?"
Cough cough... Officer Yao coughed heavily, looking at the freely speaking Zhan Feiyu, signaling her to stop. If this accusation stuck, even the most magnanimous Second Prince would likely want to flay Zhan Feiyu alive.
Officer Zheng and the others understood. These two guards from the Min family must have been acting on orders, fearing that Zhan Feiyu would not go to see the Second Young Master Min, so they used Commander Sun's token as a threat.
Who knew that Zhan Feiyu would arrest the two at the yamen on the charge of stealing tokens? What kind of situation was this?