Chapter 73
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The figure turned around, illuminated by the dim candlelight, and Ming Yu realized that the person was not Elder Huang.
However, even though it wasn’t Elder Huang, this person’s every move and appearance were uncannily similar to Elder Huang’s. Even someone as familiar with Elder Huang as Ming Yu mistook him at first glance.
Perplexed, Ming Yu turned towards Gan Jiu and asked, “You said Elder Huang was here, what’s going on?”
Before he could finish speaking, his guard behind him grew nervous and urged, “Wang Ye, something’s not right, retreat quickly.”
There was a commotion behind him, when he turned around, he saw that the two guards who had entered with him were already lying on the ground. Seven or eight burly men had appeared out of nowhere and surrounded him. Ming Yu’s head spun even more. “What’s happening?”
The person who resembled Elder Huang stood up, wearing an expression of earnestness and honesty. However, there was a triumphant smile on his face now. “Wang Ye, please honor us by coming with us. My Wang Ye wishes to meet you.”
Ming Yu recalled the person now. He was the apprentice he had seen a few days ago at the entrance of the craftman workshop. However, he couldn’t understand which Wang Ye wanted to meet him.
Before he could ask, the man had already clarified, “I suppose Duan Wang must also be looking forward to meeting our Hunle Wang of Suixi Kingdom, right?”
Suixi Kingdom, Hunle Wang! Ming Yu widened his eyes; this was the Hunle Wang who had breached Shi Chongguan five years ago. So, it turned out that this Hunle Wang had appeared suddenly, all for the sake of him? No wonder! He had inadvertently fallen into a trap!
Ming Yu’s mind was in chaos and dizziness. His escape route was already blocked, leaving him with no way to retreat. Without further words, the man took two steps forward and struck him on the neck with a palm. Ming Yu’s vision blurred, he couldn’t hold himself upright, falling backward. Fortunately, Gan Jiu caught him in time, preventing an intimate encounter with the ground.
“Uncle Ping, what do we do now?” Gan Jiu asked nervously, looking up. The once calm and ordinary days had been completely shattered.
The man posing as Elder Huang was indeed Gan Jiu’s accomplice, Uncle Ping. He was skilled in disguise, when Song Lian and Tuoba Ren were discussing their plan, Song Lian recommended using Uncle Ping. This would add another layer of success to their plan. It was also an attempt to secure his position early by standing beside the Hunle Wang.
Gan Jiu, originally known as Tuoba Jiu, was a prince of Sui Xi, but due to his Han mother and his resemblance to her, he had fallen out of favour with his father, the Khan. He had been sent to live in LIangcheng from a young age, living cautiously. If it weren’t for occasional contact from people of Suixi Kingdom, he would have thought of himself as a citizen of the Great Yan.
Last month, the person named Uncle Ping found him and explained Tuoba Ren’s plan, asking for his cooperation. He had minimal exposure to royalty and had believed that he would never have any further contact with them. Unexpectedly, Hunle Wang had sought him out.
Tuoba Jiu’s biggest envy was his brother, Tuoba Ren. From a young age, Tuoba Ren had been intelligent and courageous, favoured by their father. He was a shining figure in the entire royal family. Tuoba Jiu wondered if his father would ever spare him a glance if he could become even a fraction as remarkable as his brother, instead of being cast aside in enemy territory, Liangcheng?
With his identity, he couldn’t refuse this task, so he arranged for Uncle Ping to enter the workshop, making it convenient for them to be in close proximity and plan.
Now, halfway through the plan, they had successfully captured the Duan Wang. The only thing left was to get him out of the Shi Chongguan to achieve complete success.
Uncle Ping didn’t delay any further and nodded solemnly, saying, “Hurry and leave this place, then proceed according to the plan.”
The group quickly sprang into action. Someone went to a corner of the wall, rubbed the ground for a while, then with a forceful push, opened a section of the floor, revealing a hole. The group entered one by one, and soon, there were only two guards lying on the ground inside the room.
When Ming Yu regained consciousness again, his hands and feet were tightly bound, and even his mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth. He couldn’t move at all, feeling completely helpless.
Outside was noisy, but in front of him was darkness. He should be in a confined space.
“Move quickly. Let’s depart soon, or it might be too late,” someone said. Shortly after the words fell, Ming Yu felt his body moving. There were sounds of wheels rolling, indicating that they were departing towards the outskirts of the city. And he… he should be inside a long box.
Ming Yu sighed. He had been careless. He had always been an ordinary commoner and hadn’t realized the change in his identity. Just a leisurely Wang Ye, what danger could he face? He never expected that the target of the Hunle Wang of the Suixi Kingdom was him. But why did they go to such lengths to capture him? To exchange him for the city, or for personal gain?
Shaking off these thoughts, Ming Yu, who had never encountered a kidnapping case before, was now in a whirl of confusion. He struggled not to let his mind idle, attempting to systematically analyze the situation step by step. Mo Jiang and the others wouldn’t be able to return in a short time, and General Xie was busy dealing with the barbarian invaders outside, leaving him with limited options.
It had to be said, Hunle Wang’s plan was seamless. First, they sent a group of invaders to cause disturbances and divert everyone’s attention, while the main barbarian forces on the border seemed to be ready to invade, keeping the local garrison and the Red Robe Army occupied. The only available forces were the Guard Battalion, if the invaders could keep the Guard Battalion occupied, there would be no timely rescue. For the sake of this leisurely Wang Ye, they had gone to great lengths. Ming Yu couldn’t help but sigh. They had gone through so much trouble, was it because they wanted more from him?
But was he truly worth that price? He had never truly regarded his own identity before. Now… he bitterly smiled. He had really miscalculated. When in power, devise its policies. As a Wang Ye, his identity had long been predetermined. It wasn’t something he could ignore to make it nonexistent. Under this kind of system, the values and concepts that emerged were different from his perspectives of decades ago.
Ming Yu analyzed the whole situation from beginning to end. In reality, they could succeed so easily because he had been too negligent. He had no room for regret now even if he wanted to.
What he needed to focus on now was how to save himself. If they truly reached Suixi Kingdom territory outside the pass, escaping would become extremely difficult. What should he do? He couldn’t escape on his own, so how could he seek help from the outside?
He didn’t know the current situation outside. How would the Guard Battalion react if they sensed something was wrong? This incident wasn’t a trivial matter. If it leaked out, it would surely cause panic. If it reached the capital city, the consequences would be unimaginable. Right now, he hoped that Liu Zhifu had the means to temporarily cover up this matter.
Ming Yu pondered but couldn’t come up with any solutions. They couldn’t keep him locked up like this forever, right? They would have to let some fresh air in eventually. At this point, he couldn’t panic or lose his composure. Rest assured, if the Guard Battalion found him missing, they would definitely come after him. They had undergone training for so long, and they had some skills in tracking. He shouldn’t panic. Give it some time; he would figure out a way to escape.
Liu Zhifu received a report and knew things had taken a turn for the worse. He immediately ordered the city gates to be closed and checkpoints to be established. No one was allowed to enter or exit without proper inspection. He also sent out a fast horse to deliver messages to Great General Wei and Commander Xie.
The sound of mourning music, the sounds of weeping men and women – Ming Yu found it all vexing. He finally understood his current situation a bit. These people had been well-prepared all along, disguising themselves as a funeral procession to slip out of the city. Cleverly planned and executed.
He didn’t know how much time had passed when the procession came to a halt. Chaotic sounds could be heard ahead, and a long line had formed at the city gate.
At this moment, Uncle Ping had returned to his original appearance. He approached with a smile and asked what was happening. Someone who understood the situation explained that a prisoner had escaped, leading to the city being sealed and inspected. Everyone who wanted to leave the city now had to wait in line and be checked against the maritime arrest documents.
When Uncle Ping returned, his expression had already turned serious. He looked at the coffins in the procession, relieved that he had prepared thoroughly. Otherwise, things would have been very difficult.
Being anxious to leave the city now wouldn’t help. They could only wait and prepare for the worst. If necessary, they might have to forcefully break out with their people.
The procession slowly moved forward, Uncle Ping noticed the maritime arrest documents hung near the city gate. On them was the portrait of Gan Jiu. He also recognized the person carefully inspecting the documents – it was Duan Wang’s guards. It was clear that they were using the maritime arrest documents to find out Duan Wang’s whereabouts. And the government hadn’t spread the news of Duan Wangs disappearance, which was both good and bad for them.
While he was deep in thought, a voice ahead asked, “Why are you leaving the city? Come over for individual inspection.”
Uncle Ping clenched his fists and put on a smile, reaching into his pocket and taking out a few copper coins. He handed them over, saying, “We’re from the Wang family in the western part of the city. We’re on our way out to bury our deceased, the timing is set. We hope you can be accommodating.”
The official glanced at the funeral procession, where the grieving family members and guests had been crying all along. He shook his head, “We must follow the rules. The task entrusted from above is to apprehend the criminals. I hope for cooperation so we can leave the city sooner.”
Uncle Ping nodded repeatedly. The official turned to the guards and said, “The old lady of the Wang family passed away peacefully a few days ago, and the people in the procession are indeed from the Wang family.”
The guard nodded. Regardless of who it was, they needed to inspect carefully. Most importantly, there had been no trace of Duan Wang or Gan Jiu since their disappearance. All they could do now was hope that Duan Wang was still within the city.
After everyone had been inspected, the guard fixed his gaze on the hearse in the middle of the procession. Uncle Ping hurried forward and said, “Our ancestor has already been encoffined. I hope the officer won’t disturb his rest.”
The official approached and looked, asking, “Do you need to check inside?”
The guard nodded, “A person could be concealed inside as well.”
The people who heard this suddenly changed their expressions. Having already been encoffined, opening the coffin for inspection again was extremely disrespectful to the deceased. But with no power to change the situation, despite everyone’s objections, they could only watch as the coffin was opened.
The official peered inside and nodded, “Indeed, it’s the late grandma Wang.”
The size of the coffin made it evident whether a person was concealed inside or not. The guard was somewhat disappointed – they hadn’t found anything. They could only release them now.
Ming Yu felt utterly powerless. Bound tightly, he couldn’t move a muscle, but he heard the commotion outside. He should be hidden under the partition’s bottom. If he could just make a slight movement, produce some sound, his people would notice.
The coffin was closed again, and the procession resumed. Everyone began weeping and wailing once more, and amidst the noise, Ming Yuwas utterly powerless. He had missed his chance.
Inside the Shi Chongguan military camp, Great General Wei received the letter from Liu Zhifu. He suddenly felt despair. Under their watchful eyes in Liangcheng, they had let Wang Ye be abducted. Did they really think Great Yan had no one left?
Commander Xie’s face was grim, he clenched his fists. “So, that’s how it is. Tuoba Ren’s purpose for this trip was Duan Wang. Everything was planned in advance – the small groups of invaders causing disturbances, the harassment, and the large-scale actions of the barbarian forces.”
When he connected the dots of everything that had happened since Tuoba Ren’s arrival, the enemy’s actions started to make sense. That was also why the large barbarian army didn’t launch a full-scale attack; they were merely causing disturbances. It was to tie up their forces, making Liangcheng vulnerable, allowing them to take advantage.
Great General Wei also saw through it now. “Tuoba Ren, what a cunning scheme.”
General Xie had already headed outside. “Great General Wei, please strengthen the border checkpoints for incoming and outgoing personnel. We must not let them take Wang Ye out of the pass!”
The author has something to say: I’ve been considering whether to publish this chapter based on your comments. The enemies have carefully planned everything, and Ming Yu, who had been smooth-sailing so far, hasn’t considered the possibility of something happening in what he thinks is a safe place, so he has no sense of crisis. The great grassland plot in the future should change the situation between the two countries. Ming Yu firmly believed that only through peace can Liangcheng develop better.
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Oh no, oh no! OAO
Thank You for the new chapter (๑ơ ₃ ơ)♥