In the darkness, Qi Yuan could clearly hear Gao Qing’s furious curses and shouts.
But faced with his rage, the officials sent to Gaojia Town remained cold and hard as iron. Even when Gao Qing presented his command token, it was completely useless.
Even when Gao Qing repeatedly demanded to see their superior and called out Magistrate Wang Weiqi of Jinxian County by name, it made no difference.
The men facing him were completely unmoved, like oil on water, immune to both reason and threat. One even said with a half-smile, half-sneer: “Since Lord Gao is someone close to His Highness, you should be more understanding of His Highness’ difficulties, and take better care of his health. You know yourself, don’t you? Xujiagou has already lost nine out of ten people…”
They clearly had no fear of Gao Qing. His badge meant nothing to them.
Then one of them followed up even more pointedly: “No matter who Lord Gao is escorting, at a time like this, shouldn’t you be more thoughtful? Why would you bring anyone near His Highness right now?”
Gao Qing’s heart turned cold.
What did that mean?
These officials were going to trap them here, treating them no differently than those infected with plague, seal them in?
His face changed instantly, and he drew his blade, placing it at the lead officer’s throat.
He growled: “I said, I am on official duty and I must leave this place! If you don’t let me go now, try me. See if I won’t kill you right here!”
Normally, when things escalated to this point, anyone with an ounce of self-preservation would back down.
But even now, despite Gao Qing drawing his sword, the official remained unmoved: “Then go ahead, Lord Gao. Let’s see if killing me will get you out of here alive.”
Gao Qing tried both threats and reasoning, but these seasoned bureaucrats gave him no leeway.
In the end, he had no choice but to retreat, furious and helpless.
Qi Yuan, watching from above, saw Gao Qing and his people return. Behind them, a whole crowd of officials sealed off the courier station’s main gate with torches and soldiers.
She quietly lowered her gaze and went up to the second floor again without a sound.
At this moment, Gao Qing had no time to care about her. Qi Yuan pressed herself to the window and listened as Gao Qing slapped the table inside and roared: “If he didn’t have someone backing him, Wang Weiqi wouldn’t dare block me, even if he had the guts of a bear!”
But now, even understanding what was happening was pointless. The trap had already sprung.
The men below were angry too, but after venting, they tried to calm him: “Lord Gao, there’s no point in getting angry now. What’s more important is thinking of a way out, we can’t really get stuck here forever, can we?”
Another said gravely: “When plague breaks out, the local government always responds the same way, either they seal off the village and let the people fend for themselves, or… they burn the place down.”
If they stayed here, their fate would be grim.
Precisely because of this, Gao Qing’s mood worsened. His brow furrowed tightly, then he quickly came up with a plan: “No matter what, we can’t let them squeeze us like this. Old San, Old Si, slip out and get word to His Highness!”
Only Qi Wang could resolve this.
Everyone knew Gao Qing was right. With a comatose Qi Yuan and so many people, it was impossible to move the whole group.
Their only hope was to send two men to bring reinforcements.
Qi Wang would act for Qi Yuan.
The two men nodded, and Gao Qing whispered another instruction: “Keep your eyes open. Watch out for Eunuch Xu.”
The room fell silent.
Qi Yuan lowered her lashes slightly and raised an eyebrow in amusement.
A sneer touched her lips.
Gao Qing still had sharp eyes.
Indeed, the one who dared go against Qi Wang, disobey orders, and mislead the group into Jinxian County, was no ordinary person.
And who fit that description better than Eunuch Xu?
The silence was broken again as Lao San and Lao Si responded gravely:
“Lord Gao… if it really is Eunuch Xu…”
“Then so be it.” Gao Qing sneered coldly. “That d*mned eunuch always clings to His Highness, terrified someone else might earn his favor. Why would he let me take the credit for anything?”
He waved a hand.
“Enough. You two go now. This must be handled quickly. If we delay, we’re all dead.”
The two left urgently.
Qi Yuan spun around and slipped through the window back into her own room, climbing into bed and lying still.
After they left, Gao Qing still came by to check on her.
He saw her sleeping soundly, eyes closed in a deep slumber.
His eyes narrowed.
They had fought tooth and nail to get this far, ninety-nine steps out of a hundred.
There could be no mistakes now.
Not even ten Eunuch Xus could stop him.
But things didn’t go as smoothly as Gao Qing expected.
That very night, something happened.
—
Qi Yuan had not taken her usual sleeping drug that evening.
She knew Eunuch Xu’s personality all too well,
Petty, vengeful, arrogant, and utterly ruthless.
And most laughably, despite being a eunuch, he had ambition.
He wanted to become Cao Cao, the one who controlled the emperor and ruled over lords.
To him, Qi Wang was that emperor.
Eunuch Xu couldn’t tolerate anyone else having more influence over Qi Wang than he did.
So, at Feilai Temple, Jinbao and the others had acted behind Qi Wang’s back to get rid of her.
Now that she’d been brought all the way to Jinxian County, there was no way this was just about trapping her here.
There had to be a follow-up plan.
Tonight would not be peaceful.
She crushed a poison pill in her hand and toyed with it, glancing mockingly at the little maid sleeping at the bedside.
That’s when she heard a faint sound.
They had come.
In the dark, she curved her lips slightly and closed her eyes.
At the same time, she subtly lifted the pressure point on the little maid.
The girl stirred groggily, clutching her head.
She didn’t know what was wrong lately, she was constantly sleepy, yet never felt well-rested. Always dreaming, but never remembering the dreams.
She rubbed her eyes and was just about to lie down again when she caught sight of a shadow at her feet,
She screamed in terror, the sound practically lifting the roof off the house.
The assassin hadn’t expected the girl to wake up and see him.
Panicking, he lunged toward the bed.
But out of nowhere, a gust of wind slammed into him. His knee buckled, he stumbled.
In that split second, Gao Qing, who had heard the noise from the adjacent room, burst in with his men.
He took one look at the scene and immediately dove forward, shielding Qi Yuan on the bed.
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