Ah Fu and Qin Qi were stopped on their way to buy breakfast, and they had just left the small courtyard at that time. When Shu Hua heard the noise, he came and started to punch and kick in order to prevent the Yao family from hurting Ah Fu.
Zhong Wenjin and Xie Zhaoxue had already said their goodbyes and left Wuyue Island by boat. Dan Ke had been gone for a while to say goodbye to them, and when he came back, he was just in time to see the three of them being heavily outnumbered and being forcibly taken away.
He first woke up Liang Yanbei and then went out to find out what was going on. And not long after, the Yao family returned for a second time, and he quickly came back to report the news.
“Only the members of the Yao family have come?” Liang Yanbei briefly muttered to himself irresolutely, without any trace of panic.
“More than just them.” Dan Ke quickly said, “People from the Songhua Sect, the Yun Palace, and the Tan Clan have all come together. And I reckon that they don’t just want to catch Young Master Wen.”
To the outside world, Wen Chan now belongs to the Bai Xiao Sect. Although people in Jianghu didn’t dare provoke Bai Xiao easily, Yao Mengping was the current Fort Lord, and his favourite son had died. So they came in with a pinch of reason and weren’t scared.
But he called the other great sects too. So he was obviously not just targeting the Bai Xiao Sect.
“They must still want to catch the people from the Tang Sect.” Wen Chan said.
Several people looked at him with different looks. Wen Chan paused and said his guess, “The girl from the Tang Sect had a big fight with Yao Yanming the day before yesterday. They had a deep grudge against each other. She can’t escape from the connection. And I guess Yao Yanming was poisoned to death.”
“You guessed it right!” Dan Ke cast him a look of surprise and admiration, “He was indeed poisoned to death and was discovered by the servant who delivered the meal early in the morning.”
“Young Master Wen, they are coming to arrest you. Aren’t you afraid?” Qiao Yanci asked suspiciously.
“Since I haven’t done it, why should I be afraid?” Wen Chan’s voice was slightly cold. Now that three of his subordinates were taken away without distinguishing between the right and wrong of the matter, he was precisely unhappy in his heart.
“I’m just afraid that these people are unreasonable.” Situ Zhoulan said, “My father said that Yao Mengping is a two-faced person. On the surface, he is tolerant and open-minded and acts righteously, but secretly he is a petty-minded villain who seeks revenge over a dirty look1(idiom) / fig. small-minded / vindictive.”
When Wen Chan heard this, he immediately felt that this was also a thorny problem. The Wuyue island that he was on now was someone else’s territory, and he had no power or influence. Even if he had the royal family’s jade token in his arms, he still didn’t want to reveal his identity easily unless he was forced to do so.
What he feared the most was that the Yao family had already convicted and executed Ah Fu and the others.
Thinking like this, he became really anxious.
With his eyebrows furrowed, Wen Chan raised his steps to leave.
Liang Yanbei reached out and pulled him back, “Where are you going?”
“I’m going to find Ah Fu and the others.”
“They are in the hands of the Yao family. Wouldn’t it be like throwing yourself into a trap if you went there now? Besides, even if you find them, you won’t be able to save them.” Liang Yanbei stepped forward and blocked in front of him, “I have a way to save them.”
Wen Chan raised his eyes to look at him, and a tingling sensation spread above the bottom of his heart, which softened it into a ball of cotton and flooded it with overwhelming sweetness.
Previously, Wen Chan had thought that after rebirth, Liang Yanbei in this life did not have all the memories of living with Wen Chan and fighting against the enemies together. He did not even know that he married Situ Zhoulan and gave birth to a son.
He was a brand new Liang Yanbei.
But at this moment, Wen Chan realised that Liang Yanbei was Liang Yanbei. Even if he started all over again multiple times, he would never change. He would still stand in front of a panicked Wen Chan, as he did in his previous life, and say with confidence, “I have a way.”
Just at this moment, when Wen Chan was lost in thoughts, the Yao family came with a large and majestic team.
The person at the front was Yao Mengping. He was over fifty years old. The eyes under his thick eyebrows were covered with wrinkles, his temples were grey, and his dark blue chang pao showed that he was a bit noble.
His eyes were fierce and full of rage as he stepped through the courtyard door, glaring straight at Liang Yanbei and the other group of people. His voice was thick and heavy as he opened his mouth, bearing a deliberate pressure of internal force, “Who is the one surnamed Wen?”
Wen Chan did not rush to answer and first took a general look at the people coming.
On the left side of Yao Mengping were two men of about the same age. One of them had a plump and handsome face. He was wearing a darker wood-green-coloured ancient robe, a silver crown with a green jade stone on his head, a black belt, and a horsetail whisk2
in his hand. He had a bit of an immortal style and a Taoist aura.
He looked calm, only glanced at a few people when he came in, and stood silently.
Wen Chan saw that this person’s clothes were very familiar. It was similar to the dress of Fang Han, the Young Master who taught Hu Xuli a lesson at the ferry crossing a few days ago. So he thought that this person should be from the Song Hua Sect.
The other man was older, about half a century old, with an ordinary appearance, except for a pair of thick eyebrows that were slightly raised. In addition, he frowned intentionally, making his face look a bit ferocious.
There was a woman standing on the right side of Yao Mengping. Although she no longer looked young, her simple clothes still couldn’t hide her outstanding appearance, and there seemed to be a smile in her eyes.
Behind them were some underlings. He took a cursory glance at them and saw about twenty people.
On seeing that no one had answered, Yao Mengping thought that these young people were afraid and asked in a more emphatic tone, “Who among you is surnamed Wen? Come forward quickly!”
Qiao Yanci had never seen such a scene before in Jianghu. So she felt a little scared and couldn’t help but retreat behind Situ Zhoulan.
“Fort Lord Yao, why are you in such a hurry? Why are you looking for this person?” Dan Ke raised his head, put on a fake smile, and walked a few steps to the very front, blocking the crowd behind him.
“Are you the son of Dan Baixiao?” Yao Mengping hadn’t spoken yet, but the man with the fierce look spoke first.
Dan Ke lifted up his outer robe, pulled out a silver folding fan from his waist, and unfolded it with a “swish”. The word “Dan” was extremely prominent on the surface of the fan, with interlaced silver lines. He smiled and said, “Palace Master Yun, I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time. ”
“Baixiao has never been involved in the trivial matters of Jianghu. I wonder what Young Lord Dan means by this?” Yao Mengping’s eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of sinister intent.
“Fort Lord Yao, this Young Master Wen is a good friend of Dan. If you mention him by name now, Dan will have to ask a few questions.” Dan Ke shook his fan slowly.
“He instructed his men to poison my beloved son. I want him to pay for his life!”
“There is no basis for what you say3(idiom) you can’t rely on a verbal agreement; just because sb says something doesn’t mean it’s true. The Pavilion Master should provide evidence.”
Yao Mengping glared at Dan Ke and said menacingly, “You want evidence? I will give it to you! Let the person come!”
He shouted, and a man came out from among the underlings at the back in response. He raised his eyebrows and took the lead in pointing at Wen Chan, “Lord Pavilion Master, this humble one personally saw them bullying and beating up Second Young Master Yao in the inn the night before yesterday. It seems that he held a grudge in his heart. And after coming to the City Lord’s residence, he met the Second Young Master again, and then he started to have evil thoughts of murdering him.”
“Last night, this humble one had also seen his men sneaking towards the residence of the Second Young Master Yao. I was suspicious but didn’t perform an in-depth investigation. Who would have thought that early this morning, Second Young Master Yao would be poisoned to death……”
This person was no stranger to Wen Yuan. He was the same Hu Xuli who jumped in line at the ferry a few days ago and knocked over Ah Fu’s bowl of sour plum soup.
He was a big, burly man with a big, round waist. At this time, his face had lost the arrogance he had before, and he chastised Wen Chan with an excellent voice and expression.
“How well are you inverting right and wrong? It seems that the injury on your right hand is completely healed?” Wen Chan said coldly.
Hu Xuli was not afraid at all, “Today, Fort Lord Yao and the heads of the other great sects are all present. So don’t you dare to argue!”
“Are you the one named Wen? You look young. But on the contrary, your mind is not simple.” Palace Master Yun hurriedly called to account, “Let me ask you. The people of the Tang Sect brought out the poison, and you put out the effort. Then you guys worked together to poison Young Master Yao? Am I right?”
“Yao Yanming was clearly the one who made the first move at the inn the day before yesterday. So how come he is saying that it’s our fault? I think this person is ugly, crafty-looking4shifty-eyed, and full of nonsense. One look, and you can say that he’s not a good person.” Dan Ke thought to himself: I can’t scold Yao Mengping, but I can’t scold you?
Hu Xuli was scolded by a torrent of abuse and glared angrily at Dan Ke, but when he saw the big eye-catching character on his folding fan, he forced his anger down again and said to Yao Mengping, “Every word that this humble one said is true!”
“If you are telling the truth, find someone else to confront too. There were so many people in the inn that day, and you were not the only one.”
“Young Master Dan, several people saw your friend’s men going to the residence of the Second Young Master Yao last night, and the servants in the City Lord’s mansion can also testify to this.” Palace Master Yun said so solemnly.
“Let go of me! You dogs! Don’t you want your life?!”
Shrilling yells came from the gate of the small courtyard. All of them cast their eyes to see that the woman whose arm was twisted by Liang Yanbei yesterday was being escorted this way. She struggled vigorously but could not break free.
The girl was escorted in front of Yao Mengping and was forced to kneel down by the two people on her left and right. She raised her head, her eyes glaring venomously at Yao Yanming, “Yao family members? How dare you guys touch me?”
“Junior Sister!” Two men who were both disciples of the Tang Sect followed anxiously. They quickly walked into the courtyard. The older man cupped his hands in greeting and saluted everyone, “Fort Lord Yao, Grand Master Fang, Palace Master Yun, and Sect Master Tan, I wonder how my junior sister has offended you?
The younger man behind him said, “I have heard about the death of Second Young Master Yao. But last night, my junior sister was in her room the whole time and didn’t come out. So she has nothing to do with his death.”
“She doesn’t need to go out. She just needs to give the poison to this one surnamed Wen.” Tan Qiong spoke softly, with a gentle smile on her beautiful face. She looked down at Tang Qin and asked softly, “Miss Tang, isn’t it?
“Bah! Don’t smile so disgustingly at me. Or I’ll poison you until you’re beyond recognition, and you’ll never see anyone again!” Tang Qin was fearless.
Wen Chan was slightly shocked. This might be the so-called fearlessness of heaven and earth. She was very headstrong.
“She keeps talking about poison. I think she is used to using it in her daily life. Of course, she must be right.” Tan Qiong didn’t get angry and readily convicted her.
“Haha.” Tang Qin laughed loudly, “Does that trash Yao Yanming need me to use poison? This Young Lady can beat him to death with just my pair of fists. Except that I will dirty my hands if I touch him!”
Although she was kneeling, her loftiness was not decreased by the least bit.
Yao Mengping was furious upon hearing this, “Speaking conceited nonsense5to come out with arrogant claptrap. When did it become your Tang Sect’s turn to be wanton on Wuyue Island?! I want you to pay for my son’s life today!”
“Fort Lord Yao is so angry.”
Suddenly, a voice interjected unhurriedly.
Wen Chan looked up and saw Tang Yixiao standing on the wall in a black robe with gold sleeves. His black hair was flying like a waterfall in the wind, and the gold ribbon that bound his hair was spinning in the air and falling lightly on his shoulder.
There was no smile in his eyes, and he raised his eyebrows slightly, “How can I, a member of the Tang Sect, allow others to arrest and kill at will?”
Translator’s corner
Thank you so much for reading the chapter. If you liked my translation and wanna support me, you can comment down your thoughts or send me a Kofi.
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