lcionline Chapter 290 Obstacles, Face and Substance Both Scratched
Chapter 290 Obstacles, Face and Substance Both Scratched
Why did you all come here?
At this moment, Dou Weiyi and Qin Shensheng, carrying torches, ran over from a distance, both panting heavily.
When they returned to the village, every house was dark and they didn't see a single person.
Seeing the flames surging over here, he ran over, only to find the whole village there!
Upon seeing that the person who arrived was Dou Weiyi, Gao Mengli quickly stepped forward: "Lord Dou, my Lin Xi is missing!"
"Wha, what?"
Upon hearing this, Dou Wei thought she had misheard. "When did this happen? Why are they gone?"
Gao Mengli, Yang Qing, and Zhu Mei quickly and meticulously recounted the whole story to Dou Weiyi for almost half an hour.
After hearing this, Dou Weiyi felt like the sky had fallen.
He asked urgently, "Are you saying that Lin Xi cooked for a distinguished person today and then disappeared?"
The man left Wangyue Village just as it was getting dark.
There are no inns in Pingyao, so the person must have stayed in Pingding County, under Tang Guangjun's rule.
Dou Weiyi immediately turned around and prepared to go to Pingding County to find that "benefactor".
Seeing Dou Weiyi turn to leave, Gao Mengli quickly pushed Da Niu towards the group in the old house: "Da Niu, you and your grandparents go home first, and your mother will go with you to take a look."
Although Da Niu was full of worry, he nodded understandingly.
Holding Gao Mengli's hand, he looked up and replied, "Mother, you can go without worry. I'll stay home and wait for you and Lord Dou to find Father."
After Gao Mengli finished giving her instructions, she hurriedly followed Dou Weiyi and Qin Shensheng.
Mengze wanted to go with them, but as soon as he lifted his leg, he was stopped by A Li and Hei Yi. The group shook their heads at him without saying a word.
They couldn't go out, after all, they had seen the signal fireworks searching for them yesterday.
If they were to go out and be exposed now, not only would Lin Xi not be found, but their identities might also implicate the entire village...
Mengze watched Gao Mengli's figure grow ever more distant, and could only sigh anxiously in place.
Ah Li patted Meng Ze on the shoulder: "Meng Ze, if we go out now, we'll only cause trouble. Let's go back and wait for news."
Hei nodded slightly and muttered in agreement: "That's right, at this critical juncture, we need to hold on."
Mengze took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and reluctantly nodded slightly.
As soon as they turned around, they saw Da Niu blinking and looking up at them.
Everyone's hearts skipped a beat.
Da Niu suddenly turned around, grinned at A Li, and said, "Auntie, Grandma, I'm calling you to come home together!"
Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Big Niu, maybe, probably, likely didn't hear what they were saying!
The big bull's gaze was clear, but it didn't look foolish at all... which made them uneasy.
Ah Li walked over and took Da Niu's hand: "Yes, yes, let's go home, let's go home first."
After Ah Li finished speaking, he quickly winked at Meng Ze and the others.
Everyone go home, find your mothers, and disperse quickly.
In the darkness, a fleeting look of seriousness crossed the eyes of the big ox being led by Ah Li.
Buck-toothed Yu pulled Gao Mengli along, clapping her hands occasionally to comfort her.
Ah Li's expression was too calm.
Unlike others who were anxious and impatient, Ah Li did not break down, fall down, or shed tears from beginning to end.
They even analyzed the causes of the matter in a clear and logical manner.
"I'm fine, Ayu."
Gao Mengli pulled her hand away from Ayu's.
She felt a little awkward when anyone other than Lin Xi, her childhood friend, held her hand.
As the heat in his hand dissipated, Bucktooth Jade paused slightly, a fleeting hint of disappointment crossing his face, but it vanished in an instant, quickly returning to normal.
Upon arriving in Pingyao County, the group changed to a wooden boat and rowed to the other side of the river.
"Let's go find Tang Guangjun first."
As soon as Dou Weiyi got off the wooden boat, he rushed forward.
As soon as the group arrived at the entrance of the yamen, the guards on duty saw them and quickly ran forward from the entrance.
They bowed and scraped, their enthusiasm was boundless: "Oh, Lord Dou, what brings you here?!"
Dou Weiyi tilted his head slightly, his face bearing a hint of official authority.
"Go quickly and inform Tang Guangjun that we have important business to attend to."
Seeing the anxious look on Dou Weiyi's face, the yamen runner scratched his head in embarrassment. "Lord Dou, my master probably won't be able to find the time right now."
Upon hearing this, Dou Wei's eyebrows furrowed into a knot.
Gao Mengli quickly took out a tael of silver from her purse and placed it discreetly in the yamen runner's hand: "Young man, we have something urgent to discuss with Lord Tang, and we would be grateful if you could make the trip for us."
The constable's eyes lit up, and his hand instinctively tightened its grip on the silver, but the awkward look on his face vanished instantly. "Madam, it's not that I didn't want to inform you, but..."
At this point, the constable looked around cautiously before explaining to the crowd in a low voice, "It's not that I didn't want to inform them, but my master is neither in the government office nor in his residence."
He's currently with a very important person; we can't go up and disturb him.
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Dou Weiyi frowned, her tone tinged with urgency and impatience, "What important person needs Tang Guangjun to accompany them personally?"
Most importantly, Pingding County in Pingyao was once extremely poor.
High-ranking officials wouldn't come to inspect this kind of place where there's no profit to be made.
The constable looked troubled, then quietly glanced around to make sure no one was around before lowering his voice to whisper, "Lord Dou, I don't know who it is either."
All I know is that he's a big shot from Kyoto, and he spent New Year's Eve at Lord Tang's residence yesterday.
By the way, that important person also visited your territory today—Wangyue Village.
When Dou Weiyi heard the words "Wangyue Village," her heart skipped a beat.
Upon hearing this, Gao Mengli also understood the key point.
They had originally intended to ask Tang Guangjun to lead a group to find this "distinguished person," but unexpectedly, this person turned out to be the very "distinguished person" that Tang Guangjun was currently entertaining.
"grown ups……"
Gao Mengli stepped forward, looking somewhat anxious.
Dou Weiyi quickly raised her hand to stop her, gave her a look that said "stay calm," and then looked at the constable, "Then, where is your master now?"
The constable quickly pointed in a direction: "My master is currently at an inn in our county town."
However, the entire inn was booked out; strangers were not allowed near.
Once Dou Weiyi obtained the exact location, he led everyone towards the inn.
As for "Keep away, strangers," they're selectively deaf, pretending they didn't hear it.
The group had only approached within two miles of the inn when they were stopped by menacing-looking people. "Keep out, strangers! If you come any closer, you will be killed without mercy!"
Dou Weiyi paused, a flash of anger crossing her face.
As a county magistrate, when had he ever encountered such obstruction?
He stepped forward, head held high, trying to intimidate the other party with his official authority: "I am Dou Weiyi, the magistrate of Pingyao County in the neighboring county. I have important business to discuss with Tang Guangjun."
"You've delayed my important business. Can you take responsibility for that?"
The guard, however, seemed not to hear, his eyes cold, his long sword held horizontally, showing no intention of making way:
"There are orders from above that no one is allowed to approach, not even a lowly county magistrate like you, not even the Emperor himself."
"you--"
Dou Wei was furious when she heard this.
Turning to look at the chubby girl and her friends, as well as Gao Mengli, his golden thigh was full of encouragement. He felt that his face and dignity had been completely humiliated by the guard.