An old servant in Wang Shangshu's mansion was wondering why his master hadn't come back yet, when he heard this sharp knock on the door.
"Master Shangshu, it's me."
"No matter who it is, no one is allowed to enter the house!" The old servant muttered, "My master is out with his family on business, so no one is allowed to disturb us."
The assassins squatting outside the door suddenly looked at each other and turned pale in an uproar.
"What should I do?" They tugged on Wei Chong's clothes and asked in a low voice.
"What should we do... we can't go back empty-handed, right?" Wei Chong said, "Why don't we kill this slave and give an explanation to King Wanjun."
"clear!"
Wei Chong coughed a few times, turned around and said, "Does your master recognize Wei Chong? I can't even come in?"
After hearing this, the old servant was startled and replied in a panic: "It turns out...it's Mr. Wei. I'll open the door right now!"
As soon as he stretched out his left hand, he felt someone pulling him. Just as he was about to retract his hand, he suddenly stumbled and hit his heel on the threshold.
Before the old slave had time to cry out in pain, he saw a bright steel knife flash in front of his eyes. Before he could say anything, several assassins picked up the knife and chopped off his head, causing blood to splash.
"Are you ready?" Wei Chong turned his back and wiped the blood on his clothes.
"After the killing, it's time to search inside, right?"
"Let's go." Wei Chong said softly.
Several assassins broke into the mansion with bloody knives and killed everyone they saw. They slaughtered all the slaves in the mansion, leaving no one alive.
Wei Chong went straight to the accounting room, took out a stack of banknotes from several large wooden boxes, then joined the assassins and ran out together.
As they walked to the street, they suddenly saw dark clouds gathering above their heads and a few drops of rain falling. Wei Chong raised his head and looked at the sky. Before he could say a word, heavy rain poured down, accompanied by the roar of the wind, and the rain curtain poured all over the ground.
Fang Jiancai was sleeping in the dyehouse when he heard the door panel creaking in the wind and woke up instantly.
He lifted the quilt, sat up, and sniffed hard, as if he sensed a murderous aura. Just as he was about to change his clothes, he heard the door of the room being knocked impatiently, but this time it was definitely not the sound of wind.
"Wait a moment!" Fang Jiancai shouted while putting on his coat.
"What are you doing here?" Fang Jiancai opened the door and saw a dyer holding an oil-paper umbrella, his face flushed.
"Fang...Master Fang, Wan...Prince Wan's soldiers are here!"
"Lord Wan?"
"King Wanjun is here to arrest you!"
Fang Jiancai looked at him seriously, then grabbed his umbrella and rushed towards the door.
"Put up a ladder!" he shouted to the dyers under the lamplight.
There were a few quick workers who, after hearing Fang Jiancai's order, grew rabbit legs and quickly carried the ladder up and put it on the wall.
Fang Jiancai threw the umbrella aside and climbed up the ladder due to the wind and rain, his clothes were soaked through.
He stood on the earth wall, with several groups of officers and soldiers on horseback below. Since the torches had been extinguished, he could not see the faces of the people clearly. He was afraid that these people would be unreasonable and hurt people with hidden arrows, so he stepped on the ladder with both feet.
Go up and lean against the wall before you dare to speak.
"Who are you? Why do you want to catch me?" he asked.
"Don't be afraid! We were specially sent by King Wanjun..."
"No need to say it!" Fang Jiancai said, "My grudges with your prince are clear. If you have anything to say, just say it."
"The prince just heard that you are moving your dyeing workshop to Zhenjiang tomorrow. He is reluctant to leave you and wants to keep you here!" The officer's tone was gentle and slow, which probably frightened him.
"In this case, let's all calm down and have a good talk to avoid misunderstandings." Fang Jiancai wanted to yell, but knowing that they had someone in their hands and it was extremely possible to break in, he decided to delay it with them and firmly believed that
A turning point has arrived.
"That's the best thing you think of." Besides the arrogant sound of rain, Fang Jiancai seemed to hear the officer's relaxed laughter.
"I went to Zhenjiang for no other reason than because of the floods in Qinhuai, which affected my dyeing shop's business, so I had to leave. Unless you, the Nanjing government, can make concessions and provide benefits to our dyeing shop, we can only discuss it." He said evilly.
Make it up with some seriousness.
"Your dyeing shop is not a small one. Customers come from all over the place. How can it affect your business? Isn't this reason too forced?"
These words hit the mark and made Fang Jiancai break into a sweat.
"Then...that's because..." He stuttered a little, "It's not..."
"Businessman Fang, forget it if you can't figure it out. If you can't come to an agreement with rough guys like us, it's best to go to Prince Wan to discuss the situation face to face. So, please open the door now, otherwise we won't have to fight.
See you!" The officer's tone suddenly turned threatening.
Fang Jiancai pinched his fingernails and hesitated for a while. In the dark night, but still no Lu Fangxuan's troops were coming, he looked up to the sky and sighed:
"open--"
"Wait!"
This loud roar almost made Fang Jiancai fall, and the officer's horse roared.
The officer hurriedly pulled the horse's bridle steady, raised his head and looked around, wondering where the roar came from.
"Who are you! We are all the soldiers of King Wanjun, don't try to play dirty tricks!" the officer pulled out his sword from the scabbard and shouted sternly.
"Don't be angry, after all, I'm here to help you."
The officer looked eastward and saw about twenty people, still holding flags, shadowy in the heavy rain.
"Help? What kind of help?" Although he was quite doubtful, the sword was already sheathed.
"I am a private soldier of Lu Yue Gong. My surname is Zheng, Shiyan, and my courtesy name is Jingxue. I am here to help you escort Fang Jiancai out of the city." A soldier in his forties walked over from the shadows, with an upright and serious face.
After hearing this, the officer was secretly flustered and said, "Prince Wanjun asked us to keep Fang Jiancai, why did we send him away again?"
"I've said it all, I'm following Duke Lu Yue's orders!"
"Okay!" The officer's eyes widened angrily, and he heard the sound of weapons again: "Then let's just have a fight and see who has the final say!"
The soldiers behind Zheng Shiyan were also gearing up and muttering.
"Quiet." Zheng Shiyan was unmoved and said calmly, "If you really want to do this, I won't resist. But you have to understand that neither Lu Yue Gong nor King Wanjun wants to break up prematurely.
, I’m afraid I would be very angry if I really saw that situation.”
The officer gradually put down the sword he held high in his hand.
Zheng Shiyan happily threw the sword on the ground. "If you want to save your head, just like me, put down your weapons."
The officer hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and dropped the sword with a clang.
"Businessman Fang, you can come out now!"
Fang Jiancai was overjoyed and immediately got off the ladder and told the other dyers, "Master Lu has indeed expected this... Wan Heshun's comfortable days are over!"