Chapter 246: Chapter 83 A Misunderstanding
The small manor was ablaze with lights, two servant boys were pressed under the eaves, shivering uncontrollably. Looking around the courtyard, the more people there were, the more violently they trembled.
The people in the courtyard were a motley crew: there were soldiers from the feudal authority, warriors in shining armor, and ordinary Fang Family house servants, as well as some who looked like shop assistants or servants, and even a disabled man with his hand wrapped in bandages.
Such a chaotic assembly was really only seen when going up the mountain to hunt wolves.
What's going on? What happened?
"Injustice!"
A man's cry of panic and fear came from inside the house.
"Injustice? Have you seen Old Lady Fang or not?" Clan Leader Lin yelled, frustrated.
Registrar Lin stood inside the house looking frightened and utterly perplexed.
"I've seen her," he said. "But I wasn't with her. We just talked for a few words on the street, and then she left."
"What did you talk about?" Fang Chengyu asked.
Registrar Lin looked at the young man standing inside the house and the predatory eyes around him. What kind of people were these? What kind of situation was this?
He had been confined to his home for so long, he had been eager to get out and relax, to relax in the company of his paramour. He had thought that at this time, his whereabouts could be easily concealed, and his family would not dare to question him too much. Even if he didn't return for one night, they would only assume he was dealing with some aftermath.
Who would have thought he would happen to meet Old Lady Fang on the street? Having recognized Old Lady Fang's formidable nature from the previous incident and with the Fang Family now so fearsome, Registrar Lin naturally followed the principle of not striking a smiling face and took the initiative to greet her, while expressing his apologies again for the Lin Jin'er incident.
Old Lady Fang was as amiable as ever.
"Lord Lin need not be so harsh, it's just that children are ignorant," she said. "As long as they understand and learn, that's enough."
She also expressed concern and asked if he was startled by the recent incident with County Magistrate Li.
Registrar Lin felt so moved he almost wanted to kneel and thank her. Honestly, when the county government was broken into, he truly believed his future was as shattered as the county government's gates.
After all, with such confidence, it was the best opportunity to remove their Lin Clan.
"What kind of vendetta is this? It's merely a dispute of words and pride," Miss Jun said, smiling slightly at him. "Unless Lord Lin feels that we can no longer coexist under the same sky."
Registrar Lin waved his hands hastily.
"How could that be? How could that be?" he repeated, his expression earnest. "I had no idea Old Lady Fang could be so magnanimous. Lin Mo is thankful."
With that, they exchanged a smile.
"Then Old Lady Fang said she had other matters to attend to, and I took my leave," Registrar Lin said.
And his mood became even better, feeling like his run of bad luck had ended and good fortune had arrived. He happily went to his secret mistress to mess around for the afternoon, waking up only now, contentedly continuing to drink and make merry.
Who would have thought there would be such a commotion outside?
"Are you saying you don't know where she went?" Fang Chengyu asked.
"I really don't know," Registrar Lin said in urgency, "I went towards the outskirts of the city, and she went towards the center."
Fang Chengyu said nothing, and when he didn't speak, the room fell into silence.
All eyes were fixed on this young man and the scroll in his hand, as if life and death in the next moment were in his control.
"Sanlang, you'd better be honest. I've turned a blind eye to the things you've done behind my back in the past, but this time it's of great importance. Don't even think about slipping away," Clan Leader Lin couldn't stand the silence and blurted out.
Registrar Lin cursed in his heart, so quick to disassociate himself, and accused him of doing things behind his back—there's nothing in the family that could go behind him! What a hypocrite!
But now was not the time to argue over these matters.
"Young Master, I'm really not lying, heaven and earth are my witness," he said, looking at Fang Chengyu once more, almost ready to kneel.
Fang Chengyu observed him for a moment.
"When you saw her, what was she doing?" he asked.
Asking meant he believed him.
Registrar Lin suppressed his joy and calmed himself forcefully, restraining his chaotic thoughts and recalling every word and action when he encountered Miss Jun.
"When I saw her, she was standing at the side of the street, apparently waiting in place for someone..." he said.
"Maybe she was looking for someone?" Fang Chengyu interjected.
Searching for someone...
Registrar Lin thought for a moment. The girl had indeed looked a bit... odd as she gazed outside the city gates?
"I don't know if she was looking for someone," he said slowly, with a hint of contemplation. "However, she did ask me an idle question afterward."
"What idle question?" Clan Leader Lin asked urgently.
This idle question might not be just a trivial matter; it could very well determine their destiny.
"Old Lady Fang asked me which foreign officials had come to Yangcheng this time," Registrar Lin said.
Clan Leader Lin paused for a moment.
"Why would she ask you that? You were locked up, how would you know who has come?" he asked, glancing sideways at Fang Chengyu.
Moreover, the officials who had come to Taiyuan prefecture, the Fang Family would naturally be the most aware.
Why would Miss Jun ask such a question?
"Don't talk nonsense and falsely associate others," Clan Leader Lin warned, his eyebrows raised sternly.
Registrar Lin once again protested his innocence.
"I told Old Lady Fang the same thing," he said. "Then she stopped asking and left. Young Master, you must believe me, I really have no need to…"
Fang Chengyu looked at him and nodded his head.
"I believe you," he said, with a gentle smile and the sincerity of a young person. "Lord Lin has not lied."
Registrar Lin felt so moved he was nearly brought to tears.
Children were so much easier to talk to, what was true was true, and what was not was not; they did not overthink like adults do.
Another commotion came from outside the door; it turned out Old Lady Fang and her entourage had rushed over upon hearing the news.
Without waiting for Registrar Lin and Clan Leader Lin to explain, Fang Chengyu had already stepped forward.
"It wasn't him," he said to Old Lady Fang, shaking his head.
Old Lady Fang glanced at the anxious and worried expressions of Clan Leader Lin and Registrar Lin and did not ask any more questions.
"Let's go," she said, her demeanor and voice just as resolute. "Keep searching outside."
But Fang Chengyu stopped her, looking somberly at the night sky as his gaze slowly turned northward.
"No, Grandmother," he said. "Search within the city, and turn the entire city upside down."
Old Lady Fang was startled.
The city had already been confirmed to be without a trace of Jun Zhenzhen, and if he believed Registrar Lin's words, then naturally he would also believe Jun Zhenzhen had already left the city.
And yet, now he wanted to turn back and scour the city again, even turning it upside down.
What did that mean?
"We have only been tracking the traces related to Registrar Lin until now, and the households we've searched are also related to this," Fang Chengyu explained. "Now, we need to check them all, search everywhere."
Old Lady Fang looked stunned.
Using an imperial decree to search for people related to Jun Zhenzhen could be understood, but searching the city so recklessly and brazenly...
That would truly escalate the situation.
Why?
"To make a big fuss," Fang Chengyu said. "The bigger the fuss, the safer she will be."
Sometimes it was like this, sacrificing something to gain something else, exchanging one person's safety for another's risk, that too was fair.
Old Lady Fang watched him for a moment, then finally nodded her head.
"Gather all the troops and return to the city," she commanded, looking towards the people and horses in the courtyard. "Search the city."
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Thank you, thank you.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone