Chapter 471 - 472: Swindling

Chapter 471: Chapter 472: Swindling

Mr. Lang never would have imagined it. In just one night, how had he suddenly become a prisoner?

"I want to see your Prefect! Is this how the Rong Dynasty treats its guests? Furthermore, I am an envoy! Aren’t you afraid of sparking a war between our two nations by treating me this way?"

Fan Changxi glanced at him. "Just because you say you’re an envoy doesn’t make it so. Where are your official documents? Do you think you can represent an entire nation with your words alone?"

Mr. Lang began to look for his luggage. It contained his personal seal and the official commission from His Majesty the Emperor.

But those things were nowhere to be found; they had all been left behind at the inn!

"Give me my luggage! I have my seal and my official commission!"

Fan Changxi sneered. "I’m surprised a conman these days has the guts to try and swindle our Lord Prefect. We’ve already searched your luggage, and neither of the items you mentioned was there.

If you know what’s good for you, you’ll come clean. Why did you come here to pull a scam? Who’s pulling the strings?"

"You bastard! I’ve met your Lord Prefect before! Go and ask him if you don’t believe me."

One of his subordinates pointed at Fan Changxi. "Sir, I’ve seen this man before. He was on guard at the government office when we met the Lord Prefect."

Mr. Lang finally understood. This was no misunderstanding; they were doing this on purpose.

"The nerve of you! Is this how you treat an official envoy?"

Fan Changxi retorted, "I have no idea what you’re talking about. All I know is that you entered our Lu City acting furtively. You’d better start talking and tell us where you’re from. Do you have household registration papers? If not, we’ll have no choice but to handle you as spies."

Mr. Lang fell silent. ’It seems the Prefect of Lu City was prepared for this,’ he thought. ’No wonder he didn’t arrange for us to stay at the post station or host a customary welcome banquet.’

’Now that we have no proof of identity, they have every reason to detain and even interrogate us.’

Seeing him fall silent, Fan Changxi sneered. "You’d be wise to confess. It’ll save you from a world of pain."

"I want to see your Prefect Gu," Mr. Lang said.

"A common swindler like you has the gall to demand a meeting with our Lord Prefect? Just wait. Someone will be along to question you."

Watching Fan Changxi walk away, a sense of dread washed over Mr. Lang. ’I wonder how Ling San is doing,’ he thought. ’Did he manage to get away?’

The subordinate standing beside him was confused by the comment. ’Does he hope Lord Ling got away, or that he didn’t?’

...

Ancient Wen Heng handed off the subsequent matters to Zhou Shixiong and turned his own attention to agriculture.

Even though the blacksmiths in the Prefecture City had already forged some agricultural tools in advance, it was still far from enough.

As for the surrounding counties, the most Ancient Wen Heng could do was give each of them a few samples to take back and let them figure out the rest on their own.

He was so busy he was run off his feet, so how could he possibly spare a thought for Mr. Lang’s protests from his jail cell?

Jin Qianqian and the escort team arrived at their final stop. The group paused for a brief rest and to replenish the supplies they had used on the journey.

Now that they could finally stop and rest, Gu Benluo was already getting restless in the inn, pestering Jin Qianqian to take him out for a walk.

The place they were staying, Le City, was the most prosperous part of North City. Right below their room was a bustling street.

When he woke up in the morning to the clamor from below, the boy couldn’t sit still.

Jin Qianqian personally wiped Gu Ben Can’s face and helped him into his thick, padded jacket. "Even if we’re going out, you have to wait until I get your little brother ready."

"Li Qiu, go and see what the inn has for breakfast. Pick out some things the young masters can eat and have them sent up."

Li Qiu left at once. They had, for all intents and purposes, booked out the entire inn.

She also remembered to summon the two young masters’ nannies from the next room, so they could prepare something immediately if the kitchen had nothing suitable.

The waiter downstairs saw someone coming down the stairs and hurried over to greet them cautiously.

He didn’t know who exactly the guests were that had checked in yesterday, but with so many guards and servants, he knew he had to be on his best behavior.

"Is there anything you need, Miss?"

Li Qiu replied, "Please take us to the kitchen. While we’re on our way, you can tell us what your inn serves for breakfast. If nothing suits our tastes, we’ll have to ask our nannies to prepare something themselves."

The waiter replied, "This way, Miss. Also, the leader of the escort who brought you here yesterday arrived early this morning. He’s waiting over there. We were afraid you were all still resting upstairs, so we didn’t dare go up and disturb you."

Lichun said, "In that case, waiter, please take these two nannies to the kitchen."

Since she now knew who was visiting, Lichun would naturally not disgrace her master’s household. Moreover, the leader of the escort had taken excellent care of them on their journey; for that reason alone, he shouldn’t be kept waiting.

"Next time someone comes looking for us, please just come upstairs and let us know. We’ll have someone handle it."

The waiter readily agreed and led the two nannies toward the kitchen.

"Chief Cai, my apologies for keeping you waiting." Li Qiu greeted him with a curtsy. "Is there a reason you’ve come so early?"

Cai Wenping had seen Li Qiu and the others as soon as they came downstairs. "Miss Li Qiu, not at all. I’m the one who arrived too early."

"My young master instructed me to help you find an escort team to Lu City once we arrived. I spent last night asking several agencies, but unfortunately, none of them have teams heading that way right now."

"However, I did find one agency whose destination is only a little over two hundred li from Lu City, and the timing works out well. Please inform Madam. If she’s interested, it would be best to book the arrangements in advance."

Escort agencies have a limited number of dart masters. For a party like Jin Qianqian’s, even though they have their own guards, the escort team is still responsible for their safety on the road.

If an agency doesn’t have enough dart masters available, they’ll stop taking on new clients once they’re fully booked.

"When do they depart?" Li Qiu asked.

"In four days." After giving the date, Chief Cai quickly added, "That’s the earliest departure available. Because that region is still frozen solid, very few escort agencies are willing to head that way."

"Could I trouble you to wait here a moment, Chief Cai?" Li Qiu asked. "I must consult with Madam about this."

"Of course," Chief Cai replied. "Thank you for your trouble, Miss Li Qiu."

Knowing the matter couldn’t be delayed, Li Qiu turned and hurried back upstairs.

Jin Qianqian made her decision immediately after hearing the news. "Go find Housekeeper Fu and have him go with Chief Cai. Even if we can’t find another escort team at our destination, we can make our own way from there."

"But we aren’t familiar with this new escort team," Li Qiu said. "Should we have Housekeeper Fu look into them first?"

’It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Chief Cai,’ she thought, ’but she wanted the journey to be as smooth as possible for Madam and the young masters.’

"Go ahead," Jin Qianqian said, not wanting to create any unnecessary complications.