The inconspicuous walking stick, casually used by Old Lady Fang and carelessly placed in the room, actually concealed an imperial decree.
But then, this walking stick was indeed very important.
Every time a crisis arose, every time they faced an insurmountable obstacle, Old Lady Fang would carry it.
The walking stick truly was her reliance.
That is to say, Old Lady Fang had been ready to use it several times, but in the end, she never did.
Was it because she couldn't use it, didn't dare to use it, or didn't think it was worth using?
Tears rolled down Lady Fang's eyes.
She bowed down in prostration.
"My dear great-grandmother," Seventh Chen murmured, glancing at Fang Jinxiu, "Such a guileless heaven, no wonder your Fang Family is so extravagantly wealthy, it turns out you were amassing fortunes by an imperial command."
He slowly knelt down.
Fang Jinxiu hadn't listened to his words; she was too shocked to react, pulled down by Seventh Chen to kneel.
She had always thought her family was a merchant of low status, looked down upon by the aristocratic clans, despite being wealthy.
Who would have thought their so-called lowly merchant family held an imperial decree given by the True Dragon Emperor himself, and one that allowed them to act with as much audacity as if the Emperor were personally present.
So this was the Fang Family's secret.
The officials had already knelt down, their expressions a mix of shock and sudden realization.
No wonder the Fang Family could mobilize the military forces from both Shanxi and Henan Province to do their bidding.
No wonder the Fang Family could interrogate County Magistrate Li in the prison cells and even kill him in front of everyone without any reaction from the notoriously ruthless Magistrate Ma Shengzhi, as if he were blind.
So this was the Fang Family's secret.
The officials' expressions were complex again.
So it was because of this secret that County Magistrate Li had his throat cut in the prison.
The Fang Family had committed murder to keep this secret.
The Fang Family kept the secret, and the deaths of the Grand Old Master, Old Master Fang Shouyi, and Fang Chengyu's poisoning could remain unseen.
Their offhand inquiries had failed to reveal the Fang Family's secret.
They had thought that the incident of killing the county magistrate at the entrance of the dilapidated county government in Yangcheng would become an unsolved legend, transformed into tales of divine beings and good people receiving karmic retribution that would be spread by storytellers.
Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, the Fang Family proclaimed this secret in the streets, all just to find a naughty child who hadn't come home at night.
This was truly...indescribable.
Clan Leader Lin didn't know what to say either, staring blankly at the imperial decree Old Lady Fang held aloft, which under the torch's illumination, was particularly glaring.
"Now we're in for it," he murmured as he knelt down slowly, "They really could tear down the Lin Family, level Yangcheng, create upheaval."
The crowd that had been standing closely packed in the street had already knelt down, and the area burst into heated tumult like boiling water in an instant.
Fang Chengyu regained his composure, briefly knelt, then stood up and took the imperial decree from Old Lady Fang's hand and swung himself onto his horse.
"Search!" he ordered, holding the imperial decree, speaking indifferently.
The sound of horse hooves on the street became a torrent, abrupt and loud like thunder.
The guards mounted their horses and turned around following Fang Chengyu.
Manager Gao also raised his whip, and Lei Zhonglian mounted his horse with one hand while pulling out a wooden stick from the horse's back.
Although he only had one hand left, unable to kill thieves, he was still capable of fighting wrongdoers.
"Big Sister, follow Concubine Yuan," Fang Yuxiu instructed, "I will accompany Mother."
Fang Yunxiao always obeyed Fang Yuxiu's arrangements unquestioningly; Concubine Yuan obligingly took hold of Fang Yunxiao, and the two got into a carriage.
Fang Yuxiu and Lady Fang also got into a carriage, surrounded by maidservants and servant girls, with those in carriages, on foot, and on horseback all bustling efficiently and without confusion.
The noisy flames rolled away in all directions.
The ground of the whole Yangcheng seemed to tremble.
The officials also stood up, watching the scene, at a loss.
"What do we do?" someone asked.
"What to do? What else can we do? They are holding an imperial decree; how can we not comply? Do you want to defy the order?" someone shouted, "The Fang Family has gone mad, they cannot be provoked."
Indeed, they did not want their throats slit nor to be sent to the execution ground to receive three cuts.
The officials quickly sprang into action.
"Quick, quick, gather hands."
"Search for Lin."
After the commotion, the street in front of Lin Family's Alley regained its calm, but Yangcheng as a whole had stirred into bustling activity.
Clan Leader Lin still knelt dazedly on the ground, one of his followers timidly moved over.
"Master, what should we do?" he asked with a tremble in his voice.
"What else can we do? Quickly go find someone, if we can't find him, our entire Lin clan will have to bury with him," Clan Leader Lin shouted as he jumped up from the ground.
The bustling chaos had thoroughly moved away, and without the torches, the street fell back into darkness.
Fang Jinxiu stood in the dark, watching the twinkling lights that incandescently sprang up in the distance, like stars tumbling down from the sky. Even as the night's gloom enshrouded everything, these flickering flames managed to dispel the thick depression.
She let out a long sigh and sat down.
"Eh? Aren't you going?" Seventh Chen asked.
"I don't need to go," Fang Jinxiu said. "I'm tired, just taking a rest."
Seventh Chen thudded back to the ground once more.
"Ah, my mother, that scared me to death," he said, his eyes gleaming in the dark night, "What's going on? Your Fang Family actually has an imperial decree? Weren't your ancestors farmers? How did you get connected with the Emperor?"
"Shut up," Fang Jinxiu commanded.
Seventh Chen mumbled under his breath and said nothing more, as silence fell upon the street.
Meanwhile, in a manor outside the city, amidst the deep darkness, there were still flickers of lamplight, and occasionally the delicate laughter of women could be heard.
Two servant boys stood in the corridor, with hands tucked, dozing off when suddenly one of them awoke with a jerk, rubbing his face upon hearing the laughter.
"Why aren't they sleeping yet?" he muttered softly.
The servant boy beside him snickered.
"They slept all afternoon already; they need time to perk up," he said with a wink and a nudge.
They were speaking in low voices when a knock from outside startled them in the dead of night.
The two servant boys jumped, looking at each other.
"Who could it be at this hour?" one asked.
"A traveler seeking lodging?" the other guessed.
"That's impossible, we can't offer lodging here; let's ignore it." The first one said.
The knocking ceased, but then, moments later, it started up again urgently, loud enough that even the people inside could hear.
"What's going on?" a male voice asked.
"Third Master, we don't know, should we go check?" the servant boy hurried to answer.
Before the people inside could respond, the person knocking outside began shouting desperately.
"Third Master, Third Master, quick, open the door, something's happened at home."
At home?
The servant boys were startled, and inside, the room went silent. Moments later there was a woman's coquettish reproach, followed by a man's soothing, deep voice.
"Tell them to get lost," the man then raised his voice, "They don't see the time, creating such a fuss over nothing."
The servant boy rushed to comply.
The door continued to be pounded on fiercely.
"Stop knocking, get lost," the servant boy yelled to those outside.
The person outside seemed provoked by the scolding, using not just hands, but also feet to kick.
"Quickly, quickly, something's happened, Clan Leader himself has ordered to find you, hurry," the outside voice urgently called.
Even the Clan Leader is mentioned now?
This sounded all the way into the room, where someone became quite angry, flung the door open, and with the dim light behind him, cast a hazy shadow of his form.
"Just some trivial matter, and getting the Clan Leader involved, really is shameful enough. Let it reach the Clan Leader if it has to, as if it's something major." Registrar Lin berated with raised eyebrows, "Today, I'm not opening the door; let's see who dares to come in."
His voice was quite intimidating, and the knocking outside ceased suddenly, a quiet returning to both the inside and outside.
Registrar Lin let out a breath, carrying a mixture of indignation and disdain, he was about to turn and go back in when suddenly, with a bang, the previously secured door flew off its hinges and crashed into the yard.
The two servant boys cried out in shock, instinctively covering their heads. At that same moment, countless torches lit up outside along with the sound of rapid hoofbeats and the clamor of people, surging like a tide.
My dear mother and father.
What has happened?
Registrar Lin stood dumbfounded at the doorway, peering through the smashed door at the crowd surging toward him.
The bright torches were blinding for a moment, making it hard to see. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw squads of government soldiers with weapons standing outside the door.
"Oh my goodness," he exclaimed, "Was it just for keeping a concubine? To the extent of alarming the government soldiers?"
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