Fang Ke: "I am but an ignorant officer. Why exactly are the eunuchs obstructing my case? Please enlighten me!"
The sinister eunuch sighed softly and with a wave of his hand said, "You won’t shed tears until you see the coffin..."
Upon seeing this, the group of eunuchs immediately pressed their hands to their waist swords and surged forward.
Fang Ke did not make any unnecessary movements.
But as these eunuchs had just surrounded his ox-cart, a large group of heavy and disordered footsteps came from behind the ox-cart, through the city gate hole.
The sinister eunuch frowned and slightly turned his body to look behind the ox-cart, only to see hundreds of plain-clothes embroidered uniformed strongmen bursting out of the city gate hole, each carrying a shiny ox-tail saber with unabashed, bold display in their hands.
At a glance, a fierce, arrogant, and fearless aura assaulted the senses.
He pulled back his head, his eyes growing even colder as he looked at Fang Ke, "What do you want to do?"
Fang Ke’s gaze turned equally icy as he replied with a smile, "The question is, what are you trying to do!"
The sinister eunuch cupped one hand in the other towards the west and said, "I am Ying Baili, head of the Eastern Factory. Our supervisor received an imperial edict, commanding a joint capture of the fugitive Yang Erlang by both the factory guards and Six Fan Gate. I was specifically ordered to come to Luting Wharf ahead of time to arrest all related parties and bring them in. I hope you, Deputy Thousand Household Fang, can understand the situation and not push yourself towards a dead end!"
In the time it took for this exchange, the two hundred or so strongmen who had poured out from the city gate hole had already completely surrounded the twenty or so Eastern Factory eunuchs.
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The grating, teeth-clenching sound of feathered arrows being hooked onto the crossbow strings made the skin of the Eastern Factory eunuchs crawl, and their palms became so sweaty in moments that they could barely grip their knives firmly.
"Oh..."
Fang Ke dragged out his response, then his face abruptly darkened as he shouted, "If you’re investigating a case or arresting someone, then do just that. Why obstruct the upper right institutions from handling our case? If the suspect escapes because of your disturbance, will the Eastern Factory take responsibility?"
Factory guards, factory guards, it’s always the Eastern Factory first, followed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as if there was a clear Imperial law stating the Eastern Factory is above the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the latter is subordinate to the former.
But in fact, according to the Imperial law, there is no clear distinction of rank between the Eastern Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, nor is there a direct subordinate relationship.
Who is superior and who is subordinate between them... it all depends on who is more dominant and tough among the leaders of these two institutions.
The impression that the Eastern Factory is superior and the Embroidered Uniform Guards are subservient has only formed because several commanders of the Embroidered Uniform Guard have taken the current supervisor of the Eastern Factory, a great eunuch, as their godfather.
But this current commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard... If Shen Fa dared to recognize a eunuch as his godfather, his family would break all three of his legs!
With a boss who won’t back down, Fang Ke and his subordinates certainly can’t be cowards either!
"What a reversal of accusation!"
Ying Baili sneered, "You Fang Ke are shielding the criminal Yang Erlang..."
"Whoosh."
A crossbow arrow that whizzed past Ying Baili’s cheek interrupted him before he could finish speaking, shocking him into a cold sweat and making his legs tremble uncontrollably.
These killers...
How dare they!!!
Fang Ke also became furious, scanning left and right as he bellowed, "Which bastard fired that arrow? Tired of living, are you? Dare to shoot a eunuch from the Eastern Factory?"
Hu Qiang, with his shifty eyes, wormed his way out of the crowd and replied with a bow and a scrape, "My lord, it was an accidental slip of the hand, purely accidental. I’ll be sure to take greater care in the future to ensure it never happens again..."
As he spoke, he swiftly reloaded his crossbow, then aimed it at Ying Baili once more.
Ying Baili: ...
Fang Ke withdrew his gaze, apologized to Ying Baili with a cupped-fist salutation, "I have failed to keep strict control over my subordinates, causing you to laugh at us, to laugh at us!"
Ying Baili took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger as he said, "Lord Fang, this matter has already reached the heavens. The emperor is livid, commanding that within three months, the person must be produced alive or his body be shown if dead. It’s not just about whether you wish to cover up; even if your boss, Commander Shen himself, were to come here, he would not dare interfere. Why insist on risking your career and life?"
Fang Ke: ’You’re lying; it was clearly Shen who passed the message to me!’
He feigned a baffled expression: "Could there be some misunderstanding here? Why is it that you speak plainly, yet I can’t understand a single word?"
Ying Baili could no longer contain his anger and raised his voice to shout, "Are you still playing dumb, Fang? Dare you say that the ones sitting in the ox cart behind you are not the father and son duo from the Yuelai Inn of the Liu Family?"
"You’re talking about them?"
Fang Ke pointed to the curtain of the cart window behind him, his face barely containing a smirk.
Ying Baili: "Is it not so?"
Fang Ke spread his hands carefreely: "If you want to inspect my ox cart, you can, just bring the paperwork. As long as it exists, whether it’s official documents from my Northern Town Prefectural Commissioner or from your Eastern Factory, I’ll recognize it!"
Ying Baili’s angry expression froze as he evasively said, "I came in such haste..."
Fang Ke withdrew his hands: "Then you can’t blame me for not giving you a chance. It’s your own fault for handling the case so carelessly, such incompetence!"
As he spoke, he grabbed the whip and lashed it onto the old ox pulling the cart, preparing to drive the ox cart away.
Ying Baili quickly spread his arms out in front of the ox cart: "You can’t leave!"
Fang Ke furrowed his brows: "Are you teaching me how to do my job?"
"Squeak, squeak..."
The grating sound of bowstrings twisting arrows once again filled the air.
Ying Baili hurriedly said, "I’ve already sent someone to get the documents, they will be back very soon, immediately!"
Fang Ke hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed lightly, "Alright, then I’ll give you this chance... back to the yamen."
With that, he turned the ox’s head towards the city gate and walked on.
Ying Baili quickly waved his hand, leading a group of eunuchs to catch up, following closely behind the ox cart.
Surrounded by over two hundred brocade-clad guards, they all made their way back into the city...
Amid the chaos, a small team quietly slipped away from the main group, blending into the crowd of onlookers and swiftly headed towards the wharf.
At the wharf, Wu Eryong and a few of his trusted aides had been waiting for a long time. Upon seeing the newcomers, he immediately greeted them: "Lord Gu, I’ve been waiting for a while now."
The man at the front was none other than Gu Tong, who had recently been promoted to the rank of Hundred. He stepped aside to reveal the group behind him: "These are the ones..."
Wu Eryong: "I recognize them, the old shopkeeper, Master Liu. I am Wu Eryong, the one in charge of Luting Wharf of Lianhuan Fort, at your service!"
The Liu father and son duo hastily returned the salutation with clasped fists.
Gu Tong: "Is everything arranged properly?"
Wu Eryong: "Rest assured, Lord Gu, everything has been properly arranged. Once we’re on the water, we’ll be home, and nobody will dare touch a hair on the old shopkeeper’s head!"
Gu Tong: "Don’t be complacent!"
Wu Eryong: "Don’t worry, Lord Gu, I understand the importance!"
Gu Tong nodded, then turned to the still shaken old shopkeeper and gestured: "Do not worry too much, sir. We’ll resolve the issue at Luting as soon as we can. You’ll be home before you know it."
The old shopkeeper hurriedly gestured back: "The old me is not that important, it’s our young... Lord Yang, how is he doing?"
Gu Tong, holding the old man’s hand and smiling, said: "Sir, you shouldn’t address me like that. Lord Yang would scold me for it. And don’t worry about him. I’ve followed him for more than two years now; never have I seen him do anything without certainty... Look, he’s still in Jiangzhe and didn’t he arrange everything here in Luting perfectly?"
Only then did the old shopkeeper feel somewhat relieved, patting his chest: "Well, that’s good, that’s good..."