Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 478 It'll still be you next time.

Commander Huang led his men into Dingjia Village.

Just in case, he had been keeping watch in the vicinity, thinking that they wouldn't need to show up. Who knew that Xu Wei's men would be so useless.

“They’re just two civil officials,” Commander Huang said. “Leave them in the village for one night, and it’ll all be fine. How can they not even handle something this simple?”

Upon hearing the sounds of fighting, Commander Huang knew that tonight's events were not going to end well. The people from the Secret Service were good at doing things in secret, but they were useless when it came to open warfare.

"Blindfold your faces," Commander Huang ordered. "Anyone whose identity is revealed will never be allowed back into the camp."

The soldiers responded immediately.

Commander Huang dismounted, drew his long sword, and charged towards Wang Yan, Xu Huaiyi, and the others. Under normal circumstances, Commander Huang would never have dared to lay a hand on the prime minister's son, let alone kill him here.

Now that we're going to step forward, we can't leave a single one alive, lest Prime Minister Wang find out about them.

The villagers of Dingjia Village were quite sensible; they all retreated back into their houses. Otherwise, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill Wang Yan, then massacre the entire village, and then frame the bandits for it.

Commander Huang was a meticulous man; he had planned the whole thing out. Even the small crossbows they were using were made in a workshop, not military equipment, so they wouldn't be traced back to the military.

Thinking this, Commander Huang raised his long sword and slashed solidly at the constables protecting Wang Yan.

At the critical moment, the constable moved his foot and miraculously avoided a fatal blow, only his shoulder grazing the blade. Commander Huang frowned, feeling that the figure was strangely familiar. The thought flashed through his mind, and he immediately knew the answer.

This is a hand-to-hand combat exercise that is often practiced in the military, so these so-called yamen runners are actually soldiers.

Commander Huang sensed something was wrong and instinctively stepped back, but the "yamen runner" noticed his intention and actually stepped forward a few paces.

“It’s a trap,” Commander Huang blurted out.

Xu Wei, who was not far away, was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

Commander Huang said, "These people might be problematic... Our identities are about to be exposed... I have to leave now."

Xu Wei was taken aback. How could the Imperial Guards leave at a time like this?

“No,” Xu Wei gritted his teeth. “If there’s really a problem, and we don’t deal with them now, the city will be in chaos. If the authorities really investigate, they’ll find you anyway.”

“Wang Yan… is not someone who can be easily fooled.”

Commander Huang frowned. Xu Wei's words were not without reason. He could see clues from the constables, and naturally, the constables would also become suspicious of him.

Commander Huang said, "Then let's get started quickly."

He then raised his knife and cut down one of the "yamen runners," and then ordered his men, "Let the people guarding the village entrance come in too."

The soldiers responded and hurried forward, but at that moment, he vaguely heard a scream coming from the direction of the village entrance.

The soldiers instinctively turned to look at Commander Huang, but Commander Huang had just engaged in combat with Wang Yan's guards, and the sounds of the fight drowned out everything.

A great unease enveloped the soldier, but he could not disobey the commander's orders, so he could only proceed cautiously.

As they left the courtyard and headed west, the soldiers gripped their sword hilts tightly.

Suddenly, a slight noise reached his ears, as if someone had accidentally broken a tree branch. The soldier was about to raise his steel sword and try to look ahead when he felt a warmth behind him as something blocked the night wind blowing towards him.

He froze, and the next moment, he felt a chill in his chest. He looked down and saw a blade protruding from his body in the moonlight.

The soldier looked up and dozens of figures came into view. He trembled and tried to shout, but was kicked and fell to the ground. Xu En's voice rang out immediately: "Take them down."

When Commander Huang heard the commotion and tried to escape, it was too late. Suddenly, people surrounded him. He glared at Xu Wei hatefully and said, "It's all your fault for doing things poorly. Now we've been dragged down with you."

Xu Wei froze, "I...I don't know either, where exactly did things go wrong?" The spies of the Advisory Bureau had all been sent out, and if Wang Yan had made any move, the spies should have reported it long ago.

“He’s been watching you for a while now, so of course he won’t let you notice,” Commander Huang said. “They haven’t touched you because they want to lure out more people.”

Xu Wei understood what Commander Huang meant.

Wang Yan and Xu Huaiyi were deliberately "tricked" out of Bianjing City.

Xu Wei's face contorted even more grotesquely: "I'll kill him." Before he could move forward, an arrow flew towards him and struck him squarely in the back.

Commander Huang chopped the arrow in half with his sword and reached out to help Xu Wei up: "It's too late, don't worry about Wang Yan... Run when you see an opportunity, only by escaping can you survive..." He wasn't particularly loyal, but if Xu Wei lived, he could help him get rid of some of the pursuers.

Xu Huaiyi initially tried to drag Kang Liang away, but Kang Liang was wounded in the leg by an arrow and could only let him do as he pleased. Later, when the masked men rushed in, he was pulled away by Wang Yan to dodge them.

Kang Liang was left unattended and was slashed by a masked man; it's unknown whether he's dead or alive.

Xu Huaiyi also suffered some minor injuries, lost his official hat, and his hair was disheveled, but he didn't care about these things and stayed by Wang Yan's side. However, when it came to the emergency, he still couldn't help being lifted up and pulled by Wang Yan.

Finally, he heard Xu En's voice, and the number of people chasing them decreased. Xu Huaiyi breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down against the earthen wall.

The sounds of fighting never stopped.

He didn't know how much time had passed when someone walked up to him and handed him a water bag.

Xu Huaiyi looked up and saw Wang Yan.

"How are you? Are there any serious injuries on your body?" Wang Yan asked.

Xu Huaiyi shook his head, and after a moment he said, "Does Lord Wang always handle cases like this?" He hadn't experienced it when he was in Daming Prefecture, but this time he was personally experiencing the dangers involved.

Wang Yan didn't reply, but instead looked towards the horizon. The darkness was dissipating; dawn was approaching. Back in Daming Prefecture, it was A-Yan who had accompanied him, and now…

Wang Yan glanced at Xu Huaiyi: "You should do it again next time! Let someone else handle the dangerous tasks."

Xu Huaiyi had just taken a sip of water and hadn't even swallowed it when he heard this and immediately choked and coughed.

What was it that made Lord Wang so certain of him?
……

News of Dingjia Village naturally wouldn't reach Bianjing.

Liu Huizeng and others wrote a joint petition overnight.

As dawn broke, the group did not rest. Instead, they had their servants fetch water to wash up and eat. Afterward, they were to head together to the Dengwen Procuratorate.

Liu Hui had carefully instructed the servant: "Prepare the horses. We will ride there in a while. If we encounter anyone blocking the way, you should clear a path for them."

The servants responded.

The gentlemen are about to accomplish great things, and they will do everything in their power to get them to the Dengwen Prosecutor's Office.

After the horses were ready, Liu Huizeng looked at everyone and bowed deeply: "Thank you all. If there is any disaster... I cannot guarantee that I will protect you all, but I will definitely be at the forefront."