Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 502 Ambush
The third manager had never been so disheveled. He was meticulous and reliable. When he was a teenager, he led people to trade at sea and was well-liked by his employer, who always entrusted him with important responsibilities.

After the previous manager met with an accident at sea, the owner promoted him to the new manager and also secretly asked him to help Xia Mengxian and others.

During the previous dynasty, the Dong family already had a merchant fleet at sea, and some of their members had even served in the court. However, they were implicated in a treason case and almost had their entire clan wiped out. From then on, none of the family members entered officialdom, instead using other means to control the court.

They would use money to support newly appointed officials, and once these officials held important positions, they would secretly use their power to open up business opportunities for their families.

There were many officials like Xia Mengxian, and Liu Heng of Daming Prefecture was one of them.

When Liu Heng got into trouble, he just assumed it was a coincidence that someone had caught him red-handed and didn't pay much attention to it. He left everything to Xia Mengxian to handle, but he didn't expect that Xia Mengxian would also make a mistake.

From losing his official position to being arrested, everything happened too fast. He didn't even have time to make arrangements before Xia Mengxian was driven into a dead end, which also implicated him, trapping him in Bianjing City.

The family's years of planning are unlikely to be realized while the current emperor is in power. However, it is highly likely to be achieved after the new emperor ascends the throne. Without Xia Mengxian, an important pawn, the family's plans will certainly be affected.

Unfortunately, the matter reached the authorities, and it became difficult to change anything.

Fortunately, although Xia Mengxian was arrested, he would not easily reveal his employer.

It wasn't that Xia Mengxian was particularly loyal. To him, the current charge was at most that he acted for personal gain. If he were proven to have secretly served another master, then he would be suspected of treason. As long as Xia Mengxian wasn't stupid, he wouldn't cause any unnecessary trouble.

But he was unwilling to gamble his family's and his own safety on Xia Mengxian.

So he decided to leave with Xia Ziqiao and the others.

Firstly, Xia Ziqiao could be used to blackmail Xia Mengxian.

Secondly, even if Xia Mengxian confesses, as long as the court cannot catch him, it cannot confirm everything and therefore cannot find his employer.

Besides, he had a feeling that someone was watching them from behind.

From Liu Heng to Xia Mengxian, the relentless pursuit was all aimed at uncovering the identities of those behind them.

As it turned out, his calculations were correct. They were trapped on the Bian River. How could they have been found so precisely without prior planning?
It was like losing a battle, a complete and utter defeat.

The third manager disliked this feeling. Even now, he still hadn't figured out who was in control of the whole affair.

Wang Yan should be in the Imperial Guard camp. For the Emperor, purging the traitors in the Imperial Guard is more important than anything else. The Emperor will definitely make Wang Yan investigate thoroughly before he returns to report.

Aside from Wang Yan, among those involved in this matter... he didn't think anyone else had the means to achieve this, since it would require mobilizing the imperial army and utilizing the people around him to get this result.

The third manager closed his eyes to rest. If he could leave smoothly, he would definitely take action to find the person who had opposed them.

“Third Manager,” the guard said as he entered the shed, “we have surveyed the surrounding area, but the official ship has not arrived yet, nor have any other ships stopped.”

The third manager stood up: "Let's leave now."

The shack was already close to the shore, and wading away would not be difficult. The boatman carried water and food on his back and led the way for the third manager and the others.

“Not many people know about this path,” the boatman said. “Other places are muddy and difficult to walk on, but here there are many stones underneath, making it easier to walk.”

"We can hide in the low mountains to the west first. Now that the forest is lush, it won't be easy for the authorities to find us. Besides, there are still refugees in the mountains. We can't just arrest everyone."

The third manager listened to the boatman's words, his mind racing. After swimming for a while, he clearly felt the water suddenly become shallower; when he stood up straight, it was only chest-deep.

The third manager waded through the water, carefully observing his surroundings.

Just as the guards and boatmen said, there were only their huts here, and no outsiders were seen.

The night was exceptionally quiet; there were no birdsong or insect chirps, only the sounds of them moving in the water. "Glug glug."

A series of faint sounds suddenly came, and the third shopkeeper froze, but the others did not notice and continued to walk forward.

The third manager stopped and looked toward the water not far away, following the sound.

There was no further sound; only ripples spread outwards on the water's surface. The third shopkeeper's expression changed, and he immediately said, "There's someone in the water."

As soon as he finished speaking, the boatman looked surprised, but the guards were the first to come to their senses. They quickly stood beside the third manager, and then each of them put out a hand to support the third manager's arm and hurried towards the shore.

Just then, two people emerged from the water, spat out the reeds in their mouths, and chased after the Third Manager and the others.

"No," the third manager shouted, "We can't go ashore, there's an ambush on the shore." If those people could grab him in the water, they should have done it just now, why haven't they made a move yet?

There's only one conclusion: the person hiding in the water doesn't want to alert the enemy.

What are they waiting for?
Naturally, we wait until he leaves the water.

The third manager was quick-witted enough, but unfortunately, he was one step behind. The person who captured him had already thought of everything in advance.

A large net descended from the sky, landing on the heads of the third manager and two guards.

They tried to escape through the water, but the river was only up to their calves, making it impossible for them to swim.

Torches were lit, and more people stepped out into the light.

One of the boatmen said with a hint of excitement, "These two men have always been acting suspiciously. I knew they weren't good people. Sure enough, trouble came from them."

"It's a good thing we didn't row over, or we would have definitely alerted them."

If they could swim to the hut, the others could naturally swim over as well. In the darkness of the night, with people hidden in the water, who could possibly notice anything amiss?

Too many things happened tonight, and the third manager was in a panic, so there were bound to be things he didn't think through.

One misstep leads to a series of crises, ultimately leaving no escape.

"Tie them up."

Jiang Qi pulled the large net, bringing all the people inside to the shore. Then he pounced and pinned the third manager down. More people followed Jiang Qi's example, holding down the guards and boatmen.

"Who are you? Why are you arresting us?" the third manager struggled and shouted.

Under the torchlight, the third manager's face was clearly illuminated. It was an extremely ordinary face, with no striking features, making him difficult to remember.

Merchants from the porcelain trade stepped forward to inspect the porcelain, their faces all showing a hint of disappointment.

After a whole night of fuss, all we're doing is arresting this one person?

Did they arrest the wrong person?

The third manager's gaze swept over the people in front of him; they were all unfamiliar faces. They were dressed in the clothes of ordinary people, and they weren't even government officials.

Was he arrested by this group of people?

How could he possibly accept this?

Just then, the crowd parted to make way for a woman who walked over. The third shopkeeper looked up and his gaze immediately froze.