The Incense Monopoly Order

Chapter 139 Capture
"Close doors and windows, and be careful with fire—"

The night watchman's clear voice echoed through the quiet alley. The old watchman, carrying a gong and a wooden clapper, pulled at his cotton sleeves, trying to tuck his hands as far inside as possible to ward off the cold.

As he bent down to tug at his sleeve, he heard an unusual noise. Turning around, he saw a snowflake fall from the eaves.

It had been snowing for several days in a row, and the rooftops, which hadn't been cleared in time, were covered with thick snow. He turned his gaze away and continued his watchman's sermon, moving slowly at times and quickly at others. Little did he know that just a wall away from him, a row of men in black were silently advancing through the snow.

This place is very close to the prefectural government office.

Shang Jinliang had been imprisoned for several days, but the imperial envoy had not shown up, had not interrogated him, and had not allowed him to visit. He had cut off all contact with the outside world and was feeling anxious.

Sitting at the square table, which he had propped up with stones, he kept thinking about everything that had happened since Han Ang appeared. He felt that nothing serious would happen, and his brows relaxed a little. But then he thought of Shang Mingshu, who had gone to the capital alone...

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass into the city's prison..."

Shang Jinliang's thoughts were interrupted. He rushed to the cell door, gripped the wooden pillar with both hands, and his heart was in his throat.

Immediately following was the sound of clashing weapons, but the prison guards still did not ring the bell for help, and Shang Jinliang knew something was wrong.

Sure enough, not long after, a group of masked men in black dragged in blood-stained knives. The prisoners were terrified and tried to cower in the corners of their cells, fearing that they might anger these men and be killed by a knife.

The men in black had a clear objective and went straight for Shang Jinliang. The iron chain around the prison door was cleaved in two with a single stroke, and one of the men in black rushed in, grabbed Shang Jinliang, twisted his arm, and dragged him out.

Shang Jinliang struggled desperately: "Who are you? Let me go, let me go!"

When Shang Jinliang refused to cooperate, the man in black raised his head and knocked him unconscious, even showing murderous intent, but was stopped by his companion: "We are here to 'rescue' him, not to silence him."

Letting Shang Jinliang die in prison would cause things to go astray, unless they kill all the witnesses in the prison, which is not impossible, but they don't have the time.

The prison was unobstructed, and no one came to help. This was because the entire prefectural government office had been stormed in by men in black. Prefect He had been placed under house arrest in the government office by the imperial envoy on the grounds of avoiding suspicion. There was insufficient evidence, so Prefect He was still the prefect, and it was not the imperial envoy's turn to imprison him.

A large number of men in black stormed into the government office. The officials were powerless to resist and quickly marched to the inner office, capturing Prefect He. The leader of the men in black said to Prefect He, "Prefect He, we do not wish to take your life, nor do we wish to harm your wife and children. Please cooperate and come with us."

They did not want to start a massacre, nor did they want the government officials to put up a stubborn resistance and delay their advance, which would attract troops. They wanted to evacuate with Prefect He before the imperial envoy received the news and arrived with his men.

“Madam.” Prefect He grasped Madam He’s wrist, which was holding a sword, and pressed her hand down. “The children are in your care.”

“You can’t go with them…” Mrs. He’s eyes were filled with deep worry.

Prefect He smiled gently at her, reached out to wipe the bloodstains from the back of her hand, patted her hand gently, and winked at his son.

The prefect's son, who trusted his father, stepped forward to stop Madam He. Prefect He calmly took his leave and followed the man in black.

No sooner had they left than the imperial envoy arrived with a large number of guards. After surveying the surroundings, he asked only one question: "Prefect He, did you leave with the thugs voluntarily?"

"Sir, my father was forced..."

The imperial envoy raised his hand, his gaze sharp: "You only need to answer, is Lord He willing?" "...Yes."

"Guards, take all the officials and their families of Prefect He into custody!" The imperial envoy suddenly ordered, ignoring the protests of Prefect He's family, and hurriedly left with his men.

Prefect He and Shang Jinliang were taken to a small fishing village. They were to bring the two men onto the ship alive, and then, once they set sail, sink their bodies into the sea. Only then could the crime of colluding with Prefect He and associating with Japanese pirates be washed away.

The entire Shang and He families will be buried alive with them!
When the imperial envoy arrived at the government office, he quickly sent men to guard several docks. Shi Houqiong was prepared and did not plan to go through the docks. A battle was inevitable, and there were too many unexpected events.

Fishing villages have fishing boats, which allow people to enter rivers and avoid government offices.

The plan went very smoothly. Shang Jinliang was taken to the small fishing village first. Just as they were about to board the boat, a lot of villagers suddenly rushed out of the village. They were dressed in ordinary clothes. At first, the men in black regarded them as local villagers who had been disturbed by them and did not pay them any attention.

When the villagers got close, their fierce moves and strong, powerful arms revealed beneath their thick clothing startled them. By then, it was too late to defend themselves...

Having received word of the situation, another group of people, including Prefect He, immediately changed course and headed to another mooring point. This was a desolate riverbank. The people who had taken Prefect He hostage stood on the shore and blew whistles, and fishing boats slowly emerged from the dense reeds.

Before the fishing boat had even stopped, the man in black eagerly stepped aboard. Just as he turned to help, the boatman behind him, wearing a straw hat and a raincoat, brandished a cold knife.

"careful!"

The warning failed to save his companion's life. Many people rushed out of the reeds, each wielding a weapon, and charged at the man in black without hesitation.

It was destined to be a turbulent night in Huizhou Prefecture.

Outside the mansion, the fighting was equally fierce.

Blood dripped slowly from the blade, striking the soil and seeping into the ground. Shang Mingshu and Chi Wulang had been fighting fiercely for half an hour, and the men on both sides were evenly matched, with each side having its own victories and defeats.

Ike Goro wiped the blood from his wound with his thumb across his cheek. His gaze toward the young girl was no longer one of disdain or contempt. His hand holding the knife even trembled uncontrollably, feeling weak.

He knew Shang Mingshu wouldn't let him go, but he couldn't fall into Shang Mingshu's hands.

With a loud shout, he gripped the knife with both hands and launched an attack. His sword strikes became even more ferocious, displaying a desperate, all-or-nothing fighting style. Shang Mingshu, however, handled the sword with ease, steadily parrying each strike as her wrist strength and body movements shifted.

When Chi Wulang forced Shang Mingshu to turn around and dodge, he reached for his waist and threw five cold lights as Shang Mingshu spun around.

"Ming Shu, be careful, it's poisoned!" Sitting inside the carriage, Zhang Yushuang, whose eyes followed Shang Ming Shu, warned her while throwing out the copper coin she had been holding for a long time.

She didn't have time to block the hidden weapon for Shang Mingshu, so she could only throw the weapon at Chi Wulang, who was trying to escape by feinting to the east while attacking from the west.

With a flicker of her sword, Shang Mingshu deflected all five hidden weapons with a series of clanging sounds. She spun around, plunging her sword into the ground to stop herself, and with her other hand, she drew a flintlock pistol from her waist. Without hesitation, she aimed it at Chi Wulang, who was swatting away Zhang Yushuang's copper coins and preparing to escape.

Ike Goro couldn't dodge in time, and the gun grazed his waist. He froze, and then a second gunshot rang in his ear. He felt a pain in his calf and fell to the ground. When he raised his head, the blade was against his shoulder.

His raised gaze met the cold eyes of Shang Mingshu, whose figure was slender and tall, in the darkness.