Jun Jiuling

They're here.

Hearing Old Lady Fang's words, Fang Yuxiu's hand gripped the back of the chair, and her heart constricted. She stared, wide-eyed, outside. ｂｅｄ𝚗ｏ𝚟𝚎𝚕.𝚌𝚘ｍ

Was it good news or bad news?

Was he alive or dead?

"Red! Red!" cried Old Lady Fang. "Nineteen years, nineteen years."

She was pressed against the window, shouting what sounded like incoherent and completely unrelated words.

But Fang Yuxiu understood.

Nineteen years, they had waited so many times for news of their loved ones.

Waited for the news of Grandfather losing his life.

Waited for news of Father losing his life.

Waiting for the news of Little Brother losing his life.

The piles of <anno data-annotation-id="cb7cba0c-2322-5956-60f5-476be76e8f10">white cloth</anno> at home were already gathered, since everyone believed that they would not see the red of hope.

Now, what they waited for was here. Finally, there was a change.

"Finally, they're here," she murmured, and she, who was always calm, exposing neither joy nor anger, could no longer suppress her tears.

To be honest, she was really scared when she accompanied Grandmother. She really was not brave enough to come. She did not know what she would do if she heard news of death.

In this, she truly was inferior to Grandmother.

Grandmother not only waited in person, but also dared to have the report told to her directly. No guessing, no asking, no buffers, no euphemisms. Red or white, alive or dead, she dared to look at it, dared to receive the news.

The tears blurred her vision, and the red flag waving behind the two galloping horses on the main road blurred into a ball fire.

More and more horses and carriages appeared on the road, galloping through the street, headed straight for the county office.

The people on horses were obviously bailiffs, and the other pedestrians did not dare to tarry them on their official business, so they all moved out the way to see the men on horseback go straight to the county office.

Because no local person served as the county magistrate, the magistrate did not have a personal residence in the area. Behind the government office was an inner residence that housed his family.

The inner residence of Yangcheng County government office was very exquisite, and it also had a rear garden.

At this time, County Magistrate Li was spending the summer in the garden, admiring the lotuses, and cooking tea. He felt very comfortable.

Next to him, a scribe fanned him with a broad smile across his face.

"<anno data-annotation-id="9b6ff052-9a80-8538-602c-19a0faadcd02">Thousands of plans</anno>, but they still have to go through White Crane Ridge,This is from a saying, man may have a thousand plans, but all are inferior to just one plan of Heaven he said.

"The preparations were very thorough, again and again. The Fang Family this time was very well prepared. I don't know what sort of fate was at work, but the Jinyiwei got involved, so our people were tied at the hands and feet," said County Magistrate Li as he sat in a rocking chair with his eyes closed. "So do not look down on them. The grasshopper can still continue hopping. Look at how high they hopped this time. A person who is about to die can still survive, and make our plan ten years in the making collapse."

"Even if they hop higher, they are still i.e. grasshoppers die in the winter. so they'll only "hop" for a few days.<anno data-annotation-id="2c195349-2d7f-d480-2741-eb960994f8cb">grasshoppers after fall</anno>," said the scribe with a smile. "This time we had prepared very thoroughly. First we had the skirmishers, and then we had the real soldiers. Even if they could escape the skirmishers' attack, there's no doubt about them losing to the real officers."

County Magistrate Li opened his eyes and sighed.

"It really is quite sad," he said. "At the moment of despair, they catch sight of rescuing soldiers as if descending from heaven and experience such joy, but in the end…"

He waved his hand, making a chopping neck motion and the appropriate sound effect.

"It must be such a very sorrowful and painful feeling," he said.

The scribe shook his head.

"Not necessarily," he said.

He actually dared to disagree? This scribe was a very straightforward person.

"Wang Jiang and his men move quick. Perhaps they cut them down so fast they didn't have a chance to feel joy," the scribe explained.

County Magistrate Li looked at him, and they exchanged glances before laughing simultaneously.

The scribe respectfully handed over the tea. County Magistrate Li accepted and pleasantly reclined back.

"This time, the Fang Family will completely withdraw from De Sheng Chang," he said.

The scribe was also pleased.

"It wasn't easy for Lord to reach this day. You could say, it took you a whole lifetime of effort," he said.

County Magistrate Li shook his head.

"It's not quite right to say that. It didn't take much effort to do anything." He knocked on his knees. "This glory, spendor, wealth, and rank is to be enjoyed for a lifetime, so naturally it was not easy to obtain. I spent ten years studying hard, then was an official for half my life. I schemed for twenty years for wealth for my grandchildren and their descendants. It wasn't all that much trouble. I think Old Heavenly Father is very fair."

"Lord is not arrogant nor impatient, but as tenacious as a pine tree. How admirable," the scribe praised earnestly.

After he finished his compliments, they heard the sound of footsteps outside.

"Lord, lord, it's not good."

County Magistrate Li scowled and looked over to see a bailiff almost rolling in as he fell to his knees with a thud.

"Not good, Lord Wang, lost," he shouted, his expression fearful as he pointed outside.

What?

County Magistrate Li was incredulous, and the scribe was also stunned.

"How is that possible?" they shouted in unison.

Even if the Fang Family had numerous escorts, they couldn't resist an ambush of more than one hundred people. What was more, they had been observed in the hallway. They knew clearly the number of guards the Fang Family had brought.

They had nearly two hundred people to deal with not even a hundred people. It was government officials versus regular citizens, and they had both obvious and hidden measures prepared.

How could they lose?

How did they lose?

And when did they lose?

"When did they lose? How did you lose? And Sixth Wang? Why wasn't there any word?" County Magistrate Li asked, choked for words.

The expression of the person who came was distorted.

"I don't know. No news came. I couldn't wait anymore and went to ask, then I found out that something happened to Lord Wang," he said.

No news, nothing could be transmitted.

They had prepared so thoroughly, so why did their plans seem like paper, broken by a single poke?

County Magistrate Li and the scribe were pale.

There was something not right from the start.

When did it become like this?

County Magistrate Li's mind was in turmoil.

"Was the Fang Family actually so powerful?" the scribe said, trembling.

Of course, the Fang Family was very powerful. Otherwise, why did he plan for such a long time and so secretly that he would use a blunt knife to cut the meat and use a curse to mask the whole affair.

If it was not to avoid being discovered by the Fang Family, who would bite them like an agitated rabbit.

This rabbit the Fang Family would not bite lightly, enough to waste all their previous efforts.

Song Yunping was already out, so how could there be a problem?

How could there be a problem, with them always watching, monitoring? There wasn't an issue at all.

The only unexpected occurrence was that young lady having such exceptional medical skills.

And that wasn't really a problem.

Even superb medical skills could not save a dead man.

"Lord, what do we do?" the scribe asked in a shaking voice.

County Magistrate Li was no longer pleased. He dropped his tea cup on the floor.

Regardless of what problems popped out in the middle, the fact was that they had lost.

"Sixth Wang will not give us away, right?" said the scribe. "Perhaps because of late Master Fang, Fang Family was guarding very closely, so Sixth Wang fell out of luck?"

This was possible.

But right now, they had no news of what happened.

They had to hope for the best and plan for the worst.

County Magistrate Li ground his teeth together.

"Since they are preparing to search and seize Wang Jiang, then we should prepare to search and seize the Fang Residence," he said.

Search and seize Fang Residence!

"Lord, for what reason?" asked the scribe unthinkingly.

Right now they were operating in the light of day. Mobilizing the bailiffs to go raid a rich family was no laughing matter.

County Magistrate Li kicked him away.

"What reason do you want! Do I need a reason to kill her?" he said. "Jurchen spy, kill if she resists."

Even a powerful tiger wasn't threatening if it was dead. Although in doing this he could lose his life and waste all his previous efforts, there was still hope.

Now, they were just tearing into one another. The scribe jumped up to receive the order, but before he could even steady himself, someone else stumbled in.

"Lord, lord, it's not good." He was a stranger and looked shocked. "The county office is surrounded by soldiers."

Soldiers? They surrounded the county office?

So fast.

County Magistrate Li only had time for this thought before he heard hundreds of shouts outside, accompanied by the sound of heavy objects falling.

The ground was shaking, and the county office doors were soon knocked down.

"Under orders of Shanxi Road envoy, Lord of the Taiyuan government office, we arrest Jurchen spy Li Changhong. Kill if he resists."

The shouts were overwhelming.

'Why did they use this reason? It really was so loathsome,' thought County Magistrate Li. The next moment, he was thrown to the ground by wolf- and tiger-like soldiers.

Before his eyes, the Heaven crumbled, just like his fortune.

Fate is ever changing.

<annotations style="display: none;"><li>Funerals are typically associated with white. The dead person wears white. Funeral flowers are white. The invitations are white. More joyful celebrations, like weddings, are associated with red. Wedding invitations are red, and the bride and groom wear red.</li><li>This is possibly from a saying: man may have a thousand plans, but all are inferior to just one plan of Heaven</li><li>i.e. grasshoppers die in the winter, so they'll only "hop" for a few days.</li></annotations>