Shi An immediately led his men towards the direction where the horses had rushed out.
The lackey of Lord Zhang had just completed his master's order. He was happily about to lead his men back to report, fantasizing that his master might praise him for a job well - done and reward him with some nice things. But the next second, he was kicked flying.
Shi An was furious. His precious younger sister had been tied up by these people. Fortunately, he had not come too late. Otherwise, even if he razed this place to the ground, he could not quench the anger in his heart.
"Damn it! Who the hell are you! How dare you attack me? Do you know who is backing me?"
The man wiped his face. "Aaaah! Blood! I'm bleeding! Damn it! All of you, attack! Attack and kill him for me!" he screeched. But he found that no one moved. Angrily, he stood up and saw that the man who had injured him was wearing a suit of armor, and there were a group of similarly armored men behind him.
Oh no, they were soldiers.
"O - officer... Your Honor, it's this lowly civilian who is blind. I failed to recognize Your Honor. I have a foul mouth. Your Honor is magnanimous. Please spare me this time!" Saying that, the man knelt down.
"Please, for the sake of me being Lord Zhang's man, let me go back, okay?"
People from small places were inexperienced and ill - educated. They didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth. Thinking that Lord Zhang's name was powerful, they even dared to beg for mercy with a smile. It was already lucky for this man that Shi An didn't chop off his head with a single blade.
Shi An kicked the man again, making him spit out blood. "Come, arrest all these people and find out who is so bold!"
"Yes, General." A soldier stepped forward to seize the man. When the man heard the word "General", his eyes rolled back and he fainted. The soldier ignored him and just dragged him away.
Shi Muwǎn's mouth was gagged and she kept making muffled sounds. Shi An was afraid of hurting his sister, so he gently untied the hemp rope and pulled out the rough handkerchief, throwing it on the ground. "Wǎn'er, you've suffered. Big brother will take you home now."
Shi Muwǎn hadn't cried yet, but she felt that her handsome big brother looked like he was about to cry.
"Big brother, don't blame yourself. Look, I'm fine now!" Shi Muwǎn comforted him.
"Fine? Look at all the injuries on you. You were almost abducted." At this, Shi An felt a surge of nameless anger in his chest. He wished he could drag those people over and beat them severely.
"Where is Huo Qizhou?"
"Oh yes, big brother, go and save him quickly. Another group of assassins attacked us. When I fell into the water, he was still surrounded by a group of assassins. He's in great danger." Shi Muwǎn was anxious.
"Him? Humph, Wǎn'er, don't worry about him. He won't die. But he let you get into trouble twice. Who knows if he did it on purpose to harm you."
Shi An was so angry that he seemed to be blowing his beard and glaring, but unfortunately he didn't have a beard. It was quite funny for such a handsome face to make such an expression.
Hearing what he said, Shi Muwǎn also thought of Huo Qizhou's calm look before she fell into the water and his teasing words. She felt relieved.
"He's not such a person. He's saved me twice!"
Shi Muwǎn remembered how he had carried her and spun down from the city wall, and how he had held her in his arms to keep her warm on the night she had a fever. Her face flushed.
Seeing her strange expression, Shi An asked worriedly, "Wǎn'er, are you feeling unwell?"
Shi Muwǎn shook her head. "No, no. I was just thinking... uh, thinking about what just happened. Big brother, you also heard just now. This Lord Zhang is so despicable. I'm worried about the girls who were abducted by him like me."
Shi An resumed his usual serious look when handling official affairs. "Under the feet of the Son of Heaven, there is actually such a nest of vermin. Naturally, we can't let them go. You go back first and take good care of yourself. I'll handle this matter myself."
"But I'm the Empress Dowager after all. I want to stay."
"What can you do by staying? This matter is not something I can handle alone. I have to go back and report first."
Shi Muwǎn frowned her delicate eyebrows. "No. It will take a long time to go back and forth. How can these poor girls wait? And what's there to report! I'm the Empress Dowager. Doesn't my word count?"
Shi An looked hesitant.
"I was attacked here. What's wrong with waiting for the result? Who dares to say anything?" Shi Muwǎn guessed that he was afraid that someone in the court would use this as an excuse.
Finally, Shi An nodded. He sent a messenger to the palace and then led his men in a grand manner towards Qingshui County.
...
In Lord Zhang's room in the Zhang Mansion, there came the continuous and miserable screams of a man. The people in the Zhang Mansion were already used to it. They just lowered their heads and quickened their steps away from that room.
The room smelled of a strange mixture of a strange odor and the stench of blood. The naked girl who had been on the bed before was now thrown on the cold floor, lifeless.
Lord Zhang, a fat man, stood by the bed, holding a short whip with barbs. There was still blood and a little bit of flesh on the barbs.
On the bed lay the servant who had just delivered the message.
At this moment, the servant was covered in blood and his breathing was weak.
He had clearly sent people to find the person quickly. Why hadn't they come yet? Was he really going to die this time?
Lord Zhang had indeed made a fortune early on, but after that, he lost his manhood. His pent - up frustration had developed into such a strange fetish, and he had harmed many women.
Later, he found that men could endure longer than women, so he didn't care whether it was men or women. Although the screams of women made him feel more comfortable, he would also occasionally target handsome young men.
Seeing that his once - capable servant was about to die, Lord Zhang lost interest. He threw the whip away and sat down at the round table in the room to pour himself a cup of tea.
The servant was finally liberated. Tears mixed with blood flowed down his face. Was he going to die? He had helped this bastard do so many evil things in the past. Was this finally his retribution?
The servant was not convinced. He had originally been picked up by Lord Zhang from a beggar's den. At that time, Lord Zhang had not been so bold. It was he who, in order to save his own life, had come up with strategies for Lord Zhang and helped him reach where he was today.
He had thought that after getting out of the beggar's den, he would no longer have to fight for moldy buns every day. How ridiculous.
Slowly, the servant lost his breath. When Lord Zhang noticed, he just frowned slightly, then threw the body off the bed, tore off the blood - stained quilt, and lay down.
Outside, the people in Qingshui County were terrified by Shi An's army. Madam Qiu immediately spotted Shi Muwǎn who was being protected in the middle.
So she was a noble person. Fortunately, she had helped her. Maybe Qingshui County would finally be a cleaner place.
Madam Qiu looked up at the blue sky. For the first time, she felt that there were so few clouds.
She drove away the onlookers at her stall and started to pack up her things to close the stall. It seemed that she couldn't do business in this situation. She'd better go back early and watch the show.