Chapter 147 - Taken

Chapter 147: Chapter 141 TakenThe three emissaries widened their eyes and struggled, raising their heads to cry out towards Zhao Hanzhang, but unfortunately their mouths were stuffed, so no matter how hard they tried, they only let out two muffled sounds.

Qiu Wu finished tying the ropes and threw all three people in front of Zhao Hanzhang, "Lady, they’re all tied up. There’s no way they can break free."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded in satisfaction.

County Magistrate Chai tremblingly clung to Chang Ning.

Zhao Hanzhang turned to look at him, seeing him hiding entirely behind Chang Ning, she gave him a gentle smile, "County Lord, don’t be afraid. Rest assured, I won’t kill them."

County Magistrate Chai forced a smile on his face, trying to please, "Third Lady is indeed formidable; as you say, it’s best for you to decide."

Chang Ning said, "Only the dead are truly safe."

Zhao Hanzhang crouched down to face the three, staring into their eyes as she answered Chang Ning, "But I’m still in mourning, so it’s not appropriate to kill. That’s why I decided to take them back to Wu Castle. If they behave, after this mess is over, I’ll let them go. It’s a chance for me, and a chance for them. If they don’t behave..."

Zhao Hanzhang reached out to pat them on the shoulder, smiled slightly, and said, "It won’t be too late to kill them then. I’ll feel better too, so you can choose to run away."

The three emissaries shuddered in unison, shaking their heads repeatedly.

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t care whether they really didn’t want to escape or were just lulling her, and with a wave of her hand, she had them loaded into sacks and carried out, directly thrown onto a cart for transport.

County Magistrate Chai’s lips quivered, unable to speak.

Zhao Hanzhang stepped forward, "County Lord, I’m taking these people from you, so if someone comes from Inspector Mansion..."

"I’ve never seen them," County Magistrate Chai immediately said, "Shangcai County has never seen any emissaries."

Zhao Hanzhang nodded in satisfaction, "Since you’ve never seen any emissaries, then there’s no reason to detain Matou. Why not let him out?"

County Magistrate Chai nodded repeatedly, "I’ll release him, release him, I’ll have someone let him out immediately."

Seeing Zhao Hanzhang still standing there in the courtyard, County Magistrate Chai wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, stepped forward to flatter, "Third Lady, it’s getting late, aren’t you heading to Xiping? I..."

"I’m waiting for Wei Matou and the others."

As soon as County Magistrate Chai heard, he urged Chang Ning quietly, "Hurry up and bring them out."

He was eager to send away this fearsome Zhao Hanzhang; he never imagined that the seemingly gentle and kind Third Sister Zhao would so readily catch emissaries.

Chang Ning didn’t move, instead asked, "Is Third Sister Zhao planning to send Wei Matou back to the horse farm, or somewhere else?"

Zhao Hanzhang replied, "With such a big issue, he can’t go back to the horse ranch now."

County Magistrate Chai was shocked, "You, you plan to kill Wei Matou?"

Zhao Hanzhang: "...It seems the County Lord misunderstands me. Am I such a vicious person?"

"Wei Matou lent me horses to save Xiping County and Shangcai County. He did nothing wrong; why would I kill him?" She sighed, "But with such a big issue, Inspector Mansion will surely send more people to retrieve the horses later. There’s no avoiding it then, it’s better to let Wei Matou leave. As long as everyone at the horse ranch has a unified story, we can shift the blame onto him and resolve it."

Zhao Hanzhang smiled at County Magistrate Chai, "This matter has nothing to do with County Magistrate Chai. The horses at the ranch were sold privately by Wei Matou, and now he’s gone, lost among the vast seas of people, no one can find him, thus no blame can be assigned."

County Magistrate Chai was still somewhat in shock, asking cautiously, "But, but didn’t the Third Lady already buy horses from the horse merchants?"

Zhao Hanzhang sighed, "The key issue is that it’s not enough; I can’t buy two hundred horses."

"Even if it’s a few less, we’ll just repay it slowly later," County Magistrate Chai cautiously asked, "How many are we still short?"

Zhao Hanzhang looked at County Magistrate Chai pretending to be confused, then turned to glance at the calm Chang Ning, sighed, and exposed the façade for County Magistrate Chai, "Still short by about two hundred, I think."

County Magistrate Chai: ...

After a moment of silence, he asked, "Where are you taking Wei Matou and the others?"

Zhao Hanzhang smiled and said, "Rest assured, County Lord, I won’t mistreat them. After all, they were implicated because of me, so I’ll make proper arrangements."

Wei Matou and the others, unaware of anything, were full of joy when they were brought out. Upon seeing Zhao Hanzhang and County Magistrate Chai, they knelt down, gratefully saying, "Thank you County Lord and Third Lady for saving us."

County Magistrate Chai remained silent, instead looking at him with a complex expression, both sympathetic and... conflicted.

Zhao Hanzhang stepped forward to lift them up, "No need to thank. Let’s go, we need to pick up your families."

Wei Matou was puzzled, "Ah? Pick up our families? For what?"

Of course, to go to Xiping together.

Wei Matou and the others remained dazed even when they saw the boundary marker of Xiping County, sitting on the ox cart in a stupor.

Alongside him, a horse official squeezed into the cart, and seeing Shangcai County grow farther and farther away, he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with sadness, burying his head in Wei Matou’s arms, crying bitterly.

Wei Matou hugged his head, unable to contain himself, also bursting into tears.

Zhao Erlang was startled by their crying, hurriedly accelerating his horse to catch up with his sister, "Sister, why are they crying?"

Zhao Hanzhang turned around for a glance, simply stopped her horse, and patted Zhao Erlang on the head, "Go play with Qiu Wu, learn to scout ahead."

She intended to wait for them to finish crying before comforting, but seeing the two becoming more heartbroken, and their families almost crying too, she tapped the ox cart with her whip, "Hey, hey, what are you grown men crying for?"

Men of Great Jin seem to love crying too much.

"Even if you’re crying, keep it quiet. Although there aren’t many travelers on the official road, there are still some. What if you scare someone?"

Their cries halted, then softened, yet they couldn’t help but sob.

Zhao Hanzhang rode beside them to comfort, "Xiping and Shangcai aren’t far apart. After a few years, once the dust settles, you’re welcome to visit home and relatives. Just consider it as working in a new place; what’s there to cry about?"

Wei Matou couldn’t help but whisper, "But we were originally good citizens, and now we’ll be turning into hidden people."

"It’s only temporary," Zhao Hanzhang said, "Once the dust settles, I’ll register you in Xiping County. Rest assured, Xiping County is under the Zhao Family’s domain; my word counts."

"But... but it’s still different. We’ve been establishing ourselves in Shangcai for years, and now we have to start over in Xiping."

"Whatever you had in Shangcai, I’ll ensure you have it in Xiping," Zhao Hanzhang said, "I’ve decided to build a horse ranch in Xiping, with Wei Matou as the head. The three of you will raise horses for me, wages will be the same, and new houses will be built for you. If you prefer not to settle at the ranch, I’ll allocate a courtyard for you in town. As long as you don’t leave Xiping County without permission, I guarantee your peace and safety."

Wei Matou raised his eyes, red and teary, "Really?"