Chapter 51 - A Desire to Escape (1/2)

“Young Master, someone is looking for you. He seems to be in a hurry.” A servant hurried in from outside.

Ling Zhang handed over the order with the shopkeeper of Jiang’s Herbs, then sent him away. This was the first time that Ling Zhang had dealt with such a transaction so formally. Unfamiliar to so many details, he was so busy that he didn’t even have time to drink water. It was not until noon that he finished all the work. As soon as he was preparing to sit down and have a rest, someone came in to find him.

“What happened?” Ling Zhang asked the man who came from the Ling Family.

“Old Master asks you and the second master to go back home soon, because we have a respected guest,” the man replied.

Ling Zhang was confused. Why was grandfather in such a hurry to get him back?

“When did the guest come?” Ling Zhang asked.

The man answered, “I set out at dawn. Before I left, Old Master and the Second Master were waiting at the gate for the arrival of the distinguished guests.”

So early. What kind of guest would visit before dawn?He was specially told to go home. If he left now, it must be evening when he got home…He couldn’t believe that the guest would stay overnight.

So the guest must have come from other places. Ling Zhang didn’t know why he was a little panicked. He remembered, at an inopportune moment, the dream he had in the early hours of this morning…

“Okay. Wait a moment. I will pack up and take Maomao home.”

They had packed their luggage and were about to get into the carriage. At the same time, Zhou Quanfu, the manager of the Herb Farm, suddenly ran over, panting, “Young Master, bad news!”

Ling Zhang stopped and looked at Zhou Quanfu, “What happened?”Zhou Quanfu was a thoughtful and careful person who had been in charge of the Herb Farm for a long time. He was experienced in all kinds of emergencies, therefore unlikely to lose his cool before ordinary matters.

Ling Zhang had a sense of foreboding at this moment.

“Several farmers are detained by the Prefecture Guard,” Zhou Quanfu said.

A dark look formed on Ling Zhang’s face. He said, “When were they detained? And why would the Prefecture Guard do that?”

“It happened Just now. There is a pool in the forest to the west of the Herb Farm. Usually our farmers will go to that pool to get the water for the herbs. On the other side of the forest is the encampment of the Prefecture Guard. The herb farmers and the Guards has been at peace for a long time, but today the patrols suddenly showed up, accused farmers of trespa.s.sing into their encampment, and arrested the herb farmers back to the encampment for punishment,” Zhou Quanfu said.

Ling Zhang frowned. Zhang Chong’s request for the Court’s permission to expand his encampment of the Prefecture Guard had not yet been delivered to the Capital. Why claiming the land in such a haste? Besides, that forest did not belong to the encampment of the Prefecture Guard at all, why would they detain the farmers?

“Where are the farmers?” Ling Zhang asked.

“They’ve just been taken away. The farmers are on foot, so they won’t get to the encampment too soon.”

Ling Zhang looked at the servant who came to get him home. “Something urgent happened here. So I can’t go back home right now. Please tell my grandfather and my uncle about it.”

The man was in a dilemma because his task was to take Ling Zhang back. But now there was an emergency at the Herb Farm, so he hesitated for a moment and then nodded. “I will go back soon, Young Master.”

After that, the man galloped back to Tanyang City.

Ling Zhang watched the man left, coldness glistening in his eyes.

‘If he rides fast enough, he can get back to Tanyang in less than two hours. And it may take him another hour to travel from Tanyang to the encampment. It is obviously too late.’

The farmers were arrested when Ling Zhang took over the Herb Farm. It was obvious that their target was Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang calmed down when he thought about this. He told himself that he couldn’t act on impulse.

The best solution was to rescue the herb farmers before they were taken into the encampment.

A bright idea suddenly occurred in his mind as he looked at the direction of the encampment. He said to Zhou Quanfu, “The people of Jiang’s Herbs set out only moments ago, and their carriages are loaded with herbs, so they won’t go too far. Manager Zhou, send someone to catch up with them and stop them. And tell them that we have something important to ask them for help.”

“Young Master, you mean to…”

“The forest doesn’t belong to the encampment of the Prefecture Guards yet. Their purpose is to lure me into a trap. They thought that once I entered their encampment, they could put any charge on me. We must save the farmers before they were taken into the encampment. They are unjustified in this matter, so they certainly don’t hope it to be revealed. Therefore, we need the shopkeeper of the Jiang’s Herbs to do us a favor at this time.”

Zhou Quanfu’s eyes brightened, “Got it. I will do that right away.”

Ling Zhang summoned the twelve guards and said to them, “Five of you stay to take care of Maomao, the rest of you come with me.”

“Yes, Young Master.” They obeyed the order quickly and efficiently to divide themselves into two groups.

Their performance really surprised Ling Zhang. It seemed that firing the nine guards was with its rewards.

Ling Maomao didn’t want to be left at the village. He took Ling Zhang’s hand and said, “Big brother, take me with you.”

Ling Zhang didn’t indulge Maomao this time. He said seriously, “No, you should stay here and don’t run around.”

Ling Maomao was clever boy who knew how to behave by the expression of his brother. So when he saw his brother’s serious face, he knew he couldn’t be willful anymore. He let go of Ling Zhang’s hand and said in an aggrieved tone, “Okay, you must come back soon.”