Chapter 98: The Desecrated Ancestral Home

So, Fan Chuan and Shen Lingwei discussed the various matters of the imperial examination with the court officials.

Wei Lan and Lu Zijin, meanwhile, prepared to head south.

 

The night before their departure, Wei Lan was still hugging Lu Zijin and acting spoiled.

“Wife, I wonder what our home looks like now.

Will the courtyards be overgrown with weeds?”

“Probably.

But we’re leaving some servants behind to take care of the ancestral home in Panyang, aren’t we?

A little tidying up will be fine.”

Lu Zijin said with a smile.

She also missed home a bit.

 

It was now summer.

When they had left Panyang, it had been autumn.

It felt like that much time had already passed.

“That’s true.

This time when we go south, we’ll stay in Panyang for a few days, leave servants to care for the ancestral home there, and then continue south to handle His Majesty’s business.”

Wei Lan nuzzled against Lu Zijin as she spoke.

“Mm.

And we’ll settle accounts with Chen Zhou properly.

He’s caused us no end of trouble.”

Lu Zijin’s gaze turned cold.

 

The two went to bed early to rest.

Early the next morning, the carriages were ready.

Wei Lan and the others needed to first meet up with the five thousand soldiers on the outskirts of the capital, and then continue south together.

 

Wei Lan and Lu Zijin boarded the carriage.

Xi Ye took the two dozen accompanying guards, along with thirty servant boys and maidservants, and they all set off together.

 

Soon, they met up with the five thousand Fan family soldiers on the outskirts.

Wei Lan entrusted command of the Fan family soldiers to Hang Shuyao.

Xi Ye and Meng Bai were still primarily responsible for protecting her and Lu Zijin’s safety.

Of course, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin’s carriage was in the middle of the column, and no one dared provoke them.

 

And so, Wei Lan and her group began their journey south.

At that moment, Wei Lan was still a bit sleepy.

She was lying on Lu Zijin’s lap, sleeping soundly.

 

Lu Zijin looked at her little dog’s well-behaved appearance, her eyes curving slightly.

 

***

 

A month later, Wei Lan and the others finally reached the vicinity of Panyang City.

Having a large army enter the city would disturb the people.

So, Wei Lan had the army camp on the outskirts of Panyang City.

She herself took a group of attendants and two hundred Fan family soldiers into the city.

 

Lu Feng, the City Lord, had only received word late the night before that the Prince of Ning and the Grand Princess would be passing through Panyang.

So, early that morning, he had hastily gathered the local officials to go outside the city to welcome them.

Additionally, he had someone prepare his family’s villa and had the kitchen prepare food and drink to entertain Wei Lan and the others.

 

Wei Lan stepped down from the carriage.

They had been really tired on this journey.

She wasn’t in the mood to say much to Lu Feng and the others.

She just wanted to get it over with and go home.

Fortunately, her status was different now; no one would dare stop her from doing anything.

 

As soon as Wei Lan stepped down, Lu Feng and the officials performed the kneeling bow to her.

“Your servants respectfully welcome the Prince of Ning.”

 

Wei Lan nodded to everyone.

“Rise.

This prince’s return to Panyang is merely a stopover.

You all go about your own business.”

“Your Highness, this subordinate has prepared a banquet.

I wonder if Your Highness would honor us with your presence?”

Lu Feng bowed.

“No need for a banquet.

The princess and I are quite tired from the journey.

We will return to our residence.

Please, go about your business.”

After saying this, Wei Lan didn’t wait for them to say anything more.

She re-boarded the carriage and led her people into Panyang City.

 

Lu Feng’s expression was not good.

When Wei Lan and Lu Zijin had left, it had been quite sudden.

Now, when they met again, one was the Defender of the Nation Grand Princess, the other the Prince of Ning – both very noble figures.

A small city lord like him naturally couldn’t aspire to their level.

But he hadn’t expected Wei Lan to be this blunt about it.

 

Wei Lan’s thinking was simple.

She had no particular relationship with Lu Feng when she was in Panyang, so there was no need to get together.

Moreover, their time this trip was very tight, and Wei Lan wasn’t interested in gathering with these people.

 

Soon, the carriages and wagons entered Panyang City.

The citizens of Panyang were also abuzz with discussion.

“Oh my god, look!

Such a grand carriage, protected by soldiers in armor.

Who’s inside?”

“I heard it’s the Prince of Ning and the Grand Princess returning.”

“The Prince of Ning?

Who’s that?”

“You don’t even know the Prince of Ning?

Besides His Majesty and the Empress, the highest-ranking officials in Dazhao are the Prince of Ning and the Grand Princess.

The Prince of Ning is Wei Lan, the one who used to write storybooks.”

“Oh my god, really?

I’ve bought her storybooks before!”

“Really.

She’s a prince now.

You musn’t speak carelessly.”

 

The citizens discussed excitedly, following Wei Lan’s procession and watching the excitement until they reached the Lu residence.

Only then did the crowd stop.

 

But the previously noisy crowd suddenly fell silent.

 

Wei Lan stepped down from the carriage first, then went to help Lu Zijin.

After helping Lu Zijin down, Wei Lan finally looked at the gate of the Lu residence.

But just one look, and her expression changed.

The original gate had holes chipped into it, the walls on either side had been splashed with paint, and the plaque above the gate had been chopped into pieces like rotten wood.

 

Lu Zijin’s expression was even paler.

This was her and Wei Lan’s home.

Now it looked like this.

With the gate breached, surely many thieves had gotten inside.

 

Wei Lan looked at Xi Ye and said, “Surround the Lu residence.

No one, regardless of whether they are inside, is to be let out.”

“Yes.”

Xi Ye immediately had the soldiers approach from both sides, leaving a soldier every few dozen meters to guard.

Especially the several gates of the Lu residence, all were left with soldiers to guard.

 

Wei Lan took a deep breath, took out her own token, and tossed it to a guard nearby.

She said coldly, “Go outside the city and mobilize another five hundred soldiers to come into the city.

Be quick.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The guard accepted the order and immediately rode his horse at full gallop out of the city.

 

Wei Lan had someone bring chairs.

She and Lu Zijin sat on the open space in front of the Lu residence gate.

She continued to instruct, “Go and summon Lu Feng.

This prince wants to see him now.”

“Yes.”

A personal guard immediately went to summon him.

 

Even with lagging news, Panyang City should know her and Lu Zijin’s identities by now.

How had they dared to let the Lu residence fall into such a state?

 

Lu Feng was just complaining with several subordinate officials about Wei Lan’s arrogant behavior.

“City Lord, the Prince of Ning really is taking advantage of favor.

You were once her magistrate, and she doesn’t even give you face.”

“I agree.

Look at her arrogant demeanor.

She might put on airs in the capital, but in Panyang, who doesn’t know she used to be just Lu Zijin’s live-in wife?”

“Yes, exactly.”

 

Lu Feng felt a bit better.

He had actually had a good impression of Wei Lan and the others before.

But at that time, he was the superior, holding the power.

Now that their roles had reversed, he was still a bit displeased.

 

Soon, Wei Lan’s personal guard arrived at the city lord’s office.

“The Prince of Ning orders you to go immediately to the gate of the Lu residence.”

The guard commanded.

 

Lu Feng’s brow furrowed slightly, but he still nodded.

Then, as he thought about it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

He had forgotten something important.

 

A few months ago, there had been chaos in Jiangnan, and Panyang City had also been in turmoil for a few days.

Some bandits had taken advantage of the chaos to plunder homes, but they had been quickly suppressed by Lu Feng and the local garrison.

Of course, some residences had suffered severe losses, such as the Lu residence.

 

But at the time, Lu Feng had resented Lu Zijin and Wei Lan for suddenly leaving Panyang, so he had ignored the damage to the Lu residence.

Plus, his daily administrative duties were heavy, and he had long since forgotten about the Lu residence.

Now, thinking that Wei Lan and Lu Zijin had returned to the Lu residence, he immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

 

Lu Feng wiped his cold sweat, quickly gathered a group of officials and bailiffs, and rushed to the Lu residence.

From a distance, he saw Wei Lan and Lu Zijin sitting on the open space in front of the Lu residence gate.

 

Lu Feng and the others arrived and knelt.

“Your servant Lu Feng, respectfully greets the Prince of Ning, respectfully greets the Grand Princess.”

Lu Feng kept his head down, not daring to look at Wei Lan and Lu Zijin’s expressions.

 

Wei Lan did not tell him to rise.

Instead, she asked directly, “What is the meaning of this?

As far as I know, the rebellions were in Jiangnan.

How did Panyang City also fall into such chaos?

How did the Lu residence end up like this?

How have you been fulfilling your duties as magistrate?”

“Your… your servant has failed in his duties.

When the rebellions broke out in Jiangnan, Panyang City was also in chaos for a while.

It only stabilized later.

The Lu residence must have been vandalized by thieves at that time.”

Lu Feng said, still kneeling.

 

Many onlookers were gathered around.

Lu Feng felt extremely humiliated, especially kneeling in front of a former live-in daughter-in-law.

“Is that so?

Then how is it that all the other wealthy households along the way are fine, and only the Lu residence looks like this?

Or have you simply been neglecting it?”

Wei Lan continued to ask coldly.

“Your… your servant thought the residence had been abandoned.

Forgive my negligence.”

Lu Feng continued.

 

Wei Lan looked at him coldly.

“You were negligent.

I will give you one day.

You will arrest all those who damaged the Lu residence and looted its property.

Of course, you must arrest the guilty ones.

If I find out you arrested innocent people to take the blame, then your Lu family won’t need to remain either.”

“Prince…

Prince of Ning, forgive me.

But one day is simply too short…”

“Get out.

I do not like repeating myself.

If you wish to lose your head right now, you may stay here.”

Wei Lan said coldly.

 

This was clearly Lu Feng deliberately ignoring the Lu residence.

Otherwise, it was impossible that only the Lu residence had suffered severe damage, and that the plaque had been intentionally split in half from the middle, hanging there as if about to fall.

If it were really thieves, they would have been after the goods inside.

Who would climb so high to vandalize a useless plaque?

 

Anyway, Wei Lan could only think of one person who would do such a thing.

 

Hearing this, Lu Feng was terrified and immediately took his people to investigate the case.

He had heard that the grain case in the capital’s outskirts was handled by Wei Lan, and she had not only killed several civil officials but also the highest-ranking of them, the Minister of Revenue of the second rank.

If Wei Lan wanted to crush him now, it would be easier than crushing an ant.

“Quick!

Summon all the constables in the city!

Have them investigate this matter immediately!”

Lu Feng was frantic with anxiety.

One day meant he had to give Wei Lan and the others an answer by tomorrow morning.

Otherwise, it would be hard to say if his head would stay on his shoulders.

 

Immediately, Lu Feng gathered all the servants from the city lord’s office and prepared to search door to door.

 

On the other side, the five hundred soldiers mobilized from outside the city also arrived at the Lu residence gate.

 

Wei Lan said coldly, “Follow me inside to search.

See if there is anyone inside.

Remember, do not damage the items inside.

If you find anyone, tie them all up.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

The soldiers quickly said.

 

Lu Zijin tugged at Wei Lan’s sleeve and said, “I’ll go too.”

“Alright.”

Wei Lan nodded.

 

Wei Lan left a hundred soldiers waiting outside the gate.

She and Lu Zijin took the remaining soldiers and entered the Lu residence.

 

As soon as they entered, Wei Lan and Lu Zijin’s expressions darkened.

The once vibrant courtyard was now dirty and chaotic.

Many pieces of furniture had been dragged out and smashed.

There was even human waste on the main path.

 

Lu Zijin’s face was ashen.

She hadn’t expected the ancestral home to be desecrated like this.

At least they had taken some of the more valuable furniture with them.

But thinking about what remained, Lu Zijin’s heart ached.

 

Wei Lan led the soldiers further inside.

The small front hall, once used by the steward for work and receiving guests, was now a mess.

Many doors and windows had been removed, and the tables and chairs inside were long gone.

 

This place was very close to Jingchen Courtyard.

So, Lu Zijin went with Wei Lan directly to Jingchen Courtyard.

This was the best courtyard on the Lu residence grounds.

 

The group hadn’t walked far when they heard sounds of revelry inside, along with the clatter of dice and dominoes.

As soon as they reached the entrance of the courtyard, they could also smell a strong odor of alcohol.

 

A brawny man inside saw Wei Lan and frowned.

“Who are you?

How dare you come to our brothers’ territory?

Do you know who our boss is?”

 

Wei Lan swept a cold glance over the people inside and beckoned to those behind her.

“Tie up every single person inside.”

“Yes.”

The soldiers rushed in.

The few men who had been gambling were immediately seized by the soldiers in armor.

 

They were so frightened they sobered up immediately, begging for mercy.

“Officers, we haven’t committed any crime!

Don’t arrest us!”

“Officers, we were just playing among friends.

We’re not gambling!

Not gambling!”

“Yes, yes.

We were just playing casually.”

“Less talk.”

The soldiers naturally paid them no attention.

They simply tied the men up tightly with hemp rope.

 

The soldiers knew this was the Grand Princess’s former residence, so they were gentle with the doors and windows.

In contrast, they were hard on the prisoners.

 

Soon, the people inside the rooms were also dragged out.

These men were clearly street thugs, reeking of alcohol.

When dragged out, they still tried to cause drunken trouble.

“Who are you?

Do you know who I am?”

 

That soldier slapped him directly.

The drunkard immediately sobered up.

Seeing the soldiers all around him, he was so frightened he almost wet his pants.

“Officer, what’s going on?

On what authority are you arresting us?”

 

That soldier slapped him again.

The man’s mouth began to bleed, and he immediately stopped asking questions.

He looked around and saw that his brothers had also been tied up, each like a stuffed dumpling.

“Have those thieves dragged out.”

Wei Lan said coldly.

“Yes.”

 

The soldiers quickly went into Jingchen Courtyard and dragged out the several other thugs.

 

Only then did Wei Lan and Lu Zijin walk inside.

As soon as they entered, they saw the courtyard littered with wine bottles and dirty clothes tossed about.

There were also leftover scraps of food, and the place stank.

These people hadn’t even bothered to use the latrine, making the courtyard reek.

 

Wei Lan’s expression was terrifyingly cold.

She had very strong feelings for Jingchen Courtyard.

After she and Lu Zijin had understood each other’s hearts, they had lived together in this small courtyard.

It held many memories of her and Lu Zijin.

 

Wei Lan walked straight to their old bedroom.

She saw that the intricately carved wooden bed had been hacked unevenly with knives.

The tables and chairs were also filthy and chaotic.

The room had a nauseating, strange smell.

The floor was stained with what looked like grease or urine.

Wei Lan nearly vomited.

 

She immediately turned and left the bedroom.

Even though she was a modern person who believed in equality, some people truly deserved to die.

 

After Wei Lan went outside, she walked towards the several kneeling men.

One of them was still muttering something.

Wei Lan kicked him directly in the face.

 

That strong, burly man had his nose broken by Wei Lan’s kick.

Blood immediately flowed.

He rolled on the ground in pain.

“I will ask, and you will answer.

I have a bad temper.

If you don’t want to die, you’d better confess everything honestly.”

 

Wei Lan took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, and asked coldly, “How did you come to occupy this small courtyard of the Lu residence?

And the holes in the gate – did you make them?

And the plaque – did you break it?”

 

The men were clearly terrified by Wei Lan’s kick just now.

At that moment, none of them dared to speak.

 

Wei Lan looked at them coldly.

She smiled and said, “Very well.

You don’t take me seriously.

Take the one on the far left and execute him.

Right now.”

 

As soon as Wei Lan finished speaking, soldiers immediately went to pin that man down.

 

Only then did the man react, quickly saying, “Sir, spare me!

Sir, spare me!

I’ll talk, I’ll talk!”

“Too late.”

Wei Lan said coldly.

 

Seeing Wei Lan’s stern expression and that she said nothing more, the soldiers directly drew their swords and cut off the man’s head.

 

The head rolled to the ground.

The remaining men were so terrified they wept and cried, some even wetting their pants.

“Will you talk?”

Wei Lan asked calmly.

Her tone gave no hint of her mood.

 

Those men quickly nodded, shaking.

Even the city lord wouldn’t directly kill people.

These men knew very well that the person before them was someone they could not afford to offend.

After all, she could command this many soldiers.

“Yes, yes.

I’ll talk!

Sir, spare me!

The holes in the gate weren’t made by us.

The plaque wasn’t broken by us either.

We don’t know who did it.

We are all thugs from Panyang City.

We had no fixed abode.

Later, we heard that the Lu residence had a lot of space and was now abandoned and unattended.

Some thugs had already moved in, so we followed suit, wanting to also seize a courtyard to live in.”

The man was sweating profusely from fear, but his speech was still fairly smooth.

 

He caught his breath and continued, “I’m telling the truth.

The Lu residence is very large, and many courtyards have been occupied.

We’ve lived here for this long, and the authorities have never intervened.

So, we thought it was an abandoned property.

That’s why we moved in.

Sir, everything I’ve said is true!

Don’t kill me!

I beg you, don’t kill me!”

 

Wei Lan smiled and asked, “Who told you this news?”

“Just… just thugs on the street.

We didn’t know their names either.”

The man quickly said.

 

Wei Lan looked up at Xi Ye.

“Leave a few men to watch them.

If anyone misbehaves, execute them immediately.

No need to ask me.”

“Yes.”

Xi Ye quickly left several soldiers to watch the group.

 

Those men, hearing Wei Lan’s words, trembled.

 

Wei Lan and Lu Zijin continued with their people further into the Lu residence.

The further in they went, the more dilapidated the courtyards became.

The original rockeries and stone landscapes had been destroyed by these thieves.

The courtyards were littered with trash and human waste.

 

Soon, Wei Lan and the others reached a second courtyard.

Inside was another group of thugs, playing and cavorting with several male Kunzes.

The scent of pheromones was extremely unpleasant.

 

Lu Zijin frowned and walked a bit further away.

Wei Lan continued to have people go in and make arrests.

The thugs who were inside engaged in depravity hadn’t expected anyone to suddenly burst in.

They tried to say something but were already pinned down and tied up by soldiers.

“What are you doing, arresting us?”

“Yes, we haven’t done anything wrong lately!

On what authority are you arresting us?”

 

The soldiers beat them soundly, and they immediately shut up.

 

When these several people were dragged out, many were still disheveled.

 

The lead brawny man saw Lu Zijin, and his expression immediately became lecherous.

He was not behaving and kept struggling.

 

Wei Lan pointed at that man and said calmly, “Execute him.”

 

Her expression was very calm when she said these two words.

The man didn’t even have time to react before being pinned down by the soldiers.

 

Seeing someone draw a sword on him, he finally panicked.

“What are you doing?

I am an innocent citizen!

I am an innocent citizen…”

 

But as soon as he finished speaking, his head flew off.

This time, the group immediately behaved, not daring to speak.

 

Wei Lan said coldly, “I will ask, and you will answer.

If you don’t answer, you will be like him.

Understand?”

“Yes, yes.

Sir, spare me!”

“Sir, spare us!”

 

Several grown men cried out to Wei Lan.

Wei Lan suddenly didn’t want to ask anymore.

“If you dare shout again, you will all be executed.”

“Sir, spare me!

Sir, spare us!”

 

A few men didn’t catch on and kept shouting.

Those soldiers were now clear about Wei Lan’s unyielding temper.

They immediately dragged those three men out and executed them.

 

The remaining seven men trembled like sieves, not daring to utter a single word.

“Was it you who damaged the main gate?

Oh, and the plaque?

If you confess honestly, perhaps I will be in a good mood and spare your lives.

If you have a mastermind behind you, even better.

Tell me who it is, and this matter won’t be so much your fault anymore.”

Wei Lan’s voice was not loud, but the seven men heard her very clearly.

“Sir, it was us who did those things.

But we were also acting on Chen Zhou’s orders!

He gave each of us fifty taels of silver and told us to chip big holes in all the gates of the Lu residence.

He specifically instructed us to smash the plaque.

He said the Lu residence was abandoned and that no one would come after us.

After we did this, we hid out on the outskirts for a while.

When we came back, we saw that, sure enough, no one had come after us.

Even other thugs had moved in.

So, we decided to seize a courtyard to live in as well.

Sir, it was Chen Zhou!

He made us do it!”

“Yes, yes!

Also, Chen Zhou told us to spread rumors on the streets.

He told us to tell everyone that the Lu residence was abandoned and that it had a lot of space, that people could go in and take it for themselves.”

Another man added, stuttering, afraid that if he spoke too late, he would be executed along with them.

“Yes, sir.

What they said is true.

Chen Zhou really ordered us to do it!

Otherwise, we had no grudge against the Lu family.

We might have just come in to steal some things.

We wouldn’t have bothered smashing that plaque.”

 

Wei Lan nodded.

“Good.

You’ve spoken well.

When the time comes, just tell the truth.

I won’t kill you now.

There’s no need to be afraid.

Every debt has its debtor.

Naturally, I will find this Chen Zhou you mentioned and get a proper understanding of the situation.”

“Yes, sir.

Your Honor is wise!

Your Honor is wise!”

The seven men kowtowed to Wei Lan.

 

Wei Lan signaled to Xi Ye.

Xi Ye left several soldiers to take these people to the open space outside Jingchen Courtyard, to be held together with the first group of captives.

 

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