“Bloodstains found?”
Liu Zhang coldly swept his gaze over Li Ping'an and Huang Jinye, then led his men towards the forest.
Li Ping'an naturally knew about the bloodstains in the forest; it was too dark last night to deal with them, and they weren't worth dealing with anyway.
“In any case, I am a farmer.”
The reputation of being a useless good-for-nothing had long been solidified, deeply ingrained in the hearts of everyone in Tiankui City.
Even if he personally admitted to killing them, few would believe him.
Huang Jinye arranged for five guards to follow Liu Zhang and his men, while he led the others to guard the farmland.
Li Ping'an didn't say much.
In any case, for now, having Huang Jinye and his men here was a good thing.
After all, Liu Zhang had brought too many people, and it would be unrealistic to take them all down in an instant.
Huang Jinye spoke, “Young Master, before we arrived, they didn't bully you, did they?”
“No,” Li Ping'an said with a smile, “Thanks to your timely arrival, otherwise my cornfield would have been ruined.”
Huang Jinye said, “When I go back, I will report this matter to the City Lord, and then arrange for some people to come and help you.”
Li Ping'an shook his head, refusing, “There's no need for that. It's just a cornfield. We can't let the City Lord become the subject of gossip.”
During their conversation,
Liu Zhang's men found four corpses, brought them back, and arrived at Da Huai Village's cornfield.
“Commander Huang, look, these four are our Zhang Family's guards, and they're all dead.”
“As guards of Tiankui City, it seems the area outside the city isn't very peaceful.”
Huang Jinye glanced at the corpses.
Just as he was about to speak, Li Ping'an interjected, “Steward Liu, this is a good thing!”
“They stole some of the Zhang Family's valuables and ran away. Heaven truly has eyes to help your Zhang Family. You should be laughing with joy!”
Liu Zhang was filled with anger and spoke with a forced smile, “Yes, it is indeed a good thing.”
“Although they deserved to die, the murderer has not been found yet.”
Then,
He turned his gaze to Huang Jinye and said, “Commander Huang, shouldn't you take these bodies back for investigation?”
Huang Jinye chuckled, “I'm sorry, this Commander is not responsible for such matters.”
“Let's go.” Liu Zhang waved his hand, leading the bodies back to Tiankui City.
Huang Jinye did not linger either. He arranged for ten men to guard the farmland here and led the others away on horseback.
Li Ping'an looked at the guards and said, “Brothers, it's too hot, and you are busy with official duties. You should all go back.”
Someone said, “Commander Huang gave the order; we cannot disobey. Young Master, please do as you please and don't mind us.”
“Alright.” Li Ping'an said nothing more.
In any case,
The next step was to wait for the corn to ripen, so there was no need to water it with the Rain Summoning Technique. Having them there could save a lot of trouble.
After all, Liu Zhang and his men had found the bodies and the bloodstains in the forest.
To anyone, the first impression would naturally lead them to suspect him, not to mention that the Zhang Family members must have known that these people died because they were trying to deal with him.
Tiankui City.
Zhang Family Mansion.
Looking at the four corpses and hearing the news Liu Zhang brought back,
Zhang Jinhu immediately affirmed, “It must be An Ruoyi! There's absolutely no mistake!”
Liu Zhang asked, “How does the Family Head plan to proceed?”
Zhang Jinhu's eyes were cold, “She dared to kill my son, so I will make her pay with her life!”
Liu Zhang mused, “The current problem is that An Ruoyi hasn't shown herself, and Li Ping'an still has many City Lord's Mansion guards by his side.”
“If Young Master truly died by An Ruoyi's hand, then An Lan will surely send more guards to Li Ping'an, making it difficult for us to find an opportunity to act.”
Zhang Jinhu was silent for a moment, then said, “Arrange for some people to bury them. Later, I will write a letter, and you must find every possible way to deliver it to Crown Prince Yan Beixuan.”
“This…” Liu Zhang pondered, finding it a bit difficult.
Crown Prince Yan Beixuan was not someone a mere old steward from a small Family could meet.
Zhang Jinhu said, “You don't need to worry. Before, rumors were rampant in the East Border, saying that Li Changfeng was intentionally killed by the Crown Prince and the Imperial Advisor.”
“They are both very sensitive about this matter. You just need to inform them about Li Ping'an and his relationship with An Lan, and the Crown Prince will surely take action.”
Liu Zhang nodded.
As an old steward, he had no choice, but he had other plans.
The Crown Prince was difficult to meet, and one couldn't meet him with mere rumors. Otherwise, he might just turn around and strike, leading to an instant death...
City Lord's Mansion.
After An Lan heard Huang Jinye recount the events at Da Huai Village, he couldn't help but frown.
“Bloodstains were found near Da Huai Village, and their bodies were found not too far away. The Zhang Family might very well suspect Ping'an because of this.”
Huang Jinye said, “They did suspect him. Liu Zhang even tried to lead his men into the cornfield to search, but I stopped him.”
At this moment,
Another guard entered, “City Lord, I have found what you asked me to investigate.”
“Before, when Young Master Li was returning to the city after farming outside, he was once held outside the city by Zhang Tiepeng. Later, Zhang Shulin and Zhang Sangou left the city overnight. Although it's unknown what they were doing, it was Zhang Tiepeng who opened the city gate.”
“Furthermore, before Zhang Tiepeng died, he had stopped Young Master Li at the city gate and asked if he had seen Zhang Sangou and the other man.”
“Young Master Li replied that he had seen them, and he had even killed them.”
Huang Jinye said, “That's unlikely. It's probably just Young Master deliberately trying to provoke him.”
Not long after,
Another person arrived, “City Lord, we heard from the Zhang Family that Zhang Jinhu believes the Young Miss was responsible for Zhang Tiepeng's death!”
An Lan immediately frowned, “Damn it, is that idiot brainless?”
The person continued, “We also heard that Zhang Sangou and Zhang Shulin were instructed by Zhang Tiepeng to go out of the city to destroy Young Master's farmland, and they had already destroyed it once.”
“The four people who died recently were also arranged by Zhang Jinhu to go to the farmland to cause trouble, hoping to force the Young Miss out.”
At this point,
His words paused slightly, and he glanced at Huang Jinye.
An Lan said, “Speak freely. Commander Huang is a soldier I brought up.”
The person said, “Zhang Jinhu wants to kill the Young Miss, but he has no opportunity. He wrote a letter and had Liu Zhang take it to the East Border to find the Crown Prince.”
At this point,
He took out a letter and handed it to An Lan, “This is that letter. Liu Zhang personally delivered it.”
“He decided to leave the Zhang Family and Tiankui City for a period of time, exchanging this letter for the City Lord's protection of his Family's safety.”
An Lan took the letter.
After reading it, his gaze gradually turned cold, “This City Lord has always acted with a sense of justice, knowing the difficulties of the common people, and never bullying others by relying on power.”
“But you all treat this City Lord like mud to be molded, wanting to kill my daughter and Young Master, and even trying to put me to death. This is going too far.”
“It's time to let you know that I fought my way out of the battlefield!”
He looked at the two people and said, “You've worked hard these past few days. Go down and rest.”
“Yes.” The two nodded and turned to leave.
An Lan looked at Huang Jinye and asked, “Who is on duty at the South City Gate tomorrow?”
Huang Jinye said, “Chen Rui.”
An Lan said, “Inform him to be a bit more relaxed when guarding the gate tomorrow.”
“Also, go to Ma Family Village again and tell our brothers to all enter the city tomorrow and slaughter Zhang Jinhu…”