A Clash of Gods - Chapter 92

Chapter 92 A Letter
Qi Cheng was a tall and strong guy, less than forty years old, looking plain. Yang Ning stated casually, “Steward Qi, you have a good sense of hearing and could hear what I said when you were outside.”

Qi Cheng replied respectfully, “I manage many affairs in the house and should have sharp ears. If I neglect something and can’t deal with it properly, I will disappoint Marquis of Honor.”

“Get up first.” Yang Ning withdrew the Cold Blade near Zhao Yuan’s throat and asked after Qi Cheng got up, “You said I was wrong. Why?”

Qi Cheng looked at Yang Ning and responded, “Your Excellency, you said there was nothing wrong in the accounts Mr. Zhao did, so you doubt that the third lady’s disappearance has something to do with him. You are certainly wrong.”

Yang Ning expressed, “You have sharp ears and a clear head indeed. Isn’t this something wrong?”

Qi Cheng answered seriously, “Of course not. I employed Mr. Zhao because he is quick-minded and capable of dealing with the accounts. Although there are many accounts in the Qi family, Mr. Zhao made preparations from the beginning, and the income of each village and the farmland as well as the outgoing every year were clear in the first place. When all the accounts come together, as long as he is cautious, there wouldn’t be anything wrong. It is like building a house. As long as the foundation is built well, the house would be finished with no big flaws.”

Seeing that Qi Cheng was eloquent and different from his plain appearance, Yang Ning laughed. “So this Mr. Zhao is a man of great talent?”

Qi Cheng stated solemnly, “At least the accounts in the house can’t baffle Mr. Zhao. He works hard these years and helps me manage the house. Even if he doesn’t have performed meritorious deeds, he has done hard work. But you treat him in this way, which makes us sad.”

Yang Ning laughed. “Steward Qi, did you talk about yourself as you mentioned the hard work?”

Qi Cheng responded calmly, “Your Excellency, I know you must have many doubts, but I think that the most important thing now is to find the third lady.”

“You know that I have many doubts?” Yang Ning stared at Qi Cheng. “What doubts do you think I have?”

Qi Cheng replied, “Your Excellency, you and the third lady suddenly came back to the old house without informing us in advance and didn’t bring many servants. Of course you came in a hurry. You and the third lady returned in such a hurry naturally because we did something wrong in this house. You doubt that there is something wrong with the accounts and even suspect that the third lady’s disappearance has something to do with Mr. Zhao. If I guess correctly, in the final analysis, you doubt that I did something wrong, and you suspect me.”

Yang Ning realized instantly that Qi Cheng was not simple.

“I didn’t return last night because I felt sad as I saw my father unconscious and stayed there for one night to take care of him as his son. If I knew you would come, I wouldn’t dare to delay.” Qi Cheng’s tone was still respectful. “I don’t know why you and the third lady came to check the accounts all of a sudden, nor do I know why you suspect me. I will explain everything to you in detail later to release your doubts. But now it’s more important to look for the third lady. What do you think, Your Excellency?”

Yang Ning asked in reply, “How do you think we should look for her?”

“There are few families in the neighborhood of more than five kilometers, but the Qi family has spies everywhere in this area. The common people in the villages around are our eyes and ears.” Qi Cheng looked at Yang Ning. “Your Excellency, if you agree, we will send people to search the area within ten kilometers. As long as some people saw that somebody took the third lady away, we can know after asking.”

Yang Ning thought that Qi Cheng’s idea was reasonable and knew that they couldn’t delay. No matter if the accounts were true, it was more important to find Gu Qinghan, so he nodded. “You send people to inform each village now. Anybody who finds the third lady would be rewarded.”

Qi Cheng was brisk. He immediately told some manservants to inform the neighboring villages on horseback and ordered the maids to search everywhere in the house carefully.

They hadn’t enough manpower, and the guards and Zhao Yuan also searched in the house.

Seeing Yang Ning’s cold expression, Qi Cheng expressed, “Your Excellency, in my opinion, the third lady just returned to the old house yesterday but disappeared in less than one day. It is possible that somebody kept an eye on you on the way.”

“Oh?” Yang Ning wrinkled his brows. “Do you mean that somebody followed us to the house? Why did they kidnap the third lady?”

“Their final purpose is probably not to kidnap the third lady.” Qi Cheng pondered for a while. “Is it likely that they aim at you?” Then he frowned. “You and the third lady came secretly this time and even the people in this house didn’t know. I think nobody would have found you.”

Yang Ning thought that he would have found earlier if somebody had traced them and Qi Cheng didn’t need to remind him. Then he realized that he shouldn’t be so sure. After all, the ugly man with the black cloak followed them, but he didn’t find.

However, seeing that Qi Cheng also looked serious with anxiety in his eyes and seemed to worry about Gu Qinghan, Yang Ning wondered if he guessed wrong and Qi Cheng really tried his best to work for the Qi family. He suspected Qi Cheng all the time and might have wronged him.

“Do you think they aim at me?” Yang Ning asked.

Qi Cheng stated, “The third lady is just a woman and what can they do after kidnapping her? I think that they might not have found you in the house, so they took her away first. Their purpose is to threaten you. If I guess right, they might contact us in no time.”

“Why do they want to threaten me?” Yang Ning asked, “For money?”

Qi Cheng shook his head. “I don’t know.” After pausing for a while, he added, “Your whereabouts must have been revealed, and you have few guards with you. I am worried about your safety. Shall I send people to transfer more men here?”

“Do you think that they would harm me?” Yang Ning smiled. “Does my family have many enemies here?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Qi Cheng replied, “I don’t worry about the enemies here but fear that…some enemies followed you from the capital.”

Yang Ning furrowed his brows.

Qi Cheng’s words reminded Yang Ning that the marquis’ family was in a slump and had lots of enemies in the capital. Before he came to Jiangling, he was at enmity with the Dou family, the minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Had he been followed since he went out of the capital as Qi Cheng said?

Almost everywhere in the old house except the courtyard with a ghost was searched. As Yang Ning expected, Gu Qinghan was nowhere to be found.

At dusk, Wei Dong suddenly came over lamely in a hurry. Seeing Yang Ning, he shouted instantly, “Your Excellency, here…it is a letter…” He raised his hand with a letter. Yang Ning walked to him quickly and grabbed it, to see no words on the envelop.

Wei Dong continued, “Your Excellency, this…is found at the back gate. This letter was thrown behind the back gate, and I don’t know who put it there.”

Yang Ning opened the envelop and glanced over the letter. Then he asked Qi Cheng, “Where is the Xia Mountain?”

Qi Cheng responded at once, “The Xia Mountain? It’s less than ten kilometers away in the west. It’s not big and there is a river at the foot. We have a wide area of farmland there. Why did you bring up the Xia Mountain, Your Excellency?”

“Is that river named Hongsha River?” Yang Ning gave the letter to Qi Cheng.

Qi Cheng nodded. “Right.” He received the letter and saw only two rows of words on it.

“She is in the warehouse by the Hongsha River of the Xia Mountain. You come alone and she will be safe and sound!”

Qi Cheng suggested in a deep voice, “Let’s go there now.”

Yang Ning shook his head. “It’s said on it that I should come alone. This letter is naturally for me. If you follow me, I am afraid that it would bring trouble to the third lady.” Then he asked, “What does the warehouse mean?”

Qi Cheng answered, “During the harvest time in autumn every year, it would often rain suddenly. In order to take shelter from rain, we built several stone rooms by the Hongsha River to store the grain temporarily. The harvest time was already over, and the stone rooms are empty now. Otherwise, some people would guard there. Your Excellency, it’s said in the letter that the third lady is there. Is it a trap?”

“A trap?”

“It’s said that you should come alone and you are not allowed to go there with other people. It’s… It’s too dangerous.” Qi Cheng frowned. “You are precious, and how can you take the risk randomly? No matter if it is true, you can’t go there.”

Yang Ning expressed, “If I don’t go there, what should the third lady do? She must be in their hands. I can’t ignore her because of my safety.”

Qi Cheng sighed. “Now it appears that they aim at you instead of the third lady. If you go there, you will fall into their trap.” He paused for a while and then added, “Your Excellency, I go there with some men secretly and will act according to circumstances. If there is a chance, we will save the third lady. You…”

Yang Ning interrupted him, “What if there is no chance? I will ensure the third lady’s safety. If I go against them, she will be in danger.” He leered at Qi Cheng and continued, “Prepare a horse for me. I will try to reach there before dark.”

Qi Cheng still wanted to talk into him, but Yang Ning ordered coldly, “No more words. Arrange a horse now.”

Qi Cheng looked helpless and went to find a horse in person. Yang Ning didn’t delay and walked out. When Qi Cheng came with a horse, he still stated with concern, “Your Excellency, I am going to the District Government now and bring some guards…”

Yang Ning responded indifferently, “Don’t go anywhere without my permission. Just wait in this house. It’s not a mountain of swords or a sea of flames. No matter who the opponent is, if he shrinks back from difficulties, I might give him a chance. Otherwise…” His eyes were chilly, and he added coldly, “Otherwise, he just courts death.” He stopped speaking and shook the rein, urging the horse to go to the west.