newbobooks Chapter 144 Falling into the Water
Chapter 144 Falling into the Water
Shen Qingyu and Xia Lan are truly a stark contrast.
Now that the situation has reversed and the city lord is confident of victory, he said with a touch of emotion, "I never expected that I would be so blind as to not recognize you as the famous manager of Shun Ning Express! I really thought you were a coward!"
"Zhongtian, now, come here and trade your life for Shen Qingyu and Xia Lan's lives."
Zhongtian looked at the city lord, his voice laced with sarcasm: "What makes you think I would trade my life for someone else's? Am I some kind of saint?"
"If they both die as a result, I will petition the emperor to grant them official titles and ranks!"
The city lord glanced at Zhong Tian, seemingly unsurprised by his choice; no one was so selfless! She forcefully chopped down on Shen Qingyu's neck, and Shen Qingyu collapsed limply to the ground.
The city lord then turned his malicious gaze to Xia Jin'an. Xia Jin'an did not know martial arts and was immediately restrained. The city lord looked at Xia Jin'an with a hint of pity in his eyes!
"Jin An, Zhong Tian is not your wife! You don't need to risk your life for her! If you are willing to take the dagger in your hand and stab Zhong Tian, I will be willing to let you be the city lord's husband and enjoy wealth and honor without end."
Xia Jin'an remained completely calm. He merely let out a cold laugh, looked at the city lord, calculated the time in his mind, and, estimating that the time was about right, said leisurely, "City lord, let me go. If you don't let me go, you will be the one who dies."
The city lord felt sore all over, as if a hundred knives were stuck in his body, and slowly loosened his grip on Xia Jin'an's hand.
Xia Jin'an coldly looked at the city lord, who was convulsing in pain: "If the medicine I concocted were so easy to defend against, it would have been devoured long ago. I've said it before, I'm covered in poison, don't touch me!"
Zhongtian was initially worried, but seeing Xia Jin'an resolve the threat from the city lord so decisively, a strange light flashed in his eyes.
Zhongtian stepped forward and lifted the city lord, who was like a rag doll, with his hand. He opened the gate, and the dense rain of arrows stopped immediately when they saw the city lord in Zhongtian's hand.
Wan Jiajia said angrily, "Zhongtian, put the city lord down immediately, or I will make sure you die a horrible death!"
Zhongtian placed the city lord, who was curled up in pain, in front of him and said with a smile, "Fine, shoot! I want to see how many arrows this mortal body of yours can withstand, and how long you can hold on before you die!"
The city lord was in so much pain that she couldn't speak, but she still managed to utter, "Wan Jiajia, put down the arrow!"
Wan Jiajia looked at the city lord, who was no longer the majestic and powerful woman she once was. She looked listless and almost like a beggar on the street!
She recalled the letter that was sent to Wan Jiajia alone in the capital. Wan Jiajia had lived in Daming Prefecture for generations. In fact, the Wan family were the landowners, and the city lord was considered an outsider!
Her eyes narrowed, a flash of ruthlessness appearing in them, and she said in a low voice, "Shoot the arrow!"
At the command, arrows rained down on Nakata and his men.
Zhongtian spoke harsh words, but in reality he wanted to make Wan Jiajia hesitate to act against him; he didn't really want the city lord to die!
Who knew that Wan Jiajia would actually take such drastic measures?
Nakata immediately closed the door, keeping the deadly arrow out.
The city lord had been pierced by several arrows. The pain from her whole body, combined with the pain from the arrowheads, made her want to die. She lay on the dirty ground, her face pale, and she looked at Zhong Tian with malice, her tone full of curses.
"Zhongtian, Xia Jin'an, you will die here in the same miserable way as me. That's fine. I am old, but you are in your prime. It's good that you die with me!"
Zhongtian had no mood to refute the city lord; she was simply keeping track of time in her mind.
Xia Jin'an felt he had reached a dead end. He and Zhong Tian were isolated and helpless. Would they die here?
Xia Jin'an felt no fear, but rather a secret joy. The young master was far away in the capital, and the one accompanying Zhong Niang was not Xia Mu Ning or Le Xing Xi, but Xia Jin'an himself.
If those traitors rush in and cannot be stopped, he will rush over and embrace Zhongniang, letting the long arrow pierce through their chests, their blood and blood will merge together, becoming an inseparable whole.
They will be incredibly close at that moment!
There was a loud knocking on the door. Xia Jin'an walked up to Zhong Tian and clasped her hands together with Zhong Niang's.
The door was extremely fragile, and the moment it was opened, Zhao Duan and the others arrived!
Zhao Duan was dressed in a neat black outfit. The men from Lizhuang were well-trained, and their crossbows fired one shot after another. Ordinary bows and arrows were no match for them, and all of Wan Jiajia's men were defeated!
So it was no longer the menacing traitors who pushed open the door, but Zhao Duan, who was smiling quite kindly.
Zhao Duan first bowed to Zhong Tian, and then looked at Xia Jin'an with joy. It turned out that it was Xia Jin'an who had taught Zhao Duan the medical skills.
"Hmm," Shen Qingyu on the ground let out a soft groan, slowly waking up after being knocked unconscious.
With a wave of his hand, Zhong Tian made Zhao Duan and the others disappear completely, as if they had never been there.
When Shen Qingyu woke up, she was completely bewildered as she watched all the traitors being brought to justice.
"……How is this going?"
Zhongtian said sincerely, "Your Majesty's blessings are boundless, and your prestige has deterred these traitors."
Shen Qingyu expressed disbelief, but everyone gave the same story: once the city lord and Wan Jiajia were arrested, the remaining trial work was all Shen Qingyu's responsibility.
The city lord has been tyrannical and arbitrary in disposing of prisoners all these years!
Using wooden tokens instead of silver, she amassed a large sum of money. By threatening men with imprisonment, she raped them and forced female prisoners to serve her, thus forming a sizable army.
During the interrogation, Zhong Tian even discovered that the buyer of all of Li Zhen's weapons was the city lord.
Shen Qingyu led a search party to the city lord's residence, where they discovered a large amount of gold and silver, as well as men who had been tortured to the point of near death during the examination.
With irrefutable and conclusive evidence, Shen Qingyu wrote a letter to His Majesty and received an imperial edict from His Majesty half a month later!
The message was that Lady Zhong would be reinstated to her original position and escorted the city lord back to the capital to report.
Zhongtian knelt on the ground, overjoyed. She could finally go back; the journey of exile had been so arduous!
However, just as Nakata was packing his bags and getting ready to set off with great enthusiasm, he received some heartbreaking news.
Xia Jin'an was targeted by the remnants of the city lord. While Xia Jin'an was gathering herbs by the river, she was suddenly pushed into the water. Xia Jin'an struggled in the water for a long time before she returned to the shore.
That night, she developed a fever and became delirious. When Zhongtian went to see her, Xia Jin'an's face was flushed, and her eyes were moist with fever, which added to her charm. She was dressed quite lightly because of the heat.
Something's not right here.
Nakata turned to leave.
But then a pair of arms, as slender as water snakes, wrapped around Zhong Tian's back, and she said seductively, "Zhong Niang, you've come. I've been waiting for you for so long!"