AWB Chapter 403 You're stalling for time!
Chapter 403 You're stalling for time!
The middle-aged man felt the blade pressed against his brow, and his eyes turned sinister.
"Little girl, I don't care who you are, do you really think you can get out of here today by taking me hostage?"
Lu Yangyang pressed down on the blade in her hand: "I really wasn't confident at first. To be honest, when I rushed out, I was wondering if I was too reckless. After all, to be able to mobilize hundreds of guards outside such a small courtyard, and even have thugs hidden inside, is not something the Salt Gang could do."
"Tell me, am I right, Lord Kang?" Lu Yangyang said calmly.
A flicker of confusion finally appeared in the middle-aged man's gloomy eyes, and he gritted his teeth as he asked, "Who exactly are you!"
“Kang Xinwen, who is in charge of the salt affairs in Jiangnan Prefecture, is Duke Xiao your brother-in-law, right? As a salt official in Jiangnan Prefecture, you must have done a lot of favors for the Salt Gang in private, right? Otherwise, the Salt Gang wouldn’t have specially built such a place for you to enjoy.” Lu Yangyang admitted that she had indeed taken a gamble.
Before going to Ning County, she asked Jiang Zhiyi to help her retrieve all the relevant information about the salt administration in Ning County. Among them, there was a very important person, but who had no connection with the Yang family, namely the local salt administration official.
Salt officials were in charge of local salt administration, responsible not only for issuing salt business licenses and collecting taxes, but also for supervising the business activities of local salt merchants.
No matter how much the salt mines embezzled funds behind the scenes, all their output, in the public eye, had to pass through the hands of this Lord Kang before it could be sold.
However, no matter how thoroughly the accounts of the salt mine were investigated, they had absolutely no connection with this Lord Kang.
Therefore, the matter of rectifying the salt mines in Ning County caused a great uproar, but this Lord Kang was still able to remain unscathed.
This is completely unusual.
Therefore, Lu Yangyang specifically asked Jiang Zhiyi to find a portrait of this person for her, so that she could remember what he looked like, just in case.
When she was peeking from behind the screen, she quickly noticed something unusual about the middle-aged man – his expression and demeanor.
Unlike the others present, or even on a completely different level.
Considering the special nature of this place, it's not hard to guess that this person's high status is probably the key reason why the Wine Immortal Courtyard is so tightly controlled.
Her earlier bluster was just to lure this person out. People like them, especially this high-ranking official, with such a penchant, would never allow this matter to leak out; they would definitely kill him to silence him.
However, doing so would inevitably expose him as well.
She made the right bet; even Lu Yangyang hadn't expected to catch such a big fish.
Upon closer inspection of his features, it was clear that he was none other than Lord Kang, the salt official of Jiangnan Prefecture.
Lord Kang never dreamed that this suddenly appearing young girl would be able to expose his secrets. In that instant, his mind wasn't preoccupied with whether he could survive, but rather whether this matter would be discovered.
Lord Kang's mind raced; he could die, but this girl absolutely could not be spared.
"Girl, you look quite young, just turned fifteen, right? Are you engaged yet?" Lord Kang composed himself and asked.
Lu Yangyang raised an eyebrow: "Lord Kang, are you suggesting that you introduce me to a good marriage, and then have your men make your move while I'm off guard? Or are you thinking that it doesn't matter if you die, you have to kill me too, since if word gets out that this happened today, the first person who won't let you off the hook will be Duke Xiao, right?"
Lord Kang: "..."
Where did this girl come from? She can't possibly be some江湖人 (jianghu person) who knows his situation so well. Could she be one of that old bastard Jiang Jian Ge's people?
That old bastard Jiang Jiange, after becoming the Governor-General of Jiangnan, has been trying to control the entire Jiangnan region. Not only has he reformed the Ningxian Salt Mine, but now he's set his sights on him?
No, he couldn't let this little girl lead him astray; he needed to find out her identity first.
“Girl, you’re so quick-witted, you must be of noble birth, right? If it were earlier, I could have found you an excellent marriage. The heir of the Duke of Xiao’s family is widowed. If you could marry him, you would surely enjoy a lifetime of wealth and honor, much better than your current life of wandering the world. It’s just a pity that my good nephew has just been engaged to the eldest daughter of General Cheng’s family as his principal wife. If you don’t mind, you can be a concubine. We’re family, let’s talk this over. What do you think, young lady?” Lord Kang probed.
He deliberately used this to test her; if the girl came from a prominent family and had an excellent status, she would surely be furious upon hearing that he was to be her concubine.
Lu Yangyang was indeed a little surprised when she heard this.
Isn't the eldest daughter of General Cheng's mansion Sister Ruoxue?
How could she marry the heir of the Duke of Xiao's mansion as his second wife?
Given her status, she could have married the Third Prince as his principal wife, so why did this happen?
However, Lu Yangyang was not fooled by these clichés at all. She had been trained since childhood to be incredibly steady with her hands, no matter how wildly her mind wandered.
"Lord Kang, don't try to trick me. You've seen why I'm here today. I'm here to find someone. I'll give you two choices: First, we both suffer heavy losses. I'll kill you first, then fight your people to the death. As for this getting out, it doesn't matter. Lord Kang will be ashamed and commit suicide, which will at least be considered a satisfactory outcome. Second, come with me right now and let me take these children away. As long as they're all safe, I can choose to keep quiet, and you can hunt me down as you please."
"Girl, do you think I'm a fool? I'm sparing your life in the hopes that you'll keep your mouth shut. Don't you find that idea ridiculous?" Lord Kang said coldly.
"Is that so? How can you not laugh at something so ridiculous, Lord Kang?" Lu Yangyang's blade slashed across the flesh between Lord Kang's eyebrows, and beads of blood seeped out, sliding down his brow to the tip of his nose.
A hint of irritation and panic was clearly visible in Lord Kang's eyes.
The men in black, who had been startled and scattered by the sudden explosion, had now gotten back up and surrounded the two. However, given the current situation, none of them dared to move, fearing that Lu Yangyang might accidentally slit Lord Kang's throat.
The world passes by little by little.
Lord Kang grew increasingly agitated. Suddenly, he snapped out of his daze and gritted his teeth: "You brat, you're stalling for time!"
Lu Yangyang readily admitted, "What else?"
Lord Kang's eyes widened, his mind completely thrown into disarray.
Just then, the door behind them was kicked open, and Sheng Junyi led a team of elite soldiers in, immediately surrounding the entire room, taking the men in black hostage, and taking out a token in his hand: "Prince Rong has arrived in Jiangnan Prefecture, please invite Lord Kang."