Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 163: Chapter 159 Master, it’s terrible, the young lady has been kidnapped!

”Sir, Sir!”

”Sir~~”

The seven or eight attendants immediately panicked, quickly pulling the reins tight, and even two of them jumped off their horses trying to catch their young master.

However, they were a bit too late. The young master smashed directly onto the ground and, due to the fast speed of the horse, he rolled several times before stopping.

Instant chaos ensued at the scene.

Crowds of attendants surrounded the young master, both inquiring and checking his injuries.

The surrounding passersby kept retreating further and further.

”Who is it? Who dares to ambush me!”

The young master, albeit sturdy, clutched his forehead and clamored to his feet, howling in anger.

Seeing that he wasn’t seriously hurt, the attendants breathed a sigh of relieve and started shouting, seeking out the assailant.

”Miss, that’s the Prefect’s son; you should leave quickly!”

Although others might not have noticed that it was Yang Yunxue who had thrown the cane, the old man in front of them did because it was his cane.

Originally, he was just kindly advising Yang Yunxue and even lowered his voice, but the attendants by the young master still heard.

As soon as the old man finished speaking, a man who looked to be in his forties hurriedly approached Yang Yunxue and the others.

”It was you!” The man was clearly a Martial Artist, and his cultivation seemed quite high.

Yang Yunxue, seeing the fierce and menacing man, couldn’t help but flinch.

After all, she was only a thirteen-year-old girl. Though she was braver than most due to her martial arts training, she had truly not faced such situations.

However, she soon regained her composure and said calmly, ”Yes, it was me. You were riding recklessly on the street and injured someone.”

She wanted to reason with them, but how could they listen?

If they were the type to reason, they wouldn’t have been riding recklessly in the first place.

”Where did this wild girl come from, daring to meddle in my affairs!”

At this moment, the young master with a limp and a hand clutching his forehead, his face contorted with anger, approached.

”Seize them and bring them back. I’ll kill this audacious wild girl!”

He was furious. For years in An Yuan City, who dared disrespect him, who dared attack him?

Just today, not only was he attacked, but his face was also marred.

Touching the warm fresh blood on his forehead, his heart was filled with hatred.

He wished he could skin the girl alive.

As he spoke, his attendants immediately moved forward to seize Yang Yunxue, while her maidservants and nanny hastily stepped forward to block them.

”Wait, my young lady is the second daughter of the Military Equipment Department!”

Granny Zhang, still alert, quickly declared their identity in the heated situation.

But the group before them evidently wielded power arrogantly and cared for none, slapping Granny Zhang to the ground with a backhand.

”Let go of me, let go of me!”

Not only were there Martial Artists opposing them, but also more than one, and soon Yang Yunxue was seized by two attendants.

”Hurry, go back quickly!”

Granny Zhang, lying on the ground, felt like she’d lost sensation in half of her body. She wasn’t very old, just over forty this year, but a slap from a Martial Artist had nearly cost her half her life.

Yet, she still didn’t forget to call for help.

As for Yang Yunxue and Wang Yunqiao, the two young girls were already panicking, struggling without any real plan.

This wasn’t their fault, it was just that Yang Zhenshan had protected them too well.

In recent years, they had lived a secure and carefree life, completely unaware of the wickedness of human nature.

Granny Li pushed Xia Feng on the ground, and Xia Feng finally snapped back to reality, scrambling out of the crowd.

Everyone’s attention was on Yang Yunxue, nobody paid attention to Xia Feng, and even if someone noticed, they wouldn’t care.

Their target was not the maids or nannies; it was Yang Yunxue.

...

”Master, master, something terrible has happened, the miss has been kidnapped!”

Yang Zhenshan had just returned to the garrison office when he saw Wu Hai running out of the office, sweating profusely.

These words, why do they sound so familiar?

It felt like a scene where the master is kidnapped by monsters.

Yang Zhenshan didn’t react at first, he dismounted and casually asked, ”Who kidnapped the miss?”

”The miss was kidnapped by the Prefect’s son, and they should be taking her to the Prefectural Government now!” said Wu Hai, out of breath.

At this moment, Yang Zhenshan finally reacted.

Dammit, my daughter has been kidnapped!

Crap!

”What happened?”

His face darkened instantly.

”I don’t know the full story, it was that girl Xia Feng who ran back and told me,” Wu Hai caught his breath slightly.

He hadn’t had time to inquire about the details before rushing here in a panic, but Yang Zhenshan wasn’t at the Front Office; initially, he intended to go to City Gate Castle to find Song Dashan, but just as he stepped outside, he happened to meet Yang Zhenshan returning.

The reason to find Song Dashan, and not others, first was because Yang Zhenshan, Yang Mingcheng, and Yang Minghao were not at home, and the female family members certainly couldn’t handle this. Secondly, because Song Dashan commanded troops and could mobilize the garrison.

Wu Hai felt the most crucial thing was to rescue the miss first, as for other matters, they could be discussed upon the master’s return.

His idea seemed quite unreasonable, bringing in soldiers to snatch people from the city; that would definitely cause a big commotion.

But this concerns the reputation of Yang Yunxue. If an unmarried girl is kidnapped, it’s still manageable if the duration is short, but if it’s prolonged, her reputation will be ruined.

How could a girl with a ruined reputation marry?

Wu Hai, the steward, naturally prioritized his master’s interests above everything else.

Yang Zhenshan knew this as well. He promptly mounted his horse, ”Issue my order to have Han Cheng lead the garrison to surround the Prefectural Government office!”

”Yes!” A personal follower responded from behind and galloped towards the direction of the City Gate Castle.

”You go back first, find out what’s happening, then go to the Prefectural Government and inform me,” Yang Zhenshan instructed, then spurred his horse towards the Prefectural Government.

The Prefectural Government was in the central area of An Yuan State, while the garrison office was located at South City, close to City Gate Castle. The distance between them wasn’t far.

Within a quarter of an hour, Yang Zhenshan arrived at the gates of the Prefectural Government.

The Prefectural Government was much more imposing than the garrison office, with two stone lions taller than a man standing at its entrance, projecting a mighty presence.

Seeing Yang Zhenshan and his group riding over, the two constables at the government office gate quickly approached and asked, ”May I know who I am addressing?”

Although Yang Zhenshan was not in his official uniform at the moment, he was riding a horse, followed by more than ten knife-bearing personal followers — clearly not just anybody.

”Garrison officer of An Yuan City, Yang Zhenshan!”

First revealing his identity, Yang Zhenshan then asked, ”Did you arrest a young girl today?”

The two constables blinked, exchanged a glance, then quickly knelt down, ”We pay respect to the Garrison officer!”

Though Yang Zhenshan had no authority over the Prefectural Government, he was, after all, the garrison officer and these constables dared not disrespect him.

”Did you arrest a young girl?” Yang Zhenshan asked again, his voice significantly more stern.

”We don’t know!” the two constables profusely sweating replied.

Indeed, they were gatekeepers, but on regular days, when government officials arrested people, they didn’t use the main gate but rather the side doors.

”Is your Prefect here?” Yang Zhenshan frowned and inquired.

The constable was quick-witted and immediately replied, ”I will go right away to report to him!”

After he spoke, he dashed into the government office.

Another nervous constable said, ”Please come inside, sir!”

”No need, I shall wait right here,” Yang Zhenshan remarked, standing with his hands clasped behind his back at the entrance.

He decided to wait here for Han Cheng.

Frankly speaking, he really didn’t want to deal with this damned Prefect, a man doomed not to last long. Yang Zhenshan didn’t want to waste his time.

However, today’s situation was tricky; he had to rescue Yang Yunxue promptly, but if Yang Yunxue really was inside the Prefectural Government, he still had to show some respect towards the government office’s stature.

Note it’s the respect towards the office’s stature, not the Prefect’s.

Meanwhile, Lin Xuan, the Prefect of An Yuan State, was drinking tea with the Military Equipment Department official Hao Zhaoxian in the tea room.

”Recently, the Liang family hasn’t been able to open the route outside the Pass for over a month!” Lin Xuan, scholarly in appearance and emanating the aura of the literate, yet his eyes seemed especially sinister.

Hao Zhaoxian, on the other hand, was quite the opposite; although a civil servant, he was tall and rugged, resembling more a military general than a bureaucrat.

But appearances can be deceiving. Although Lin Xuan appeared scholarly, he was just a candidate who started in the same year as the Eighth Chengping Reign, while Hao Zhaoxian was placed as second in the exams in the Fourteenth Chengping Reign.

”Sigh,” Hao Zhaoxian sighed softly, ”Let’s not hold out hope for other things; we just need to hope that no issues arise at Chongshan Pass.”

Lin Xuan also had many concerns.

Since the merchant group of the Liang family was attacked by the cavalry of the Camp, they hadn’t had a good night’s sleep.

Both of them were in the same boat with the Liang family; over the years, they had received no less than one hundred thousand taels from the Liang family, having done countless tasks for them.

If something happened to the Liang family, they would definitely not be able to detach themselves from it.

While they were worried, suddenly, rapid footsteps approached from outside.

”Reporting to the lord, the Garrison officer seeks an audience at the government office!”

”The Garrison officer!” Lin Xuan was momentarily stunned.

They were actually quite displeased with Yang Zhenshan.

Ever since Yang Zhenshan arrived in An Yuan City, he hadn’t met with them even once.

Logically, upon assuming the post of garrison officer, one should first pay a visit to the Military Equipment Department and the Prefectural Government.

The Prefectural Government had many official duties that required cooperation from the garrison office, and the Military Equipment Department not only supervised the military provision farming but also handled criminal cases and inspected military, civil administration, finance, and water conservancy affairs in their jurisdictions.

Strictly speaking, the Military Equipment Department had the authority to meddle in the affairs of the garrison office.

It was already bad enough that Yang Zhenshan hadn’t paid a visit to Lin Xuan, but not managing even Hao Zhaoxian, the Military Equipment official, was indeed unreasonable.

If not for the Liang family intervening subsequently, and Yang Zhenshan accepting their bribes, they would have already been prepared to make life difficult for Yang Zhenshan.

”Why has he come?”

”I don’t know!” The person who reported wasn’t the gatekeeping constable but a clerk from inside the government office.

Lin Xuan and Hao Zhaoxian exchanged a look, ”Could it be regarding the Liang family’s matter?”

Hao Zhaoxian frowned; if it weren’t for issues with the Liang family’s merchant group, he would definitely have made things difficult for Yang Zhenshan during this period, even with the Liang family mediating, he intended to embarrass Yang Zhenshan.

The Military Equipment Department was responsible for supervising military provision farming, and now being the time to prepare for spring farming, it would have been extremely easy to make things hard for Yang Zhenshan.

But due to the Liang family’s issue, he really had no inclination to tangle with Yang Zhenshan right now.

”Now he thinks of us, what was he doing earlier!” Hao Zhaoxian said in a rough voice.

They both assumed Yang Zhenshan came because of the Liang family’s issue.

After all, they had already considered Yang Zhenshan to be on the same boat with them.

”Never mind, since he’s here, let’s meet him first.”

Lin Xuan stood up and headed towards the exterior.