Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 499 Theodora’s order to punish thieves

In front of the Wang family courtyard, Wang Jingxuan stood for a long time before returning to the gate.

A group of servants were staying uneasily at the door. His housekeeper was instructing a few men to move the stone lion back at the door, remove the door bolt, and conduct a rough inspection before going to report to him.

"Sir," the housekeeper said with some worry, "Our stone lion is a little damaged, and the door bolt is also cracked. When we go back, we will probably have to spend money to make a new one."

"Hey, I hope I still have this opportunity." Wang Jingxuan muttered and asked: "Where is Lao Qi, no news yet?"

The housekeeper looked back and forth, but hesitated to speak.

"Lao Wu hurt his foot. He went back to rest. He won't come back. Just tell me." Wang Jingxuan urged.

"The last messenger said he couldn't find anyone. I felt something was wrong, so I secretly found a capable person and went there again." The housekeeper whispered, "He came back just now and told me that something big happened over there. It’s gone. Everyone has dispersed, so naturally they can’t be found..."

"What's wrong? Can you die outside?" Wang Jingxuan urged with a frown.

"I'm dead at home." The housekeeper himself said with some fear.

"What?!" Although he was mentally prepared for the situation to be bad, Wang Jingxuan was still shocked: "Who did it!"

"I don't know." The butler shook his head, lowered his voice and said, "Anyway, he must be a very brutal assassin. I must be more careful."

"I don't know who did this, and I don't know who ordered it. How can you be careful?" Wang Jingxuan said unhappily: "Why didn't that person say anything just now..."

"Young man just said it, sir." The butler reminded: "Master Qi, all the servants have run away. There is no one in the house. It is true that no one can be found. I still ask him to go around this time. , I just found a few people who hadn't run far away, and I only found out about this. Therefore, I can't blame the messenger just now. He was probably confused and had to rush back to life..."

"Okay, okay, you're excusing this servant again." Wang Jingxuan was a little annoyed: "Who said these things? Are they reliable?"

"It's reliable. It's what Qi Ye's best friend said." The housekeeper told him vividly: "The Greek woman was the first one to go to the scene. According to her, Qi Ye and two of his attendants were killed while they were in the house. It killed me, and no one outside even heard it.”

"Really?" Wang Jingxuan also became uneasy.

"It's hard to say. Master Qi's side was not unprepared. He had gathered a lot of people at that time. If the assassin had no skills, he wouldn't have been able to break into the house and harm people." The housekeeper analyzed: "Although that woman was frightened I’m almost stupid, but I can still tell the general situation.”

"Where are the people he gathered?" Wang Jingxuan asked.

"He asked everyone to gather separately, so many people went south on their own. Others were waiting around the house, preparing to leave together. But after he was killed, these people may have felt that something was wrong and were worried that a disaster was coming. They were all dispersed as well," the steward said.

"Damn it, is he really going to fight the Guo family?" Wang Jingxuan's eyes widened and he couldn't help but curse in a low voice: "No wonder he died first, he damn deserved it!"

"That can only be like this." The steward said: "Both sides said that what Mr. Guo was besieging was his property. This matter can no longer be concealed. The reason he deployed his troops at that time could not be to fight. Yourself?"

Wang Jingxuan also knew that this was the case and could only nod.

"You don't have to worry, sir. It's actually a good thing that the princess came just now." The housekeeper advised: "We also gave her a servant, so that even if she is held responsible later, it will be easier to deal with, right?"

"I think the way she acted just now is not easy to deal with." Wang Jingxuan said worriedly: "She went to other houses first and then came here. But ours is not the farthest from the Guo family or the palace. place. That was obviously intentional."

"Lao Wu's behavior is not quite right either. Hey, I shouldn't have let him answer the door." He regretted a little: "Now that there is a conflict, what should we do..."

The housekeeper looked back at the broken door and didn't know what to do for a moment.

"I shouldn't have been lazy then." Wang Jingxuan complained to himself: "Lao Wu and Lao Seven are from the same family after all. I think he actually knew it. That's why he was so arrogant on purpose when the princess came..."

"That's his own business. Master, didn't you handle it in time?" the housekeeper could only comfort him.

"I still have to ask - did he do anything else before I came here?" Wang Jingxuan asked even more nervously.

"It should be nothing. When the little one came here, the fifth master had just come out of the house and was looking out in the corridor." The housekeeper pointed in the direction and described to him: "At that time, the princess was leading a group of miscellaneous people. The entourage was right at the gate, calling for help. The disciples had never seen this battle before and asked them what they were doing. Someone told them that something happened in the city, and the princess was leading various servants to suppress it. "

"Although there was a rush outside and he saw the princess, he still didn't dare to make his own decision, so he called me. Because I often follow the old man and you to visit various houses and get to know them roughly. So, I ran away quickly In the past, I looked through the small window on the door and found that there were indeed many acquaintances there. In addition to Qionxue and a few people from the church, there were also people from the Li family, the Guo family, the Shi family, and the Zhang family. I don’t know what happened to her. Gathering such a mixed group of people out..."

"Are you sure they are all serious family members? Are they not fake or acting without permission?" Wang Jingxuan made a special confirmation.

"The Guo family and the Li family only have servants, while the Shi family and the Zhang family have their children leading the group. The princess, Master Yelu's granddaughter, and his daughter are all in the crowd. There must be three hundred people in total. It can't be fake." The steward said:

"The person sent to call the door was Mr. Shi's nephew, Stan, who just came back some time ago. He was relatively honest, so I asked more questions. He told me that they were indeed going to suppress the rebellion. Because Before the princess came, someone had already come to warn the family at the Shi family's mansion. The family set off in a hurry and took away many servants. The princess seemed to be in a hurry, but she was actually not the first group."

"Is that so? Then why is the princess so active?" Wang Jingxuan asked. "It is said that she has an unusual relationship with Mr. Guo. Mr. Guo was also involved in this rebellion." The housekeeper told him: "Mr. Shi told me that he was embarrassed to speak, but the leader of the rebellion may be his sister Shi Huizhen. Mr. Guo was performing church duties at Zhulinfang at the time, and he was involved in it. His family members hurriedly dispatched, probably because they did not want the family scandal to be publicized, and they wanted to catch or kill Shi Huizhen as soon as possible. "

"He actually didn't want to get involved in this matter, so when the princess came, he used the excuse that all the servants at home had been dispatched and there were not enough troops here to attack the rebels with her. But the princess insisted on sending people over there. To be honest, if he didn’t have any servants, he could do it himself. He just broke in and captured Stan out, so he had no choice but to take his only two servants with him."

"Hey, didn't Lao Qi say before that Shi Huizhen rebelled and asked us all to help him suppress it?" Wang Jingxuan was already confused.

"Probably not. The princess and Mr. Shi also have reliable news that Master Qi is not in touch with the rebels. His family owns several houses that are the nests of the rebels." The housekeeper hesitated for a moment and said bluntly. : "Master, I am not overstepping my bounds, but you also know that Master Qi often interacted with a group of strange people before. The villain wondered whether he and Shi Huizhen had rebelled against the party, but he couldn't tell, so he rushed this While deploying troops to him, control the manpower first so that he has time to do things..."

Wang Jingxuan was silent for a moment.

"Then Lao Wu..." He muttered without saying anything clearly, and his brows furrowed even more.

"I didn't expect so much at the time. I was just thinking. If I really make them anxious, not to mention offending many noble people, even tonight, our yard probably won't be able to withstand their hard beating." The housekeeper continued. .

"Do they just want people directly, or do they want something else?" Wang Jingxuan asked.

"I just want people. I want to give them at least thirty servants. They need to hurry up and save people. Let's hurry up." The steward said, "I thought I was asking for things. I want people... Thirty is a lot. , what will happen to our family if we give out? Are the dozen or so people enough? But I’m afraid it will be too late to call people from other villages. I plan to be rude and call you first. Let’s see what you plan to do.”

"You did the right thing. At times like this, don't worry so much." Wang Jingxuan nodded.

The butler slightly arched his hand to express his gratitude, and then continued: "I went to find you after that, but as soon as I walked to the lobby, I heard the fifth master and the princess quarreling."

"He said that the princess had no right to mobilize the servants of each family. Unless the Great Khan issued an order, he had the right to ignore it. The princess said that neither the Great Khan nor Taiji could come. She followed Ketun's order to urgently mobilize Qie Xue, The temple guards and various servants suppressed the rebellion, which does not violate the law. But the Fifth Master still does not believe it."

"Did he...really do it on purpose?" Wang Jingxuan became wary.

"There is indeed a problem with the princess's team. The fifth master said at the time that she was transferring Qie Xue in name, but in fact she was not. She was taking advantage of the loophole. Only a few of the guards who followed her were veterans. The others, It's not Varyag, but..." The housekeeper thought about how to describe it: "It's the timid people in the palace. They are the people who cook, clean and do chores every day."

"Well... I have to say that they are serious Qixue, and that is true, but in terms of combat effectiveness, these people are probably just making up the numbers. It can be seen that she did not receive orders with great authority, and she could not even mobilize the main force of her own guard. Move. Therefore, we cannot say that what the Fifth Master said is wrong..."

"However, the princess was very angry and finally quarreled with him. The fifth master was also very stubborn. The princess was so angry that she scolded him directly and asked him to think about why he came to our house in the end and wanted to We're going to come out. Because according to the current intelligence analysis, our family is quite suspicious. If you want to show that you are still loyal, you should do something practical quickly."

"The fifth master was unwilling to give in and was still saying that she went out without permission and violated the order. But the princess was very anxious and even cursed. She pointed at the stone lion at the door and said that everyone in our house was cheating and had their own conspiracy. Most of the passers-by were... I know. I'm afraid the whole government doesn't know these two stone lions at the door are innocent."

"What she said..." Wang Jingxuan couldn't accept it anymore: "I must explain it when I get the chance!"

"Hey, there was no time at that time, and the fifth master was also angry." The housekeeper said, "The same goes for the princess. In the end, she was so angry that she directly lifted the stone lion and threw it towards the door. ."

"Our door leaf is still strong, but the door bolt suffered a disaster and was smashed. The door suddenly flew backwards. The fifth master was standing behind the door and didn't react. He slapped the door leaf and hurt his foot. , we had to take him away first. You will know what happens next."

"Oh, my heavenly father..." Wang Jingxuan suppressed his face until his face turned a little red. He wanted to scold him, but felt that it was meaningless, so he had to mutter it in the end with great helplessness.

"Master, if you ask me, you'd better think of a way quickly." The butler has been his confidant for many years, and there are some things he can't say: "Everyone knows that today is the banquet after the triumphal ceremony, and the Khan cannot come because they are They are drinking and celebrating outside the city. Get up tomorrow and see the situation in the city. What will they do?"

"Look at the princess's team - it doesn't make any sense which side we choose to stand on. So as soon as the fifth master was carried away, I quickly told you to lend her the servant. In our Wang family, even if everyone is single-minded, how can we Can you defeat so many people? And, to put it bluntly, even if the princess is the one with the evil intention, even if we react faster tonight and gain the upper hand, so what?"

"There are so many troops outside not coming in. I think it's just because of the rules and they don't want to cause trouble. Just because they don't move doesn't mean that they will still be completely unresponsive when someone goes out to attack. Whatever we do is meaningless."

"You are right." Wang Jingxuan nodded: "The whole thing tonight is very strange. I was not even prepared at all. Lao Qi and the others are hanging out with some unscrupulous people. As the eldest brother, But I didn't take more care of it, and this is indeed my fault. Now, the trouble is coming, and we probably can't escape it, so we can only deal with it as much as possible. "

Both of them felt a little heavy, so they simply sat by the flower bed and analyzed it carefully. However, before they could think about it for long, there was an explosion in the distance.

Everyone in the house looked in that direction, but no one could tell what was going on. At this time, no one dared to go out and ask questions. They could only quickly find spare wood and seize the time to repair and close the door to prevent anyone from taking advantage of it. Make trouble and let the remaining servants be on guard.

After a while, the person watching at the door reported that the War Commander and Mrs. Huang were coming, and they were almost in front of the door.

Wang Jingxuan was even more confused now.

"Warmaster? How many people does he bring?" He quickly asked: "We have no servants here?"

"Just the two of them, and a rider and a follower carrying something on his back." said the person at the door.

Wang Jingxuan and the housekeeper looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

"Hurry up and open the door first and ask him to come in and talk." In the end, Wang Jingxuan could only follow the usual method and ordered.

(End of this chapter)