A journey of fifty-some li could be covered in a little over half an hour if one rode hard and whipped the horse on.
When Yang Zhengshan arrived at Liao'an Prefecture City, nothing seemed amiss inside the city. There were only a few more soldiers stationed at the city gate than usual.
After arriving, Yang Zhengshan did not choose to enter the city at once. Instead, he first arranged for two of his personal attendants to disguise themselves and slip inside the city ahead of him.
They spent almost half an hour making a circuit through the city before returning to report, "My lord, everything inside the city is as usual. However, Lord Zheng's residence has already been cordoned off by government troops. The exact situation inside the residence is unknown."
Yang Zhengshan gazed at the outline of Liao'an Prefecture City in the distance and asked, "Only cordoned off? Is the residence gate open? Is anyone entering or exiting?"
"It should only be cordoned off. The residence gate is open, and government troops are entering and exiting, but we did not see any servants from Lord Zheng's household!" the attendant replied.
Hearing this, Yang Zhengshan immediately let out a breath of relief in his heart.
The residence gate was open, and government troops were entering and exiting. Most likely, Zheng Xiao had merely been placed under house arrest, and they had not dealt him a ruthless killing blow.
If they had meant to kill him, the city should not have been this calm.
After all, Zheng Xiao was the Salt Inspection Censor. If Luo Fu had killed him, he would definitely have to give the imperial court an explanation. Even if he had smoothed over every connection above and below, he would still have to put on a show.
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