Yun Zhengze slowly loosened his grip.
Lady Wang fell back to the ground and grabbed his leg.
"Master, I've told you everything I know. Please save Wangchuan. Go and get the medicine. I beg you."
Yun Zhengze looked down at her.
"My son, of course I will save him."
"As for you, you deserve to die."
Lady Wang's crying stopped abruptly.
Yun Zhengze lifted his foot to avoid her hand and pushed the door open to leave.
The attendants were already waiting outside the door.
"Send the lady back to her residence and lock her in a secret room in the back courtyard. No one is allowed to visit her."
Lady Wang rushed to the door, her skirt trailing over the threshold, her voice shrill and distorted.
" Yun Zhengze! You can't do this to me! I am Wangchuan's mother!"
Yun Zhengze did not turn back.
He walked through the corridor and followed Gu Moran briskly toward the study.
"Your Highness, with the original prescription, can Divine Physician Shen really save my son?"
" Lord Yun, please don't be anxious. Tiedan does indeed have residual poison in his body, but it's not life-threatening. The reason I did this is to use you to get Lady Wang to confess and tell the truth. Please don't take offense, Lord Yun."
"Ah, is that so? Then I'm relieved. I'm able to see my son thanks to Your Highness. However, I feel I've let my deceased wife down..."
"Then be kinder to your daughter; she's suffered a lot these past years."
"That's natural, that's natural."
Inside the study.
Liu Ruyan and Shen Ling'er stood to one side, while Uncle Fu had just received an urgent note from a guard.
"Your Highness, there is an urgent message."
Gu Moran opened it and frowned.
Seeing that his expression was off, Yun Zhengze took the note.
"They ran away?"
There was only one line of text on the paper.
A large number of carriages and horses departed from Yangzhai Residence in Cypress Village.
Yun Zhengze clutched the urgent note in his palm; the pages were soggy from sweat.
Where could he run to?
Liu Ruyan walked to the map and pointed her finger at the three roads outside Cypress Village.
"To the east is the official road, which becomes muddy after rain, making it difficult for carts and horses to travel quickly, but it connects to the salt route."
"There's an old timber road to the west, winding around the mountain gully. It's usually deserted, but Yang Tie, who's been in the timber business for many years, knows that area best."
"The road to the ferry on the south side is impassable for large carts, and there are few boatmen available during the first month of the lunar year."
Yun Zhengze stared at the ravine on the west side, his eyes reddening.
"He was traveling with carriages and horses, most likely taking the timber route."
Gu Moran placed his hand on the armrest of the chair and tapped it lightly twice.
" Yang Tie has been plotting in Yi Prefecture for so many years; he must still have a backup plan."
"Block both the east and west routes first."
Yun Zhengze turned and left.
"I'll take the officials from the Provincial Surveillance Commission to the east route, Song Wan will keep an eye on the west route, Xue Huan will lead crossbowmen to block the mountain pass. Send another messenger to the ferry crossing to order it sealed off, prohibiting any boat from leaving the shore."
Gu Moran agreed, and just as she reached the door, she suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.
"Your Highness, there's a message!"
The messenger sent by Xue Huan ran into the courtyard, his cotton hat askew and his shoes covered in mud.
"The Yang family's caravan split into two groups. One group, loaded with timber, headed east on the official road, while the other group, consisting of only three black-covered carriages, entered the old timber road in the West Mountain."
Gu Moran's eyes darkened.
Yun Zhengze was right after all.
Those three black-covered carriages mostly contained the things Yang Tie was most reluctant to part with.
" Song Wan."
"Exist."
"Take your men and follow the western route. Keep a close eye on those three black-covered carriages, but don't rush to stop them."
Song Wan clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Yes."
" Xue Huan, lead the crossbowmen forward, seal off the mountain pass, and don't let anyone pass."
"I'll go right away."
The old road to the west was riddled with potholes from years of timber-carrying carts. Three black-covered horse-drawn carriages were stuck in the mud, their wheels slipping, and the drivers kept whipping them.
Yang Tie sat in the last car, a black lacquered wooden box on his lap.
The box contained prescriptions, account books, several packets of medicine powder, and about ten vermilion pills.
Two little girls were curled up in the corner of the carriage, their mouths gagged with strips of cloth and their wrists bound with hemp rope.
The steward leaned closer to the carriage window and whispered, "Sir, the people on the east side have already released their timber carts. According to our plan, that should hold them off for a while."
"Just hurry up and leave. That Chen Qing guy is really not right in the head; I don't know what he said to Prince An."
"But, sir, you just received a letter from Prince An, and you've already run away. Do you think Prince An will let you off?"
"Shut up! Prince An actually wants me to hand over all my pills! That's my life! We have to get out of here right now."
Yang Tie lowered the curtain and ran his fingers along the edge of the wooden box.
Chen Qing, oh Chen Qing, you've ruined my life!
I thought I could use you to get on the good side of Prince An, but who knew you would be so greedy!
"Faster."
The driver cracked his whip.
Just as the carriage rounded the bend in the mountain pass, a short arrow suddenly flew out of the woods ahead and embedded itself in the muddy ground.
A piece of red cloth was tied to the fletching of the arrow.
The driver pulled hard on the reins, and the horse neighed and backed away.
Xue Huan's voice came from the woods.
"Mr. Yang, the road is difficult to travel. Please get off and let's talk."
Yang Tie lifted the carriage curtain, and the flesh on his face twitched twice.
People stood on both sides of the mountain pass, and crossbowmen had already pulled back their crossbows, the arrows aimed at the carriage.
He stared at Xue Huan, startled at first.
People from Prince Yi's Residence?
The letter from Prince An had just arrived when he led his men out of the city, only to be blocked by Prince Yi's Residence in the West Mountain.
Did Prince An feel that the letter wasn't urging him enough, and thus use Prince Yi to arrest him?
When did Prince Yi ever interfere in this matter?
Is the rumor about their brothers' discord false?
Yang Tie suppressed his chaotic thoughts, smiled, and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.
"I'm just an honest timber merchant, why are you stopping me?"
Yang Tie still had a smile on his face, but his eyes darted rapidly between Xue Huan and the crossbowmen behind him.
"Chief Xue of the Prince's Palace, does His Prince Yi have something to convey?"
Xue Huan ignored his platitudes, only glancing at the hunter carrying a firewood basket on the other side of the hillside before fixing her gaze back on Yang Tie.
He knew something was wrong with the hunter; his gait was too steady, the weight of the firewood basket on his shoulder was off, and, more importantly, the timing of his appearance was too perfect.
But right now, he had to take care of the task assigned to him by Surveillance Commissioner Yun.
Xue Huan's voice was as cold as ice.
" Yang Tie, you are suspected of human trafficking and manufacturing prohibited drugs. The Provincial Surveillance Commission has opened a case for investigation."
He pointed to the three carriages.
" The Prince Yi's Residence has been ordered to assist in the arrest."
Yang Tie Tie's smile froze completely.
It's not Prince An, it's Yun Zhengze!
How could he be so fast?
That idiot Lady Wang, she got tricked into revealing herself with just a few words?
Yang Tie's heart sank to the bottom, but his years of cunning kept him from panicking immediately; he even wanted to struggle a little longer.
"Captain Xue, isn't there some misunderstanding? My truck is loaded with top-quality timber, ready to be transported south..."
"Waaah--"
A suppressed sob came from the corner of the second carriage; it was the sound of a little girl being strangled too tightly by the ropes.
Xue Huan's eyes suddenly sharpened.
"Can wood cry?"