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Chapter 49: The Restoration of Order
At the teahouse, Tan Jian was becoming increasingly worried on his eldest brother’s behalf. He looked toward the door repeatedly, yet there was no sign of his brother returning with his sister-in-law, while the street outside grew ever more chaotic.
Tan Jian had spent most of his time in Qingliang. With the Tan clan maintaining order there, he had never witnessed such a scene of upheaval, but since leaving, he had seen more and more of it. The hardship of the world had always been there; it was only that the peaceful years had veiled it like a dream, only to have it erupt violently once people were jolted awake.
Tan Jian sighed and looked toward the county government office. "What is going on with the Yamen? Is the magistrate not there?!"
The people from the Tan family had beaten the drum outside the Yamen gate over and over, yet it was as if the place were empty; there was not a single stir from within.
It was Yang Zhen who scoffed, "That corrupt official has likely run away!"
The city was in total chaos, and the magistrate had abandoned his post, when would this madness end? It likely wouldn't stop; it would only invite bandits and robbers from the surrounding areas.
However, just at that moment, someone shouted, "People are coming from the Yamen!"
Everyone in the teahouse hurriedly looked toward the Yamen. Tan Jian saw his eldest brother riding on a tall steed at a glance. He saw his brother cast a look, and Xiao Guan dragged a withered old man out, the man stumbling until he collapsed against the Yamen gate.
"Open the gate quickly! I—I, the official, have returned!"
That old man was none other than the local magistrate!
Once the Yamen gate opened, Tan Jian led everyone from the teahouse over. He rushed up and saw at a glance that the withered magistrate was dressed in commoner’s clothing, desperately trying to blend into the crowd to escape. He had thrown his weight around during peaceful days, yet when the riot began, he had actually dared to flee.
Before Tan Jian could step up, Yang Zhen went over and interrogated the magistrate, questioning him so thoroughly that the little old man couldn't utter a word, his face tearful and miserable.
However, the two noticed that only their eldest brother was there; their sister-in-law was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is my sister-in-law?" Yang Zhen could not help but ask.
Tan Ting’s expression darkened at the question, his brows pressing down heavily.
Xiao Guan whispered to Yang Zhen from the side, "We haven't found the Madam yet."
"How can this be?" Yang Zhen and Tan Jian were stunned.
Tan Ting looked with grim eyes at the county city, where fires were breaking out everywhere, then pursed his lips and looked back at the magistrate. "Call all the men from the Yamen."
The magistrate dared not defy him and hurriedly had the government soldiers summoned. Yet, since the magistrate himself had been planning to run away, how many soldiers could the Yamen actually have?
The magistrate couldn't help but say, "Relying only on these people from the Yamen, I fear we won't be able to control the chaos outside."
Tan Ting scoffed. If the magistrate had gathered his men to maintain order when the riot first started, it never would have reached this point. And now, these men were indeed insufficient. He didn't count on them for anything, only asking one question: "Which military station is closest to the county?"
When the magistrate heard this, he hurriedly replied, "It—it is the Humeng Thousand-Household Post, an hour's journey from the city."
The commander of that post was a difficult man to deal with; it had been very hard for the magistrate to maintain even basic formalities with him in the past. The magistrate had thought of seeking help there at the onset of the riot, but the moment he remembered that the commander had a poor relationship with the local Feng and Xue clans, and even held them in disdain, he had abandoned the idea.
But just as he finished speaking, he heard the man from the Qingliang Tan clan, whose status he did not know, ask: "Is that commander Wei Gan?"
The magistrate was startled. "Yes, yes, that is he!"
He looked with surprise at the man before him, then saw the Tan family’s second brother step forward. "Brother, do you know that commander?"
Tan Ting nodded. "The Tan clan has some acquaintance with him."
The magistrate was even more surprised, but before he could figure out the identities of these men from the Qingliang Tan clan, he heard the man directly dispatching the few government runners in the Yamen.
"Patrol the streets in squads of five, with the priority of suppressing the riot and driving away bandits."
After he finished speaking, he specifically emphasized, "You are not permitted to kill or injure the commoners."
The magistrate did not know what kind of game he was playing, whether he was siding with the commoner populace or trying to protect the aristocratic clans. He was terse and spoke little, so the magistrate didn't know what he was thinking; he could only shout at his subordinates to follow orders.
Tan Ting took one look at the sky, dyed red by fires everywhere, then whispered instructions to Xiao Guan to have his men pair up with the government runners to continue searching for Xiang Yi’s whereabouts.
Just as he told Tan Jian to guard the Yamen and the others, and was about to mount his horse to lead men to request support from the Thousand-Household Post, he saw people from the Feng and Xue families rushing over, demanding the magistrate send government runners to support them.
"Those rioters are actually going to burn the noble clans' estates; they are about to breach the gates of the aristocratic families!"
The magistrate had always been on good terms with these two families, but the Yamen was no longer under his control at this moment; he could only look at Tan Ting.
Tan Ting scoffed again, showing not the slightest intention of helping them. "They reaped what they sowed; let them bear the consequences themselves."
These words were decisive and clear, and the magistrate dared not disobey in the slightest.
Once Tan Ting finished speaking, he flipped onto his horse and galloped away with his men.
Trapped in the narrow alleyway, Xiang Yi and the others could find no opportunity to escape. While the outside was slightly quieter, the guards took discarded grilled flatbreads from a roadside stall, left silver in accordance with Xiang Yi’s instructions, and brought them for the others to eat. Everyone was starving, but the outside had become a hell on earth of murder and looting; no one had the heart to eat or drink.
The government authorities had yet to appear, and Xiang Yi was nearly certain the magistrate had run away; she could only remain there and continue waiting for an opportunity.
The early spring in the north was biting cold, and everyone had to huddle together; fortunately, they were under a high wall, which served as a shelter from the wind. The fires rising all around made it impossible to tell the time.
After a while, Xiang Yi faintly heard the sound of government runners beating gongs. The guards and Qiao Xing heard it too. Everyone’s spirits lifted; as soon as the sound of the gongs drew closer, they could leave this place.
But just then, there seemed to be movement in the empty, locked courtyard to the side. Everyone looked at one another, and then heard the voices of seven or eight men coming from next door.
These men were naturally not residents of the empty courtyard, but bandits who had run into the city to loot during the chaos. These men had finished plundering in the city and had happened to find this empty courtyard as a place to stay.
The people on the street could not hear their hushed discussion, but Xiang Yi and her group, hiding in the narrow alleyway, heard it clearly. With the exception of the guard, the group consisted only of women and children; upon hearing the eight desperadoes on the other side of the wall, they were all so terrified they didn't dare to breathe.
Xiang Yi also became uneasy. They had been waiting for the government runners to pass by so they could leave, but who would have expected to encounter bandits?
The next instant, a child, trembling in fear, stepped on a dry branch. The branch emitted a crisp "snap," which, in the silent narrow alleyway, sounded as if it had been amplified infinitely.
The hushed discussion of the bandits in the empty courtyard next door suddenly fell silent.
Xiang Yi’s heart sank, and when she looked up, she saw those desperadoes climbing over from the other side of the wall with extreme vigilance. When they saw that the alleyway was filled mostly with women and children, their smiles were filled with mockery.
Two of the more unprincipled ones looked at Huang Liu-niang and her maid and began to tease them directly. "Are there such gifts delivered to our doorstep?"
As they spoke, they walked straight toward Huang Liu-niang.
In a flash, the guard leaped out. "I will hold them off; Madam and the young ladies, run quickly!"
Xiang Yi also knew there was no other way. Running to the street might offer a chance at survival, but if they stayed, none of them would fare well. In that instant, she threw open the door leading to the street. "Run!"
Everyone rushed out of the narrow alleyway. The guard drew his sword to fight the bandits. But he was only one man against many, and he could not hold them off for long.
The bandits had spent years living on the edge; they were not to be trifled with. Several of them immediately bypassed the guard and gave chase to Xiang Yi and the others. "We can't let the fat meat in our mouths get away!"
In just a few moments, one of them grabbed Huang Liu-niang, and another leaped in front of Xiang Yi, effectively blocking her path. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, one more beautiful than the next; tonight is truly going to be a grand fortune."
Xiang Yi retreated in shock, no longer able to care about anything else, and began to scream repeatedly. Yet, the sound of the gongs, which had clearly been nearby just moments before, now seemed to have disappeared; she shouted again and again, but there was no response.
The bandits laughed. "Even if those government runners came, do you think they’d be useful? If the government runners were useful, would we have waited until now?"
After saying this, the man reached out; Xiang Yi dodged in panic and actually managed to avoid his hand. But the bandit only became more excited, his strength increasing as he grabbed Xiang Yi by the shoulder.
Xiang Yi felt a sharp pain in her shoulder.
In a flash, a whistling sound of something breaking the wind suddenly arrived. That sound was extremely fast, and in the next instant, it plunged into flesh. Blood splattered out, and in the moment Xiang Yi’s eyes widened, it landed on the tip of her nose.
The hand that had been grabbing her suddenly dropped; an arrow had pierced straight through the man’s chest. Within the span of a breath, the man fell to the ground, his eyes bulging with rage.
Xiang Yi remained stunned for a moment by the sudden turn of events. When she looked up again, she saw a man holding a longbow under the fire-lit night sky, riding tall on a black horse. Behind him, under the towering flames, there was a sea of soldiers descending from the sky.
In that moment, Tan Ting’s mind had nearly gone blank; he had released the arrow without thinking. He immediately leaped off his horse and reached Xiang Yi’s side in two steps.
There was still blood from the bandit on the tip of Xiang Yi’s nose. She saw the man grab her arm, his brows furrowed, looking her up and down; after a long moment, he closed his eyes and let out a long breath of relief. Then, he lifted his hand, and his well-defined fingers landed on the tip of her nose, gently wiping away the drop of blood.
His movements were extremely gentle. Xiang Yi remained stunned for a moment, and only then did she manage to collect her thoughts. The entire street was filled with the men he had brought.
She asked in a slightly hoarse voice, "Have government troops come to suppress the riot?"
The man was still examining her carefully and did not respond to the question for a moment.
It was Xiao Guan, who had just directed the men to rescue Huang Liu-niang and the others, who stepped forward and said, "Reporting to the Madam, the Eldest Master took charge of the Yamen and went to the nearby Thousand-Household Post to bring in government reinforcements; the chaos in the city will soon be over!"
Hearing this, Xiang Yi couldn't help but look at the man before her. The fires raging all around illuminated his side profile, making it look even more determined and sharp, but in the eyes buried deep beneath his brows, there was a surge of emotion, like an ocean wave, that Xiang Yi could not define.
Xiang Yi had not expected that the person she had hoped would take charge of the Yamen and suppress the riot in the midst of this chaos was actually the Tan family’s eldest master before her eyes. For a moment, she couldn't tear her gaze away.
Tan Ting, on the other hand, noticed his wife’s rare gaze upon him and asked softly, "What is it?"
The wind blew in the thick smell of smoke and fire from the deep night. Xiang Yi was silent for a moment, then seemed to think of something, withdrew her gaze, and shook her head gently.
She didn't speak, and Tan Ting didn't press her further; he only looked down at his wife for a long while, then led his horse forward, lifted her directly, placed her on the horse, and swung up to sit behind her.
This was the third time they had ridden a horse together, but this time, the arm wrapped around Xiang Yi’s waist never left. His grip was extremely heavy, holding her tightly in his embrace.
If it had been just the two of them before, now they were followed by hundreds of people. The county town was not large, and after turning a few corners on horseback, they arrived in front of the Yamen.
The people inside the Yamen heard the sound of hooves and came out to meet them.
"Sister-in-law!"
Xiang Yi heard Tan Jian and Yang Zhen calling out to her loudly; she was just about to respond, but when she turned, she saw Huang Si-niang standing to the side. Huang Si-niang’s gaze also landed upon them.
At this moment, the man behind her had already leaped off the horse and reached out his hand, intending to help her down as well. Xiang Yi inexplicably felt this was inappropriate and was about to slide off the horse herself.
However, she saw Tan Ting step forward and, without a word, in front of everyone, especially Huang Si-niang, support her waist with both hands and personally lift her down from the horse
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