Chapter 176: The truth comes out, he cuts his hair to save his life.

Chapter 176: The truth comes out, he cuts his hair to save his life.

Jiang Yutang was taken aback, then leaned closer and asked in a cheeky tone, "What's wrong? Are you jealous?"

Cheng Lanzhou stood up, avoiding her gaze: "I didn't." After saying that, she turned and left the tent to arrange the follow-up matters.

"Hey, don't go!"

Jiang Yutang hurriedly chased after him, following behind him all the way, calling him "General" one moment and "Husband" the next, coaxing him in a soft voice.

When the soldiers in the camp saw this, they couldn't help but praise the two for their good relationship.

Jiang Yutang entrusted the recording pen to Cheng Lanzhou and waited patiently for news.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. One night, after everyone had gone to sleep, several low calls suddenly came from outside the tent: "Madam Cheng? Madam Cheng?"

Jiang Songzhi was the first to be startled awake, and sat up alertly: "Who's outside?"

"I am General Cheng's personal guard. The matter at the brothel has been settled. Please come over there, Madam," the person outside the tent replied.

Jiang Yutang stepped out from behind the curtain and gestured for Jiang Songzhi to keep quiet.

She frowned and asked, "Where is he now?"

"The general is waiting at the brothel. He sent me to invite you over." The man's voice was somewhat muffled.

Jiang Yutang immediately became suspicious.

Cheng Lanzhou would not want to discuss matters with her in a brothel; presumably, the person outside was sent by Magistrate Li.

She gave a cold laugh and silently moved her lips towards her three brothers, "Take them alive."

She then grabbed the fruit plate from the table, abruptly lifted the tent flap, and went outside. Before the man could react, she raised her hand and threw the fruit plate at him.

The man was clearly skilled in martial arts. He dodged the fruit plate by the side, a fierce glint in his eyes, and drew his knife to stab Jiang Yutang.

"careful!"

Jiang Jiuzhe reacted quickly, shoving Jiang Yutang aside and using the wooden chair behind him to block the blade.

Jiang Songzhi and Jiang Sumin immediately grabbed the tools at hand and surrounded them, but they were both scholars and had no martial arts skills, so they were quickly outmatched.

The sounds of fighting quickly attracted the attention of patrolling soldiers. Seeing that things were not going well, the man turned around and tried to run away.

Just then, a stray arrow suddenly flew out from the shadows and struck his knee with pinpoint accuracy.

The man groaned and fell to the ground.

Jiang Yutang turned her head and saw Cheng Daier walking over with a bow and arrow, her expression cold.

"Don't kill him! Keep him alive!" Jiang Yutang shouted hurriedly. "He's probably been sent by Magistrate Li. Maybe we can get some clues out of him!"

This matter quickly alarmed Cheng Lanzhou, who rode over with several personal guards. Only after seeing Jiang Yutang did his heart finally settle down.

Are you alright? Are you hurt?

He strode forward, reached out and touched Jiang Yutang's cheek, his face full of worry.

"I'm fine," Jiang Yutang said, pressing his hand down and asking with a serious expression, "How is Miss Su Wan?"

“I’ve been keeping an eye on things. When I heard you were attacked, I was worried it was a diversionary tactic, so I sent another team to keep a close watch. That’s why I rushed over here.”

Cheng Lanzhou frowned deeply: "It seems things have been exposed."

“Someone must have leaked the news.” Jiang Yutang said with certainty, “Since Judge Li can’t find any fault with you, he’s trying to kidnap me to control you, so that you’ll be hesitant to act against him.”

She nudged Cheng Lanzhou's arm: "The man has been caught. You hurry back to the brothel and keep an eye on things. Don't let Magistrate Li escape!"

Cheng Lanzhou nodded and was about to turn around when a guard came running up, panting and pale: "General Bi Gao! At the brothel... Miss Su Wan and Magistrate Li are both missing!"

"Gone?" Jiang Yutang exclaimed in surprise. "Weren't we supposed to have people watching over them?"

"I don't know either!" The guard was sweating profusely with anxiety.

Cheng Lanzhou's face instantly darkened, and he said coldly, "Let's go!"

"I'm going too!" Jiang Yutang didn't even bother to put on her coat before following Cheng Lanzhou as they mounted their horses and galloped towards the brothel.

As soon as they arrived at the entrance of the brothel, the soldiers on duty rushed up to them, leading them to the fourth floor while hurriedly reporting their arrival.

“General, we’ve been guarding the doors, windows, and stairs, but no one has come out. Just now, when we noticed there was no movement inside for a while, we sent men to check the roof. They found that the house was completely empty, and the doors and windows were all intact, with no signs of forced entry.”

Jiang Yutang asked in surprise, "You mean, the two of them disappeared from the house?"

The soldier nodded hesitantly: "That's right, my men are all watching, there's no way anyone will go out the door."

Cheng Lanzhou's gaze swept over every corner of the room, and he said without a doubt, "Investigate! There must be a secret passage in the room."

Jiang Yutang couldn't help but wonder, "Could it be that Su Wan and Magistrate Li conspired together? Or was Su Wan threatened by Magistrate Li and forced to help him escape?"

Cheng Lanzhou was silent for a moment, then shook his head: "Su Wan's father was dragged into prison by Judge Li to take the blame and died, and her mother also died of illness. Her hatred for Judge Li is real, and she will not betray him easily."

"That's bad." Jiang Yutang's heart sank. "Prefect Li might kill me to cover it up!"

Cheng Lanzhou was also somewhat agitated, and waved for the soldiers to thoroughly search through boxes and cabinets.

Not long after, a soldier suddenly shouted, "General! There's a problem here!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the soldier was pointing at Su Wan's bed.

The bed board was hollow; with a strong push, a dark hole was revealed, its depths unfathomable, exuding a chilling aura.

Jiang Yutang shuddered. The entrance looked like a secret passage from the movie "Dragon Inn," which gave her the creeps.

"Get down!"

Cheng Lanzhou frowned and gave the order, and several soldiers immediately slid in one after another.

He turned to look at Jiang Yutang and said solemnly, "You wait here. There are soldiers guarding the area. I'll be right back."

Jiang Yutang nodded, watching Cheng Lanzhou disappear into the cave entrance.

After the soldiers in the room all went down, she began to wander around the room, hoping to find some clues.

She suddenly remembered that the voice recorder had a red light indicator, so she quickly blew out the candles in the room.

In the darkness, a faint red light appeared behind the screen; the recording pen was hidden under the clothes hanging on the screen.

She quickly walked over, picked up the recorder, and hurriedly pressed the play button. Li Tongpan's greasy voice immediately came through.

"Su Wan, you think you can bring me down by finding Cheng Lanzhou as your backer? I had people watching you as soon as you started contacting that guy surnamed Wu..."

Jiang Yutang's heart tightened. She pressed the pause button and carefully hid the recorder in her sleeve.

Just as she was about to walk out the door, she turned around and saw someone standing silently behind her, having been eavesdropping for who knows how long.

The guard stared at her hand with a sinister look: "What are you holding? Hand it over!"

The guard's voice was icy as he approached her step by step.

Jiang Yutang was startled and instinctively hid the recording pen behind her back.

She had suspected Su Wan and Li Tongpan's men, but she never suspected that there was a mole on Cheng Lanzhou's side!

"It's just a handkerchief, what's so interesting about it?"

Jiang Yutang tried to stall for time while retreating, but there was only the edge of the bed behind her, leaving her nowhere to go.

She looked out the door; the corridor was deserted, and she figured no one would hear her cries for help. She turned her head slightly to look at the tunnel in the middle of the window.

When the guards saw that she refused to hand over the items, they pounced on her.

In a moment of quick thinking, Jiang Yutang bent down and jumped into the tunnel under the bed.