Chapter 13 The Hunter Disguised as Prey

This County Magistrate Chen was both greedy and lustful. Upon hearing that they had arrived, he immediately sat up straight, “What are you standing there for? Quickly bring them in!”

The soldiers quickly went outside and brought Chu Chenyin and her family in.

They were dressed in coarse linen clothes, and County Magistrate Chen didn’t recognize their identities, thinking they were just some impoverished gentry.

He immediately saw Chu Chenyin in the crowd, his eyes almost popped out, and he greeted her like a lapdog, “Miss, you must have come here from the north to escape the famine, right?”

Chu Chenyin deliberately put on a weak appearance, lowering her head, “Yes, sir.”

County Magistrate Chen, hearing this, his eyes gleamed, he waved his hand and instructed the servants behind him, “Go, quickly serve the dishes, bring out the best wine and food!”

The servants on the side immediately responded.

“Come, Miss, have a seat.” County Magistrate Chen smiled with his squinting eyes, inviting Chu Chenyin and her family to sit down, and he didn’t forget to have the servants bring chairs for Marquis Fu and the others.

Marquis Fu and the others didn’t stand on ceremony and sat down.

Not long after, the food was served.

County Magistrate Chen whispered a few words to the servant beside him, asking him to add something to the food.

The servant immediately went to the kitchen.

Just as the servant left, Fu Yanting, under the pretense of going to the toilet, followed him.

Just as the servant was about to pour the powder into the food, Fu Yanting strode forward, grabbed his wrist, and smiled, “Master Chen is so hospitable, you even specially added something to our food.”

The servant was startled, he looked up and was about to shout, but Fu Yanting raised his palm and knocked him unconscious.

After the servant fell to the ground, he hid him, took the powder, and combined it with the sleeping drug Chu Chenyin gave him, and poured it into the wine jug next to the food.

This jug of wine was for County Magistrate Chen.

Over there, County Magistrate Chen saw that the wine hadn’t been served yet, so he immediately sent someone to hurry it up.

Not long after, two other servants brought the wine and food.

County Magistrate Chen thought there was medicine in the food, so he just kept drinking, urging Chu Chenyin and her family to eat more.

“Come, eat more, you must be hungry after traveling so far.”

The dishes on the table included braised head, braised pig’s trotters, steamed yellow chicken, boiled fish, braised lion’s head, and so on.

Chu Chenyin didn’t stand on ceremony, she picked up the meat and ate piece by piece.

Fu Jianghong and Fu Xingcheng also followed suit, picking up chicken legs and eating them in big bites.

The usually reserved Marquis and Lady Fu also picked up their bowls and started eating.

They had been riding hard for two days, and although they had been eating dry rations along the way, the long journey was taking its toll, even on the strongest of men.

Fortunately, this meal was very comfortable.

Fu Yanting returned to the dinner table after coming back from the toilet. Before leaving, he didn’t forget to give the soldiers at the door a few jugs of wine, saying it was a gift from County Magistrate Chen.

He also gave wine to the servants in the backyard and the front yard.

Since it was said to be from County Magistrate Chen, no one dared to refuse.

On the other side, County Magistrate Chen was busy thinking about Chu Chenyin, completely unaware of Fu Yanting’s unusual behavior.

Not long after, all the servants in the mansion, as well as the soldiers at the door, fell down.

After Chu Chenyin and her family had eaten and drunk their fill, County Magistrate Chen, with his fleshy face, also slumped over the table.

The sleeping drug was made by Chu Chenyin herself. She used it for missions in the past, and it was very effective.

After taking this drug, it would take at least a day and a night to wake up.

County Magistrate Chen fell from the table, landing on the ground like a big fat pig.

Chu Chenyin couldn’t help but go over and kick him a few times.

Fu Jianghong quickly walked over and said, “Sister-in-law, let’s hurry up!”

Chu Chenyin nodded lightly, “Okay.”

The group didn’t delay any longer. Taking advantage of the fact that everyone in the mansion had fallen asleep, they went directly to the stables in the backyard and found five fast horses and two carriages, and they also took some grain.

Before coming here, Fu Yanting and Chu Chenyin had discussed with them that since County Magistrate Chen had found them, they might as well take this opportunity to make a clean getaway and shake off the pursuers behind them.

They first pretended to agree to their demands and came to Chen’s mansion, then they took advantage of the opportunity of eating and drinking to drug everyone in the mansion. After they fell unconscious, they left the Marquis Mansion’s carriage there, then found a few more carriages in the mansion, loaded them with grain from the county office, and finally rode hard towards Mengru Village in the southwest.

Mengru County was Qing’er’s hometown. It was a beautiful place with clear water and lush mountains, and it was remote.

It wasn’t too far from Zhanyang County, about a day’s journey.

Of course, besides making a clean getaway, Chu Chenyin and Fu Yanting also had their eyes on County Magistrate Chen’s granary.

Zhanyang County produced dozens of times more grain than other counties every year, and County Magistrate Chen was a greedy and lustful man. He had collected almost all the grain from the thirty-eight villages in the entire county into his own granary.

Chu Chenyin had roughly calculated that it was about the size of five granaries in the Prime Minister’s Mansion in the capital.

Moreover, County Magistrate Chen was also a miser. He pretended to be upright and incorruptible, hiding all the precious things he had accumulated over the years in his warehouse.

While everyone was busy loading the carriages, Chu Chenyin and Fu Yanting found County Magistrate Chen’s warehouse and granary.