Chapter 48: Hijacking (Part 2)

  Wu Lie also nodded repeatedly and said: "It's still better for adults to think about it, I'll send someone to investigate immediately."

  Gao Yuan said: "Boss, please ask Madame Wenqing to come out for a moment, it's time to tell her something."

  Wu Lie hurriedly sent someone to invite Lin Wenqing again.

  Before long, Lin Wenqing came out of the inner room with Li Yinghong and Wu Hongying accompanying him. Gao Yuan also told Lin Wenqing about his previous analysis and Wu Lie's deployment actions. At this time, Lin Wenqing had also calmed down a bit and hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Wu Lie and Gao Yuan.

  "Madam Wen Qing, based on my thinking, Huan'er should be safe for the time being. Although this incident won't be a simple kidnapping and ransom case, the other party must have demands for you. I think it's best if you return home immediately to wait for contact. Someone will likely get in touch with you soon to present their demands."

  Lin Wenqing listened and also felt that Gao Yuan's words made sense. Since the other party had taken Luo Huan away, they would naturally make demands on themselves. She was also afraid of missing any news about her son, so she said: "Mr. Gao is right, then I'll go back home immediately to wait."

  Gaoyuan Road: "Although the other side did not capture the madam, the madam's safety cannot be neglected. Please ask the master of the Wu Guan to dispatch some personnel to protect the madam. After I reply to General Dajiangjun, please have General Dajiangjun send more troops to protect the madam's safety. Also, Yinghong, during this period, you will stay by the madam's side and provide close protection."

  Because Lin Wenqing is a woman after all, relying on the protection of Wu Lie's men and troops, she can't be everywhere at once. Li Yinghong is also a woman, and she's close to Lin Wenqing, so letting her protect Lin Wenqing personally is the most suitable arrangement. Moreover, Gao Yuan has a faint feeling that there's something fishy about this matter, the other side's strength is very powerful, therefore using the excuse of protecting Lin Wenqing, he sends Li Yinghong away, not wanting her to take personal risks.

  Wu Lie listened and immediately said, "Alright, I'll arrange for someone to go right away." After a pause, he added, "However, having only Yīng Hóng protecting Wen Qing is still a bit insufficient. How about this: let Hóng Jiān go together with them as well? Two people can keep each other company and discuss things if something comes up."

  Gao Yuan nodded and said, "This is also good."

  Lin Wenqing said, "It's really troubling you all."

  "Miss Wenqing, if someone contacts you with a proposal to exchange Huan'er, no matter what they say, don't immediately agree. Even if you do agree, don't rush into the transaction. No matter how they try to intimidate you, stall for time and wait for us to come up with a foolproof plan."

  Lin Wenqing was taken aback, saying: "Why? As long as I can exchange it for Huan'er, even if I lose everything, I won't regret it, as long as Huan'er is safe and sound."

  Gao Yuan shook his head and said, "Lady Wen Qing, I can understand your feelings. If it were really possible to exchange wealth for Huan'er's safety, I would also advise you to give up the wealth in exchange for her life. However, the other party's goal is not Huan'er, but rather wealth or something else. As long as their goals are not met, Huan'er will be safe. On the contrary, if you easily agree to their conditions and even immediately satisfy their demands, then you will lose any bargaining power with them, and Huan'er's life and death will be entirely at their mercy. We can only hope that they discover their conscience. However, since they dare to do such things, they are unlikely to be kind-hearted people, so relying on their conscience is unreliable."

  Lin Wenqing was not someone who didn't understand anything, a talented woman who could do business to such a large extent. Although she relied on the protection of many forces, Lin Wenqing's own intelligence, talent and insight were also indispensable. It was just that she was anxious to save her son, so she was a bit reckless, but after being reminded by Gao Yuan, Lin Wenqing immediately understood, what Gao Yuan said was indeed reasonable. If she had easily agreed to the other party's request, once they succeeded, they might not have let them go, but instead would have killed them directly. Therefore, she also nodded and said: "I will remember your instructions, sir."

  Gao Yuan also said to Li Yinghong, "If someone really comes to contact Wen Qing's wife and makes demands, no matter who it is, you can't make any rash moves, and try to clarify the other party's identity as much as possible. However, you can send someone to secretly follow them, understand?"

  Li Yinghong nodded and said, "I understand, don't worry."

  "Alright, I'll go to General's mansion now. If there's any news, come find me at General's mansion."

  Lian Wenqing also stood up, bowed deeply to Wu Lie and Gao Yuan, and said: "Regardless of whether this time can save Huan'er or not, Wenqing will never forget the help and kindness of everyone."

  Dividing line Dividing line

  "What? Something like this can actually happen?" After hearing Gao Yuan's account of the entire incident, even Li Mu, who was usually calm and composed, looked somewhat changed.

  Gao Yuan Dao: "Great General, there are some things I don't want to say out loud in the martial arts hall. I think this matter is not as simple as it seems on the surface. Although Madame Wen Qing is just a woman, she has close ties with the military of Zhao State and enjoys the protection of both you, Great General, and the master of the martial arts hall. Ordinary powerful forces would not dare to take action against her easily. In Zhao State, someone dares to take action against Madame Wen Qing, and there are so many skilled swordsmen under his command, I can count them on my fingers."

  Li Mu furrowed his brow and said, "You suspect it's Guo Xiangguo?" According to Gao Yuan's words, in the entire Zhao state, there might be only one person named Guo Kaitian.

  Gao Yuan Road: "From the perspective of those who meet the conditions, Guo Kai's possibility is the greatest, but it's not just him alone. Zhao Cong, Zhao Jia, including Da Wang, all have this ability. However, there's one thing I've been thinking about and can't figure out. No matter which one of them made a move, if they wanted to use Wen Qing's wife to attack the great general, they should have directly killed Wen Qing's wife. This would have had a greater impact on the great general. But the opponent clearly had the opportunity to kill Wen Qing's wife but gave up and only took away Huan'er. This is very unreasonable. Could it be that Wen Qing's wife really has something special in her hands?"

  Li Mu also felt that this matter was very tricky and said: "What should we do now?"

  Gaoyuan Road: "I've already asked the master of the martial arts school to send someone to investigate, now we can only wait for their findings. In addition, it's also waiting for someone to actively contact Madame Wenqing, but no matter who it is, whether it's one of them or someone else, they're not easy to deal with."

  Li Mu also nodded and said: "Alright, no matter who did this thing, as long as it is verified, I will not let him off, even if it's Guo Kai."

  The hardest thing to wait for is that although Li Mu and Gao Yuan are both able to hold their breath, they also have some anxiety. Unconsciously, it has already arrived at dusk. Li Mu sent people to the Wu Guan twice to inquire about the news, but there was no result. Wu Lie had already sent someone with a portrait to ask around in Handan City, and the search outside the city had expanded to more than 50 miles away, but still, there were no valuable clues.

  Only near the place where Wen Qing was ambushed, a family of five was found killed in a civilian house, all with one sword to death. From the swordsmanship, it is very similar to this group of gray-clothed people. It can be basically judged that this is their temporary foothold, but nothing valuable was found in the house either.

  Just then, Li Yinghong rushed back in a hurry and reported to Li Mu and Gao Yuan that someone was indeed connected with Madame Wenqing. However, the situation was slightly different from what Gao Yuan had expected.

  Just now, Zhao Yang, the eldest son of Grand Marshal Zhao Cong, arrived at Lian Wenqing's home to ask about Lian Wenqing and also mentioned that Luo Huan was kidnapped. Of course, he also expressed his willingness to help Lian Wenqing find Luo Huan with all his might.

  Zhao Yang had always been pursuing Wen Qing, which was not a secret in Handan. Although Wen Qing was unwilling, he was the son of the Grand Marshal of Zhao State, and Wen Qing did not dare to offend him too much, so he also pretended to be friendly with Zhao Yang. When something big happened, Zhao Yang came to ask for news, which was reasonable. And out of courtesy, Wen Qing also expressed his gratitude to Zhao Yang.

  Zhao Yang, however, tactfully asked Lian Wenqing that if he could help Lian Wenqing find Luo Huan, how would Lian Wenqing thank him. The underlying implication was of course to accept his pursuit. This caught Lian Wenqing's attention, and she wondered whether Zhao Yang's question was intentional or unintentional. Could it be that this matter really had something to do with Zhao Yang, and his motive was simply to force her into marriage?

  Lin Wenqing remembered the instructions of the highlands, stabilized the opponent and delayed time, so naturally also vaguely responded, giving Zhao Yang an ambiguous answer. However, Zhao Yang thought Lin Wenqing had agreed and left excitedly, even saying some good news to Lin Wenqing.

  After Zhao Yang left, Lin Wenqing also hurriedly sent Li Yihong back to the Li Mu Mansion to inform Li Mu and Gao Yuan. During the conversation between Lin Wenqing and Zhao Yang, Li Yihong and Wu Honglian hid behind the screen to listen in order to protect Lin Wenqing's safety, so they heard it very clearly. They also told Li Mu and Gao Yuan about their conversation word for word.

  After listening to Li Yinghong's words, Li Mu and Gao Yuan fell into deep thought again. Could it be that this matter was really done by Zhao Yang, with the intention of forcing Lin Wencheng to marry him? If so, then the whole thing would be too simple. Of course, it's not entirely impossible, as many things seem complicated but are actually very simple. Zhao Yang is a spoiled brat, and it's not impossible for him to do such a thing.

  However, if this matter was indeed done by Zhao Yang, then Zhao Cong must also be involved, because without Zhao Cong's permission, Zhao Yang would not have been able to mobilize so many skilled swordsmen. Although Zhao Yang is young and ignorant, can't Zhao Cong understand the consequences of doing such a thing? Once the matter is exposed, it will lead to a complete rupture between Zhao Cong and Li Mu, and they will thoroughly oppose each other, all just because his son took a liking to a woman, would Zhao Cong dare to take such a great risk?