TGCFNM -Chapter 299 The Worship

As Zhang Dong’s carriage slowly came to a stop, the people in the two carriages following behind also began to tense up.

Chu Ling tried to stand, but Uncle Wu suddenly pressed a hand on his shoulder: “Hold your position. Let’s see how things unfold.” With that, Uncle Wu stood up, lifted the curtain, and looked outside.

Fuxiang’s Father had already gotten out of the carriage with the others ahead of them, walking forward with utmost respect. The soldiers guarding the gate began their questioning.

Fuxiang’s face was covered with a thin veil. The veil was transparent, and through it, one could see a patch of ointment on her face. Her eyebrows seemed drawn thicker than usual, and a few beauty marks had been added, making her look much more ordinary.

Uncle Wu followed, standing beside Fuxiang’s Father.

The two soldiers glanced at each other, then looked at Fuxiang’s Father and spoke directly: “Yes, fifty taels, but only two people can go in.”

Fuxiang’s Father thought for a moment and carefully held out a pouch with both hands. “I will take my daughter in.”

The two soldiers grunted and then opened the gate to let them through.

Uncle Wu gestured for the younger people to step back, then stepped forward and said, “We’re going to Yuanzhou City. We need to use this official road.”

“You know this is an official road, so you can go!” the soldiers said somewhat irritably. “But a routine check is required.”

“Where are you from, what’s your name, what do you do, do you have a wife or family? What’s in the carriage? Are we going to search it?”

“Search the carriage?” Uncle Wu frowned.

“Yes, otherwise, go back where you came from. No passage here.”

“This is an official road!” Uncle Wu said, slightly angered.

“Official road or not, the mighty General Lian Wu personally stationed troops here to train. Consider this a warning: be careful with your old life, or our general will shoot you and hang you on the city gate as a dried corpse.”

Uncle Wu raised his eyebrows but, thinking of the youngsters in the carriage and Fuxiang’s Father’s group who hadn’t returned yet, softened his tone: “Earlier, this old man didn’t know any better.”

The soldiers sneered, mocking: “As long as you know.”

“Searching the carriage is really inconvenient. Sir, could you show some leniency?” Uncle Wu slid a pouch from his sleeve.

One of them weighed it, opened it, and glanced inside. His eyes lit up, but he still pretended to disdainfully stuff it back into his armor: “No need to search the carriage. Have the people come down so I can see them.”

Uncle Wu furrowed his brow, preparing to offer more money, when Chu Ling and the others began getting out of the carriage one by one.

The two soldiers looked at Xiao Hua and examined her carefully, raising their eyebrows and exchanging glances.

Xiao Hua recoiled in disgust, stepping back, and Zhang Dong positioned himself in front of her.

“Hey, hey, why are you hiding? Are you carrying something? Come, let me frisk you.”

Wan Sanjin shouted angrily: “What did you say?!”

“What did I say? You’re being bold, huh? Bold in front of our Yuanzhou army!”

“Bring her over here. I suspect your group’s background is suspicious—perhaps sent by Dayuan to gather intelligence. Grab that little girl.”

As soon as the soldier finished speaking, about a hundred people suddenly leapt out from who knows where, all gripping long spears as they approached.

Chu Ling directly stepped forward and kicked the speaking soldier to the ground. Pulling out her token, she pressed it against the soldier’s face: “Prince Rui’s token. Don’t tell me you don’t recognize it.”

The soldier struggled but couldn’t get up. Gritting his teeth, he said, “So what if it’s Prince Rui? The general is out training troops—do we still need to follow the prince’s orders?”

“You’re acting so arrogantly because of that mighty general, aren’t you!” Chu Ling snapped, her teeth clenched. What kind of so-called general lets his men get away with such nonsense?

Su He, looking at the soldiers, suddenly paled: “Not good… Sister Bodhisattva!”

Chu Ling’s heart sank. She looked at Uncle Wu and said, “Uncle Wu, save them!”

Uncle Wu’s expression changed drastically. With his men, he immediately kicked over the barricades and charged in.

Chu Ling raised her hand: “Go—save them! I’ll stay here. I hold Prince Rui’s token. If they dare touch anyone, I’ll cut off their hands and feet!”

The nearly hundred soldiers hesitated as they looked at Chu Ling, teeth gritted, wanting to stop him. But Chu Ling raised the Prince Rui token high.

“Subordinates of the mighty general, you dare move against the prince’s people? Moreover, I hold an official position! If you dare act, I will not let you off easily!” Chu Ling declared, stamping hard on the man beneath her.

“Ah! You—you dare act? Our general will never forgive you!”

“Tell him to bring his horse over!” Chu Ling roared. “When we confront him at the hall, I want to see who allowed him to let his men do this!”

Angrier by the moment, Chu Ling rolled up her sleeves, revealing the small wrist-mounted arrow, aiming it directly at the man below.

“Stop!” A clear shout came from afar. A young officer in a white robe rode in swiftly on horseback. Dismounting, he strode over. Seeing the token in Chu Ling’s hand, he frowned: “Young master, why are you bullying our Da Zhou soldiers?”

Chu Ling sneered: “The people of Da Zhou are bent over from harsh taxes, and what do you get? A bunch of thugs like yourselves, is that it?”

The white-robed officer looked confused: “Young master, what exactly has happened?”

“Happened? I’ll ask you this—why is there a barricade on the official road?” Chu Ling pointed at the overturned barricade.

The officer explained, “We were just concerned that people with ill intentions might pass through…”

Chu Ling stared at him: “Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? Where is your training ground, and where is the official road? This place is remote. Who else would be passing through but people from Yuanzhou City? How much do you charge for passage each time? How much do you pocket for yourselves? You call this training? You’re sucking the blood of the people!”

The young officer froze, just noticing a soldier’s pouch had fallen. He picked it up, opened it, and his anger exploded: “Who gave you permission to collect tolls?!”

All the soldiers lowered their heads, afraid to look at the officer.

Seeing the situation wasn’t right, Chu Ling turned to the officer and continued: “I’ll ask one more question. It’s said that families of the Yuanzhou soldiers killed back then only had to pay fifty taels to pass through and pay respects at the burial pits. Is that correct?”

The officer frowned: “Rebel soldiers may not be honored, and lowly people may not go either. Otherwise, it is a capital offense.”

“Is that so? Your men collected fifty taels, but only allowed two people through, one of whom was a woman, and my people have already gone to rescue them. So if you don’t handle this properly, once we reach Yuanzhou City, I’ll report this to the authorities!” Chu Ling said coldly, clutching the token.

The officer pursed his lips: “Lowly people may not report to officials.”

Chu Ling ground his teeth in fury: “Then I’ll report it myself! I want to ask the officials here—is General Weiyuan the local tyrant, daring to forcibly take the people’s money on top of taxes?”