Gu Jin’an and He Jinseng were still hiding in the government office jail with the bank’s contracts with the farmers. He had to go take a look and only when he was sure they and the contracts were safe could he be at ease.

"Yes." Hong Dao and Zhang Zhong answered.

"I’m going too." Luo Wu was also worried about Gu Jin’an.

"Company Commander Qin, wait, I’ll go with you. Those contracts are tied to my life, there can’t be any mishap." Young Master Dou said, then turned back to glare at those injured villagers: "Manager Dou will prioritize handling your loan matters. After you borrow Silver, go to the clinic yourselves to have your wounds treated, and don’t you dare think about squatting in the bank and not leaving, or I’ll throw you out."

He waved a hand again, calling Manager Dou over: "They’re all a bunch of paupers, probably don’t have Silver to see the doctor. Lend them a bit more Silver, keep the monthly interest the same, but give them a longer term to repay."

While saying this, Young Master Dou’s heart was bleeding. Silver, his Silver—why on earth was he doing business that would take more than ten years just to break even?!

"Yes, young master, set your mind at ease, this old slave knows what to do." Manager Dou said.

"Let’s go." Qin San Lang called to Luo Wu and Young Master Dou and took the lead heading toward the government office.

On the way they saw quite a few rockets scattered on the ground. These rockets were tipped with pine oil; some had landed on houses in the county, but the government office’s Government Officials were helping put out the flames, so no major damage had been done.

...

Inside the county government, County Magistrate Zheng was so anxious he was practically pacing holes in the floor. When he saw Qin San Lang and the others return, he hurried up to ask, "Well? Did you catch them? What kind of people were they?"

He just hoped they weren’t nobles or high-ranking officials that the Zheng Family couldn’t afford to offend, or some noble family or Imperial Family members. Otherwise tonight’s incident would be very hard to wrap up. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Qin San Lang said, "My lord, don’t worry, they’re not from any powerful clan. They were sent by Young Master Dou’s stepmother, Ms. Meng."

County Magistrate Zheng said, "Mrs. Dou Meng? The concubine daughter from Lord Meng of the Imperial Censorate’s household? She’s afraid Young Master Dou will achieve something, so she wants to ruin his affairs?"

Qin San Lang nodded. "Exactly. So my lord need not be overly concerned. It’s not some especially powerful family making trouble; the bank can still hold out."

In fact, those powerful families did want to make a move, but because they were wary of the Ouyang Family, they didn’t dare be the first to stick their heads out, and let Ms. Meng be their knife.

If Ms. Meng succeeded, all would be well; if she failed, she could still help them test the bank’s strength.

"So it’s just a women’s squabble. Then this official can relax." County Magistrate Zheng let out a breath of relief. The Meng Family held office, but they did not count as high-ranking officials; at best they were a local noble family, not some great noble family with deep roots, their abilities limited.

"But what happened tonight was noisy enough." County Magistrate Fang had rushed from his home to the county government in the middle of the night after hearing the bank was in trouble; at this moment, he spoke with lingering fear.

Young Master Dou let out a cold snort. "Lord Fang, you may rest easy. That shrew has stirred up this huge mess—I will definitely make her pay the price!"

Uh... He’d heard that Mrs. Dou Meng was rather favored by Manager Dou. Young Master Dou, can you really make Mrs. Dou Meng pay the price?

Not to mention there was still Meng Imperial Censor; even just for Meng Imperial Censor’s sake, Manager Dou wouldn’t dare truly do anything to Ms. Meng.

But County Magistrate Fang didn’t dare say this aloud. This Young Master Dou had a fiery temper and didn’t get along with Mrs. Dou Meng; if he said it, Young Master Dou would undoubtedly explode.

"Lord County Magistrate, County Governor, dawn is almost here. Nothing else will go wrong now. You two lords may rest at ease. I will go check on Good Brother An." After Qin San Lang reported the bank’s situation to County Magistrate Zheng, he took Young Master Dou and Luo Wu to the cells to see Gu Jin’an and the others.

"Who is it? Stop!" The prison guards had also been badly frightened tonight, afraid evildoers would break in and hurt Gu Jin’an.

"It’s me." Qin San Lang held up the torch and stood still, letting the prison guards see his face clearly before he moved forward.

Seeing that it was Qin San Lang, the prison guards were utterly relieved. One ran to open the cell door while saying, "Lord Company Commander, rest assured, First Place Gu and the others are all fine. No one came to cause trouble in the cells."

It was just that that student He had been scared badly; his face had been deathly pale the whole time and had never returned to normal.

"San Lang, is the bank safe?" Gu Jin’an’s hands had been clasped together in front of him all this time; as soon as he saw Qin San Lang, he asked.

Qin San Lang nodded. "The villains have all been caught. The bank is very safe."

"What about the contracts?" Young Master Dou asked anxiously—that was his life on the line, nothing could happen to them.

Gu Jin’an unclasped his hands and took a cloth pouch from inside his clothes, handing it to Young Master Dou. "They’re all here, not a single one missing."

Young Master Dou hurriedly took it, opened the pouch, and checked the contracts. They were indeed real, and not one missing. "Phew, this young master’s life is saved."

However...

"These contracts are no longer safe in the bank. When it’s light, you take them back and give them to Old Ouyang, let him keep them safe."

Damn it, they couldn’t always make him deal with the thugs. Old Ouyang ought to be startled and scared a bit too.

After hearing this, Gu Jin’an frowned, but said, "Fine, I’ll send the contracts back to the Ouyang Family."

But Young Master Dou was sly as a fox. When the day was fully bright and Gu Jin’an was about to return to the village, he added two more mule carts for him to take back.

...

Mid-July, by the hour of Chen the sun was already blazing. Standing at the government gate, Gu Jin’an looked at those two mule carts and asked with an unhappy face, "What’s in them? What calamity are you dumping on the Ouyang Family?"

Third Miss was still living in the house in town; he had no intention of sending any harmful things to the Ouyang Family.

Young Master Dou laughed dryly. "You really don’t know how to talk. What do you mean ’dumping calamity’? These are good things in there. If you don’t believe me, ask Company Commander Qin."

Young Marquis, you have to back me up here.

Qin San Lang said, "There are witnesses inside. It’s a bit troublesome, but sending them to the Ouyang Family is better than keeping them in the bank."

Ms. Meng might show no mercy to Young Master Dou, but she had to be wary of the Ouyang Family. Even if she sent people to silence them, they wouldn’t dare rush into the Ouyang household.

But Gu Jin’an was unwilling. How could he let the girl he liked live in the same compound with Assassins?!

His gaze darkened; he fixed Young Master Dou with a look that made Young Master Dou back up a few steps. "Don’t glare at me like that. It’s not like I have any better options."

After working with Gu Jin’an for a few days, he knew very well this was someone who looked pretty on the outside but was venomous to the core!

"Methods are thought up by people. If you’re just being lazy, admit it. Don’t give me that ’no other way’ nonsense." Gu Jin’an gave Qin San Lang a glance and walked toward a spot where no one else was around.

Qin San Lang knew he’d thought of a solution and followed. "What do you plan to do?"

Gu Jin’an said, "Send them to the Military Office. There you have the water dungeon you dug and the new Death Prison you built. Have Feng Jin, You An and the others guard them from the shadows. Even if Ms. Meng sends more Assassins to silence them, You An and the others can hold them off. And if the Meng Family’s Assassins actually attack the Military Office, that’s tantamount to rebellion; the Meng Family will be finished. As long as Ms. Meng has half a brain, even if she knows the witnesses are in the Military Office, she won’t dare casually send people to silence them. It’s safer than sending them to the Ouyang Family."

After hearing this, Qin San Lang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. "All right, we’ll do it that way."

He’d originally wanted to send Meng Wu and the others to the Ouyang Family because he trusted the Ouyang Family’s status and their Shadow Guards. But if Gu Jin’an wasn’t willing, he wouldn’t insist. After all, the Military Office really was a perfect place to hide people.