Although the experience had genuinely terrified him, Wang Chao'an could be said to have benefited from misfortune. Otherwise, given his own capabilities, obtaining this letter would have been an impossible dream.
"Steward Wang, I'll need you to blindfold yourself!"
As soon as he emerged from the room, the coachman who had brought him there reappeared before Wang Chao'an. The same carriage, the same coachman – this eerily familiar scene caused Wang Chao'an's mouth to twitch.
"Naturally, naturally!" Coughing lightly, Wang Chao'an very obligingly took the cloth himself and dutifully tied it around his eyes several times.
"Do you need to check it?" Wang Chao'an ventured after being secured.
"That won't be necessary; I believe Steward Wang is a smart man!" The coachman smiled and said nothing further. He simply guided Wang Chao'an by the hand into the carriage, then drove it out of the estate.
Inside the carriage, Wang Chao'an attempted to remove the blindfold several times. However, the thought of the man's ruthless expression during their earlier encounter immediately dispelled his unrealistic idea. His life was in the other man's hands now; it was always best to be obedient.
The carriage seemed to travel for a long time, circling for over an hour. It wasn't until Wang Chao'an was almost asleep that the carriage finally stopped.
"Where are we?" Wang Chao'an asked tentatively, seeing that the carriage had ceased moving. However, the coachman outside did not answer. After a considerable delay, Wang Chao'an cautiously removed the black cloth from his eyes. When he emerged from the carriage, he found himself in an alley behind the Wang Manor. Without further ado, he felt his chest to confirm the letter was still there before knocking on the manor's gate again.
"Wang Chao'an, you wretched dog, how dare you return!" The moment they saw Wang Chao'an, the guards stationed in the rear courtyard of the Wang family lunged forward.
"Stop all of you! I'm here to see my husband. Report to him immediately, tell him it's a matter of utmost urgency!" Although he had anticipated this situation, seeing the men pounce made Wang Chao'an break out in a cold sweat.
"You scoundrel, do you know that because we let you out, we were all whipped ten times today and had half a year's bonus docked!" Mentioning this made everyone's teeth itch with hatred, and their gazes towards Wang Chao'an began to change.
"If I wanted to run, would I still be back at this time?" His words genuinely stunned the guards. Thinking about it, what he said made sense. If he had truly intended to escape, he would have been far from Bianliang by now. Why would he brazenly return to the manor to court death?
"You all keep an eye on him, I'll go find Steward Lu!" Lü Jinzhong was the chief steward of Wang Fu's mansion. As dawn was breaking, Wang Fu was certainly asleep, and these guards wouldn't dare disturb him. Informing Lü Jinzhong was already a show of respect. At the very least, not being beaten to death on the spot, Wang Chao'an breathed a sigh of relief. After the ordeal, by Chenshi, Wang Chao'an, who hadn't slept all night, finally met Wang Fu.
"You wretched dog, how dare you return now!" Seeing Wang Chao'an again, even Wang Fu was somewhat surprised. After all, based on the lingering evidence, this fellow should have already fled the manor. As angry as he was, he understood that recapturing him wouldn't be easy. The man had been gone for a day, and it wasn't until evening that the servants discovered his escape. If he had been on a fast horse, he should have already left the Bianliang territory and perhaps even be nearing Hebei.
"My lord, even if I had the courage of ten thousand dogs, I wouldn't dare to flee without permission. This time, I left the manor without your consent because there was a valid reason!" Seeing Wang Fu's grim expression, Wang Chao'an quickly knelt and began pledging his loyalty.
"Tell me then, what exactly is this reason of yours?" Wang Fu spoke, looking at Wang Chao'an with a cold smile.
"I request my lord to dismiss the attendants!" Having come this far, Wang Chao'an had nothing left to fear and spoke directly.
"My lord!" If this were in the past, Lü Jinzhong would have left without a word. However, considering this fellow had been gone for a day and a night and had now returned to the manor, he felt uneasy about letting Wang Fu face him alone.
"It matters not!" The more he played mysterious, the more Wang Fu believed this fellow must have something significant. Seeing that Wang Fu had spoken, Lü Jinzhong stopped wasting his breath, gestured to the servants, and walked out first.
"Now, can you speak?" With the door closed again, Wang Fu asked with a cold smile.
"My lord, I know I've caused you immense trouble this time, so I was determined to atone for my mistakes. Under duress, I had no choice but to leave the manor without permission..."
"If you only want to say these platitudes, then don't bother saying any more!" Wang Fu interrupted impatiently, tapping the table. Having finally gotten a day off, he had no mood to waste time with this fellow.
"My lord, please see!" Seeing Wang Fu's impatience, Wang Chao'an quickly took out the letter from his inner clothing.
"What is this?" Wang Fu looked at the aged envelope with confusion.
"Reporting to my lord, this is proof that old Bai Shizhong colluded with Zhang Huaizu back then and vouched for him!"
"You said who? Bai Shizhong?" As Wang Chao'an had predicted, upon hearing this, Wang Fu suddenly stood up. After all, at this moment, his true rivals were only a handful of people. Bai Shizhong was already part of the Cai faction, and this old fellow had now sided with Cai You. The reason Prince Yun had so readily helped him deal with Yu Shen was simply to promote this old man to the position of Chancellor. Now that both sides had achieved their goals, their brief honeymoon period had naturally come to an end...