RPAGF Chapter 54: Are you dissatisfied with my tea ceremony?
Chapter 54: Are you dissatisfied with my tea ceremony?
Half an hour after Zheng Luoqi was kidnapped by the 'robbers'.
Lin Zifeng ran out in a panic, feigning distress, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Something terrible has happened! Lord Zheng has disappeared!"
"Zifeng, what happened?" Pei Wenyu rushed over upon hearing the commotion, feigning sleepiness and a hurried demeanor, and asked anxiously.
"Something terrible has happened! When I got up to use the restroom, I saw that Lord Zheng's carriage curtain was open. I was worried about whether he was alright, so I went to check on him, but I found that Lord Zheng was no longer in the carriage!" Lin Zifeng said anxiously.
"What are you all standing here for? Send men to search for him immediately! He shouldn't have gone far yet, hurry up and send men to chase after him! If anything happens to Lord Zheng, I will hold you all responsible!" Pei Wenyu roared at the guards with a furious expression.
Upon hearing the order, the guards frantically began searching for Zheng Luoqi's whereabouts.
Just then, a group of assassins dressed in black suddenly appeared from the surrounding area and immediately began fighting with the guards.
The assassins in black kept shouting, "You corrupt official, prepare to die!"
In an instant, the surrounding area descended into chaos.
Pei Wenyu and Lin Zifeng fought the assassins with great skill, and after another hour, the assassins suddenly fled.
Just as the guard was about to give chase, Pei Wenyu stopped him, saying with a gloomy expression, "Now is not the time to chase them. The most urgent task is to find Lord Zheng first."
He then led his men to search the nearby mountains and forests.
Half an hour later, the two met up again. Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu pretended to be worried and asked, "Did you find it?"
Then they both lowered their heads and sighed.
"What are you looking for?"
Pei Wenyu and Lin Zifeng were startled by the voice and looked in the direction of it.
Zheng Luoqi was seen riding on horseback, dressed impeccably, without a trace of blood on her body, not even a single hair out of place, accompanied by a group of unfamiliar guards.
"Lord Zheng...you...you're alright!" Lin Zifeng asked, feigning concern. But in his heart, he was cursing Zheng Luoqi to the core.
"What could possibly happen to me? Or does Young Master Lin wish something bad to happen to me?" Zheng Luoqi replied with a smile.
The look in his eyes made Pei Wenyu and Lin Zifeng tremble.
Zheng Luoqi isn't that stupid or easily kidnapped. She saw through Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu's little tricks long ago.
Fortunately, Zheng Luoqi knew that these two could not be trusted, so she had sent some guards to follow them from a distance, and they were not allowed to go forward without orders. Therefore, Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu were unaware that there was another group of guards.
Moreover, Zheng Luoqi would never use his own life as bait. Even the person sleeping in the carriage was not the real person, but a disguised guard in disguise. After all, it would take time for the guard to come and rescue the person, and he was really afraid that these people would just kill them on the spot without hesitation.
So he kept a close watch on them, ready to arrest Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu as soon as they dared to make a move. This way, he could ensure his own safety and also find a handle on the Lin and Pei families to frame them for plotting against court officials.
Their original plan was to tie them up a little further away before killing them. After all, they were still in Zheng Luoqi's team. If something happened to Zheng Luoqi in the team, the Prime Minister would target them first, and they wouldn't be able to escape.
If someone was accidentally kidnapped by 'kidnappers' and died in the wild, then no matter how much suspicion there is, there is no reason to cause them trouble.
Then they set a trap, thinking they had Zheng Luoqi under their control, but little did they know that Zheng Luoqi hadn't fallen for it at all.
Lin Zifeng forced a smile and replied, "I only discovered you were missing when I got up in the middle of the night, so I sent people to look for you. But then a lot of assassins suddenly appeared, which delayed me until now. Since you're alright, that's wonderful!"
Lin Zifeng was sitting on horseback, chuckling awkwardly, but his smile was different from usual.
Pei Wenyu was good at pretending; his facial expression remained unchanged, and he didn't show much surprise that Zheng Luoqi hadn't fallen for his trick.
"Since you are alright, let's continue on our way," Pei Wenyu said with a forced smile.
"You two don't look too well, let's find a place to rest, so that you two gentlemen don't get tired from your long journey. If you get tired, then Zongzheng and Elder Pei will definitely come after me!" Zheng Luoqi said jokingly.
Zheng Luoqi then turned her horse around and headed towards a nearby town to find a place to rest.
Zheng Luoqi dismounted first and headed towards the teahouse not far ahead. Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu exchanged a glance and quickly followed.
After taking their seats, Zheng Luoqi called over the waiter and ordered a pot of fine Longjing tea. He gently blew away the steam, took a small sip, and smiled at the two of them.
"My lords, I am deeply grateful for your care this time," Zheng Luoqi said, setting down his teacup in a friendly tone. "However, this kind of thing must not happen again. My life is very precious." He deliberately emphasized the word "precious."
Upon hearing this, Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu immediately stood up to apologize, promising that it would never happen again.
Zheng Luoqi waved her hand, gesturing for them to sit down, a sly glint in her eyes.
"Both of you must be tired from your journey," Zheng Luoqi said with a smile, looking at Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu with gentle eyes, seemingly genuinely concerned for them.
He then took out a packet of powder from his pocket and, without hesitation, poured it into two cups of tea in front of them. Then, she gently pushed the two cups of tea towards Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu.
"Come on, have a cup of tea!" Zheng Luoqi smiled like a cunning fox, his eyes narrowed into slits, making it impossible to see what he was thinking.
Zheng Luoqi's smile contrasted sharply with the tense and serious expressions of Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu.
At this moment, the expressions on their faces were quite varied. Pei Wenyu and Lin Zifeng exchanged a glance, a hint of wariness and helplessness flashing in their eyes.
They looked at the tea Zheng Luoqi offered and were caught in a dilemma. Drinking it was one thing, not drinking it was another; they wanted to refuse but dared not speak.
Meanwhile, Zheng Luoqi's men had somehow managed to swarm around the teahouse. Each of them had sharp eyes, intently watching every move, as if they would rush forward and execute Lin Zifeng and Pei Wenyu on the spot at Zheng Luoqi's command.
"Why aren't you two drinking? Are you dissatisfied with my tea ceremony?" Zheng Luoqi asked, seeing that Pei Wenyu and Lin Zifeng hadn't made a move.
Pei Wenyu and Lin Zifeng understood that Zheng Luoqi was telling them that on his turf, he wouldn't even bother with petty tricks if he wanted to crush them, and he was also warning them.
They could only gamble, betting that Zheng Luoqi wouldn't kill them right now. The two exchanged a glance and then downed their tea in one gulp.