roccoschili Chapter 9 No Way Out
Chapter 9 No Way Out
Li Chong was caught off guard when he saw Cui Shi losing his composure.
I thought that anyone who dared to ask me to impersonate the county magistrate must have some guts, but in the end, they were not as brave as me.
Li Chong quickly bent down and covered his mouth.
"Waaaaah~~~"
Cui Shi was confused and tried to struggle.
"Shut up!" Li Chong snapped.
When Cui Shi met Li Chong's gaze, she immediately shrank back and dared not move again.
Li Chong slowly released his grip, looked around, and saw that there was no one else there.
He took a few steps outside and called out in his usual tone, "Someone come here, I have something to tell you."
Cui Shi bent down and approached Li Chong, glancing around nervously, but thankfully no one answered.
Li Chong glared fiercely at Cui Shi, grabbed him and pulled him aside, lowering his voice to say, "If you want to die, go find a rope and hang yourself! Don't fucking drag me into this!"
This is the place arranged by Yang Chengde; who knows if there are eavesdroppers on the other side of the wall?
If someone had overheard what Choi Si-rae said, they would have been exposed on the spot.
Cui Shi nodded tremblingly, "I...I was wrong, I won't dare to do it again. But, sir, let's hurry up and find a way to get out of here. What will you say when you see the prefect? You'll definitely be exposed."
Hearing Cui Shi say this, Li Chong released his grip on Cui Shi's hand, sat down at the table, and poured himself a cup of tea.
"You think I don't want to leave?" Li Chong retorted irritably after finishing his tea. "But can we even leave now? There are spies everywhere in and out of this place. If we try to escape now, we'll be caught in no time, and we'll both be dead!"
Cui Shi then sat down opposite Li Chong: "Then let's escape on the way from Yanggu to Xucheng."
"Hmph." Li Chong snorted coldly, "You've missed your chance."
After saying that, Li Chong stroked his teacup with one hand, his eyes deep, as he considered how to proceed next.
How can I continue to muddle through?
and......
Li Chong glanced at the terrified Cui Shi, a cold glint flashing in his eyes. This man was also a major weakness.
Meanwhile, Cui Shi still didn't understand what Li Chong meant.
He pressed on, puzzled, "What do you mean by that, sir? What do you mean there's no chance?"
No sooner had Cui finished speaking than a voice came from outside the courtyard.
"Is Lord Li here? I request an audience."
Choi Si was taken aback and subconsciously looked at Lee Chong.
Li Chong shook his head helplessly: "Why are you looking at me? Go open the door!"
"oh oh."
Cui Shi, as if waking from a dream, hurriedly went to open the door.
There stood a man in the courtyard, dressed as a constable.
The man stepped forward, his face beaming, and bowed respectfully: "Greetings, sir. I am the head constable of this county; you can just call me Wu Dalang. Registrar Yang and County Lieutenant Fu have instructed me to take a few brothers to escort you to meet Prefect Wang tomorrow. I dare not neglect this duty, and I have come today to give you my regards."
Li Chong sat at the table and nodded calmly: "Thank you for your trouble, Officer Wu. My safety is now in your hands."
Wu Dalang patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, sir. My men are all skilled fighters and will ensure your safety. Also, how should we get there tomorrow? By carriage or on horseback? Please give me your instructions as soon as possible so I can make the necessary preparations."
Li Chong feigned hesitation: "Riding a horse is fast, but the journey is inevitably bumpy. As for taking a carriage..."
After looking Wu Dalang up and down, Li Chong nodded.
"Let's use the carriage. We'll be careful and stick to the main road; there shouldn't be any more accidents."
"Alright!" Wu Dalang quickly agreed. "Then I'll go and make preparations now, without disturbing your rest, sir."
Li Chong waved his hand: "See Wu Bantou off for me."
Cui Shi was stunned for a moment before realizing that Li Chong was talking to him. He quickly followed and saw Wu Dalang off.
Wu Dalang repeatedly said he dared not, and was sent away by Cui Shi.
After seeing the person off, Cui Shi returned to Li Chong's side, his face even more grim.
"We're doomed, we're doomed, there's no way we can escape now, we're surrounded by people, we're probably going to die."
Squatting on the ground, Cui Shi lamented to himself, "Me too, why did I have to have such evil intentions? Now look what's happened, I barely escaped with my life, and now I'm going to lose it all."
As he spoke, Cui Shi slapped himself lightly.
Li Chong looked down at him and secretly curled his lip.
With that kind of mentality, no wonder he's just a lowly servant.
"If you're going to hit me, hit me hard, make me hear a sound," Li Chong said sarcastically.
Upon hearing this, Cui Shi turned to look at Li Chong, and seeing his nonchalant expression, he became angry as well: "Do you know we're about to die?!"
Li Chong remained unmoved: "You're not going to fight anymore? If you're not going to fight, then let's discuss what our chances of survival are."
"A way out?" Cui Shi suddenly perked up and quickly moved closer to Li Chong. "You mean, we still have a way out?"
Li Chong looked at him and squeezed out a sound.
"Um?"
Cui Shi suddenly realized what was happening, and quickly stood up straight, smiling obsequiously, "Please speak, sir, I am all ears."
Li Chong looked at him seriously: "Recount in detail everything your master did during his previous term, including his achievements and mistakes, without omitting anything."
"That's it?"
Choi Si was somewhat disappointed. What use was it even if he knew all this?
What if the prefect doesn't test this? He might just ask some random questions about poetry and literature, and I'd be doomed.
Judging from Li Chong's appearance, Cui Shi didn't believe he had any learning. If he were truly learned, why would he be collecting debts for others?
"Bang!"
Li Chong slammed his hand on the table: "You begged me to impersonate you in the first place, and you brought this death sentence upon yourself. If you don't want to live, then die now. If you still want to live, then get serious!"
Seeing Li Chong's eyes blazing with fury, Cui Shi was startled.
But at the same time, a glimmer of hope ignited in his heart. Looking at Li Chong's momentum, what if? What if he really could find a way?
We've decided to try anything, even if it seems hopeless.
Cui Shi sat down opposite Li Chong: "That was four years ago, when my master went to take up his post..."
That night, the light in Li Chong's room stayed on for a long time. It would take a long time to tell the whole story from the beginning of the past three years, down to the smallest detail.
However, these two people clearly don't lack time right now.
Finally, before dawn, Li Chong had a complete understanding of the official career of the other "Li Chong".
It can only be said that he truly proved the saying, "It's easy to be an official if you have connections in the court."
The previous Li Chong was simply too mediocre.
If it weren't for the money his father-in-law gave him, he probably wouldn't have been able to fill the vacancy of county magistrate even now.
However, even knowing all this, it seems we are still helpless in the face of the upcoming verification.
"Well?" Cui Shi looked at Li Chong with hopeful eyes. "Does my lord have any ideas?"
"Haa~~~"
Li Chong yawned, glanced at Cui Shi, and calmly said, "Don't worry, I have a way to get through this. Just wait and see."
Seeing Cui Shi's skeptical expression, Li Chong said no more.
If we can keep him calm for now, that's fine. If Cui Shi keeps acting up, he'll be exposed soon, even before he meets the prefect.