Chapter 443: Time to Raid the House

"As long as we plan this carefully, there won't be any problem at all."

Fan Yongdou shot Wukeshan and the other man a helpless look, his expression beyond description.

Kidnapping someone wasn't something Fan Yongdou had never done; killing wasn't something he'd never done either—but it all depended on who the target was.

Resorting to such measures against that profligate young master was rather too heavy-handed. If things went wrong, he might well drag himself down with it.

But there was no helping it now—Fan Yongdou truly didn't know what to do. If the other party really was gunning for the Fan family, really was gunning for the cooperation between the three houses, then trouble was afoot.

The most pressing matter was to figure out whether this profligate young master before them was blinded by lust, or deliberately doing this on purpose.

If it was the former, that was still manageable; if it was the latter, that was where the real trouble lay.

Since talking clearly was out of the question, the only option was to strike hard.

Though Fan Yongdou was worried and deeply displeased inside, there was no choice—when the time came to make a move, the move had to be made. If he didn't strike now, things would only get more troublesome afterward.

Seeing Wukeshan and the other man both looking at him, Fan Yongdou seemed to steel himself, gritting his teeth and saying, "Then do as you said. Prepare your men—it must succeed in one go, absolutely no mistakes allowed."

"Understood," Wukeshan nodded and said, "Rest assured, even if something goes wrong, it absolutely won't implicate you."

Fan Yongdou nodded, his face grim, and said, "That's for the best."

"We'll make it look like some destitute folk from elsewhere wanted to get rich quick, and after spotting this free-spending profligate young master, decided to snatch him."

"If he doesn't know anything, we take the money and let him go; if he does know, we name a high price—or stage an accident and kill him outright."

Wukeshan looked at Fan Yongdou and gave his direct guarantee, speaking with firm conviction: "Even if our men get caught in the end, they won't give us up. Rest assured, they're all death-sworn agents."

On this point, Fan Yongdou did believe him. After all, among Wukeshan's men, there were certainly those willing to die for them—and no small number at that.

Never mind Wukeshan and his lot—Fan Yongdou had plenty of death-sworn agents under his own command too.

Fan Yongdou nodded and asked, "When do you plan to make your move?"

"This needs to be planned out properly." Wukeshan thought for a moment and said, "After all, the other party has so many men at his side, and the inn is full of prying eyes—not a good place to strike. We'll pick a good approach and try to lure that profligate young master out; once we do, things will be much easier."

"Then arrange it as you see fit." Fan Yongdou thought it over and said, "I'll leave this matter in your hands."

With those words, Fan Yongdou rose to his feet and walked out.

From here on, he didn't want to be involved any further. There were more pressing matters to attend to now—namely, making preparations.

If Wukeshan's side had their operation exposed and it implicated Fan Yongdou, he would need to be ready. He couldn't just sit here waiting for death.

When the time came to flee, he'd need people too. If things reached the point of no return, Fan Yongdou would have to pick his escape route well.

Under such circumstances, heading back early to prepare was the best choice.

Wukeshan said nothing about Fan Yongdou's departure.

From this moment on, though the two sides were still in a cooperative relationship, they had entered a phase of mutual wariness—and there was even the possibility of being sold out by the other.

Glancing at the Irgen Gioro man beside him, Wukeshan's face was as heavy as water as he said in a displeased tone, "Have your people keep an eye on him. Don't let him do anything rash."

"Don't worry, we've already got people watching him." The Irgen Gioro man smiled and said, "This matter is of utmost importance—there absolutely cannot be any mistakes. If that profligate young master truly doesn't know anything, we must send him back. We'll still need to cooperate with him then. He's very important to us."

"Relax." Wukeshan sneered and said, "Once he falls into our hands, whether we squeeze him dry is just a matter of our say-so, isn't it?"

"It's only that coward Fan Yongdou who's so timid. Once this man lands in my hands, I'll make him write a letter of surrender, then make him write a document cursing the Great Ming Emperor, and have him sign and seal it."

"By then, whether he knows the truth or not, he'll have to spill everything. At that point, you'll have no choice but to cooperate with us. That Fan fellow has too many schemes in his head—we need to find other people."

"If we can subdue this profligate young master before us, we'll have another path open, and we won't be squeezed by that Fan fellow anymore. Maybe we'll even spend less money—that's why I didn't tell that Fan fellow the truth."

The Irgen Gioro man looked at Wukeshan with admiration and said, "Good plan."

"Alright, you should head back and prepare as well. If anything comes up, I'll need your help. Have your men ready too."

"Also, keep an eye on that Fan fellow—don't let him keep making trouble." Wukeshan looked at the Irgen Gioro man and said with a smile.

"Alright, no problem." Rising to his feet and clasping his fists toward Wukeshan, the Irgen Gioro man said, "Take care of yourself, then."

And so the matter was settled. Compared to Fan Yongdou, there was far more trust between Wukeshan and the other man, so there wasn't much need for lengthy negotiation—the plan of cooperation was basically finalized on the spot.

And at this very moment, back at Zhu Youxiao's inn.

Zhu Youxiao was also listening to a report.

This time, besides Wei Chao and Chen Hong, Cui Yingyuan of the Embroidered Uniform Guard had come as well.

Over this period, Cui Yingyuan had been extremely busy, dispatching his men to strike out in all directions around Zhangjiakou, constantly gathering all sorts of intelligence. The agents previously placed had all been activated, rapidly infiltrating every trade and profession in Zhangjiakou.

For the Embroidered Uniform Guard, such matters were hardly difficult at all. Secret agents were everywhere, and carrying out such work was second nature.

What's more, infiltration had already begun here since before the new year. Now that things had suddenly kicked into motion, the results were remarkably striking.

"Do you have some urgent situation?" Zhu Youxiao looked at Cui Yingyuan and asked directly.

For Cui Yingyuan to come rushing over so suddenly to request an imperial edict, it couldn't be triggered by some trivial matter. But it was good to have a major matter—Zhu Youxiao had been feeling things were a bit too calm lately.

Fan Yongdou was truly disappointing. Even now he hadn't delivered Da Yu'er—utterly useless!

And on top of that, he was still negotiating terms? The other side wouldn't agree?

Was this even a question of agreeing or not?

This was simply a matter of your strength being insufficient!

If you can't even snatch a person, what good are you for anything else?

It looked like the plan was going to fail. Not because the scheme was poorly devised, but because he had overestimated Fan Yongdou. He had originally assumed that, given their current cooperation, Fan Yongdou would at least hold the initiative.

Setting everything else aside—did it really take that much effort to demand one little girl?

Even if the other side refused to hand her over, couldn't you just use force?

This was Fan Yongdou's own turf, after all!

The current situation was that Fan Yongdou didn't dare. Even now he hadn't snatched the girl—absolutely useless to the extreme.

This had already made Zhu Youxiao rather impatient, because for Zhu Youxiao, Fan Yongdou was meant to be used to stir up trouble.

Yet this fellow Fan Yongdou kept retreating and shrinking back, not wanting to stir up anything at all—which made him useless. And useless things naturally got disposed of.

Cui Yingyuan's expression was solemn at this moment. Hearing Zhu Youxiao's question, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, that Fan Yongdou is making suspicious moves."

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao immediately became interested. "What's going on?"

Could it be that he was about to make his move?

If he made his move at this moment, Zhu Youxiao would actually think the better of him. If he did act, Zhu Youxiao could just reap the spoils of the fight between the fisherman and the clam.

First get Da Yu'er into his hands, then sit on the mountain and watch the tigers battle.

Cui Yingyuan's tone carried indignation as he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, he is liquidating his wealth and pulling back his people. Many places are shipping goods out at speed. He may have sensed something amiss and is preparing defenses — he could flee at any moment."

Flee?

Zhu Youxiao glanced at Cui Yingyuan, and the smile on his face vanished in an instant.

His face darkened as he said, "He actually intends to flee? Didn't I tell you people? You must be cautious and careful — never startle the snake. How did the news leak out?"

"You're all useless — you can't accomplish anything!"

Zhu Youxiao's tone was displeased, and Cui Yingyuan dared not argue back.

Whatever the problem was this time, the fact that the news had leaked was real. That man Fan Yongdou was about to run, and they should go seize him now.

Glancing at Cui Yingyuan, Zhu Youxiao asked, "So you've come to request the imperial edict to act?"

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cui Yingyuan quickly assented. "At this point, there are no other good options left. Acting directly to arrest the man and confiscate his household — seizing everything he owns — is the best course. We can't just watch him flee with open eyes, can we?"

Zhu Youxiao understood this in his heart, but he could not help being angry.

His own plan was not yet settled when this business cropped up. Still, he could not lose the greater for the lesser — the remaining matters could be handled himself, but Fan Yongdou absolutely could not be allowed to escape.

That man Fan Yongdou, once arrested, could be interrogated for a great deal of information. Besides, the man was wealthy, and he could not be allowed to take his money away.

Wasn't the whole purpose of this trip to Zhangjiakou to get money?

Zhu Youxiao said to Cui Yingyuan, "Act, then. Arrest the man and confiscate his household. Don't let a single member of his family get away."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Cui Yingyuan quickly assented.

This was his opportunity — this time he had to do it flawlessly.

The matter of the leak was still unresolved, so this affair could afford even less error. If even the slightest mishap occurred, he would truly be finished.

Cui Yingyuan resolved to pull together his most capable men and absolutely ensure nothing went wrong.

"Go on, then." Zhu Youxiao looked at Cui Yingyuan and waved his hand.

After all, this was the last chance.

If Cui Yingyuan still could not grasp it well, then he truly ought to be replaced.