Chapter 47 A step too late

Wang An was already dissatisfied in his heart, but he remained calm on the surface. He turned to Xu Huang and ordered: "Take twenty people with me into the city, and the rest will temporarily camp outside the city."

Wang An brought nearly four hundred people this time, so naturally there was no way he could bring all of them into the city.

There was no inn that could accommodate more than 300 people at a time. After arranging all matters, Wang An rode into the city with more than 20 soldiers from the garrison.

The official wanted to put on a show, but Wang An ignored him.

After Wang An walked away, the official spat on the ground and said contemptuously: "What a weakling prince! My master is so rude, but he is not even angry."

After Wang An entered the city, he did not immediately look for the grain store in the city, but went to a place in the north of the city.

After asking around, Wang An came to the gate of a small courtyard. He raised his hand and knocked on the door. After a while, the gate opened and an old man dressed as a servant said tremblingly, "The young lady has been captured by you soldiers. What are you doing here?"

Wang An's eyes fixed when he heard this, he turned around and dismounted, bowed and said: "The old man has misunderstood, we are from Jizhou, and this time we came to visit Mr. Gao. The old man said something about the young lady being arrested, but I don't know anything about it!"

When the old man heard Wang An say that they were from Jizhou, and when he called himself the King, he felt relieved but also surprised, "Jizhou, are you His Royal Highness Prince Xin?"

Wang An smiled and said, "Have you heard of me, old man?"

The old man said, "I just saw in the court newspaper that His Royal Highness Prince Xin is going to Jizhou to take up his fiefdom."

"I see." Wang An nodded and asked again, "I wonder if Mr. Gao is home? I wanted to ask him about the construction of the city wall in Jizhou."

The old man burst into tears upon hearing this, wiping his tears as he said, "Your Highness, you are too late. The master passed away a few days ago."

Wang An was stunned. He had come thousands of miles to invite him, but he didn't expect that the person had already passed away.

But death is like a lamp, there is nothing that can be done about it.

Wang An shook his head regretfully, said his condolences and prepared to leave.

However, when Wang An was about to leave, the servant suddenly stopped Wang An's horse and asked solemnly, "Your Highness, are you looking for someone to build the city wall?"

Wang An nodded, and suddenly thought of something and asked excitedly: "But your son is also good at building city walls?"

The old man nodded and shook his head, saying, "My master has only one daughter, no son."

Seeing Wang An's disappointment, the old man hurriedly said, "But my young lady has been interested in construction since she was young. My master once said that if my young lady is very talented and is a man, there will be a successor to his legacy."

"Although she is just a girl, when my master was in charge of repairing the city wall of the capital, my young lady also gave advice and helped him solve many problems."

"If His Royal Highness Prince Xin doesn't mind, why not let my young lady give it a try?"

Wang An frowned, feeling a little hesitant.

The old man hurriedly encouraged, "My young lady's construction skills are inherited from the master. Even though she is a girl, my master once said that her construction skills are unmatched even by the Ministry of Works!"

Then he opened the door and pointed at the house and said, "Look at how beautiful our courtyard is. It was also the work of my young lady!" Wang An laughed and said, "But old man, if I remember correctly, when I opened the door just now, you said that your young lady had been kidnapped?"

The old man showed a trace of embarrassment on his face, and said embarrassedly: "He was captured, but as long as the prince is willing to come forward, he can be rescued!"

Wang An thought for a moment. He had asked Chen He before. As far as he knew, the only person in Qingzhou and Jizhou who had the ability to build city walls was Gao Yuanwai who had retired and returned to his hometown.

Apart from that, I have never heard of it.

Now that Mr. Gao has passed away, it seems that the only person she can choose is her daughter.

If it weren't for the tight schedule due to the upcoming autumn harvest, I could have thought of other ways to find such talents from other places.

After figuring out the key, Wang An asked, "Your daughter is from an official family, how could she be kidnapped?"

When the old man heard Wang An ask this, he became furious.

It turns out that the daughter of the Gao family is named Gao Ruyue.

Not only did she inherit her father's true skills, but she was also beautiful and gentle. She was one of the most prominent ladies in Qingzhou City. In the past, countless handsome young men came to propose marriage to her, and they almost broke down the door of her house.

However, Mr. Gao had always been in poor health, so Gao Ruyue devoted herself to taking care of his father and politely declined all those who came to propose marriage.

Among them was Fang Yukun, the son of Qingzhou governor Fang Shan.

Speaking of Fang Yukun, he is a complete playboy and extremely fond of women. Whenever there is a beautiful girl or wife in a family, he will try every means to win her over.

Naturally, he also had his eyes on a beautiful woman like Gao Ruyue, but Gao Ruyue declined his proposals several times, so he held a grudge against her.

He wanted to snatch it away, but he was concerned that Mr. Gao was a retired local official after all, so he couldn't just do it.

After all, he usually bullied men and women, and bullied the common people. They had no power and no one spoke for them. His father was the governor of Qingzhou, and even if the gentry and powerful people in the city didn't like it, no one cared about him.

But if the target is Gao Ruyue, it will be different. After all, Gao is also a member of the gentry and powerful people. If Fang Yukun directly tries to snatch Gao Ruyue, not to mention that Gao Yuanwai himself is qualified to write a letter of impeachment to the court.

Even other gentry and powerful people in the city would not allow Fang Yukun to do this. After all, if Fang Yukun dared to snatch Gao Yuanwai's daughter today, who knows whose daughter he would fall in love with one day?
After all, Gao Ruyue's identity is different. As a playboy, it is okay for him to bully ordinary people, but if he bullies the powerful class, it would be like stirring up a hornet's nest.

Xu Huang was puzzled when he heard this. "Old man, according to what you said, this high price belongs to the gentry and the powerful. Fang Yukun didn't dare to do it at first, so why does he dare to do it now?"

The old man sighed and said, "Now that my master has passed away and Gao Jia has no one to support him, the Gao family is now just an ordinary wealthy family without an official position. Naturally, those gentry and powerful people will not stand up to speak for my young lady."

"So that's how it is." Xu Huang suddenly realized.

After the old man finished speaking, he turned his gaze to Wang An again and begged, "Please help me, Your Majesty. If my young lady is captured by Fang Yukun, her life will be over!"

(End of this chapter)