Even women who travel through time can become prime ministers and nobles.

Chapter 474 Setting Fire to the Government Office

The gray-tiled eaves of the Chuzhou government office still bore traces of the rain from the previous days, but had lost all trace of the warmth of late spring.

Lin Yiyu, dressed in a scarlet robe, was leading the soldiers of the prefecture to adjust the crossbow mechanism at the foot of the stone steps in front of the yamen. His brows were furrowed and his knuckles were white from gripping the military tally.

Ever since the Prince of Rongyang learned of Sister Shi's location, his remaining forces have been relentlessly pursuing her, like a persistent boil. Now, they dare to besiege the imperial government office, clearly a desperate gamble.

Traps had already been laid both inside and outside the government office.

Beneath the courtyard walls on both sides of the main gate, there were pits dug more than ten feet deep. The bottom of the pits was covered with sharpened bamboo spikes and covered only with thin wooden boards and loose soil. From a distance, they looked no different from the ground.

Hidden behind the pillars were soldiers of the garrison, their crossbows aimed at the entrance. The arrowheads were dipped in anesthetic, and a single shot would render someone incapable of moving.

Even under the paved road for the young master, there were tripwires buried, one end of which was tied to a stone roller in the corner of the wall. As soon as someone stepped on it, it would trip them up and fall into the pre-set rope net.

"Miss Shiqing, your arm injury hasn't healed yet, so don't stand under the eaves all the time."

Lin Yiyu turned around and saw Shi Qing leaning against a pillar, her left arm in a sling across her chest. The blue bandage was faintly tinged with dark red, indicating that her wound had bled again.

He then looked at Cui Zhihao not far away. The man's chest was wrapped in thick gauze as he helped the soldiers move rolling stones. With each movement, his brows furrowed more.

In the innermost main hall, Cui Yu'an sat on a pear wood chair, with two guards from the Cui family standing beside him.

Although he was dressed in plain clothes, he could not hide the demeanor of the young master of the Cui family of Qinghe. However, his face was pale at the moment, and his eyes were fixed on the outside of the hall.

Ever since the attack on the post station, she knew that these people would not let it go. Now that she was trapped in the government office, she dared not relax for a moment.

"Young Master Cui, have some hot tea, don't worry too much."

Shi Wanxia walked over with a teacup in her hand. Today she had changed into a dark blue dress, which was more convenient for her to move around in than her previous ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress).

She hasn't slept since yesterday, spending her time counting the number of soldiers for Lin Yiyu and checking on Shi Qing and Cui Zhihao's injuries. Now, faint dark circles have appeared under her eyes.

Cui Yu'an took the teacup, his fingertips trembling slightly: "Miss Shi, do you think... those people really dare to attack? This is the imperial government office."

Before Shi Wanxia could answer, a rapid sound of horses' hooves suddenly came from outside the courtyard, followed by the shouts of the guards: "Who goes there! Halt!"

Everyone became alert instantly.

Lin Yiyu drew his sword from his waist, strode to the door, and looked out through the crack in the door—he saw more than a dozen men in black riding horses, loitering on the street outside the government office. The leader was holding a curved sword, seemingly observing the government office's defenses.

"They are remnants of the Rongyang King's forces!"

Lin Yiyu gave a low shout, "Everyone get ready, they're going to test us!"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than two men in black suddenly spurred their horses toward the main gate of the government office, their hooves clattering on the stone steps in front of them.

Just as they were about to step through the main gate, their feet suddenly gave way, and with a loud crash, the two of them and their horse fell into a pit. Bamboo spikes at the bottom of the pit instantly pierced the horse's belly, and its screams echoed through the street.

The guards behind the pillars immediately pulled the triggers of their crossbows, and arrows shot out with a "whoosh," flying towards the remaining men in black.

Those men were clearly prepared; they all dismounted, raised their shields to block the arrows, and retreated, leaving only the corpses in the pit and the dying horses behind.

This was the first test, it came quickly and went quickly. But everyone knew that this was just the beginning.

The men in black came twice more over the next half day.

The second time, they pushed their wooden shields forward, avoiding the pitfall at the main gate, but were hit squarely by hot oil that had been set up in the corridor. The scalding oil flowed into the gaps in the shields, causing the men in black to scream in agony.

The third time, they tried to climb over the wall behind the government office, but they triggered the bells on the wall. The guards who were already lying in ambush there immediately threw rolling stones, forcing them to retreat.

After several probes, most of the traps in the government office were figured out, and Lin Yiyu's expression grew increasingly grim: "Now that these people have figured out the location of the traps, they will probably use even more ruthless tricks."

Shi Wanxia also felt panicked. She walked to the side door, wanting to push it open a crack to see what was happening outside.

The side door faces a narrow alley. Not many traps had been laid there before, and she was worried that the men in black might launch a sneak attack from there.

But just as they pushed the door open half an inch, an arrow suddenly pierced the air and stuck into the door frame with a "nail". A small gourd was tied to the end of the arrow, and amber liquid was slowly flowing out of the gourd's mouth, emitting a pungent kerosene smell.

Shi Wanxia was so frightened that she froze and quickly took two steps back, bumping her back against a pillar.

She steadied herself, strode forward, stared at the liquid flowing from the gourd, and her pupils suddenly contracted—it was kerosene!

"not good!"

Shi Wanxia suddenly turned around and shouted at the people in the hall and courtyard.

"Everyone, come out quickly! These people have gone mad and are going to set the government office on fire!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the crackling sound of burning firewood came from outside the courtyard. Immediately afterwards, thick smoke seeped in through the cracks in the door and the window frames, making people cough.

Lin Yiyu rushed to the side door and saw that the narrow alley was piled with dry firewood, and flames had already licked the wooden door of the government office. Thick black smoke billowed up, turning half the sky dark.

"Quick! Cover your mouth and nose with a damp cloth!"

Lin Yiyu shouted, directing the guards to pour water from the water tank onto the doors and window frames in an attempt to stop the fire from spreading.

But the men in black outside seemed to have been prepared, constantly adding firewood to the pile and pouring kerosene on the fire. The flames leaped higher and higher, and soon burned through the wooden door of the side gate. Sparks flew into the yard and landed on the dry grass on the ground, instantly igniting small flames.

Holding his sword, Cui Zhihao strode to the entrance of the main hall. Seeing Cui Yu'an still inside, he rushed over: "Wenzhu, come with me! The fire is about to spread!"

Cui Yu'an panicked and quickly got up, following Cui Zhihao outside.

Despite her injured left arm, Shi Qing drew her short sword and stood protectively beside Cui Yu'an, saying, "Young Master Cui, don't be afraid, I'm here."

As Shi Wanxia watched the fire grow larger and larger, she became anxious and panicked. Suddenly, she remembered that Lin Yiyu had mentioned yesterday that there was a secret passage in the study of the government office, which was dug by the previous dynasty to prevent bandits and led to an abandoned mill outside the city.

She immediately grabbed Lin Yiyu's arm: "Young Master Lin! The secret passage you mentioned! Quickly lead everyone through the secret passage!"

Lin Yiyu slapped his forehead, realizing he'd forgotten about it, and quickly nodded, "Right! The secret passage is in the study! Everyone, follow me!"

He led the group towards the study. Thick smoke had already filled the entire front yard. The soldiers fought the fire while covering their retreat.

Several men in black had already broken through the side door, rushing in with curved blades and slashing at their backs.

"You guys go first! I'll cover the rear!"

One of the guards shouted and raised his spear to stab at the man in black, but was slashed in the arm by the man's curved blade, and the spear fell to the ground with a clatter.

Another guard immediately stepped in, and the two fought side by side, blocking the man in black's path.