"What is this? Tell me, what is this thing?"
The young man's angry questioning voice echoed in the dimly lit room, accompanied by the rustling sound of paper being written.
The straightforward man, dressed in black, knelt on the floor, his face pale, yet he still argued, "Young master, that kid in the carriage only had this one box in his hand, and I got it back! Your message to me was to rob that carriage, you can't go back on your word!"
Cursing is one thing, but who in the underworld hasn't been cursed at? As long as the money's right, anything's negotiable. Go ahead and curse.
The young man didn't say anything more, but just stared coldly at the man in front of him.
He knew that the Gu family would send some silver to their estate outside the city every month, so today he specially sent people to intercept them on the road and rob the Gu family's silver-transporting convoy.
As a result, all he got back were a few scraps of paper.
He raised his foot to kick the man in black kneeling on the ground.
The man clearly felt the sound of wind rustling through the air, and his body stiffened, but he dared not move. He simply clenched his fists tightly at his sides, forcefully suppressing the urge to resist.
"Your Highness, don't bother with those lowly people."
The man beside him spoke up, persuading Prince Qing to stop raising his leg and slowly retract it.
Prince Qing looked at Qin Yuxiu and snorted coldly, it was unclear whether he was referring to the man on the ground or Qin Yuxiu.
When the man heard Qin Yuxiu call him "Your Highness," he shuddered and looked up in disbelief. He saw a dark-skinned young man staring intently at him, his pupils seemingly gleaming with a sinister light.
He quickly lowered his head again.
He was just a bandit in the mountains, never expecting to meet such a powerful figure.
"Go down."
Prince Qing spoke. The man breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to ask when the remaining silver would be paid to him, but seeing the dark expressions on the faces of the two people in the room, he ultimately did not dare to speak.
If you go out and ask your supervisor, it should be the same.
The man thought this to himself.
"Has the Gu family noticed something?"
Prince Qing asked in a deep voice.
Gu Yaoniang was ungrateful and refused to accept his advances. Seeing that the Gu family's immense wealth had nothing to do with her, she spent it all on that illusory Jade Carving Academy, filling a meaningless bottomless pit.
He felt a pang of heartache. The Gu family had grown to such a size, yet they allowed Gu Yaoniang, a mere country girl, to run wild; it was truly shortsighted. Only when this money was in his hands could it be put to good use.
He did this for the good of his family.
He had been planning this matter since before the New Year, but he couldn't find a suitable opportunity or figure out the Gu family's money transport routes.
To avoid alerting the enemy, he waited until now.
Unexpectedly, all that trouble they went through was to snatch back a few scraps of paper!
The money I paid out was much more expensive than this!
A short, sharp scream came from outside the door, then silence. Prince Qing remained unmoved, showing no reaction whatsoever, as if he hadn't heard it. Instead, he waved the piece of paper in his hand, gesturing for Qin Yuxiu to take it.
Qin Yuxiu flinched slightly, but then calmly took the paper from Prince Qing's hand and began to read it carefully.
He frowned deeply: "Your Highness, this says 'exchange for silver' on it, but it looks more like a voucher."
"so what?"
It's not a voucher after all. It's strange and unusual; I've never heard of it before. Besides, who in business exchanges vouchers? In the end, you still have to exchange them again, so it's never as good as real gold and silver.
Perhaps the Gu and Lu families knew what he was thinking and deliberately left him a few pieces of torn paper as a prank.
Fortunately, they only took the commercial draft.
Gu Yaoniang, having heard Uncle Zhong explain the whole story, frowned deeply: "At most, we'll discuss it with the Lu family and cancel it. But what about the dead people..."
She was deeply worried. Who on earth could be so ruthless?
Gu Yaoniang jumped off the carriage and hurried inside.
"How are the people being settled? What did the doctor say? Has anyone been notified of the Lu family?"
A barrage of questions came out of her mouth. Without pausing, she walked into the courtyard.
"Don't worry, my lady. The doctor has arrived and is treating the patients. Ping An has lost an arm, but his life is not in danger. The others are in the same situation; their injuries range from minor to severe, but their lives have been saved."
Only one guard died; we've already gone to their house to report the death. The Lu family has sent someone to inform them, but as for your next steps, this servant doesn't know; I can only say...
"Alright! Let's see what they say. The compensation for the deceased guards will be increased by 20%, following the old practice."
Gu Yaoniang walked into the courtyard where the guards were housed. From time to time, screams and gasps of pain could be heard from the courtyard.
The air was filled with the pungent smell of oxidized blood. Gu Yaoniang could tell how dangerous the situation had been just by smelling the blood, without even seeing the wounds.
Someone in the courtyard saw Gu Yaoniang and exclaimed, "How could you come to such a filthy place, madam?"
As he spoke, he busied himself in the courtyard, preparing a seat for Gu Yaoniang and serving her tea and water.
Gu Yaoniang quickly stopped her, "No need. Where is Ping An?"
The servants quickly led her inside.
Ping An was placed in a separate room in the courtyard. When Gu Yaoniang came over in person, he tried to get up from the bed with one hand to pay his respects.
"At a time like this, why bother with these empty formalities?"
Gu Yaoniang stopped Ping An from moving and made him lie down properly on the bed. His previous movements had aggravated his wounds, and Ping An's face twisted slightly.
He said guiltily, "My wife, it is my incompetence that I failed to protect what you entrusted to me."
"It's alright. Don't worry. What exactly happened today?"
Gu Yaoniang came over mainly to find out the details of the attack that day.
Ping An recounted the entire story to Gu Yaoniang. When he reached the end, mentioning Song Lin's death, even this tough man's eyes involuntarily reddened: "Wife, that boy Song Lin was just telling me today that he wanted to take a day off to go home and see his mother, and also to discuss the wedding date... and just like that, he's gone..."
Gu Yaoniang also felt a pang of pity. Such a wonderful life was about to begin, but it had already been ruined.
She secretly made a mental note that she would need to keep an eye on Song Lin's surviving family members from now on. If the Gu family could offer any assistance, they could help out as well.
"Do you think it's the same group of people who robbed our silver last time?"
Gu Yaoniang asked.
Ping An frowned and pondered for a moment before shaking his head firmly:
"It shouldn't be. The people last time didn't linger in battle; they left after failing to strike once, showing they were very well-trained."
The men who came to rob us today seem more like a band of mountain bandits. But judging from the tone of their leader, it's as if he's certain that the items from before are still in our carriage, and that's why he came on purpose.
I wonder if the person behind it is the same person.
The person behind it all? Gu Yaoniang fell into thought.
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