She received the Bodhisattva's blessing, yet her fingers trembled with fear.
"You lot, go look again! Don't come back if you can't find it!" Jiang Jinghong's face was full of anxiety, his brows furrowed with worry, as if he were being roasted over a raging fire. His agitation was like sparks crackling and popping from the pile of firewood.
The group of people left in a hurry, and then a servant came to report: "Master, Master Zeng has sent someone to deliver a message."
"Still haven't found Madam?" Jiang Jinghong knew the answer in his heart when he saw the servants' timid and submissive appearance.
Over the course of that day and night, Jiang Jinghong smashed countless cups, plates, and dishes. Almost every servant had been scolded by Jiang Jinghong, and fearing further scolding, they kept their heads down and dared not even breathe loudly.
Another person came in: "Master, there is a man named Sima outside the door who says that his brother Yu Xi is missing and he has come to look for his brother."
"Sima Mo? Yu Xi also contacted him? Do you think I'm afraid of him? I'll just say I didn't." While saying he wasn't afraid, Jiang Jinghong was secretly trying to figure out what kind of deal Sima Mo and Yu Xi might have made.
Realizing that Yu Xi had been plotting for a long time and had gathered all her connections and resources to deliver a fatal blow, Jiang Jinghong, who had been burning with anxiety, slowly calmed down.
Bad people are often clever. This good man can't just shout loudly, nor can he just stand there with his conscience, as if his lost wife would suddenly fall into his arms.
He needs to use his brain more.
Jiang Jinghong had figured it out and got up to leave.
"He... he even reported the case in front of me. The new constable, Li, is right at our door, taking notes. He said that if Yu Xi isn't released, then... then..." The doorman stammered, afraid of angering Jiang Jinghong again.
“He can’t just force his way in, can he? Just say there’s no one here. The two masters of the house are both out.” Jiang Jinghong patiently forced a smile and said, “The noise in front is bothering me, so prepare the carriage and put it at the back gate.”
"Yes. I will inform the steward immediately."
"Go to the gate and tell Officer Li, and then have the steward prepare a carriage for me. Oh, and put some dry food, water, and the pastries that Madam often eats in the carriage," Jiang Jinghong said, and hurriedly left.
The back door of the new house.
This door is much narrower than the main gate, only allowing two adult men to exit together.
A man with a black cloth wrapped around his head and ropes tied around his hands was dragged out of the back door by Jiang Jinghong and taken directly to the carriage.
The black cloth was lifted.
Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and Yu Xi's eyes welled up with tears from the shock. She closed them for a moment, then slowly opened them again: "What kind of act is this now? Apologizing with thorns on my back?"
Jiang Jinghong lifted the back curtain of the carriage: "The money, the food, the drinks, and this carriage are all yours."
"Us?" Yu Xi's eyes darted around, understanding Jiang Jinghong's compromise and concession. Sure enough, strike at the heart of the matter. By controlling Ye Qingzhou, they had Jiang Jinghong's Achilles' heel.
"There are her favorite pastries in the package. Treat her well." Jiang Jinghong seemed truly powerless. She closed her eyes and could only sigh deeply: "She hasn't eaten or drunk anything for a day and a night. You should go now."
"I knew you wouldn't find her! I searched that place for ages!" Yu Xi boasted smugly, showing no concern whatsoever for the safety of the pregnant Ye Qingzhou.
Jiang Jinghong was anxious, but she couldn't let anyone see it, so she gritted her teeth and endured it.
"Untie the rope for me, your servants tied it really tight." Yu Xi stretched out her hand.
Why weren't you tied up tightly? Jiang Jinghong swallowed her anger and reached out to untie the rope.
"Damn! My hands are all blistered." Yu Xi looked at her hands from left to right.
Damn it! His Qingzhou, heavily pregnant, is probably suffering somewhere. Jiang Jinghong couldn't bear to watch, turning her head to one side: "You should leave! There's money inside, don't mistreat her!"
He always tells her to treat her well and not to mistreat her. You adulterous man, you stole his wife and you still act like you're right! Yu Xi also disliked Jiang Jinghong. Anyway, he already had a woman, and he also had the money that this good-for-nothing Jiang Jinghong gave him. Happy days were back in his life.
"Giddy up!" Yu Xi cracked her whip, and the carriage sped off.
An hour later, Yu Xi left the city gate.
He rode in the carriage, humming a little tune, swaying leisurely as he arrived at a dilapidated house outside the city.
They call it a house, but these dilapidated bricks and tiles hardly qualify as a house. Of the six or seven interconnected rooms, only one has a roof, and it's leaking open.
Yu Xi got off the carriage, tied up the horse, and walked into the room with only a roof.
A moment later, Yu Xi walked out of the room without a door, and her mother also came out.
Yu Xi looked back, pulled the rope in her hand, and Ye Qingzhou, whose hands were bound, was pulled out.
Ye Qingzhou was still dressed as she had been yesterday, with her hair in a single bun, a gold hairpin shimmering in the light, a monochrome embroidered cross-collar top with pipa sleeves, and a two-tone horse-face skirt. As she walked out, she seemed like a bright, beautiful, and dazzling flower blooming on this gray and yellow earth.
Even from miles away, one could see the beauty's graceful figure.
Jiang Jinghong was about to rush out from behind the big tree in the distance.
Li, the constable who was hiding with him, grabbed him: "Don't panic. Wait a little longer."
What are we waiting for?
Yu Xi urged her mother to hurry up and stop nagging.
"What's the rush? You've forgotten your old mother as soon as you see this little slut, haven't you? Who's been feeding you and feeding you all year? It's all been this old woman, me. Oh dear! I'm getting old, and nobody cares about me anymore. You've forgotten your mother after you got married!" Mother Yu started wailing again.
Ye Qingzhou had been listening to the same explanation for a whole day and night, but he had completely stopped paying attention.
Yu Xi had no choice but to help her mother up herself: "I won't rush them anymore, okay? If they catch up, our Yu family deserves it, deserves not to get rich."
Upon hearing this, Yu's mother felt even more aggrieved and pushed Yu Xi, saying, "You're blaming me again? You're just like your father, blaming me for everything. Oh dear! You old fool! Once you close your eyes and leave, I'll be the only one suffering!"
"What did I say? Mother, why are you sitting on the ground again? Do you know that Sima Mo is coming soon? The money we owe him is compounded by interest, it's beyond counting! Can you afford it? Or can I?" Yu Xi shouted at her mother, unable to hold back her words. "Besides, I tricked Jiang Jinghong this time, it cost me several thousand taels of silver! No wonder he hates me to death!"
After being scolded like that, Yu's mother stopped crying and making a fuss, got up on her own, and patted the dirt off her bottom.
Clop clop clop! The sound of horses' hooves is getting closer.
Yu Xi turned around and saw the man on horseback, and immediately panicked: "Quick, let's go! He's coming!"
After saying that, he picked up Ye Qingzhou, whose mouth was gagged and hands were tied, and put her into the carriage. Yu's mother also climbed into the carriage herself.
Yu Xi rode ahead at full speed, whipping his horse.
Yu's mother and Ye Qingzhou sat inside the carriage. Yu's mother unpacked the packages and food boxes one by one. She stuffed two into her mouth, held one in her left hand, and unpacked another with her right.
Jujube paste rice cake, Gu La Chi (a type of rice cake), Bi Jian bean cake, and Qi Fan Gao (a type of herbal paste) are all her favorite foods. These foods weren't bought by Yu Xi. They were given to her by Jing Hong, who was afraid she would feel unwell.
Just a few days ago, Jiang Jinghong still vividly remembered the scene of her personally separating the pancakes, honey syrup, and pine nut and walnut filling inside the Gula Chi.
This Pangu Lachi today is exactly the same as it was that day.
This plate of pastries is for her. Jinghong prepared them for her herself.
Ye Qingzhou didn't cry even after being scolded by Yu's mother for a whole day and night. But as she watched Yu's mother finish the Pangu La Chi, Ye Qingzhou felt a surge of grievance and her stomach ached terribly, so she began to sob.
"Why are you crying? What's wrong with being hungry for a while? Why are you being so delicate?" Yu's mother had crumbs of pastry on her lips, which kept falling as she spoke.
Ye Qingzhou's mouth was gagged, so she couldn't speak at all. Her stomach ached from hunger in waves, and her baby was also uncomfortable, her belly tightening in fits. The carriage was also very bumpy; every turn was enough to bounce her up. If only the carriage could stop.
"Why are you glaring at me? Once we go back to our hometown and you give birth to my grandson, I'll sell you to that..."
The carriage suddenly stopped, and Yu's mother was thrown forward. Ignoring the pain, she clasped her hands together and muttered, "May the Bodhisattva protect us, and let us not run into Jiang Jinghong, even if we hit a pothole."
A deep, resonant voice came from outside the carriage: "Brother Yu, what's the rush?"
It was indeed not Jiang Jinghong, but Sima Mo. Yu's mother, though blessed by the Bodhisattva, trembled with fear.
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