Meanwhile, Scarface and his gang bought ink, paper, and pens, and then boarded the carriage to return to the mountains where Hongli and Hongzhou were hiding. By the time they returned to the mountains, it was already late at night, and everyone was exhausted. They went into the house to rest and were not in a hurry to find out what had happened to Hongli and Hongzhou.
The next day marked the third day that Hongli and Hongzhou had been bound to this mountain forest. The two brothers had been like this for three days, unable to wash, change clothes, or comb their hair, and even their bodies began to smell unpleasant.
“Hongli, these bandits probably won’t be able to enter the city to gather information. If they find out who we are, they might have other ideas,” Hongzhou said.
“I don’t think Father will make a big fuss about finding us. They will probably have me write the ransom letter today. Don’t worry, let’s wait and see,” Hongli said.
“Don’t worry, we all smell bad. Hongli, we have to find a way to escape today. If this continues, Mother will be worried to death,” Hongzhou said. “And the concubine is probably very worried about you too.”
“How could I not know? But there’s no point in us running away like this. I think Father will definitely find us. Let’s see what those bandits plan to do today and then act accordingly,” Hongli said.
Sure enough, as the sunlight streamed through the window lattice, the footsteps outside gradually grew louder.
"Kids, you still need to keep your hands and feet tied. If Big Brother sees that I've untied you, he'll definitely scold me." A-Wu muttered as he walked in with another burly man who had roasted rabbits yesterday, both still holding ropes in their hands.
“Our family is very grateful to our elder brother for letting us brothers relax for one night. So, let’s tie you up then,” Hongli said readily.
Hongli and Hongzhou cooperated by having their hands tied by Awu, but their feet were no longer bound. The two followed them out of the house once again, and the scene was just like yesterday, with Scarface still sitting in the seat above.
"Boy, you'd better write me a letter today to pay your ransom, and don't you dare play around anymore. Considering your parents were also slaves, just write five thousand taels. Two thousand five hundred taels each for you two boys, that's not too expensive," Scarface said, stroking his chin.
Hongli and Hongzhou immediately put on a bitter face, cupped their hands and said to the scarred man, "Brother, our parents are just servants in the Yong Prince's mansion. Where would they get so much money? Please have pity on our servant parents."
"Hey, don't try to bargain with me. What kind of place is the Prince Yong's Mansion? It's where the emperor's son lives. Even the bricks on the ground are made of gold. Your parents, who work there, can just grab a piece or two, and you'll have enough. Looking at what you're wearing and carrying, you don't look like people without money at all," Scarface shouted, his expression changing.
Hongli and Hongzhou shrugged, looking like they were about to cry but had no tears. They could only nod meekly and accept the paper and pen handed to them to start writing the letter of ransom.
To help Hongli write the letter, the bandits even brought back a table, which was now placed in the center. Hongli laid out paper and pen on the table and began to carefully write the acrostic letter. In the letter, he wanted to clearly explain that he and Hongzhou were temporarily safe, how many people were on the other side, and his current situation. The clearer the explanation, the easier it would be for the Fourth Prince and his men to find him.
"Are you done writing?" Scarface was getting impatient, because Hongli had been writing for almost half an hour.
“Brother, I want to tell my mother everything about your kindness and our perilous situation. The more I write, the sooner my mother will bring the ransom money to exchange for us brothers, right?” Hongli said, looking up.
Scarface thought about it and agreed, saying, "Alright, write it down quickly. There will be breakfast when you're done. Dalin, go and bring in all the dry rations we brought back."
When the brothers standing below saw that their elder brother had given such an order, they naturally busied themselves with eating. Besides, they were all rough men who hadn't had much schooling and couldn't understand what Hongli was writing at all.
It took nearly another quarter of an hour for Hongli to finally finish writing his "letter of ransom".
"Let me see!"
Suddenly, a man who had been standing next to Scarface spoke up. He hadn't said a word, so Hongli hadn't paid any attention to him.
“Hmm, let Old Ba take a look. He passed the preliminary imperial examination.” Scarface said.
Upon hearing this, Hongzhou looked at Hongli with slight nervousness, only to see Hongli hand over the letter, saying, "Please take a look. Brother, we would never dare to do anything. We just want my parents to bring the money to get us out of here as soon as possible."
The man, who called himself "Old Ba," took the letter from Hongli's hand and began to read it word by word. He frowned and stared at the paper.
Hongzhou's heart began to pound. If he noticed anything amiss, they would be in for a beating today.
Hongli remained calm and composed throughout, as if he had not tampered with the letter at all.
"How is it? What do you think? This kid didn't try anything funny, did he?" Scarface asked hastily when he saw that Old Ba had been looking at him for a long time without saying a word.
But Ba Jin did not answer his question and continued to stare at the letter.
"But what's the problem?" Scarface asked, his expression changing.
Old Ba looked up at Scarface and shook his head, saying, "There's no problem, he writes very well."
Hongzhou quietly relaxed his clenched fist, still worried that the other person would see through Hongli's acrostic poem.
"Brother, you see how cooperative we are, please don't tie us so tightly, it's really uncomfortable. We would never dare to run away," Hongli said.
"Dalin, go get them some dry rations. If you cooperate well, I won't tie you up. After you finish eating, send Awu back to be kept under control." Scarface was in a good mood after seeing Hongli cooperate.
Hongli and Hongzhou quickly ate the dry rations they were given, only thinking about filling their stomachs, and didn't care about the taste at all.
"Boy, who should this letter be sent to so that your mother can receive it?" Old Ba suddenly asked.
"Give the letter to the gatekeeper. I've written down the name of the person I'm giving it to. They'll give it to them when they see it," Hongli said.
Ba Jin went to look at the envelope that Hongli had written, and saw that it was addressed to "Cui Niang".
"Is your mother Cui Niang?" Old Ba asked.
Hongli nodded and said, "My mother is the head maidservant of one of the concubines in the mansion. She's been very worried about us brothers these past few days since she hasn't seen us."
Hongli and Hongzhou knew that by the time the letter reached the Yong Prince's residence, it would probably be tomorrow. So they simply stopped thinking about it and just waited for the letter to be safely delivered to the Yong Prince's residence and handed to Lanqin.
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