The father's hands and feet were bound with rope, and a wad of cotton cloth was stuffed in his mouth.
In the dim light of the fire, you could see that he looked terrible, with dark circles under his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept well for a long time.
Lotus and Eunuch Qin quickly untied the ropes from Gu Shifu's mouth and took the cotton cloth out of his mouth.
Even so, Gu Shifu had no strength to speak and could only breathe heavily.
The emperor said, "This fragrance will turn people into this state, rendering them powerless to resist."
Then he took out the pills and fed them to Gu Shifu.
"This medicine was originally intended for prevention, and it may not be very useful for Mr. Gu, but it's better than nothing."
Gu Jiangli nodded.
Chen'er also thoughtfully used his hand to pat his grandfather's chest to help him breathe.
After a short while, Gu Shifu caught his breath. Although he still had difficulty moving, he was able to speak in a weak voice.
"Your Majesty... Li'er, Crown Prince, what brings you here?"
His words were full of worry.
Gu Jiangli also softened her heart.
"My daughter hasn't been home for many years and came back because she missed her father. His Majesty was worried about me coming alone, so he brought Chen'er with him, and we came together."
"I never expected things to turn out like this after I entered the Gu family. Father, what exactly happened?"
The reason for her visit wasn't important, and she didn't want to elaborate.
The important thing is that everything that happened to the Gu family was simply unbelievable.
It was once the residence of an official, yet outsiders dared to break in and act so arrogantly.
Gu Shifu sighed, "They were a group of mountain bandits. A sudden downpour in Lucheng caused a landslide, and the bandits lost their stronghold and had no choice but to go down the mountain."
"After coming down the mountain, he started his old business of robbing and looting. I heard that many elderly officials in the city had their homes robbed and stolen from."
"They just seem to like the Gu family's house, so they've settled down here."
"What audacity!" Gu Jiangli said. "These bandits, without any travel documents, managed to enter the capital, and even dared to commit burglary at the home of a former official."
Gu Shifu said with concern, "They can steal the Gu family's money if they want, and it's not a big deal if they want to live in this house."
"But Your Majesty, you are pregnant, His Majesty is of the highest order, and the Crown Prince is still young. How can you suffer like this?"
"Let's figure out a way to get out first."
The Emperor spoke up: "Master Gu, there's no need to rush. I have made arrangements. Li'er and Chen'er will stay by my side. Unless I die, they will be safe."
Gu Jiangli really wanted to rush up and shut the emperor up.
It's kind of scary to hear someone talk about death so easily.
She took the emperor's hand and said to Gu's father, "Father, don't worry, His Majesty will deal with them."
Just then, some footsteps could be heard outside.
It was that shirtless man, with several other people with him, probably his accomplices.
"Brother, you have no idea how rich that family that just came in is! They may be dressed simply, but they're all wearing expensive clothes."
"Those servants following me around, wow, they're all dressed better than us!"
"No rich person can escape my eyes! If we close this deal, it'll probably be enough to live off for years to come!"
The man whom Tiger called "Big Brother" let out a sinister and cunning laugh:
"Tiger did a good job! Tie them up first and make their families pay ransom. For such wealthy families, asking for tens of thousands of taels isn't unreasonable, hahaha."
The rampant laughter made the other man hesitate.
“Brother, this family is so rich, they must be some powerful and influential people, right? If they are just ordinary rich people, that’s fine, but if they are powerful and influential, I’m worried that we won’t get the money and will end up getting ourselves into trouble.”
Tiger hurriedly spoke up: "So what if they're from powerful families? Wasn't Master Gu an official before? What's so insurmountable about offending him?"
"We've only kidnapped a few rich people, not the emperor. What's there to be afraid of?"
"These officials and rich people are timid. Once their lives are in danger, they are so scared that they wet themselves and wish they could give up all the money in their family to save their lives!"
"Second Brother is too cautious. How can he accomplish great things if he's like that!"
Tiger's words quickly earned his elder brother's praise.
"Tiger is right, Second Brother. If you're this careful, you'll have a hard time making big money. It's not a big deal if you end up with less money, but we brothers will be dropped by the other teams."
"That's right, that's right."
The second son could only nod helplessly.
Tiger couldn’t wait to lead his two older brothers to the door of the room.
"Brother, they've been drugged with incense, they're probably sleeping like logs now. If we tie them up, we'll get the money soon."
Tiger excitedly opened the door, and his older brother's face was also full of excitement.
But none of the three of them expected that when they opened the door, they would not be greeted by several bodies lying sprawled out.
Instead, they sat on stools at a distance, along with Gu Jiangli and the Emperor.
Lotus held Chen'er's hand, and stood on either side of Eunuch Qin.
The emperor's eyes were cold, and his expression was unfriendly.
Gu Jiangli smiled and said, "Oh, you're here."
Seeing the emperor's murderous face and Gu Jiangli's malicious smile, the three bandits all got goosebumps.
The older brother said fiercely to Tiger, "What's going on! Didn't you say they were sleeping like the dead?"
Tiger scratched the back of his head. "Wait a minute, is there something wrong with this incense?"
The eldest brother let out a fierce breath, "Hmph! If you're not dizzy, fine! You can say whatever you want while you're sober! Let me tell you, this Gu family is now our territory! You can't escape!"
"Once you enter my territory, you have to listen to me!"
"Have your family members bring silver to redeem them. Ten thousand taels for one person, fifty thousand taels for five people."
"For every penny less, we'll kill someone! If you know what's good for you, don't try to bargain!"
Gu Jiangli smiled and said, "Brother, it's ten thousand taels per person. I'm pregnant with another one, so that's six people, sixty thousand taels in total."
Are you pregnant?
He examined Gu Jiangli's belly closely and could indeed see a faint bulge.
The eldest brother and the second brother, Hu Zi, exchanged a glance.
Everyone assumed this beauty was a fool, yet she still offered to increase the ransom.
They immediately burst into laughter. "Haha, good! You said it yourself, so it's sixty thousand taels!"
All three of them were very excited.
It seems this family is indeed rolling in money.
They didn't even blink an eye at such a huge sum as 60,000 taels.
Gu Jiangli then said:
"Sixty thousand taels is a considerable sum. If we ask our family to send it, we'll have to convince them that we've really been kidnapped. Perhaps we should write a letter to them so they'll come with the silver notes to ransom us."
The leader didn't refuse, "Alright! As you wish! Tiger, get this beauty some paper and pen."
Gu Jiangli took the paper and pen and quickly wrote a few lines on it.
The three bandits took it and checked it; there was nothing wrong with it.
He asked, "Where should I send it?"
With a mocking smile, Gu Jiangli uttered four large words:
"North of the city, the imperial palace."
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