Chapter 32, Guests Arrive at the Jiang Residence
"Not only General Xia Yurou has a bounty, but General Xia Hu also has a bounty of ten thousand taels!"
"Ten thousand taels! Why is mine so much less than my little sister's?" Xia Hu was unhappy. How could he, a grown man, be inferior to his little sister?
"Not only that, but Prime Minister Xia has a bounty of 100,000 taels, Xia Qingmo has a bounty of 200,000 taels, and Xia Youkang has a bounty of 30,000 taels..." The skinny man next to him quickly answered.
"What? Why? I'm cheaper than Dad and my sister, and even cheaper than my second and third brothers? What's wrong with me? Am I that worthless?"
Xia Hu was so angry that he was blowing his beard and glaring at his family. It seemed that he was the most useless one in their family.
"Big brother, shut your mouth... Is that the point? The point is that our whole family is a thorn in other people's side!" Xia Qingmo was so angry that he laughed.
"Yeah, what kind of bastard is so despicable? Did I dig up his ancestral grave or steal his wife? It's so disgusting that he looks down on me like this!" Xia Hu was even angrier.
Xia Moqing frowned, suddenly realizing that this person might know a lot about his Xia family.
"This... I don't know either!"
The fat man was helpless. He wanted to live too, but he knew too little. His words seemed to have added fuel to the fire, making the man even angrier. He was brandishing his broadsword, and it was a real fear that he might go berserk and kill the fat man with a single blow.
"Damn it, what else do you know? Do you even want to live?!" Xia Hu became furious. It would have been better if he hadn't said anything at all, leaving people in suspense by only saying half of it.
“I know a little… let me tell you!” the skinny man quickly answered.
"This task was posted with a bounty on the morning of the 7th of this month. According to the rules of the Nameless Pavilion, the transaction should take place around the 6th. The Nameless Pavilion requires that at least half of the money must be paid, and this money must be in silver. This task is from the Kyoto branch. The person can go to the bank to collect the cash on or before the 6th!"
"You can check with the money exchange to narrow down the pool of people. After all, it's not common for someone to withdraw more than 50,000 taels at once. This person might even withdraw 100,000 taels at once. Of course, it's also possible that this money was prepared in advance, so we need to broaden the scope."
"However, there probably aren't many places in Kyoto that would offer such a large reward for you. Your whole family is worth over thirty taels of silver. You can consider that range!"
When the skinny guy said that, the fat guy next to him also remembered.
"Yes, yes, that's right. And this time, our group of over a hundred people failed to kill the mission target. According to the rules of the Nameless Tower, regardless of whether the mission was completed or not, if the assassins suffer huge losses, they will pursue the remaining payment. This money will be used to compensate our team!"
The fat man's words made the Xia brothers frown.
"You two mean we can keep an eye on the people at the money exchange and the nameless building!" Xia Qingmo frowned. Provoking an assassin organization was not a good choice.
Furthermore, the skinny guy's implication that these bounties belong to the same person raises the question of whether he was just saying it casually or deliberately revealing it.
"That depends on whether you dare to do it!" the skinny man said cautiously.
"Moreover, according to the rules of the Nameless Tower, if this mission fails, Xia Yurou's mission will be cancelled, and no more missions to assassinate Xia Yurou will be accepted in the future."
The skinny guy thought this was good news.
"So, according to you, the two of you are still alive, which means the mission hasn't completely failed!" Xia Qingmo suddenly sneered.
"It's already a failure. If we go back, the mission will be cancelled. And even if we don't go back, the Nameless Tower will still find out who did it. So, gentlemen, we've said what we needed to say. Please spare our lives. Besides, we have other uses!"
The skinny guy was terrified. What did this guy mean? Was he planning to break his promise and kill them?
"Oh, then tell me, what use are you anyway!" Xia Qingmo's gaze was on his sword. Even when he held a sword, he was very elegant, a gentle and refined gentleman.
However, the coldness in his voice made the skinny man feel that this second son of the Xia family was even more terrifying.
Xia Qingmo realized that this time he and his elder brother had mobilized most of the Xia family's elite forces.
In other words, Prime Minister Xia was in great danger at this time. If he were an assassin, he would definitely choose to strike when the Prime Minister's residence was undefended.
He even suspected that the news might have been deliberately leaked by someone else who had accepted the mission to assassinate Prime Minister Xia, just to lure the tiger away from the mountain.
“I have a use for you. The branch master of the Nameless Tower in Kyoto is my elder brother. If you kill me, this feud will be set in stone, and it will be a fight to the death. When two tigers fight, one will surely be injured. It would be better if we tried to make peace. I will go back and act as a go-between. Maybe I can even gain something else!”
The skinny person has an extremely strong will to survive; at this moment, all they want to do is try every possible way to stay alive.
"Perhaps we can even persuade my elder brother to remove these members of your Xia family from the bounty list, and while we're at it, find clues about the person who put you on the list. How about that!"
The skinny man breathed a sigh of relief after he finished speaking. Thank goodness, he hadn't attacked anyone before he could finish.
He felt that his elder brother had misjudged the situation. The Xia family was not as simple as it seemed on the surface. Xia Qingmo, who was always thought to be only good at political maneuvering, also had extremely high martial arts skills.
Such a family, if not eliminated in one go, will cause endless trouble in the future; it is better to resolve the conflict peacefully.
Moreover, since the branch is located in Kyoto, if the Xia family were to retaliate, their Wuminglou business in Kyoto would likely be unable to continue.
“Oh, you can do that. Second brother, why don’t we drop the bounty? We won’t lose out if we spare his life!” Xia Hu clearly agreed with this idea.
“What you say makes a lot of sense. Your life is spared, but I can’t release you right away. Since you are the younger brother of the branch leader, I will let someone else leave first and have him find your elder brother and stop all assassination missions against the Xia family. If any member of the Xia family is harmed before we return to the capital, your life will be in danger!”
Xia Moqing was overthinking things. If they left now, what if that person had not only hired assassins, but also put his younger sister in danger?
"Sanpang, go back and tell my older brother what happened here!" The skinny man sighed, realizing that they couldn't escape the tiger's den for the time being.
"Okay, I've been following my second brother for many years, and my eldest brother knows me too. I can deliver the message!" The fat man was almost moved to tears. He never expected that after his second brother said so much, his life would be saved first.
"This is my token. You must hurry, or it might be too late!"
The skinny guy really wanted to cry. Before he came, he knew that several teams had been assigned to assassinate Prime Minister Xia, and he didn't know if they would make it in time.
"Don't worry, Second Brother, I'll be on my way to the capital while sending messages to the various hall masters. I'll make sure nothing happens to you!" the fat man said, taking the token, mounting his horse, and galloping away.
Seeing the fat man leave, the skinny man finally felt relieved. No matter what, news of him being in the Xia family's hands would spread.
"Now, tell me, once you've found the outer edge of the poisonous miasma, have you found a way to get in..." Xia Qingmo looked at the man.
The skinny man was shocked; how did this person figure it out?
As soon as Zhang returned to the Marquis's residence, she stormed off to the Marquis's study.
"Madam, the Marquis is in the banquet hall, and your family has arrived!" the steward said respectfully, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
"Could it be my nephew? He's here a day earlier than expected! Ziyuan and Zirou, let's go see him!" Zhang Shi's earlier gloom vanished, and she happily went to see the visitor.
As soon as I entered the reception room, I saw someone I thought I would never see again.
"Auntie!" Zhang Zichen happily jumped into Zhang's arms.
"Shulan, it's been a long time. I have business in the capital this time, and my elder brother asked me to bring Zichen over!" Xia Ziping quickly explained when he saw Zhang's surprised and uncertain look.
“That would be wonderful. I’ve been worried about Zichen’s safety these past few days. Thank you for your help, cousin. I wonder if you’ve found a place to stay while you’re here on business? How about we make do with him at the Jiang residence for a few days?”
Only then did Zhang regain her composure and sit down next to Marquis Jiang.
“That’s right, Cousin Xia is Madam’s cousin, which is also my cousin. There’s no need to be reserved here, just like at home!” From the moment Madam Zhang entered, Marquis Jiang’s gaze swept over the two of them.
Perhaps he had something to hide, because no matter how you look at it, the relationship between the two seemed somewhat unusual.
Jiang Hou felt somewhat uncomfortable that his cousin was left to stay at his house right away.
But this way, we can also see if the two of them have any contact in private.
More importantly, he had always doubted the reality of the dream.
After all, Xia Ziping is the son of Prime Minister Xia's brother. If he really has something going on with Zhang, is he after her or does he have ulterior motives?
"Thank you for your hospitality, Marquis Jiang. I won't be leaving then. It just so happens that Zichen is a bit shy, so I'll stay with him for a few days and let him get used to things!"
Xia Zichen's reason was quite good, and Jiang Hou calmly sipped his tea.
The family ate dinner at the old lady's house that night.
As soon as Zhang saw Jiang Ruanruan, her expression turned sour, remembering what Lu Ziyuan and Lu Zirou had told her.
In her heart, she was only willing to admit that Jiang Ruanruan's madness was contagious, but she was unwilling to admit anything else. However, she dared not mention the matter of madness.
"Ruan Ruan, you pushed Ziyuan down today and knocked out his teeth. Apologize to him for this. We're all family. As long as you apologize, we'll let it go!" Zhang said this lightly, as if she were very magnanimous.
But once Jiang Ruanruan admits it, Lu Ziyuan won't know how to make fun of her at the Imperial Academy tomorrow.
Jiang Ruanruan isn't stupid.
Old Madam Jiang glanced at Zhang Shi and Xia Ziping without saying a word, then looked at her son, who sat motionless to the side, and couldn't help but shake her head.
Why does she feel that her son is being cuckolded, yet he remains so calm? Is he perhaps a tortoise?
Regardless of whether the dream was real or not, based on what Jiang Ruanruan and Jiang Huai'an said, it can be discerned that Zhang Shi had ulterior motives, so seeing this dream can be explained.
If you have another man in your heart, then naturally you're siding with the outsider.
"I didn't do it, why should I apologize? Lu Ziyuan, didn't you tell Aunt Zhang? The 12th Prince said he accidentally pushed you. Why aren't you holding him accountable? Why are you lying now? I'll ask him again tomorrow and make him apologize to you!"
Jiang Ruanruan was happily munching on a big chicken leg when she saw Lu Ziyuan missing a tooth, looking like he couldn't use his teeth properly, which made her feel quite relieved.
But Zhang Shi found this time to make things difficult for her.
"You, the 12th Prince was convicted on your behalf, it must have been you who ordered him to do it!" Lu Ziyuan said angrily. They had discussed it for a long time on the way and both felt that this was definitely the case.
They unanimously concluded that Jiang Ruanruan was the mastermind behind everything.
"I can order around a prince just to trip you up? Are you alright? Am I sick?" Jiang Ruanruan's eyes widened. This child really knows how to make fun of her.
"It's you anyway!" Lu Ziyuan insisted, trying to stir up trouble.
"I don't have that ability. I'll confront him tomorrow and make him clear my name. Otherwise, I'll sue the Prefect of the Capital and let the official decide the case!"
Jiang Ruanruan pouted, determined not to swallow this grievance.
"It's a small matter. Since the 12th Prince has already said it's him, what more do you want? Do you have to offend a prince?" Jiang Hou frowned upon hearing this, and only then did he react.
"What on earth is going on?!" Zhang was terrified. Why hadn't these two brats mentioned the 12th prince before?
“It has nothing to do with my sister. Lu Ziyuan pushed my sister down. She was lying on the ground when I was pulling her up. How could she have pushed you?”
Jiang Huai'an naturally stood by Jiang Ruanruan's side.
“That was also Jiang Ruanruan’s doing!” Lu Ziyuan repeated.
“The 12th Prince Lu Ziyuan is a guest at the Ning Prince’s residence next door today. Why don’t I call him over for you? Then you can settle your scores with him. Why bully Ruan Ruan!”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com