Chapter 139: The importance of the first release is self-evident.
Uncle Song was originally replying to Lord Mu, but when he heard his own master asking the question, he turned sideways.
"My dear Second Young Master, Lord Jia's appointment to Jiangyang Prefecture happened after you moved to Shangdu. It's understandable that you don't know about it," Uncle Song explained.
It might have been better if he didn't explain, but his explanation made Song Linsheng even more certain that there was something else going on.
"Oh? So you came out of the city today specifically to see off Lord Jia?" Song Linsheng asked after thinking for a moment.
Although Uncle Song didn't know what the Second Young Master meant, he still answered truthfully, "That's right. It's not just me, many of our neighbors have come specially to see Master Jia off."
Song Linsheng's head buzzed. He thought that the people gathered there were just there to watch the fun and didn't pay much attention to it.
But now, if what Mr. Song said is true, since Lord Jia can get the people in the city to come out of the city to see him off, he must have a very high prestige among the people.
So, does it contradict the crimes he confessed to?
Song Linsheng was silent. Although it was a white horse and reed flowers, what was a white horse? What was a reed flower?
Does he really know?
Seeing Song Linsheng remained silent, Wen Yu stepped forward and asked Uncle Song, "Uncle Song, what do you mean by what you just said, that Lord Jia had suffered for Jiang Yang?"
Upon hearing this, Mr. Song sighed deeply, then shook his head helplessly, his regret evident in his expression. Although he hadn't spoken a word yet, Wen Yu had an inexplicable bad premonition about what he was going to say next.
"This Lord Jia was also young and impetuous in the past, which led to disaster."
"Oh? What do you mean?" Mu Tong continued.
"At that time, the world was divided and in chaos, and my master was transferred to Shangdu to take up a post. During that time, Jiangyang Prefecture was leaderless, and banditry was rampant everywhere."
Uncle Song glanced around cautiously, making sure no one else had overheard him. Then, lowering his voice, he continued, "Among them, a bandit named Cheng was the most arrogant and domineering. He burned, killed, looted, and intercepted merchant ships. He was a perpetrator of all kinds of evil."
When Wen Yu heard the words "Cheng the pirate," she immediately realized what was happening. She quickly asked, "Cheng? Cheng Lian?"
Uncle Song's eyebrows drooped, and he let out a "hiss." After thinking for a long time, he finally responded, "It seems his name is Cheng Lian. I can't remember clearly."
Song Linsheng's eyes flickered as he looked up at Uncle Song. "So what happened next?"
"Later, the Jiangyang government appointed a newly appointed official to be in charge of suppressing the bandits. This person was none other than Jia Ren, Lord Jia."
As he spoke, Uncle Song couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. He squinted his eyes, seeming to be lost in deep memories of the past.
"The bandit problem has been going on for a long time. It's not so easy to wipe them out in one fell swoop."
"Thus, the feud between the government office and the pirates grew deeper and deeper, and accumulated more and more."
"I didn't expect Cheng Lian to be such a ruthless villain. He actually held the women and children in the city hostage and used them as bargaining chips in his negotiations with the government."
Wen Yu listened attentively. At this point, she was already very familiar with the story that followed.
Master Jia had told them about how he had strongly advocated for suppressing the bandits, but had accidentally caused Cheng Lian to flee, and how he had lived in hiding for many days, and also...
There is also the story of Lord Jia, who, at the request of Madam Chen San, adopted the infant Yang Sheng.
In this case, what Lord Jia said is indeed true.
Wen Yu exchanged glances with Song Linsheng and Mu Tong. The three of them remained silent and continued to listen to Uncle Song's story.
Song Bo's expression became more and more solemn. The situation at that time seemed to unfold before his eyes one by one. Even though those painful pasts had happened more than ten years ago, they still made people sigh when they were mentioned now.
"At the time, Cheng Lian proposed two conditions: first, to pay 10,000 taels of gold from the government treasury to redeem the hostages; second, to specifically ask Lord Jia to promise to give up suppressing the bandits."
Wen Yu was shocked. Uncle Song's words began to differ from what Lord Jia had said. It was Uncle Song's words that solved her long-standing doubts.
A fortune of gold.
Wen Yu finally realized that when she reached a deal with Cheng Lian in Houchun Mountain, she only agreed to let him see Lord Jia, but Cheng Lian insisted that Lord Jia pay ten thousand taels of gold to redeem her before he was willing to write that mysterious letter and send it to Jiangyang Prefecture.
Now, after hearing what Uncle Song said, she finally understood the reason.
It turned out that what mattered was not her, nor the gold. Cheng Lian was just a merchant at the time, so what could he do with the gold?
Even if he really got ten thousand taels of gold from Lord Jia, would he have the life to receive it or spend it?
What Cheng Lian wants is for yesterday to happen again and for the murderer to destroy his heart.
Wen Yu's heart skipped a beat, and an inexplicable feeling of suffocation surged into her chest, accompanied by waves of dizziness. She felt very nauseous.
Wen Yu couldn't help but take a step back in a daze.
Song Linsheng was quick to act and quickly hugged Wen Yu horizontally, holding her waist to help her stand steady. "Xiaoyu, are you okay?"
Wen Yu held her forehead with one hand and shook her head violently. The loose hair in front of her forehead swayed, and the braids behind her ears also flew uncontrollably.
"I'm fine..." Wen Yu murmured, trying her best to suppress the confusion in front of her eyes.
As for the fact that Song Linsheng was hugging her waist, she seemed to be completely unaware.
Song Linsheng lowered his eyes and looked at Wen Yu carefully, his eyes full of worry. "Be careful. I'll go back home later and ask a doctor to come and see you."
Wen Yu did not respond, but just nodded dejectedly.
Uncle Song also stopped talking and asked with concern: "What's wrong with Madam Wen? Are you feeling unwell? Why don't I go and ask the doctor to come back to the mansion right away?"
Only Mu Tong, standing by, looked from one side to the other at Wen Yu and then at Song Linsheng. Finally, his gaze fell on the arm of Song Linsheng that was supporting Wen Yu.
Xiao, Yu?
Hmm... I haven't seen you for a few days. Has Lord Song changed the way he addresses Madam Wen to Xiaoyu?
"In that case, why don't Lord Song and Madam Wen go back home first and ask the doctor to come and take a look first." Mu Tong agreed.
No matter how important the past is, it is past events and difficult to change.
If people today suffer from any illness or disaster, the consequences will be felt both in the present and in the future.
It is obvious which is more important.
Mu Tong shook his head imperceptibly, pursed his lips and said nothing.
Song Linsheng nodded, but was about to speak when Wen Yu stopped him.
"No need! I'm fine, I just remembered something." Wen Yu took a few deep breaths and adjusted her breathing. "Uncle Song, please continue to tell us about what happened back then."
"This... Madam Wen, your health is the most important thing..." Song Bo hesitated for a moment, but did not continue speaking. Instead, he persuaded Wen Yu.
After all, this is just a thing of the past. Madam Wen's health is more important. If she falls ill in the future, who knows what will happen to the Second Young Master.
Wen Yu frowned. Seeing that Uncle Song frequently looked at Song Linsheng, she had to change her target. She raised her hand and pulled Song Linsheng's sleeve, signaling to him, "Song Linsheng——"
Song Linsheng was troubled. He knew what Xiaoyu meant. But Uncle Song was right. Xiaoyu's health was the most important thing.
Just as he was about to say something to persuade her, Wen Yu tugged at his sleeve and shook it twice, "Song Linsheng——"
Song Linsheng sighed softly and nodded helplessly, "Okay, okay, I'll do as you say."
"But you have to promise to ask the doctor to come and see me when you get home later."
"Yeah." Wen Yu responded hurriedly, and then stared at Song Bo with her eyes.
Uncle Song was stunned. Madam Wen only showed such an expression when she saw the mutton soup pot in the mansion...
Without anyone noticing, Mu Tong lowered his eyes and watched the little movements of Wen Yu and Song Linsheng.
Did he miss something? When did the relationship between Madam Wen and Lord Song become so close?
If we want to say it's good, it would be better to say it's close, which would be more appropriate.
Mu Tong shook his head, putting aside his thoughts, and agreed, "Yes, Uncle Song, why don't you continue?"
Uncle Song breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at his second son. Seeing that he had no intention of stopping him, he stopped refusing.
"He, I mean, how did Lord Jia respond after Cheng Lian put forward those two conditions?" Wen Yu's eyes widened slightly under her beautiful eyebrows, staring at Uncle Song closely.
Uncle Song couldn't stop sighing, shaking his head repeatedly. "At that time, Cheng Lian was extremely arrogant. To create momentum, he spread this matter throughout the city, causing panic among the people."
"Not to mention the women, children, and young children he abducted, most of whom were families of the city's inhabitants. How can we not be worried?"
Wen Yu was silent. According to Cheng Lian's style of doing things, it was indeed something he could do.
"But the more he does this, the more unwilling Lord Jia is to give in."
"You refuse to give in?" Wen Yu knew this would be the outcome, but she still found it inconceivable when Uncle Song mentioned it. "Then what about the captured hostages?"
"If we give in now, Cheng Lian will only become more demanding. Once he gets the gold and silver, it is still unknown how he will treat the hostages." Song Linsheng paused. He could understand Lord Jia's approach.
"On the contrary, the adverse effects brought about by this action are immeasurable." Song Linsheng turned to look at Lord Mu on the side. Lord Mu has been in Jiangyang Mansion longer than him and has handled more things, so he should know.
Mu Tong nodded, "Indeed. Firstly, the government will lose its credibility, and then the people will feel that the government is unreliable and let the bandits handle everything. Cheng Lian will also gain greater say."
"By then, the Jiangyang government office will be useless. If Cheng Lian dares to kidnap someone today, he will dare to usurp power tomorrow. Jiangyang government office will naturally be in chaos."
Mu Tong said that what Lord Jia did was indeed correct.
"That's right—" Uncle Song nodded in agreement. "At that time, different opinions were already emerging among the people. Lord Jia refused to negotiate and was determined to suppress the bandits in order to reassure the people."
At that time, even a family like the Song family stayed indoors, not to mention the common people in the city. The Cheng Lian incident was a huge commotion.
Wen Yu nodded, and after putting all the clues together, he had a rough outline.
"So later, Lord Jia led his men to wipe out the bandits in one fell swoop, rescued all the hostages, and was even promoted to the position of Jiangyang Tongzhi because of this?"
However, Uncle Song's expression was not what Wen Yu expected. Instead, he looked puzzled. "Yes, and no."
Uncle Song frowned, as if he was carefully recalling the situation back then. "I did save the hostages, but not all of them. But it just happened that..."
"Cheng Lian's strategy was inferior to Lord Jia's, and he was ultimately defeated and his army was completely routed. However, he had already made preparations."
Cheng Lian was not captured that year, but Lord Jia successfully rescued the hostages, finally calming the people's complaints and panic. Unfortunately...
"When he was fleeing, he actually...actually brutally killed Lord Jia's wife and daughter..." As Uncle Song spoke, he gradually slowed down his pace.
"What!" Wen Yu suddenly cried out, and her head suddenly buzzed and went blank.
What is Mr. Song talking about?
Cheng Lian killed... killed Lord Jia's wife and daughter...
Wen Yu opened her lips slightly, but almost forgot to breathe.
Song Linsheng and Mu Tong on the side looked at each other and were both shocked. This matter...this matter had never been discovered by them.
"He, Cheng Lian... who did he kill? Lord Jia's wife and daughter, wife and daughter?" Wen Yu suddenly remembered that when she was in the government office and looked through the registered officials of Jiangyang government office, she had never seen any record of Lord Jia, so she had no way of knowing that Lord Jia had a wife and daughter.
She still thought, still thought that Lord Jia had always been single.
Wen Yu almost lost her strength. Her waist collapsed and she could not stand.
"Mrs. Wen—"
"Xiaoyu."
Mu Tong and Song Linsheng exclaimed almost at the same time. Song Linsheng, who was closest to her, pulled her into his arms and supported her with his body.
Wen Yu struggled to stand, and even the strength to speak was three points weaker, "Uncle Song, you mean, you mean..."
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