Chapter 88 Whatever he can do for you, I can do it too.
It snowed heavily again in the morning.
The house was too quiet when the children were not at home. Song Baoyuan was not used to it, so she came to the teahouse early in the morning.
She stood by the window, looking at the vast expanse of white outside, feeling a little confused.
She was clearly begging for mercy yesterday, so why did she have that attitude and say those words?
“Bang, bang.”
There was a knock on the door behind her, and it took Song Baoyuan a while to react.
Cen Zhou walked in with breakfast, put it down, hesitated, and did not leave.
After a long pause, he asked tentatively, "Are you still worried about Zhang Lao?"
As soon as Jiang Keyu left yesterday, he came out from behind the screen and confessed to Song Baoyuan that he had "accidentally" eavesdropped on the whole thing.
Song Baoyuan returned to the table and sat down. She picked up the spoon and stirred the porridge in the bowl, but she had no appetite at all.
"Tell me, was I unreasonable yesterday?"
Cen Zhou silently clasped his hands behind his back and groaned, "That's how officials are. They'd love to chop off everyone's head just to earn themselves promotions and wealth!"
"Whether he gets beheaded or not has nothing to do with his achievements," Song Baoyuan said helplessly, "and he's not that kind of person."
"Didn't you say he had changed?"
Song Baoyuan was stunned, as if she was stumped by the question.
After a while, she stammered, "He, he is different from before, but not to this extent."
The more Cen Zhou listened, the more confused he became. "Then why do you still say that about him?"
"I……"
Song Baoyuan was speechless again.
Because emotions precede reason.
Because every time, every time they parted on bad terms, she was the first one to run away crying.
Because I saw the bandage on his hand, I didn't know if he would do something ridiculous again, so I didn't want to weaken his momentum.
Or maybe, because of the resentment in her heart, she couldn't help but want to say unpleasant words when she looked at him.
But every reason is so untenable.
Song Baoyuan felt annoyed, and when she thought about it, she seemed to be being unreasonable.
In front of him, let alone staying calm, I couldn't even stick to the facts.
Why on earth did they end up like this?
"Madam Song!"
The door was not closed, and Xu Pingsheng ran in. "Someone's looking for you."
"who?"
"She said she was a neighbor of Zhang Lao's."
Song Baoyuan knew that she must have come here for Zhang Lao's matter, "Let her in."
The first person to come in was Xie Yuchao, and behind him, a middle-aged woman in simple clothes ran in anxiously.
"Madam Song!" The old lady's face was filled with fear. "I heard that Zhang Lao's child was taken away by the government. Why is that? Can he come back?"
"Please take a seat."
The old lady's eyes wandered, she sat down uncomfortably, and lowered her voice, "Is it because of what happened in the past?"
Song Baoyuan was puzzled, "Before?"
The old lady looked around, stood up and closed the door, and whispered, "Madam Song, it's already this late, and I won't hide it from you. Apart from you, we ordinary people can't find anyone else to help us."
"I live next door to Old Zhang's house. On weekdays, when Zhang Lao works for you, I look after him for him, so I know more than others."
"Old Zhang is a widower with only one child. Many years ago, the child drowned and died. On the night of the funeral, someone suddenly fell at Old Zhang's doorstep. When Old Zhang went out to see, he found the child, badly injured and nearly dead. Old Zhang was a good man, and since the child was about the same age as his own, he felt even more compassionate and kept the child."
"That child's injuries were unusual. We all advised Old Zhang not to keep him, lest he get into trouble, but he wouldn't listen. Fortunately, he was a kind-hearted child. As time went on, Old Zhang and the rest of us neighbors started treating him like his own son, Zhang Lao."
The old lady sighed repeatedly, "I thought everything was fine for so long, that there wouldn't be any problems. But recently, officials have been coming to investigate. Some of them are so scared of the officials that they let it slip that the child is not their biological child."
"Madam Song, I came to you because I couldn't find anyone else to help. No one dared to tell Old Zhang last night that the child was arrested by the government, but the child didn't come back last night, and he kept complaining about it. He doesn't have much time left. If the child really can't come back, could you please ask the officials to make an exception and let them meet one last time, so that they can heal their father-son relationship and Old Zhang can rest in peace."
Song Baoyuan looked dazed.
She suddenly remembered that on the day her father passed away, he had been mumbling her name.
"Baoyuan, Baoyuan, let daddy take one last look at you. Don't cry, let daddy take a good look at you again."
"Madam Song?"
Song Baoyuan came back to her senses, "I see. You go back and look after Zhang Lao's father. Zhang Lao may not be able to come back for a while, but I will find a way to meet him."
"Really?" The old lady breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Madam Song! Thank you, Madam Song!"
"Cen Zhou, send my aunt back home."
After they left, Song Baoyuan sat there in a daze for a long time, forgetting that Xie Yuchao had been by her side.
"Ahem." Xie Yuchao couldn't help but say, "You agreed so easily, then what?"
Song Baoyuan thought for a moment and called out, "Aqi!"
Qi appears from the window.
"You can go to the Dali Temple prison and take care of it for me. It doesn't matter how much it costs."
Ah Qi didn't go, but jumped into the house instead, "Miss, why bother to go far away, and it may not work."
Song Baoyuan looked up and asked, "Do you have a better idea?"
Ah Qi's eyelids twitched, and he hesitated, "Isn't it the Dali Temple? The Dali Temple... there is a young man."
Song Baoyuan lowered her eyes and remained silent.
Aqi scratched his head in confusion.
"Forget it," Song Baoyuan said softly. "Letting a death row prisoner leave the prison is reasonable for us, but it's against the rules of the Dali Temple. If you can solve it with money, don't let him know, so as not to embarrass him."
Aqi nodded, "Yes."
He turned around and was about to go out to do his business, but after two steps he stopped. "Actually, if the young lady is willing to submit to the young master, he will definitely not find it difficult."
Give in?
Song Baoyuan was stunned.
At the moment she seemed to be hesitating, Xie Yuchao's heart was filled with alarm.
"Leave it to me!" he said suddenly.
Song Baoyuan glanced sideways, her face becoming even more confused. "You?"
"What he can do for you, I can do too." Xie Yuchao said seriously.
"But you..."
"Believe me." Xie Yuchao knew what she was worried about and interrupted with a smile, "It'll be fine."
*
In the elegant room of Qianqian Pavilion, Xie Yuchao was playing with the wine glass in his hand, waiting alone.
Not long after, the door was cautiously pushed open, and a young man in luxurious clothes crouched down, covering his face with a fan, and walked in stealthily like a thief.
"What are you doing?" Xie Yuchao asked with a raised eyebrow.
As soon as the young man in gorgeous clothes entered the room, he quickly closed the door, fearing that he would be discovered.
"You're so brave, kid! You actually dared to sneak out of the Xie Mansion? If you can just sneak away, why are you looking for me? I get scared the moment I see your father. If he asks me if I've seen you, how can I hide it?"
He kept cursing and Xie Yuchao couldn't get a word in at all.
Finally, he said he was tired and poured himself a drink.
"Help me."
"I knew it!"
Xie Yuchao had just said four words when Young Master Huayi started yelling again, "You're thinking of me when you're not doing well, but you're looking for me when you're in trouble, right? Let me make it clear, I absolutely won't do anything to go against your father!"
"It has nothing to do with him!" Xie Yuchao said helplessly.
This was his only friend, Du Yuan, whose father, Du Daxueshi, was a colleague of his father.
Du Yuan picked up the wine jug, slumped down on the chair, and crossed his legs. "Then why did you look for me?"
"Help me rescue someone from the Dali Temple."
"Who is it? What did you do?"
Du Yuan is careless and acts like a dandy.
Xie Yuchao rested his elbows on the table, his face resting on his palms. "He wasn't a big shot. His name was Zhang Lao. He only made a few minor mistakes. You could even say he was doing good for the people by killing that notorious Minister of Revenue."
"cough!"
Du Yuan choked on a mouthful of wine, his face turning red. It took him a while to recover. "Brother! Are you talking in your sleep? You want me to find the real culprit in the Ministry of Revenue case? Do you think I'm your father? Do you think I'm that capable?"
He shook his head repeatedly. "Do you know how far-reaching the case of the Minister of Revenue is, and how many people are watching it from above? It was originally handled jointly by the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, causing panic throughout the court. Some people even sent scapegoats just to get to the bottom of the case quickly, so as to avoid uncovering more filthy things that would be unresolved!"
He said with certainty, "I dare say that in the entire imperial court, apart from your father, Lord Xie, no one has the ability to rescue this person!"
Xie Yuchao frowned slightly, "What if we only let him leave for a few hours to meet him?"
"Not really." Du Yuan spread his hands. "If the person was in the Ministry of Justice or Jingzhao Prefecture, it wouldn't be difficult, but forget about the Dali Temple. A few months ago, even the Dali Temple could have come up with a solution, but things are different now."
"What's the difference?"
"You don't even know this, their leader has changed!"
Du Yuan glanced at him with disdain. "Right now, the Dali Temple's chief justice has been sidelined, and the decision-makers for all matters, big and small, are all from that Dali Temple's junior justice surnamed Jiang. That guy is truly ruthless! Last month, Grand Secretary Zhang's son, his own son! He was sentenced to exile for raping a woman. Grand Secretary Zhang couldn't bear to let him go. He spent money, gifts, and connections, not to mention the effort he put in, just to get his son out. Even if he took a step back, he could have kept him in the capital. In the end, the Dali Temple ignored him and sent him away without a second thought."
Du Yuan sighed, "When I went out today, my father warned me not to go to the Dali Temple if I got into trouble."
Xie Yuchao frowned even more tightly after hearing this.
He leaned back and said, "I don't care. When I wrote for you and deceived your father, you promised to do it for me. Helping me escape from the Xie family is too difficult, so I don't blame you. But you must help me with this!"
“This is also very difficult!”
Xie Yu looked over coldly.
Du Yuan had no choice. It was already very unrighteous of him not to help last time. If he refused again this time, he was afraid that they would not be able to remain brothers.
"Okay, I'll give it a try," he emphasized repeatedly. "I can only say I'll give it my best. Whether it succeeds or not is another matter!"
He stretched out his hand.
Xie Yuchao was surprised, "What?"
"Give me money. It doesn't cost anything to take care of things everywhere."
"I don't have any money."
Du Yuan: “?”
Under the other party's questioning gaze, Xie Yuchao said calmly: "You can use it first, and I will return it to you later."
"You're trying to get something for nothing." Du Yuan rolled his eyes, but didn't take it seriously. Instead, he asked, "How did you get involved in this? Do you know that person?"
"It's better for you to know less." Xie Yuchao said, standing up to leave, "Also, remember to pay for the wine in your hand."
Du Yuan: “…”
*
At night, the Dali Temple prison was opened and someone left quietly.
As soon as the person left, Tang Yuan entered the inner hall of the Dali Temple and said, "The person has left."
"Watch closely, don't let anyone escape."
"Don't worry, boss. We have several brothers following you."
Jiang Keyu sat sideways at the desk and rubbed his brows. "Okay, I understand. You can go back and rest."
Tang Yuan was in no hurry to leave. He was a little dissatisfied. "For something like this, if they had written it down clearly on a piece of paper and submitted it to us, we could have granted them special approval. It's legal and compliant, so why do they have to do it so covertly? It makes us at the Dali Temple seem so unkind."
"They are happy to do so." Jiang Keyu said casually.
He recalled that he had let the Chu family's youngest son go, which was not legal or compliant. Because he was in a low position at the time and his words were not influential, and he could not trust his superiors, so procedural justice could not bring him the results he wanted.
And now, he has become the one who is not trusted.
Tang Yuan tilted his head, still confused. "Boss, why did you cooperate with them and clean up the mess for them? If you said it was to save your sister-in-law... your ex-sister-in-law's face, then even though you handled this matter perfectly, you didn't let anyone know at all, and you even did them a favor for nothing. What are you trying to achieve, Boss?"
Just to make trouble, to find things to do, to make things difficult for yourself.
Jiang Keyu hummed lightly, and said three words calmly, "I'm happy to."
Tang Yuan: “…”
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