The entire Liang family was in a state of despair. All the people who had been brought to the capital were sent out, but nothing was found.
Mr. Liang limped out of the house: "Get your horses ready, I'll go look for them."
"Are you going to piss me off to death?" came a hoarse voice, followed by a cough.
Second Master Liang gritted his teeth and turned around and went to Mrs. Liang's room.
Mrs. Liang leaned on the pillow, and Miss Liang next to her was serving her with red eyes: "Don't worry, mother, the second brother is back."
Mrs. Liang raised her eyes and looked at her son: "Something happened to your eldest brother, and your father was kidnapped again. You were already injured. If anything goes wrong, the Liang family will fall."
Mr. Liang said: "Maybe we should have reported all this to the Yamen a long time ago. I have long felt that there is a problem with this trade route. It seems that someone wants to control all the merchants going to Northern Xinjiang. Maybe something happened to my eldest brother.
It’s not an accident, it’s all because we did things against their wishes.”
A bitter look appeared on Mrs. Liang's face: "What should I say? There is no evidence in hand... Now your father is in their hands. If you tell the court, they will attack your father.
It would be better if we agreed to help them transport the goods when they came to our door."
Mr. Liang gritted his teeth: "We didn't know what those goods were, so we agreed easily. If we really took over, it would be difficult to get away from it in the future. Transporting goods in such a sneaky manner must not be a good thing.
The son's guess was correct, but when we didn't agree, they kidnapped his father.
Now that I am using my father as a threat, I don’t know what dangerous things we are going to do.”
Mrs. Liang said: "It may be bandits. Don't think randomly. Anyone who has been doing business all year round has never encountered this kind of thing. As long as you spend some money or agree to their request, they will release the person back."
Those things are external and not as important as your father's life.
Just like you said someone wants to control the trade routes... so many merchants traveling to northern Xinjiang don't understand, how come you are the only one who understands."
"My son cannot agree with what my mother said," Mr. Liang said firmly, "We can't just bow to those people. My son will go and find his father back."
After Mr. Liang finished speaking, he stood up and walked out again. This time, no matter how much Mrs. Liang shouted, Mr. Liang refused to look back.
This year is a disaster for the Liang family.
At the beginning of the year, the eldest son died in a foreign land while traveling as a merchant. The eldest son took his people out of the city and never came back. The second master went out looking for him, but no one was seen again for the whole day.
Mrs. Liang and Miss Liang were leaning on each other in the house. It was getting dark, and the hope in Mrs. Liang's heart was gradually disappearing.
"Madam," the steward said as he came in, "someone from outside has sent news that our caravan will set off for Datong tomorrow and take the official road along the way... and they also said..."
A look of horror appeared on the steward's face: "Second Master's legs are not very good, so you don't have to wait for him."
Mrs. Liang's hands trembled. She knew that this was the message from the people who had kidnapped the master. These people were everywhere, watching their every move. Maybe the second brother would be caught by them when he went out to look for someone.
She had known for a long time that these people could not be guarded against.
Now that only the female relatives are left in the Liang family, what should they do?
"Madam," the steward said, "Is it possible that there are some of them in our house? Otherwise, I will take someone to check again."
"There's no need to check," Mrs. Liang said tremblingly, "Go down and let's set off tomorrow..." She couldn't gamble with the lives of the master and her son, and what's the use even if she checked, she could really find those people's informants.
?
Even if the home can be protected, what about the people outside?
Maybe if you do as they say, there will really be a chance of survival.
The steward already understood what Mrs. Liang was thinking: "I'll make arrangements right away."
As soon as the steward walked out of the door, he heard the concierge come to report: "Uncle Jiang is here and asked us how our preparations are going."
Merchants will have some interactions with each other, and they can take care of each other on the road. If something happens to someone's caravan, at least someone will help report it back.
Mrs. Liang thought of her family's situation. Tomorrow the two female relatives would take the caravan to Datong. She didn't know what would happen along the way, and whether they could rescue the master and the others. She couldn't help but move in her heart and ordered the steward: "Invite Uncle Jiang in!"
"It's good to even ask for information.
In the past, the Jiang family did not attract much attention, but now it is different. The Song family, an in-law of the Jiang family, has a governor, and this governor is very young and will definitely have a bright future in the future. The most important thing is that the Song governor went to Changzhou Guards Station to serve as the governor of Nanzhi.
All the subordinate officials have to give him some thin noodles.
It is conceivable that the Jiang family will become more and more prosperous in the future.
Mrs. Liang straightened her clothes, got up from the couch with support, and sat on a chair to entertain the guests, while Miss Liang hid behind the screen.
Uncle Jiang walked into the room and saluted Mrs. Liang: "Aren't Uncle Shi and Erlang here?"
Mrs. Liang's face changed slightly, but she said calmly: "They have something to do and they can't get away. I will take the caravan to Datong tomorrow."
Uncle Jiang looked at Mrs. Liang in surprise: "You... this... trade route is dangerous. How can you facilitate it? The north is not peaceful, and you may encounter Tatars in disguise."
"It doesn't matter," Mrs. Liang said, "I have also walked through the business with the master. Now that the boss is gone, the family is short of manpower and can only do this."
Uncle Jiang was silent for a moment and did not try to persuade us anymore. He just said: "We are going to Datong tomorrow. If Madam doesn't mind, why don't we go together so that we can be taken care of."
Mrs. Liang felt happy in her heart, thinking of the oral message sent by those people, which only said that they should set off tomorrow and take the official road along the road. Without them, they could not go with others.
Uncle Jiang's words were like giving someone timely help, and Mrs. Liang really didn't want to refuse.
In addition, the Jiang family is the in-laws of the Song family, which means there is another way in the yamen. Their future is uncertain, and they may really need Uncle Jiang's help.
She was afraid that the Jiang family would be implicated for no reason.
When Mrs. Liang thought of this, she felt cold and was about to refuse.
"Let's settle it like this," Uncle Jiang said. "It is bound to be difficult for the eldest lady and her family to do business. I won't ask about the secrets. Our two families have known each other in the past. Now that we meet, there is no reason not to help each other. This time I
I don’t have much goods to bring, so I happen to have some spare hands, so I’ll be here to help early tomorrow morning.”
Mrs. Liang felt warm in her heart: "But this matter..."
Uncle Jiang said, "Whenever the Jiang family is in trouble, all the eldest lady can do is help me." Then he stood up and saluted Mrs. Liang, "It's getting late, so I won't bother you. It's easy for the eldest lady to make arrangements."
Mrs. Liang thanked her immediately.
When Uncle Jiang stood up, he glanced at the screen. The slender figure behind the screen made his heart light up. He would gain something else this time.
After sending Uncle Jiang away, Mrs. Liang called the steward to arrange matters for tomorrow.
The whole small courtyard was busy until late at night before it gradually became quiet.
Mrs. Liang blew out the lamp and lay on the bed with her heart full of thoughts. Just as she was about to close her eyes, she saw a figure standing silently outside the curtain.
Mrs. Liang subconsciously wanted to shout.
"If you want Mr. Liang and Mr. Liang to survive, don't make a sound." The figure ordered coldly.
Mrs. Liang reluctantly nodded. After a moment, the door was opened and another person walked in.
As the person gradually approached, Mrs. Liang could identify that it was a woman.
"Mother," a clear voice rang, "from tomorrow onwards, I will be your daughter. I will follow you to Datong. We, mother and daughter, must take care of each other along the way."
…
Song family.
Song Chengxuan looked at the empty bed and frowned slightly.
He is a person who likes silence, but tonight he felt that the room was too cold and lonely, as if his habits for many years had been suddenly changed, making him feel very uncomfortable.
