After Chai Yan read the letter, he said to Yuan: "As expected, the place where the ransom will be paid in three days will be in a pavilion on the west side of Taiping Lake."
With that said, Chai Yan handed the letter to Yuan Yuan for reading.
The aunt anxiously took Yuan's hand and said, "Girl, don't worry about money. I have money. As long as you can bring the young master back safe and sound, I will promise you anything..."
"Mom, don't worry, we will definitely do it..."
Just when Yuan Yuan was speaking to comfort his aunt, Chai Yan noticed the special desertion in the Yu Mansion.
From the time they came in until now, no one other than the aunt has appeared.
"Auntie, is there no one else at home?" Chai Yan asked curiously.
The aunt wiped away her tears and said: "Sir, girl, you are friends of the young master. You are all good people, so I won't hide it from you. Now there is no one else in the entire Yu family except me!"
Only then did Chai Yan realize that it was no wonder that every time she opened the door in the morning, it was this lady who didn't talk much and didn't invite him and Yuan to come in to sit. It turned out that she was the only one guarding the house.
"Then where did everyone else go?"
Chai Yan became more and more curious, but at the same time he also understood why the aunt took the two strangers to help them go out of the city to pay the ransom.
The aunt sighed and said rather helplessly: "Since the death of the master and his wife, all the servants in the family have been dismissed by the young master. Except for Mu Dan and Lao Shen, there are no other servants left in the Yu family...
Ah, Mudan is the young master's personal maid. She has been with the young master when he went out. Now when this happens, she doesn't know whether she will live or die..."
The mention of peonies made the aunt feel worried and sad again.
Through the conversation, Chai Yan learned more or less about the identity of the aunt. She used to be Yu Zhongheng's nanny. Yu Zhongheng had called her godmother since he was a child, so Yu Zhongheng did not let her leave the Yu Mansion.
As for resigning as a servant in the palace, the reason is very simple. Yu Zhongheng felt that he had little income, and if there were more servants in the family, the expenses would be higher. He did this entirely from the perspective of saving money.
Chai Yan was puzzled when he heard about it, and asked his aunt: "Since your young master has no source of income, why does he still spend all day traveling outside? The expenses for going out are not necessarily less!"
The aunt immediately showed bitterness on her face, and said with a sense of shame: "Young master, I don't know, my young master has actually been very good at studying since he was a child, but he has not focused on his real career. His hobby has always been writing storybooks. He always
It means you can’t just stay at home and write. That’s like working behind closed doors, and you won’t be able to write good stories! If you want to write interesting stories, you have to travel all over the world, and that’s what will happen...
Yes, there is inspiration!”
"This story... isn't it just a novel? It turns out he is a novelist!"
Chai Yan was greatly surprised. He did not expect that Yu Zhongheng was actually a novelist.
"The young master just came back from Anping County this time, and he said he wanted to cross the lake to see his friends. I advised him to rest for a while, but he refused to listen. Now it's better. Both of them were captured by robbers.
If anything happens to me, how can I be worthy of the dead master and his wife..." The more the aunt talked, the sadder she became.
Chai Yan felt that the situation was almost understood, so he said: "Madam, please keep your heart in your stomach first. In three days, the two of us will go out of the city to redeem people. We will try our best to bring Mr. Yu back, but the five hundred taels of silver will be enough."
..."
The aunt's expression was dazed, and she immediately understood, nodded and said: "There is money, there is money, you just wait, I will go get it right now..."
After saying that, the aunt ran into the back with her skirt in hand, and after a while, she heard the sound of the door being closed and bolted.
Chai Yan was delighted when he heard the sound and said to himself that this lady is quite cautious...
Looking back at Yuyuan, she was still studying the letter carefully, hoping to learn more information from the letter.
Chai Yan did not bother her, so he walked to the door of the hall, looked outside, and asked in his heart: "Shangguan Peining, have you got any results?"
When he was reading the letter, Chai Yan asked Shangguan Peining to take the blood sample. It had been quite a while now, so the results should be available.
Shangguan Peining answered neatly: "Yes, go east outside the city!"
Chai Yan turned around and asked: "鸱鸱, where is Taiping Lake?"
Yuanyuan thought for a while, raised his head and replied: "Just leave Huzhou City and go eastward!"
Chai Yan nodded seriously and gradually had a plan in his mind.
"You two have been waiting for a long time..."
At this time, I heard the aunt's voice, and soon someone came out from behind.
Chai Yan saw a stack of banknotes in the aunt's hand at a glance. It was definitely more than five hundred taels.
The aunt hesitated for a moment, but finally chose to hand the silver note to Yuan Yuan, then held Yuan's hand tightly and said: "Girl, there are a total of seven hundred taels here, excluding the five hundred taels, the other two hundred taels are for the aunt."
I hope you will accept it."
"No, Madam, Mr. Yu has been kind to me. I should repay this favor. How can I ask for more money from you?"
Yuan refused to accept it. After counting out five banknotes, he handed the other two hundred taels to the aunt.
The aunt felt that this was not a small favor that could be done casually, and it would be unjustifiable not to give some money as a thank you, so the two of them pushed the two hundred taels of silver notes over to let her pass.
Chai Yan couldn't stand it any longer, so he walked over and persuaded: "Ouyuan, just accept the banknote first. It would be nice to have an extra two hundred taels with you. Doesn't Mr. Yu have a personal maid beside him?"
The aunt suddenly shouted: "Yes, yes, the young master is right to remind you, we can't ignore the peonies... Two hundred taels may not be enough, no, we have to bring more money to be safe..."
....”
Before he finished speaking, the figure of the aunt rushed into the back again, presumably to get the banknotes.
"Chai Yan, don't think that I don't know what you are thinking!" Yuan Yuan lifted up the black veil in front of Qianlu and glared at Chai Yan fiercely.
Chai Yan looked innocent, spread his hands and said, "What's wrong with me? I'm telling the truth, maid, don't you care?"
Yuan Yuan couldn't find fault with Chai Yan, so he had to give a stern warning: "Chai Yan, don't think about this money. Anyway, I will return the extra money to the aunt no matter what!"
"I know, I know..."
Chai Yan replied nonchalantly, then turned and looked away.
When Yuanyuan wasn't paying attention, Chai Yan suddenly rolled his eyes and said in a mosquito-like voice: "Shaft!"