Teacher Song looked at Yuxi's back and pondered deeply. She could tell that what Yuxi had just told her was an excuse. Something must have happened.
Teacher Song thought for a moment and said to one of her maids, "Please pay attention to Fourth Miss these two days and look out for when she will go out.
If she goes out, let me know. "It seemed like Yuxi had to report in advance to the Old Lady before she could go out. She would not go out rashly.
Unfortunately, Yuxi did not go out as Teacher Song thought. Instead, Yuxi
wrote a letter, asked Hongshan to give it to her sister-in-law the next
day, and then passed it to Mama Fang.
Mama Fang couldn't read, but Ling Qi could. When Ling Qi opened the letter,
she found that besides the main note, there was a sealed letter and one thousand taels[1] of a silver ticket.
After reading the letter, Ling Qi explained to Mama Fang, "Mama, Miss said in
the letter that you should go to the best escort agency in the capital and
ask them to do something."
Mama Fang asked, "What should I do?"
Ling Qi shook her head and said, "Miss didn't say. It's just only that when
Mama goes to the escort agency, Mama should give this other letter to their manager, so they can follow the instructions in it. We only need to
pay the fee."
Mama Fang's face suddenly turned stern. "Now that you also know, you should
never tell this matter to anyone." Something must have made their Miss being so cautious. Mama Fang was afraid to leak the news. It would be troublesome if people in the state residence knew about this.
Ling Qi nodded and promised, "Mama, don't worry, I won't say a word."
After two days, Mama Fang went to Xinglong Escort Agency. Xinglong Escort
Agency was the largest escort agency in the capital. Its reputation was the best. Generally, there would be no problems entrusting them, and the
customers' information would never be disclosed to anyone.
When Mama Fang came to the escort agency, she followed the gatekeeper inside
and stated, "I'm looking for your manager." With the case of the ointment seller last time, she now had experience handling such matters.
The escort agency manager immediately came out and led Mama Fang into his office. "I don't know what Daniang[2] wants us to do?" the manager asked with a smile.
Mama Fang handed him a letter and said, "All the things I'm going to entrust you with are already written in it. Open it yourself."
The escort agency manager was so cautious that everyone inside the room was nervous! However, when he finished reading the letter, he didn't know if he should laugh or cry. He thought it was a big deal, but he didn't expect to be entrusted to protect a child and only need to secretly protect him for one day. However, the escort agency opened its door to do business. No matter what they were entrusted with, they could not shut it out as long as it was not illegal. "We will take this job."
Mama Fang reminded him, "I hope you don't reveal my information."
"Actually, I don't know anything about your identity, Daniang[2]," laughed the manager. This meant that he didn't even have Mama Fang's basic
information, so how could he possibly reveal her information?
Mama Fang looked calm and asked, "How much is the price for this job?"
The manager thought for a moment and said, "It depends on what level you need.
We have three levels here. The highest level has the price of one thousand
taels[1], followed by five hundred and the lowest two hundred. "
Mama Fang was shocked. What on earth would cost so much to commission the
escorts agency to do?
The manager looked at Mama Fang and said with a smile, "Given the matter entrusted by you, I suggest you choose the five hundred taels[1]."
Mama Fang hesitated and said, "Will there be no problem if I choose this
price?"
The manager smiled, "There will be no problem." Protecting a child in his teens would not be difficult as it would not involve the life or death of the armed escort that would be signed to the task. So, there would definitely be
no problem.
Mama Fang handed over the one thousand taels[1] of
silver tickets to the manager.
The manager found a balance of five hundred taels[1] of
silver for Mama Fang, and after doing this, he took a fire burner in front of
Mama Fang and burned the letter. When the newly burnt item turned to ashes, he
asked Mama Fang, "Daniang[2], how can we inform you when this matter is completed?" Because the matter entrusted by Mama Fang did not involve any secrets and had no colossal aftermath,
the escort agency would not check Mama Fang's background. This was also why the manager asked this question.
Mama Fang shook her head and said, "I will know the result." Miss told her in
the letter that it would only be necessary for the Xinglong Escort Agency's
personnel to take over the job, and she never mentioned the rest.
The manager smiled and sent off Mama Fang. This job was all about getting the
money!
When Mama Fang was on her way home, in order not to be followed by the armed
escorts, she went to many places, changed several trains and decided that she
was safe before renting a carriage and returning to the baozi[3] shop.
Back at the baozi[3] shop, the calm Mama
Fang began to feel distressed over the five hundred taels[1] of silver she had spent. Five hundred taels[1] of
silver were equivalent to half a year of the income of the baozi[3] shop.
Yuxi knew that Mama Fang had done the job well and whispered to herself,
"Whether he can escape this disaster depends on his luck." On the premise of protecting herself, this was the best way she could think of. She only hoped that Jiang Hongfu was lucky enough to avoid this disaster. If he couldn't
evade it, it could only be said to be God's will.
Jiang Hongfu, the party concerned, did not know that Yuxi had taken so much
trouble to save his life.
A few days later, it was time for the Baitan Academy to have its academic holiday. Jiang Hongfu took his attendant to Songyun Pavilion on the second day of this holiday. This was his habit. On every holiday, unless
something happened at home, he would always go to Songyun Pavilion the next
day.
Jiang Hongfu didn't have to buy books when he went to Songyun Pavilion. He liked the atmosphere inside the store and also wanted to read there. In Songyun
Pavilion, he always felt that time passed very fast.
Jiang Hongfu stayed in Songyun Pavilion from morning till evening, where lunch was also served in the store. His attendant looked at the dark sky, urging him to return home. Jiang Hongfu reluctantly closed the
book and then left the store.
Jiang Hongfu came by carriage. Usually, at this time, the carriage from home would be waiting at the bookstore's entrance. But today, Jiang Hongfu had
been lingering at the bookstore entrance for a long time, but he had yet to catch a single sight of his family carriage. He started to get impatient, so he ordered his attendant, "Go out and rent a carriage to go
back."
Because it was already nightfall and the bookstore was relatively remote, it took them about a quarter of an hour to rent a carriage. The two men went to a corner, and suddenly a carriage rushed towards them. Since the distance was too close, they didn't have enough time to take cover.
Jiang Hongfu was so scared that he forgot to hide. When he saw that the carriage was about to hit him, he closed his eyes in reflex. Just then, he
felt someone grabbing his collar.
When Jiang Hongfu opened his eyes, he saw a man in grey attire had grabbed him by his collar. The man did not speak but pointed to the side.
Jiang Hongfu looked in the direction he pointed out and saw his personal attendant lying in a pool of blood. He didn't have to go and see to know
that his attendant had been dead.
The grey-clothed man said with a straight face, "He is dead."
Jiang Hongfu knew that if the grey-clad man had not appeared in time, he would have died under the carriage just like his attendant. He looked at the grey-clad man with great gratitude. He held his fist in both hands and expressed,
"Thank you for saving my life."
The grey-clad man did not accept Jiang Hongfu's courtesy but instead caught him and left the scene quickly. Jiang Hongfu cried, "Do you..." Before he even
finished speaking, his mouth was covered.
The grey-clad man walked very fast. Despite carrying a person in his arm, his speed was still not comparable to that of ordinary people. After
walking for a few minutes, the man shoved Jiang Hongfu into a carriage by the
side of the road and then he, himself, got in.
Jiang Hongfu was a little frightened. This man wanted to kidnap him for himself. "What do you want to do?"
The grey-clad man simply said, "Take you home."
Jiang Hongfu obviously did not believe what the grey-clad man said. Although the man saved him just now, he still suspected he had ulterior motives.
Kidnapping and blackmailing were secondary things he was worried about. What he feared the most was that this person would take his life.
The grey man said coldly, "Don't look at me like that. I'm just being entrusted to protect you. Send you home, and then my job will be done."
Jiang Hongfu's face turned white in an instant. Was it because the Song family afraid that he would take revenge in the future, so they had to destroy the weeds and dig out the roots[4]? Jiang Hongfu shook his head immediately. It was impossible. His surname was not even Song or Yun. People in the Song family should not be this frantic. He resisted the surging waves in his heart and asked, "Are you saying that what happened just now was not an accident but man-made? How did you know?"
The man in grey replied, "Naturally, we've been told by the person who
entrusted us to protect your safety."
Jiang Hongfu was a little excited, "Who is it? Who asked you to protect me?"
The grey-clad man did not answer this question because he did not know who entrusted them regarding this matter. If the escort agency went to check the client, it would be a big taboo. He said, "The person who entrusted me with your safety said that your stepmother will not stop until she has done you harm. You can only save yourself by returning to your hometown."
When Yuxi married the Jiang family, she spent six years with Yu Shi.
Naturally, Yu Shi looked like a woman who was charitable on the surface but was actually vicious deep down. Jiang Hongfu's excellence had blocked Jiang
Hongjin's path. How could Yu Shi stand it? If she failed this time,
she certainly would not give up.
Jiang Hongfu instinctively did not believe that. His mother and father had a good relationship after marriage, and his mother died of a miscarriage. His father married Yu Shi after two years of filial piety for his late mother. After Yu Shi's marriage to the Jiang family, he had been living well all these years, and she treated him warmly. On the contrary, he was wary of his father's family and could not get close to them.
Jiang Hongfu felt that the person behind his rescue had no good intentions and
asked, "How did this person know that my stepmother was trying to kill me?"
How would the grey-clad man know? He took half a silver ticket from his sleeve and handed it to Jiang Hongfu. Then he said, "This is what this person had asked me to give you. If he wants to find you, he will use the other
half of the silver ticket as a token."
Yuxi did this as a precaution. If she could not escape her fate, Jiang
Hongjin would still go to the state residence to ask for marriage. She hoped
to get Jiang Hongfu's help to avoid this disaster in the future.
The man in grey looked at half of the silver tickets in Jiang Hongfu's hand and felt that the other party didn't know how to cherish money. Ten
taels[1] of
silver might not mean much, but it was enough for him to have a good meal.
Jiang Hongfu's heart was laden with misgivings, but he still received the half-silver ticket. No matter what the purpose of the person behind the scenes was,
it was still true that this person just saved his life.
Footnotes Full List
- unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤 (old)
- a respectful form of address for an elderly woman
- steamed stuffed bun
- Chinese idiom: destroying everything related to the enemy, leaving no chance of its revival
Noob Translator's Musing
I've had a reunion with my ex-colleagues today. We met again through Whatsapp.
It had been 11 years since I resigned from the institution. All of them are happily married now, except for me. - cried in a corner -
Tags:
The Rebirth of Han Yuxi