readytorunbook Chapter 172 Redemption
Chapter 172 Redemption
In her previous life, when Shen Tang was married to Xie Guimo, although the two did not get along and their lives were full of conflicts, as long as Xie Guimo was in the house, they basically ate every meal together. It was just that you ignored me and I ignored you. They really did not talk while eating or sleeping, and Shen Tang suffered from indigestion during those years.
Now they were sitting together to eat. Before Shen Tang even got to the table, he had already put a chicken leg into her bowl. "Try it and see how it tastes."
She had been eating the food at the Jingyang Palace for four years and could tell who cooked each dish. Shen Tang sat down, picked up a chicken leg and took a bite, saying, "Isn't it made by the chef at the Jingyang Palace?"
"Made by the chef of Zuixianlou."
Each dish was Zuixianlou's signature dish, and they all suited Shen Tang's taste. On the contrary, she hardly picked up the dishes made by the Marquis' Mansion.
The two of them had a very happy meal. Ginkgo and Qiutong served beside them, with smiles on their faces. They were living the life of a married girl in advance. If the eldest girl had not been blocking the way, the girl would definitely have been married off soon. Thinking that all the dowry was given to the eldest girl first, Ginkgo and Qiutong were quite dissatisfied. The eldest girl was the daughter of the second wife, but she became the consort of the second prince with the title of the eldest daughter of the Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion. It was really too cheap for her.
The fourth wife will have to wait until the eldest daughter gets married before she can free up her time to prepare the dowry for her daughter, which will take at least a month.
Shen Tang ate half a bowl more rice than usual and ate quite a bit more vegetables. She felt a little full and wanted to go for a walk in the garden. Xie Guimo didn't want to stay any longer, but just as he was about to leave, there was a knock on the window and the voice of the secret guard came, "Master, there's news from Wangzhou."
God knows how long Shen Tang waited for news from Wangzhou. Finally, some news came back. Xie Guimo walked towards the window, and the secret guard said, "Wangzhou sent a pigeon to rescue the maid named Chunlan. However, Chunlan's leg was broken, so the carriage can't go fast. It will probably take another ten days to reach Kyoto."
Wasn’t it about redeeming the maid? Why did he use the word “save” and even broke his leg?
Unfortunately, carrier pigeons could not convey much information, and the secret guards were unable to help Shen Tang resolve his doubts.
Shen Tang didn't know that if she hadn't been vigilant and asked Xie Guimo to send someone to Wangzhou to ensure that Chunlan was brought back to Beijing, Chunlan would have died in Baihua Tower.
The Fourth Madam arranged for people to go to Wangzhou to redeem Chunlan, and she took precautions to prevent Baihualou from raising the price. People in such brothels have no credibility. Once they are sure that you want to redeem someone, they will double the price. The Fourth Madam told the people who went there that if necessary, they could act under the guise of Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion.
The manager went to Wangzhou and met Chunlan. When the madam saw that someone from Kyoto had really come to redeem Chunlan, she immediately raised the price from 4,000 taels to 10,000 taels.
The manager was almost furious to death. It was outrageous enough that the Fourth Madam spent four thousand taels to redeem a maid, but he didn't expect that Baihualou would ask for such a huge amount. A maid who had been abused by Baihualou for more than ten years and could hardly receive a few guests a day, actually dared to ask for ten thousand taels.
Although the fourth wife said that it was okay to spend more money and Chunlan must be brought back, ten thousand taels was too much, so much that the manager did not dare to make the decision.
The manager had no choice but to say that he was from Pingyuan Marquis Mansion. It would have been fine if he hadn't said it, but once he did, it was even more outrageous and the price went up to 20,000 taels.
The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Wangzhou is hundreds of miles away from the capital, and the emperor's edict may not be effective, let alone a mere Pingyuan Marquis. Chunlan belongs to her Baihualou, and her life and death are decided by Baihualou. Either pay 20,000 taels or don't redeem her.
The attitude was so firm that the manager was powerless. Although he brought two servants with him, a strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake. The style of doing things in Baihualou clearly showed that it had a backer, and it was not something that a single manager like him could suppress.
Not to mention redeeming the person, the manager was kicked out of Baihua Tower before he could even speak to Chunlan alone.
Chunlan has been trapped in Baihualou for more than ten years, and she has been looking forward to leaving every day and returning to the Fourth Madam. It is the secret she carries that has supported her day after day. Now that she has finally got the person she waited for, she did not expect that Baihualou would be so cruel as to increase the ransom from four thousand taels to twenty thousand taels.
That’s a full twenty thousand taels!
Where did the Fourth Madam get so much money to redeem her maid?
Chunlan was completely desperate.
She wanted to die, but in Baihua Tower, it was not so easy to commit suicide.
The madam knew that Chunlan had people passing messages for her for so many years. She thought that Chunlan was too naive as a maid and didn't take it seriously at all. But now someone from Pingyuan Marquis's Mansion really came to pick her up and was willing to spend four thousand taels of silver to redeem a maid who was no longer a lovelorn woman. This maid must be hiding a secret.
The madam's intuition told her that this secret was the most valuable.
The madam interrogated Chunlan, but Chunlan refused to tell anyone. The madam showed no mercy and started to torture her. In just two days, Chunlan was tortured beyond recognition.
Unable to bear the torture, Chunlan took the opportunity to jump from Baihua Tower, and that's how she broke her leg.
Chunlan fell down the stairs and was caught by a servant from Baihua Tower. Just then, Xie Guimo's men arrived and realized that she was Chunlan, so they rescued her directly from Baihua Tower.
It was no problem for the secret guard to save a maid, but the unlucky one was the steward sent by the Fourth Madam. He couldn't come up with the 20,000 taels, and the title of Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion was of no use. The Fourth Madam also said that she must find a way to bring Chunlan back. The steward was in the inn, and dozens of his hairs had turned white with worry. He didn't know what to do.
Send someone back to ask the Fourth Madam. It's hundreds of miles away, and it will take half a month to go back and forth even if you ride a horse at full speed. The person in charge doesn't want to run back and forth, so he thinks about whether he can redeem Chunlan through the local government office, so that the Pingyuan Marquis Mansion owes her a favor.
Just as the manager was about to do so, people from Baihua Tower came to the door. Baihua Tower believed that Chunlan was rescued by people sent by the manager. Since they could not capture the secret guard and Chunlan, they asked the manager for help.
The manager was so angry. If he had this ability, why would he stay in the inn and suffer this?
Chunlan's indenture contract was in Baihualou. Without the indenture contract, he couldn't take her out of Wangzhou. Baihualou thought about it, but his intuition told him that the person who rescued Chunlan was closely related to Pingyuanhou Mansion.
Without saying a word, Baihualou captured the manager and two servants and took them to Baihualou, waiting for the secret guard to take Chunlan to exchange.
At this moment, the person in charge is still locked up in the woodshed of Baihua Tower.
As for Chunlan's indenture contract, the secret guards of Prince Jingyang's Palace had tokens proving their identity, and no one dared to stop them from taking Chunlan back to Beijing.
However, Chunlan had a broken leg and could not ride back to Beijing at full speed. They were afraid that she would die on the road, so they had to let her recuperate in Wangzhou for a few days, and then take her on the road slowly in a carriage. If she could go by water, they would do so as much as possible. If she really couldn't go by water, they would have to travel slowly in the carriage.
After waiting for so many days, I finally got this piece of news. Fortunately, Chunlan is already on her way back to Beijing. Shen Tang breathed a sigh of relief. Xie Guimo said, "My people will definitely bring Chunlan back to Beijing alive."
Shen Tang was confident that Xie Guimo's people could do the job, otherwise he would not have asked him for help. Shen Tang nodded.
The secret guard said, "Master, the eldest prince is waiting for you in Zuixian Tower."