good season

The letter contained only a few lines.

Princess Wei Ya'er of Changling County is worth 100,000 taels of silver!

The wet nurse, Granny Guan, and the maid, Lanlan, together received 50,000 taels of silver!
The funds must be raised within three days and delivered to the following three addresses. All payments must be in cash; bank drafts or official silver are not acceptable.
No waiting for latecomers. Please pick up your person from Master Yan of the Ministry of Justice on the fourth day!
I promise I won't kill you! I promise I won't kill you! I promise I won't kill you!

Sending address
Master Wei's hand trembled as he held the letter, especially the three consecutive "guarantee not to kill," each word like a sword, piercing Master Wei and bringing tears to his eyes.

It wasn't that he felt sorry for his poor daughter, nor was it that he felt sorry for the money; it was that he felt sorry for himself.

The letter was addressed as "Wei Ya'er," not "Wei Qian'er." Master Wei didn't believe that Wei Qian'er could still call herself Wei Ya'er after being captured by the kidnappers. He thought she would say that she was not Wei Ya'er, the Princess of Changling County, but just a lowly concubine with no value whatsoever.

Master Wei doesn't blame his daughter; that's only human nature, and anyone would feel the same way.

But the kidnappers still demanded money according to Wei Ya'er's price. Why?
Of course, it's because they've already figured out Master Wei's plan.

If you obediently hand over the money, they'll pretend they don't know anything; the one who's been tied up is Wei Ya'er.

You won't give me the money? Fine, fine, I promise I won't kill you or tear you up. We'll hand you over to Master Yan.

Why not send it to the capital government, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Five Cities Garrison of the Court of Judicial Review, or directly to the Ministry of Justice, but instead specifically name and name Hero Yan?
Of course, it's because Master Yan has a grudge against the Wei family. Old Madam Wei almost took his life. Moreover, no matter whether it's Consort Li, the Marquis of Baoqing's mansion, or the Wei family, they have connections everywhere, but none of them can reach Master Yan.

Zhao Shiqing: Yan Xia is like a brick; he can be moved wherever he is needed!

There are many injustices in this world, but thankfully there is the chivalrous Yan.

Zhao Shiqing: Thank you, brother-in-law! I'd like to raise a glass to you!
Wei Qian'er's version of Wei Ya'er is worth 100,000 taels of silver, which is well worth the price.

Then why are the two servants, Granny Guan and Lanlan, also worth 50,000 taels of silver?

Others might have questions, but Master Wei did not.

Of course, it's because both of them are in the know. Granny Guan is definitely going to silence them. Lanlan isn't silencing them yet because Wei Qian'er still needs her. Once Wei Qian'er gains a foothold in the Liang Prince's Mansion, Lanlan will be the first to be silenced.

Is 50,000 taels a lot for someone that would make Master Wei want to silence them? Not really!
Three people and 150,000 taels of silver are not much compared to Master Wei's scheme.

The other party didn't make an exorbitant demand, but it still sent a chill down Master Wei's spine.

This amount of 150,000 taels is the sum he can raise within three days.

Even a poor family can travel with extravagance, and the Wei family was not poor at all. Before the Wei siblings came to the capital, the Wei family took out 150,000 taels of silver and deposited it into Wan Jin Bank.

Of the 150,000 taels, 50,000 taels were for bribes, 50,000 taels were for Wei Ya'er's dowry, and the remaining 50,000 taels were for their personal expenses. Although it was said to be for both of them, Wei Ya'er had a title and a stipend, and since she was made a county princess, she no longer needed the family's money. All 50,000 taels belonged to Wei Wubing.

During the past six months in the capital, more than 10,000 taels of silver were spent on bribes and rewards, and Wei Wubing himself put in 20,000 taels. So the Wei family still has 120,000 taels of silver in Wan Jin Bank.

Master Wei brought 50,000 taels of silver with him to the capital. He spent 10,000 taels on various miscellaneous expenses, and now he has 40,000 taels left.

Combined with the silver from Wan Jin Hao, it totaled 160,000 taels.

The other party asked for 150,000 taels, leaving 10,000 taels, which was enough for Master Wei to take his precious dead son back to his hometown.

The other party was not only shrewd in their calculations, but also humane; they didn't take advantage of him completely. That ten thousand taels was enough for Master Wei to travel comfortably.

The letter clearly stated that even if they didn't give a single penny, the other party wouldn't kill them, guaranteeing not to kill, guaranteeing not to kill, guaranteeing not to kill.

Master Wei could come up with 150,000 taels of silver, but it felt like a mountain pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.

Master Wei wished the other party would threaten to kill him if they didn't pay. Wouldn't it have been better to include a few fingers in the letter?
Kill them, please, kill all three of them!

Master Wei was speechless and asked the heavens why God was treating him this way. For the first thirty years of his life, everything had gone smoothly. His biggest obstacle was that his only legitimate son was weak and sickly. Apart from that, he had lived a very good life.

He always thought he was God's favorite son, but now he realizes he wasn't!
Master Wei finally understood what it meant to swallow one's bitterness and pain, and what it meant to have unspeakable suffering.

Master Wei cried. The feeling of having a knife hanging over his head was too painful, too unbearable.

So what if Wei Ya'er is gone? So what if she's dead? It's just the title of a county princess, isn't it? The marriage to the Prince of Liang isn't that great either. It's not like she's going to become a princess. Why would she need to be replaced?

If only there were a pill to undo regrets!

Master Wei asked, "Who delivered this letter?"

The confidant's face was etched with shock: "Swallows, a flock of swallows! The swallows dropped the letter in front of me and then flew away!"

"Swallow? You're not mistaken, it's not a carrier pigeon, it's a swallow?" Master Wei was incredulous. He had only ever heard of pigeons delivering messages, this was the first time he had ever heard of swallows delivering messages.

“That’s right. I didn’t pay attention at the time. A flock of swallows flew over, and I didn’t pay attention either. Suddenly I saw something fall down and land right in front of me.”

The confidant recalled the scene and subconsciously wanted to rub his eyes. He thought he had seen wrong, so he rubbed his eyes and looked again, but the flock of swallows had already flown away.

Master Wei gasped in shock. This was too bizarre, too bizarre.

By the way, when he was in his hometown, he once heard people talk about crows writing in Beijing. He took it as a joke, believing it to be a rumor, and didn't pay any attention to it.

But if swallows can deliver messages, then why can't crows write?

Master Wei suddenly realized that he was incompatible with the capital. No, not only him, but also his children were all incompatible with the capital!
Of his three children, two died and one was lost, and since he came to the capital, he has encountered misfortune in everything he does.

The capital city will bring him misfortune, and his descendants will suffer!
Of course, Master Wei would never admit that he killed Wei Ya'er; Wei Ya'er was cursed to death by the capital.

Thinking of swallows and crows, Master Wei felt that the capital was filled with an eeriness.

Wei Wubing was killed by Wei Ya'er for no reason, Wei Ya'er disappeared from the dungeon for no reason, and then went mad for no reason. The plan was foolproof, but it went wrong for no reason. Wei Qian'er and the other two were kidnapped for no reason!
Master Wei was restless; he wished he could escape the capital immediately. He couldn't stand this awful place for even a second longer.

But that won't do. Wei Qian'er, Lanlan, and Granny Guan—these three hidden threats are still in someone else's hands, ready to explode at any moment and leave the Wei family utterly destroyed.

Master Wei could almost foresee that once Yan Xia reported this matter to the Emperor, even Consort Li would be powerless to stop it.

Before coming to the capital, Master Wei believed that Consort Li was omnipotent and truly the Wei family's great support.

When he arrived in the capital, he realized that Consort Li had no other skills besides crying, making a scene, and feigning illness.

Come to think of it, if Consort Li were truly capable, how come she couldn't even become Empress Dowager?

She couldn't charm the old, nor could she control the young; she couldn't appease either of the two emperors. Despite her advanced age, she still had to resort to the tactics of a young wife to get what she wanted. How could such a useless Consort Li protect the Wei family?

Moreover, Consort Li's family was originally just a branch of the Wei family, and her sense of belonging to the Wei family was far less than that of Old Madam Wei.

However, because of Zhu Yu's unfilial grandson, Madam Wei was in a sorry state.

The more Master Wei thought about it, the more exhausted he became. He couldn't just leave; he had to redeem those three damned things.

Master Wei has concluded that Wei Qian'er not only revealed her identity but also told the other party the whole plan; otherwise, there wouldn't have been such a blackmail letter promising not to kill her.

She could understand when she revealed her identity, but when she laid out her entire plan, he wanted nothing more than to tear her to pieces!

"No wonder the illegitimate son is not tolerated by the law. This illegitimate son is just a worthless wretch, an ungrateful wretch! Ya'er has gone mad and keeps the honor and disgrace of the Wei family in her heart, never mentioning that she is a daughter of the Wei family. On the other hand, Wei Qian'er is willing to betray her father and the entire Wei family to save her own life! She deserves to die, she deserves to die!"

The confidant silently lowered his head, hiding the disdain in his eyes.

When you killed Wei Ya'er, you didn't think she was this good.

When Wei Ya'er was still in the dungeon, you wrote a letter asking Wei Qian'er to come to the capital. At that time, you didn't think that the illegitimate daughter was inferior to the legitimate daughter. Didn't you always think that Wei Qian'er was well-behaved and sensible, far superior to Wei Ya'er?
But his confidants dared not speak.

After venting his anger, Master Wei still took out the Wan Jin Hao signboard and secretly sent his confidant to make a call to Wan Jin Hao.

Wan Jin Bank had 120,000 taels of silver, but the other party didn't want banknotes, only cash. Even Wan Jin Bank wouldn't be able to produce 120,000 taels of silver at any time.

This matter must be carried out quietly and cannot be made public.

The confidant went to Wan Jin Bank. Wan Jin Bank saw the sign and gave a deadline. If it was a silver note, it could be taken out now, but if it was cash, it would take two days for 120,000 taels of cash to be prepared.

Upon hearing Wan Jin Hao's promise to deliver within two days, Master Wei breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected of Wan Jin Hao, they were able to raise 120,000 taels of silver in just two days.

Master Wei then counted out another 30,000 taels from the silver notes he carried with him and took them to the corresponding bank to exchange for silver. 30,000 taels was not a small amount, and since Master Wei did not want to attract attention, he divided the 30,000 taels into several transactions and had different people go to the bank to exchange them. It took two whole days to cash them all out.

Human joys and sorrows cannot be shared; no one can truly empathize with another's feelings.

In the same time and space, in the same capital city, Master Wei was exhausted, while Zhen Wuduo and his granddaughter Zhao Shiqing were swinging their feet and drinking herbal tea under the grape trellis.

Zhao Shiqing: "Grandpa, has that 120,000 taels been given out?"

The old man said, "I gave it to them. It's 120,000 taels of silver, that's a lot of money. It hurts my heart to see them suffer. We'll have to be more frugal these next few days and spend less."

Zhao Shiqing: "Why are you so upset about other people's money?"

The old man said, "Money can make money. Other people's money is deposited in our bank, and it still makes money for us. Now that it's been withdrawn, it can't make money anymore. Tell me, isn't it painful?"

Zhao Shiqing: "It's alright, it came back after going around in circles. It makes no difference whether it's in my hands or in yours."

The old man said, “There’s a huge difference. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re going to do with this money. You’ve been corrupted by that brat. Ugh, it breaks my heart.”

The old man, like Xi Shi holding her heart, makes thunder but no rain.

Zhao Shiqing quickly got up, picked a grape, and stuffed it into his mouth. The old man chewed it, spat out the skin, and said, "Wash it next time."

The grapes my darling granddaughter fed me are so sweet!

That 120,000 taels of silver didn't originally belong to him. His eldest granddaughter used it for the people affected by the flood, and Yuzhu would surely be very pleased in the afterlife.

He truly is a descendant of him and Yuzhu, possessing both his chivalry and Yuzhu's kindness.

They have to be biological children, even if they are grandparents' children!
All his illegitimate sons and adopted sons combined can't compare to this one biological son!

The old man was very proud of himself. He and Yuzhu had such good genes, so good, so excellent!

Master Wei finally managed to scrape together 150,000 taels of silver.

The boxes filled with silver filled an entire room; each one could crush Master Wei to death.

He sighed. Does it hurt your heart?
Of course it hurts, but it's still worth it to exchange this money for those three damned bitches.

Master Wei secretly vowed that as long as he could redeem those three wretches, he would personally chop them into mincemeat!
Die, all of you die, you must die!
Every day these three people live, they are overdrawing their money and their lives!

Therefore, they cannot be kept. What county princess, what Liangwang Mansion, Master Wei doesn't want them anymore. Compared with the rise and fall of the family, these are all insignificant. As long as the Wei family doesn't fall, as long as he doesn't fall, these things will come back sooner or later.

As evening approached, the weather changed from clear to cloudy. After midnight, the moon failed to rise, and the dark night sky was devoid of both moon and stars.

The carriage carrying Wei Wubing's coffin left the city at this moment, along with more than a dozen other carriages covered with tarpaulins.

Master Wei and his family members were also on the carriage. The guards at the city gate were surprised to see so many carriages. Master Wei had his confidant hand over a token along with a packet of silver.

"How do you leave the city at night?"

"Alas, this is the auspicious time chosen by a master. My young master's coffin must be on its way at this time. I'm troubling you, sir, to open the city gates so late at night. This is a small token of my appreciation. My master is treating you to a late-night snack."

This is the carriage of the Wei family. The Wei family is the maternal family of Consort Li. Moreover, the carriage is carrying the coffin of the eldest son of the Wei family.

The guards dared not stop them. The city gates opened, and the Wei family's carriages filed out.

The convoy took the official road and traveled for more than ten miles before splitting into four groups at a fork in the road.

They carried the coffin to a manor, which was part of Old Madam Wei's dowry. Yes, it was the same manor where Old Madam Wei encountered the snake.

The other three teams delivered the silver to the addresses specified in the letter.

Master Wei personally guarded his son's coffin, living in constant fear throughout the estate.

Two hours later, the carriages that had been sent out returned one after another. Master Wei was still holding his breath, his eyes wide open like copper bells, not daring to relax.

Another hour passed, and his trusted aide returned.

"My lord, I checked each place, and all the silver in these three locations has been carried away. Those people were dressed in black, moved swiftly, and were clearly well-trained martial artists!" (End of Chapter)