Ink Burns

Chapter 208 I said I'm a broker

"Tell him to bring me the jade pendant that my son wears close to his body. I need to confirm that my son is with him." When it came to her son, Madam Zhou suddenly became a bit more shrewd.

Shan Yue nodded: "All is well, all is well."

The pearl powder mask on Madam Zhou's face had dried and cracked into several pieces, hanging precariously on her skin like a worm shedding its skin, giving her a sense of fragility and panic.

Dou's mother has already crossed the threshold and is about to come in.

Shan Yue stood up at the opportune moment, leaned down and lowered her voice: "Then tonight at three-quarters past Xu hour, in the thatched hut outside Qingyue Temple in the east of the city, you bring the account book, and Xue Xiao brings his men, money on delivery—"

Dou's mother lifted the curtain.

Shan Yue lowered her voice even further: "If I were you, I would never let a fourth person know about this—guess why Xue Xiao bumped into Young Master Chang, who was escaping from Qiushui Ferry, so precisely?"

Madam Zhou's hand tightened, her nails nearly digging into her flesh: "You mean, someone betrayed my son!?"

Shan Yue leaned close to Madam Zhou's ear, her lips very close to her ear, and shook her head almost imperceptibly: "Who knows? The young master has always been arrogant and self-centered, and he has offended quite a few people. Does he really respect Madam Dou, the coachman, and the guards? People who are inferior to him will want to step on him to vent their anger, let alone those who have old grudges against the young master."

Mrs. Zhou's gaze involuntarily drifted towards Mother Dou standing by the door.

This was given to her by the Grand Princess.

He has served her for many years.

wrong.

It is both serving and teaching, as well as discipline.

If she goes even slightly out of line or oversteps the bounds, Dou's mother will always give her a cold reprimand.

Su Ge'er, defending her poor mother, was indignant: "A mere servant dares to be disrespectful to her master! Bah! She's gone too far!"

She kept Su Ge'er in check, and Su Ge'er wouldn't kill her like he would the lowly eighth-rank official, but he would still beat and scold Dou Mama whenever he had the chance.
It's hard to say whether Dou's mother harbors thoughts of revenge.

The seeds of suspicion have been sown, and they are just waiting to slowly sprout and grow.

Madam Zhou was immediately alarmed and involuntarily leaned closer to Shan Yue: "No, impossible! It can't be!"

Shan Yue patted Madam Zhou's shoulder reassuringly: "Things are accomplished in secrecy and ruined by leaks. Whether it's true or not, it's always good to be careful."

Xu hour and three quarters.

The clapper sounded.

At Qingyue Temple on the eastern outskirts of the city, layers of bright red incense burn.

Outside the temple, there is a thatched hut, surrounded by a mountain stream and the chirping of cicadas. Every three meters, there is a stone platform with a tall lamp, but the dim light of the lamp cannot penetrate the doors and windows of the hut, because at this moment, all four doors and two windows of the hut are tightly closed, making it airtight.

Madam Zhou stepped down from the carriage, unfastened her thin black cloak, and pushed open the door, her face pale.

Inside the bungalow, there was only a small wooden table with a candle burning on it.

As the candlelight flickered, Madam Zhou saw behind the flames the infamous mad dog from the capital city.

Although the mad dog was mad, it had a fine appearance. Its tall and elegant figure leaned against the closed window, its arms crossed, its eyebrows and eyes lowered, as cold as a sudden snowstorm in June.

Beside him stood Liu Shanyue, with his head bowed and eyes lowered, extremely docile.

"Lord Xue—" Madam Zhou gritted her teeth and went straight to the point: "Where is my son?"

Xue Xiao raised his hand, and a bluish-green object clattered onto the small wooden table.

Madam Zhou rushed forward and grabbed him.

It's a jade pendant worn close to the body!

It's the jade pendant I wear close to my body!

"Where did you hide my son?!" Madam Zhou looked around in a panic. The bungalow was completely empty, with no opportunity to hide anyone.

"The ledger?" Xue Xiao asked in a deep voice.

Madam Zhou turned slightly to the side, looking at Xue Xiao warily.

Shan Yue spoke up at the right moment: "Young Master is full of energy, and Lord Xue has sent two trusted junior officials to accompany him—if you were to see this scene, you would probably be heartbroken. After you finish here, someone will take you to pick up Young Master and take him home."

What's the point of accompanying him!
They're escorting him!

It's about imprisoning him!

Madam Zhou took a few deep breaths and calmed herself down before throwing a yellowed account book from her sleeve onto the ground. Her tone was stiff: "Take me to get my son! Take me to get my son!" Shan Yue hurriedly lifted her skirt and squatted down, picking up the account book and flipping through a few pages.

"—In the eighth month of the twenty-third year of Zhaode, Yue Xiu, a cloth merchant from Songjiang Prefecture, purchased rice and the painting 'White Cranes in Farming' for six thousand taels of silver."

"—In July of the twenty-third year of the Zhaode reign, a salt merchant surnamed Lu from Zhenjiang Prefecture purchased Shen Huaizan's 'Hills and Fruit Groves' for 5,792 taels of silver."

"—In the seventh month of the twenty-third year of Zhaode, Huai'an Prefecture purchased Tan Sheng's 'Colorful Clouds Chasing the Sun' for 1,429 taels of silver."

Shan Yue nodded almost imperceptibly to Xue Xiao: It was a genuine account book, and the time and amount matched what the manager of Guan'anzhai had said.

Xue Xiao turned his gaze, raised his hand, and someone came in to invite him in.

Feeling humiliated yet eager, Madam Zhou followed the others outside, with Shan Yue beside her.

As they entered the darkness, Shan Yue stopped and said softly, "Luo Feng, please wait a moment. Let me speak with Madam Zhou a little longer."

The dark figure bowed and retreated.

Madam Zhou, puzzled, asked, "What are you going to do? Go pick someone up!"

With a kind smile on her face, Shan Yue spoke calmly: "As I have always said—I am just a middleman."

Madam Zhou looked at Shan Yue with alarm, anxious and flustered, but at a loss for what to do.

"You all got your share of the profits, so what about my commission as the middleman?" Shan Yue smiled gently. "I can't just do all that work and end up with nothing, can I?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Zhou swallowed hard: "I'll have someone send you twenty taels of silver tomorrow, no, twenty taels of gold."

Shan Yue laughed.

Laughter mingled with the chirping of cicadas in summer, creating an inexplicable sense of dread, as if a withered claw were reaching out from a deep well.

"I don't want any money!" Shan Yue laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight. "Do you really think I'm still that little painter on Shantang Street who makes a living by painting fake pictures? I'm Madam Xue now! The lady of the Xue family! The Xue family's money is my money, I can't even spend it all!"

Mrs. Zhou looked at her in horror: "Then, what do you want?"

“I need more information—for example, the list of ‘Qingfeng’.” Shan Yue broke open the roof.

“I don’t have it! How could I possibly have such a secret!” Madam Zhou hurriedly shook her head like a rattle-drum.

Only by breaking open the roof can we open a window.

Shan Yue asked the question she actually wanted to ask: "Then let me ask you, among the 'Azure Phoenix,' is there anyone with a higher status than Grand Princess Jing'an?"

Madam Zhou pursed her lips tightly.

Shan Yue looked down at the light, gauze-like hem of her skirt and smiled, "Go ahead and think about it. The two servants beside Young Master Chang are no pushovers. With them serving Young Master Chang, he must be having a wonderful time."

"have--"

Madam Zhou nervously swallowed again: "Yes. There was also a 'Qingfeng' in the late emperor's harem. That's all I know. I don't know who exactly she is. But the 'Qingfeng' who survived in the late emperor's harem must now be more respected than the Grand Princess. There are only two or three Dowager Consorts now. They are either the mothers of princes or the birth mothers of princesses. In any case, they are the stepmothers of the sage. If the sage wants to govern the world with Confucianism, he must respect and cherish them on the surface."

Shan Yue glanced at Madam Zhou: "Anything else? What about the Six Ministries of the Cabinet?"

Madam Zhou turned her head anxiously to look into the distance, then quickly turned back, shaking her head vigorously: "I don't know, I don't know! Oh! Marquis Wuding Cui Bainian's concubine is 'Qingfeng'! So is the wife of Grand Secretary Yuan Wenying! So is Yuan Wenying!"

Madam Zhou mentioned a few more names, but in the end she couldn't think of any more, her voice trembling with tears: "Let me go back and think about it—I'll tell you tomorrow—I'll tell you tomorrow, okay!?"

Shan Yue stared at Madam Zhou with a somber expression for a long time before slowly raising her chin: "The road is too long and the night is too late. You should go by yourself. I'm going to stay with my husband."

A dark figure rushed in from afar and carried Madam Zhou away.

After a long detour, first on foot and then by mule cart, they stopped outside a dark cave an hour later.

The dark figure disappeared once again into the deep forest of the mountains.

Madam Zhou cried out loudly from outside, "My son! My son! Your mother has come to save you!"

The sound of stumbling footsteps and muffled groans emanating from deep within the throats came from inside the cave.

Chang Yusu had a huge rag stuffed in his mouth, his hands were tied behind his back with thick ropes, and his feet were shackled, making a clanging sound when he ran.

Madam Zhou burst into tears, and on tiptoe, she reached out and ripped the rag out of her eldest son's mouth.

"Mother! It's Xue—" Chang Yusu cried out urgently. Before he could finish speaking, his eyes widened and stared wide-eyed as a heavy wooden stick struck the back of his head!

The next moment, two men in black descended from the sky, covered his head with black cloth bags, lifted him up by the shoulders on the left and right, and he disappeared into the cruel night like a bird!
Madam Zhou rushed over, crying out in heart-wrenching agony, "My son! My son—my son!"