Proud Feather

Chapter 67 Sending Letters
In a small courtyard outside Beijing, the man who usually disguised himself as a peddler to gather information did not go out today and waited in the house.

The servant next to him couldn't wait any longer and came over to ask, "Master Gou, who's coming today? Will they be fierce?"

The man called Dog Lord rolled his eyes: "How should I know?"

The servant was surprised, "You have so much experience, haven't you ever met someone above you?"

Lord Gou glanced at him and said, "You are so ignorant, kid. Usually, we have only one steward in charge. Now that the master has personally asked about it, it is natural that someone more powerful will come."

The servant cried out, feeling uneasy: "We've lost the Seventh Young Master. Will we be punished?"

Dog Master was too lazy to answer, thinking that it was too late to think about this now. It was not a question of whether he would be punished, but how he would be punished.

In fact, he was also confused. He didn't know who would come. He didn't know if his master would be furious and take it out on them. Thinking about it carefully, he was also annoyed. The superiors only told them to hide the Seventh Young Master, who knew he would run away on his own! He was the master, not a prisoner. How could he be prevented!
Amidst the anxiety, an inconspicuous small car with a green curtain slowly drove into the alley.

Mr. Gou was cheered up and quickly asked the servant to move the threshold and welcome the carriage in.

The door closed, and the first person to come down was a woman. Judging from her attire and her serious and proper demeanor, it was clear that she came from a wealthy family.

The old woman opened the curtain and a woman came down, holding her hand.

The woman was wearing a veil, and her face was not clearly visible behind the black veil, but the dignity she displayed and the fragrance she exuded when she moved showed that she was not an ordinary person.

Dog Lord and the others stared blankly, causing the old woman to frown: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and pay your respects to the Madam!"

Everyone finally realized what was happening and quickly knelt down to pay their respects. Dog Master, in particular, was uneasy because he hadn't expected his wife to come in person.

"Greetings, Madam." The servants knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

The lady sat down in the middle hall and nodded to the old woman.

The old woman then asked, "Who is Lu Gouzi?"

Lord Gou quickly stepped forward and said, "I am Lu Gouzi."

The old woman then asked, "Tell me, what clues have you found?"

"Madam," said the Dog Master, "we thought the Seventh Young Master loved to play, so we went looking for him in a busy area, and sure enough, we found him by the river. That day, the Zhang family's teahouse was out on patrol, saying they were hosting a courtesan competition, and that they were inviting their regular customers to a gathering with Xiao Lianxiang from the Sheng troupe, so the young master boarded the boat."

"and then?"

"The young master disguised himself, got into a fight with someone, and was beaten. We asked the Hesheng troupe, and they said they gave him medicine and compensated him, then let him go."

Dog Master answered cautiously, glancing at the person above him. Madam remained silent, and the maid furrowed her brows, clearly dissatisfied. He hurriedly said, "Madam, please understand. We believe the Hesheng troupe isn't telling the truth, so we've abducted Xiao Lianxiang and brought her here. We'll release her whenever the troupe leader remembers the whereabouts of the Seventh Young Master. After two days of nagging, the troupe leader finally relented and is now waiting outside. If you'd like to see her, I'll bring her here right away."

The old woman's face brightened slightly. She came over and said a few words, then said, "Then bring it here!"

"Yes." Dog Master breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to give orders.

The two servants took the order and left. After a while, they brought in a blindfolded woman.

Although this woman was well-dressed, she was dressed too gaudily and had a frivolous air. It was obvious that she was not from a respectable family.

As soon as the blindfold was removed, the woman asked, "Where is Xiao Lianxiang? Where did you take my daughter? Let her go!"

Facing Mother Qin, Gou Ye was not polite. He frowned and shouted, "Who are you talking to? This is not the place for you to show off your power!"

Mother Qin's face changed. Seeing the group of strong men around her staring at her with eager eyes, she quickly lowered her posture and spoke softly, "Sir, what are you talking about? I'm not trying to show off my power. I'm just worried about my daughter. Xiao Lianxiang is the pillar of our brothel. By tying her up, aren't you trying to kill us? Sir, please be kind and let us go!"

Seeing her surrender, Lord Gou finally relaxed his composure and said in a cold voice, "Hand over our young master's whereabouts, and your daughter will naturally return!" "Master! We really didn't know that!" Mother Qin begged, "That day was a mess. Your young master had a conflict with another young master, and we had a lot of trouble trying to persuade them to stop. The young master asked for compensation, but he was unwilling to do so. To settle the matter, my daughter stayed with him for a long time and finally calmed him down."

"You're really not crying until you see the coffin. You're still being stubborn even at this moment!" Dog Lord shouted sternly, "Bring the person out!"

The servant responded and immediately dragged Xiao Lianxiang out from the side room.

"Daughter!" Qin's mother called out.

Little Lianxiang turned pale and cried out, "Mom, save me!"

Gou Ye touched his waist and pulled out a dagger. The dagger flashed with cold light, and Mother Qin's legs went weak.

"What are you doing? What are you doing? Master, you can't use a knife!"

The dagger was placed next to Xiao Lianxiang's cheek, and it was so cold that she trembled with fear. She could only keep saying, "Mom, save me, Mom, save me!"

Dog Lord gestured: "Don't worry, it's just two cuts on the face, you won't die!"

What kind of talk is that! For a woman in a brothel, getting two cuts on her face is the same as being dead!
"You won't tell me, right? Then I'll do it!"

"No, no!" Qin's mother shouted, "Grandpa, please spare us, I'll tell you what I'm talking about!"

Lord Gou secretly breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at his wife sitting in the hall, and felt relieved.

"Tell me! Where did our young master go?"

Mother Qin hesitated and took out a letter from her bosom: "Your young master left a letter, you will know it when you see it."

Lord Gou snatched it away and said angrily, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Mother Qin smiled bitterly, "How could we dare to tell? The Imperial City Bureau came to inquire about your young master's whereabouts. We were terrified when we discovered he was in disguise on the boat that day. If I had sent a message to you, and the Imperial City Bureau found out, wouldn't we be accomplices?"

Speaking of this, a fierce look flashed in Gou Ye's eyes and he stared at them without saying a word.

Mother Qin hurriedly said, "Master! We promise to keep today's events a secret. Look, we haven't even sent this letter to the Imperial City Division! If anything happens to Xiao Lianxiang and me now, they'll definitely become suspicious and might even implicate you."

Dog Lord thought about it and realized that if he really silenced the witness, the matter would only get worse.

He looked into the hall again and saw his wife finish reading the letter and then stand up: "Let's go."

The old woman understood and helped the lady get on the carriage. Before leaving, she said to the dog master, "Let's clean up here. There's nothing for you to do now."

The dog master breathed a sigh of relief and replied respectfully, "Yes, Madam, have a good trip."

As the carriage drove away, Lord Gou signaled his servants to untie Xiao Lianxiang. Seeing the mother and daughter trembling and hugging each other, he exerted force and plunged the dagger into the table beside them: "Remember what I just said. If you dare to let anyone know about this, even the Imperial City Bureau will not be able to save your lives!"

"Yes, yes!" Mother Qin agreed repeatedly.

After an incense stick of time, the mother and daughter took off their blindfolds in the teahouse, and Dog Master was nowhere to be seen.

Mother Qin asked the waiter to call a taxi and took Xiao Lianxiang back to the restaurant.

The carriage had driven quite a distance before little Lianxiang whispered, "Mom, is this okay?"

Mother Qin held her in her arms, looking frightened, but now she had calmed down and whispered back, "Things gained through hard work are good. Don't worry, they will believe it."