The story of a noble girl

Chapter 178 The Background of the Kidnapper
Can't help sighing sincerely: "Lotus, you are really good, and so is Shifang."

He Hua hugged Lin Xiaoning's waist tightly, and choked up, "Miss..."

"Stop talking, eat the wind." Lin Xiaoning said.

All the way in a hurry, no one spoke, and the wind blew across his face.

I only wish the sky would not dawn so soon, Lin Xiaoning pulled the rein and prayed.Don’t make the sky so fast, don’t let the rooster crow, so that perverted evil old man can sleep for a while longer, that old man’s kung fu is unpredictable, and I don’t know if the medicine mixed by Xiao Shifang won’t work...

I just wish the sky wouldn't dawn so soon!

==
The Zhou Mansion in the capital has prepared the 200 million taels of silver demanded by the robbers, and is waiting for the kidnappers to notify them of the place and time to send the ransom.

Three days ago, a letter was thrown into the gate of the Zhou Mansion in the middle of the night, causing Young Master Zhou's mother, the mistress of the Zhou family, to roll her eyes and faint.Master Zhou also didn't come up in one breath, his face turned pale with anxiety.

The nurse, Mother Zhou, rushed to help the mistress to the bed, and ordered someone to call for a doctor immediately, while she stood beside the bed in tears.There are also two first-class maids serving.

Mother Zhou's surname is not Zhou, she is the nursemaid of the Zhou family's mistress, who gave her the surname Zhou.

Master Zhou regained his strength, holding the letter in one hand and his son's jade pendant in the other, in a daze.

Zhou's mother saw that the master was stunned, and her tears flowed more fiercely, she raised her head and ordered: "Go and call the young mistress."

"Wait." Master Zhou said in a daze.

Mother Zhou watched with tears in her eyes and cried, "Master..."

"Go, seal it up urgently. If there is any leakage, they will all be beaten to death with sticks! The whole family will be beaten to death with a child! This is not right." Master Zhou fell into deep thought after finishing speaking.

Zhou's mother has been the mistress's nurse for half her life in the house. She is like a human being. Although she doesn't know what's wrong for a while, she knows that the master is more refined than the mistress. Immediately wipe away the tears. to do it.

Master Zhou read the amount requested in the letter no less than a hundred times, 200 million taels of silver, yes, 200 million taels, silver, not gold.

Only ask for 200 million taels?I'm afraid there is something strange in it.

First of all, the letter was thrown into the gate of the Zhou mansion in the middle of the night, instead of being delivered to the shop by some passerby's child.From this point of view, the other party knew the address of the Zhou Mansion.The Zhou Mansion is located in a group of noble mansions in the capital, and the surrounding residents are either rich or expensive, and the expensive ones are all official residences above the third rank.To be able to walk outside these courtyards and throw letters into the courtyard of the Zhou Mansion, how many patrolling people have to be avoided.

Therefore, the kidnappers knew the strength of Zhou Mansion.That being the case, why only ask for 200 million taels? What went wrong?Why did the only legitimate son of the Zhou family only ask for 200 million taels?
But the jade pendant worn by the son proved that the son was really kidnapped.

Such a painless ransom is worth careful consideration.

They only ask for 200 million, even if they want 200 million gold, the Zhou family can afford it, and definitely will.That's the only son of the Zhou family!

Mr. Zhou's many years of experience in business made him feel that the matter is not easy, and he must think it through carefully before handling it. 200 million taels, a mere 200 million taels in cash, but the Zhou family will be able to prepare it in three or two days. The letter did not clearly inform the location of the ransom, but only said that the next letter would have the time and place.

Since raising the ransom would not make him strenuous, he began to think hard about the strangeness of it.

Could it be that the other party didn't intend to let him go at all?

But if he planned to tear up the ticket early in the morning when he received the ransom, as long as 200 million taels, would the kidnapper be stupid and kill his son-in-law, what consequences would he get, just for 200 million taels?The kidnappers were obviously not stupid for being able to evade the guards.

So what are the kidnappers' plans and calculations?

The more Master Zhou thought about it, the more he couldn't understand it. Seeing the old wife lying on the bed with a face like gold paper, he felt extremely sad.

The ancestors of the Zhou family, although this rebellious son is useless, spends his days and nights, indulges in luxury and money, is lustful, has many wives, but he is not stupid.In recent years, he has become a lot more serious when he looks at people, and he still helps manage things in the shop, looking good.

Ancestors and ancestors, isn't it that you are protecting the Zhou family through all this?But why did my son suffer so much?
Master Zhou thought about it and suddenly his mind cleared up, and he had a flash of inspiration, and said to the serving maid, "When Madam wakes up, tell her that I will go to the palace. Fu'er should be fine."

Concubine Zhou was dressed in a gorgeous dress, and she was very rich. When she saw Master Zhou, she smiled and said, "Brother, you can count on me to see me."

"Twife, I'm here to greet you." Master Zhou wanted to salute.

"Brother, get up, we brothers and sisters are so particular about these modest etiquettes, come here, sit down and drink some tea, the palace sent some good tea, later you take some away, I can't drink it alone."

"Sister, I'm here to seek evidence." Master Zhou looked serious.

Concubine Zhou was stunned, and immediately dismissed the palace staff, leaving only her confidantes, and asked, "Brother, is there something wrong with the main shop?"

"No, it's your nephew. Something happened to my unworthy son."

Concubine Zhou changed her face, her face was wrinkled, she stroked her chest, her nails seemed to be digging into her flesh, her eyes were straight.

Master Zhou said anxiously: "It's okay, Fu'er is fine now, she was just kidnapped!"

The maid immediately put a sachet under Zhou Taifei's nose and sniffed it, and shouted eagerly: "Taifei, Taifei..."

It took a long time for Concubine Zhou to come back to her senses, and said angrily: "Which thief dares to tie up my Fuer?!" Then she choked out of breath again.

Master Zhou said: "Sister, don't worry, it's all right, that rebellious son is all right, why is your heart palpitation getting worse?"

The maid said faintly: "Yes, the concubine has committed several offenses in the past year. Don't get angry, it's not good for your health." With one hand, she caressed Concubine Zhou's vest to help smooth the air.

Master Zhou sighed: "Sister, it's all the elder brother's fault that made you worry."

Concubine Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, and became more and more angry: "Which gangster is so bold that he dares to tie up my Fu'er, and the whole family and nine clans will lose their lives?! How is Fu'er now, has he come back?"

"No, I just received a letter asking for a ransom..." Before Master Zhou finished speaking, Concubine Zhou began to cry: "Fu'er...how much suffering has he suffered, how has he ever suffered? ..."

"Sister, don't worry, the kidnapper is very strange, he only asks for 200 million... silver."

When Concubine Zhou heard this, she stopped crying and looked at Master Zhou.

"Dare to ask my sister, how empty the treasury is now? Does my sister know?"

"Qingkong, you go and stay outside, don't ask any idlers to come closer, and watch carefully." Concubine Zhou said slowly.

"Yes." The maid bowed her head and retreated.

"Brother, you..."

Master Zhou nodded: "Sister, isn't it extremely empty?"

"Exactly."

"Did the prince's share subsidize the national treasury?"

"Brother, why do you know everything? I only knew about it. I mentioned it when I was chatting with the queen mother. The queen mother also said that the prince is pure filial piety and has a country in his heart."

"It's easy to handle," Master Zhou breathed a sigh of relief, "It seems that my guess has been straightened out and I have a clue. The kidnappers seem to have a high-ranking official background."

"Brother, could it be a gangster who doesn't know the details of the Zhou family?"

Master Zhou took a sip of tea, moistened himself, and then told the situation of the robber delivering the letter, "So, it can't be a gangster."

Then he said: "I think my Zhou family has such wealth under the eyes of the emperor. If it hadn't been for three generations, it has been secretly supplying the second son to the prince, and now it has supported the prince for three generations. The Zhou family might have been killed by the prince long ago." ...Looking for an opportunity to exterminate the family. That's it, my Zhou family is usually far away from court politics, and no one knows that Zhou Ji has two members of the prince. As for the qualifications of the emperor, we also obtained it by ourselves."

"Brother, no matter how much you hate Fu'er for not being up to date, you can't let it go like this. What time are you still talking about?" Concubine Zhou cried again in anxiety.

"Sister, don't worry, it won't be a gangster, nor will it offend any high-ranking official. We set up a shop, know what to do, and never offend key people. The Zhou family has been poor in official career for several generations. The official The few concubine brothers are also small officials who have been released outside. They have no ability to offend anyone in such an official position. I guess there is only one possibility, that is, someone who knows everything about our Zhou family and the treasury. tied..."

Concubine Zhou wiped her tears and listened, thinking it over: "Brother is right, and at the same time, he still knows that we are the one who secretly offered money to the prince. Otherwise, why would we only need 200 million taels instead of 2000 million taels. Because if they ask for too much ransom, Then our movement will naturally be big. The Zhou family's wealth will greatly affect the prince's income. In addition, the current treasury is empty, and the prince's members have to be subsidized. In this way, the second part of the Zhouji supply to the prince The more we can't be influenced, the prince will never let us sell the store to raise ransom. The prince will use his own method to solve the robbery of Fu'er. Then the kidnappers will get nothing..."

"Exactly, why is the ransom so accurate? The amount of the ransom is so deep! The background is not simple. Sister, the Zhou family can pay it without putting it in a branch shop and hurting the bones. It won’t let the princes find out about the movement. But if we drive harder, we can’t make no noise when we prepare. Originally, these movements would not make the prince attack the kidnappers, but it’s just that the treasury is empty, and we don’t want to Let the crown prince know about this, because we are worried that it will cost Fu'er's life."

"Brother, I understand. This is definitely a high-ranking official in the court. Otherwise, the calculation would not be so clear. The ransom of 200 million is not a small amount, but for the Zhou family, it still has such a foundation that it can be easily given out without hurting its vitality. Brother," Zhou Dowager said while crying, "what if they take the money and won't let him go, that's great, Fu'er's life is in danger... If we inform the crown prince, then Fu'er's life is also in danger. It’s better to be kidnapped by gangsters, and you can exchange money for someone..."

　Ask for all kinds of tickets, dear readers!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)