Transmigration: A Farm Girl's Brocade-Chapter 44 - Kidnapping_1
Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Kidnapping_1
Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Kidnapping_1
Liang Jinzhao’s face reddened a bit as he pointed at his own nose and stubbornly said, “Would this young master really stoop to the level of a small child? You underestimate me!”
Song Huaijin chuckled, “Cousin didn’t lower himself to a child’s level, he’s just annoyed that the girl has such poor judgment. Calling him ‘big uncle,’ calling us ‘big brother.’
“Gaga gaga…” Another burst of laughter, like ducks quacking, erupted from the Moon-viewing Pavilion.
After some thought, Liang Jinzhao realized that although the girl’s sharp tongue was somewhat off-putting, her family’s struggles were real. Having seen it himself, he felt somewhat guilty for not helping, and he knew his grandfather would blame him if he found out.
He called over his servant Liang Gao and said, “Go, catch up with that little girl and give her ten taels of silver.” Then he raised his voice arrogantly, “Also tell her that this silver is for supplementing the families of fallen soldiers, it’s not just for her. Such a small bean, yet so cunning. When she goes out to earn money in the future, she better not act one way in front of others and another way behind their backs. As a girl, she shouldn’t disregard her image and bite the silver to test it. How would that honor her father who died for his country?”
Liang Gao had just descended a few steps when Liang Jinzhao, recalling the girl’s insinuation that ten taels of silver was not much, changed his mind and said, “Give her twenty taels. The kid’s small, but her ambitions are big.”
Liang Gao chased after them and only saw their backs after he’d passed several mansions. He was about to call out when he noticed two men sneaking up behind the mother and daughters. He slowed his pace and followed, curious about what these two men were up to.
Qian Yixiu was blissfully unaware of the danger approaching. She sat in the basket looking at the sky, the swaying motion making her sleepy. The sun was intense, making it even harder to keep her eyes open. Though Lady Wu’s smell of sweat was strong, Qian Yixiu didn’t find it unpleasant; on the contrary, it felt very warm and comforting. Her family was gentle and loving, and now with so much silver, her life wasn’t bad at all.
“Nanny, can we buy some meat? After the noon hustle, grandpa, mom, and brother haven’t had meat for a long time,” Qian Yixiu suggested with her eyes closed.
“Sure, let’s get some meat to take home,” Lady Wu replied cheerfully. She patted her chest where she kept the heavy load of money and added, “We’ll buy it from the Xu Family Meat Shop as we pass Darong Village; the meat there is cheaper than in the county town.”
Huaxi Village and Darong Village only had one butcher shop, which was the Xu Family Meat Shop, located on the west side of Darong Village, closer to Huaxi Village.
“We’ll arrive back at the village late, what if the meat’s sold out,” Qian Manxia said.
Suddenly, two men sprang out from behind and blocked their path. One man looked fair and handsome, while the other appeared fierce and menacing.
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The fair-skinned man pointed at Qian Yixiu and said, “Is she the little girl who was singing and selling flowers this morning?”
Lady Wu, thinking it was a robbery, panicked and hurriedly said, “Sirs, we are just country folk selling flowers; we don’t have any money.”
The man said, “Don’t be afraid, madam, we are not bandits.” He pointed at Qian Yixiu again, “This little girl has a good appearance and a nice voice; just sell her to our theater troupe. How about ten taels of silver? That’s a lot of money. Normally, a little bean like her wouldn’t be worth that much, but our deputy boss thinks she has potential and instructed us to give an extra five taels.”
Lady Wu hurriedly stated, “We do not sell people.”
The man tried to persuade her, “Madam, if the little girl becomes famous, your family could prosper. Bringing home up to a thousand taels of silver, you’ll wear gold and silver and become rich.”
Qian Yixiu, who was dozing off in the basket, snapped awake upon hearing these men’s intentions and said, standing straight up, “I’m not going to sing in plays.” Then she urged Lady Wu, “Nanny, let’s go quickly, don’t talk to them too much.”
Lady Wu, pulling Qian Manxia with her, tried to leave, but the menacing-looking man stretched out an arm to block their way and said, “My boss has taken a liking to this girl; don’t be ungrateful. In Xishan County Town, ask around how many nobles and officials enjoy the shows of the Red Cloud Troupe. Sir Wu, the county magistrate, almost goes to support us every day. You’ll have to sell this girl to us, whether you want to or not.”
The two men pressed forward as they spoke.
Qian Yixiu was terrified out of her wits, never expecting that she would be the victim of a daylight abduction. She clutched the basket on her back and started screaming and crying.
Lady Wu moved back, while Qian Manxia used her body to shield Qian Yixiu and cried out, “Kidnapping, they’re kidnapping someone!”
This area was past the affluent district but not yet into the commoners’ area. It was a quiet place, especially now during the siesta hours, and few pedestrians were around. Two people in the distance didn’t dare to come over and interfere.
Liang Gao hurried forward, yelling, “Stop, who are these brazen ruffians, daring to snatch a person in broad daylight!”
Lady Wu immediately cried out, “Young Master, save us!”
Qian Yixiu and Qian Manxia also cried and shouted for help.
The two men saw only a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy and were not afraid. The handsome man blocked Lady Wu and the others while the fierce-looking one went up to hit Liang Gao.
Although Liang Gao was young, he was well-trained in martial arts. With a few strikes and kicks, he subdued his attacker. Then he drew a dagger from his waist and held it against the man’s neck, demanding, “Let them go.”
The handsome man got scared and hurriedly said, “Young brother, you’ve misunderstood, we’re not abductors. I had already negotiated a price with this auntie here, paying ten taels of silver for this child, but suddenly she’s demanding fifty taels of silver from us. If you release my elder brother, I’ll give you some silver to enjoy a drink.”
Lady Wu cried, “I never agreed on a price. I didn’t sell my child…”
Liang Gao told the two men, “You’d better look closely, they are distant relatives of Old Master Zhang of Baohe Hall and have just been acknowledged today, having had lunch at the Zhang family’s home not long ago. How could they possibly be selling a child? Otherwise, let’s all go to the Zhang family and verify this with Old Master Zhang, shall we?”
The Red Cloud Troupe had the backing of a county magistrate, but that was nothing compared to Baohe Hall, whose patronage came from a prominent official in the provincial capital. They had initially thought these people were flower sellers going to the Zhang family’s home, so they had been watching from a distance. They followed when they saw them leaving.
Now that this man claimed they were distant relatives of Zhang Zhongkun, if they truly were related to the Zhang family, they wouldn’t dare to force the issue. They quickly said, “Oh, they’re distant relatives of Old Master Zhang? Our mistake, our mistake. If they don’t want to sell, then let’s forget about it.”
The handsome man released his hold on Lady Wu, and Liang Gao released the other man, and the two of them ran off.
When Liang Gao saw that they had fled, he took out two ingots of silver and gave them to Qian Yixiu, who was wiping her tears in the basket, saying, “Don’t be afraid, the bad guys have run off. Here, our young master rewards you with twenty taels of silver. He also specifically instructed that this silver should compensate the families of the fallen soldiers… and that when you go out to earn money in the future, you should act honorably in the presence of others… Also, don’t bite the silver; otherwise, it would dishonor your father who sacrificed his life for the country.”
Liang Gao, too embarrassed to repeat the young master’s exact words, chose only what could be said and relayed that.
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Thank you to Yizhou Hongzhuang for the sachet, Jian and Rose, fang2238, and Hera@Qian Lin for the purse, and thank you all for your support and recommendations. Please continue to click, recommend, and collect.
