In Wuchang Mansion, as the day for paying the ransom was approaching, the Chu family pieced together and borrowed here and there, and finally collected five hundred taels of gold.
Mrs. Chu's natal brother Yan Hongyuan finally rushed over from home day and night, which made Shen Zhonglei feel relieved.
In any case, the Chu family finally has someone who can pay the ransom.
Five hundred taels of gold were packed in two portable boxes, which was a heavy purchase.
In addition to the weight of the gold itself, the thought of the money being exchanged for Chu Yichen's life seemed to weigh all of it on the person's heart.
Seeing that Yan Hongyuan was so nervous that his hands were shaking unconsciously, Shen Zhonglei hurriedly comforted him: "Don't be afraid when you go to pay the ransom, I will arrange for someone to ambush and follow you.
"After you see the gangsters, don't rush to hand over the ransom to them. You must confirm Master Chu's safety and insist on paying the ransom only after you see him.
"Once you are sure that Mr. Chu is safe and sound, you immediately send a signal and our people will take action immediately.
"Of course, if the situation at the scene changes and the robbers threaten your life, we will come to help immediately."
Although Yan Hongyuan nodded repeatedly, he didn't even know how much he heard.
Seeing his appearance, Shen Zhonglei couldn't say anything more, so he only patted his shoulder hard: "Don't worry, we will do our best to ensure your safety."
Mrs. Chu could be said to be in a dilemma at this time. On one side was her husband, who had been missing for many days without any news, and on the other was her own eldest brother. She couldn't bear anything that happened to either of them.
But now that she is ill in bed, her two children are of no use at all.
Apart from her eldest brother, she has no one else to rely on.
Chu Shuheng had just seen a doctor with Shen Tianshu before. After he came back, he had not taken the medicine for a few days when something like this happened to Chu Yichen.
As a result, her old problems were not cured, and she began to get angry again. Her teeth were so swollen that she couldn't even eat, and she didn't have a good temper towards her servants.
If something doesn't go his way, she will break things uncontrollably, and even occasionally beat and scold her servants, forgetting Shen Tianshu's words telling her to relax and be less angry.
She had just thrown a teapot, and when the maid was squatting on the ground to clean it up, Chu Shuqiang came.
"Why, someone made Sister Heng angry again?"
Chu Shuqiang came to Wuchang Mansion from the capital this time simply to visit relatives and relax. Who knew that she would encounter such a big thing as Chu Yichen's kidnapping.
She stayed at Chu's house every day these days and dared not go out. Firstly, she was embarrassed to go out to play at this time, and secondly, she was worried about her own safety.
Chu Shuqiang had already made up her mind. Once Chu Yichen was rescued, she would immediately pack her bags and set off back to Beijing.
Although Huguang has indeed become increasingly prosperous and lively in recent years, compared with the capital, it is still a poor and remote place. Even people who dare to kidnap imperial officials are really unsettling.
However, she only thought about these thoughts quietly to herself and never expressed them at all.
Even these days, she not only often went to Mrs. Chu's bedside to make soup and deliver medicine, but also patiently listened to Chu Shuheng's various complaints, winning unanimous praise from everyone in the Chu family.
But in fact, looking at Chu Shuheng who was holding her hand and crying out of breath, Chu Shuqiang felt extremely impatient.
However, she said with gentle words of comfort: "I knew before I came from the capital that Mr. Shen, who just took office in Wuchang Mansion last year, is a capable official.
"I heard from my father that the Holy One originally planned to transfer him to the capital as an official, but unexpectedly, he was cut off by Prince Rui's son halfway. The Holy One is quite sorry for this!
"So sister, please relax. With Lord Shen here and the people from Prince Rui's Mansion helping, uncle will definitely come back safely.
"To say the least, what those people are after is money!
"Five hundred taels of gold is something they have never seen in their entire lives. Even for the sake of money, they don't dare to hurt the uncle's money tree."
After hearing her words, Chu Shuheng was greatly comforted. He held her hand and said, "My sister is right. Dad will be fine. I didn't expect so much. I asked you to comfort me. It's really in vain." Older than you."
Chu Shuqiang rolled her eyes in her heart, but a shy smile appeared on her face and said: "Sister, she is confused when she cares. I didn't expect so much at that time."
While the two sisters were talking in the back house, everything was already in order.
Amid Mrs. Chu's cries, Yan Hongyuan drove off with two boxes of gold.
The servants of the government office all changed into casual clothes and followed from a distance.
The people from Prince Rui's Mansion didn't show up at all and had been hiding in the dark from the beginning.
After the carriage left the city, they walked for half an hour and finally arrived at the appointed place.
This is a tea stall out of nowhere. It looks like it hasn’t been open for a while. There are a few benches and a table scattered under the straw shed.
Yan Hongyuan did not dare to take the gold out of the car. He went around the tea stall to check the situation, and soon found a piece of paper pressed with a stone on the table.
He picked up the paper and read the contents carefully. It turned out that the robbers asked him to abandon the carriage and walk into the mountains alone with the gold.
A simple map was also drawn on the paper, and finally an arrow pointed to the location of a valley.
Yan Hongyuan swallowed nervously. He wanted to look back and see if the people following him were still there, but thinking of Shen Zhonglei's numerous instructions before, he finally held back.
If the person ambushing behind him is exposed, not only Chu Yichen will be in danger, but he himself may not be able to protect himself.
However, Yan Hongyuan still kept an eye on it. He read it a few times and memorized the map in his mind. Instead of taking the paper away, he put it back on the table and pressed it down with a stone, leaving a clue for the officials behind it.
After doing all this, he turned back to the carriage, took down the two boxes of gold, and started walking towards the mountains.
The mountain road was difficult to walk. Yan Hongyuan was still carrying two boxes of gold, and he was even more panicked. He would be frightened at the slightest noise, and the walk was very difficult.
Fortunately, he had a good memory and did not take the wrong path. He soon arrived at the entrance of the valley marked on the map.
After bypassing a thick bush at the mouth of the valley, he immediately saw the carriage parked in front of him. He was so frightened that his hands loosened and two boxes of gold fell to the ground one after another.
Fortunately he didn't hit his foot, otherwise he would have been injured before he could see the gangster's face.
Yan Hongyuan stared at the carriage for a long time, and then shouted a few words tentatively: "Is there anyone there? I'm here to pay the ransom."
But there was no movement on the carriage, and there was no sign of anyone.
Yan Wenyuan calmed down and observed carefully, and found that the horse was tied to a tree. The weeds on the surrounding ground had been eaten up by it. It seemed that it had been parked here for a while.
After discovering this, Yan Hongyuan finally plucked up the courage and slowly walked towards the carriage.
Sure enough, there was no one in the carriage, and no note was left.
Yan Hongyuan remembered what was written on the paper before, saying that he would pay money with one hand and hand over people with the other in the valley. He thought that the gangsters were already waiting for him in the valley, so he had to go back and pick up the box containing gold, dragging his heavy footsteps, and walked towards the valley uneasily.
Qiao Shuoming and his men followed Yan Hongyuan from a distance, but the lush vegetation in the forest made it impossible to catch him.
Fortunately, Yan Wenyuan was smart and left the map for them, so he was not afraid of losing them.
Just when everyone was approaching the valley, Qiao Shuoming made a gesture, indicating that everyone should stop here first, intending to send someone to lurk over to see the situation.
However, before he could make any arrangements, Yan Hongyuan's shrill scream suddenly came from the other side of the valley.
Qiao Shuoming didn't think much and immediately raised his hands and shouted: "Quick! Everyone, rush with me!"
