Chapter 129: Cannot escape fate

Such a handsome young master in luxurious clothes would never appear in a roadside stall like his.

But this wealthy young master not only came in, but also found a seat at will in the narrow and cramped shop, without any look of disgust on his face, as if he were used to such places.

On the contrary, his pretty maid in shabby clothes had a timid expression and was somewhat restrained.

This young master in luxurious clothes spoke to her gently and was unusually attentive, which made the owner feel quite rare.

Jia Cong saw that Xiang Ling had also been on an empty stomach for half a day, but she ate slowly and carefully. Although she was raised in poverty, her behavior had some rules.

Seeing the scars on her wrists when she raised her hands, he couldn't help but frown. Only after asking did he learn that Dong Lao Er was very strict with her daily behavior, and if she was slightly careless, he would beat or scold her.

Jia Cong didn't know that Dong Lao Er was a habitual offender who often kidnapped and sold beautiful young girls in the Yangzhou area with his accomplices ten years ago.

They would take them to other places to teach them behavior, poetry, books, zither, and painting, raising them into beauties of grace and charm, which were the "Yangzhou slender horses" widely spread in Jiangnan.

When the girls reached the right age, they would sell them to wealthy merchants and officials for huge profits.

Jia Cong brought Xiang Ling back to the old Jia residence in Xinglong Fang. Standing in front of the tall and magnificent gate of the old residence, Xiang Ling, in her shabby clothes, appeared somewhat helpless and small.

Xiang Ling's eyes were filled with confusion. She was only two or three years old when she was kidnapped, and she had long forgotten her parents at home. Over the years, she even thought that Dong Lao Er was her only relative.

Jia Cong laughed, "Don't be afraid. From now on, you will live here with me. When I have time, I will take you to Gusu, and perhaps you will be able to find your family."

In his previous life, he often heard of kidnappers snatching young children, causing families to be broken and destroyed, and relatives to be in extreme pain. It was truly more vicious than thieves who killed people and robbed goods.

"The gifts brought by the Cong Sanye from the Love Shenjing are all for the old relatives of various families in Jin Ling. I am preparing to deliver the gifts. Does the Cong Sanye have any instructions?"

So she still had family in Gusu, but the Young Master was also seeing her for the first time. How could he know these things?

In these matters, Liu Wuer was more open-minded than Qing Wen. How many people in the world were as successful as the Cong Sanye? In the future, there would inevitably be more provocations in this regard, so why would she mind?

He took Xiang Ling to hide in Jin Ling, relying on an old connection to do some foreign goods reselling to maintain his livelihood.

"Uncle Jin, where are you going?"

It was just that he had lost the help of his accomplices and didn't dare to take the old path of kidnapping and selling again. His assets were limited, but he didn't have the money to hire a famous teacher to teach Xiang Ling poetry, books, zither, and painting.

Jia Cong heard Xiang Ling say that she would be beaten or scolded by Dong Lao Er if she did anything slightly wrong since she was small. Her old wounds were often not healed before new ones were added, and his hatred for this kidnapper grew even more.

No wonder when he bought Xiang Ling, she had almost no attachment to leaving Dong Lao Er. It was estimated that she felt in her heart that it wouldn't be worse than this.

Just as he entered the mansion gate, he saw Jin Cai leading a few servants preparing to go out, and those servants were carrying gift boxes.

This girl, although her clothes were old and cold, was truly pretty, and the rouge mole between her brows was very pleasing.

Who would have thought that heaven would have unexpected storms? Just at this time, his accomplices were discovered by the government, and they were almost all caught by following the clues. Only he luckily escaped with Xiang Ling.

Standing in front of this deep and large mansion with a strict atmosphere for the first time, she couldn't help but feel some fear, pulling Jia Cong's sleeve and hiding behind him involuntarily.

He would naturally never let go of an evil ghost like Dong Lao Er. After settling Xiang Ling, he would send someone to report to the Yingtian Prefecture.

Besides, Xiang Ling's background was so pitiful. The Cong Sanye bought her from the kidnapper, which was saving her from the fire pit and was also a good deed of kindness.

Thinking that Jia Yucun had that connection with Zhen Shiyin, he would definitely have to give him this face.

Back then, he took a fancy to Xiang Ling's young and delicate beauty, and also found out that although Zhen Shiyin had assets at home, he was an idle person with no power or influence. Even if something happened, he wasn't afraid of his counterattack.

Tonight was supposed to be Liu Wuer's night shift, but Qing Wen suddenly wanted to switch with her. Liu Wuer found it funny in her heart, knowing that she was acting up again, perhaps still a bit angry about the Cong Sanye's little thoughts.

Jia Cong brought Xiang Ling back to the courtyard. Liu Wuer and Qing Wen were both shocked to see him bring back a strange girl.

Qing Wen pouted, "The Cong Sanye has learned to be bad now that he is older. He often touches Liu Wuer's hand, and when he combs his hair, he takes advantage of me. Now he doesn't know where he found this pretty girl and brings her into the room."

She also asked, "What does Xiang Ling usually do at home? You can choose familiar things to do in the room."

Jin Cai hurriedly agreed and asked his own family to arrange it. It seemed that this Cong Sanye was also a romantic figure. He hadn't been out for a day, and he didn't know where he bought such a peerless maid.

So he took advantage of the Lantern Festival's crowded people to kidnap Xiang Ling.

It was enough for her to be able to guard him in the room. The Cong Sanye was a person who valued feelings and old memories, so he would never treat them badly.

Not long after, he heard the news that his accomplices had been beheaded, which scared him out of half his courage. In order to hide his tracks and survive, he never dared to do the kidnapping business that lost his conscience again.

"You arrange new beds and bedding in my courtyard for this new maid to use. Also, if there are suitable fabrics in the mansion treasury, make a few sets of change of clothes for this girl."

Although Jia Cong couldn't think of things like "Yangzhou slender horses," he could probably guess that it should be that after the kidnapper kidnapped the girl, he had to teach her to be decent and proper before he could sell her for a good price.

The majestic stone lion guarding the old mansion gate had dignified eyes, as if looking down at her coldly.

Fortunately, Xiang Ling was born pretty since she was small. As long as she could be raised, she would be a rare commodity. He originally wanted to sell her for a huge profit in the future, but he didn't expect to be intercepted by Jia Cong halfway.

Before long, Jin Cai's wife brought two old women to deliver the beds and bedding. Liu Wuer helped Xiang Ling organize them. Qing Wen felt a bit embarrassed and also ran over to help.

Liu Wuer also told Xiang Ling about the daily things to do in the Cong Sanye's room, as well as things to pay attention to.

Jia Cong told Xiang Ling's background. Liu Wuer's eyes turned red when she heard it.

Seeing Xiang Ling's obedience mixed with nervousness, she should be uneasy about arriving at a new place, appearing pitiful, so she pulled her to the side to talk.

However, he didn't let go of the routine of raising "Yangzhou slender horses" and used it all on Xiang Ling, daily teaching Xiang Ling behavior. If Xiang Ling did anything wrong, it was a beating or scolding.

Moreover, he used seven hundred taels of silver to buy Dong Lao Er's foreign goods, made a business deal in a serious manner, and said he wanted to follow his path, which had temporarily stabilized this person, and he wasn't afraid of him running away in a short time.

Although Qing Wen loved to act up, she was the easiest to soften her heart. After hearing about Xiang Ling's background, her anger dissipated by more than half, and before long, she also gathered around to talk together.

Since Xiang Ling had memories, she grew up in a humble family and was often mistreated by the kidnapper since she was small, so her personality was a bit soft and timid.

Jin Cai saw Jia Cong go out early in the morning, but when he came back, he brought a girl with a strange face, and she was carrying a bundle on her back.

Xiang Ling stretched out her fingers to count: "Washing clothes, cooking, brewing tea, cleaning the room..."

Liu Wuer giggled and said, "The Cong Sanye doesn't need to cook here. The little maids outside do the laundry. Brewing tea is fine. The outer room is also cleaned by the little maids daily."

"Because the Cong Sanye is a scholar, the study is relatively precious, so the little maids are generally not allowed to enter. Qing Wen and I clean it. From now on, you will be in charge of the Cong Sanye's study first. This is the old Jin Ling residence."

"There isn't much to do in the Cong Sanye's study. When we return to the Love Shenjing, that's where the Cong Sanye's big study is."

For this half day, Liu Wuer and Qing Wen took Xiang Ling around, and it was a series of personal teaching. After all, Xiang Ling had never done the work of a maid before.

After dinner, Jia Cong went to the study to write a letter about Dong Lao Er kidnapping and selling young girls, and tomorrow he would let Jin Cai send someone to Yingtian Prefecture to bring Dong Lao Er to justice as soon as possible.

Just as he sat down, he saw Xiang Ling come in, pick up the ink stick on the desk, add clear water to the inkstone, straighten the ink stick, and grind it in circles on the inkstone. Her movements were light and slow.

Jia Cong saw that her movements of grinding ink were quite methodical, as if she had been specially taught, and asked with a smile, "Xiang Ling, you grind ink quite well. Are you literate?"

Xiang Ling blushed when she heard Jia Cong praise her, but her eyes were filled with joy, and she said, "There is a small private school opposite our house. My father let me wash clothes and clean the school hall for Mr. Zhang at the private school."

"I could earn half a string of cash every month. Mr. Zhang saw that I worked diligently, so he allowed me to sit at the door and listen. I listened for two years and learned many characters. I could recite the lessons Mr. Zhang taught better than the boys in the hall."

"This ink grinding was also learned from Mr. Zhang. However, Mr. Zhang moved away last year, and I had nowhere to listen to lessons."

Jia Cong understood. In the original timeline, Xiang Ling devoted herself to learning poetry, and the poems she finally wrote were praised even by Daiyu. It could be seen that she was literate, otherwise how could she learn poetry?

She sat at the door of the private school and listened to lessons for two years, and she could recognize characters and recite texts, even better than the children in the school, which showed that Xiang Ling had some spiritual energy in reading.

"Although I recognize many characters, I just don't have the opportunity to write. There is no spare money at home to buy paper and pens for a girl."

Jia Cong heard Xiang Ling say it with some regret. It seemed that she had a preference for literary matters in her bones.

He laughed, "I have plenty of paper and pens here. When I have time, I will teach you how to write."

Xiang Ling said happily, "Really? Thank you, Young Master."

When it was time to rest at night, Qing Wen talked to Jia Cong on the small couch again, then fell into a deep sleep.

Jia Cong faintly heard the sound of Xiang Ling tossing and turning on the small bed outside. It was probably because she was not used to staying overnight outside for the first time.

Early the next morning, Jia Cong took the written letter and asked Jin Cai to send someone to take the Jia mansion's visiting card and letter to the Yingtian Prefect, Jia Yucun.

Jia Cong saw that Jin Cai still asked the servants to carry gift boxes to deliver gifts today, and the scale of these gifts was even larger than yesterday.

He asked casually, "Uncle Jin, which old relative are you going to deliver gifts to today?"

Jin Cai replied, "Today I am delivering gifts to the wife of the eldest branch of the Xue family in Jin Ling. Our mansion's Second Mistress is the second in the Wang family, and this Xue Mistress is the third, who is the Second Mistress's own younger sister."

Jia Cong was stunned when he heard this. Wasn't that Xue Yima?

Yingtian Prefecture Yamen.

Jia Yucun hadn't finished breakfast when he received a letter sent from the Jia mansion. After reading it, he was also shocked.

The letter actually wrote that Jia Cong had discovered the traces of the kidnapper who had kidnapped Zhen Ying Lian all those years ago, and even the kidnapper's address was clearly written.

Back then, Jia Yucun was in poverty. If it hadn't been for Zhen Shiyin's financial support, he wouldn't have been able to scrape together the travel expenses to go to the capital for the imperial examination, let alone be on the golden list. Zhen Shiyin had truly been a great benefactor to him.

But Jia Yucun was a cold and cruel person by nature. After becoming a high official, he almost didn't put that idle gentleman from Gusu in his heart, but his wife, Jiao Xing, often mentioned him.

He never dreamed how Jia Cong knew about Zhen Shiyin and Ying Lian, and suddenly wrote a letter to report the kidnapper's whereabouts.

Although he didn't put the kindness of those years in his heart, now that someone had brought it up again, especially someone from the Jia family whom he regarded as his benefactor and backer, he didn't dare to be the slightest bit negligent.

Otherwise, if some roots and branches were spread, it would destroy his official reputation, which would be greatly unfavorable to his official career.

So he hurriedly ordered capable constables and yamen runners to go to the Dazai Gate early in the morning to arrest the suspect.

If he could solve the major kidnapping case in Gusu ten years ago, he might even get the title of "Jia Qingtian who judges cases like a god," which would also be a good thing.

Dazai Gate Lane, near Dong Lao Er's courtyard.

Two sedan chair carriers were carrying a soft sedan chair, and the sedan door was tied with red silk, revealing a festive atmosphere.

Beside the soft sedan chair followed an old servant with gray hair and beard. Walking at the very front was a handsome youth of seventeen or eighteen.

Feng Yuan was also in new clothes today, his hair combed until it was shiny, his spirit high, and his face full of joy.

Thinking of the girl who was fetching water by the well yesterday, that delicate and pretty appearance seemed to be able to seep into his heart. With such a peerless little beauty to accompany him, he would be satisfied for the rest of his life.

Thinking of Su Yun, Feng Yuan was truly so happy that he didn't know what to do.

When he arrived at the gate of Dong Lao Er's courtyard, the youth went in alone, but he happened to run into Dong Lao Er carrying a package and going out.

He asked with a face full of joy, "Father-in-law, where are you going? I have already raised five hundred taels of silver. I am here today specifically to pick up Su Yun to go through the door. Where is Su Yun?"

Dong Lao Er's expression stiffened when he saw this youth. He regretted not leaving earlier and actually being bumped into by this Feng Yuan.

At this moment, an arrogant and domineering voice came from the gate: "Dong Lao Er, where is your daughter? Today I am going to take her away!"

As soon as Dong Lao Er heard this voice, his expression changed immediately.

He saw a tall youth walk into the courtyard gate, looking dignified, wearing silk and satin, rich and imposing, and followed by four or five servants, which was quite imposing.

Although it was September weather, the youth was holding a folding fan in an incongruous manner, with a face full of arrogance and extravagance.

He was bossy toward Dong Lao Er: "If I hadn't gone to Zhenjiang to handle business a few days ago, I would have come to take her away long ago. Where is my little wife Su Yun? I have been thinking about her even when I sleep these past few days."

"Don't dawdle. Call her out quickly. I don't have the time to delay here."

Dong Lao Er panicked as soon as he saw this youth.

Because he was doing foreign goods business, he had used up all his capital. In his urgency, he sold Su Yun to Feng Yuan for five hundred taels of silver.

Who knew that the servant of the Xue family in Jin Ling was buying a concubine for the young master of the family, and accidentally saw Su Yun and took a fancy to her.

He led the young master of the Xue family, Xue Pan, to the door to see her. Xue Pan couldn't take his eyes off Su Yun and insisted on buying her.

Because Dong Lao Er had sold her to Feng Yuan first, he had concerns in his heart. Xue Pan thought he was waiting for a price, so he offered one thousand taels to buy Su Yun.

This made Dong Lao Er move his heart, preparing to roll up the silver from both families, and then run away with Su Yun to make a huge profit and find a place to be happy. When he met someone who would buy, he would sell Su Yun again and make another profit.

But he never expected this matter with Jia Cong to happen.

Although Jia Cong saved Xiang Ling, some causes and effects would not change because of this. Xue Pan and Feng Yuan still bumped into each other. Perhaps this was their inescapable fate.

Dong Lao Er saw that a disaster was imminent. Now, where could he hand over the person? If he stayed here, there was only a dead end. His small eyes began to dart around, wanting to find an opportunity to escape.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 130 =====