A Good Country Wife-Chapter 688 - 681_1

Upon observing the young beggar, Lin Yue knew that the hope of extracting information from this lead was slim, yet she still inquired, "Where are you from, and did you deliver this letter?"

"Replying to madam, I am a street beggar from the city, and a gentleman asked me to deliver this letter. He gave me fifty copper coins. I’m just running an errand for someone, and truly, I know nothing else." The young beggar was somewhat clever, aware that he had probably gotten into trouble today and that there might be something wrong with the letter. He answered honestly to avoid angering the homeowner. Their status as beggars was so low that they were considered less than dogs, and if they were to be beaten to death, it was deemed their own fault.

"Do you remember what the uncle who asked you to deliver the letter looked like? Also, where did you meet him?" Lin Yue persisted, hoping to glean any useful information.

The young beggar listened to Lin Yue and recalled the appearance of the man in his mind, describing him as quite ordinary with no distinctive features. Lin Yue frowned repeatedly as she listened. The beggar then mentioned where he had met the man, which was on the main street, a place where anyone could appear, leading to many other locations. This information was ultimately useless; it seemed that the beggar was chosen to carry the message as a precaution.

"Madam, those thieves are too cunning, using a young beggar to deliver the message. They must be deliberately guarding against us." Originally, Liu Aniu was pleased when he heard Lin Yue’s orders, thinking they might find some clues here and perhaps even manage to track down the young masters and rescue them without needing Madam to personally carry the silver and risk danger. To his disappointment, all they caught was a useless beggar.

"There’s no need to be too disheartened. Those people are indeed cautious. I didn’t really expect to find a clue through this channel, but I was just giving it a try. I suppose they wouldn’t be so careless, or their whereabouts would have been discovered long ago, without having to wait until now." Lin Yue said soothingly to calm the agitated Liu Aniu, who, as a devoted servant, naturally felt anxious given the circumstances.

"Madam, those people are so cunning, and they don’t allow you to bring many people. What if you go and they don’t keep their promise? What if you can’t rescue the people and you end up in danger yourself?" Xixi, who was always blunt, especially when anxious, voiced her concern. Matron Xu probably didn’t want Lin Yue to take risks, and she didn’t stop her from speaking her mind.

Lin Yue was not angry but knew everyone was worried for her. Yet her expression was resolute, "I still must go! There’s no other way but to do as they say. Dalang and his brothers are injured and in their hands; we cannot afford to provoke them."

Lin Yue was not a selfish person concerned only with her well-being. For the safety of Dalang and his siblings, she was willing to venture into danger, and she was not entirely unprepared either. Under the best circumstances, they would use the silver to redeem Dalang and his siblings and later carefully investigate to uncover the identities of their captors. In the worst case, if the kidnappers broke their agreement, she would act accordingly, perhaps pretending to be fooled long enough to locate Dalang and his siblings and seize the opportunity to rescue them.

With tears welling up in her eyes, Xixi didn’t know how to help. She hated that she couldn’t take Lin Yue’s place and face the peril herself. "Madam, let Xixi accompany you. Although those people demanded that you only bring two others, a maid like me poses no threat to them. They should have no objections if you decide to bring me along."

"Nonsense. What help could you be? You’ll only cause more trouble. The proper thing to do is to stay and assist Matron Xu in looking after the house."

"Madam!"

"Manager Liu, have you made all the arrangements I entrusted to you?" Lin Yue turned to Liu Aniu and asked.

Rest assured, madam, everything is in order. I have selected the most reliable people, and there will be no problems." Liu Aniu replied solemnly. The safety of Madam and the young masters was at stake, and he had not dared to be careless, double- and triple-checking everything to avoid any mistakes.

Lin Yue nodded, approving of Liu Aniu’s increasingly experienced and reliable work, "Very well, proceed as planned. If anything unexpected happens, act accordingly, but remember to think thrice before acting and be extremely cautious."

Knowing that Liu Aniu had made the necessary arrangements, Lin Yue felt somewhat relieved. Her expression grew serious, "Alright, now that we have the address and it’s about time, we should set off so as not to delay and provoke the kidnappers."

Having said this, Lin Yue boarded the carriage. The silver had already been packed into a chest and placed on the carriage. The kidnappers had specifically demanded silver, fearing Lin Yue would tamper with silver notes. Five thousand taels of silver were quite heavy, and as the carriage moved along, it left behind two deep ruts.

Since she knew nothing about her opponents and there were potential dangers, and because the kidnappers strictly limited her to bringing only two people, she had to choose her companions carefully. Naturally, she needed those with the best martial arts skills to ensure they wouldn’t be easily subdued if an emergency arose.

One of the people Lin Yue took was Haishi, the best martial artist left in the household. The rest, Lin Yue had insisted Zhao Erhu take with him on a sea voyage. When venturing abroad, they might encounter anything, especially when doing business, it was common to meet bullies and showoffs. Lin Yue worried about Zhao Erhu, and having more martial artists as guards meant added security. Initially, Lin Yue wanted Haishi to join them as well, but Zhao Erhu, concerned for her safety, managed to convince her to keep Haishi at home. Now Haishi proved to be useful.

The other was a borrowed hand from Jimin Hall’s dispensary, ostensibly a store assistant but actually a Hidden Guard from the Jiang Family, more skilled than Haishi and having undergone special training. This person’s response time and abilities were superior to the average person’s, a real asset. Jiang Ziqi had given his blessing, which permitted the store manager to make the decision to lend the individual to Lin Yue. Otherwise, the manager wouldn’t have the authority to make such an arrangement.

Lin Yue had initially thought that the exchange location would be in the suburbs or the mountains, as such places were less populated and relatively safer, enabling one to avoid the government’s men—a commonsense practice among kidnappers. However, these kidnappers seemed to think differently, or perhaps as the manager had guessed, they were actually people from Xin’an City, familiar with the city’s terrain.

The address written on the note to Lin Yue was in a certain part of Xin’an City. Lin Yue roughly knew the area’s location. Although it was a secluded place, it was still within the city.