Chapter 100.4
Chapter 100 Part 4: Outer Room
“Absolutely.” At that time, Xue Zhao precisely grasped this piece of information which made Tong Zhi Yang unable to make things difficult for Xue Huai Yuan anymore. The outer room had just given him a son then, counting up to now, it had been five to six years already. Jiang Li made some inquiries, in the past five to six years, there had been no rumors about Tong Zhi Yang’s outer room. It was clear that Tong Zhi Yang had concealed it very well. She had specially entrusted people to observe the edge of the city walls and sure enough, the mother and son were still there.
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Towards this mother and son, Tong Zhi Yang’s long-term affection was laughable.
“Even if what you said is true,” Ye Ming Yu asked: “How do you know all these things? Ah Li, it’s not even a month since you arrived in Xiangyang, these things, how many years have my eldest brother and the others been living in Xiangyang, yet have never heard of this before.”
Others would definitely be shocked upon hearing the secret Jiang Li said, perhaps even thinking that Jiang Li was lying. Ye Ming Yu would not believe that Jiang Li was lying, but he was perplexed. Jiang Li was not a person from Xiangyang, how could she know Tong Zhi Yang’s matters so clearly? More than that, she also knew about Tong Zhi Yang’s brother-in-law in the capital serving as Zhong Guan Ling. Ye Ming Yu believed that it’s impossible for Jiang Yuan Bai to pay attention to a prefectural magistrate in Xiangyang. These things certainly did not come from Jiang Yuan Bai.
Then how does Jiang Li know?
“The bodyguards that I brought from Yanjing.” Jiang Li smiled, “These bodyguards could be considered as the elite father meticulously picked for me. I let a bodyguard go to the Tong residence to ask around, by coincidence, Tong Zhi Yang was instructing someone to send silver to the mother and son. So I asked someone to follow closely and indeed found something good. That’s how I learnt of this secret.”
Naturally, she couldn’t tell Ye Ming Yu that she knew this because of Xue Zhao. This explanation seemed rational, at least, apart from this, Ye Ming Yu would not expect Jiang Li to be able to find other ways to find out. Just treat it as if it was a coincidence.
“Okay, Ah Li, you informed me about Tong Zhi Yang’s outer room, what is the meaning of it?”
“As we can see, Tong Zhi Yang loves this mother and son very much. I suspect Tong Zhi Yang has something to do with the accident with the Ye family’s ancient fragrant satin. Perhaps there’s someone giving instructions at the back. In order to avoid any slip-ups to occur, I need him to be afraid to some extent. At least, he must not do anything before the people from the Weaving Unit come to Xiangyang.”
Ye Ming Yu looked at her, not quite understanding the meaning behind Jiang Li’s words.
“Since Uncle Ming Yu is someone from the rivers and lakes, carrying the mother and son away should not be a hard thing to do, right?” Jiang Li said: “I want Uncle Ming Yu or Uncle Ming Yu’s friend to take away Tong Zhi Yang’s outer room and their son. When Tong Zhi Yang suddenly learns of this news, he would exert his whole energy to look for the pair of mother and son and would not spare other energy to deal with the Ye family. When necessary, could still use the mother and son to threaten.” Jiang Li smiled: “It’s obvious that Tong Zhi Yang would not dare to let his wife know the existence of this mother and son. If it comes to light, his position as the prefectural magistrate in Xiangyang is likely to be gone. To guard this secret, Tong Zhi Yang would certainly not hesitate to deal with everything. After all, he is someone who fears his tigress-like wife.”
After listening, Ye Ming Yu understood at last. Jiang Li wanted him to abduct Tong Zhi Yang’s outer room and his son and hid them. It’s fine to treat this as a strategy or a tool to distract Tong Zhi Yang. To refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases, Tong Zhi Yang would certainly not dare to do anything to the Ye family.
He said: “Ah Li, you want me to kidnap a mother and son…….” Not as good as getting a wife and a child, they, the people of the rivers and lakes, disdained doing this kind of despicable thing and would not be willing to bully females and children.
Jiang Li seemed to be able to guess the thought in his heart. She looked at Ye Ming Yu calmly and said: “Uncle Ming Yu, when Tong Zhi Yang dealt with the Ye family, when he instigated the mass to smash up Li Zheng Tang, did he think of the elderly, the young and the sick in the room? Moreover, no need to mention that Ye older cousin is now in Yanjing serving as an official, grandmother’s health is not good, if she learns that there’s an accident happening in the Ye family, how can she be calm?”
“Besides, wanting you to take away the mother and son is not to do anything to them. They can still freely eat and drink deliciously, nothing else but receiving a bit of fright. When the matters are over, they can be sent back, there’s no loss whatsoever for them.” Jiang Li smiled and continued: “It’s already a matter of life and death, Uncle Ming Yu must not be soft hearted.”
The last sentence, although spoken gently, sounded incredibly harsh.
Ye Ming Yu’s heart shivered when he heard this. He considered it carefully before he spoke to Jiang Li with shame: “It’s me who thought too simply. Ah Li, you can discern the matters but I couldn’t. Indeed, growing up in vain for so many years.” He said firmly: “Hand this thing to me, tomorrow I will look for a few trusted friends and look for a place that no one can find. Since Tong Zhi Yang fears his tigress-like wife, he would not openly look for the mother and son in the day. This will really be our chance.”
Jiang Li nodded: “After it’s completed, it will be late when Tong Zhi Yang receives the news. It will be extremely difficult to look for the people then.”
“But,” Ye Ming Yu said: “You said Tong Zhi Yang had something to do with the accident in the ancient fragrant satin. There’s still someone behind him giving directions, is that true?”
Their Ye family could not find the cause of the accident with the ancient fragrant satin, no need to talk about blaming it on Tong Zhi Yang. In case what Jiang Li said was true, this was no small matter.
“I am just suspicious.” Jiang Li said: “Furthermore, there’s no definitive evidence. However, as long as the Weaving Unit comes to Xiangyang, all the truth will come to light.” Jiang Li smiled lightly: “I think, even if Tong Zhi Yang’s courage is huge, he wouldn’t dare to publicly move his foot under the eyes of the people from the Weaving Unit. In addition, with his beloved outer room and son under threat, Magistrate Tong should consider the pros and cons.”
Even if there’s truly a big official in Yanjing who could protect Tong Zhi Yang, that big official happened to be the Right Prime Minister who had the power to overturn the court. Jiang Li surmised, the Right Prime Minister cherished his feathers and definitely wouldn’t divulge his name to avoid implicating himself later. Tong Zhi Yang didn’t know how solid his backing was, so he wouldn’t dare to be so daring.
Moreover, Tong Zhi Yang’s son and outer room’s whereabouts were unknown, Tong Zhi Yang would inevitably be somewhat afraid. He was clear that the distant water was unable to quench the nearby thirst, thus in the meantime, he would first suit his action to the time.