Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 76: Prison Visit
Ye Dalin was silent for a while and didn't say anything for a long time.
Ye Youyu said, "Dad, the food is getting cold, let's eat quickly."
Ye Dalin suddenly asked: "What do you want me to do?"
"Um?"
Ye Dalin asked, "What do you want me to do by doing this?"
"That's what my father said." Ye Youyu smiled: "No, you don't have to do anything, just keep everything the same."
Ye Dalin looked at his daughter with some confusion: "Your husband is in jail, and you are not worried at all? I turned myself in to Hao Guan, and you are not annoyed at all?"
Ye Youyu said calmly, "My daughter doesn't know what Hao Guan is planning, but he wasn't worried at all when he went in, so my daughter isn't worried either. Anyway, there's nothing to worry about, so why should I worry about it, Dad?"
When Ye Dalin heard this, he thought about how calm Wu Chengjian was when he was detained by Cai Qinghua, and how after Cai Qinghua got the evidence, he opened the warehouse but not the box, and did not take Wu Chengjian back to the Governor's Mansion, but threw him directly to Guangzhou Prefecture. All these signs were against common sense, and he became even more suspicious. For a moment, he felt that he was right not to rush into Yingyang Garden.
Ye Youyu did not explain much, but just said: "Father, these things probably involve some people and things higher up. Let's not think too much about it, so as not to cause trouble for ourselves."
Just as Ye Dalin was about to make some indirect hints, Ye Youyu had already called Dongxue over. She poured herself a cup of tea, rinsed her mouth, and then said goodbye, saying that she was going to Yingyang Garden to see her mother. Ye Dalin couldn't stop her, so he had to let her go.
Xu is different now, and she is not as obscured as before. She knew about Ye Youyu's entry into the Ye residence not long after, and she had been waiting for him in Yingyang Garden for a long time.
As soon as Ye Youyu came in, she pulled her into the room. Since ancient times, mothers-in-law have always loved their sons-in-law, not to mention Wu Chengjian, who is such a good son-in-law? So when Xu heard that Wu Chengjian was detained, she was full of anxiety and pulled Ye Youyu to ask.
Ye Youyu smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry, nothing will happen."
Xu said, "But I heard that this time, Hao Guan was framed for stealing things from the palace. If it is proven, it is a serious crime punishable by death. I also heard... I heard that Hao Guan was put in jail because it was your father who reported him..."
"Mom!" Ye Youyu said, "There are rumors flying around outside right now. Mom, don't believe anything you hear. We will handle everything. You can't trust others, so how can you trust your son-in-law? He went through such a dangerous situation last year. It's just a small case. He can handle it. Don't worry."
After much persuasion, she finally calmed Xu down and left without staying any longer.
In front of Ye Dalin, Ye Youyu's expression was so calm that it was a little cold. In front of Xu, he acted as if everything was normal. However, as soon as he walked out of the Ye family's gate and sat in the sedan chair, he couldn't help but frown.
After the sedan had gone a few steps, she hurriedly called a halt and vomited into the sedan with a handkerchief.
Dongxue was extremely worried. Ye Youyu vomited a few times and said, "It's okay. It was just the shaking of the sedan chair. Just take a rest."
Wu Qi was touched when he saw Third Young Lady running around for Hao Guan. He interrupted and said, "Third Young Lady, we have a western-style carriage in our warehouse. Why don't we have someone take it out? The road conditions in the Xiguan area are good, and riding in a four-wheeled carriage is more comfortable than riding in a sedan chair."
Ye Youyu thought about it, did not refuse, and nodded slightly.
They rested for a while before setting off again. Seeing that it was getting dark, Wu Qi asked, "Third Young Lady, are we going back to Henan Island?"
Ye Youyu said, "We have already reached Xiguan, how can we not enter the gate?"
She did not return to Henan Island, but went directly to the old house in Xiguan. After the doorman took her in, Ye Youyu went straight to the backyard. Cai Qiaozhu was about to go to the prison in Guangzhou Prefecture to deliver food to Wu Chengjian. When she heard that the third young lady had returned, she also went to the backyard first.
After the father-in-law, daughter-in-law and their spouses were seated, Ye Youyu briefly recounted Wu Chengjian's instructions to him to go to the Ye family and what he had said at the Ye family.
Cai Qiaozhu pondered and said, "Master, is Hao Guan...really not angry with the Ye family? Or is he not getting angry for Aunt San's sake?"
Wu Guoying said: "Whether you are angry or not, what's the point at this time? The current situation should still be very dangerous. That's why Hao Guan wants to stabilize Old Ye. At this time, we can't make any more enemies."
When Cai Qiaozhu heard it, she understood immediately.
Ye Dalin himself is a vengeful person, so he would judge others by his own standards and would think that since he has offended Wu Chengjian, Wu Chengjian will definitely take revenge on him afterwards. In order to avoid revenge from Wu Chengjian, he would take the opportunity to add insult to injury and trap Wu Chengjian to death - in a grudge, the victim will certainly want revenge, and the perpetrator may be more ruthless to the victim in order to prevent revenge.
This is what we call revenge!
So even though Wu Chengjian was clearly betrayed by Ye Dalin, he still let Ye Youyu go back to her parents' home to give Ye Dalin a way out, in order to prevent Ye Dalin from going further and further down the path of turning his relatives into his enemies.
Ye Youyu was present at the time. Although she had often heard that they were not on good terms, they were still father and daughter after all, so Wu Guoying did not say too much.
Cai Qiaozhu asked again: "What should we do next?"
Wu Guoying asked, "Does Haoguan have any other instructions before he leaves?"
Ye Youyu shook his head: "No more. He just kept telling me not to worry too much."
Wu Guoying said, "Then maybe he has other plans in mind and doesn't want us to get involved. Or maybe he still can't figure out the latest situation when he's in Wuyuan. Anyway, we still have to meet him again tonight and ask him about his plans."
Ye Youyu said, "Master, the bride should go."
Wu Guoying said, "No, you are pregnant. How can a prison be a good place? The situation doesn't seem to be critical now. Let's let our sister-in-law go first. Sister-in-law, the city gates are about to close. You should go into the city quickly, visit Haoguan, and stay at Daxing Street tonight."
Ye Youyu did not insist. Cai Qiaozhu asked if there was anything she needed to tell him. Ye Youyu thought for a moment and said, "Tell me. I will listen to him and take good care of myself."
Ye Dalin sat in the study, facing a table full of cold dishes, and didn't speak for a long time.
Until Ma came in and said, "Your good daughter has left, why are you still in a daze?"
Ye Dalin said: "Official Hao doesn't hate me."
Ma exclaimed, very confused.
Ye Dalin said: "Before he went in, he specifically asked Youyu to come back and tell me that he was not angry with me for turning him in."
Ma frowned and said, "Is he so broad-minded? Are you so moved by your good son-in-law that you feel guilty?"
"I'm not touched at all!" Ye Dalin said, "What kind of character is this kid? How could he not take revenge? But now he is acting out of character. It's not that he is not angry with me, but he doesn't dare to be angry with me now. He is afraid that I will add insult to injury. That's why he specially asked his wife to calm me down."
Ma said with an "oh" and frowned, "If that's the case, then his situation is very bad."
"It should be more dangerous than I expected." Ye Dalin said: "This matter is full of weirdness. There must be some secrets that I don't know."
Cai Qiaozhu took the food and rushed into the city.
According to the rules of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the city gates were closed at 5:55 p.m. in the 24-hour system, which is 7:50 p.m.
When Cai Qiaozhu arrived at the west gate, the city gate was about to close. Under normal circumstances, even if it was a little late, it would be easy for the Wu family to get in by paying some money. But now is an extraordinary period, and who knows if the people above have given any instructions. The Wu family did not dare to act rashly, so the sedan chair was carried very quickly and they finally rushed into the city.
On the way to Guangzhou Prefecture, the Wu family had informed Daxing Street, so Cai Shiqun personally brought his son to wait at the city gate to escort his daughter and make arrangements along the way. The criminal secretary and the jailer did not make things difficult for them. Cai Qinghua had the people of Guangzhou Prefecture arrest Wu Chengjian and then he did nothing about it. He neither told the Guangzhou prefecture how to deal with Wu Chengjian, nor hinted to the people in the prison how to detain him strictly. The more he did this, the more uncertain the officials and runners of the prefecture felt.
However, since the suspect was in jail, it was a favor and a custom for his family to bring him food, so the criminal secretary and the jailer turned a blind eye after secretly receiving money - as long as Wu Chengjian didn't escape, it wouldn't be considered a violation of the rules.
Cai Qiaozhu followed the jailer all the way to the cell where Wu Chengjian was imprisoned. This cell was independent - Guangzhou was the provincial capital after all, and sometimes people of status were imprisoned in the cell. This independent cell had stairs leading down to the ground, but there were still two windows for light.
After entering the prison gate and walking down the stairs, there were three more cells inside, all separated by prison pillars. Now only one cell had someone imprisoned.
Cai Qiaozhu saw that the cell was quite clean. There was a clean mat with straw underneath, and a coffee table next to it with a pot of tea on it.
The jailer laughed softly and said, "Hao Guan is a famous person in Guangzhou. We dare not neglect him."
Cai Qiaozhu greeted with a smile, and Wu Liu beside her quietly stuffed a big red envelope into her pocket. The jailer was overjoyed and said, "Among the three cells here, the two cells next to Haoguan have been cleared out. There's no one here now. You can talk slowly. Once the outer cell door is closed, people inside can't hear what they're saying outside. As long as no one in the mansion comes to watch, you can talk as long as you want."
Cai Shiqun invited the jailer to go out for a drink, and Wu Liu watched outside the prison door.
Cai Qiaozhu then entered the cell door - the lock had been opened. The jailer was not afraid that a prisoner like Wu Chengjian would escape, because his huge property was all in Xiguan Street, and the monk could escape but the temple could not.
