Volume 2: Eagle vs. Dragon Chapter 89: Plan Again
Ye Youyu was teased by Zhou Yijin like that, and for a moment she didn't know whether she should be angry or happy. She saw that the carriage had already left the west gate, so she suppressed her emotions and asked, "Is it possible?"
"More than feasible." Zhou Yijin said, "In this way, you can solve my first difficulty at the same time."
"Um?"
Zhou Yijin said: "Let's do as you said just now. But we need not only to build a secret passage, but also one more person."
"who?"
Zhou Yijin lowered his voice even lower: "Ye Zhong."
A trace of surprise flashed across Ye Youyu's face, and he asked, "Uncle Zhong?"
Zhou Yijin asked: "You have a good relationship with Ye Zhong, right?"
Ye Youyu said, "Uncle Zhong... treats me very well, very well. When I was still in the Ye family, there were many times when I was grateful for his care, otherwise I would not be here today. Especially the time when I was under house arrest in Chenglu Garden. If it weren't for Uncle Zhong, I wouldn't even be able to see you."
"Ye Zhong is indeed a man of love and righteousness, and he is quite reliable." Zhou Yijin said, "I heard from Lao Gu that Ye Dalin saved the lives of Ye Zhong's father, himself, and his grandson, a total of three lives. So no matter what Ye Dalin wants to do over the years, even if it is something against the will of heaven and earth, or even asking him to die, Ye Zhong will not say no. On the other hand, if we want to use him, Ye Dalin has to ask for it - do you understand?"
Ye Youyu said, "Okay, I know what to do. But... with that secret passage and Uncle Zhong, can I really accomplish what you said ?"
"I don't know..." Zhou Yijin said, "30% is determined by fate, and 70% depends on hard work - this is the catchphrase of the Fujianese. Let's not think about the 30% determined by fate, and work hard first. After I send you back later, we won't meet again. You go and do your own thing, well, I should also go to Panjiayuan."
Ye Youyu was a little confused: "Panjiayuan? Why are you going to Panjiayuan?"
"We need to talk to Pan Youjie about this." Zhou Yijin said, "It's time for him to step forward."
Ye Youyu still had many things she didn't understand, but thinking about Wu Chengjian's instructions for her not to consider the overall situation, she suppressed her curiosity and didn't ask.
Soon the carriage arrived at Xiguan Street and dropped off at the gate of the Wu family mansion. Wu Liu came out to greet him, and Zhou Yijin considered that he had sent him there.
When he was about to leave, he suddenly said, "If you have a chance in the future, you can ask Lao Gu about some things before you got married."
Ye Youyu was puzzled. She had heard of Lao Gu and knew that he was a capable man under her father-in-law and one of the "Eight Generals of Xiguan" who was as famous as Ye Zhong. But what did he have to do with her?
However, Zhou Yijin said this without any context and then left.
After Ye Youyu went in, Wu Liu led him directly to the backyard, where Wu Guoying and Cai Qiaozhu were waiting.
Wu Guoying was still calm, so Cai Qiaozhu asked, "What happened?"
Ye Youyu said: "I also tried to persuade him, but Hao Guan was very determined, and I don't know if he listened to me or not."
Cai Qiaozhu sighed, but she also knew that her uncle was indeed like this.
She wanted to ask for more details, but Wu Guoying waved her hand and said, "Okay, okay, Xi's wife is pregnant, so don't overwork yourself. Don't you know Hao Guan? Who can persuade him to do something he has made up his mind about? If he has something in mind, he may not tell the truth even to us."
Cai Qiaozhu sighed again, and then she and Ye Youyu went back to their rooms.
Back in the right courtyard, Cai's mother and Bi Tao were helping Wu Chengjun wipe his face. When she saw Cai Qiaozhu, she dismissed Bi Tao and asked, "What happened?"
Cai Qiaozhu said, "Mother, these heavy tasks should be handed over to the servants from now on."
Cai's mother sighed, "Chengjun has been ill for so long, and I haven't had the chance to fulfill my mother-in-law's wishes. Now I'm just wiping his face. How can this be considered a hard job?"
Cai Qiaozhu then said, "Youyu went to persuade Haoguan today, but Haoguan didn't seem to respond. I don't know what he is planning to do."
Cai's mother said, "If Hao Guan has an idea, then we don't need to say anything. He must have thought more carefully than us. But if he still can't make up his mind, Qiaozhu, you have to listen to your father. A new emperor chooses new ministers. For now, it is more appropriate to join Governor Zhu. In the long run, loyal ministers are more reliable. You should persuade Hao Guan if you have a chance."
Cai Qiaozhu nodded in agreement.
The next day, she almost wanted to go and deliver food to Wu Chengjian again and tried to persuade him. Wu Liu heard about her plan and advised, "Madam, you know the Third Young Master better than I do. Since he has said that you should not deliver food anymore, why don't you just not go? I'll go instead."
Cai Qiaozhu gave up the idea and asked Wu Liu to go. She also reminded him of some trivial matters, such as it sometimes gets cold at night, so she should check whether Wu Chengjian’s bedding is enough.
Wu Liu smiled and said, "Madam, Hao Guan is married now. I think the Third Madam should have thought of these trivial matters."
Cai Qiaozhu smiled . The old lady of the Wu family died early, and Wu Chengjian married late. Over the years, she took care of the daily life of the two brothers. For a moment, she even forgot that her third uncle was married: "That's right, I forgot that he got married."
Wu Liu went to deliver food to Wu Chengjian and returned before noon. Cai Qiaozhu asked as usual, but saw that Wu Liu looked a little serious, so she dismissed the maid and asked, "Ah Liu, what's wrong?"
"Madam, something seems amiss." Wu Liu said, "I went to the cell and heard the head of the cell talking. It seems that Hao Guan went crazy the night before yesterday. Later, after Master Zhou went there, Hao Guan was no longer crazy. Then the third Madam went there again, and I heard Master Cai went there too. There have been people coming and going in Hao Guan's cell these past two days. It seems that something has happened."
Cai Qiaozhu's heart also sank.
Wu Liu added, "Also, in Hao Guan's cell, the coffee table had its legs missing, there were a lot of broken porcelain pieces piled up in the corner, the bedding was broken, the straw was scattered, and although it had been cleaned up, there were still a lot of traces. I tried to ask, but he glared back, so I didn't dare to ask again. Young Lady, it must have been yesterday or the night before, something big must have happened."
"This..." Cai Qiaozhu murmured, "If this is the case, why didn't Third Aunt say anything yesterday..."
Wu Liu said, "Could it be that Officer Hao asked us not to tell anyone so that our family wouldn't worry?"
"That's possible." Cai Qiaozhu nodded and said, "But... Ah Liu, go to the left courtyard and ask around. Remember not to alarm the master."
Wu Liu agreed to go, and came back after a meal. He said to Cai Qiaozhu, "The Third Young Lady is not here, and Wu Qi is not here either. It seems they went out."
"Going out at this time?" Cai Qiaozhu frowned: "Where are you going?"
Wu Liu is not as clever as Wu Qi, but he is also very reliable. He would not wait for Cai Qiaozhu to ask before doing anything. He would have thought of doing it earlier: "Before the Third Young Madam left, she asked Chunrui to report to the backyard that Hao Guan had told her something and asked her to go to the Ye family for something. The master replied with a "OK" and did not ask any more questions. Then the Third Young Madam left."
After hearing this, Cai Qiaozhu suddenly felt a little empty.
Wu Liu added, "The Third Young Madam went out with quite a swagger this time. Ah Qi and Xia Qing were both with her. Only three or four maids and servants from the right courtyard were left to look after the house. The rest followed."
Ye Youyu claimed that she went back to her parents' home at the request of Wu Chengjian and had reported to her father-in-law. Under normal circumstances, there would be nothing wrong with it, but now was a special time and Ye Youyu's parents' home was not an ordinary family - after all, Ye Dalin had just betrayed the Wu family, so he must have had a purpose in going back this time. He didn't discuss such a big matter with her, and Cai Qiaozhu couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.
However, she has always been virtuous, so she could digest this little emotion: "Forget it, there must be something wrong. Most likely it was arranged by Hao Guan."
She actually said this to comfort herself, but suddenly she thought of her peers in this family. In the past, she was the one who was closest to Wu Chengjian, but now Wu Chengjian was hiding it from her and asked Ye Youyu to do something else. Although it is a common sense that husband and wife are closer than uncle and sister-in-law, and she is also aware of this, when this change came, she still felt a little lost.
"Third Young Lady," Wu Liu said, "Do you want me to go find Ah Qi and see what's going on?"
"No." Cai Qiaozhu said gloomily, "Let them go."
Since the day Wu Chengjian got into trouble, Tan Sanniang started to eat vegetarian food, burn three incense sticks every day, and pray to Guanyin Bodhisattva and Mazu Goddess to protect Wu Chengjian from danger.
After getting up today, I lit three more incense sticks and prayed sincerely: "I, a believer, kowtow to Guanyin Bodhisattva and Mazu Goddess. I don't ask for my own happiness and longevity, but I pray that he can be safe and sound..."
She was about to recite a scripture to the Bodhisattva when she heard some noise outside. She stopped and asked, "Bihe, what happened?"
Bihe's aura was a little strange: "Girl... come, come... there's a guest."
Tan Sanniang asked, "What kind of customers can Huachahao have at this time?"
"Yes..." Bihe said, "It's the third young mistress of the Wu family."
