Volume 3: The Richest Man in the World Chapter 44: Never Give Up on Life and Death
At this time, Tietou Junba had already sent his guests back, and just happened to hear Wu Xiaojiu talking about his experience in the capital: " After I arrived at the government office, I was put in jail. I don't know what happened, and no one came to bother me or beat me. I couldn't count the days in jail, and I don't know how many meals I had. I got sick in the middle, and I thought I was going to die. Fortunately, I didn't die. After I recovered from the illness, I don't know how many days I endured before I was taken out. It was the two officers this time. They escorted me all the way from Beijing to Guangzhou. Finally, finally... I met Official Hao..."
At this point I couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears.
He was a young servant who had never been out of the province, and he had to travel tens of thousands of miles back and forth. It was a lot of hardship for him to endure it, but it was fortunate that he was young and had managed to do it. If something had happened on the way, he might have been abandoned along the way or even fed to dogs in the wilderness.
Wu Chengjian asked, "What about Yi Jin's broken leg?"
Wu Xiaojiu shook his head: "I never saw Master Zhou again. I only knew about Master Zhou's broken leg when I heard those two officers talking about it on my way back to Guangzhou."
Wu Chengjian asked him some more questions in detail, and when he felt that he could not get any more out of him, he asked Xia Qing to take him downstairs to rest.
Mr. Liu San said, "This boy is really useless."
Chen Dao from Foshan said, "It's not his fault. He was just a servant, not a gangster. He was taken out of the country, just like a goldfish in a pond was thrown into a river or sea. It's good that he didn't die in the river."
Mr. Liu San asked, "So, Mr. Zhou's matter, do you have any other clues, Mr. Hao?"
Wu Chengjian said, "I may have been involved in something before, and I may know the person who was involved, but it doesn't matter now. If I go to Shuntian Prefecture this time, things may turn around. If I don't go, Yi Jin will definitely be executed in the autumn this year."
When he said this, it meant he was going.
Mr. Liu San asked anxiously, "Officer Hao, can't you see that this is a trap?"
Chen Ye from Foshan said, "That's right. This is a trap waiting for you to jump in. You must not go! Even if you go, you may not be able to rescue Master Zhou. You will just end up wasting one more person."
Wu Chengjian said, "If I go, Yi Jin may not be saved, but if I don't go, Yi Jin will definitely be killed by the knife in the vegetable market." He asked Tietou Junba, "If it were you, would you go?"
Tietou Junba shut his mouth tightly.
Mr. Liu Sanye, Chen from Foshan and others all knew that Tietou Junba was a righteous man. If they were asked to tell the truth, if he were in Wu Chengjian's position, he would definitely say "I'm going". But once he said this, it was equivalent to persuading Wu Chengjian to go. Tietou Junba knew that going might not help, and he didn't want to lie, so he simply kept his mouth shut.
Wu Chengjian knew his answer. Tietou Junba would go, but he couldn't tell anyone at this moment. If he told anyone, he would go to kidnap Wu Chengjian.
"If you don't say anything, then I will go." Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "Although I am not as chivalrous as you, I can't let people look down on me. Okay, according to what Yi Jin and I have agreed on, I should also go to Beijing. Although it's a few months earlier than before, I'll go."
Mr. Liu and Chen from Foshan said together: "No, no!"
Wu Qi also said: "Hao Guan, you can't go! Beijing is now a dangerous place. If you go, what will happen to your family?"
Wu Chengjian said: "In fact, even if I don't go, I will die in this Guangzhou city. Can I really escape?"
Everyone was speechless for a moment.
"In Zhenhai Tower, I had already torn my relationship with Liu Quan, but he still let me go calmly. Naturally, he must have a backup plan. Yi Jin's move is just the first one."
Wu Chengjian sighed softly, "If I go up like this, I will naturally jump into the pit that Heshen has dug. But if I don't go up, can I really continue to live a peaceful life in Guangzhou? I'm afraid not. The person who wants to move me this time is the chief academician of the cabinet, the leading military minister, and the current second emperor! When he wanted me to go to Beijing, he would definitely come up with another plan if one plan failed. In the end, he forced me to go. By then, I will just be labeled as a dishonest person for nothing."
Chen and others in Foshan all knew that this was reasonable. Liu Sanye said, "Then let's delay it for now . Although Heshen is powerful, we are far away from the emperor. As long as you are still in Guangzhou, we have plenty of ways to protect you. If we can't protect you, we can find a scapegoat to die in your place. But once you go to Beijing, you will be like a dragon swimming in shallow waters and a tiger in plains. By then, Heshen won't have to do anything, any random officer can kill you."
"I understand what Third Brother said." Wu Chengjian said, "I also know that staying in Guangzhou is beneficial to me, but... even so, I can't do it."
He paused, his face turned firm, "Yi Jin is my lifelong friend! For this chance of escape, you would abandon your lifelong friendship... If I, Wu Chengjian, am such a person, Third Master, Brother Chen, are you still willing to be my friend and brother?"
Wu Chengjian had decided to go to Beijing, and he entrusted Liu Sanye and Foshan Chen with some things to do after he left Guangdong, and then returned to Wujiayuan.
The atmosphere in the garden was quite strange - Cai Qiaozhu had gradually seized power these days and had taken control of the entire Wu family. The servants had to report to Cai Qiaozhu for any matters. Ye Youyu had not been in charge recently, but in this family, who would be stupid enough to show a bad face to Wu Chengjian?
The male and female servants knew very well: Hao Guan still controlled the foundation of the Wu family. The fact that the eldest young lady was in power now was not the result of Hao Guan's tacit approval. If Hao Guan changed his mind one day, who knew what would happen to this family.
Therefore, the atmosphere in Pan Garden was quite strange: although Cai Qiaozhu had seized power and the servants all listened to her, everyone was more cautious than before. While carefully serving Wu Chengjian, they also tried to guess the thoughts of the real master from Haoguan's words and expressions - of course all this was in vain.
Wu Chengjian returned to Ritianju, and Ye Youyu arranged dinner and a bath for him. After Wu Chengjian finished eating and bathing, the couple sat down. He was thinking about what to say to Ye Youyu when Ye Youyu spoke first.
"Mr. He came over this afternoon," Ye Youyu lowered his head slightly, his eyes filled with mixed emotions including joy, "I'm pregnant again."
Wu Chengjian exclaimed, greatly surprised.
Ye Youyu said: "This child came at a bad time..."
Wu Chengjian interrupted immediately after hearing this: "What do you mean by bad timing? The birth of a child is a day set by God. No matter when it comes, it is a blessing for us."
Seeing his happy face, Ye Youyu put aside 90% of the worry in her heart and said happily: "You are happy...that's good. But I heard that you used to say thief God, thief God."
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "That was before we got married. Since I had you and Yao'er, I feel that God is actually not bad."
Ye Youyu said, "Actually, when you were alone before, you didn't fear any disasters. Now that you have a wife and children to worry about, you are afraid that you will offend God and implicate us, so you don't dare to curse God, right?"
Wu Chengjian smiled slightly: "Haha, you can see through me from head to toe."
Chinese people don't believe in gods and Buddhas, but they don't completely disbelieve in them. As the saying goes, "It's better to believe in something than not to believe in something." When Wu Chengjian was a bachelor, he spoke without any taboos. But when his wife came home and his son was born, he suddenly became more cautious than before. In his heart, he was really a little afraid of offending God. He believed that there was really a person who dominated the misfortunes and blessings of the world. But what if there was? Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, he was unwilling to risk the misfortunes and blessings of his wife and children, and would rather say more meaningless nice things.
After hearing about the child, Wu Chengjian was so happy that he put aside all his worries. Suddenly he asked, "Have you told your sister-in-law?"
"No. Because I don't know what you are planning." Ye Youyu said, "When Mr. Er He was taking my pulse, Wu Liu happened to come, but I kept it a secret. Mr. Er He is also very perceptive and didn't reveal anything. Now only Dong Xue knows something about it."
"That's where you're wrong." Wu Chengjian frowned, but he didn't blame Ye Youyu anymore. He called Wu Qi and said, "Go to Lirongyuan and tell the eldest sister-in-law that the third young mistress is pregnant again."
Wu Qi's face lit up with joy and he went there happily.
On the other side of Lirongyuan, Cai Qiaozhu was thinking about this and that, and was feeling very tired. Suddenly, she heard about this. She was stunned. She was happy at one moment and sad at the other. She was happy that the Wu family had a new baby, but she was sad that her husband had passed away and she would never have the same blessing again.
She wiped away her tears and quickly asked Lian Qiao to boil two nourishing eggs. She then went into the house to pack some gold and silver toys to bring good luck to her child. She wanted to go there in person, but then she thought about what was going to happen the day after tomorrow and thought to herself, "If I go there now and my heart softens, I won't be able to say anything tough the day after tomorrow!" So she held back and just gave the toys and the boiled eggs to Wu Qi.
For the next day and night, Wu Chengjian just kept focusing on Ye Youyu and ignored everything else.
Ye Youyu had sharp eyes after all, and he still saw something. At dusk the next day, he couldn't help but ask, "Are you... hiding something from me again?"
Wu Chengjian hesitated for a while, but finally said, "I want to go to Beijing."
"ah?"
Wu Chengjian: "In fact, long before Yi Jin disappeared, he and I had a plan. Although Yi Jin's disappearance caused me to be confused for a while, the plan is still being implemented. My going to Beijing is one of the plans, but... I originally planned to go there a few months later, but now I am forced to go ahead of schedule."
Ye Youyu asked: "Will it be... dangerous?"
Wu Chengjian smiled and said, "If I tell you there is no danger, you won't believe me. However, in the current situation, Heshen is the banker and we are the players. He has all the good cards in his hands. We are lucky to still have the strength to fight. The power we are facing is a hundred times greater than ours. If we still ask for absolute safety at this time, it would be too greedy. If we stay here, we can only wait for death. On the contrary, only by giving it a try can we have a glimmer of hope."
Ye Youyu looked at Wu Chengjian, feeling reluctant and uneasy. Although she knew that what her husband said was reasonable, she still couldn't help but worry. After a while, she finally felt relieved and asked, "But if you go to Beijing, what will happen to your family?"
"I'll arrange everything." Wu Chengjian touched her belly and said, "This baby comes at the right time. It just gives you time to relax and take good care of the baby. All this is arranged by God, Yu'er, do you understand?"
