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."