For a moment, Lady Sima didn't know whether she should hope that Yi Qing was telling the truth or lying.
"Can you really arrange for me to see Hong'er?" she asked, looking at Yi Qing suspiciously.
Yi Qing put down her teacup, stood up and pretended to leave. "Since you don't believe me, I won't force you. Let's not waste each other's time. I still have to visit the next family. There are so many criminals. I don't have time to waste on you."
"Wait," Lady Sima said. "I have to make things clear. A thousand taels of silver is not a small sum."
She was now very heart - broken about the ten thousand taels of silver she had lent out.
After this incident, even if Qing San was not a swindler, he must have fled after hearing the news. Her ten thousand taels of silver was surely gone.
It was like cutting a piece of flesh from her!
Yi Qing said impatiently, "A thousand taels of silver is not a small sum, but your son's life is worthless?"
"Can a thousand taels of silver save a life?" There was a glimmer of hope in Lady Sima's eyes.
If she could really save her son, she was willing to pay a thousand taels of silver.
Yi Qing squinted at her and sneered, "Do you think you can buy a life with a thousand taels of silver? Your son's life is too cheap."
"You!" Lady Sima blushed with anger.
Yi Qing sneered again, "It's a clearly - priced deal. It's your choice. If the deal doesn't work out, we can still be decent. A thousand taels for a visit. Are you going or not? I advise you to think it over. Your son has a loose tongue. If he says something he shouldn't, even the gods can't save him."
Lady Sima's face immediately turned ugly.
Xiao Jinghong had been spoiled by her and had no common sense at all. If he had, he wouldn't have so boldly talked about the smuggling business.
Yi Qing's words hit the nail on the head. The reason she was so eager to see Xiao Jinghong was indeed to tell him not to talk nonsense.
"Moreover, you should know," Yi Qing added another blow. "The Emperor already didn't like your Yianbo Mansion because of Xiao Jinghan. After Xiao Jinghan's death, the Emperor felt even more sorry for him. If you were smart, you should have stayed in Jinling. But you just wouldn't. You even tried to use the Empress Dowager's influence to put the Emperor in a difficult position. Look, now you've given the Emperor a handle. What do you think the Emperor will do?"
"I agree!" Lady Sima was immediately frightened. "Go and arrange it now. As long as you can arrange for me to meet Hong'er, I'll pay the thousand taels of silver immediately."
"Good. That's right. For our first cooperation, I'll collect the money afterwards. If you don't agree, you're really stupid."
Yi Qing walked out of the door and got into the carriage. She proudly raised her eyebrows at Xiao Tian who was waiting for her in the carriage. "The fish has taken the bait."
Xiao Tian looked at her deliberately aged face. He thought that no matter how many spots and wrinkles there were on her face, he just couldn't take his eyes off her.
But Yi Qing misunderstood him. She touched her face and said, "Do I look ugly? I'll take off the makeup when I get home. Don't look."
"You're not ugly. Yi Qing, I owe you a wedding."
Yi Qing: "..."
What was this all about?
But Xiao Tian said seriously, "I've changed my mind. After some time, we'll get married formally."
He wanted to announce to the world that Yi Qing was his.
Yi Qing replied vaguely, "Let's talk about it later."
She didn't want to get married because of her own selfish concerns. She didn't want Baozi to be gossiped about.
But she could vaguely feel Xiao Tian's sincerity and affection when he said this, so she didn't directly refuse.
Xiao Tian was also thinking about his own problem. When and how should he tell Yi Qing about his identity?
Should he really wait until she was pregnant and gave birth to a child?
If he didn't tell her, under what identity could he marry her properly?
The problem really shouldn't be delayed. Otherwise, it would become more and more difficult to handle.
Yi Qing didn't dwell on this matter for long. For the moment, she was still excited about doing something bad.
On Lady Sima's side, after Yi Qing left, she thought and thought, always feeling that something was wrong, but she just couldn't figure it out.
After all, this Granny Wu said she would do the job first and collect the money later. But why did she always have a feeling that she was going to suffer a loss?
But after the Marquis of Yian came back and had a big fight with her about Xiao Jinghong, she regarded Yi Qing as a life - saving straw.
Anyway, she had to save her son.
Men were unreliable, except her son.
Unexpectedly, Yi Qing sent someone the next day to inform her that she could go directly to the Dali Temple Prison and just mention her name.
Lady Sima could hardly believe her ears.
Wasn't this kind of thing supposed to be done secretly? Why could she just go there so openly by mentioning her name?
Was Deng Xiao really so unscrupulous in his actions?
But thinking of the reputation of Deng Xiao she had heard from the maid last night, she thought it was quite possible.
Anyway, seeing her son was the most important thing.
Lady Sima simply packed up, put the prepared silver notes and silver pieces in her pocket, took the food box and got into the carriage, heading straight for the Dali Temple Prison.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. She was very reluctant to part with the silver, but she still had to bribe the jailers because her son was in their hands.
After giving out dozens of taels of silver, her heart ached.
When she saw Xiao Jinghong sitting listlessly in the straw, with his hair in a mess and his head down, picking at his fingernails, her heart ached even more.
"Hong'er!" she choked out and tears streamed down her face.
Xiao Jinghong could hardly believe his ears. He looked up at Lady Sima, then suddenly jumped up like a drowning man grabbing a life - saving straw. He rushed to the wooden railing in a few steps and cried out, "Mother, mother, why did you come so late! If you hadn't come, your son would have died in this hellhole. You don't know, there are rats and cockroaches everywhere here, and there's sand in the food..."
"Shut up! What are you yelling about!" the jailer shouted and whipped over.
Xiao Jinghong winced in pain and immediately fell silent.
Lady Sima watched helplessly as the whip tore through Xiao Jinghong's sleeve. She immediately understood why Xiao Jinghong's clothes were so ragged. She couldn't help but scream, "You, you're going to kill someone! Is there any justice left!"
"Mother, mother, don't say anymore," Xiao Jinghong was afraid of being beaten. He quickly said, "Are you here to take me away?"
If she was, he dared to scold; but if not, he would be in big trouble after his mother left.
Lady Sima reluctantly took out a ten - tael silver note and stuffed it to the jailer. Unexpectedly, the jailer took a look and snorted, "Are you kidding me? You're just trying to send away a beggar!"
He even waved his hand and threw the silver note back.
Lady Sima stared wide - eyed. Why were these people so greedy! Wasn't ten taels of silver enough? Why didn't they just rob?
Xiao Jinghong quickly said, "Mother, take it out quickly. Take out more!"
Lady Sima took out another ten taels, but the jailer was still not satisfied. Finally, she took out a hundred taels of silver. Only then did the jailer grunt and leave. Before leaving, he said impatiently, "Hurry up and talk. You have only a quarter of an hour."
Lady Sima had spent a hundred taels of silver just for a quarter of an hour. She almost spat out a mouthful of old blood.