Chapter 73: The Young Master Grows Up (Part 10)

Chapter 73: The Young Master Grows Up (Part 10)

Xu Zeping held the castor oil powder he had managed to get from Doctor Chen and Cheng Ge Er's medicine, and slowly made his way home.

Just as Xu Zeping arrived at the doorstep, he happened to run into Ji Xiang, who was about to go pick him up.

"Master Zeping, why did you come back alone?"

Xu Zeping waved the medicine bag in his hand. "Cheng Ge Er's medicine was finished, so since I got out of school early today, I picked it up on my way back."

"Master Zeping, next time you must wait for me to pick you up," Ji Xiang said nervously. "In the past two days, I heard that the county magistrate caught another group of kidnappers and rescued several young masters. They say they're from Prefecture City..."

Listening to Ji Xiang's chatter, Xu Zeping thought this matter might be quite serious and agreed repeatedly, promising to wait for him next time.

Seeing Xu Zeping agree, Ji Xiang smiled broadly.

After returning, Xu Zeping went straight to his room and, feeling somewhat guilty, hid the castor oil powder in a secret corner.

Having been honest all his life, this was the first time he had entertained such wicked thoughts, driven by a surge of hot blood.

Now, he felt a bit scared.

As the moment approached, his only belief was to fight fire with fire!

"Zeping, wash your hands for dinner." Xu Linshi knocked on the door, somewhat puzzled. "Why are you hiding in your room right after coming back? What are you doing?"

Xu Zeping instinctively replied, "Mother, I'm not hiding. I was just putting away my books."

Seeing his response, Xu Linshi didn't press further and simply said, "Hurry up; everyone is waiting for you."

After washing his hands, Xu Zeping noticed that almost everyone was there except his father. He asked instinctively, "Mother, where's Father?"

"Your father has been busy settling accounts from the prefectural exams these past few days. He's still at the teahouse," Xu Linshi explained, glancing at the eldest son. "Would you like to go with your brother to bring food to your father?"

Xu Linshi had originally planned to send Ji Xiang, but the eldest son volunteered, saying he had been cooped up at home all day and needed some fresh air.

Xu Linshi couldn't refuse and agreed.

Xu Zeli volunteered to bring food for a reason.

He hadn't thought about it until Ji Xiang mentioned that the county magistrate had caught a group of kidnappers who had abducted young masters from Prefecture City. This reminded him of something he had heard from the fierce man, Su Yuheng.

The Emperor, upon learning from Prince Xian that the young princess was missing, was furious and ordered Prince Xian's execution.

Initially, Prince Xian was kept alive to extract information about the young princess's whereabouts, but now that he was a cripple, unable to manage his subordinates properly, the young princess was lost...

All descendants of Prince Xian were executed without mercy.

To find the missing young princess, the Emperor took a risky move, selecting young masters from noble families to act as bait to lure out the kidnappers, hoping to find clues about the young princess.

Unfortunately, the Emperor's plan was good, but the noble families were too protective of their children, tracking them closely and attacking the kidnappers' hideouts immediately.

This measure eradicated all the kidnappers in Great Jing Dynasty, but the young princess was still not found.

Xu Zeli knew the reason: the young princess had been taken by a family to be a child bride... they weren't professional kidnappers, so how could the Emperor find her through the kidnappers?

Of course, Xu Zeli wouldn't openly reveal this information, fearing he would be accused of being an accomplice of Prince Xian.

In the current situation, no one dared to be the first to speak up.

Xu Zeli wanted to go deliver food to see if he could catch a glimpse of Su Yuheng...

One of the young masters sent this time was Su Yuheng's younger brother, Su Jinheng.

Su Yuheng had always been healthy and enjoyed martial arts, but his brother was different. Su Jinheng was often sick before the age of four and was very frail.

This year, his brother turned three and a half years old.

Considering their ages, Su Jinheng was half a year younger than Zeping.

For this reason, when Su Jinheng was chosen as bait, Su Yuheng volunteered to accompany him.

After the Emperor's plan began, the kidnappers became cautious and stopped abducting people in Shang Jing.

Thus, seven-year-old Su Yuheng took his three-and-a-half-year-old brother to Wenhang Province under imperial orders, pretending to be lost brothers.

After being kidnapped, they ended up in a small town in a neighboring province of Wenhang Province.

The town where the kidnappers were caught was not Qingshui Town but its neighboring town, Heya Wan Town.

Heya Wan Town was backed by mountains, often dealing with wild animals, and had a fierce reputation, rumored to have connections with Yingou Village...

Xu Zeli knew that rumors often had a basis in truth and understood their involvement, but he didn't expect it to be so extensive.

Almost everyone in the town was involved in the kidnapping ring.

So, after the officials caught the kidnappers, to protect the safety of the noble young masters, they moved them to Qingshui Town overnight.

In his previous life, Xu Zeli was focused on studying for exams and didn't pay much attention to these matters. His elders also remained silent, but he vaguely remembered hearing that Heya Wan Town reeked of blood for half a month... and the villagers were exiled to the northern desert.

Xu Zeli's memory of these events was vague, which is why he was particularly shocked when Su Yuheng mentioned living in Qingshui Town.

Xu Zeping glanced at his brother, who seemed like he could be blown away by the wind, and quickly agreed, "I want to protect my brother!"

Xu Zeli didn't want to bring along this burden, but seeing his brother's innocent gaze, he nodded in agreement.

When Xu Linshi called for dinner, the little ones obediently picked up their chopsticks and started eating, no longer speaking.

The Xu family could be considered moderately wealthy, but they did not waste food.

Xu Zeping's family, including Cheng Ge Er, consisted of seven people. They usually prepared five dishes and one soup, typically two main courses, three side dishes, and one hot dish.

Today's main course was sweet and sour carp, which Cheng Ge Er loved. However, the main dishes were placed in front of the elders, so he would have to stand up to reach it, which would be impolite.

So he gently kicked Xu Zeping beside him. Xu Zeping understood immediately, picked up the serving chopsticks, and placed a piece of carp on Cheng Ge Er's plate.

Cheng Ge Er's eyes curved into a smile, delighted.

The Xu family was used to this scene and simply thought the youngest cared for his brother, without giving it much thought.

After all, what could two children under six get up to?

Previously, Nurse Jiang had suggested having servants serve the masters, but Xu Linshi refused.

She believed teaching Xiao Rou and others etiquette was to ensure they wouldn't lose face in social settings.

At home, she preferred that they handle simple tasks themselves.

Nurse Jiang was somewhat surprised by the head matron's words but did not correct her.

Indeed, the Xu family was just a small household; there was no need to follow the elaborate rules of large families.

"Brother, wait for me a moment."

Xu Zeping watched as Xu Zeli picked up the food box, then put down his bowl and ran to his room. He quickly grabbed a medicine bottle, handed it to Cheng Ge Er, and rushed out.

Cheng Ge Er opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing.

Xu Zeli looked at the youngest bouncing around him, silent, but recalling his husband's words about the inn where they had stayed, called Yingkelai.

Yingkelai was the best inn in Qingshui Town, owned by the magistrate's wife, making their location excellent.

It was centrally located on Dong'an Street, while the Xu family's teahouse was slightly further back.

To reach the teahouse, they would pass by Yingkelai Inn.

Actually, Xu Songshan could have finished his accounts earlier, but he wanted to get Cheng Ge Er's identity documents processed sooner. So he prepared some gifts to visit the county office tomorrow.

He had considered asking the town mayor for help with the identity documents, but the Huang family's behavior was not to his liking...

He preferred to trouble Magistrate Hong because the youngest's actions in catching kidnappers had benefited him.

His elder brother had mentioned that Magistrate Hong's promotion this year was certain.

As Xu Zeli expected, Yingkelai Inn was brightly lit tonight, visible from afar.

Usually, the inn's front was bustling with activity, with servers calling out loudly. Now, it was eerily quiet, even footsteps were clear. Xu Zeli knew they must have cleared the area.

The silence made Xu Zeping nervous, and he instinctively tugged at Xu Zeli's sleeve: "Brother, I'm scared."

Hearing this, Xu Zeli smiled: "Didn't you say you would protect your brother?"

As Xu Zeli spoke, two constables approached. One said, "Children, stop here. You can't go any further."

"Officers, we're not bad people; we're just passing through," Xu Zeli bowed and pointed to the food box in his hand. "We're delivering dinner to our father at Qing Shan Teahouse."

Qing Shan Teahouse?

Sounds familiar.

"Officer Qian, we really aren't bad people." As the constables pondered, Xu Zeping recognized one of them, Officer Qian, who had brought good news to their family.

Officer Qian recognized Xu Zeping's voice and looked closely, realizing, "Ah, it's you, young master of the Xu family! Then this must be the young case champion?"

Xu Zeli humbly replied, "Officer Qian, you flatter us. Just call me Zeli."

Officer Qian then explained the Xu brothers' identities to his colleague.

Upon learning their identities, the constable became noticeably more courteous.

"I'll escort you past the guards ahead," Officer Qian patted his colleague's shoulder. "Please bear with it for now."

The constable smiled, "Of course."

As they walked, Xu Zeli began probing for information: "Officer Qian, why is Yingkelai Inn so heavily guarded today? It's usually bustling."

Officer Qian knew the brothers had an uncle who was a judge, so revealing some details wasn't a problem: "The rescued young masters from Heishui Ya Wan Town are important officials' sons. For their safety, they're temporarily housed at Yingkelai Inn until they can be taken back in a couple of days."

"Isn't it inconvenient for us to pass through here?" Xu Zeli subtly asked, "Will our father be able to return tonight?"

As he probed, Xu Zeli glanced into the inn's lobby, hoping to catch a glimpse inside.

Unfortunately, they were still a few yards away from the entrance, making it impossible to see or hear anything clearly.

Just as he wondered how to enter, a child's urgent voice came from the inn.

"Call a doctor, Jinheng is running a fever."

With this sharp and urgent cry, the inn became chaotic.

The guards outside rushed in, and Xu Zeli took the opportunity to slip the food box into Xu Zeping's hands and followed the crowd inside...

Although Su Jinheng was the son of a Ministry of Justice official, his grandfather was a Minister of Rites. As the legitimate grandson of the Su family, none of the young masters present held a higher status than him.

Now that he had a high fever, everyone was in disarray.

The raid on Heishui Ya Wan Town happened today, and they were hastily evacuated overnight. The servants of these young masters were still on their way, leaving no one in charge.

Just as Su Yuheng hurriedly came down and shouted for someone to invite a doctor.

Xu Zeli was the first to rush out and said, "I know where the best doctor in Qingshui Town is!"

The anxious Su Yuheng didn't care who this young man was and urgently said, "You, Constable Ming, follow him to find the doctor and bring him here immediately!"

After saying that, Su Yuheng rushed back upstairs, directing the waiter to bring water up to the second floor.

Su Yuheng only caught a glimpse, but Xu Zeli felt it would last a lifetime.

Seven-year-old Su Yuheng, dressed in boy's clothes, had long black hair simply tied into a high bun. Perhaps due to recent experiences, his skin had darkened considerably, but the heroic spirit in his eyes still left Xu Zeli with an unforgettable impression.

"What are you staring at? Hurry up and go!" Constable Ming didn't know where this brat came from, but because of Young Master Su's order, he could only hope this kid would find a skilled doctor.

Otherwise, they would be waiting for prison.

Xu Zeping stood there, watching his older brother being pushed out of the inn by a constable. He wanted to call out but didn't expect his "good" older brother to not even look back as he was dragged away by the constable.

Looking at the food box in his hand and then at Constable Qian standing nearby, he whispered, "Constable Qian, can you take me to my father?"

Constable Qian: ...

I can't really say no, can I?

Finally, under Xu Zeping's pleading gaze, Constable Qian had to agree to take him to Qing Mountain Tea House.

Fortunately, Qing Mountain Tea House was just a short distance away. After greeting a few colleagues, Constable Qian took him there.

When Xu Songshan heard that the youngest one had been brought over by a constable, he couldn't wait to finish sorting the accounts and hurriedly ran downstairs.

His quick steps left his face slightly flushed.

Seeing Xu Songshan, Xu Zeping waved happily, "Father!"

Xu Songshan, seeing his youngest son unharmed, finally let out a sigh of relief. He bowed respectfully to Constable Qian, "I am Xu Songshan. May I ask your name, sir?"

Constable Qian returned the bow, "Mr. Xu, too much formality. My name is Qian Dongming."

For Xu Songshan, Constable Qian thought for a while about how to address him and finally chose a neutral and safe title.

Xu Songshan usually managed the tea house, so calling him "Mr. Xu" was appropriate.

He didn't call him "Boss Xu" because he knew scholars disliked that term, given the social hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant, where merchants were considered lowly.

Initially, Xu Songshan was afraid his youngest son had done something wrong, but seeing this harmonious meeting scene, he realized it wasn't the case and felt more relieved.

After a brief exchange, Xu Songshan learned the whole story.

While seeing off Constable Qian, he said, "Thank you for bringing my son back today. If you have time, please come for a meal another day."

Constable Qian smiled and said, "Certainly, certainly."

Taking the food box from his youngest son, Xu Songshan worriedly said, "Your brother isn't usually one to cause trouble. Why did he act so recklessly today? Those nobles are not people we can afford to offend."

Xu Zeping didn't understand why his brother acted so impulsively today either. He could only reassure Xu Songshan carefully, "Father, don't worry. Brother will definitely return safely."

Xu Songshan sighed, but when he opened the food box to eat, he still couldn't shake off his concern.

"I can't just sit here. I have to go find your brother!"