Chapter 17 The Past

The moment he heard the word pavilion, Fatty's heart skipped a beat. The water pavilion described by the doctor reappeared in his mind, the very source of everything.

General Guo, his wife, those former dynasty soldiers who could tear apart armor with their bare hands, and even Marquis Zhennan himself were all sacrifices to that haunted pavilion.

Jiang Cheng remained unmoved. Wu Yujiao intimately poured him a cup of tea and offered it to his lips. Jiang Cheng took it, sipped it lightly, and glanced expressionlessly at Liu Ye, who was kneeling on the ground. "Continue."

Liu Ye swallowed and gave a wry smile. "M-Master, that's all I know. I can't compare to you. It's not good for small people like us to know too much. It is said that things are very strange at Chun Shen Lake."

With the identity of the Marquis's mansion here, Jiang Cheng figured he wouldn't dare to lie.

Seeing the change in Jiang Cheng's expression, Liu Ye's heart clenched. Staying here any longer might lead to trouble. Maybe this master from the Marquis's mansion would suddenly find him displeasing and kill him.

Wu Yujiao had a very bad impression of him. If she got the chance to whisper in his ear, his life would be over.

Liu Ye reacted quickly and immediately smiled obsequiously at Jiang Cheng. "Master, the city gates are being strictly checked, and the officials are not easy to get along with. If… if you want to use my method to leave the city, you need to prepare as soon as possible. I also need to say hello to my brothers. You see..."

"Go prepare first, and come back to pick up the people when night falls," Jiang Cheng casually ordered.

"Don't worry, Master. Leave it to Liu Dadan. I will definitely deliver Miss Yujiao and the old woman to their destination safely." Liu Dadan got up from the ground, guaranteeing it to Jiang Cheng, his eyes full of kindness as he looked at Wu Yujiao and the old woman, a complete contrast to before.

As if receiving a pardon, Liu Dadan and his group of defeated soldiers hurried out. But just as they reached the door, they suddenly stopped. Liu Dadan first glared fiercely at the beggar, then smiled obsequiously at Fatty and asked, "Master, do you still have any use for this beggar?"

The beggar shuddered upon hearing this. He knew Liu Dadan all too well. He was afraid that the moment he left this door, he would lose half his life.

"Master, Master, save me!" The beggar immediately knelt down, hugged Fatty's leg tightly, and refused to let go.

Seeing that Jiang Cheng and Fatty didn't react, Liu Dadan understood. He sneered and several brothers rushed over, grabbing the beggar's arms and legs to drag him away.

"Yujiao, Sister Yujiao, please say a word for me! Save me, they will beat me to death!" The beggar pulled out a hand and clung to the door frame, looking at Wu Yujiao with an almost desperate look. "Have you forgotten? Last winter, your family's windows and doors were broken, and your mother couldn't stand the cold. In the end… in the end, I was the one who came to your house to fix them!"

But facing the beggar's pleas, Wu Yujiao's mother remained indifferent, as if she hadn't heard anything.

Finally, annoyed by the noise, Liu Dadan rolled up his sleeves and slapped the beggar several times, his eyes wider than an ox's. "How dare your lowly mouth call Yujiao's name? If it weren't for you, would you have made the master unhappy?"

Liu Dadan slapped him left and right, and the beggar's face was swollen, but he still stubbornly refused to let go. Wu Yujiao couldn't bear to watch any longer and called out softly, "Stop hitting him, enough. Let him go."

Liu Dadan didn't dare to disobey Wu Yujiao. In the end, he kicked the beggar again before lifting him up and leaving with his group of brothers.

After everyone left, Wu Yujiao got up from beside Jiang Cheng. The distance before had been a little too ambiguous. Wu Yujiao blushed and said, "Young Master Jiang, thank you again for helping us out of this predicament."

Fatty coughed twice upon hearing this. Only then did Wu Yujiao notice that Fatty was also there, and she immediately changed her words, "And Young Master Wang, thank you both for your trouble."

The old woman also had a smile on her face at this moment, scolding Wu Yujiao for being foolish, turning her face towards the position where Fatty was standing to prevent Fatty from taking it to heart, and then asking Wu Yujiao to serve Fatty tea.

After doing all this, Wu Yujiao seemed to remember something. She walked to the bed and took out some loose silver from a package under the pillow, and then handed it to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng frowned, because the silver was what he had given to the mother and daughter before.

"Young Master Jiang, I'm returning this silver to you. We can't take your silver anymore. I know you are a good person, but I don't want to make things difficult for you." Wu Yujiao pursed her lips, a hint of complexity in her eyes as she looked at Jiang Cheng.

"Difficult?" Jiang Cheng was a little confused. "What are you referring to?" He felt that Wu Yujiao was different from before, as if her words had a deeper meaning.

Wu Yujiao wrung her hands together, and after a long while, she blushed and said, "Young Master Jiang, you don't have to hide it from me anymore. I… I saw it all. The woman in your family knows, and she's unhappy, right?"

What a mess! Jiang Cheng felt that he had been involved in a complicated emotional entanglement without his knowledge. "What exactly do you want to say? What did you see?"

Realizing that Jiang Cheng's expression had become serious, Wu Yujiao no longer concealed anything. "The first time you and Young Master Wang left, I… I went to the window and looked out. The window was facing the street. I saw you buying some food at the stall, and then… then your wife brought people to find you. After a few words, you started arguing, you couldn't win against your wife, and she started searching you."

"S-searching me?" Jiang Cheng's face changed instantly. He didn't remember this at all.

"Yes." Wu Yujiao nodded shyly, almost not daring to look Jiang Cheng in the eye, and said in a buzzing voice, "Young Master Jiang, we are all women, and I understand. Your wife must have misunderstood our relationship, and then… then to restrict you, she took away all the money on you, right?"

"But you gave me the money, and you even helped me redeem myself. You should take the money back, or you might not be able to get past your family. You… you don't have to worry about me. I can take care of myself, and my mother too."

Completely ignoring Wu Yujiao's heartfelt words, or rather, Jiang Cheng didn't even hear the latter part. After realizing something, he grabbed Wu Yujiao's wrist and asked, seeking confirmation, "I'm asking you, what does the woman you saw look like?"

Her wrist was hurting from the grip, and Wu Yujiao was a little frightened by Jiang Cheng's appearance. "I didn't see her appearance too clearly, but she was a little plump, wearing… wearing a satin dress, a cyan satin dress, and she had a servant with her."

Jiang Cheng took a deep breath, and Fatty's mouth widened in shock. They both realized that the woman Wu Yujiao was talking about was Lu Qin, and the servant was Shao Tong.