It Takes Two to Tango
An inconspicuous carriage left from the backyard of Su Li's house, driven by Su Li, who was dressed in men's clothing.
Su Shimao took the ransom matter very seriously, so he gave Jiang Shi the idea to demand in the letter to Zhang Mu and Su Li that the person delivering the ransom must be a female relative. Su Li and Wu Caiwei had to personally drive to the designated location, with the silver packed in a box placed in the carriage compartment.
For convenience, Su Li and Wu Caiwei both changed into men's clothing, and Lingdang, also dressed as a man, sat in the carriage. Meanwhile, Xiao Zetian led a team of hidden guards to secretly protect Su Li and the others.
Zhang Mu was ordered to stay at home and was not allowed to follow them.
To avoid any slip-ups, Su Li hadn't told Wu Caiwei more details. Sitting in the carriage, Wu Caiwei felt both anxious and uneasy, while Lingdang sat beside her, constantly comforting her.
Su Li sat at the front, driving the carriage, occasionally turning back to soothe Wu Caiwei with a few words.
However, Su Li wasn't too worried about this mission. Xiao Yun had already led Xiao family's hidden guards into the Black Tiger Stronghold. Su Li's job was simply to act like an ordinary hostage family member, gathering and delivering the silver to exchange for the hostage as the bandits demanded.
Besides, with Xiao Zetian leading the guards to protect them and Lingdang, a master, by their side, Su Li and Wu Caiwei's safety was well assured.
Su Li drove the carriage to the village entrance. Just as they were about to leave the village, she saw Mrs. Tang standing under the big tree at the entrance, talking to the villagers with animated gestures, seeming quite intense.
As the carriage approached, Su Li finally heard what Mrs. Tang was saying: "Oh my, you all say Zhang Mu and Wu Caiwei did something bad outside, offended the bandits, and now the bandits have kidnapped their son. It's terrifying! You think those bandits dare kidnap Zhang Mu's son today, maybe tomorrow they'll storm into our village to kill people! In my opinion, we should drive Zhang Mu and Wu Caiwei out of the village to ensure everyone's safety. Otherwise, what if the bandits come in at night and slash someone with a knife? Scary, isn't it!"
While speaking, Mrs. Tang exaggeratedly mimicked slashing a neck with a big knife, causing the nearby villagers to shrink back in fear.
Mrs. Tang continued waving her arms, saying, "To offend bandits means Zhang Mu and Wu Caiwei aren't good people. This matter can't be one-sided—flies don't bite eggs without cracks. Surely Zhang Mu and Wu Caiwei caused trouble outside, which is why their son was kidnapped by the bandits! I think they deserve it! No good person gets rich from business; they’re heartless when wealthy. Now the bandits are acting as heaven’s justice to deal with them—truly satisfying!"
Su Li's face darkened as she listened. She had been too busy searching for the child to deal with Mrs. Tang, not expecting her to be so shameless and gloating.
As Mrs. Tang finished speaking, she turned and saw Su Li driving the carriage dressed as a man. She jumped as if caught doing something wrong and gave a sheepish smile, saying, "What’s wrong, Su Li? Why are you glaring at me? Can't I speak the truth?"
"What you’re saying is nonsense!" Su Li gritted her teeth, unable to hold back the curse even though it was dirty work.
Mrs. Tang became even more brazen, hopping over and peering into the carriage compartment. Seeing the haggard Wu Caiwei, she gloatingly shouted, "What good is getting rich without a son? Oh my, Su Li, Wu Caiwei, did you really gather 100,000 taels of silver to ransom him? Is that box in your carriage filled with silver? Really 100,000 taels?"
As Mrs. Tang spoke, her eyes fixed greedily on the box, which seemed to glow green to her. She even tried to climb into the carriage to grab it.