Forty Million Taels of Silver

The note demanded that forty million taels of silver be prepared as ransom within twelve hours, or Maya Summers would be killed.

Forty million taels of silver—a truly astronomical sum.

Even for the Zhu family, where could they possibly find that much cash on such short notice?

Minister Zhuo urgently gathered every coin he could find, even pulling from Grace’s two shops. Altogether, they scraped together seven or eight million taels in cash.

The Chloe Family Matriarch sold off every last valuable she had stashed away. With help from relatives and friends—including the Shane Family and Yuan Family—they managed to scrape together a total of fifteen million taels.

“But, Dad, aren’t we still short by twenty-five million taels?” Grace asked.

“No, we’re not. We’ve got it all,” Minister Zhuo replied.

“Oh? Where did it come from?”

“From my wonderful son-in-law, Evan Xiao,” Minister Zhuo whispered to her. “He sent over twenty-five million taels in silver notes... Who knew he was so loaded!”

“Really…” Grace was a bit surprised too.

Although she knew his family was probably quite well-off, she hadn’t expected him to have so much cash on hand.

"Dad! We can ask Cutie Pie to help find Maya," Grace suggested. "Last time she went missing, Cutie Pie tracked her down."

Minister Zhuo shook his head. “It’s too late! The twelve-hour deadline is almost up. There’s no time!”

Grace thought back to the last time they searched for Maya—it really had taken them half a day to find her…

“Dad, I’ll go with you!”

Minister Zhuo nodded.

The designated drop-off point for the ransom was a grain shop in the middle of the city, long since shuttered.

Its sign above the door was covered in gray dust, making the place look run-down and shabby.

There was also a faded banner fluttering in the wind, with the word 'grain' barely visible on it.

For such a closed-up grain shop, it was odd to see one of the windows wide open.

According to the ransom note, the silver notes were to be bundled up and tossed in through that open window.

Once they received the money and confirmed it was all there, Maya Summers would be released.

All day and night, Minister Zhuo had exhausted every resource searching for Maya.

He’d even dug up the entire grain shop, but found absolutely nothing.

He was out of options—this was all he could do.

With both hands gripping the heavy bundle of silver notes, he tossed it through the window.

In that instant, a shadow flickered—and Cutie Pie snuck in after it.

Grace worried about Cutie Pie’s safety.

But with the kidnappers likely nearby, speaking up would only put Cutie Pie in more danger.

So she could only clench her fists and wait quietly.

The kidnappers counted the money quickly.

Within half an hour, Maya Summers walked out from the alley beside the grain shop.

Her mouth was gagged and her hands tied, but otherwise she seemed unharmed.

Grace hurried over and untied her. As soon as Maya could speak, she burst out, "Who the hell dared to tie up this princess! If I catch them, I’ll feed them to the dogs!"

"Maya... How did you end up coming out from here?" Grace asked.

"I have no idea! I was kept in a carriage the whole time, taken here and there," Maya replied.

"Did you see who tied you up?" Grace asked.

Maya shook her head. "They pinched my pressure points, tied my hands and feet, and covered my eyes. Just now they finally let me go and pushed me out of the carriage. I barely managed to free myself, and when I took off the blindfold, there wasn’t a soul in sight!"

Grace frowned. "So that’s how it was…"