“Crap, this is bad…”
He circled the railing and found that the flower boat was completely surrounded by seven or eight bamboo rafts. There was no way out.
Jump into the water? It was early spring, and the river was ice-cold at this hour. Even if his body could handle the chill—which was doubtful—the bigger problem was that he couldn’t swim.
Even if he jumped, they’d just fish him back out. Why suffer more?
“Young Marquis, up so early? Why not sleep in a bit more?”
As he was thinking about how to escape, the courtesan’s lazy voice sounded behind him.
Turning around, he saw Du Niang stepping out of the room barefoot, yawning. A bright red long dress draped over her body, her hair flowing to her waist. Her figure was graceful and alluring, captivating in every way.
But he didn’t have the time to admire her.
“Du Niang, what is this place? Where are your people?”
The flower boat belonged to Zuìhuā Tower. It was used for entertaining important clients like him who wanted to spend the night on the lake. There were usually two boatmen and a few maidservants onboard to serve guests.
“Young Marquis, who are you looking for? Little Hong? Or Chunlan?”
Du Niang thought he hadn’t had enough and wanted a maid to go another round.
Just as she asked, she spotted the armed men on the bamboo rafts. Her face instantly changed, but it was already too late.
The rafts had closed in. Over a dozen fierce-looking thugs boarded the flower boat and quickly tied them all up.
There were six people on the boat: two boatmen, two maidservants, Du Niang, and him, the sixth son.
When the thugs boarded, the boatmen and maidservants were still asleep. No one resisted.
They were all tied up like dumplings and thrown into the lowest cabin.
He observed the kidnappers. There were fourteen in total. Their leader was a rough-looking man with a dark face, a beard, and a headscarf. He looked a bit like Zhang San from old tales.
Stay calm. Don’t panic.
Who sent these people? Why kidnap him? Was it for money or revenge?
Pah, pah, pah—no way it’s for beauty.
His mind raced. One by one, he recalled the enemies the original owner had made:
Huang Silang, the son of Treasurer Huang? Last time, he competed with the original owner for women at Zuìhuā Tower and got his family jewels kicked.
Lord Li’s second son? The original owner seduced his concubine.
Sun Yu, that penniless scholar? The original owner tore up his proudest painting and beat him up in the street.
The Prefect of Yangzhou, Han Mian? The original owner had… ugh, better not mention it.
Blacksmith Zhao in the west of the city? That one was complicated. The original owner fancied Zhao’s daughter, Zhao Xue. Zhao didn’t agree, so the original owner used dirty tricks to bankrupt their family and left them owing a huge debt. In the end, Zhao Xue had no choice but to submit and was brought into the Marquis Residence as a maid.
And Biaozi…
Huzi?…
Wang Mazi?…
…
The more he thought, the longer the list grew. Eventually, he gave up.
That the sixth son even lived this long was already a miracle… he cursed the original owner viciously in his heart.
The black-faced leader gave orders to his men: some kept watch, some controlled the boat, others stood guard… once the arrangements were made, he carried a broadsword and walked toward him.
Stay calm. Don’t panic…
Though he tried to appear calm as the blade glinted in front of him, inside he was panicking like hell.
“You’re the Young Marquis from the Ji family?” the leader asked, pointing the broadsword at him.
They don’t recognize me? Outsiders?
In Yangzhou City, few didn’t know this sixth son. Especially people in this line of work—it was impossible not to know. He immediately concluded these kidnappers weren’t locals.
“Good sir, is this about money or revenge? If it’s money, name a price. If it’s revenge, she’s right here.”
He motioned toward Du Niang.
“A little revenge on the side wouldn’t hurt either.”
The leader turned to look at Du Niang, used his blade to lift her delicate chin, and showed a lewd grin.
Du Niang’s face turned pale in fear as she curled her bare feet back desperately.
But the leader only stared for a few seconds before withdrawing the blade and pointing it back at him.
“Such a heroic build, impressive looks, and noble aura. I, Ji Huaian, admire brave men like you the most. Why don’t we become friends?”
Before the leader could speak, Ji Huaian launched into a flurry of flattery.
“You’ve got quite the silver tongue, Young Marquis. But I was paid to do a job. No matter what you say, it won’t work.”
The leader grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
“Such honor from a true hero. I’m even more impressed. May I ask who hired you?”
“First, we take your tool, then your life. After that, your corpse becomes dog food.”
The leader chuckled sinisterly and pointed the broadsword between his legs, ready to strike.
“Wait, hero, hold on…”
“Save your breath, Young Marquis. Nothing you say today will change anything.”
“I’ll pay double what they offered.”
The leader wasn’t moved. The blade came closer…
“Five times.”
“This isn’t about money. In our line of work, we have principles.”
The leader remained firm. The blade inched forward—until a subordinate yanked him back.
“Boss, five times!”
The leader hesitated but gritted his teeth. “We’ve got our code.”
Seeing the opening, Ji Huaian quickly raised the offer. “Ten times.”
“Boss, think about it…”
Six or seven of the thugs rushed over and clung to the leader’s arms, legs, and waist.
“Boss, ten times!”
“Boss, that’s 5,000 taels!”
“5,000 taels—that’s seven or eight years’ worth of jobs!”
“…!”
The thugs chimed in together, pleading.
“Shut up! If we break our code, who’ll hire us again?”
“One hundred times…”
The moment Ji Huaian shouted, the cabin fell completely silent.
The thugs exchanged glances, their eyes filled with uncertainty.
“Old Wu, what did he say?”
“I think… a hundred times.”
“How much is that?”
“Fifty thousand taels.”
They all gasped.
Even the black-faced leader lost his composure, his hands trembling as he held the blade.
“Boss, stay calm!”
Thinking he was about to strike, they quickly picked him up and pulled him back several steps, putting distance between the blade and the Young Marquis.
“Boss, one hundred times!”
“Boss, we could retire after this job!”
“Boss, your honor isn’t worth 50,000 taels!”
“…!”
One after another, the little brothers pleaded.
The leader awkwardly cleared his throat and slowly lowered the broadsword.
Seeing their shift in attitude, Ji Huaian finally exhaled in relief.
Money really could make the devil dance. Watching the leader’s dignity crumble, he relaxed. The fear vanished.
This was his first taste of the power of money—and it felt incredible. Being rich really was pure happiness.
“Can this guy really fork over 50,000 taels?”
“What if he’s bluffing?”
“His father is a Marquis. He probably can.”
“But how do we get the money?”
“Cut off an ear and send it to the Marquis Residence as proof.”
“An ear? No one would recognize it. A hand is better.”
“Or we could just castrate him. That’s halfway to finishing the job.”
“…!”
As he listened to their discussion, the fear he had just put down suddenly surged back again.