Chapter Twenty-Five: The Talented Lady

  It's unclear whether Cao Yin was too trusting of his son or desperate for a cure, but within three to five days, he had gathered over 100,000 taels of silver and dispatched three groups of reliable servants to various places to buy tea gardens. However, as for the pearl, it turned out to be beyond Cao Yun's expectations.

  Cao Gong returned to his father's study, staring at the death contract of Zheng Shi's siblings on the table, unable to speak for a moment. Thinking of Zheng Hai's words "I would rather die than be a slave", Cao Gong felt the same way, but was constrained by his identity, and the title of imperial slave was one he could not shake off.

  "The Zheng family has been in the pearl business for generations, and both Zheng siblings have a knack for identifying pearls. However, they don't know about cultivating pearls like you mentioned." Cao Yi said slowly: "You want to teach people skills, but you don't care about their identity. Have you thought about their future? Rather than being used by others later on, it's better to stay in the Cao family peacefully."

  Cao Gong didn't respond, so Cao Yin waved his hand and said: "The siblings are going to Taihu today. If you have anything to say, go to Mianhua Di Du!"

  The Zheng siblings unexpectedly became slaves of the Cao family. If the Cao family refused to let them go, not only they but also their descendants would be slaves and servants in the Cao family for generations to come. Cao Song stepped out of the gate, looked up at the sky, and felt a bit depressed.

  Cao Yin's words did not directly state it, but the meaning was very clear. Since it involved the rise and fall of the Cao family, naturally only people from the Cao family could participate. The people of the Cao family, apart from masters like Cao Song, also included those upper and lower servants who depended on the Cao family. Loyalty and betrayal were not separated by an insurmountable chasm, it just depended on whether the weight of betrayal was sufficient. In Cao Yin's eyes, only slaves whose lives and deaths were controlled by the Cao family were trustworthy.

  At Cao Gong's side, the young book boy Xiao Man led two horses over. Xiao Man was the eldest grandson of Cao Fu, the great steward of the Cao family, and the eldest son of Linxiazhai shopkeeper Cao Fang. He had recently followed Cao Gong and was two years younger than him. Cao Gong's original two book boys Xi Mo and Nong Mo were arranged by Cao Yi to follow the managers to purchase tea gardens.

  Cao Cong, from a young age, grasped the reins and mounted his horse. Then he said to Xiao Man: "You go choose a small horse!"

  Xiao Man listened, puffed out her chest and said with a raised eyebrow: "You underestimate me? I've been learning to ride horses since I was five years old, my experience in horse riding is not shorter than yours!" As she spoke, she stroked the horse's back and mounted it with extremely agile movements.

  Cao Cao saw that Xiao Man didn't look like a seasoned hand, so he stopped worrying about him and swung his horse whip, heading in the direction of Mianhu Dam.

  When they saw the cotton dam crossing in the distance, Cao Heng reined in his horse and slowed it down. Thanks to Cao Yin's tactics, even if Zheng's siblings had signed a death contract, they would still be grateful, but Cao Heng couldn't help feeling guilty. These two brothers were originally unrelated to the Cao family and were pulled into this muddy water.

  "Master, Master is here, brother!" Zheng Woxue saw Cao Yun and slightly excitedly pulled on Zheng Hai's sleeve.

  Zheng Hai took two quick steps forward, and with a "thud", he knelt down in front of Cao Yun's horse, his eyes brimming with tears as he said: "Young Master, your great kindness has moved me deeply. Zheng Hai is willing to die for you, to repay your benevolence."

  Cao Gong didn't know what Cao Yun had said to Zheng Jia's siblings, but seeing Zheng Hai's tearful and grateful appearance made him somewhat speechless. He himself had spent 10,000 taels of silver to buy him for ten years and promised to avenge him, yet he hadn't seen him like this before.

  Cao Song hastily dismounted and helped up Zheng Hai, saying: "Quickly, don't say such things. It can't be as one wishes, Cao Song is already ashamed."

  "That dog of a general actually dared to speak up for the old thief! Young Master Ning would rather offend the powerful than fail to protect us siblings, this is a debt of gratitude that I, Zheng Hai, will never forget!" Zheng Hai clenched his fist and said.

  Cao Guang's heart moved, and he roughly knew that Cao Yi was pulling the flag of the General's Mansion to scare the two siblings. Now these two people have signed a death contract, but their gratitude is even stronger.

  Cao Gong stopped talking and took out the manual on pearl farming that he had written himself from his bosom, handing it to Zheng Wo Xue: "This book, memorize it after reading and destroy it. This is a secret related to the lifeblood of the industry and cannot be known by outsiders. The ten-year agreement, Cao Gong has not forgotten, you siblings can rest assured!" Although he said it beautifully, Cao Gong also didn't know how he would react if Zheng's siblings used the pearl farming skills they learned from him to set up their own business or rely on others.

  The technique of cultivating pearls was written by Cao Yun based on what he knew from his previous life. Cao Yun's brother-in-law's family was a big pearl farming household in Suzhou, and Cao Yun had followed his brother to the pearl farm for fun when he was young. To be honest, pearl farming doesn't have much high-tech content. It's just selecting suitable mother shells, artificially introducing foreign objects, and inducing pearl formation. However, the difference between ancient and modern times is that after hundreds of years, pearl farming has become industrialized, with specialized companies cultivating pearl oysters. Now, however, they need to start from the selection and breeding of mother shells, and it won't be effective in the short term.

  Zheng Woxue carefully took over the book and placed it in her bosom, her bright eyes filled with gratitude as she looked at Cao Kun.

  The boatman on the other side has already asked if he can set off, and the steward sent by the Cao family to see off Zheng's brother and sister to Taihu saw the young master of the house arriving at the bow of the boat and came over to pay his respects. After another round of fuss, Cao Yun finally saw off Zheng's brother and sister as they boarded the boat and departed.

  The net has been cast, and if there are no unexpected events, the issue of Cao's loss should be resolved. As for the struggle for the throne, standing on the wrong team, the problem lies not with Cao Yi and his son Cao Gun, but with what happened after Cao Yi's adopted son Cao Yun took over as the head of the Jiangning Weaving Bureau. If he had not died, the main house of the Cao family would not have needed an adopted son to inherit the business; if he had really declined in fortune, according to historical records, he would have died of illness within two years after taking over the weaving bureau, and what happened to the rise and fall of the Cao family afterwards would have nothing to do with him.

  Cao Kun turned his horse around and headed back to the mansion, but saw a familiar glass-topped carriage parked not far away. Wasn't that the eldest daughter of the Bai family's hundred-year-old shop, the big sister of Bihelou? Cao Kun narrowed his eyes, feeling somewhat displeased in his heart. Could it be that she had followed him here? The trail of Zheng's siblings was not difficult to find, and if Yang's family found out they were at Cao's house, it wouldn't be a big deal. However, the Cao family wasn't afraid either. Although Cao Kun used the title of General to intimidate Zheng's siblings, he didn't actually care about the second-grade general, let alone the so-called "Yang Baiwan". When doing official business in Jiangnan, if one didn't first investigate the relationship between the Cao family and the imperial family and didn't put the Cao family in their sights, they were either arrogant or foolish. If someone dared to attack the Cao family without looking, Emperor Kangxi wouldn't tolerate them even if the Cao family didn't counterattack.

  When Cao Gong rode his horse past that carriage, he heard a soft voice say: "Young Master Cao, please stop!"

  Cao Cong stopped his horse and stood up, a purple-robed girl slowly walked down from the crystal carriage, her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes were like dots of ink, although she was not very old, her figure was sufficient, but it was hard to hide her beauty.

  The purple-robed girl walked up to Cao Gong's horse, placed her hand on her waist and curtsied: "Young Miss Yang Ruixue has seen General Cao!"

  Cao Gong nodded slightly, considering it a return courtesy, and didn't plan to dismount to socialize. Yang Rui Xue and Zheng Wo Xue were sisters, but their fates were worlds apart. Whether he was taking pity on Zheng Wo Xue or thinking that he might be followed, he didn't have any good feelings towards this young lady in front of him.

  In the face of Cao Gong's rudeness, Yang Ruixue didn't show a hint of annoyance. The Yang family was wealthy, but they were just merchants; in the eyes of official families, their status wasn't much higher than that of ordinary commoners. As the eldest son of the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau, Cao Gong would have been acting strangely if he had been too polite to them.

  Yang Ruixue turned around, took out a small package from the carriage, and handed it to Cao Gong with both hands: "I unintentionally heard that Ruixue's two closest relatives are living in your residence. The right and wrong of elders is not something we children can discuss. Here is a small token of Ruixue's heart, please trouble you, sir, to pass it on to Ruixue's two closest relatives."

  Cao Song looked at the package and said, "If you have this heart, why have you only been doing futile things for four years?"

  Yang Ruizhe listened and did not argue back. Tears welled up in her eyes as she bowed to Cao Gong again, "Please trouble you, sir, to pass it on!"

  Cao Gong saw the little girl's slightly stubborn appearance, and he was a bit disdainful of himself. After all, she was just a 12 or 13-year-old child, and it was absurd for him to vent his anger on her. Until today, he realized that the ancient people's tactics should not be underestimated. Those who could swim in the official circles were all masters at guessing people's hearts. He showed kindness and righteousness to Zheng Jia brothers and sisters, but couldn't compare to Cao Yin's small trick, which made him feel inferior. It seems that apart from studying literature and martial arts, this tactic is also indispensable. Otherwise, who knows when he would be calculated like Zheng Hai, still feeling grateful and virtuous.

  Cao Song dismounted his horse, took over the package, and felt its weight. It seemed that there were not a few valuable things inside. "I will certainly deliver the goods, but whether your honorable relative accepts it or not is not something I can control!"

  Yang Ruizhao saw Cao Kun take the package and let out a sigh of relief, with a hint of hope and inquiry, she asked: "The two people who just boarded the boat at the crossing, are they the two relatives that Ruizhao has been searching for? Where are they headed? Will they return to Jiangning soon?"

  Although Yang Rui Xue was being friendly, Cao Gong still didn't want to reveal the whereabouts of the Zheng siblings and didn't answer her questions. He made an excuse: "There are still some trivial matters at home, I'll accompany Miss next time to chat, please forgive me!" After finishing speaking, he mounted his horse and left.

  As the sound of horse hooves faded away, Yang Ruixue shed a line of clear tears and bowed her head back into the carriage. In the carriage sat a girl in red clothes, handing over a handkerchief: "Silly girl, what are you crying about? The stricter his mouth is, the safer your poor brother and sister will be! Although he didn't respond, but also didn't deny that those two people were your siblings, it seems to be true! It's good that they temporarily left Jiangning, otherwise your father would have gotten ideas about them!"

  Yang Ruizhe listened and finally stopped crying, took the handkerchief, wiped away her tears: "Although Cao's young master has a cold face, he has a good heart!"

  That red-clothed girl smiled and looked at Yang Ruixue: "Who in Jiangnan doesn't know that this young master Cao is not old, but has been personally praised by the emperor as being both literary and martially accomplished. How many families have thought about forming an alliance with the Cao family through marriage? You little scamp, don't tell me you've got a crush on him?"

  Yang Rui Xue's face turned red with embarrassment: "Elder sister Yong Jia is really, actually teasing Rui Xue, Rui Xue won't comply." The two little girls giggled and played together, all worries disappeared.

  After finishing with Cao Kun, let's talk about the Zheng siblings. After the boat left the dock, the Zheng siblings returned to their cabin. Since Zheng Woxue had changed back into women's clothing, she took one room for herself and Zheng Hai shared another with a Cao family servant. Zheng Woxue sat on her bed, taking out the booklet that Cao Kun had given her and began to read it carefully. Her expression first showed shock, then excitement, but by the end, it was terror.

  Zheng Woxue's thoughts were meticulous, and following her brother to make a living outside had broadened her horizons. After reading this booklet, she vaguely understood that someone else in the Cao family had arranged for them to sign a death contract, not to avoid General Yu, but because of the matters recorded in this booklet. She hadn't read many books, but she knew the allusion "crime of holding jade".

  Zheng Woxue suddenly had an impulse to tell her brother the truth and then the two siblings would run away, but she immediately extinguished this thought. Escaping as a slave was a capital offense. In her mind appeared Cao Guang's face, tender yet with a hint of heroism, and Zheng Woxue's heart slowly calmed down. She sighed, reopened the booklet, and carefully memorized its contents in her heart. Three days later, when the boat arrived at Taihu Lake, Zheng Woxue had already committed to memory everything recorded in the booklet. Before disembarking, she tore the booklet into shreds, soaked it in a basin of water until it was mushy, then poured it into the river along with the water, leaving no trace behind.