Chapter 9: The Noble Person

  Because of the death of the little beggar in the same room, Cao Guang dared not to seek help from the outside world easily, fearing that if things were exposed, he would be hard to escape death. Thus, unknowingly, it was already July 30th, the birthday of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

  That day, the number of pilgrims visiting Lingyin Temple increased by several times compared to usual. Rich merchants and officials, as well as ordinary people, all flocked to Lingyin Temple. Within a short half-day, Xiang Er had collected over ten taels of silver. Xiang Er was in high spirits and treated Cao Gong with more kindness than before, even spending a copper coin to buy him two rotten peaches.

  Cao Gong's mouth was parched from the scorching sun, so he ate one in two or three bites, and put the remaining peach into his sleeve.

  At the time of dinner, tourists in the temple began to go down the mountain, and people going up the mountain gradually decreased. Therefore, when dozens of people came up the mountain, they were particularly eye-catching. Among them, there was a young man in his twenties and a boy of fifteen or sixteen years old in front, who looked similar in appearance and seemed to be two brothers. The followers behind were all followers and guards. Xing Er saw that customers had come, and just wanted to go forward to beg, but was held back by the two guards.

  Cao Yun gazed at the two men, feeling that he had vaguely seen them before, but he knew it was definitely not his own memory. He had been in the Qing Dynasty for half a month and hadn't seen many brothers with such extraordinary demeanor as these two.

  The young man said: "Fourth brother, that little beggar is so pitiful!"

  The young man snorted: "Thirteenth brother, seeing is not necessarily believing, it's just a street scam!"

  "Fourth Brother", "Thirteenth Younger Brother", these two terms of endearment are not unfamiliar to modern people, and judging by their age, they seem to match. Cao Guang's heart rose to his throat, he felt his whole body trembling, the peach pit in his sleeve rolled out and stopped right at the feet of that "Fourth Brother".

  He stopped in his tracks and looked down at the peach by his feet. Cao Yun saw that he was wearing a string of Buddhist beads on his wrist, feeling more at ease, he used his arm to support himself and crawled to the man's feet. With his back to Xing Er, he stuffed the half piece of cloth with blood-stained words into "Fourth Brother"'s boot, then picked up the peach.

  Xing Er initially thought Cao Gong was asking for help and had made preparations to escape, but seeing that he was only picking peaches, she put her mind at ease.

  The "Thirteen Brothers" saw Cao Guang's appearance was really miserable, couldn't bear it, took out a silver ingot from his bag and threw it in front of him. Then, they went to Lingyin Temple again.

  Until he turned a corner, the young man stopped in his tracks and called out to two guards behind him, ordering them to keep an eye on the big and small beggars. After giving the order, he bent down and pulled out the piece of cloth from his boot.

  It's a blessing in disguise, and it can be said that Cao Guangyong has great luck. The two people who just passed by are the ones he was thinking of - Prince Yongzheng and Prince Yongxiang. Originally, Emperor Kangxi wanted to go on an inspection tour to the south to examine the river works, but since Empress Dowager's health had not been good lately, he sent the two princes to Jiangnan instead. After completing their tasks, the two brothers happened to arrive at Lingyin Temple on the birthday of Earth Treasure King Bodhisattva and came to offer incense.

  That piece of cloth, about three or four adult palms in size, had dark red bloodstains on it:

  Jiangning Weaving Bureau, Cao Yin, one thousand taels of white silver, retained.

  Not only did the Fourth Prince change color, but even the Thirteenth Prince was shocked when he saw the blood letter. The blood letter was exceptionally clear and piercing to the eye, making the piece of cloth look like it had been washed in a dye, and it was unknown how many times the person who wrote the letter had retraced it.

  The blood letter did not have any foreword or afterword, this was also because Cao Jing had only been to school for a few days and could barely recognize traditional Chinese characters, let alone write them. These words "Jiangning Weizao Fu" were remembered by heart because they were hung on the front gate.

  The previous year, when the Kangxi Emperor went on a southern tour, both the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince were among the princes who accompanied him, and both had visited the Cao family. The Thirteenth Prince pointed at the character "Yong" and exclaimed in surprise: "This is the name of Cao Yin's only son, which was personally bestowed by the Emperor last year."

  The fourth brother nodded: "Yes, Cao Kun was 4 or 5 years old the year before last, and should be 6 or 7 years old this year. His age matches that of the child from just now!"

  Although Cao Yin's face was not very big, his mother "Feng Sheng Fu Ren" Sun Shi was someone even the emperor had to show respect to. The two brothers were thinking about the child's miserable situation earlier and hated it so much that their teeth ached. The 13th prince wanted to turn back and save the person immediately, but the 4th prince thought more comprehensively, fearing that they would startle the snake by cutting the grass, and walk into the evil-doer's trap. Until nightfall, Xing Er carried Cao Yin back to their lair, he then sent people to surround the courtyard, coming up with a plan to catch them off guard. Those rascals were used to bullying ordinary civilians, but when facing these palace guards, they were like Guan Gong showing off his big knife in front of his own gate, and were quickly subdued.

  The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince entered the house, seeing disabled children crawling all over the floor, shocking at first sight. Cao Kun saw the arrival of a savior, knowing that his suffering was coming to an end, although he knew it was humiliating, he couldn't help but redden his eyes.

  Under the majestic provincial government, by the West Lake shore, outside Lingyin Temple, there was actually such a den of evil. The 13th prince drew out his guard's knife and wanted to chop down those rascals, but was stopped by the 4th prince. The 4th prince walked up to Cao Guang's face, hugged him tightly, and asked in a low voice: "Are you Cao Yun's son?"

  Cao Guang nodded vigorously, and the Fourth Prince asked again: "How did you come to Hangzhou?"

  Cao Kun pointed at Xiang Er, opened his mouth, and then pointed at his own throat.

  A Ping saw these strangers looking fierce, but they had subdued those hooligans who were tormenting them, so he plucked up his courage and said in a low voice: "He's mute, brought back by Xiang Er several days ago, seemingly from Suzhou."

  Fourth Brother took out a clean handkerchief and wiped Cao Kun's small face clean. Although Cao Kun was sunburned on his face, his neck was still as fair as before. These people were not only suspected of kidnapping the Cao family's young master but also involved in local officialdom. The two brothers did not want to overstep their bounds, so they wrote a letter and sent someone to deliver the several rascals to be detained at Hangzhou Prefecture. Most of the children were injured or ill, and people were called to take them to the hospital.

  Others are fine, but that Ah Ping is the one Cao Guang vowed to repay, so he pulled over the Fourth Prince's hand, wrote a character "en" on it, and pointed at Ah Ping, staring at this future Emperor Yongzheng with pleading eyes, hoping he could understand his meaning.

  The Fourth Prince nodded and indeed had Ah Ping stay behind, then took the two children to the relay station where his brothers were staying, and also asked the imperial physician who was following him to diagnose the illness of the two children. The fracture is fine, none of them hurt their tendons, they will recover in a month or so, but Cao Kun's throat was damaged by the medicine, it won't be easy to recover, and there are not enough medicines on this side of Jiangnan.

  The two brothers sent someone to Beijing to send a message and fetch medicine, while also sending someone to Jiangning Cao's house to pass on the news.

  Cao Kun was cleaned up from inside out, his broken leg was also fixed, and he lay on the bed as if in a dream. Thinking of the hellish life he had endured for the past few days, he couldn't help but tremble all over, really wanting to cry loudly.

  The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince led A Ping in, took a look at Cao Guang lying on the bed, and then looked at A Ping. Both were handsome and looked like two brothers.

  Ah Ping saw Cao Kun, put down the 13th brother's hand, ran to the bedside, pointed to his own arm and said: "My wound is almost healed, you should get better too! The two masters said you are the son of a weaving master, can I be your apprentice? I have no parents, don't know who to turn to!" By the end, his voice was barely audible.

  Cao Gong shook his head, smiled and pointed to his hands and feet, then pointed to Ah Ping and himself. Ah Ping thought Cao Gong was unwilling to take him in, tears were about to come out, Fourth Brother spoke up: "He says, don't be a servant, be his brother, you two will be like brothers."

  Ah Ping couldn't believe it, staring at Cao Kun with round eyes, seeing Cao Kun nodding and smiling, he exclaimed: "I have a brother! I have a brother!"

  Cao Gong smiled, but his heart was shocked and curious. The mature and stable four princes in front of him, with a strong human touch, were completely inconsistent with the legendary icy-faced emperor. What on earth happened? What kind of experience made this Buddhist-minded prince become a tyrannical emperor? It's really unimaginable...

  Although Cao Kun traveled from Jiangning to Suzhou, a distance of four or five hundred miles, and then another four or five hundred miles from Suzhou to Hangzhou, the actual shortest official road from Hangzhou to Jiangning was only six hundred miles. The fourth prince's men changed horses but not people along the way, and arrived in Jiangning on the third morning.

  The son had been missing for half a month, and Cao Yin had already begun to lose hope. Who would have thought that there would be a sudden turn of events, and he would actually receive news of his son's whereabouts? Moreover, he had already been rescued by two brothers. He saw that the messenger was extremely exhausted, so he ordered someone to take him to the guest room to rest, then entrusted the matters of the yamen and the fu to Zhuang Chang. After that, he went to the inner residence to tell the old lady about his trip to Hangzhou, mentioning that if he didn't hurry back, perhaps he would bring his wife and child back with him.

  The old lady hadn't seen her grandson for half a month and was getting anxious, but when she heard that he might be coming back, her face lit up with smiles. Cao Yin went to the Western Mansion again to visit his wife and told her about their son's whereabouts, saying that since he was with two older brothers, there was nothing more to worry about, and asked Li Shi to set her mind at ease, promising to bring him back in a few days.

  Everything was arranged, Cao Yin took a few servants out of the city and rushed to Hangzhou. The person who sent the message opened his eyes at dusk and found that Cao Yin had already left for half a day. He suddenly remembered that he hadn't told Cao Yin about Cao Gong's injury, so he hastily bid farewell to the steward of the Cao family and returned to Hangzhou to see him.

  Hangzhou, the yamen of the prefectural magistrate.

  The provincial governor, Shi Guozhu, looked at the confession in his hand and couldn't help but tremble all over. This group of insignificant thugs had killed 18 lives in just three years, more than half of which were within Hangzhou Prefecture. The locations where they dumped the bodies by West Lake had already been found, with a total of 11 large and small skeletons recovered.

  If it were an ordinary case, a great achievement would be unavoidable, but now Shi Guozhu is like sitting on pins and needles. Three years, just during his term, if investigated, he cannot escape the crime of dereliction of duty, let alone promotion, it's hard to avoid demotion. Thinking of this, his face became increasingly gloomy, and he couldn't help but resent the two brothers for causing trouble, why bother him with this.

  He had wanted to take action, but since two brothers were involved, Shi Guozhu had to put his thoughts on hold and immediately wrote a letter, which he sent to the capital by fast horse.

  Although Shi Guozhu's rank is not high, he is the clan uncle of the Crown Prince's consort and can be considered a member of the Crown Prince's family. Therefore, he thought of sending a message to the Crown Prince, asking him to intercede in the capital to see if this punishment could be exempted.

  Hangzhou Station, Cao Yin led several attendants to rush over, asking the guards outside to pass on the message.

  The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince heard this, and personally went to the gate to welcome him. Cao Yin swung his sleeves and said: "Cao Yin pays respects to the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince, may you both be auspicious!"

  The Fourth Prince had learned archery and horse riding from Cao Yin when he was young, and did not want to receive his grand courtesy. He personally helped him up and said: "Master Dongting is being polite, please get up quickly!"

  Thirteen A Ge saw Cao Yin a few times two years ago, but at that time there was Kang Xi, and he didn't dare to be presumptuous. Now he couldn't help asking: "I heard that your nine consecutive shots have not been surpassed by anyone so far, are you really good at both riding and shooting?" His voice had a hint of doubt. No wonder he would ask this question, Cao Yin originally looked slightly weak in literature, and because of his concern for his son for many days, he looked very haggard, without the slightest heroic spirit of a general, but rather like a scholar with no strength to bind a chicken.

  The fourth prince was quite strict in his character, seeing the thirteenth prince being so rude, he shouted: "Thirteen brother, you can't be impolite!" Turning his head again to Cao Yin, he said: "Master Dongting, let's see your son first, and we'll feel more at ease." After finishing speaking, he turned around and led the way.

  Thirteen Prince knew it wasn't the right time to speak up, and Cao Yin's son had become like that. As a father, he naturally didn't have the mood to talk about anything else, so he scratched his head and obediently followed Fourth Prince from behind.

  Cao Yin hastened two steps forward, came to the bedside, and felt a pang in his heart. Although he had thought that his son might suffer some hardships, seeing Cao Guang's face covered with black spots (sunburn) and both legs broken, he was filled with indignation, grasping his son's two small arms, unable to speak.

  Cao Gong heard someone coming in and saw Cao Yin following the two brothers, he couldn't help but feel a little angry. Isn't it said that the Cao family is powerful in Jiangnan? Why did this son get lost for half a month, and this cheap old father didn't even find him? If not, he wouldn't have to suffer from this bone-breaking pain. Therefore, he was silent and speechless. In fact, even if he wanted to speak, he couldn't say anything, his throat had been treated but it would take at least ten days or half a month before he could make any sound.

  The room was silent for a moment, and then the fourth brother spoke up, briefly telling the story of Xing Er's confession. Cao Yin only then learned the reason why he couldn't find his son in Suzhou those days ago - his son had been kidnapped by evil people to Hangzhou. If not for meeting the two brothers, his own son would have... would have... Cao Yin felt a chill run down his spine as he thought about it, and his gaze at Cao Yun became even more loving.

  Cao Gong saw the white hairs on Cao Yin's temples and knew he shouldn't vent his anger on him. He pitied the parents of the world, thought of his own parents from a past life, and his eyes became even more sour. However, he didn't want to shed tears in front of everyone, so he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. Or perhaps it was due to physical exhaustion, but before long, he fell into a deep slumber.