He was blindfolded and walked through an overgrown wasteland for over a quarter of an hour. He heard a “creak” as an old wooden door opened, then was roughly pushed, stumbling and falling onto a pile of dry grass. Fortunately, he wasn’t hurt, but his shoulder and hips were painfully bruised.
Two more people were pushed in and fell beside him. He guessed it was A Zhu and the driver. He heard a bandit say: “Stay put! Try to run, and I’ll break your legs!”
Xu Hanxiao’s hands were bound behind his back, but his feet were free. He tried to stand and move small steps towards where he was pushed in, bumping into a wooden board. He nudged it with his shoulder, and the board was loose, hitting the door frame with a slight sound. Just as he thought this, someone outside roared: “What are you doing? Trying to escape?”
Xu Hanxiao quickly said: “No, no, I’m just thirsty. Please, some water.”
“Get lost, I’m thirsty myself!” the man outside angrily replied.
The two brothers discussed and decided that since there were now several members of the Xu family in this small room, and their intentions towards the bandits were unclear, they might as well take advantage of the unguarded moment to escape, and might even encounter Han Ren and warn him to be careful.
Having made up their minds, they untied each other’s blindfolds and the ropes around their wrists, and carefully pushed the door. The door was locked, but after pushing a few times, no one outside shouted or stopped them. Han Xiao and Han Zhong exchanged a glance, nodded simultaneously, and ordered the strongest among them, Old Six, to forcefully break down the door.
They escaped from the wooden house and found themselves in a dilapidated small courtyard. Looking around, they saw no guards, checked the sun’s position, and quickly fled westward. They hadn’t gone far when they heard a loud shout from the courtyard: “They’ve escaped!”
Chapter 17: Gathering Hearts (Complete)
Xu Hanzhong was increasingly reluctant to leave, pretending to cry out and fall to the ground. The bandits had no choice but to drag Xu Hanzhong up from the ground, one on each side, and carry him away. Xu Hanzhong dared not shout, only desperately looking back in the direction of the newcomers.
Xu Hanren saw Hanzhong from afar and was excited, ordering everyone to chase after them.
The bandit leader, seeing that dragging Xu Hanzhong was slowing them down, simply stopped and shouted: “Everyone stop!” Then he placed a steel knife against Xu Hanzhong’s neck and loudly declared: “Come any closer and I’ll kill this young master first.”
Xu Hanren hastily stopped: “Don’t hurt anyone, let’s talk. Gentlemen, you’re here for money, right? How much do you want to let him go?”
The bandit leader breathed a sigh of relief and shouted: “Not much, five thousand taels of silver. Hand over the silver and I’ll release him.”
Xu Hanren pulled out a bank note from his pocket: “I only have three hundred taels on me. Can we negotiate?”
The bandit leader angrily said: “Do you think you’re dealing with beggars? Go prepare five thousand taels of silver. Meet at midnight, and if you dare report this to the authorities, prepare to collect Xu family’s young master’s corpse!”
Xu Hanren anxiously said: “Wait, even with all of the Xu family’s shops, we can’t gather that much silver before midnight!”
The bandit leader insisted: “Five thousand taels, not a single tael less!” Then he took Xu Hanzhong away.
Xu Hanxiao arrived just then. Having heard the loud conversation between Hanren and the bandit leader from a distance, he was out of breath and told Hanren: “Hurry, go back and gather the silver.”
They returned to the main road and found Madam Xu had also arrived. They greeted her.
Before Hanxiao could hesitate, Yu Yi asked: “Hanxiao, where have you been these past two days? Where is Hanzhong?”
Hanxiao quickly responded: “I accidentally fell into a mountain gully, and third brother found me. As for the eldest brother, he might be looking for me elsewhere.”
Yu Yi glanced at the sixth brother and others standing nearby and said casually: “Sixth brother, weren’t you with Hanzhong?”
The sixth brother’s face turned red, unable to say a word.
Yu Yi said: “Don’t hide it from me.
What happened to Hanzhong? Tell me, I can handle it.”
Hanxiao had no choice but to explain everything, though he made the situation sound less dangerous and reduced the ransom to two thousand taels.
Yu Yi frowned, staring at Hanxiao and Hanren: “Should we report to the authorities or raise the money?”
Hanxiao said: “Mother, let’s try to raise the money. The bandits threatened to harm eldest brother if we report this.”
Hanren also nodded: “These bandits, though doing something immoral, usually keep their word.”
Yu Yi nodded: “Then hurry back to raise the money.”
Though Madam Xu was weak, Yu Yi insisted on coming to ensure the Xu brothers would raise the ransom rather than report to authorities. These “bandits” were not actually thieves but arranged by her to unite the brothers.
The Xu family had many shops, but little cash on hand, mostly dealing in silk and fabric. Hanxiao scraped together almost all available cash from each shop, barely reaching a thousand taels. Adding the silver notes from selling silk and all available family cash, they barely reached three thousand taels.
As the silver was gradually delivered to the Xu house, Wan Hua stood by the carriage, staring blankly at the half-filled chest.
Yu Rong came over and handed her a bundle: “Sister-in-law, this is my dowry and savings, converted to cash.”
Here is the edited article with the irrelevant content removed:
Unfortunately, most of my dowry is in two estates that can’t be quickly sold.”
Wan Hua took the bundle and burst into tears: “Sister-in-law… I’ve always spoken harshly to you…”
Yu Rong quickly said: “Don’t say that. We’re family. Small conflicts are inevitable. This time, it was the eldest brother who saved Hanxiao.”
Yin Yiniang and Xu Shuzhi came together, bringing their saved private funds.
Though willing to pay to save a life, Yin Yiniang was reluctant to give all her savings. Without money, she felt insecure.
Hanren, sensing her hesitation, pressured her to give everything, threatening to disown her if she held anything back. Though she cursed him as unfilial, she had no choice but to comply.
Shuzhi painfully offered all her savings, though being young, she didn’t have much. Still, Wan Hua appreciated the gesture.
Despite the Xu family’s large estate, mostly in land and property that couldn’t be quickly sold, Hanxiao had to borrow money. Hanren spent the afternoon seeking loans. Even so, by nightfall, they hadn’t raised the full five thousand taels. Hanxiao, worried about missing the midnight deadline, added family jewelry to fill a large chest and hurried towards Li Town.
Since the carriage could not leave the official road, eight people were asked to carry the large box of silver using thick wooden poles, arriving at the place where bandits had taken Han Zhong.
Unexpectedly, they waited for quite a while. As the moon reached its zenith and passed midnight, the bandits with Han Zhong had not appeared. Han Ren anxiously said, “Why haven’t they come? Could something have happened? Second Brother, do you think our eldest brother has been harmed?”
Although Han Xiao was more composed, his constant pacing revealed his inner anxiety. Seeing Han Ren’s similar doubts, he tried to reassure him, saying, “No, they haven’t received the silver yet.”
After waiting longer, there was still no sign of the bandits or Han Zhong. Han Ren grew increasingly anxious: “Second Brother…”
“Quiet…” Han Xiao signaled Han Ren to be silent.
