Chapter 354 Negotiating Conditions

Ye Jiayao didn’t know how long she had been locked up in there, she could only estimate the approximate time. It should be the next morning now!
With a bang, Ye Jiayao immediately sat up straight.

I saw the iron door being opened, and a woman came in with hot water. There was a clean cotton towel on the basin, and she put it on the table and left.

"Hey..." Ye Jiayao wanted to call her, but the old woman was like a deaf person, she just closed the door and ignored him.

Ye Jiayao was so angry that she went mad. She reacted too slowly. She should have grabbed the old woman and refused to let her go unless she spoke to her.

However, there should still be a chance, this old woman will definitely bring her food! Ye Jiayao made up her mind that if the old woman came in again, she would catch her.

When she walked to the table, Ye Jiayao discovered that there were two small celadon jars next to the basin. She opened one of them and found it was full of ash. Ye Jiayao recognized this ash because it was the one she had been using. Motherwort ash could be used as a facial cleanser. It could effectively remove dirt and also have the effect of beautifying the skin. It was said that Empress Wu Zetian used this back then.

Another small jar contained a rose-colored, crystal-clear paste. With a sniff, you could tell it was top-quality rouge. The production process was complicated and required very high levels of raw materials, and the price was even more expensive. Such a small box would cost at least a dozen taels of silver. It was the favorite of the noble ladies in the imperial capital.

This bastard is very thoughtful.

Ye Jiayao didn't care about anything and just washed her face first.

Just when I finished cleaning up, there was another clang, and the same old woman came in with a gilded red lacquer tray. On it was a bowl of millet porridge, a plate of crystal steamed dumplings, two buns, and two plates of side dishes.

Ye Jiayao was attentive this time. As soon as the old woman put down the food, she grabbed her with all her strength.

"Who is your master? Where is this place?"

The old woman stared at her blankly.

Well, these two questions were more difficult for the mother-in-law, so Ye Jiayao changed her approach: "Let your master come to see me. Since you have captured me, why are you hiding from me?"

The old woman still stared at her blankly.

Ye Jiayao was angry: "If you don't help me pass the message, then you can't leave."

Seeing that Ye Jiayao was getting anxious, the old woman pointed at her ears and shook her hands, then opened her mouth to show Ye Jiayao.

Ye Jiayao was shocked when she saw that there was only half of the old woman's tongue left in her mouth. The scene was quite scary.

The old woman shook off Ye Jiayao's hold with a shake of her hand and walked away expressionlessly.

Ye Jiayao reacted quickly, grabbed the old woman and pulled her back, then rushed towards the iron gate. It was impossible to escape, so as long as she could get out of the house, she might be able to find something.

The old woman didn't expect Ye Jiayao to want to escape. She was stunned for a moment and wanted to shout but could only make a "uh uh" sound.

The people outside didn't expect Ye Jiayao to rush out. They thought it was the old woman who came out. Just a delay of one or two seconds, Ye Jiayao had already run at the speed of a 100-meter sprint.

Unfortunately, there was no unobstructed road outside, and Ye Jiayao was blocked by a stone wall after running for more than ten meters.

This stone wall looks like a secret door, but it is tightly closed and the mechanism cannot be found. It cannot be opened by pushing, and the people behind have already caught up.

"Second Young Madam, please go back and don't make things difficult for us servants." The man was quite polite.

Ye Jiayao recognized this man; it was this guy who had knocked her out with the incense.

"What a joke! You captured me to embarrass me. Knowing that I am the second young lady of Marquis Jing'an's Mansion, you are so brave. Who is your master? How dare you be so bold?" Ye Jiayao asked tentatively.

The man was clearly a little angry, but he didn't want to attack her, so he just said coldly:

"Second Young Madam, please go back."

Ye Jiayao also saw that this man didn't dare to disrespect her, so she became a little bolder. She raised her chin and sneered, "You told me to go back? That's a dungeon. Do you think I would go back with you obediently? Do you think I'm stupid? If you have the guts, take me back! Go ahead and I'll say you were planning to do something bad to me, humph!"

The man's face was already very ugly, and his eyes twitched: "Please don't embarrass me, Madam. I don't want to be violent with you."

"Bah, you've tried all kinds of despicable tricks, why are you still pretending to be a gentleman? Ask your master to come and see me. If he doesn't want you, I won't leave." Ye Jiayao sneered unceremoniously.

The man gritted his teeth and said, "Then don't blame me for being rude."

As he spoke, he took two steps closer.

Seeing that he was going to get serious, Ye Jiayao hurriedly said, "Wait, wait, wait, you have doors after doors here, it's more strict than the prison, and I can't run away anyway. That secret room is too stuffy, I'll get bored, so just let me walk around here, just take a walk, brother, okay?"

"No." The man rejected her without hesitation. "Why not? If you can't even meet my small request, I will go on a hunger strike in protest, and you can just wait to collect my body." Ye Jiayao threatened.

There was a hint of hesitation in the man's eyes.

Ye Jiayao observed carefully, softened her tone and begged: "Brother, don't rush to make a decision, ask your master first, maybe he will agree."

The man sighed silently. What kind of job is this? It's not difficult to catch someone, but it's so troublesome to keep an eye on someone. The higher-ups also told us not to be rude to her and to take good care of her. Damn it, are they going to treat her like a Buddha?
"Please go back first, Second Young Madam. I will ask the master for instructions." said the man.

Ye Jiayao finally managed to escape, but she refused to go back obediently, saying, "Go and ask now. I'll wait for you here. I promise I won't run away. You are good at martial arts, right? You can press my acupoints. Anyway, I won't go back until I get a definite answer."

The man could no longer bear it and said sternly, "Second Young Madam, I'm sorry for offending you."

After saying that, without caring whether it was rude or not, he grabbed Ye Jiayao's arm and walked back.

"Oi, ui, ui... be gentle. This is an arm, not a stick. It's going to break." Ye Jiayao cried out in pain exaggeratedly.

The man was indifferent. Compared with being impolite, being irresponsible was a more serious crime. This Second Young Lady was not an easy person to deal with. She ran away when he was not paying attention. Besides, there were secrets here that could not be discovered. Therefore, he would rather be impolite.

Ye Jiayao leaned back, trying to delay his steps, while looking around.

Eh? There was another path over here, dark and I didn't know where it led to. Maybe that was the exit! Did she run in the wrong direction?

"Brother, what time is it now? How long have I been here? It's okay to tell me this, I just want to know the time. It's not good to be confused. I will go crazy..."

The man ignored her and continued to hold her and walk forward.

"Brother, please say something. You see, that woman has no tongue. She almost scared me to death. You are the only one who can speak here. Let's chat when we have time. Communication is very important. You understand my difficulties and I understand yours. This is the only way to cooperate happily, right?"

Ye Jiayao kept chattering, and the next moment she was pushed into a secret room. The iron door was slammed shut, and there was a click, as if it was locked.

The people inside the door made all kinds of contemptuous and angry expressions towards the iron door. With a click, the small window on the iron door was opened. Ye Jiayao immediately put on a smiling face: "Brother, don't forget to ask your master for me. I will skip breakfast and wait for your news!"

With a click, the man closed the small window again, feeling depressed that the caretaker was actually threatened by the person being cared for. Moreover, he had to ask the master for permission. This woman was not a simple person. If she really went on a hunger strike, he would have a hard time reporting to the master.

Ye Jiayao did gain something from this whole ordeal. At least she had a general understanding of the environment she was in. Those who could build such secret passages and secret rooms were not small families. Not to mention small families, even large families would not build them if there was no special need. Her villa also had a secret room, but it was much smaller than this one.

Ye Jiayao began to re-examine this secret room. The bed was made of rosewood with exquisite carvings. The table and chairs were also matching. The tea set was a Yixing purple clay teapot, and it was the best quality one. Even the breakfast delivered today was exquisite food... In short, the furnishings were simple, but nothing was vulgar.

Rather than calling this a secret dungeon, it is more likely that this is a place where the owner of this place uses it to meet guests and have confidential conversations.

About an incense stick of time later, the man came back, opened the small window, and said coldly: "The master said he would consider it."

Uh… this sounds like a perfunctory statement. I will consider it, but when will I consider it? What will be the result of the consideration?

Ye Jiayao was not so easy to coax, and said, "Then I will eat after your master has considered it."

The man thought: Whatever, I won’t starve to death if I skip a meal. But starving to death would be a very unpleasant feeling.

Now it was Ye Jiayao's turn to be depressed. Was she really going on a hunger strike?

She believed that hunger strike would definitely work. Although the purpose of those who arrested her was not clear, they certainly did not want her to die. If she died, what was the point of arresting her?
Okay, then be a little harder on yourself.

Ye Jiayao secretly took two mouthfuls of millet porridge to make sure that no one could tell that two small spoonfuls were missing. Then she looked at the crystal steamed dumplings and swallowed hard. She was determined not to eat them.

Xiao Jing almost didn't sleep the whole night, thinking about Ye Jiayao the whole time. He fell into a drowsy sleep just before dawn. Just as he was dozing off for a while, Ping An came to report that Jiu Ye's men had come, and the carriage and the driver had been found.

Xiao Jing was startled and felt refreshed. All sleepiness disappeared. He put on his clothes and went to meet the visitor.

The person who came said that the carriage was found this morning at the entrance of a small alley in West Market. The driver was unconscious in the carriage and passers-by thought he was sleeping.

"Where's Mrs. Che?"

"At Master Jiu's place. Master Jiu has already sent someone to notify Master Zhao and Third Young Master Xia."

Xiao Jing said without a word: "Let's go and take a look."

Finally there is a clue. Xiao Jing is a little excited. Besides being excited, he also feels moved. Jiu Ye's people are really efficient. Last night he asked the people from the City Patrol to find a carriage, but these people have not sent back any news yet.

(End of this chapter)