Ch 2 : The Ge'er's Escape
With a mere lift of his hand, a document appeared in his grasp.
“Is this what you mean, Village Chief?” He handed the document over.
The Village Chief reached out, took it, opened it, and examined it carefully.
“Exactly this.”
After reviewing it, he returned the document to the man and turned to address the villagers, clarifying the man's identity.
“Ling Cang, from the capital. His family has been in trade for generations.”
The Clan Leader nodded upon hearing this.
“If that's the case, then the young man may reside temporarily in Yunxi Village.”
“Thank you very much then,”
Divine Emperor Ling Cang said with a smile, cupping his hands in thanks. His smile was like a warm spring breeze, dazzling everyone present.
“Might there be any uninhabited houses in the village? I would like to purchase one,”
Ling Cang asked with a smile. Before entering the mortal realm, he had observed this area; the scenery was excellent and it seemed a good place for living and farming.
A woman with a large mole on her forehead stared intently at Ling Cang.
This young master had an extraordinary bearing, and his family had been merchants for generations. If she could get her daughter married to him, wouldn't it mean a life of luxury? And she would benefit too! Thinking this, she pushed through the crowd and hurried forward.
“Young master, my family has one! My family has one!”
“Pah! The only thing left of your house is four earthen walls! Is it even habitable?” another woman retorted.
Then, turning to Ling Cang, her expression instantly softened into a fawning smile.
“Young Ling, don't listen to her. Her house is on the eastern slope, unfit for living. Come to Auntie's house. Auntie has a room, guaranteed to be better than hers.”
“Young master, come to my house. We have a newly built one,” a young woman said softly, her face blushing.
“Shameless! Young master, come to my house, we have a blue-brick and tile house.”
“Come to my house, my family has...”
...
“Enough, all of you!” The Village Chief thumped his cane on the ground, glaring at the crowd.
“What kind of behavior is this? Making us a laughingstock!”
He then turned to Ling Cang with a smile.
“Young Ling, if you don't mind, my family has a house at the foot of West Mountain. It's a bit far from the village, but the scenery is excellent. It's surrounded by a peach grove. When the flowers bloom next year, the fragrance of peach blossoms will fill the mountain.”
He also had a daughter and a ge'er son. This man was clearly a dragon among men. Rather than letting someone else benefit, it was better to keep the advantage for his own family.
Sure enough, as soon as the Village Chief spoke, Ling Cang looked his way. “In that case, thank you, Village Chief.”
The Village Chief was immensely pleased with the handsome and wealthy Ling Cang, almost as if the man had already become his Lao Wu family's son-in-law or ge'er-in-law.
[Capital City.]
“You are not allowed to go!” Cao Jun shouted sternly.
“I am going!” Cao Mingxi stamped his foot, turned, and grabbed his father's arm.
“Father, please let me go. I'm tired of staying in the capital.”
Shu Ge'er (his other father) grasped his hand in return.
“It's dangerous outside. Your father is worried about you. With Mingli and Mingqi not here, how can we feel at ease with you going out alone?”
He patted Mingxi's head.
“Be good. Wait for Mingqi to return victorious from battle, then he can take you out of the capital for a trip.”
The Cao Manor in the capital owned the Wanbao Pavilion stores spread across the land, making them the wealthiest family in the Daqing Kingdom. The head of the Cao family, Cao Jun, had only married one ge'er in his life and had three sons.
The eldest, Cao Mingxi, was a ge'er. The second, Cao Mingli, was the current Emperor. The third, Cao Mingqi, was the undefeated General of the Qing Kingdom. A family of men, doting on their one ge'er, making him the envy of all the ge'ers and young ladies in the Qing Kingdom.
The Cao family's young ge'er was exceptionally good-looking, with ink-black hair reaching his waist, red lips and white teeth, a face like beautiful jade, eyebrows like distant mountains, and a pair of profoundly deep eyes. The noble young masters of Qing Kingdom all yearned for him, but could only yearn. The Cao brothers guarded him fiercely—one the Emperor, the other a Great General. Everyone could only harbor thoughts in their hearts; marrying their ge'er was harder than climbing to heaven.
That night, the Cao family's young ge'er left a letter behind and ran away from home under the cover of moonlight.
He crept stealthily to his fathers' room, peeked inside, and a slight smile touched his lips: "Asleep." Then he circled to a corner of the garden wall and crawled out through the dog hole.
"Are we really just going to let him go?"
Shu Ge'er asked, standing behind a pillar watching Mingxi crawl out, bottom in the air.
Cao Jun draped a cloak over his shoulders and began tying the strings.
"Xuan Yue and Ye Xiao are following him. Don't worry."
Shu Ge'er looked up at Cao Jun with a sorrowful expression.
"Xi'er has never been away from us before."
Cao Jun reached out and pinched his cheek affectionately.
"Precisely because he's never been away from us, he needs to go out and see something of the world. Everyone at home spoils him so much he has no idea how dangerous it is outside."
Shu Ge'er glared at him. "As if you don't spoil him too."
Having said that, he turned and went back into the room.
Cao Jun hurried after him.
"I do, I spoil him the most. Shu'er, walk slower, it's pitch black, be careful not to fall."
Having crawled out of the dog hole, Mingxi's face was dirty, and his clothes were soiled, but he kept walking forward.
He couldn't stay at an inn; all the inns in the capital belonged to his family. The moment he entered one, his fathers would find out. He needed to hire a carriage and leave the city before his father discovered his absence tomorrow.
The deep night was quiet, but some traveling merchants were changing horses or repairing their carts. There were a few people and carriages about. The shopkeeper was dozing off but hurriedly came forward when he saw someone enter.
"Customer, looking to buy a horse or a carriage?"
Cao Mingxi glanced around. "Both."
The shopkeeper's smile widened. "Excellent! Let me take you to make your choices, young master."
A big sale in the middle of the night—the shopkeeper's face was practically splitting with a grin, his hospitality doubling.
Cao Mingxi followed the shopkeeper to pick a carriage and a horse, then took a silver ingot from his bag and handed it over. "Keep the change. I also need a driver. Find one for me."
"Young master, you've come to the right person. Old Lady Liu across the street is a matchmaker/person broker, an old acquaintance of mine. Please have a seat, I'll go ask for you right now." The shopkeeper finished and went across the street.
"If the young master flashes his wealth like this all the way, he's bound to be targeted," Ye Xiao on the roof said to Xuan Yue, who was sitting beside him cleaning his blade.
"So what? If they come, we'll just kill them all," Xuan Yue said expressionlessly.
Ye Xiao choked, shook his head, and said no more. After all these years, the young master had grown from a nursing babe to a young man, yet this guy was still just as fierce.
Before long, the shopkeeper returned with the human broker.
"Young master, I've brought someone for you."
He stepped aside, revealing the people following her. Cao Mingxi saw there were both men and ge'ers.
He stood up and looked them over one by one. He noticed some had a cunning glint in their eyes, others looked nervous yet hopeful towards him. Among them, only one ge'er had a dull gaze, filled with the lifelessness of despair. He had once heard his father say that helping someone when they are in utter despair leaves a lasting impression and earns genuine gratitude.
Cao Mingxi stopped in front of him. "Would you be willing to be my driver?"
The man seemed stunned that such a noble young master would choose a ge'er like him to be a driver.
"What are you standing there dumbly for? Thank the young master! A tremendous piece of good fortune has fallen on your head," the broker scolded.
The man hurriedly knelt down, kowtowing heavily. "Thank you, young master! Thank you, young master!"
Cao Mingxi quickly helped him up. "Get up quickly."
Unexpectedly, the man remained kneeling. "Young master, this humble one cannot go with you. I have a five-year-old ge'er son. If I leave with you, he likely won't survive."
The broker's face changed dramatically upon hearing this. This ge'er with a young son was costly to keep fed. Finally having a chance to get rid of one, she couldn't let the money slip away. She pointed at him and cursed,
"You worthless thing! You've eaten and drunk here for so long. If you don't go with the young master today, I'll sell you to a filthy brothel and sell your five-year-old ge'er too!"
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