All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

People in this era don't really care about the taste of food. Being able to eat their fill is already the best they can ask for. Why would they care about eating something fancy? But Bai Jingqi couldn't stand it. He threw the spoon into the bowl and ignored it, preparing to wait for his prey to appear.

High-level hunters often appear in the form of prey. Bai Jingqi stretched and immediately revealed the innocent eyes of a five-year-old child, looking around with the expression of a curious baby.

The people at the opposite table exchanged glances. A middle-aged man stood up and walked towards Bai Jingqi's seat. When he reached Bai Jingqi's side, he smiled and said...

"Kid, do you want to go watch a wrestling match?"

Bai Jingqi immediately looked curious and asked in return.

"What kind of wrestling is it? If it's men wrestling with men, I don't want to watch. I want to watch men wrestling with women!"

The middle-aged man was a little confused. Could it be that men and women wrestled? He had never heard of such a thing. Wait, he wasn't actually wrestling with the other person. He quickly realized this and said with a smile.

"Yes, yes, it's a wrestling match between men and women. It's really good. Uncle will take you to watch it, okay?"

Bai Jingqi nodded innocently, then stood up and, with the other person holding his hand, walked into the crowd.

The middle-aged man took Bai Jingqi's hand and walked a few steps before quickly picking her up and disappearing into the crowd. The others quickly followed.

When the bearded man returned shortly after, he was stunned to see the empty stall and immediately asked the stall owner.

"Boss, where's the kid who ate the offal?"

The boss thought for a moment and then said.

"It seems he went to watch wrestling. Oh, right, that kid just said that when you come back, he'll go home first and he'll go out to play for a few days."

The bun in the bearded man's hand immediately fell to the ground. He was completely dumbfounded. My little darling, you're only five years old! Where have you been playing?

Beard Head hurriedly searched the surrounding area, but there was no sign of Bai Jingqi anywhere.

At this moment, Bai Jingqi was being carried by the middle-aged man and walked very fast. In the blink of an eye, they passed from one alley to another, and soon there were no more people around, only some messy houses.

Upon arriving at the destination, the middle-aged man threw Bai Jingqi, whom he was holding, to the ground. Just as he was about to threaten the child on the ground, the child yawned and said to him.

"Where's the bed? I always take a nap at noon. I'll sleep for a while first. Oh, and it's best to eat early tonight. I'm not used to staying up late. Look at me! You want money, right? My Bai family has plenty of money. Let's make money together peacefully, isn't that great?"

The middle-aged man thought about it for a moment and felt that it made a lot of sense. He pointed to the inner room in a daze and said.

"The bed is inside. Once you wake up, remember not to wander off!"

Bai Jingqi said "Oh," and walked into the inner room with his short legs. He saw a bed and a table, but he didn't think much of it. He lay down on the bed and fell fast asleep.

It's so great to be a kid; nobody's on guard against you.

The middle-aged man in the outer room didn't realize something was wrong until Bai Jingqi entered the inner room. He scratched his head, unable to figure it out, and simply stopped thinking about it.

Just then, several people entered from the outer room. They were the middle-aged man's accomplices. When they entered the room and did not see the child, they quickly asked. The middle-aged man could only point to the bed in the inner room and repeat what Bai Jingqi had just said. The group looked at each other in bewilderment. In the end, they thought this was a good solution. They would get the money first and then decide on the child's life or death when Prince Wu arrived.

The news of Bai Jingqi's kidnapping quickly spread throughout the Bai family mansion, throwing the entire mansion into chaos. Bai Wenshi and her adoptive father were both shocked and anxious, and hurriedly organized people to search for him. After searching all afternoon, they naturally found nothing.

What they didn't know was that Bai Jingqi and several kidnappers were sitting around a table. Bai Jingqi put slices of mutton into the hot pot and said to another person.

"Isn't it authentic? This hot pot is a family recipe passed down from the chef at the Bai family mansion. It took me a long time to learn it. I told my buddies, in this life, eating is the most important thing. When you eat well, you're in a good mood. Look at the food your boss is arranging for you guys, those multigrain steamed buns, aren't they gritty?"

The people at the table quickly picked up pieces of mutton from the pot, nodding hurriedly as they ate, their mouths greasy. The Bai family's little prodigy was indeed living up to his reputation. Look at how well he lived; even as a hostage, he was doing quite well. Who told Bai Jingqi to be so shrewd? He called out "brother" and "uncle," and the middle-aged men's hearts softened. Who would make things difficult for a child, right?

Chapter Six: Impossible, Absolutely Impossible

After eating and drinking his fill, Bai Jingqi went back to bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Little did he know that that night, the Bai family home was brightly lit, and everyone was gathered in Old Master Bai's study.

After a day of fruitless searching, the Bai family had no choice but to tell Old Master Bai about it. Upon hearing that his most beloved grandson had been kidnapped, the old man was so angry that he almost died.

Bai Jingqi is very intelligent in the Bai family, but no one knows his martial arts skills. Besides, even if they did know, what can a five-year-old child do?

After Old Master Bai passed out, the house was in complete chaos. Since doctors cannot heal themselves, the Bai family members rushed outside to call for a doctor.

While they were still discussing it, Prince Wu and his group had already written the extortion letter and sent someone to slip it in through the door. That was it.

The next day, after recovering from his shock, Grandpa Bai realized that something was wrong. Logically speaking, why would his smart grandson go to watch wrestling with someone for no reason?

He quickly had someone call Hu Zitou over, and only then did he learn that Bai Jingqi had left a message saying he was going out to play for a few days.

Everyone was stunned. When Old Master Bai heard the news, his expression gradually softened. Although he was still a little worried, he was not as anxious as he was yesterday.

No one noticed that Master Bai looked towards the door several times. He was puzzled as to why, even after being kidnapped for more than a day, no letter had been delivered.

So, Master Bai took the opportunity to go out and walk his bird. He asked Beard Head to open the gate. As soon as the gate was opened, he saw a letter at the door. Master Bai was overjoyed when he saw the letter. He quickly bent down to pick it up and opened it. It was a blackmail letter demanding 50,000 taels of silver and giving him three days to raise the money.

Master Bai cursed inwardly, thinking that Gui Wu was too greedy. He had originally thought it would be at most 10,000 taels, but Gui Wu directly asked for 50,000 taels.

However, Master Bai had a unique way of thinking. After doing the math, he was immediately delighted. With 50,000 taels, he could get 25,000 taels. This deal looked promising.

He immediately threw the birdcage into the bearded man's hand, grabbed the extortion letter, and hurried into the courtyard.

Upon seeing the extortion letter, Old Master Bai's heart pounded again. Fifty thousand taels was no small sum. Although the Bai family could afford it, such a large amount of cash would still affect their business operations.

Besides, Bai Jingqi is only one child of the second wife. The Bai family also has the first and third wives. This matter needs to be discussed. Everyone gathered in the hall to discuss the ransom.

Old Master Bai was also in a bind. Although he had confidence in his grandson, he was still uneasy when he saw the extortion letter. Besides, 50,000 taels was far too much. There was no other way but to discuss how to pay the money.

The eldest son of the Bai family tried to speak several times, but ultimately held back. Bai Wenshi, a woman who was usually so assertive, was now completely lost and began to sob.

"Father, we can't let everyone pay for this fifty thousand taels. Consider this money a loan from everyone, and I'll pay it back slowly later. I can't pay it all back yet, but I'll pay it back slowly when Jingqi grows up, sob sob...!"

As Bai Wenshi cried, her adoptive father, Bai Yingxuan, also sobbed and agreed with his wife. Although over the years, countless people had compared his son to him, and people would always say things like, "Why is the son so smart and the father so stupid?", Bai Yingxuan was actually quite pleased with himself. What father doesn't want his son to be better than him? But now, his son had been kidnapped, and he had only one thought: even if it meant going bankrupt, he had to ransom his son.

Old Master Bai was annoyed by the two people crying and wailing, so he slammed his hand on the table and angrily rebuked them.

"Why are you crying and wailing? Will crying solve anything? As for this money, I think everyone should chip in first. If it's really not enough, we can take it from the accounts department. However, we can't just give it away like this. We have to make sure Jingqi is still alive. Otherwise, what if we give the money and he's gone?"

Upon hearing what Old Master Bai said, Bai Wenshi and Bai Yingxuan broke down in tears, a sight that saddened all who heard it and brought tears to their eyes.

Finally, Bai Yaping, the aunt, took out a money pouch from her pocket and pulled out several silver notes from it.

"Second sister-in-law, this is all I have right now, only two thousand taels. Please take it."

Bai Yaping's words moved and saddened Bai Wenshi, who accepted the silver notes and sobbed uncontrollably.

The daughters who had married out of the family had all spoken up, so naturally, the eldest uncle and the third uncle had to speak first. However, his family really didn't have much money, and if they did, they would use it to cover the deficit for the third uncle.

Boss Bai glanced at his wife, and Sister-in-law Bai's eyes immediately reddened.

Boss Bai said somewhat hesitantly.

"Jiafeng, how much silver do you have at home?"

Without answering, Sister-in-law Bai took out the money bag she had prepared beforehand. Opening the bag, she found a few loose silver coins and two twenty-tael silver notes inside. In total, it was less than one hundred taels. Finally, with red eyes, Sister-in-law Bai tried to take off her earrings, but Bai Wenshi, who was standing next to her, quickly stopped her.

Everyone in the Bai family, young and old, knew exactly what was going on with the eldest branch of the family. Only the third branch pretended not to know anything and contentedly enjoyed everything.

Looking at the few scattered coins his eldest brother had, Bai Laosan felt a surge of dissatisfaction. Was this how they were giving money to a beggar?

"Now only the third branch is left," Bai Sanye snorted.

"Everyone knows the Bai family. Among the Bai family, our third branch is the poorest. As the third uncle, I'll reluctantly contribute five hundred taels!"

For the first time ever, Bai Laosan offered five hundred taels of silver, which made his wife glare at him. In the end, she reluctantly took out five hundred taels of silver notes. When Bai Laoye saw this, he slammed his hand on the table in anger and roared at Bai Laosan.

"What are you pretending to be poor for? Do you think I'm blind? Don't you know how much silver you embezzled during that trip to Anguo to get medicine? Don't you feel guilty about how much of the boss's money you paid for?"

When Old Master Bai exposed his shameful secret on the spot, Third Master Bai became furious and embarrassed.

“I have a clear conscience. What do I have to feel guilty about? Our third branch of the family just doesn’t have any money. This five hundred taels is what I saved up from my savings. Besides, he’s not my son. Is it wrong for me to give him five hundred taels?”

Bai Laosan's words plunged the scene into awkwardness once again. Old Master Bai looked at his third son, whose thought process was so peculiar, and his chest ached with anger again. After calming down for a long time, he asked Bai Yingxuan.

"Second brother, how much can you provide?"

The cheap old man glanced at Bai Wenshi; he didn't know anything about this either, as Bai Wenshi usually managed the money in the family.

Bai Wenshi wiped away her tears and said.

“I did the math yesterday, and the family can still scrape together four thousand taels.”

Old Master Bai pondered for a moment before speaking.

"We've raised 6,500 taels together now. Let's forget about the eldest brother's small change. I'll raise another 3,500 taels, bringing the total to 10,000 taels from the private account. The remaining 40,000 taels will be paid from the east accounting office. I think we should confirm Jingqi's safety with the other party before giving them the money!"

Upon hearing Old Master Bai's arrangement, Third Master Bai across from him could hardly hide his secret delight. He never expected that he could get 25,000 taels for only 500 taels. What a profitable deal!

Everyone thought Old Master Bai's words made sense, but Bai Wenshi immediately thought of a problem and quickly spoke up.

"How do we contact the kidnappers?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent. Yes, with only one line of communication, how could the Bai family contact the kidnappers?

After a moment of contemplation, Old Master Bai spoke.

"We can't give them the money now. We'll wait for them to contact us and then figure out how to get in touch with them. In short, we can't give them the money until we're sure Jingqi is safe!"

Everyone agreed with this, but Bai Laosan was not happy. He was about to get his 25,000 taels of silver when this happened. He quickly stood up and said something.

"I'll handle that!"

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent, and everyone turned to look at Master Bai.

Noticing the gazes of the crowd, Third Master Bai quickly remembered that he was a member of the Bai family and hurriedly explained.

"I have connections in this area. I'll go out and inquire around to see if I can find a way to contact them. Saving lives is the priority!"

Master Bai's words made everyone nod in agreement; saving lives was the priority.

The family meeting ended immediately, and the Bai family began preparing the money.

Bai Laosan rushed out the door. How could he not be anxious? The money was almost in his hands, and he needed to get it done quickly so that he could get the money.

So, Bai Laosan successfully made contact with Prince Wu Guiwu and conveyed Bai Laoye's message to Guiwu: the Bai family would not provide any money unless the child was safe.

Guiwu frowned upon hearing this. In this day and age, there were no telephones. How could they confirm safety?

However, Master Bai quickly stepped forward and whispered something in Guiwu's ear.

"That little monster can write, so just make him write a letter home. Oh, and it would be best to slap him twice before he writes it, so he writes something pitiful. That way, the old man will give him the money more readily!"

Guiwu thought this made sense and nodded quickly, indicating that the letter would be delivered that evening so that Master Bai could receive it promptly. The two then discussed the procedures for collecting the ransom before parting ways.

After getting the idea, Guiwu rushed to the gang's gathering place. The place was somewhat remote, with sparse houses around it. This land all belonged to his family, but in recent years his family had fallen on hard times and was in ruins, so no one lived there anymore. This land was just a place for his underlings and some shady characters to hang out. It was a good place for kidnapping, murder, and burying bodies.

Guiwu opened the door and saw a group of grown men gathered around a table. The table was packed with them, and they were all playing dice games, making a lot of noise. You could hear the clattering of the dice from outside the door. Guiwu squeezed in to take a look.

Good heavens, there was Bai Jingqi, that little devil, standing on a chair, one foot on the table, the other hand holding a sieve cup and shaking it wildly, his little face flushed, and he was shouting loudly.

"Place your bet now, place your bet now! Betting on Big or Small pays out two, betting on Three pays out eight! Place your bet, place your bet!"