All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

The surrounding lackeys were also in high spirits, throwing silver and copper coins onto the table with the words drawn on it.

Seeing this, Guiwu was so angry he was about to explode. He slammed his hand on the table and roared at everyone.

"This isn't a casino, you're kidnappers! You're kidnappers! Tie this little brat up right now!"

All eyes turned to Guiwu, but no one made a move. Finally, a middle-aged man spoke hesitantly.

"Your Highness, let's just have some fun. This young man is very obedient. Why make things so tense?"

Gui Wu dared to appear here in front of Bai Jingqi because he never intended to spare Bai Jingqi's life. Now, seeing this group of incompetent teammates, he was so angry that he wanted to lash out again. Just then, Bai Jingqi put the dice cup on the table and began to grumble in dissatisfaction.

"Prince Wu, you are a man of status. Is it worth getting angry with a child like me? Besides, kidnappers are people too. Look at the food you've given everyone. Even dogs wouldn't eat it. And what a wretched place this is! There isn't even a girl here. Everyone's living in such hardship. What's wrong with having some fun and livening things up once in a while? It's fate that we've all come together. Don't be so angry. We're just doing our jobs. Let's all have a peaceful few days together and relax. Isn't that a good thing?"

Prince Wu was so angry he was about to explode. He raised his hand, ready to slap Bai Jingqi, that little brat, while shouting.

"Fuck your mother, you little brat, I'll beat you to death!"

As he spoke, he reached across the table to hit Bai Jingqi. At this moment, the people around him quickly grabbed Guiwu and shouted at each other.

"Your Highness, don't get angry with a child, it's not worth it. The young man is right, kidnappers are human too. We're just doing our job for money, let's all have a few days of peace and quiet, isn't that great? The brothers have had a lot of fun these past few days!"

Guiwu was completely exasperated. Most of these people were only attached to him because of his status as a prince. Since everyone wanted to be happy, what could he do? This little brat had a chance to kill him, so he'd get the silver first.

After calming himself down, Guiwu spoke to Bai Jingqi with a cold face.

"Your family needs news that you're alive. Go write a letter now, and I'll take it back to them so they can pay the ransom sooner!"

Bai Jingqi rubbed his head, then took a letter out of his pocket, threw it on the table, and said.

"I've already written the letter, take it back now!"

Guiwu looked at the letter on the table, his anger rising once again, and he roared at everyone.

"Who the hell gave him the pen and paper?"

The crowd looked at each other, and finally a middle-aged man stood up and spoke.

"It's...me!"

Gui Wu was about to lose his temper again when he heard Bai Jingqi say something from the other side.

"Don't blame Brother Zhang. I was the one who needed paper and pen, so I didn't write anything else. Besides, even if I did, I couldn't give it away. I'm still a child, and I need to study. Without paper and pen, how can I practice calligraphy? I'll be here for several days, and it will disrupt my studies. What will I do then? Everyone here has children, and as parents, we should understand this feeling. No matter how hard life is, we can't let our children suffer while studying!"

Several middle-aged people around him felt a sense of resonance and nodded with a kind fatherly smile. Yes, children's learning is so important. It's been a long time since I've seen a child who loves learning so much.

Guiwu was completely exasperated. He picked up the letter, opened it, and saw that the handwriting was very neat, even a little too neat. It was very tidy, with each stroke perfectly written and very beautiful.

Guiwu glanced at it and his gist was that he told his family not to worry, that he was doing well, had meat and steamed buns, and was living a leisurely and happy life. He just hoped his family wouldn't worry and would work hard to raise the money. He also mentioned that he hadn't eaten the glutinous rice cakes his family made for several days and asked the cook to prepare some for him when he returned.

Guiwu snorted and cursed inwardly, "You can eat glutinous rice cakes in your next life!"

He then put away the letter, glanced at everyone, and fiercely ordered them to keep a close eye on the boy before turning and leaving.

After Guiwu left, Bai Jingqi picked up the dice cup again, raised his voice a few decibels, and shouted to the crowd.

"The last round doesn't count, we'll roll again this round. Anyone else want to place a bet? Place your bets now!"

Once again, everyone gathered together in a joyful atmosphere.

That evening, after Master Bai "accidentally" discovered the kidnappers' reply, the letter was once again delivered to the old man.

Upon learning of Bai Jingqi's letter, everyone gathered together again and passed the letter around until finally, it reached the old man's hands once more.

When Bai Wenshi and Bai Yingxuan saw their son's letter, in which he said he had meat and steamed buns and was doing well, they were overjoyed and burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Old Master Bai read the letter carefully twice, then suddenly remembered something. Hearing the sobbing of his second son and his wife interrupted his thoughts, he scolded them impatiently.

"If you want to cry, get out of here! Jingqi cries when something happens, and now that nothing's wrong, you're still crying! Get out of here, all of you!"

Seeing the old man get angry, everyone shut up. Bai Wenshi helped her adoptive father, and the two of them walked out the door together. They hadn't had a proper rest for the past two days, and now that they had news of their son again, they were overwhelmed with mixed feelings of joy and sorrow and couldn't hold back their emotions.

The others also silently walked out the door, only Bai Laosan was somewhat dissatisfied. What was going on? Weren't they discussing the ransom?

Seeing that everyone had left, Bai Laosan immediately walked up to Bai Laoyezi and asked.

"Dad, when will we ask for the ransom?"

Old Master Bai was staring at the letter, trying to recall something, when he saw that the third son was still in the way, and immediately scolded him angrily.

"What ransom? Get out of here too!"

Bai Laosan was speechless. He flicked his sleeves and strode outside, still muttering to himself.

"What's going on here? I've been running around doing all this, and I even got yelled at. Oh well, it's not like my son was kidnapped. You're not in a hurry, and neither am I!"

He left after saying that.

After everyone left, Old Master Bai quickly sat down and began to read the letter word by word. The more he read, the deeper his smile became. Finally, he stroked his white beard, and all traces of tension vanished from his face.

The next day, Old Master Bai summoned everyone and spoke directly.

“I’ve been thinking about it. We’ve spent a lot of money on the eldest son’s matter this year, and we’re also preparing to repair the ancestral graves at the end of the year. There’s a huge deficit at home. I think 50,000 taels is too much for Jingqi’s matter. We need to negotiate the price with the other party. Didn’t we raise 10,000 taels before? Let’s set the ransom at 10,000 taels!”

Old Master Bai's words stunned everyone, especially Third Master Bai, who was the first to object. What was going on? His 25,000 taels had suddenly become 5,000 taels? Wasn't this a breach of trust?

Master Bai was the first to stand up and shout.

"Father, that's not fair. You agreed on 50,000 taels, and now you've bargained down to 10,000 taels. Is that how you bargain?"

Old Master Bai snorted and scolded.

"You spendthrift, do you think the Bai family has too much money?"

Bai Laosan was speechless for a moment, and quickly explained.

"Father, of course I don't mind having more money, but what if we bargain down from 50,000 taels to 10,000 taels and they get angry and become a rival to Jingqi?"

Bai Laosan's words struck a chord with Bai Wenshi and Bai Yingxuan. Their biggest concern was the child's well-being. To be honest, for a large family like theirs, 50,000 taels wouldn't shake their foundation. They were also puzzled as to why the old man suddenly wanted to bargain.

Bai Wenshi spoke first.

“Father, Jingqi is still a child whose fate is unknown, so please don’t provoke him. Although 50,000 taels is a bit much, it’s not like our Bai family can’t afford it. If you’re reluctant to part with the money, my wife and I can just consider it a loan to you, okay?”

Old Master Bai was getting annoyed by what his children were saying, and said impatiently.

"Jingqi is perfectly fine, isn't he? You bunch of spendthrifts, don't you really value money? Do as I say, third brother, find a way to send a message saying that our Bai family is willing to pay the ransom, but hopes to reduce it to ten thousand taels. If the other party agrees, we'll exchange the money for the person. If they don't agree, we'll haggle over the price later. In business, you have to be willing to ask for the highest bid and then lower the price. That's settled!"

Seeing the old man's resolute attitude, Bai Laosan stomped his foot in anger and turned to leave.

All that was left were people looking at each other in bewilderment, while Bai Wenshi and his wife embraced each other and sobbed again.

The news of the kidnapping of the Bai family's child prodigy quickly spread among those with ulterior motives. Wealthy families in the capital immediately tightened their supervision of their children, fearing that they might encounter a similar situation.

However, the little prodigy himself has been eating so much these past few days that his mouth is covered in oil, and his little face has become a bit rosy. At the Bai family home, the whole family eats according to a set menu, which is nothing like the carefree life he enjoys here.

Every day, Bai Jingqi was having a great time eating meat and drinking soup with a group of burly men from all walks of life. He was also having a great time. During these few days, he chatted and joked with everyone and learned a lot of the low-level skills of the underworld in this era.

Meanwhile, Master Bai, looking displeased, walked into the teahouse, pushed open the door to the private room, and immediately saw Gui Wu, who had been waiting there for a long time. Both of them saw the displeasure in each other's eyes, and Gui Wu spoke first.

"What exactly is the Bai family up to? Don't you want children anymore?"

Bai Laosan plopped down in a chair, annoyed. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and then let out a frustrated sigh.

"Want...want my ass! The old man does want it, but I don't know what's wrong with him. They think 50,000 taels is too much and they want to haggle with you. What kind of nonsense is this?"

Upon hearing this, Guiwu became agitated, slammed his hand on the table, and reprimanded him angrily.

"Your Bai family can't even come up with 50,000 taels? Isn't Bai Jingqi your family's little prodigy? Isn't he Old Master Bai's favorite grandson? Why are you so reluctant to give me the money?"

Bai Laosan rolled his eyes a hundred times and sighed.

"Damn it, how would I know? Logically speaking, the old man wouldn't be stingy with 50,000 taels of silver. But, I say, Prince Wu, asking for 50,000 is a bit too much, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Guiwu was about to say something, but then he thought about it and realized that it was indeed a bit expensive. After all, 50,000 taels of silver would be enough to fill several carriages if it were in cash. Most wealthy families couldn't afford that much money, but the Bai family was no ordinary family either.

Guiwu turned around and sat down in his chair. After a long silence, he finally asked with some uncertainty.

"How about we lower the price to forty-five thousand taels?"

Upon hearing this, Master Bai lost his temper even more. He picked up his teacup, took another sip, put the cup down, and then held up one finger.

"That's the price the old man said!"

Upon seeing Master Bai's finger, Guiwu immediately stood up again, exclaiming in surprise.

"Ten thousand taels?"

This time, Master Bai regained his composure and nodded helplessly.

Guiwu was now completely enraged and roared at Master Bai.

"Ten thousand taels? Are you trying to fob us off like beggars? Impossible, absolutely impossible!! Has the Bai family patriarch lost his mind or what? Third Brother Bai, I'm telling you this now, if you don't have forty thousand taels, your Bai family can just wait to collect your corpses!"

Chapter Seven: Double-crossing, hehe!

Bai Sanye wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he acted as if it were none of his business, took a pastry, took a bite, and then slowly said.

"He's not my son, why am I in such a hurry? Anyway, ten thousand taels is definitely too little. I'll sound out the old man and see if he can give me more. The most important thing right now is to get the money in my hands!"

When Guiwu heard what Master Bai said, he immediately felt that it made sense. The news of the kidnapping of the Bai family's young prodigy was spreading throughout the capital, and the sooner it was resolved, the better.

After discussing for a long time, the two parted ways. Once again, it was Master Bai who paid the bill. This was the third time that Guiwu had arranged to meet Master Bai. Although Master Bai was a little unhappy, he thought that once he got the ransom, he wouldn't care about such a small amount of money, so he didn't pay any attention to it.

Guiwu had lost a lot of money recently, and then he was caught by his uncle. With the new grudge against the Bai family and his empty pockets, he asked for 50,000 taels of silver. Otherwise, he would have asked for 10,000 taels at most. In the original story, he did ask for 10,000 taels.

That very night after Master Bai returned home, the kidnappers sent another letter. In the letter, they agreed to negotiate the price, but the minimum price was 30,000 taels, not a tael less!

It seems that Guiwu has come to his senses after returning home and decided to get the silver first.

However, after reading the letter, Old Master Bai still disagreed and asked Third Master Bai to convey the message again: ten thousand taels, not a tael more.

Master Bai was cursing under his breath. From 50,000 taels to 30,000 taels, he was losing 10,000 taels less, but the old man still wouldn't agree. He was so anxious that he almost jumped up and had a good talk with the old man. It turns out that the old man dotes on a fake grandson!

However, it was only after the old man angrily rebuked him for which side he was on that Bai Sanye shut up.

Master Bai was also worried that his identity as an inside man would be exposed, so he had no choice but to continue acting as a messenger.

On their fourth meeting, the two men were no longer on good terms. After exchanging harsh words, they declared that they would never lower the price again, and then they parted ways. This time, it was Master Bai who paid for the tea.

Five days have passed since Bai Jingqi was kidnapped, and the news has spread throughout the capital. Even some government officials have gone to the Bai residence to inquire about the situation. After all, no matter how corrupt the Qing Dynasty was, these wealthy families who paid protection money still had to be dealt with. The matter has now become the talk of the town, and the government, no matter what, had to go and ask about the situation.

When the authorities came to the door, the old master of the Bai family ordered everyone to keep quiet. No one was allowed to spread the word. But what good was the gag order? The news that the Bai family's little prodigy had been kidnapped for five days still got out. They even made out how much money the kidnappers wanted.

In the capital, all sorts of rumors began to circulate, and the atmosphere was tense. The government had no choice but to send people to stake out outside the Bai residence, hoping to catch the messenger. But with a mole in the picture, what good would it do?

Because Master Bai had been summoned several times before, the authorities had also summoned him to explain. What could Master Bai possibly explain? He could only say that the candied hawthorn seller had approached him a few days ago, but now, after being intimidated by the authorities, the seller had stopped coming, and he had lost contact with him.