Chapter 266 - 264: The Best Means of Revenge (Part 2)

Chapter 266: Chapter 264: The Best Means of Revenge (Part 2)

Jiang Zhaoyin immediately turned his gaze to Xu Jing and said, "Speak."

Xu Jing, however, looked towards Duke Qiao and said, "I want to ask first, the gold bars you’ve prepared, approximately how heavy is each one?"

Duke Qiao was taken aback and said, "Each gold bar is about twelve taels."

Xu Jing nodded and said, "One tael of gold is approximately equivalent to ten taels of silver, which means a gold bar is one hundred and twenty taels of silver. The kidnappers requested to convert the silver into gold bars, so a ransom of ten thousand taels means preparing about eighty-four gold bars; ten thousand taels’ worth of gold bars amounts to approximately one thousand and eight taels, which is about one hundred jin.

Two thousand taels of gold bars weigh more than two hundred jin."

Mrs. Wen, already displeased with Xu Jing and feeling agitated, couldn’t help but say sharply, "What’s the use of calculating this at a time like this!"

Is she trying to show off her math skills or what?!

Xu Jing gave her a cold glance and before she could speak, Mr. Yao excitedly said, "I understand! I understand Miss Xu’s point! With this many gold bars, how can the kidnappers transport them all without alerting anyone?! The difficulty is not ordinary! The first batch of ransom is already two hundred jin, and with the second batch, it exceeds four hundred jin!

Traveling by land is impossible, unless by water, but a boat carrying so many gold bars would definitely attract attention wherever it goes. It’s unthinkable to disappear with these gold bars!"

Such a large ransom, even in past kidnapping cases, is unheard of!

Xu Jing looked at Mr. Yao and nodded, "Indeed, figuring out how to handle the ransom and evade those tracking them is the kidnappers’ second biggest challenge.

However, with such a large ransom, the kidnappers can hardly escape with it."

Duke Qiao then said, "If they have many people, each taking a bit of gold bars, it’s still possible to carry them away."

"Their numbers should not be many."

Xu Jing said indifferently, "Chief Fang said there were only four bloody footprints in front of the cabin. If they had many people, how could they have sent only one person to kidnap those two children? After all, the guards hired by Xu San Niang must be quite skilled. If they fail at the kidnapping part, there’s no need to proceed with the rest of the plan.

I guess they have no more than three people at most.

The key point is, kidnappers usually seek wealth, not risking their lives. No matter where they place it, twenty thousand taels is a considerable amount, a huge fortune for ordinary people that they could never exhaust in multiple lifetimes. They have no need to risk it and demand another twenty thousand taels from the Wang Family and Xu Family.

The more contact they have with the Wang Family and Xu Family, the greater the risk of being caught.

Besides, the Wang Family and Xu Family are not fools; even if they succeeded once, how could they expect compliance the second time?

Duke Qiao added, "They could also hide the silver first, and take it out bit by bit when things calm down."

The ginger indeed gets spicier with age. Among those who can keep up with her thoughts, aside from the government officials and Xiao Yi, it’s just Duke Qiao.

Xu Jing glanced at Duke Qiao and said, "Of course, that’s also possible, but finding a secret temporary hiding place for such a large sum is not easy, and there’s always a risk of being discovered. Moreover, considering my prior investigation, I feel that this kidnapper is not solely after the silver."

Duke Qiao was startled.

Xu Jing continued, suddenly raising her eyes to Mrs. Wen, her voice slightly cold: "Mrs. Wen, you just said taking out ten thousand taels of ransom has already touched the Xu Family’s lifeline. I want to know, how much silver can the Xu Family possibly come up with right now?"

Mrs. Wen’s face turned stiff, and she couldn’t help but exclaim excitedly, "Why are you asking this! This is a private matter of our family..."

"Mrs. Wen."

Xu Jing couldn’t be bothered with her dallying and said coldly, "Your child is the one kidnapped. If you are unwilling to cooperate with the government’s work, just as Jiang Zhaoyin said, we have no ability to rescue your child. Please seek out someone else!"

Just as Mrs. Wen was about to retort what sort of government official is she, Jiang Shaobai’s cold voice rang out, "I have requested Miss Xu to participate in this case as an external consultant for the Western Capital’s court. Miss Xu’s words represent the position of the Western Capital court, Mrs. Wen, mind your words!"

Mrs. Wen was startled, and in the next breath, she saw Xiao Yi standing beside Xu Jing, glaring at her coldly. That look, like an icy blade, one glance and it felt as if one would descend into endless darkness. Trembling, she stammered, "There’s... nothing left! Just... just to gather this ten thousand taels, we have to sell all Xu Family properties. If... if we have to come up with another ten thousand taels, we... we can only borrow from others..."

Thinking about owing such a huge debt, which might not even guarantee Guang’er’s rescue, Mrs. Wen was filled with despair.

Mr. Yao also showed his discomfort with this woman and couldn’t help but skeptically ask, "Is this true?"

Despair combined with fear brought Mrs. Wen to the verge of tears, her eyes reddening as she said, "This concerns my child’s life, I... I dare not speak nonsense!"

Xu Jing glanced at her, then diverted her gaze, speaking softly, "She is likely telling the truth."

Based on the host’s memory of the Xu family’s life and her understanding of Mrs. Wen and Xu Guangyi, it should be fairly accurate.

"The reason I suspect the kidnapper has ulterior motives is that we believe the kidnapper might have had a long-standing grudge against Xu San Niang."

Xu Jing then shared the deductions she and Mr. Yao had made earlier, "If the kidnapper did all this not for money but to seek revenge on Xu San Niang, then it makes sense why he would risk demanding another ransom."

For the Xu Family to come up with this money, they would have to lose everything, and the Wang Family would be significantly weakened. Xu San Niang, as the instigator, would become everyone’s target of disdain.

There is no better way to seek revenge on Xu San Niang.

Duke Qiao’s face darkened, his voice slightly trembling: "If it’s really as you say, then my Jun’er..."

Xu Jing quietly said, "Yes, the two young lords are very likely in danger."

Killing those two children in the end would be a devastating blow to Xu San Niang.

Even someone as resilient as Duke Qiao couldn’t help but stumble.

Immediately beside him, a lord from the Wang Family supported him, full of worry, "Although... although Miss Xu’s words seem quite reasonable, these are just speculations for now..."

Xu Jing gave him a faint glance and said, "Yes, they are just speculations. Naturally, we hope it doesn’t turn into the worst-case scenario."

Jiang Shaobai then said, "Miss Xu has indeed provided me with a new perspective. Someone, go quickly and question those few servants from the Wang Family who are not at the residence now, see if they ever had any conflict with Xu San Niang!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a government official ran in from outside. After saluting Jiang Shaobai, he whispered in Mr. Yao’s ear.

As Mr. Yao listened, his face grew grimmer, and after exchanging glances with Xu Jing, he took a deep breath and said, "Miss Xu previously asked me to send someone to inquire about Sun Niang; there are results."