"I don"t think I did something that makes me become your benefactor?" Yao Ying asked in confusion. At most, he was just getting rid of the scholars. Shouldn"t he get angry because he ruined his business?!
"By taking care of those scholars, Young Master has indeed saved this one"s son," The old man said while sighing. He felt a bit embarra.s.sed after admitting it.
"What happened?" Yao Ying asked in concern.
"Not to lie to all of you. One of the stupid scholars is actually this one"s son. A few days ago, he got an offer regarding this matter. If he"s able to finish this mission, he will get a hefty sum of money and become a standard fourth rank officer," The old man started his explanation. "He didn"t care about the money, but he wanted the easy way to become an official."
Lin Jian looked up in surprise. "Standard fourth rank? How could they jump up so fast in the officialdom that easily? After all, it seems like those scholars haven"t pa.s.sed the test yet!" Was there someone who was trying to create havoc? A high-ranking person? A traitor from the Shu Kingdom itself? Or someone else?
The old man nodded. "Indeed... I have never believed that this is only an easy matter. There must be some catches that the employer didn"t mention to these bunch of scholars. How could it be that easy to become an official for scholars who haven"t pa.s.sed the exam yet? I already tried to talk some sense to my son and the good for nothing didn"t even want to listen to this old man"s advice!" He looked hurt by his son"s stupidity, but he was also helpless to the point that he was already given up.
He indeed brought him up the wrong way. He only had this one son so he spoiled him rotten, hence his current predicament. However, everything had been too late and there was no medicine for regret!
"I already told him that it"s a traitorous work that could lead to a war and he would implicate the whole families along with him. He said that I"ve never believed in him. With this kind of stupid decision, how could I trust him?!" The man let out his grievance in a low voice. He felt too disappointed with his own son.
"He even did the deed in his own family"s teahouse. How stupid would that be? If somehow he is in trouble, he will lead our family to a calamity ah~!!" After that, he looked at Yao Ying with grateful eyes, "What I had failed to achieve had been achieved by Young Master in less than an incense of stick of time... That"s why you become this old man"s benefactor!"
Yao Ying shook his head. "No... I also only talked and asked some random questions," Yao Ying humbly said. In reality, he didn"t want to save those scholars but to embarra.s.s them for being fools that had been used by other people. He felt guilty because what he did to embarra.s.s them suddenly made him a benefactor out of nowhere.
Yao Ying hesitantly asked, "Uncle... do you know who are trying to use your son as cannon fodder? I believe that this is can also be called a suicide mission because this implicates other kingdoms" matter." As scholars, they should be learning about political matter. Why didn"t they understand about such a simple thing? Were they really blinded by the offer to such extent?
The old man listened to Yao Ling seriously. "I also know that this matter is a bit weird. I already asked my son a few times, but he never revealed his employer. I wonder how that person brainwashed my son to this extent! He only said that he needs me to trust him, but I"m worried about him!"
Yao Ling suddenly asked, "Uncle... do you really not know about the employer? If the mission failed, would he try to search for your son and find some troubles? After all, your son knows a bit too much regarding this matter. Even though he doesn"t fully know about the employer"s aim, there"s a possibility that the employer would do something to your son."
The old man paled when he heard Yao Ling"s question. The woman pointed out something that he had never think of before. The teahouse owner realized that it was the truth. Would the employer capture his son and kill him just to shut his mouth?! He started to get paler and paler. The old man almost fell down due to his weak knee. Why didn"t he think of that matter?
When Yao Ying saw the old man almost fell down, he quickly held him and told the old man to sit down and Yao Ling poured a cup of tea for the poor old man. The old man was in a daze. His heartbeat was erratic and he started to think deeply about this matter.
The moment his son had chosen to accept the offer, his stupid son had already been in deep s.h.i.+t. There was no way for his son to back out the moment he stepped into the muddled water. The old man looked at Yao Ying and it seemed like he had decided on something.
Then he looked up at Yao Ying and his friends, then asked, "Young Master... can you save this one"s son?" He begged wholeheartedly.
Yao Ying looked taken aback. "I..." He didn"t know what to say. He never thought that the old man would be desperate enough to beg for his help -- a mere stranger. It was a good chance to know the mastermind, but he still needed to ask the others" consent. This matter related to Han Xiang, so Lin Jian would probably agree too --- just to protect his new sister.
"What do you want us to help you with?" Yao Ying asked curiously. He wanted to know the details before he decided whether to help the old man or not. Yao Ying didn"t want to involve himself with something that was too risky with Yao Ling there.
"Help me save my son from the employer"s clutch!" The old man knew that what he said was ridiculous, after all, the man in front of him was a stranger. Why should he help them and endangering himself? He needed to think of something to offer to them --- this much, he understood.
"I will give you something in return," The old man said resolutely.
"Oh? What kind of thing?" Yao Ying asked. He currently didn"t lack any money so what would this old man give him? Thus, he became curious because the old man"s demeanor had changed. He became more confident and her gaze was sharper. It seemed like he had become more clearheaded all of a sudden. He exudes a different aura from the previous weak teahouse owner --- he seemed to be more powerful.
"Information," The old man said his offer. "I will exchange my son"s life with information."
"Information? What kind of information?" Yao Ying asked, feeling a little bit suspicious.
"Any kind. I can find you a piece of information that you want easily," The old man said while gritting his teeth. This was actually his secret, even his stupid son didn"t know about this --- otherwise, he would destroy everything with his big mouth. If he wasn"t his only son, he probably wouldn"t use this secret to save him. But... he was still a father after all... No matter how stupid his son was, in the end, he was still his son. He was hoping that his son would inherit his information network, but he knew that his son was a good-for-nothing and he didn"t trust him.
What angered him the most was the fact that he would divulge this secret to these strangers. If he didn"t see how upright these people were, he certainly wouldn"t make this risky decision. In other sense, he was gambling with his secret!
He was gambling... Gambling on his own judgment that the people in front of him could be trusted. At the very least, they could save his son. The ability that this man had just shown him was not ordinary. Even if he lost his life, he couldn"t stand by and let his son ruin his own life!
"Do you own an information network?" Lin Jian asked curiously.