How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Master Song asked, "Was your father captured the day you escaped?"

"should be."

Yan Ru wondered to herself, what was going on? Master Song didn't seem to value this jade pendant much. Was it not precious?

Master Song was reminiscing about the conduct of his former classmate, who was full of scholarly spirit, not pedantic, but with a touch of aloofness and arrogance; not good at worldly things, but still able to make a living in the chaotic world.

Such a person is definitely not an ordinary person, so what does it mean that he asked his daughter to give him the jade pendant?

In fact, Lü Peijun had been anxious and uneasy ever since he met with the Guo family, and had begun to prepare, as if he had anticipated this calamity sooner or later.

No sooner had the arrangements been made than the Guo family members began to act impatiently. They had no choice but to send a message to their eldest daughter, telling her not to return to the city, and hurriedly entrusted their youngest daughter to the most powerful former classmate in Sifang City.

Having not seen each other for many years and without time to assess the other party's character, he had no choice but to send his daughter with the treasure to seek refuge. He didn't ask for much hospitality, just to save his life before the other party escaped.

From the moment the arrangements were made, Mr. Lü had arranged for beggars on the street to stand guard at the street corner, so that they would immediately report if they saw the police going into the shop.

Unfortunately, the police arrived in a hurry that day, and in the chaos, Yan Ru grabbed her small suitcase and ran along the path. She stumbled and staggered her way to the Song residence.

However, Master Song had no way of knowing these things.

He fiddled with the jade pendant and asked Yan Ru, "Are you really going to give it to me?"

Yan Ru nodded, "Yes, it's like a child carrying gold through a bustling market for me. I can't protect it. But you are the richest man in this city. Many important people have to give you face. This thing is the best in your hands."

Master Song had heard these words many times, but hearing them from Yan Ru's mouth made him particularly pleased.

“Do you know? I once heard your father say that your family has a treasure passed down through generations.”

Master Song seemed quite interested, and after pausing to look at Yan Ru's reaction, he said, "I heard it's an antique from a thousand years ago, called... the Double Fish Jade Pendant."

Yan Ru roughly knew which jade pendant was the most precious, but she didn't reveal it, pretending to recall:

“The Pisces pendant? This… I remember Dad mentioned it a few times, but he didn’t go into details. He just said that it would be passed down to his grandson, and if there was no one to inherit it, it would be smashed.”

Of course, Yan Ru made this up; in reality, she had never heard her father mention anything about a double fish pendant.

Is this double fish pendant really that valuable?

Whether something is precious or not depends on who appreciates it. To me, it's just a jade pendant, nothing particularly rare.

If it fell into the eyes of an antique dealer, it would be priceless. And this jade pendant has a story behind it, do you know it?

Yan Ru, of course, knew nothing and honestly shook her head.

Mr. Song told her, "There is a saying that this jade pendant with two fish represents the eyes of the Buddha in Buddhism, that is, 'fish swim freely in the water without hindrance.'"

Buddhism uses it as a metaphor for liberated practitioners who transcend the world and attain freedom and enlightenment; it also symbolizes revival, immortality, and rebirth.

Yan Ru was completely bewildered, not understanding what this meant. "Isn't this just a legend? The Master said, 'The Master did not speak of strange phenomena, physical prowess, disorder, or spirits.' Do you believe in this too?"

Song Wenqu appeared calm and composed, and said with a smile, "It is indeed a legend, but there must be a reason behind every rumor."

Yan Ru was skeptical. She had held the Pisces pendant countless times in the past few days and found nothing unusual about it.

"In my heart, nothing is more unusual than my father and sister. I don't know if the Guo family really wants this double fish pendant."

Yan Ru looked somewhat dejected. "Master Song, this double dragon jade pendant is also a valuable item. Although it's not priceless, it could probably be exchanged for a house. I'm giving it to you as payment for the room I've been bothering you with these past few days."

These words sounded like a farewell, and Master Song was slightly surprised. "What's wrong? Are you not comfortable staying at the manor?"

Yan Ru shook her head in denial, "It's not that it's bad, it's just that no matter how good it is, I still miss my family. The more peacefully I live in your house, the more uncomfortable I feel."

Hearing Yan Ru's tearful words, Master Song felt a pang of heartache.

"Just stay here in peace. I will take care of your father and your sister. Jiuhuang Village is not far from here, and your family has tenants there, so she should be safe."

"Does that mean they have news?" She held back her tears and looked hopefully at Master Song.

Master Song patted her shoulder. “Your father is locked up in this city prison. They’re not going to release him, nor are they going to kill him. I asked around for a long time and found out that he offended a concubine in the Guo family. They want to take their anger out on him and lock him up for life.”

Yan Ru exclaimed in astonishment, "This...is there no justice or law left? How can the Guo family be so arrogant..."

The Yan family lived in Sifang City, a prosperous area that had always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists.

However, due to its wealth and strict garrison, the city remained relatively stable even amidst turmoil. Furthermore, since Commander Guo established his military headquarters within the city, things have become much calmer.

The people in this area still felt grateful for General Guo's protection, so Yanru didn't quite believe it.

"Which concubine is so arrogant? Aren't she afraid of being investigated by Commander Guo?"

Yan Ru lacks experience in social life and still sees things in a naive way, with a black-and-white perspective.

Therefore, Master Song said, "Distant people should not interfere with relatives. If that concubine says that your father has been disrespectful to her, would Commander Guo still care?"

Yan Ru blushed. "My father is definitely not that kind of person."

A sense of powerlessness welled up inside him. "I have to go to the Guo residence. I need to find Commander Guo and seek justice for my father."

She impulsively ran outside, but Mr. Song quickly grabbed her, saying, "Come back, don't act rashly."

"But..." Yan Ru couldn't help but cry, sobbing and wailing, which was heartbreaking.

Master Song pulled her shoulders and said, word by word, "Sigh... Yanru, the old saying 'the common people can't fight against the officials' is never wrong. He occupies Sifang City and has troops from the Hunan and Hubei regions. How can you fight him?"

Yan Ru was indignant. "Does this mean that General Guo is going to fabricate a false case just because she is a concubine? How can the people be convinced of this?"

This is the Republic of China now, not the feudal autocracy of the past. I don't believe it; I must find Commander Guo and explain everything to him.

Master Song couldn't persuade him no matter what he did, and he couldn't help but get a little annoyed. "You just stay here in the Song mansion and don't go anywhere else. That's what your father wants."

Yan Ru shut her mouth and stopped talking, though she strongly disagreed.

Having witnessed the immense wealth of the Song family during this period, she regarded Master Song as a very important figure, yet he was so humble in front of Commander Guo.

She's just a concubine; if she were to meet Commander Guo, wouldn't she have to kneel down and kowtow?

She couldn't help but look down on Master Song a bit, but she also understood that she was no longer anyone to him and there was no need for her to take risks for him. However, she could no longer stay in the Song family mansion.

Master Song kept repeating the same old things, but Yan Ruhua made it clear: "I still want to go home. I'm not the kind of person who's afraid of death. It's only right for a family to stay together."

Master Song had seen all sorts of people, and just by listening to her tone, he knew that Yan Ru probably looked down on him, thinking that he wouldn't dare to face the Guo family, even if she was just a concubine.

Faced with Yan Ru's fiery heart, he couldn't help but calm down and put on the same demeanor he used when dealing with outsiders.

"If you insist on doing so, then go ahead. But I also want to make it clear to you that the Guo family is looking for you and your sister. Even the eldest son of the Guo family has been mobilized. Outsiders don't know the details of this, so you should handle it carefully."

Yan Ru sensed the coldness in his words and couldn't help but regret her words, realizing she had almost ruined her chances of survival.

However, Master Song did offer her some advice after all, and his protectiveness was genuine, so she sincerely said:

“Mr. Song, I am young and ignorant, please forgive me. I was really worried about my family and that’s why I spoke without thinking. No matter whether my family can get through this safely, I will always be grateful for your righteous protection.”

Once she cleared her head, Yan Ru realized she was definitely not a fool. On the contrary, the reason she had always had a smooth life was because she knew how to get along with people.

Fortunately, Master Song wasn't really angry with her. In the end, he couldn't bear to part with this delicate girl, so he specially asked Song Yi to see her off.

“Since I have promised your father, I will keep my promise. If you miss your family, I will have Song Yi accompany you on a trip, just to put your mind at ease.”

Let her see for herself what she would be like without the protection of the Song family.

Yan Ru had no choice but to follow Song Yi downstairs, without even having time to go back and get her luggage.

Fortunately, the important things have been hidden away. If they can find a safe place to stay outside, they will ask Song Yuanliang to help them retrieve them.

Compared to Master Song's shrewdness, Yan Ru was more at ease with Song Yuanliang's youthful spirit.

After hearing Master Song's instructions, Song Yi realized that this was not an easy task. But he was still thinking about how to do it perfectly so that no one could find fault with it.

The first rule is that Yan Ru must not be allowed to go back dressed like this. "Miss Lü, your outfit is too eye-catching. You'd better change it."

Yan Ru also thought of this. "Then I'll go back and change. What clothes do you think I should wear?"

Song Yi looked her up and down, and then he had an idea. "Would it be alright if you wore the maid's uniform from the Song family? I am the master's attendant, so it is perfectly normal for me to take a maid with me when I go shopping."

"It's all up to you."

Since Yan Ru had no experience traveling alone, she naturally listened to whatever Song Yi said.

Song Yi took Yan Ru directly to the steward's room to change her clothes and then told her to tie her hair up like a married woman.

He then took some imported cosmetics and asked, "Miss Lü, do you know how to apply Western makeup?"

Yan Ru nodded. "I drew it when I was performing in a play at school."

"Oh, that makes things easier. Come on, get dressed up so that no one can tell your true face."

Yanru thought for a moment and decided that she couldn't wear too much makeup, because ordinary people couldn't afford Western cosmetics, and she couldn't wear too little makeup either, for fear that people would recognize her at a glance.

He then thought of the little one's face and tried his best to draw her in front of the mirror.

Darken the color of the face powder to cover the fair skin, then use an eyeliner to lengthen the eyes and droop them slightly downwards. Draw thick, dark eyebrows with the tails pointing upwards, and apply lip rouge, thus changing the original, delicate face completely.

After thinking for a while, he still felt it wasn't enough, so he asked for some more cotton and wrapped it around his waist.

He tied his waist tightly, still worried about giving himself away, and asked, "Brother Song Yi, do you think this is okay? Should we pretend to be pregnant?"

Song Yi quickly waved his hand, "That's enough, that's enough, it's not noticeable at all."