How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

The little girl leaned casually against the embroidered couch. Despite the slight chill of the morning dew, she frequently wiped non-existent beads of sweat from her face with a handkerchief.

Yanru took a closer look and realized it was a Western silk handkerchief. Unlike the simple and elegant handkerchiefs used by Chinese women, this imported item was printed with Western paintings.

The handkerchief had a lace trim, something only fashionable "modern" women would use, and it wasn't very common in this city.

Yanru guessed that she was probably trying to show off, so she smiled and said, "Sister, this handkerchief is really beautiful. You don't see it often."

The little thing was very proud of itself, twirling the handkerchief and turning around. "Isn't it pretty? It cost me a dollar! Humph, a couple of years ago, a dollar was enough to buy a little girl."

He muttered to himself and glanced at Yan Ru.

This glance made Yan Ru's heart skip a beat. "That's right, this style is fashionable, and it's what 'modern' girls love to use. Sister has such good taste."

The little thing was clearly pleased by Yan Ru's flattery, and smiled broadly. "Alright, you can rest here for now. I'll bring you some food later."

Yan Ru quickly stopped her, "There's no need to rest. We've already troubled you quite a bit by coming here. Let's meet Master Song and Madam Song first before making any arrangements. Please lead the way, sister. I'll pay my respects to the two masters first."

As she spoke, she slipped the shrimp-whisker bracelet from her wrist onto the little one's wrist.

The little thing weighed itself in its hand, and Yan Ru felt a little embarrassed. "My family is poor, and I came in a hurry, so I didn't bring anything nice. I'll repay my sister when I earn money in the future."

This time, it wasn't easy to refuse directly, so the little one agreed, "Okay, I'll put in a good word for you. Whether I can take you or not is not up to me."

Yan Ru hadn't expected her to be so difficult, so she had no choice but to give in, "Just lead the way, sister. Once we get to the main courtyard, I'll find it myself."

"Who said that? My family doesn't have that rule. Everything must be reported first, and we only do things after receiving orders from above. How can we do things first and then report?" He rolled his eyes as if Yan Ruduo had never seen the world.

Not wanting to offend anyone so soon after arriving, Yan Ru suppressed her anger and said, "Since they've already instructed that a place to rest has been prepared, the host must have known I was coming. It wouldn't be too presumptuous of you to show me the way, sister. Fine, I don't want to make things difficult for you, sister. In that case, I'll listen to you."

The little thing covered its mouth and smiled contemptuously, "Miss Lü, I spoke harshly, please don't take offense. If you become rich and powerful in the future, please don't hold a grudge."

After saying that, she turned and walked away, putting the golden shrimp-whisker bracelet on her wrist, making it look even darker.

As soon as she left, Yan Ru slammed the door shut and sat on the bed angrily. What kind of mess was this? She came to seek refuge with someone and didn't even get to see them.

I cursed the little thing eight hundred times in my heart before I finally calmed down a bit.

He opened the suitcase he was carrying; inside were some clothes crumpled up in a mess, as he had rushed there without having had time to tidy them up properly.

Remembering the things her father had given her before he left, Yanru found them and examined them closely against the light.

This is a jade pendant about the size of her palm. The jade is clear, warm and lustrous, but its color is not the common emerald green, yellow or black jade, but rather the clear, watery jadeite.

Yet it contained a dark hue, like a drop of ink falling into a clear pool, creating hazy ripples.

It's pretty, but not worth much. As the second daughter of an antique shop owner, she can tell the value of this kind of jadeite at a glance. It's a pity; if it weren't for the flaws, it would be a treasure.

Fortunately, natural ink-wash jadeite is not common and is considered a rare item.

Furthermore, the jade pendant is exquisitely carved, lifelike, and shaped like a fish. The two fish are connected head to tail, forming a circle. When viewed in the light, the ink marks in the jade seem to flow with the water, and the fish come to life.

"Knock knock," the door was knocked on. "Why is it locked?"

Yan Ru snapped out of her daze, quickly hid the jade pendant, and opened the door.

The little one brought in breakfast, looking around suspiciously. "You really rested here?"

Yan Ru sat at the table and took out the food from the tray one by one. "Hmm, I got up really early, I'm a little tired."

After taking a sip of porridge, he couldn't help but ask the little creature again, "Is there anything the household says? When can I see the master?"

The little thing sat down by itself. "What's the rush? I actually know that. Maybe you'll see the master tonight."

Seeing the boxes scattered on the bed, I walked over curiously to take a look.

Yan Ru hurried over and closed the box. "The things are a bit messy, so don't bother your sister. I'll tidy it up myself in a bit."

The little thing rolled its eyes at her dismissively, "I don't care about your stuff. What good things haven't I seen?"

As she spoke, she took a steamed bun and said, "I live downstairs from you, in the room where you change your shoes. If you need anything, just call me from the stairwell."

"Okay," Yan Ru replied, clearly not wanting to spend any more time with her.

"Oh, by the way, you can't go downstairs, you know that."

"What?!" Yan Ru was genuinely unaware. "Why? Is this also a rule of the Song family?"

“Yes, that’s how everyone in the Song family is,” he said, then gave her a meaningful look, his scrutinizing gaze making Yan Ru feel extremely uncomfortable.

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Yan Ru nodded, "I understand."

Anyway, I'll be able to see Master Song tonight. I must tell him that I don't want to stay in the boudoir as a young lady, or work in the Song family mansion, or be a helper in any of his businesses. That would be fine, and I'd be able to support myself.

Having thought it through, I made up my mind and finally let go of the tension and panic of the morning. I quickly ate breakfast, put the jade pendant away, and went to rest.

An uninvited guest arrived at the Sifangcheng Police Station, specifically requesting to see Lü Peijun. The police chief, with a forced smile, said, "Oh, Mr. Su Chuan, it's not that I'm being disrespectful, it's just that this man's crimes are too serious, and the higher-ups don't allow prison visits."

Hayakawa had a stern face and a gloomy look in his eyes. He gave the translator a meaningful glance.

The translator immediately understood and said, "Chief Zhang, it's not that we're trying to make things difficult for you, it's just that we were tricked at that antique shop a few days ago and bought something that made us lose our minds. We were just about to find someone to settle the score when we went to the shop and found out that you had arrested us. That's why we came to find you."

Taking a few steps forward, the translator made a counting motion and whispered, "This guy is rich and likes to study antiques. He's searched quite a bit around here, but this is the first time he's been cheated. He's furious and insists on settling accounts with someone."

Seeing that the police chief seemed to have taken his words to heart, he added, "Besides, he's already in jail for committing a crime. This Mr. Hayakawa just wants to see him in person and ask him some questions. We can't do anything to him. Please give him a few minutes of your time. It's not good to let Mr. Hayakawa go to the chief and say something wrong. These Japanese people are the most stubborn."

Sergeant Zhang stroked his chin, glanced at everyone in the hall, and said with difficulty, "It's not that I'm not giving Mr. Su Chuan face, but I'm not the only one in this hall. Even if I wanted to do this, I can't. What if someone tells the chief about this? Then I'll be the one who suffers."

The translator glared at Chief Zhang, cursing him a hundred times in his heart, but still translated it for Su Chuan, knowing that Su Chuan couldn't make the decision.

After hearing the translator's words, Su Chuan's already gloomy face became even more unpleasant. If it weren't for the fact that they had a bigger plan, they would probably have turned hostile right now.

"Money, I have it." He took ten silver dollars out of his bag and placed them on the table. "You guys, buy some wine and eat. You've worked hard, brothers." He even learned a few Chinese phrases.

Chief Zhang had noticed his actions early on. Seeing that the handbag was heavy, but he only took out ten silver dollars, he cursed his bad luck, saying that he had just opened for business today and had already encountered a stingy person.

He sat there without saying a word, took a big gulp of tea, spat out the tea foam with a "pui" sound, and then spoke, "Sigh~ It's not that we don't want to help Mr. Hayakawa, but this matter has such a big responsibility."

Then he frowned, "This...this is a serious matter, it's not easy to handle."

The translator knew this meant it wasn't enough, and inwardly cursed Sergeant Zhang for being greedy. Ten silver dollars wasn't enough for just one meeting? He shamelessly said, "Just one meeting, what do you think..."

Chief Zhang ignored him, his expression becoming even more troubled. "This is difficult to do."

Hayakawa understood what was going on without needing a translator.

He gave Chief Zhang a deep look, then threw his handbag on the table. "How about that? Is that enough? If not, I'll have to go to the chief. He's a regular customer of our trading company."

Sergeant Zhang put on a smiling face, "Oh, look at what you're saying. Alright, I'll make an exception for you today and give you special treatment."

With a wave of his hand, he summoned a burly, dark-faced man. "Little Sanzi, take these two to the prison to see the prisoners."

"Yes." The man was dark-skinned and strong, with a deep voice. He walked forward on his own without any expression.

Chief Zhang patted the translator on the shoulder, "Hurry up and catch up, he's a fast runner."

The translator shook off Chief Zhang's large hand, clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank you for your trouble."

He hurriedly followed, accompanied by his master.

Watching their departing figures, Chief Zhang muttered a curse, "So shameless, traitors."

He picked up the Japanese man's handbag, tossed it around, took out a few coins and put them with the ten silver dollars, then shared them with his brothers. He put the rest away and tucked it into his pocket.

"Don't even think about it. This is all for the director. I need to let him know right away that someone is coming to visit me in prison."