After I got into the drama, I led the plot astray

Chapter 177 Ankang's household registration is finally changed

Seeing that I didn't say anything, Yi Ping thought I was angry with Gui Lanting and her daughter. She shook my hand and whispered, "Sister, it's not worth getting angry about the Gui mother and daughter. My brother and I have been in Nancheng for more than ten years, and my father has never asked about us, let alone visited us. But I'm not angry. People without mothers are like weeds on the roadside. Anyone can step on them, so we have to be strong."

My mind was now full of thoughts on how to take revenge on Zheng Xian, and I didn't hear anything Yi Ping said.

Zheng Xian has been scheming against others all his life. He would never have dreamed that one day he would be schemed against by others.

I was thinking deeply when Wei Chang let out a "whoosh" and the carriage stopped.

Ankang ran over holding a footstool and placed it under the carriage. He opened the curtain for us and said happily, "Second Master, Third Miss, we have arrived at the Imperial Tutor's Mansion."

Seeing Ankang’s smile almost overflowing from his face, my mood inexplicably improved a little. I smiled and nodded at him, and got off the carriage with the help of Yiping.

We didn't hand in our name cards, but since Ankang was a servant in this mansion and we had lived here for a while, we were familiar faces, so the guard let us in without making things difficult for us.

The chief steward Bao Youli received the message and hurried out to greet us before we entered the main hall.

When Bao Youli saw me, he thought his eyes were blurry. He blinked several times before asking in disbelief, "Is this the second son of the Zhao family? Why is he so thin?"

I groaned and said, "Don't mention it. I almost died and didn't get back to see you."

Bao Youli's eyes widened in shock, and he asked anxiously, "What happened to the Second Young Master?"

I waved my hand and said, "Let's not talk about the past. Ankang, bring up the gift."

Ankang quickly brought the generous gift we had prepared to Bao Youli.

Bao Youli took one look and said quickly, "Lord Gongsun has been away from the palace for a long time. I don't know when he will come back. I'm afraid he won't be able to accept your gift."

I said, "Housekeeper, this gift is for you, not for Lord Gongsun."

Bao Youli was stunned for a moment and said, "For me? Why?"

I took the gift from Ankang and put it into Bao Youli's hand, saying, "When we lived in your house before, we were taken care of by the butler. This little gift is nothing. Besides, we came here this time to redeem Ankang's indenture and help him change his slave status back to a civilian."

Bao Youli looked at Ankang, then at me, and said, "So you came here for Ankang's matter. Before leaving the mansion, the master told me that if the second young master came to the mansion, I must agree to anything. It seems that the master foresaw that the second young master would come to redeem Ankang."

This is really beyond my expectation. Could Gongsun Wen have predicted the future?

Bao Youli pushed the gift in his hand towards me again, saying, "Second Young Master, there is no need to be so polite. Even if you don't ask me to do so, I am still happy to serve you."

I quickly pushed it back and said, "Don't be polite, butler. Ankang knows that you like to drink tea, so he prepared some tea leaves for you, as well as some other small things that are not worth much. You have always treated Ankang as your son, so it is only right that I give you these things as a filial gift."

Even though it was not worth much, it still cost me more than 100 taels of silver to prepare the gift. I stole the silver from the boxes that Zheng Xian gave me. Although I couldn't take away the big things, I thought Zheng Xian wouldn't find out if I took away some silver bills.

I didn't tell anyone about these banknotes and kept them with me. This time I came to the Taifu Mansion intending to use the silver to redeem my bond.

I didn't let Ankang tell Yiping that I paid for these gifts, otherwise I was afraid that this girl would feel sorry for the money again.

Ankang's salary at the Taifu Mansion is pitifully low. Even if he goes without food and drink for a hundred years, he can't save more than a hundred taels of silver. So I didn't tell Ankang how much these gifts cost, so as not to burden him psychologically.

Bao Youli heard what I said, tears welled up in his eyes, and he kept nodding and saying, "Okay, okay, I'll take it. I raised Ankang since he was a child, and he's a good boy. It won't be a loss if you redeem him."

After Bao Youli finished speaking, he quickly asked the servants to take us to the main hall, and then he hurriedly ran to get the indenture.

Before we finished our cup of tea, Bao Youli came back with Ankang's indenture.

He handed me the indenture solemnly and said, "This boy Ankang will belong to the Second Young Master from now on."

I took the indenture and said, "Ankang is a person, not an object. I will not tie him to me. If he wants to leave in the future, I will definitely not stop him."

Ankang was so nervous that his palms were sweating. He stuttered, "I, I belong to the Second Young Master in life and in death. I will be the Second Young Master's ghost in death. I will never betray the Second Young Master."

I smiled and stuffed the indenture into Ankang's hand, then took out a stack of banknotes from my bosom. This stack of banknotes probably had four or five thousand taels. I didn't know if it was enough, so I stuffed them all into Bao Youli's hand and said, "This is all the banknotes I have. If it's not enough, I can write an IOU. When I make money in the future, I will definitely pay it back."

Bao Youli stuffed the banknotes back into my hands and said, "My Lord said that it was only what the Second Young Master wanted, and I must obey unconditionally, so I cannot accept this money. You should take it. The Second Young Master is kind-hearted, and I believe you will treat Ankang well. I feel relieved to let the Second Young Master take Ankang away."

After Bao Youli finished speaking, his eyes became red again.

Now that Gongsun Wen has fled, he is the only one holding on to the huge Taifu Mansion. His Majesty has not yet issued an order to execute the entire family, so let as many of them as possible escape now.

Ankang certainly didn't know what Bao Youli was thinking. He just thought that this steward, who was like a father to him, was reluctant to let him go. He quickly stepped forward and said, "Steward, Ankang is a grateful person. He will definitely come to see you often in the future. When you are old and want to leave the house, Ankang will also take care of you until the end of your life."

Bao Youli kept wiping his eyes and said, "Good, good, good, good boy."

Bao Youli has been living like a frightened bird recently. Whenever there is any movement, he thinks that His Majesty has sent people to chop off their heads. So he doesn't want to chat with us for too long, so as not to implicate us, and wants us to leave quickly.

Bao Youli said, "The government hasn't sent any orders yet. You should hurry up and do this. It will be bad if you delay."

Ankang has been looking forward to this day for a long time. People who are slaves will be slaves for generations to come, so now that he has the opportunity to become a civilian, he doesn't want to delay for even a minute.

So he immediately said, "Thank you, General Manager. We will go right away."

After saying that, he pulled me away.

I quickly bowed to the butler and left in a hurry.