Stephany1188, i think he only paid $10,000 or $100,000 to get ashley out. if i remember correctly, ashley still had to wear the tag and she couldnt leave the house unless she was going to a court date or doctor's appointments. and who knows, maybe Ted had a rich mom that left him a lot of money!! idk how much preachers get, but i didnt get a wishy washy feeling from him at all. i thought it was so sweet how he did that for ashley (and hanna, as well).
regarding ezra, i have suspected it from the beginning. i found it odd how ezra seemed to believe that aria was entering/was in college; she doesn't look 18 and i think he knew that. also, he went to the funeral when he didn't know her yet in season 4, he referred to her as Ali when that was what her friends/people she knew well called her. i plan on compiling a list of all the clues/hints/suspicious things i've noticed and posting it on here as a blog of sorts. and haha i literally screamed when i saw ezra's face, had my mouth open for 10 minutes (even after the episode aired) and smiled. and he wouldn't have; even when he was "revealed as A", said "spencer" and "how long have you known?" (even after he got slapped by spencer), his face didn't change once.