Chapter 1403: Chapter 1381: All Reminders
The three rooms on the east wing are occupied by Bai Shan and the others, one room per person. Behind the east wing is a small garden which connects to the kitchen and two small rooms in line with the main hall, with the family well located near the garden.
Next door, Bai Dalang rented a small courtyard together with someone, which also has one entrance, lining up with their small garden.
The reason for this house arrangement is that it used to belong to one family. It was originally a twin-row, two-entry large house, but later got divided into parts.
One family even sold their house and moved away, and the house was rented out together with the remaining family’s premises.
The front yard on this side, apart from the gatekeeper’s residence, includes a woodshed, a living room, two legitimate wives’ rooms, and an adjacent room.
The rooms in one entry used to be occupied by servants, but many have moved out now, leaving them empty.
Datou and Silang went to live in the place where Bai Shan temporarily stayed. Bai Shan plans to buy a bed to add to the front two legitimate wives’ rooms so that when Zhou Wulang returns from the shop, he will have a place to stay.
Plus, Daji will eventually come back with his wife and children, and a room needs to be vacated for them.
Manbao listened to Bai Shan’s meticulous planning and couldn’t help but give him a thumbs up, saying, "You make the decision, that’s good."
Bai Shan then decided, "Let’s settle this. Tomorrow I’ll go to town with Brother Zhou Wu, would you like to join us?"
Manbao shook her head, "I’m afraid I won’t be free."
She promised the crown prince to make an antidote; even if she’s not the one making it, she can’t be clueless about it, so she needs to stay home to study the details and act like she’s genuinely working on the antidote.
After furrowing her brow, Manbao said, "If you pass by Jishi Hall, please apply for leave for me, saying there are matters at the palace, and I can’t attend the clinic for now."
Bai Shan nodded. He wanted to quietly inquire about what happened at the palace, but Zhou Wulang sauntered over, stared at the two for a while, and asked, "Manbao, nothing happened when you went to the palace today, right?"
Manbao shook her head, "No."
Zhou Wulang was relieved, nodded, and walked away. Before leaving, he couldn’t help but remind them, "It’s dark and cold, have your conversations tomorrow; rest up first."
Bai Shan and Manbao nodded together.
After Zhou Wulang left, Bai Shan turned to speak, but Datou came out of the adjacent room holding a quilt. He stopped momentarily when passing the two and asked, "Auntie, was your visit to the palace smoothly today?"
Bai Shan:...
Manbao nodded, "Smoothly."
Datou nodded, but didn’t leave with the quilt. He glanced at Bai Shan, then at Manbao, and said softly, "It’s cold, Auntie. You’ve traveled so many days; you should rest properly and not talk too long."
Bai Shan and Manbao nodded in agreement.
After Datou left, Bai Shan was ready to talk to Manbao when Erya and Sanya returned from the front yard, seeing the two sitting in the courtyard, and asked, "Auntie, you haven’t slept yet?"
Bai Shan immediately stopped, waiting for her to continue.
Erya pulled Sanya, asking Manbao, "Auntie, when you went to the palace today, did any noble get angry?"
Manbao continued her white lie, shook her head, "No."
Erya appeared relieved and said to them, "Auntie, go to bed now, you must be exhausted today. Young Master Shan, you should rest too."
Manbao stifled a laugh as she and Bai Shan nodded calmly.
When they also left, Bai Shan looked at Manbao, waited a bit, and seeing he wasn’t speaking, she laughed and asked, "What do you want to say?"
Bai Shan said, "I want to see who else will come."
Bai Erlang and Datou ran from the front yard, greeted the two, with Datou originally following Bai Erlang inside but seeing the two staying put, he stopped as well.
Bai Shan looked at them with wide eyes.
Bai Erlang looked confused, scratched his head, looked at one, then the other, and swung away from Datou to say, "Wait here, I’ll go get it."
Bai Shan asked, "Get what?"
"A quilt. I have an extra quilt; the nephews are crowded together, and it’s not enough. I’ll get one for them."
After speaking, Bai Erlang ran inside to rummage for a quilt.
Datou then asked the two, "Auntie, were you bullied when you went to the palace today?"
Manbao: "...Adult matters, children shouldn’t interfere."
Datou protested, "I’m two months older than you."
Manbao had to reply, "No bullying, everything went well, remarkably smoothly."
Datou nodded, glanced at Bai Shan, and said, "It’s very cold, and you must be tired, better go inside and sleep now."
Manbao couldn’t help but giggle.
Bai Shan:...
He gathered his breath, got up, and said, "Let’s go to the study to chat."
Manbao nodded.
Mr. Zhuang was feeling unwell and went to bed early. The Xiang brothers were still in the front yard setting up the bed.
The study had been aired all afternoon, and Bai Shan and the others had cleaned it. Plus, Xiang Mingxue often used it for the past month, so it wasn’t dirty.
In such cold weather, with the wind blowing at night, Bai Shan opened the window, turned to Manbao, "Now we can talk safely for a while."
Manbao sat on a chair, looked out, seeing the courtyard empty, with some resting and others busy.
She said, "I might be quite busy recently, other things my Brother Zhou Wu can arrange, but they know little about the school."
Bai Shan understood what she meant and nodded, "Don’t worry, I will inquire about the school."
Manbao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Thank you very much."
Bai Shan, in a magnanimous manner, waved his hand, "As their uncle, it’s my duty, no need to thank."
Manbao:...
Bai Shan left and returned shortly with a teapot, pouring her a cup of tea, saying, "Let’s drink tea and talk slowly, what happened at the palace?"
Manbao held the tea and thought for a while, decided not to hide from him, and spoke in a low voice, "The Crown Prince is poisoned."
Bai Shan was shocked.
Manbao exhaled softly, whispered, "I promised them not to tell anyone."
Bai Shan nodded, equally quietly said, "A couple is one, I am not an outsider."
Manbao: "...Aren’t you ashamed? We haven’t married yet."
"An engagement counts," Bai Shan whispered a rebuttal, then asked, "Can you cure the poison?"
Manbao hesitated for a moment before shaking her head and honestly saying, "I have the antidote, but I don’t know how to cure."
Bai Shan was stunned, "Then..."
He slowly realized, glanced at the top of her head, and asked, "It’s Uncle Zhou, right?"