Chapter 237 - 237 226 Asking for Leave

Words : 1373 Updated : Sep 27th, 2025

237: Chapter 226: Asking for Leave 237: Chapter 226: Asking for Leave Of course, Lord Wei was no fool to have made his way to Mianzhou, so he wasn’t restricted to only inspect the areas he was led to. Even though Lord Wei wasn’t local, he seemed to always find severely disaster-stricken areas. Having learned their lesson yesterday, the local officials, from the inspector down to the county magistrates, didn’t dare further any superfluous actions. Wherever Lord Wei wanted to inspect, they humbly guided him there. Old Master Bai walked by Lord Wei’s side but always felt uneasy. As evening descended and everyone rested in another county, Old Master Bai immediately called his servant over and whispered, “Go back home right now and see if anything has happened. We’ll still be in this county tomorrow, and we’re expected to return to Luojiang County the day after. If there’s any issue, send someone to inform me immediately.” “My lord, should I return overnight?” “Yes, return overnight. Be careful on the road.” “Understood.” All of them were staying in a post station as Lord Wei didn’t want to disturb the citizens. The casually professional local officials had already experienced the rumored integrity of Lord Wei and naturally didn’t dare insist further, so most stayed at the station too, save for local gentry and officials who stayed in their own homes. Those with friends in the area chose to stay with them. At this moment, Lord Wei stood by the window, watching Old Master Bai’s servant lead a horse out, bid farewell to Old Master Bai, and then gallop away. One man and his horse slowly disappeared into the night. “My lord.” A guard appeared behind Lord Wei. Lord Wei instructed, “Set out for Qili Village in Luojiang County right now. Don’t get too close. Keep an eye on the movements inside. See if any strangers enter the village, and if anything unusual happens, follow them.” The guard complied and then quietly departed. Qili Village had also just entered the night. Manbao sat on a stool in the courtyard with a full belly, enjoying the cool evening air and digesting her meal. Ms.Qian fretted, “You’ve been bloated for almost an hour since dinner. Did you eat something else?” “Just some pastries. Mom, when Old Master Bai comes back, will we know about the tax relief?” Ms.Qian replied, “Probably.” Today was a joyous day for the Zhou Family. Manbao had rushed home from school at noon to spread the possible news of tax relief in Luojiang County, and Old Master Bai had gone to Baxi to hear the news. Although unconfirmed, the family was overjoyed—for once, Ms.Qian splurged, opening her money box to retrieve coins for Zhou Si to buy meat at the market. Considering saving more money for the family, Manbao had recently only bought meat every three days, and not much at that, so she ate with relish this time. This happiness led her to seek out Bai Shanbao to play. He had just finished dinner too. They read some books together, played a bit, then went to the kitchen for pastries. The kitchen had just produced a batch of fresh pastries, and the two kids squatted under the stove to eat, accidentally consuming too much. Ms.Qian rubbed Manbao’s stomach but soon suggested, “Alright, don’t just sit there. Get up and walk around. In two or three quarters of an hour, you should feel better.” At the same time, Bai Shanbao was also walking off his dinner, accompanied by his grandmother and mother. Ms.Zheng held a lantern for him and chided, “One look away and you two run to the kitchen. You’ve just had dinner, why do you crave pastries so much?” “Pastries taste better than meals,” Bai Shanbao responded. Ms.Liu laughed, “We should just feed you pastries for a couple of days, and no meals. Silly child, this world can spare pastries, but staple foods are essential. Eat less from now on, keep your body healthy. There are plenty of tasty foods out there. If you bloat your stomach too much, you won’t be able to eat many delightful foods in the future.” “What tasty foods are out there?” Ms.Liu smiled, “If I told you, you wouldn’t appreciate them since you’ve never seen them. Wait until you’ve grown a bit and can go out, then you can look for them yourself.” Bai Shanbao made a mental note. After walking off his fullness for three quarters of an hour, Bai Shanbao returned to wash and go to bed. Since he went to bed later than usual, he slept soundly through the night, not even noticing the noise from the neighboring courtyard. Ms.Liu leaned against the bedhead, and upon seeing the nanny come in, she asked, “How is it? Did the child wake up?” “No, he’s sleeping soundly. Unless it thundered, I don’t think he could be woken up easily.” Ms.Liu nodded and inquired, “Has there been any news from next door? Has Lizhi come back?” “No, it was Lord Zhuang’s servant. He said Lord Zhuang had commanded him to return to check if anything had happened at home. If there was, he’d ride quickly to inform him.” Ms.Liu found it strange. “Why would he ask such a question out of the blue? What could possibly happen to us living in the village?” “That’s right, that’s what the Old Madam next door said too, so she told everyone to disperse and go to sleep.” Ms.Liu lowered her eyes, asking, “I remember Lizhi only took one servant with him, right?” “Yes, named Dongshu, always at Lord Zhuang’s side.” After a moment of thought, Ms.Liu instructed, “Don’t let Shanbao go to school tomorrow. Send someone to ask for a day off for him.” The nanny was surprised and asked, “What’s the reason?” “Just say I’m sick, and the child insisted on staying by my side to take care of me.” The nanny agreed and helped Ms.Liu to bed. The next day, after breakfast, Manbao ran off to school, but when half the day passed without Bai Shanbao showing up, she couldn’t help but to go look for him at Bai Erlang’s place. “Why isn’t Shanbao coming?” she asked. Bai Erlang was chatting with a classmate and responded upon hearing her, “How would I know?” With his eyes spinning, he clapped his hands and laughed, “I know! He must have overslept or hasn’t gotten out of bed. Hahaha, Bai Shan’s sleep has made him embarrassingly late!” “Who said he overslept?” Mr. Zhuang’s voice rang out from above him; Bai Erlang looked up to see the teacher standing outside the window, staring at him, and immediately lowered his head in fear. Mr. Zhuang huffed, entered the classroom, and gestured Manbao back to her seat before announcing, “Bai Shan’s grandmother is ill, he’s attending her bedside, so he took a day off. Zhou Man, take good notes and bring them to him after school lets out. Make sure he copies them carefully and catches up on his homework.” Now, no one envied Bai Shan; instead, they felt sorry for him. Manbao was somewhat worried and wondered how Grandma Liu was faring. Thus, as soon as school ended at noon, she grabbed the notes, quickly told Junior Ms.Qian, and bolted towards the Bai Family’s home. Junior Ms.Qian, who was busy serving the students their meals, couldn’t catch up in time and only managed to shout, “Eat first before you go!” Manbao shouted back, “I’ll come back and eat later!” Upon reaching the Bai Family’s residence, Manbao knocked on the door, rushed towards the back yard, where a servant then remembered to caution her, “Young lady, the Old Madam and the young master are not home. They’re over at Lord Zhuang’s place.” Manbao was curious, “Isn’t Grandma Liu sick? Why isn’t she resting at home?” Sick? He thought the Old Madam looked quite healthy when she left the house that day.

Chapter 237 - 237 226 Asking for Leave

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