The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1037 - 116: No Way

Chapter 1037: Chapter 116: No Way

Manbao and Bai Erlang just sat there obediently, and Bai Shan finally cleared his throat and said, "I think there are two ways to clear Mr. Zhuang of the false charges. First, we could find the person who stole Mr. Zhuang’s poems back then and have him publicly admit to it; second, we could get Chen Fulin to admit to it himself."

Manbao: "Chen Fulin isn’t stupid, why would he admit to it?"

Bai Shan: "We could trick him into talking."

Bai Erlang asked, "Is it like what’s written in those storybooks?"

Bai Shan nodded, "Roughly the same. When the time comes, we can ask Mr. Jiang and the others to testify. Now, let’s rehearse what we should say to lead him into revealing the truth."

Just as they were contemplating, Mr. Zhuang, who had planned to step out for some fresh air, happened to overhear them. He shook his head and turned to leave, thinking it wouldn’t be bad to let them run into a stumbling block.

But then he thought of their nemesis, and he took a deep breath before turning back.

Forget it, now was not the time to let them learn from their own mistakes.

Mr. Zhuang walked up behind Bai Shan and saw his Manbao and Bai Erlang shrinking their necks, sitting there obediently.

Seeing their reaction, Bai Shan straightened his back without even turning his head, and cheerfully said, "Right, let’s review the homework we did yesterday."

Mr. Zhuang smacked him on the head, annoyed.

Bai Shan, rubbing his head, turned around, "Mr. ..."

Mr. Zhuang shook his head and said, "I’ve already told you that I would handle this matter ..."

He paused before adding, "such methods are useless."

The three asked, "Why?"

Mr. Zhuang lifted his eyelids and glanced at them.

The three instantly understood, "Oh—Mr. Zhuang already tried it."

Mr. Zhuang cleared his throat and said, "After the incident, I went to him once, but no matter how I questioned him, no matter how I skirted around the topic, his answers were watertight. If we meet him today, he will only say it was a misunderstanding back then."

Mr. Zhuang looked at his three disciples and said, "How old are you this year, and how old is he? Having been in the bureaucracy for twenty years, do you think his thoughts are not as meticulous as yours? Forget about trying to trip him up with words, it would be good enough if you aren’t tripped up yourselves."

"Furthermore, you each have a big grudge to bear, and the Prince of Yizhou is like a dam about to burst. The dam could collapse at any moment, especially now that the dam itself is deliberately being breached to let out the floodwaters. You’re standing right beneath it; there’s no existence more dangerous than you right now, so it’s best to avoid courting trouble for the time being."

This was also the reason why Mr. Zhuang had been staying at home as much as possible after learning that Chen Fulin was looking for him.

But he was not a coward. Even though he reduced his ventures outside, he couldn’t just stay indoors all the time. Who would have thought that he had been safe for the past couple of months, only to encounter trouble today of all days?

This was no Mid-Autumn Festival joy; this was truly maddening.

Mr. Zhuang felt his mood sour at the thought and simply glared at the three disciples before decisively ordering, "You’re not allowed to interfere in this matter anymore, do you hear me?"

The three of them, Bai Shan included, obediently stood up and responded with a yes.

Mr. Zhuang looked at each of their faces in turn and nodded in satisfaction before walking away to take his afternoon nap.

Manbao, Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang watched as Mr. Zhuang returned to his room, all letting out a heavy sigh in unison, "Forget it, no matter what we think of now, it’s useless."

Manbao, having eaten his fill, also felt a bit sleepy, mainly because today was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and they were planning to go out and enjoy the lanterns in the evening. Therefore, getting enough sleep was essential.

So he also let out a yawn and said, "I’ll go back to my room and sleep for a while."

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang exchanged glances and also returned to their rooms.

On Mid-Autumn Festival night, Zhou Wulang and the others had intended to come back for a family meal together, but they hadn’t anticipated that the people in the capital preferred not to have their reunion meal at home but to eat out instead.

The restaurant had booked several tables for family reunion meals, so they could only remain in the shop.

As a result, today the customers coming to eat were exceptionally numerous, and Zhou Wulang and his group didn’t get the chance to have their reunion meal, they were so busy that they barely had time to drink water, only managing to hastily find a kid who often ran errands on the street, gave him a few coins and had him run back to tell Manbao and the others.

Therefore, only the master and his three disciples and the next-door neighbor Bai Dalang were present for the reunion meal that evening.

Bai Dalang had attended a literary gathering for the whole day and had also gone out for drinks with his classmates, and though he had freshened up, he still reeked of alcohol.

Manbao and the other two naturally kept their distance from him.

Bai Dalang was only doused in the smell of alcohol, not drunk. Seeing their reactions, he couldn’t help but laugh and first glanced at Bai Erlang, "During New Year’s you even sneaked a drink from our family stash, and now you’re playing innocent?"

Bai Erlang defended himself righteously, "I threw it all up again. It was so bitter and spicy; I really can’t understand what’s so good about drinking it."

Bai Shan nodded in deep agreement.

Bai Dalang then turned to Manbao, "Didn’t you say you wanted to make wine? You even asked me to help you find a book on winemaking. How can you make wine with a fragrance if you can’t even stand the smell of it? You should know that good wine is all about the aroma..."

"I’m not making sorghum wine; I’m making grape wine. And also, Senior Brother Bai, the aroma of the wine is not the same as the smell of alcohol on someone."

Mr. Zhuang poured himself a cup of wine and watched them talk with a smile.

When they had about finished their banter, he said, "Let’s move the table to the courtyard later, we’ll enjoy the moon together tonight."

"Then sir, when are we going out to see the lanterns?" someone asked.

"From Changqing Alley, it’s just a step out to the main road, and if you go straight on, you reach the Imperial Academy. That stretch is already bustling, there’s no need to go to Vermilion Bird Street, nor to leave the inner city. If you want to join the crowd, just walk on the street," said Mr. Zhuang. Seeing the four of them looking a bit unwilling, he continued, "Crowds can be dangerous; don’t be mischievous."

Bai Dalang, with his naive and sweet smile, said, "What danger could there be under the Emperor’s feet? It’s our first Mid-Autumn Festival in the capital. Why don’t I take them to the outer city to take a look?"

That’s where the real excitement was.

Even the usually timid Bai Shan and Manbao started getting excited and looked towards their teacher.

Mr. Zhuang looked up directly at Daji, who was sitting under the corridor.

Noticing his gaze, Daji quickly stood up and came over, saying to Bai Shan, "Young Master, the Old Madam is going to be in the capital in a couple of days."

Not only Bai Shan, but Manbao and Bai Erlang instantly behaved themselves, and even Bai Dalang stopped talking about going to the outer city.

Old Madam Liu had actually set off earlier and was originally expected to arrive before the tenth of the month, but on the way, she decided to take a detour back to Longzhou and thus stayed a few more days at her old home, delaying her arrival to the capital.

Even though she wasn’t in the capital yet, her commands were always reaching the city. First, she had Liu Gui look around Changqing Alley and its vicinity for a small courtyard for sale and promptly bought it.

Originally, she also wanted to buy the one where Mr. Zhuang and his group were living, but the owner was not keen to sell and preferred to rent it out, so she didn’t get it.

But this demonstration of financial power still shocked Manbao and Bai Erlang, including the head of the family, Bai Shan.

Indeed, Bai Shan was already the head of household on their family register, yet he still had no control over their family’s money.