The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1046 - 1025: Blood Transfusion Three

Chapter 1046: Chapter 1025: Blood Transfusion Three

Bai Shan and Manbao knew immediately upon hearing the cough that the person lying there was indeed the son of State Duke Pi.

They exchanged a glance and ceased speaking.

Upon reaching Changqing Alley, Manbao hopped off the carriage and said to Eunuch Wu, "Wait here, I’m going in to fetch something."

Bai Shan followed with the carrying basket.

Eunuch Wu, fearing they would not come out once they went in, hurriedly followed them and upon seeing them look back, he ingratiatingly smiled, "I’ve been running about half the day and am a bit thirsty, I’ll go in and ask for a cup of water."

Bai Shan handed the basket to Manbao and invited Eunuch Wu in, personally leading him to have some tea.

Mr. Zhuang, hearing the commotion, rushed out, startled at the sight of blood on his two disciples, then looked toward Eunuch Wu and went forward to greet him.

Manbao first bowed in return to her master and headed toward the backyard; Mr. Zhuang did not stop her, glanced at Bai Shan, saw his slight nod, and then relaxed, inviting Eunuch Wu to the front hall for tea.

Bai Shan left Eunuch Wu with Mr. Zhuang and hurried after Manbao.

Bai Erlang had been immersed in his homework in the study and had also heard the commotion; he wrote distractedly while peeking out the window.

Seeing Manbao and Bai Shan entering the yard, and that their master was not accompanying them, he immediately dropped his pen and ran out. Upon seeing the blood on Manbao’s clothes, he gasped and stammeringly pointed at her, "you, you, you."

Manbao pushed open the door to her room, briefly replying, "It’s not my blood."

Bai Erlang was reassured, withdrew his hand, and hopped over to Bai Shan, curiously asking, "How many people were injured for there to be so much blood?"

Bai Shan held up a finger, but rethinking, he added another.

"Both people lost so much blood, can they, can they still survive?"

"The blood on us came from one person, and there was much more than what you see now; the bleeding stopped now, but surviving is still difficult."

Once inside, Manbao quickly shut all the doors and windows, then took out a chest from her storage space, inside were blood serum she had preserved in containers.

Manbao placed the chest into the basket and then carried it out.

Having retrieved their belongings, the two did not head to the forecourt but stood in the yard discussing, "What about the heir apparent, what if we report to him?"

Bai Shan shook his head, "The heir apparent is a bit impulsive and his position is not secure; let’s not rely on him to make decisions for us, but improving relations might allow us to see the emperor through him."

Bai Erlang said, "Doesn’t the emperor already know about you guys? If he wanted to see you, he would just summon you."

Bai Shan glared at him and said, "Do you know why the emperor won’t see us?"

Bai Erlang shook his head.

"Because he has no viable reason; he doesn’t want people to know that he knew about the Prince of Yizhou beforehand—which would firstly make it difficult to explain to the Empress Dowager, and secondly hard to silence all gossip."

Bai Erlang said impatiently, "I don’t understand; can you be clearer? How does knowing about the Prince of Yizhou in advance make it difficult to explain to the Empress Dowager? What does that have to do with the world’s gossip?"

Bai Shan paused and then said, "The troubles of the Prince of Yizhou haven’t become public yet; to the Empress Dowager, that’s just a domestic issue, solvable internally—whether the emperor suppresses it or keeps the Prince of Yizhou from returning to the capital. If the Empress Dowager knew that the emperor knew and yet wanted to escalate the matter by having us lodge a formal complaint, she would be highly displeased, and the emperor would be in a tough spot."

Manbao said, "But handling it as a domestic matter means Uncle Bai, my parents, and the former officials of Shu County all died in vain, with no one knowing why they died."

Bai Shan nodded, "That’s right; if so, the efforts that my father and so many others made twelve years ago for the sake of the common people would really be buried in the dust, never to be known again."

"There’s another reason because His Majesty’s accession to the throne was illegitimate," Bai Shan lowered his voice and said, "Currently, many people privately say that just like the former Crown Prince and the former Third Prince, they were killed by the Emperor. If he were to summon us directly to expose the Prince of Yizhou, there would also be people suspecting that he cannot tolerate the Prince of Yizhou and is framing him. The opinions of the masses are not so easily silenced, and I don’t really want to see this."

"So, you also want to go and make an official complaint?"

"I don’t want to; preserving life is just as important as seeking revenge. If there is a chance to face His Majesty directly without having to beat the drum of grievance, naturally it would be best to make the complaint in person," Bai Shan said, "The Crown Prince is one such opportunity."

Bai Erlang finally understood and asked, "Is it easy to get along with the Crown Prince? What does he like? If you find out, I’ll help you cater to his interests."

Manbao said, "Forget it, he’s got a terrible temper, likes to chop people; I think we shouldn’t accommodate him in this aspect."

Bai Erlang: "...likes, likes to chop people?"

Bai Shan nodded gravely.

Bai Erlang swallowed and asked, "But, isn’t he the heir apparent? How, how can he be so brutal?"

Bai Shan then sighed and said, "I now understand why my classmates at the Imperial Academy don’t really like the Crown Prince; no wonder they all prefer talking about the Third Prince. If the heir apparent is not benevolent, the common people will suffer in the future."

The three were silent for a moment, then Bai Shan said, "Let’s go, we can’t delay too long."

Manbao nodded.

Daji brought over a paper bag, which Bai Shan took, and Manbao faintly smelled something fragrant and stared at the paper bag in his hand.

Bai Shan said, "I had Daji fetch it from the kitchen; we’ll eat it in the carriage."

Manbao nodded repeatedly; they got up late and had only eaten a bowl of meat porridge. They had planned to eat breakfast and lunch together but ended up missing it.

Initially, Bai Er had wanted to join in the excitement, but upon hearing that the Crown Prince liked to chop people, he became both excited and frightened. In the end, fear prevailed and he just escorted them to the front courtyard before waving his hand and saying, "Take care."

Eunuch Wu, who was being seen out by Mr. Zhuang, raised his head upon hearing Bai Er.

Bai Er, oblivious, still waved goodbye to Bai Shan and Manbao heavily.

Bai Shan stood in the carriage, bowed to the teacher, and Mr. Zhuang waved his hand, "Go and behave yourself, don’t cause trouble for His Highness."

Bai Shan agreed, and Manbao also leaned out of the carriage to agree.

It was then that Eunuch Wu smiled and said, "Mr. Zhuang, rest assured, our family will take good care of Young Master Bai and Young Lady Zhou."

In that short time, he had also figured out the family backgrounds of Bai Shan and Zhou Man and was a bit more polite to them.

He glanced at Bai Er and then climbed into the carriage, smiling at him as well, his voice sharp, "This young master also rest assured, we are just going to seek treatment."

Anyway, if the treatment didn’t work, it would be the Imperial Physician’s fault; it seemed these two would be alright.

Bai Er nodded blankly and only after the carriage had left did he turn back to look at Mr. Zhuang with confusion, "Teacher, who is he, and why does he talk so strangely?"

Mr. Zhuang glanced at him and said, "Didn’t you say you had to finish two expositions before dinner? Have you finished the first one?"

Bai Er screamed, suddenly remembering this.