The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1176 - 1155: Dust Half Settled

Chapter 1176: Chapter 1155: Dust Half Settled

Young Master Bai Shan and Manbao jumped out of the carriage and rushed toward the front door, only to be intercepted successfully by Zhou Liulang and others right at the doorway.

Zhou Lichong and Zhou Liwei immediately brought out a large fire basin and placed it at the entrance, shouting, "Cross the fire basin, quick, cross the fire basin!"

Manbao was stunned and asked, "Isn’t it just necessary to sprinkle water with wormwood in it?"

"This is the custom from Aunt Rong’s hometown, anyway, we all should do it once."

Upon hearing this, Manbao directly jumped over the fire basin, followed closely by Bai Shan, and surprisingly, the youngsters following them also joined in the fun and jumped over.

Old Madam Liu and Mr. Zhuang were waiting inside the door for them, and as soon as they entered, they reached out to hold the two, Dason sighed with relief, "Finally back, finally back."

The Bai Family was bustling with activity, Bai Dalang immediately started ushering in guests at home with Bai Erlang, Zhou Wulang, and others.

In fact, the guests today were all classmates or friends of Bai Shan, sharing similar ages, there were plenty of topics to talk about, and there was no need for special attention.

Manbao first went to bathe and change her clothes, even washing her hair.

While helping her wring her hair, Zhou Lijun asked, "Little aunt, I heard from the teachers that the private soldiers raised by the Prince of Yizhou in Suizhou were all captured, is this matter considered resolved?"

Manbao cheerfully said: "Almost, we just wait for the imperial court’s verdict now."

"Will the Prince of Yizhou be executed?"

Manbao frowned, "Not necessarily, but he has committed so many misdeeds, there certainly are many in the court who want him dead, anyway, it’s no longer our concern."

"Then will they still harm you and Young Master Bai Shan?"

"Now that the private soldiers have been exposed, even if he harbors resentment, under the Emperor’s watch, he might still restrain himself a bit, right?" Manbao was also uncertain, after all, so many have died because of the Prince of Yizhou, and he might still avoid the death sentence, how could she speculate on their actions?

"Then you should still stay low-key and stay indoors as much as possible."

"I know, I’ll talk to Jishi Hall later and not sit the hall for now, just visiting the Xiang Family brothers in prison daily would do."

After the aunt and niece settled their plan, Zhou Lijun tied a red cloth strip around her hair and then allowed her to go out and play.

As Ji Hao was sitting in the courtyard talking, he turned his head to see Manbao coming out in a fresh outfit, her face still showing traces of moisture, and he couldn’t help but be momentarily stunned.

Feng Zongping turned his head with a smile, seeing him like this, he couldn’t help but cough lightly.

Bai Shan also came out with his hair draped, seeing Manbao with her hair tied up, he reached out and touched it, "Did Lijun wring it for you?"

Manbao nodded.

Bai Shan then turned his head to look for Bai Erlang, "Bai Er, wring my hair later."

Bai Erlang pointed to a nearby stool, "Come sit in the sun, it will dry quickly."

Bai Shan then pulled Manbao to sit in the sun, as their time in prison had meant they had seldom seen the sun, making them paler than usual, in contrast, Bai Erlang was somewhat darker.

Yin Huo poured them each a cup of tea and raised his cup with a smile, "Here, let’s have a cup of tea to celebrate your safe release."

"Yes, yes, we should drink to that," Liu Huan quickly raised his cup, "At last we don’t have to block Libationer Kong in the Imperial Academy anymore, ah, I’ve seen Libationer Kong more times these days than in the past decade combined."

Feng Zongping laughed, "You make it sound as if you used to see Libationer Kong often."

"Although it was always following behind the elders, still, during festivals and holidays, I could meet him, not to mention that I am now studying in the Imperial Academy."

Bai Shan asked, "Has the Imperial Academy said how they plan to deal with me?"

Minister Feng laughed and said, "Why would I deal with you? You are now a celebrity in the academy, many are waiting to see your true face after school starts."

Bai Shan stepped back in fright, "Are they not planning to fight me, are they?"

Yin Huo chuckled, "Everyone praises you for not fearing those in power, even Scholarly Officer Wu, who was never too friendly towards you, has lauded you extensively."

Bai Shan breathed a sigh of relief, "That’s good, that’s good."

Minister Feng was very interested in their experience in prison, and Bai Shan did not conceal it, briefly talking about prison life.

Actually, there wasn’t much to talk about. Prison was extremely boring, aside from taking care of two sick inmates, there was hardly anything else to do.

However, Minister Feng’s eyes flashed with interest, asking, "The four of you were in one prison cell?"

His gaze fell on Manbao.

Bai Shan stepped forward to shield Manbao and said, "She is a doctor. If she hadn’t stayed with us, the other two would have probably died."

Minister Feng nodded with a smile.

Liu Huan was more concerned about another matter and lowered his voice to ask, "So, did you come to the capital to accuse the Prince of Yizhou?"

Bai Shan replied, "Sort of, but not exactly."

"It either is or it isn’t, what do you mean ’sort of’?"

Bai Shan said, "Originally, we planned to come to the capital for exams in a few years, but the issue with the Prince of Yizhou expedited our plans. Coincidentally, after being recognized as a hero, I was summoned to study in the capital, so I came."

Minister Feng doubted, "You genuinely found out this year that the Prince of Yizhou was your father’s murderer?"

Bai Shan nodded, "I always thought my father died fighting bandits, I had no idea it was the Prince of Yizhou who killed him."

Minister Feng sighed, "Your grandmother has indeed borne great humiliations."

Bai Shan nodded in agreement, then exchanged glances with Manbao, feeling the urge to visit his grandmother.

But Old Madam Liu knew these children must have a lot to talk about, so she did not disturb them and went with Mr. Zhuang to talk in the garden.

They had received official documents from Minister Feng early this morning, arriving earlier than the documents was a letter from Wei Zhi.

It stated that the private army had been discovered and had surrendered their weapons, but Old Madam Liu felt somewhat uneasy, "This is too smooth, just too calm, is everything really settled?"

Mr. Zhuang said, "This is just the beginning. The Prince of Yizhou has not been convicted yet. There are also those who had connections with him, and they too need to be apprehended."

"But I still feel things in Yizhou went too smoothly."

Mr. Zhuang nodded, "Yes, too smoothly. Things in the capital were also smooth. Although there were some disturbances lately, they were more noise than harm. We should still be cautious. The children should stay at home for now and avoid going out unnecessarily."

Old Madam Liu sighed, "It’s a pity we are somewhat distanced from Lord Wei, and many questions remain hard to ask."

Mr. Zhuang said, "Even if asked, he probably wouldn’t answer, those being matters of secrecy."

Old Madam Liu nodded, looked at the time and said, "The Xiang brothers haven’t been released yet. I’ll speak to Sixth Young Master Xiang and have Manbao visit the prison again tomorrow to deliver the medicine she prepared."

Mr. Zhuang nodded, "Good, people from the Xiang Family also need reassurance. We owe them a lot this time."

Today Manbao and Bai Shan were exceptionally warm toward Minister Feng, then specifically mentioned their other two companions still in prison.

Minister Feng knew what they wanted to say and smiled, "Don’t worry. Since Uncle Tao mentioned it, you’ll certainly be able to go and meet them. The situation isn’t as tense as before, the dust has settled halfway and the strictness in the heavenly prison has loosened."