County Magistrate Tang, seeing that Old Madam Liu had agreed, handed over the contents of the box to Bai Shan and Manbao to look at.
So, it was somewhat beneficial to have them join in, as they could obtain things he could not.
County Magistrate Tang smiled slightly and said, "If you have any questions after reviewing, you can ask me. Take your time, I’ll speak with the old madam for a while."
Manbao and Bai Shan watched them move to a different location to talk and both lowered their heads to examine the items in the box.
Bai Shan first looked at the letter from his father, then at the confession, but could not discern anything from them.
The two sat quietly in the study, gazing toward the side room, resting their chins on their hands and wondered, "Who knows what they’re discussing inside?"
Manbao said, "We agreed to do this together, yet they’ve left us behind again. Adults love to lie."
Bai Shan then said, "Forget it, we’ll investigate on our own."
Manbao fiddled with the items in the box and asked, "I can’t make anything out, how do we investigate?"
She sighed, "Who knows where the items your father gave to my parents went."
Bai Shan paused, reached out to shuffle through Erji’s confession, scrutinized it, and asked Manbao, "Do you know where this place is?"
Manbao leaned over to take a look and shook her head, "It doesn’t look like the road we use now from the county seat to our home,. Your father escaped from Yizhou City, and my parents rushed back home by cart from Luojiang County; they shouldn’t have met on the official road."
"It’s been more than ten years; roads change over time," Bai Shan said, "Ask your parents."
Manbao found this reasonable, "I’ll ask them tonight."
"It is already night," Bai Shan reminded her as he looked at Manbao.
Manbao hesitated, "Shouldn’t we try to listen to what they’re saying?"
Bai Shan whispered, "Nanny Liu is guarding the door."
Manbao was disappointed.
Bai Shan then leaned close and whispered in her ear, "Don’t worry, once the County Magistrate has retired for the night, I’ll pester my grandmother for answers."
Bai Shan stood up, "Come on, I’ll walk you home."
It was almost 9 p.m. to 11 p.m., and the village that was bustling from everyone returning from the temple fair had long since quieted down, with most households having gone to sleep.
Bai Shan followed behind with Daji escorting her home, watched her enter the house, and then turned around with his lantern to head back to his own home.
Most of Old Zhou’s family had already gone to bed; there was still some noise in the rooms of Old Zhou, Ms. Qian, and Zhou Dalang. Hearing the sound of the main door opening, Junior Ms. Qian was the first to come out from her room, relieved to see Manbao returning, "I was about to ask your brother to fetch you if you didn’t return soon; why are you out so late?"
Manbao glanced at her parents’ room, where the light was still on, and casually asked as she headed in that direction, "Sister-in-law, mom and dad haven’t gone to sleep, have they?"
"Not yet..." Before she could finish, the light in the legitimate wife’s room went out, causing Junior Ms. Qian to choke on her words.
Manbao also stopped in her tracks, eyes widened.
Junior Ms. Qian hurriedly said, "It’s very late today, mom and dad also went mountain climbing, they might be exhausted; let’s talk tomorrow."
Junior Ms. Qian then proceeded to lead Manbao to her room to sleep, "There’s hot water in the kitchen, I’ll bring some over for you to wash up."
Manbao, perplexed, headed back to her room without understanding why her parents were avoiding her.
Inside, Ms. Qian, equally speechless, looked at Old Zhou and after a long moment asked, "Why did you turn off the light?"
In the darkness, Old Zhou, also frustrated, whispered, "I was afraid Manbao would ask about Two."
"She knows what she should know and also what she shouldn’t. What is there to be afraid of?"
"But we just found out that someone so influential is behind the harm done to Two. If she asks us, what do we say?" Old Zhou clasped his head and said, "The Prince is like a celestial being."
Ms. Qian remained silent for a moment before responding, "We never had a say in this matter. The Bai Family will definitely investigate this. Can you prevent them from doing so? Perhaps this is fate."
She continued, "Although the Prince holds great power, there are always those in this world who are greater. The Bai family, with all their worldly experience, is not panicking, so why should we?"
"That’s true, if the sky falls, there will be someone tall to withstand it," Old Zhou hesitated then asked, "Do you think I can still light the lantern now?"
Ms. Qian directly lay down in bed, pulled up the covers, turned over, and went to sleep, "Stop fussing. We’ll talk about it tomorrow."
Thus, Old Zhou went to bed troubled.
Because he was worried, he didn’t sleep well for most of the night. Manbao, on the other hand, fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, perhaps because she had absorbed too much information the day before, and her biological clock stopped working until the sun rose.
As soon as Manbao woke up, she quickly washed up and ran to find her parents.
Everyone had already had breakfast. Junior Ms.Qian had set aside a portion for her and waved her over as soon as she saw her, "Come have breakfast."
Manbao ran over and looked around, asking, "Where are Dad and Mom?"
"Nanny Liu sent someone to invite your parents over; they wanted to consult your parents about some matters concerning the fields. So, your parents went there."
Manbao widened her eyes, "When did they go?"
"They just left; they should have just arrived."
Manbao turned and ran. Junior Ms.Qian, unable to catch her, quickly followed out asking, "Aren’t you going to have breakfast?"
"I’m not eating; I’m going to eat at Shanbao’s house."
Zhou Erlang then said, "Even going to someone’s house for breakfast, that’s quite presumptuous."
Manbao had already dashed away.
Bai Shan had been waiting for her and sprang up when he saw her approaching, asking, "Why are you so late? Did you ask them yesterday?"
"My parents went to bed; I didn’t get the chance. Was it County Magistrate Tang who wanted to see my parents?"
"Yes, he mentioned wanting to meet your parents during breakfast, saying he has questions for them. My grandmother sent someone to invite them." Bai Shan looked Manbao up and down and asked, "You just got up and haven’t had breakfast, right?"
Bai Shan sighed and turned to grab a servant passing by, "Go to the kitchen and bring two bowls of meat porridge directly to my grandmother’s study in her courtyard."
The servant agreed and headed to the kitchen.
Bai Shan led her to the study where Nanny Liu was standing by the door. She gave them a glance and let them in.
Inside, only Old Madam Liu, County Magistrate Tang, and Old Zhou and his wife were present. Seeing the two youngsters enter together, everyone acted as usual and didn’t speak up.
County Magistrate Tang continued, turning back to Old Zhou with a smile, "I asked Old Master Zhou here because I need advice."
He carefully asked, "Twelve years ago, if one were traveling from Yizhou City to Luojiang County, how many roads pass near Qili Village?"
Both Manbao and Bai Shan stared wide-eyed at him. Did this sound like the question they wanted to ask?
Manbao looked at Bai Shan, their eyes communicated—did you tell him?
Bai Shan shook his head; I hardly spoke to him this morning.
After their eyes met, they turned back to listen to Old Zhou.