Zhou Hu had always had a good relationship with Old Zhou’s family. This was not only true in the past, but in the recent years, Old Zhou’s family had often helped him when his wife had a difficult delivery. In the past few years, Manbao had even regularly administered acupuncture to his wife and successfully cured her.
That’s why as soon as Zhou ErLang brought up the request, Zhou Hu agreed without asking what they were looking for.
The Zhou brothers breathed a sigh of relief and reached out to pat Zhou Hu on the shoulder.
Liu Gui also exhaled in relief. Because the people of Qili Village were so reticent about Zhou Yin, and almost never spoke about Dahushan, the only informant they could find was Old Master Bai.
But in all likelihood, Old Master Bai had never even set foot at the base of Dahushan in his life. How would he know where Zhou Yin and his wife died or which areas of the forest they frequented?
Therefore, they could only start their search from this area, inch by inch. Liu Gui did not know about others, but he was beginning to feel quite hopeless.
It really was too difficult.
Although it wasn’t certain that Zhou Yin had hidden the things in the places he had visited, having someone familiar with Dahushan leading the search would certainly be much more convenient.
The three parties agreed on this arrangement. Of course, they had to keep it from the villagers.
After Manbao had finished her dinner and learned from her fourth brother that Zhou Hu had agreed, she went to bed feeling at ease, as she had to go to Yizhou City early the next morning.
It was still Zhou SiLang and Daji who drove a horse carriage, first to Luojiang County to pick up Mr. Zhuang, and then headed to Yizhou City.
This time, Mr. Zhuang had not gone to the temple fair in Qili Village; instead, he had gone home. Having only been away for three days, upon seeing the three children again, he always felt that they seemed a bit different.
Well, Bai Er hadn’t changed much, but Manbao and Bai Shan had become much quieter than before; they didn’t make a fuss and seemed to be lost in thought even while sitting.
Zhou SiLang had already removed a bench from the carriage and invited Mr. Zhuang to get in.
Mr. Zhuang nodded slightly and beckoned to Bai Er, "Erlang, come here to me, so I can review the progress of your studies these past few days."
Bai Er immediately tensed up. He stole a glance at Bai Shan and Manbao and, seeing that they gave him a look of helpless support, could only brace himself and step forward.
The spring days were still short, so they only stopped to eat some dry food at noon, but by the end of half a day, Bai Er had told everything he could—and couldn’t.
Mr. Zhuang, with a heavy sigh in his heart, looked at Manbao and then got into the carriage.
Bai ErLang knew only so much, but alas, Mr. Zhuang knew a bit more.
He did not know that Bai Shan’s father, Bai Qi, had connections with Zhou Yin, but he had already vaguely guessed Manbao’s background and sensed that there was nothing simple about Zhou Yin’s death.
He had been in Qili Village for far too long. Not long after Zhou Yin died, Old Master Bai had sought out Mr. Zhuang to tutor his eldest son.
Mr. Zhuang had come to Qili Village in advance to see the place, and finding that the local customs were still relatively simple and the scenery pleasing, and that the Bai Family offered decent treatment, he had agreed to come.
Later, from teaching Bai Dalang alone to building a school by the river where he started teaching children from nearby villages, his interactions with the villagers became more frequent.
By that time, although the people of Qili Village had learned to avoid mentioning Zhou Yin, they had not yet learned how to hide the truth, so he always felt that there were secrets involved and could not help but ask Old Master Bai about it.
To his surprise, he felt that Old Master Bai was also aware of the matter but had also participated in the cover-up.
Mr. Zhuang did generally respect Old Master Bai’s character, so he stopped inquiring, but some things just become known when you live in a place long enough, even without asking.
For instance, the frugal yet family-loving Old Zhou showed an exception for his youngest daughter, Manbao. Several times when he fell ill, the adults of Old Zhou’s family acted as if facing a grave crisis, as though something significant were at stake.
Other children in the family, even those younger than Manbao like Sanya and the youngest, when they became ill, they didn’t become so restless.
With a multitude of things accumulating, Mr. Zhuang vaguely guessed some of them.
He just never went to verify his suspicions, nor did he want to confirm them.
What Bai Erlang did now was merely adding some empirical evidence to his guesses, and some more conjecture.
Mr. Zhuang thought it over and eventually decided not to say anything, not to ask anything, just to let the children be.
They returned to Yizhou City before sunset; as they were growing older, their energy was increasingly robust, and after sitting in a carriage all day, the three of them were not tired at all.
So they fetched some water and began tidying up their rooms and cleaning the study.
Though they had been away for only five days, springtime was particularly prone to dirtiness.
Once they had cleaned up their rooms, and the cook had finished preparing the meal, Mr. Zhuang dined with them, then said, "Later, bring your assignments to me. After I have reviewed them, you can go to sleep. Tomorrow, you will have to go to school. When it is time to study, you truly need to focus on your studies and think less about other things, understand?"
The three bowed and responded, going to retrieve their assignments.
Early the next morning, Bai Shan went to the official school, Bai Erlang headed to the academy, and Mr. Zhuang, who had class that day, also went to the academy.
Manbao, on the other hand, was alone in the study reciting her morning lessons. Once finished, she went to the herbal shop.
But as she approached the herbal shop with her basket on her back, she turned around and discovered Zhou SiLang following close behind.
Zhou SiLang, realizing he had been caught, chuckled and hurried over, saying, "Manbao, should your fourth brother accompany you to the herbal shop?"
"Fourth brother, if you’re going to follow me, do so openly. Sneaking around like that scared me to death."
"Alright, alright, tomorrow I’ll follow you openly. Let’s go, I’ll take you to the herbal shop."
Manbao muttered as they walked, "I’m used to walking there myself, I don’t need you to escort me."
Zhou SiLang walked beside her and said quietly, "It’s just that I’m worried you might lose your temper and impulsively seek revenge, right?"
Manbao: "...Do I look that foolish?"
With her small stature, was she supposed to rush to Prince of Yizhou’s residence and seek revenge?
Chances were she wouldn’t even be able to see the face of the Prince of Yizhou, right?
Manbao, with contempt, glanced at her fourth brother and said, "Fourth brother, just go about your business. I’m not so foolish."
After Zhou SiLang made sure, he thought for a moment, "Forget it, since I’ve escorted you this far, I might as well take you to the entrance of the herbal shop. I won’t escort you tomorrow."
Manbao nodded in satisfaction.
Although Manbao could not rush to the Prince of Yizhou’s residence to seek revenge, she still did something else, like when she approached Shopkeeper Zheng, "Uncle shopkeeper, I’d like to meet with the medicinal farmers, is that possible?"
Shopkeeper Zheng chuckled and asked, "Do you want to buy medicinal herbs? Just tell me what you want to buy, there’s no need to meet with the medicinal farmers yourself."
Manbao shook her head and said, "I want to record some fresh medicinal plants. I have never seen their unprocessed forms, so I want to ask the farmers to bring me some fresh ones next time they deliver."
"I’ve mentioned this to them, but they come too late, and the fresh medicinal plants cannot survive that long, so they cannot bring them."