Manbao, whom Bai Er mentioned incessantly, was gossiping with a few others, including Qi Jue and Shan Yu, about the various affairs of the Guan family—and not just the Guan family but the prince’s mansion as well.
The country bumpkin Bai Erlang listened to the various rumors, some true, some false, with a bewildered expression.
Therefore, when he saw Bai Shan again that afternoon, he stared at him with a very strange gaze, sighed and shook his head after watching him for a while, then took another glance and repeated the same reaction.
Unable to restrain himself, Bai Shan took the initiative to ask, "What are you doing?"
It seemed as if Bai Erlang was just waiting for him to ask that question. With a leap, he moved from across to sit beside Bai Shan, nudged him with his shoulder, and queried, "Do you want to seek refuge with the Prince of Yizhou?"
Bai Shan scooted aside with disdain and questioned, "Don’t make wild guesses if you don’t understand, why would I seek refuge with him?"
Having grown up together since childhood, Bai Erlang naturally knew Bai Shan wouldn’t stoop to lying about such matters. So he frowned and said, "Then why are you looking for the Guan family?"
Bai Shan perked up, asking, "What does this have to do with the Guan family?"
Surprised, Bai Erlang replied, "You don’t know? Old Master Guan is a retainer to the prince’s mansion. It’s said he was deeply trusted by the Prince of Yizhou in the past, and lots of people sought favor through Old Master Guan and gained prosperous futures in the prince’s service." He cleared his throat gently and continued, "So I thought you wanted to join the Prince of Yizhou as well. It’s fine if you aren’t; it’s fine. I don’t know why, but I just don’t like the Prince of Yizhou’s mansion. I always feel like we clash with it."
Bai Erlang rambled on, "Today, when I heard Qi Jue mentioning some rumors about the Guan family, I was really afraid you might be like those people in the rumors, seeking to make connections with Old Master Guan and then turn to the prince’s mansion. I seriously thought about it; we have never had any good encounters with the prince’s mansion, like last year when we went to see the procession in the street and met with the assassin. You saved Ji Hao and were then threatened by the princess’ people, and then there was the flower selling incident a few days ago..."
Bai Erlang was counting on his fingers, and just as he finished, the carriage stopped. Daji lifted the curtain and called out, "Have we arrived?"
Before Bai Erlang could finish his sentence, Manbao’s head popped out. She climbed onto the carriage, sat down opposite him, and said to the still dumbfounded Bai Erlang, "Get out of the carriage."
Bai Erlang peered outside and realized they were back at the entrance to the alley. Instinctively, he started to follow Manbao’s lead and get off but then thought better of it and sat back down. He stared at Manbao for a while, then glanced at Bai Shan and asked, "Where are you two going?"
"We’re going to see County Magistrate Tang."
Bai Erlang then wanted to get off the carriage. He didn’t like County Magistrate Tang because he would somehow always end up asking about his studies while casually chatting, which Bai Erlang found annoying.
But thinking of the secrets these two had been keeping from him lately, he forcibly suppressed the urge to leave. After swallowing hard, he declared, "I... I want to go too."
Bai Shan retorted, "You haven’t cleared up the matter of peeping through someone’s window last time. Do you dare to show up at their door?"
Bai Erlang wanted to leave the carriage even more.
Bai Shan and Manbao casually waited for him to disembark.
After hesitating for a while, Bai Erlang looked at them both, gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and proclaimed, "I... I dare!"
Bai Shan and Manbao looked at each other in surprise, then after a moment of thought, said, "Alright then, we’ll go together."
Upon hearing this, Daji drove the carriage forward.
The carriage stopped in front of the County Governmental Office. Bai Erlang, who was leaning against the window looking out, turned around to look at the two with a plaintive gaze, "You really are here to see County Magistrate Tang."
"Why would we lie about something ?" Bai Shan asked him, "Are you coming in or not?"
Bai Erlang picked at the car wall and asked, "What are you looking for the County Magistrate Tang for?"
After thinking for a bit, Bai Shan told him, "I want to talk to him about the matters of the Guan family."
Bai Erlang racked his brain but couldn’t figure it out, "Why on earth are you so concerned about the Guan family?"
As they were talking, a clatter of hooves caught their ears. The three people in the carriage instinctively glanced outside the window, just in time to see a horseman arriving at the County Governmental Office. He reined in his horse and turned his head to look at the three little ones in the carriage.
Their eyes met, and County Magistrate Tang up on the horse raised a smiling face, took hold of the reins and greeted the three with a wave of his hand.
Manbao smiled with her eyes curving into crescents, and Bai Shan also raised his hand to greet County Magistrate Tang. Bai Erlang, with his head protruding at the front, ducked his head and slowly shrank down below the window, squeezing his way out from between Bai Shan and Manbao.
County Magistrate Tang, who hadn’t noticed Bai Erlang at first, spotted him immediately. He rode his horse up close, right beside their window, particularly looking at the little head that had moved to the back, and smilingly said, "Erlang, it’s been a long time, what are you hiding for?"
Bai Erlang gave an awkward smile and raised his hand to greet, "Greetings, County Magistrate Tang."
He mulled over a little, then chose to admit his fault and apologize, "Last time..."
Manbao cut him off, "Last time you left without a word, and he’s been thinking that he had not been a good host, so he feels embarrassed."
County Magistrate Tang was doubtful, "Really?"
Beside him, Bai Shan nodded, "Really." Then he shifted the topic, "Lord Tang, where have you been coming from?"
County Magistrate Tang dismounted and laughed, "Just took a stroll around and happened to pass by the Guan Family Estate, so I dropped in. What brings you here?"
Bai Shan and Manbao, "... What a coincidence, we’re going to be guests at the Guan Family Estate tomorrow as well."
County Magistrate Tang raised his eyebrows in surprise at them.
Half an hour later, Bai Erlang was sitting in the courtyard of the County Governmental Office, dejectedly looking at the blue sky. Behind him, the door to the room was firmly closed; County Magistrate Tang was talking with Bai Shan and Manbao, and he still had no idea why they were so interested in the Guan family.
Inside the room, County Magistrate Tang glanced at the backdrop of Bai Erlang and asked, "Why did you bring him along too?"
Manbao spoke with frustration, "We’ve always been playing together, so it’s hard to keep things from him. And Bai Er is getting much smarter now."
Because the three had grown up together, they were accustomed to each other’s presence. Manbao and Bai Shan wouldn’t avoid Bai Erlang when discussing matters, just as they would naturally ignore Daji when whispering to each other.
This was a terrible habit, one that couldn’t easily be changed overnight.
And as everyone was growing up, becoming smarter, if even a tiny thing was revealed, it wasn’t a problem if Bai Erlang wasn’t interested, but once he took an interest, he couldn’t help but delve into it.
County Magistrate Tang smiled and then asked, "What are you going to the Guan Family Estate for?"
Manbao then talked about encountering Guan Erlang the day before, "I was thinking, the villa they mentioned, could it be the same villa Erji talked about? Today I inquired with Doctor Ji and learned that Old Master Guan used to be a servant of the royal household."
County Magistrate Tang laughed, "If you wanted to know, you could have just asked me instead of going through the trouble of asking around."
He confidently informed them, "I visited the Guan Family Estate today, and I also saw Erji; the Guan family’s villa is indeed the same one that County Magistrate Bai visited in the past."