The next day, everyone gathered outside the city gates to bid farewell to Madam Tang and her son. As the carriage receded into the distance, the five people standing together let out a collective sigh of relief.
Ms. Cui instantly felt something was amiss after she sighed and, lifting her head to meet County Magistrate Yang’s gaze, hurriedly explained, "It’s a sigh of lament, my cousin’s departure will certainly make the home much less lively."
County Magistrate Yang smiled at her, not minding her insincere remark. He was determined to keep his spirits up today; he had finally managed to send that thorn in his side away. If Tang Zhihe ever again got the idea to invite his wife to stay in Luojiang County, he shouldn’t even think about it.
While the two adults were restrained in their reactions, Manbao and the two other kids expressed theirs much more overtly. As soon as the carriage left, they cheered joyously, full of vim and vigor. Bai Erlang melodramatically slapped his chest, saying, "She’s finally gone; no more worrying about a fire suddenly leaping onto me, right?"
Manbao and Bai Shan nodded their heads in firm agreement. One said, "Let’s head back home too."
The other chimed in with a nod, "We haven’t been home for so long; our grandparents must be worried."
Bai Erlang said, "I don’t know about them being worried, but they’re sure to be angry; I wonder if my dad will punish me."
Bai Shan replied, "I don’t know whether Uncle will punish you or not, but my grandma will definitely punish me, and our teacher will surely punish us as well."
After all, they had agreed to go into the mountains for no more than five days, yet they had been away for over half a month. Other than Zhou Silang who occasionally came from the village to deliver things, they had never returned through him to send presents to please the elders because they were afraid of being scolded; they hadn’t even written a single letter.
Their cheerful mood faltered, giving way to a touch of worry.
Manbao, with a delayed realization, perked up, "Actually, whether Madam Tang stays or leaves doesn’t really matter to us because we would have needed to go home anyway."
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang exchanged glances with her, and suddenly found her reasoning quite sound. So, what was there to be happy about?
County Magistrate Yang, who had been observing the entire scene, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Ms. Cui, who had never seen him laugh so joyfully before, was momentarily stunned.
However, Manbao felt that County Magistrate Yang was quite unscrupulous. He must have thought of this earlier but chose not to remind them, opting instead to call them out early in the morning to join in seeing off Madam Tang.
Consequently, all three shot him an irritated glance, then said, "Now that the deed is done, we should return home."
County Magistrate Yang finally contained his laughter, his face still beaming as he nodded warmly, "After you’re back, accept your punishments and then dutifully return to your studies. Leave the rest to us adults."
Manbao was curious, "What exactly do you plan to do to him?"
County Magistrate Yang placed a finger against his lips and shushed her, with a smile in his eyes, "Child, you needn’t concern yourself with adult matters."
Manbao and the others "tched" in unison, understanding that they were not to discuss these matters outside. They changed the topic to thoughts of going home, unconsciously turning their heads towards the road that would take them back.
Manbao suggested, "Since we’re already outside the city gates, let’s just head home."
Bai Shan nodded, "That way we won’t waste time going back into the city just to leave again."
Bai Erlang had no issues with this and added, feeling a bit anxious, "Should we stop by a clothing store and buy some knee pads or something similar?"
Bai Shan replied, "It won’t help. If our teacher decides to hit us, it will probably be on the palms of our hands. Can you wrap your hands in cloth?"
"It’s possible, but if the teacher unwraps it, he might hit even harder," Manbao commented before breaking into laughter.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang gave her a cold look. "Don’t think that just because you’re a girl the teacher won’t punish you."
The three prepared to call Daji and head home together, but Ms. Cui, surprised by their casual demeanor, was quick to urge them to stay.
Yang Heshu waved his hand and said, "Go back, you have indeed been out for quite some time, um, take this carriage to return home, and when you bring it back, pick some vegetables for me, there’s a shortage of greens in spring."
Manbao thought for a moment about what vegetables her family would be growing at this time, but couldn’t come up with any good options, so she asked, "Do you want wild vegetables?"
"As long as they are green leaves, that’s fine."
Manbao then said, "Then no problem, we can also go up the mountain to dig some if we are not punished."
Yang Heshu: "There’s probably a little difficulty there. Let your elder brother Silang or your nephews dig some for me, wild vegetables are also very tender and delicious."
Bai Shan: "In a little while, there should be mushrooms available."
Bai Erlang: "There will also be wild fruits, and the roseleaf brambles on the mountain are almost red too, right?"
With that said, everyone couldn’t wait to get home.
The three of them promptly climbed into the same carriage they had arrived in, waved goodbye to Yang Heshu and Ms. Cui, "Lord Yang, we’re going home first, we’ll come to see you when we have time."
Ms. Cui hastily waved to them, Yang Heshu seemed a bit perfunctory. It was less than a quarter of an hour’s ride on horseback from the county town to Qili Village, and a little over a quarter of an hour by carriage, even walking only took a little over an hour. When couldn’t they come and go?
Thinking that the winter wheat would soon be harvested, and he would have to go down to the countryside again, Yang Heshu leisurely waved his hand and said, "After some time, my wife and I will come to see you, take your punishment well, don’t run around."
The three lowered the carriage curtains, called out to Daji to get on, "We’re going home."
The coachman waited for Daji to sit at the carriage pole before cracking the whip and getting the horses running.
Ms.Cui looked at Yang Heshu, and asked with a bit of embarrassment, "Is the village where they live close to the county seat?"
Yang Heshu smiled and nodded, "Not far, it takes us about three to four quarters of an hour by carriage."
Ms.Cui then heaved a sigh of relief, "Then it’s not far. I’ve heard that the Bai Family comes from the Bai Family of Longzhou, a family of officials. How did they move to Mianzhou?"
Yang Heshu explained to her, "Lizhi, the ancestor of Bai Li, migrated here, and after settling down in Luojiang County, their branch of the family thrived. This branch is quite close to Bai Shan’s ancestors in terms of both blood relations and personal relationships, so they are quite close-knit. After the death of Bai Shan’s father, County Magistrate Bai, in the line of duty, his ancestor moved here with him."
Though she was unfamiliar with people in Luojiang County, her husband valued Bai Shan and his family, so Ms.Cui naturally had people inquire about the three of them. Inside the county seat, there were legends about Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang was quite well known, but Manbao was seldom mentioned.
She did not find it appropriate to ask Yang Heshu about a young lady’s circumstances.
In fact, Ms.Cui’s people had asked the wrong sources—they had inquired with servants of the large households in the county town. If they had asked the common folk in the streets, especially those who ran shops or stalls selling goods, most likely they all knew Manbao. No, they knew all three of them.
After all, in the previous years, they hadn’t refrained from trading in the county town.
Though, in the past two years, they had been in Huayang County, appearing in the town less frequently, their impression still lingered in the minds of many.
The carriage traveled down the all-too-familiar path, the three of them pushed the carriage windows open, looking out at the flowers and grass with forlorn expressions, Bai Erlang: "Scared."
Bai Shan was rubbing his palms and said, "It’s been a long time since I’ve had my palms spanked."
Manbao: "Congratulations then, you might get to experience it again today."