The Lucky Farmgirl

Chapter 2357: Chapter 2332: Father and Daughter

Everyone sympathetically patted his shoulder, "If I’d known, I wouldn’t have let you go first. Didn’t I give you a hint to hold back a bit, either decline or, like Yin Huo, ask for a very small reward?"

Liu Huan was stunned and looked at Bai Shan with tears in his eyes, "Is that what you meant? Weren’t you telling me to say whatever I had to say?"

Everyone: ...

Bai Shan said, "In front of the Emperor, it’s not like being in front of the teacher, why would I tell you to say whatever you want?"

Liu Huan protested, "But the look you gave me was exactly like the one you give in front of Mr. Zhuang!"

Every time Mr. Zhuang tested them on their coursework, Bai Shan always encouraged him to speak his mind, saying whatever came to his mind. At first, Liu Huan had some reservations, but Bai Shan always gave him that look.

Liu Huan stared at him with widened eyes.

Bai Shan opened his mouth, then turned to pull Bai Erlang and Zhou Man, "Was my look the same?"

Both shook their heads, "Not the same."

Bai Shan then looked at Yin Huo, Liu Huan also stepped forward, staring intently at Yin Huo.

Yin Huo: "...Not the same, I think."

Bai Shan looked at Liu Huan triumphantly.

Liu Huan refused to admit he had misunderstood, so he angrily turned around and walked off.

Bai Shan watched him leave on a carriage, then shouted to Jiyu, who was sitting on the cart seat, "If there’s anything, call us!"

Jiyu responded.

Bai Shan and his group exchanged looks, chuckling softly as they got into the carriage, happily heading home. Before leaving, they even made plans with Yin Huo to visit the Tang Family for New Year’s, "Tomorrow is a good day."

Yin Huo regretted, "Tomorrow my sister and others are returning home; I fear I won’t have time."

Bai Shan could only express his regret.

Liu Huan returned to the Liu Family, and as soon as he got out of the carriage, he was taken to the study. Minister Liu had been somewhat uneasy all day, and upon seeing his grandson, he immediately asked, "So, did His Majesty reprimand you all?"

Liu Huan opened his mouth, feeling guilty, "No, not really?"

Minister Liu couldn’t help but reach out and pat him, "Did you really not get reprimanded? Tell me everything that happened after entering the palace, not missing a word His Majesty said."

Liu Huan then knelt on the ground with a thud, shouting loudly, "Grandfather, I know I was wrong——"

Minister Liu’s heart couldn’t take it, clutching his chest, "What did you do in the palace?"

Jiyu, who was guarding outside the door, heard the shout and immediately turned to find the Old Madam.

Liu Huan still cared about his reputation and didn’t let Jiyu go find Yin Huo and the others for help, so he got a solid five whacks from Minister Liu. The beatings stopped only because Old Madam Liu arrived.

Yin Huo waited at home for half a day and still heard nothing, so he took a scroll and walked to the door, calling Longevity, "Has anyone come from the Liu Family?"

"No, Young Master, maybe nothing happened to Young Master Liu?"

Yin Huo thought about it, nodded, "Perhaps, after all, he just returned from the Western Regions, not seen for half a year, maybe Minister Liu is being lenient with him."

Bai Shan and Manbao were also waiting, and when they didn’t hear anything, they confidently said, "Minister Liu must be showing some leniency towards Liu Huan."

Manbao: "Just like my dad cares for me."

Old Zhou was indeed concerned about Manbao, feeling that she not only lost weight on this trip but also got darker; he was quite distressed.

"Is the Western Regions really far away?"

Manbao thought about it and said, "Quite far, like the distance from our village to the capital, and then back to our village again."

Old Zhou: "That’s pretty far, but not enough to lose so much weight, right?"

Manbao said, "I’ve grown taller, Dad, I grew vertically, not horizontally."

Old Zhou immediately said, "Your mom should let out your clothes; luckily, we reserved a piece of fabric when sewing your clothes, otherwise the clothes would have been wasted."

"It’s okay, Liru can wear them."

Old Zhou then pondered, "Right, Liru is getting older, I reckon it’s about time for marriage discussions. Your Second Brother mentioned it before coming home, he specifically sought help from your Fourth Brother and Eldest Brother and Sister-in-law to talk about marriage. If it seems right, we can settle it directly without waiting for them to discuss further."

Manbao: "Will Second Sister-in-law agree?"

"Since your Second Brother thinks so, naturally Second Sister-in-law will agree," Old Zhou said, "This marriage for Second Son was arranged with the help of your Fourth and Fifth Brothers; Second Sister-in-law also said they probably can’t find a better match than this, and since Erya married well, Sanya won’t settle for less."

Old Zhou proudly said, "She’s also going to be an official at the Imperial Hospital in the future."

Speaking of this, Old Zhou couldn’t help but ask Manbao, "Do you think any of your nephews are fit to study medicine? You should teach them too. The family can’t just have daughters achieve success, while the boys rely on their three aunts for a livelihood, right?"

Manbao said, "Third Son and Fourth Son definitely aren’t suited; they’re good at studying, in two more years they can take the civil exam, and if they don’t pass they can try the Ming Classic exam. Fifth Son and the younger ones are still small, once they learn to read, I will teach them to recognize herbs; if they show interest in learning medicine, I will take them as disciples."

"Look at Fifth Son later, that child resembles your Third Brother, honest."

Manbao: "...Dad, how can you tell he’s honest at such a young age?"

"You can tell from a young age, I noticed it two years ago," Old Zhou always feared he’s not study material, said to Manbao, "Your Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law only know a couple of characters; they’ve taught him all they can but he still can’t write his own name. Third Brother also mentioned that with his brothers in the capital, the child is lonely at home and only plays with village kids. He can’t learn a character in half a day at school, so we sent him to the capital, thinking there might be better teachers who might succeed."

Old Zhou said to Manbao, "If it really doesn’t work out, you can keep him by your side as a medicine boy and let him learn some medicine."

Manbao: "..."

She felt her dad misunderstood studying medicine; being smart was crucial for that!

But she didn’t argue, nodding, "Okay."

Old Zhou was satisfied, he secretly glanced behind him, saw Bai Shan and the others busy writing, and quietly asked Manbao, "Manbao, did Bai Shan mention anything about your marriage?"

"He did," Manbao said, "We agreed to marry when we return."

Old Zhou’s confidence soared immediately, feeling proud, "That won’t do, it’s too soon, I can’t agree."

Manbao: "Too soon? Then wait a little longer..."

"Not too long," afraid she might suggest waiting another year or two, Old Zhou was anxious and impatient, gritted his teeth and said, "We can choose a good day this year, but the date should be a little later."

He softly asked her, "If you get married, can the Bai Family still live in this house?"

Manbao startled, "Dad, you don’t want them to live here?"

"I do want them to," Old Zhou slapped his leg, saying, "Ideally, they’d live here forever without moving."