Chapter 26 (26) Revealed

Three days after the wedding, it was time to return home.

Lianzhi was an orphan with no place to return to. Even if there was a place, he didn't really want to go back - he hated the late emperor and the empress dowager, as well as his adoptive father, the prefect of Liangzhou.

It was too boring in the mansion. When Bai Kang was not around, he could still go out and catch the lazy servants and show off his power to relieve his boredom, but now he doesn't dare to do that. In the past, he was also bored in the palace. His only power was to invite a few opera troupes to perform in the palace.

Looking at the pitifully small amount of money she had as a monthly allowance, Lianzhi gave up the idea. She decided to save money, as she would need it in many other ways in the future.

After lunch, Lianzhi lay down in the yard to sleep. The weather was getting hot, and the shade of the trees in the yard was even cooler. When Bo Kang passed by, he saw Lianzhi, wearing only a thin shirt, sprawled unconscious on a rattan chair, like a kitten with its paws resting on the back of a chair.

It's cute, but also very annoying - even in summer, you can't wear so little, what if you catch a cold!

Lianzhi was half asleep when he felt his body sink. He opened his eyes and saw a thick blanket covering him, making him feel uncomfortable. Lianzhi squinted his eyes and was about to protest when he heard Bai Kang say, "Cover it up."

"You're so annoying." Lianzhi complained. His face was red from the heat, and he threw the blanket down. "The summer in the capital is so hot, Liangzhou is still better."

"At least cover your stomach and don't go barefoot," Bai Kang insisted.

"You're so annoying. Are you an old man? Why do you have to control me?" Lianzhi curled her lips.

Unexpectedly, Bo Kang actually grinned and said, "You're right, I just like to control people. I'm getting lazy lying around all day, come with me for a walk."

Lianzhi: “No.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Kang picked him up and stuffed him into the carriage parked at the gate. Bai Kang asked Eunuch Wen to get a coat and, ignoring Lianzhi's protests, put the coat on him. "I have something important to do. Please come with me."

Upon hearing this, Lianzhi sat down immediately.

Maybe Bo Kang was going to do something important, and he wanted to eavesdrop secretly.

The carriage soon arrived at the posthouse in the capital. Bo Kang had the driver stop by the roadside, but he didn't get out. He stood by the window, waiting for someone, perhaps someone. Lianzhi wanted to see, but he was too far away, and not as tall as Bo Kang, to see.

Bai Kang didn't open the car door until Lianzhi couldn't wait any longer.

Six teenagers, from oldest to youngest, got off the carriage opposite. The oldest was older than Lianzhi, and the youngest was just over ten years old. There were four boys and two girls, and each of them looked very similar to Bai Kang.

How could this happen?!

Lianzhi's eyes went dark. Not to mention the six children shouting to him in unison, "Hello, sister-in-law!"

Lianzhi didn't know how to get along with his brothers and sisters, and subconsciously kept a stern face. Although he dared to be stern with Bai Kang, what if he gave the cold shoulder to other brothers and sisters and Bai Kang had an opinion?

He unconsciously hid behind Bo Kang and heard Bo Kang say, "Let's talk about this when we get back. Xiaofu, take your brothers and sisters and ride in the carriage with us."

After saying this, Bai Kang watched his brothers and sisters get on the carriage. He told the driver to go back to the house and said to the stunned Lianzhi, "Don't be afraid. My brothers and sisters are all good people and won't provoke you. When we get back, I'll let them stay in the west courtyard. If you don't want to see them, I'll tell them not to come over."

"Who's scared? I'm not scared." Lianzhi said stubbornly.

What he couldn't understand was why Bai Kang would tell his younger brothers and sisters that he was the eldest sister-in-law?

Although this name sounded a bit disgusting, he thought that Bai Kang, like him, was unwilling to acknowledge this marriage from the bottom of his heart. He would return to the palace in the future and would never stay with Bai Kang, let alone like him.

I hope Bo Kang doesn't take this marriage seriously.

As soon as he returned to the mansion, Bai Kang went to accompany his younger brothers and sisters. The other servants in the mansion had also seen the young masters and young ladies. The names of their children were also interesting. From the second to the seventh child, they were named Bai Jian, Bai Fu, Bai Lu, Bai Cai, Bai Shou and Bai Xier, which were very rustic.

However, the family seemed to be in good terms. Lianzhi felt a pang of sadness when she saw her younger sister, Bai Xier, clamoring to be carried on her brother's back.

No wonder Bo Kang’s steps were so steady when he carried him on his back before. It turned out that he had experience in taking care of younger siblings.

He watched for a while, and then felt inexplicably uncomfortable, so he simply went back. Bai Kang played with his younger brothers and sisters for a long time, and was about to call Lianzhi to have dinner together when his third brother Bai Fu came over and tugged at his sleeve: "Brother, the eldest sister-in-law just left on her own, and she seemed to be in a bad mood."

In a bad mood? Bai Kang didn't react for a moment, and Bai Fu whispered: "Brother, go and accompany your sister-in-law. I'm here."

Having not seen his elder brother for several years, Bai Fu wanted to talk to him more. However, his elder brother was almost thirty years old and had finally married. For the sake of his good life in the second half of his life, he should go and accompany his wife.

The west courtyard was near the main gate, and there was still some distance to Bo Kang's courtyard. He walked back slowly, quietly opened the door, and observed what Lianzhi was doing.

The handsome young man held his chin with his hand, an angry look on his face, and was throwing a few silver hairpins at the apples in the fruit bowl opposite him.

Well, the aim is really good, and it never misses.

Bai Kang wasn't surprised. He coughed lightly, walked in, and held out his arms to Lian Zhi: "Want to carry me?"

"What?" Lianzhi asked.

"Do you want me to carry you too?" Bo Kang smiled. "It's time for dinner. I'll carry you there."

He guessed for a long time and felt that Lianzhi must have missed her family after seeing how harmonious and affectionate he and his brothers and sisters were. Although he didn't know whether Lianzhi was really an orphan or whether she had any family.

But Lianzhi was not as old as Bai Jianda. She must have felt bad being away from home, but he didn't even notice Lianzhi's emotions.

Lianzhi: “No.”

Bai Kang didn't get angry and sat down next to him. The soft stool was too narrow, and Bai Kang almost squeezed him against the wall. "When I first came to the capital, I was also not used to it. I have no relatives here, and everyone looked down on me because I was a poor boy from the countryside. When I first became a guard, even the eunuchs could bully me."

Although she already knew Bai Kang's background, Lianzhi still followed his lead and asked, "Then why don't you go home?"

"I was young then, and I wasn't willing to stay in Rongcheng and be a minor official. I wanted to come to the capital to do something big and make a name for myself. I didn't expect the capital to be so treacherous, and I couldn't make a name for myself even after a long time." Bai Kang laughed bitterly, "It took me a long time to finally find a noble person... Never mind, let's not talk about that."

Lianzhi thought that the noble person he was referring to must be herself.

"I want to tell you that you can trust me." Bo Kang ruffled his hair. "I know how lonely it is to be alone in a strange place. If you have any problems, you can tell me."

Lianzhi looked into his eyes, almost wanting to tell him everything. He blinked, his eyes a little sore, and said, "I miss my family. My father doesn't like me and won't let me see my mother, but she and I..."

He was halfway through his speech when he suddenly waved his hand. When he spoke again, Lianzhi resumed her usual spoiled and arrogant attitude: "I'm so annoyed. Why am I telling you all this? Never mind. Carry me over there. I'm hungry."

Bai Kang smiled, squatted down, and let Lianzhi jump onto his back. This action was very familiar, and Lianzhi was very familiar with it. He deliberately asked, "Have you ever carried someone else on your back?"

Bai Kang didn't hear the hidden meaning in his words and nodded: "I have memorized it. What's wrong?"

"Is it someone's beautiful daughter? Or someone's young master?" Lianzhi asked knowingly. She remembered that Bai Kang had been talking in his sleep, and that she and Chang Yuzhu had planned to throw him down on purpose. She wanted to get him to talk, to hear what he would say about him when he was awake. Since Bai Kang didn't know his identity now, maybe she could get something interesting out of him.

Beautiful girl?

Bai Kang sneered inwardly. He swears to God, he's never even touched a girl's hand, let alone carried her on his back. As for the pretty young master... well, Chen Fenglian could be considered one, though he was only pretty, not a young master.

"What's wrong?" asked Bo Kang.

Lianzhi was stunned for a long time before she understood. What Bai Kang meant was that he had carried someone on his back! Bai Kang was his bodyguard, and he had actually carried someone on his back!

He twisted Bo Kang's ear hard, and only snorted when he heard Bo Kang's scream.

He dared to carry others on his back, which made him so angry!

During dinner, Lianzhi and Baikang sat together.

It was his first time eating at the same table with so many people, so he was inevitably a little awkward. But then he thought, it must be the country family in Baikang who was supporting him and inviting him to dinner.

Thinking of this, he was no longer afraid and began to order Bai Kang to pick food for him, arrogantly. The Bai family children saw this and felt that their eldest brother was a little afraid of his wife.

On the other hand, the two younger sisters, Bai Shou and Bai Xier, were very fond of him and kept pestering him with questions about Liangzhou. Lianzhi was quite tolerant of girls and wanted to tell them about Chunfeng Tower after dinner. She was so excited that she was overheard by Bai Kang, who sullenly dragged her away.

"You ask me to develop a relationship with your brothers and sisters, but you don't allow me to talk to them!" Lianzhi protested.

"They are still girls, how could you tell them about Chunfeng Tower!" Bai Kang couldn't help but feel a headache. Unexpectedly, Lianzhi's mouth sank, "Do you dislike me because I came from Chunfeng Tower?"

"How dare I, little ancestor?" Bai Kang held his forehead. "There are so many things going on in Liangzhou. Can you tell them about something else?"

Lianzhi was taken aback and didn't immediately agree. In fact, he had only been in Liangzhou for a few months after waking up, and he wasn't very familiar with the area. The Liangzhou prefect had Arus guarding him and rarely let him go out.

Apart from Chunfenglou, there seemed to be nothing else to talk about. What if I said something wrong and it was relayed to Bai Kang, revealing the flaw?

"Forget it, I won't say anything more." Lianzhi shook her head, "It's really annoying, I'm going back."

After saying this, he pretended to be angry and left Bai Kang behind. When he really went back to rest, Bai Kang actually felt relieved. After having the housekeeper settle the Bai family children, he called his third brother and the subordinates waiting outside to go to the study. The Ministry of Rites hadn't had any trouble in the past few days. Someone was keeping an eye on it, so even if someone did have any intentions, they would report them to him in time.

"Sir, we've tracked him down," the subordinate said respectfully. "Xiao Yu has a cousin named You, a commoner. He's uneducated and spends his days living on luxury. Earlier this year, he suddenly had some money and even paid off his debt."

"Get to the point." Bai Kang knocked on the table.

The subordinate quickly said, "We haven't found the whereabouts of the silver yet, but we have found Youshi's creditor, a merchant from Jincheng named Alu."

"Qiang people?" Hearing the man's name, Bai Kang immediately became alert.

If Alu was truly Youshi's creditor, it's highly likely he was acting under orders from the King of Longxi, using Youshi's coercion and bribery to coerce Xiaoyu into taking the blame. However, it's also possible that Xiaoyu was the one who leaked the exam questions...

"Go check on that Aru again!" Bo Kang gritted his teeth. He didn't know why, but the name Aru made him uncomfortable.

After a few more instructions, Bai Kang dismissed the others, hoping to take advantage of the moment when no one was around to ask Bai Fu about his family's recent progress. He had been away from home for years and had never been back. He only knew what was going on through letters and the annual visits to his younger siblings.

Bai Fu, the most stable of the brothers, was unusually absent-minded. Bai Kang thought he was worried about him and explained, "Don't worry about what happened just now. Let's talk about it first..."

"I didn't care." Bai Fu interrupted him, pointing to the yellow brocade box under the table and said, "Brother, what is that box on the ground? It looks very familiar. Can you show it to me?"