Bai Mansion.

Bai Shitao broke his ribs and could only stay at home to recuperate.

Outside the window, everything was covered in white snow, and even with the window open, there was no scenery to be seen.

All I saw were his two sons playing around in the training ground, laughing and joking, showing no awareness whatsoever of being the sons of a military general!

Bai Shitao was so angry that his liver hurt.

He took a deep breath, his voice booming, but before he could even utter the words of reprimand to his son, he smelled the aroma of meat.

It definitely tastes like meat.

However, Bai Shitao was too embarrassed to say what the fragrance was.

"You're a military officer, after all. You've eaten so much meat and grown quite a bit, yet you still managed to fall and hurt yourself like this!" His wife, Madam Bai, brought over a large bowl of boiled pork belly and placed it in front of him, glaring at him.

"Ah, this..." Bai Shitao hung his head and couldn't say a word when he heard his wife scolding him.

The overwhelming momentum from before vanished in an instant, replaced by the humility of an insect in the ground, cowering obediently, too afraid to utter a sound.

Seeing his appearance infuriated Bai, and she immediately started cursing him: "If I hadn't been blind back then, seeing how tall and strong you are, I wouldn't have even looked at someone as worthless as you!"

Bai Shitao: "..."

"Eat this meat! Get well soon and go to court to work. Don't stay cooped up at home all day. Just looking at you annoys me." Madam Bai rolled her eyes and said with a displeased expression.

Only then did Bai Shitao look up and glance at his beautiful, slightly petite wife, Madam Bai.

Bai was born in Jiangnan. She still remembered when she met him for the first time. She was a Jiangnan girl with fair wrists and a shy demeanor when she lowered her head.

But now...

Madam Bai was still petite and beautiful, but her shy and timid nature had long since vanished.

Bai Shitao couldn't bear to recall it, so he could only say softly, "Madam, please put the things down first. I'll eat in a bit. Please don't trouble yourself any further; you should go back and rest."

Madam Bai turned and left.

Bai Shitao then quickly looked out the window at his eldest son.

The youngest son quickly ran over, asking, "Dad, what are you doing?"

"You know that shop on Jinbao Street called Lin Ji? Their food is really good. Go and buy me some," Bai Shitao instructed his son.

After eating something delicious, I don't want to eat boiled meat.

But since he had angered his wife, being allowed to eat boiled meat was already a great mercy.

Bai Shitao naturally didn't dare to say anything more, and could only secretly give himself extra help.

But before his eldest son could leave, his wife, Bai, came in with a bowl of garlic sauce. Her gloomy face clearly showed that she had overheard what he had just said.

"..." Bai Shitao kept his mouth shut, unsure how to explain.

Madam Bai's face darkened as she said, "All you care about is food! Your ribs are broken like this, and you still ask your son to buy you food? Is that store's food really that delicious? Aren't you afraid your son will break too!"

Bai Shitao felt wronged.

Although the roasted sweet potato skin was indeed delicious, but!

But he didn't break his ribs because of food!

Bai Shitao gave his wife an explanation.

It's unclear whether Madam Bai believed it or not, but Bai Shitao still reluctantly ate the boiled meat without any garlic sauce.

...

Two days later, Bai Shitao learned that the buzz outside for the past few days was actually about just how delicious Lin's roasted sweet potato skin was.

It's astonishing that even the usually stern and cold-blooded man, Lord Bai, would rather injure himself than not have a taste.

Moreover, the news spread more and more outrageously, turning into the story that Lord Bai was willing to kneel down before Lord Ning An just to have a bite of roasted sweet potato skin.

Upon hearing this news, Bai Shitao nearly jumped out of bed, angrily shouting, "Who spread this rumor? How could I possibly kneel before a treacherous villain like the Marquis of Ning'an? They're dreaming!"

"Sir, I only heard it from outsiders, please don't take it to heart! If you don't want to hear it, I won't say it again." The servant who came to deliver the message said tremblingly when he saw his contorted face.

Little did they know that Bai Shitao had gotten angry and accidentally injured his ribs. That area was already very painful, and now the pain was even worse, so he couldn't help but grimace.

But to the servants, he looked no different from a black-faced devil.

He was already dark-skinned, and his once handsome features had become less than three-tenths. Now, with his fierce and menacing appearance, he looked just like the Yama, the King of Hell, who had crawled out of the underworld.

It looks terrifying.

Bai Shitao pressed his hand on the painful spot and gritted his teeth, saying, "No way! From now on, send me any news like this. Tell me everything that people outside are spreading.

"But sir, you are still injured. What if you get hurt again?" the servant said cautiously, secretly glancing at Bai Shitao and seeing that his complexion had improved a lot, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's nothing! It's just a minor injury, nothing serious." Bai Shitao maintained his tough-guy image after all.

A few days later, Bai Shitao bravely got out of bed and went to court.

His visit to the court caused quite a stir.

Because the news spread so quickly, not only the officials and civil servants, but probably more than half of the common people in the capital knew about it.

However, there aren't many people outside who know Lord Bai, but there's practically no one in the imperial court who doesn't.

This time, Lord Bai was seriously injured and only rested for less than six or seven days before returning to court. Isn't that really rare?

Rare things are worth seeing!

Bai Shitao's face was terribly dark, and he didn't seem to blush at all; he just didn't look like a good person.

He knew that his colleagues were laughing at him, but he couldn't say anything, so he could only hold his anger in.

After the court session, even the young Emperor Qi Yuan summoned him to the Imperial Study to inquire about his health, and finally reminded him, "My dear minister, you are not feeling well, so you don't need to do everything yourself. If you want to eat anything, just ask the servants to buy it. It's windy and snowy outside, and the roads are really slippery."

Bai Shitao felt a mix of emotions, like a jumble of soy sauce and vinegar, unable to tell whether it was heartache or relief.

The emperor's concern for his affairs should have been a cause for celebration, but he felt ashamed and embarrassed.

Bai Shitao had no choice but to give Qi Yuan a vague reply: "Indeed, the roads were slippery due to the snow, which is why I made a fool of myself. The roasted sweet potato skins at Lin's shop are indeed delicious. If Your Majesty would like to try some, I can bring some over next time."

"That's not bad!" Qi Yuan laughed and said approvingly, "Your taste is quite similar to mine."