"What are you looking at? Hurry up and go."
Xiao Nanhui brushed off the shoe prints on his body, grabbed the Shrike with an expressionless face, shook it three times, and after making sure that there was no strange thing hidden on his body this time, he climbed onto the horse without saying a word.
Shrike also hurriedly rode his horse to catch up. As the sound of horse hooves faded away, the back street of the Prime Minister's Mansion became quiet again.
At the corner at the end of the back street, the scholar who had just hurried away stopped in front of an inconspicuous carriage. He carefully confirmed that Xiao Nanhui had left before getting on the carriage.
Apart from the coachman, there was only one person sitting in the carriage. His hair and beard were completely white. He was the old prime minister Bai Zhaoyu.
He was not surprised to see the scholar getting on the car.
"The person has left?"
"Teacher, he's gone."
"What did you ask?"
"Ask the students if there is a retainer named Zhongli in your residence."
"How do you answer that?"
"I replied to her as the teacher instructed."
The old prime minister hummed as expected, twirled his beard, and seemed quite satisfied with his foresight.
"Teacher..." The scholar's expression was a little hesitant.
"What else?"
"Lieutenant Ding came here last night."
"Here we go again?!" Bai Zhaoyu's long-lasting composure was shattered.
It was probably the first time that the scholar saw the old prime minister puffing his beard and glaring like that. He was a little confused for a moment and just nodded.
"What is he doing here? To borrow the third brother's sign again?"
"No." The scholar paused and said truthfully, "The third young master hid the brand, so this time I borrowed the second young master's brand."
Bai Zhaoyu squeezed his eyes shut: "Anything else?"
"...and borrowed a carriage from the mansion."
There was a desperate silence in the carriage, and the scholar was a little at a loss.
In his impression, although the prime minister is old, he is not a pedantic person. On the contrary, he is very wise and open-minded. He should not be such a stingy person. How could he be so angry over a carriage?
But it seemed like the Prime Minister had become uncharacteristically angry since Lieutenant Ding arrived. The last time, about two weeks ago, Lieutenant Ding had returned the Third Young Master's badge, the Prime Minister hadn't said anything, but as soon as the other men had left, he'd lost his temper at the Third Young Master.
The third young master was a very refined and polite person, but he couldn't help but retort that time, and the father and son parted on bad terms.
The third young master is almost thirty years old, and except for one or two concubines, the position of the principal wife has been vacant. The last time he quarreled with the prime minister was because of the issue of getting married.
Wait, the Third Young Master is already quite old and still unmarried, and the Prime Minister is already very anxious since Lieutenant Ding's arrival. Could it be that...?
A wild fantasy slowly unfolded in the scholar's mind: Could it be that the Prime Minister lost his temper because Lieutenant Ding fell in love with the third young master?
He was startled by his own thoughts, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. The Third Young Master had hidden the sign yesterday to subtly tell Lieutenant Ding that he couldn't reciprocate their affection. What a heartbreaking drama of a couple being torn apart by force!
That reckless man might have been sent by Lieutenant Ding himself, spouting nonsense to pry into the truth. If that were the case, even the Prime Minister's ridiculous instructions seemed to have a reason. This is called deliberately creating a maze!
Well, it’s a pity that his teacher, at his age, still has to worry about such things. It’s also sad.
Of course, even though he was so smart and figured out all this, he couldn't take advantage of others' misfortune. The best way is to see through everything but not say it out loud.
Bai Zhaoyu finally opened his eyes, completely unaware of what the scholar beside him was thinking about, and instructed the driver.
"Uncle Zhang, let's leave the city."
The coachman Zhang Bo responded and the carriage drove towards the city gate.
The scholar carefully observed the Prime Minister's expression and asked carefully, "Teacher, where are we going? Aren't we going to the library?"
"Go to Yongye Temple."
"What are you going to Yongye Temple for?"
"Burn incense and worship Buddha." The old prime minister took a deep breath and seemed to have calmed down. However, the trembling tips of his beard still revealed his turbulent mood.
The scholar quickly followed up, "Yes, I will also burn three sticks of incense and pray for the safety of the teacher's family."
Bai Zhaoyu gave him a strange look and asked, "What does this have to do with my house?"
The scholar was bewildered: "Then what are you going to ask for, teacher?"
The old prime minister sighed, a look of genuine worry between his brows. "Please pray to the Bodhisattva that my destiny has not yet ended. By the way, ask Master Yikong for some calming incense. Otherwise, I won't be able to sleep peacefully for the next month or two."
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