Home visits
On the other side, after Bai Miaoke jumped out of the window and left Lu's house, she did not hang around anymore. She took a shortcut back home and jumped lightly into the Bai family compound.
The servants in the mansion were no longer surprised by their young lady's sudden appearance. Bai Miaoke's personal maid Chun Xing came forward to greet her.
"Miss is back, the master is waiting for you in the study." Chun Xing is the only person in the mansion who knows Bai Miaoke's identity outside. She often helps Bai Miaoke cover up in front of her master.
Bai Miaoke was a little confused: "It's so late, what does my father want to talk to me about?"
Chun Xing shook her head and replied, "I don't know."
Bai Miaoke nodded, went back to her room, changed into a light apricot skirt, and then walked towards the study. She was her father's good girl at home.
When she walked to the door of the study, she found that there was no servant serving her. Bai Miaoke pushed the door open with some confusion.
As soon as I entered the room, I saw my father Bai Zhenhai sitting alone in the large armchair in the study, and there were no extra servants in the room.
He looked up when he heard the voice and saw the little daughter who looked like his late wife. A hint of gentleness appeared on his expressionless face. He pointed to the seat beside him and said, "Xiao Ke is here. Sit down. I have something to tell you."
Bai Miaoke felt that her father was a little different today. She was worried that her father had been discovered while running an assassination organization. She sat at the side of the table with trepidation, and acted like a completely different person than when she followed him outside.
Mr. Bai remained silent, picked up a letter from the table and handed it to Bai Miaoke.
Bai Miaoke looked at the yellowed letter paper in her hand in confusion, and when she looked closely, she found that it was her mother's handwriting.
Looking at the familiar handwriting, her heart suddenly surged with sadness. Her mother passed away when she was fifteen. The small regular script she writes now was learned from her mother, but her handwriting is not even half as good as her mother's.
She lowered her head and read the letter, her brows gradually furrowed.
This letter seemed to be a family letter written by my mother before she got married. In the letter, she praised the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan and said that she wanted to stay here for a few more days. The tone of her letter was full of the novelty of a young woman traveling and her longing for her family.
Bai Miaoke seemed to see her young mother boating in the south of the Yangtze River, and a smile appeared on her face.
But on the last page of the letter, the mother, whether intentionally or unintentionally, mentioned that Ma Hongzhe was with her in Jiangnan, but his whereabouts were very suspicious. The following content was torn up by someone, and the letter ended here.
Bai Miaoke looked up at her father and said, "Ma Hongzhe is now the imperial tutor? How could mother know him?"
Mr. Bai nodded and said, "I sent someone to check it out this afternoon. He was the Minister of Works at the time and often went to Jiangnan to inspect water conservancy projects."
After hearing what her father said, Bai Miaoke became more confused.
She only knew that her mother, Li Yulan, was an orphan, who later met her father, who was traveling around the country for business, and the two fell in love and got married.
Later, her mother followed her father all the way to the capital to open the Bai family's business. It was also at this time that their first child was born, who was Bai Miaoke's older brother Bai Yongsi.
They settled down in the capital, and gradually expanded the Bai family's business across the country, making it the largest business in the world today.
Three years later, she was born. She still remembered that her mother taught her to read and write, play the piano and paint, and also taught her etiquette. In her impression, her mother knew so much, and her temperament and education were so great that even the princesses in the palace would be ashamed of themselves.
Later, her mother's health deteriorated and she finally died when she was fifteen.
The letter in my hand shows that my mother is not an orphan. On the contrary, she must be from a very harmonious family for her to show such a little girl's behavior in the letter.
She folded the letter carefully and asked her father, "Where did you find this letter?"
Mr. Bai said, "It's in the inner compartment of your mother's dressing table."
My father has never remarried since my mother passed away. Although a merchant family cannot compare to an official family, as he is the richest businessman, there are many people who want to marry him as his second wife.
Even though her father seldom mentioned her mother in front of his children, Bai Miaoke knew that he would stay in her mother's room for a few days every month. The furnishings in the room remained the same as they had been in the past, and it was obvious that someone came to clean it regularly.
This time, my father probably discovered the letter by accident when he was thinking of the person.
She asked: "Is mother really just an orphan? Looking at this letter, I'm afraid her identity is not that simple."
Mr. Bai shook his head slowly and said, "When your mother met me, she made a living by copying books. She really didn't have any relatives around her."
Bai Miaoke stuffed the letter into her arms, her eyes firm, and said to her father: "My daughter will check these things, father, don't think about it, go to bed early."
After saying that, she forced a sweet smile, turned around and walked out.
Mr. Bai was still sitting on the armchair without moving, feeling a little worried.
Ever since Bai Miaoke came of age, he began to teach his daughter all the big and small matters in the Bai family business. She learned quickly, and after a few years she could handle things on her own.
It’s not that he looked down on his eldest son Bai Yongsi, but the eldest son of the Bai family only wanted to become an official in the court and had no interest in these business methods.
Besides, his son had been preparing for this year's spring examination, so he did not tell him about this matter. He believed that his daughter was no worse than any other man.
Bai Miaoke returned to her own courtyard, took out the letter and read it over and over again. Apart from the family members whose names were not mentioned in the letter, the only useful information was about Grand Tutor Ma Hongzhe.
After saying that he behaved suspiciously, the rest of the content was torn up. What on earth did he do in Jiangnan?
Nearly ten years have passed, and Bai Miaoke has heard that the Grand Tutor is insidious and cunning, and his actions are even more cruel. It may take more effort for Bai Miaoke to investigate this matter.
August 10th is the day when the Bai family checks the accounts every month.
Bai Miaoke sleeps until noon. The various businesses of the Bai family are usually managed by special shopkeepers. Only at the end of each month, Bai Miaoke, as the boss, will go to each shopkeeper to check the accounts and calculate the profit of the month.
She was wearing a royal blue brocade dress with flower inlays today, and Chun Xing had combed her hair into a cross bun that looked more dignified. She looked like a completely different person from yesterday, transformed into a noble lady.
The eldest lady rode in a sedan chair from Bai Mansion and headed towards the west of the city.
The west of the city is the most prosperous area in Kyoto, filled with all kinds of shops. Bai Miaoke arrived at Jinyulou first.
Jinyulou is a jewelry store opened by the Bai family in the west of the city. It specializes in selling gold and silver jewelry and jade ornaments, and also makes custom jewelry for the nobles in the palace. Because the styles are novel and each piece of jewelry in the store is one-of-a-kind, it is highly sought after by noble ladies.
Bai Miaoke came this time not only to check the accounts, but also to find out about the latest news in the palace.
The shopkeeper of Jinyulou warmly welcomed Bai Miaoke into the private room and presented her with a set of agate head ornaments, thus figuring out Bai Miaoke's preferences.
Bai Miaoke quickly finished reading the accounts and turned the topic to the recent situation in the palace. The shopkeeper wanted to tell her everything he knew: "I heard from the nobles in the palace that the emperor has been worried about the revision of the land tax recently, and he has even visited the harem less often."
Bai Miaoke didn't care whether the emperor went to the harem or not. She asked: "Revising the land tax should be a good thing for the people. Why is the emperor worried?"
The shopkeeper replied, "Of course we ordinary people are willing to reduce the land tax, but those noble families who collect the land tax will definitely not be willing. I heard that the Grand Tutor has submitted several memorials criticizing the emperor for being ungrateful."
Bai Miaoke frowned when she heard this. Although the Taifu was once the emperor's teacher, criticizing the emperor was still a bit over the line.
After leaving Jinyu Tower, she went to the Bai family's restaurant, Lanyue Pavilion.
As soon as she got off the carriage, the waiter with a big smile on his face took her to her exclusive box. The reason why it was an exclusive box was that due to the unique design of this room, she could clearly hear the sounds from the neighboring rooms.
Bai Miaoke would come here with Xiao Heng from time to time to listen to some gossip after dinner, such as the Minister of Revenue who was over fifty had a few new concubines, and a certain old-fashioned scholar from the Hanlin Academy often visited brothels. After a long time, she found that Xiao Heng was not really interested in it. He would just sit here with her and listen for half a day, but would not discuss it with her.
She didn't plan to call him today. After all, the second-in-command was very busy on weekdays.
As soon as she sat down, the waiter brought her the usual dishes and drinks. While Bai Miaoke was enjoying her meal, she heard a noise coming from next door.
"The Prime Minister seems to be in a bad mood today. He even refused to give face to the Grand Tutor. It seems that things are going to change."
"When do you think the fight between the Prime Minister and the Grand Tutor will end? It's like a fight between gods, and the little devils suffer. If it continues like this, I will be incorruptible."
"Alas, this is really hard to say. One has the emperor's support, and the other has so many noble families behind him. It's not easy to offend them."
"The Prime Minister's colleagues who reported to him today have all been punished. They should keep a low profile for now."
…
Bai Miaoke was eating a fermented rice dumpling. Her originally oval face became rounder and puffier. She thought to herself, Prime Minister Lu is in a bad mood today. Could it be because she went to kill someone to silence him yesterday?
When she went to the Lu Mansion to kill someone yesterday, she didn't think about hiding her identity because she felt it wouldn't matter if she was discovered.
But today I heard that he was at loggerheads with the Grand Tutor. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe I can ask the Prime Minister about what happened to the Grand Tutor in the past.
Thinking of this, she decided to go to Prime Minister Lu's house to apologize and find out what he knew about the Grand Tutor.
After visiting all the Bai family shops in the west of the city, she picked up an exquisite rosewood pastry box and set off for the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
It was almost evening, and the faint light illuminated the golden plaque at the entrance of the Lu Mansion. She raised her hand and gently knocked on the door.
Soon a servant opened the door, and she said to him, "I am here to visit the Prime Minister."
The servant had no idea how many people he had to send away every day who came to see the prime minister, but this was the first time that the girl had come to see him.
He hesitated for a moment and asked, "May I ask your name, young lady? I'll go in and tell her."
Bai Miaoke thought for a moment and said, "Just say his savior is here."
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