Marry into the Bai family
After leaving Huzhou, the group took the same waterway they had come from.
It was still early autumn when we came, and there were still some lotus leaves and lotus roots on the lake. But when we came back, the lake was bare with only a few stems and leaves left.
This time the boat was arranged by Lord Xu, so there were only their own people on the boat. Bai Miaoke leaned on the fence and watched the water spread out in circles, feeling a little bored.
Chun Xing was still seasick and stayed in the cabin and couldn't come out. Lu Yu was not that busy, so Bai Miaoke took him to exercise on the boat.
I do horse stance every day and practice some self-defense moves.
The two elders of the Lu family were both generals, and they taught Lu Yu a lot about martial arts, but he was not interested, so he only learned the basics and did not persist.
But this time when Bai Miaoke asked him to practice martial arts, Lu Yu was surprisingly cooperative and spent at least an hour every day practicing horse stance. Especially on the boat, if he wanted to stand firmly in the horse stance, he had to put in more skills and physical strength.
Of course, the benefits are also obvious. Bai Miaoke feels that his already obvious outlines have become much stronger in recent days. It is not obvious when he is wearing clothes, but after taking them off, he has a bit of tough guy look.
Bai Miaoke was very satisfied and was already looking forward to returning to Beijing to get married.
It took the group less than half a month to reach the capital city by land after traveling by water. During this period, they encountered two assassination attempts. Fortunately, they had more manpower this time and no trouble was caused.
Time flies, and the winter solstice is here in the blink of an eye.
They originally wanted to travel to Beijing overnight, but it snowed heavily in the evening, so they stayed in a restaurant in Pingcheng, which was also the property of the Bai family and was relatively safe.
The weather gets colder the further north you go. Bai Miaoke has already put on a fox fur coat and is now curled up by the window watching the heavy snow outside.
When Lu Yu entered the room, he saw a picture of a beautiful woman enjoying the snow. The snow-white fox fur wrapped her little face tightly, making her look like an exquisite porcelain doll.
"It's so cold, why do you open the window?" Lu Yu walked to her side and took her slightly cold hand and held it in his palm.
"Watching the snow, what were you doing?" Bai Miaoke raised her little face, with the tip of her nose a little red.
"I'm going to cook dumplings for you." Lu Yu gestured for her to look at the table.
"That's great!" Bai Miaoke stood up and walked to the table, opening the food box on the table.
The two plates of dumplings were still steaming, obviously freshly out of the pot.
Lu Yu brought out the dumplings and arranged them, then took out a few side dishes from under the food box.
Bai Miaoke couldn't wait to pick one up and took a bite. Her eyes lit up. This dumpling was filled with juicy cabbage and pork, and the taste was just right.
"You made this? That's really good!"
Lu Yu smiled and looked at her sparkling eyes: "Yes, I learned it from the guys in the kitchen, I hope you like it."
"When you get tired of being the prime minister, I think it would be a good idea for you to be a cook." Bai Miaoke smiled with her eyebrows curved.
"I'll be your cook. I'll cook for you whenever you want to eat." Lu Yu replied.
"You're so nice to me, don't you want something from me?" Bai Miaoke raised her eyes to look at him. They have been together for some time, and Bai Miaoke has also discovered that although he is very good at speaking, he is not the kind of person who likes to flatter girls with sweet words, and he will do whatever he says.
Even if he could really do it, he was too sweet-talking today, which made her feel a little strange.
"Today is the winter solstice, of course we have to eat dumplings." Lu Yu said calmly.
Bai Miaoke didn't respond, but blinked and waited for him to continue.
As expected, Lu Yu continued, "I will return to Beijing tomorrow. I will ask my mother to go to my uncle's house to ask for marriage on my behalf."
"Please say a few good words for me." After Lu Yu said this, the tips of his ears turned red suspiciously.
"What about my dad? He's easy to talk to, don't worry." Bai Miaoke knew that her father would definitely listen to her advice, but she still wanted to tease Lu Yu.
Then he said, "But he also has some requirements. You know my brother is not interested in business and is dedicated to serving the people, so I have to be the young master of the Bai family."
"If I marry into your family, what will happen to our Bai family's property?" Bai Miaoke turned to look at him. Lu Yu was so smart that he would definitely understand what she meant.
He replied: "I understand. I will discuss this with my parents."
This matter was indeed a bit tricky for him. After all, he was the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion. He was confident that he could convince his parents to accept Bai Miaoke, but he was not sure whether they would agree to him marrying into the Bai family.
He won't easily make promises about things he is not sure of.
Bai Miaoke understood his concerns, but she had to let him know that marrying her was not an easy thing.
That night, the two of them still slept in the same bed. At Lu Yu's request, they used two separate quilts. Bai Miaoke thought that she would be able to go back to see her father and brother tomorrow, and soon fell asleep with a smile on her face.
Lu Yu, who was standing next to him, lay in bed for a long time, unable to fall asleep.
…
After walking for another half a day the next day, the group successfully arrived at the west gate of the capital in the afternoon. His Majesty sent his trusted eunuch Eunuch De and a team of Jinyiwei to wait at the gate.
Seeing Lu Yu riding into the city, Eunuch De smiled and stepped forward to greet him: "Oh, Lord Lu, you are finally back. His Majesty has been thinking about you."
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your concern." Lu Yu got off the horse and handed the reins to Fugui.
"His Majesty has specially allowed you to enter the palace on horseback." Eunuch De said with a smile.
"I obey your command." Lu Yu understood that His Majesty wanted him to ride his horse through the streets to dispel the rumors that he had died of illness.
He got back on the horse and turned to look at Bai Miaoke.
Bai Miaoke waved her hand: "You go, I want to go home."
"Wait for me." There were so many people around that Lu Yu only said two words and watched her ride towards Bai's house.
Bai Miaoke did not inform her family in advance, and took Chun Xing back to the Bai Mansion as if she was familiar with the place. The gatekeeper immediately opened the door when he saw her.
"The young lady is back! I'll go tell the master right away!" The servant excitedly helped her lead the horse.
Bai Miaoke smiled and said, "I'll talk to Dad myself."
After saying that, he trotted to the backyard.
We walked through the corridor and came to the familiar garden. Even though it was winter, there were still winter chrysanthemums and wintersweets carefully cultivated by the gardener hired by the mansion, and they were in full bloom.
Bai Miaoke had no intention of appreciating it at this moment, and went straight to Mr. Bai's study.
I knocked on the door gently, and a voice came from inside the house: "What's the matter?"
Bai Miaoke was almost moved to tears when she heard her father's familiar voice after a long time. She took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
"father!"
"Xiao Ke! My dear daughter is back!" Mr. Bai looked up suddenly and stood up from where he was sitting at the table.
"I'm back! I missed you so much, Daddy." Bai Miaoke threw herself into Master Bai's arms and said coquettishly.
"Why didn't you tell dad in advance? I would have sent someone to pick you up." Mr. Bai touched his daughter's head and said lovingly.
"My dear daughter, you must have had a hard time on the road. Come sit down and let daddy take a look."
Bai Miaoke followed his instructions and pulled the old man to sit down at the table.
"Xiao Ke has lost weight." Mr. Bai said with concern.
Bai Miaoke smiled and tried to cheer the old man up, not mentioning any of the hardships she had experienced on the road.
The father and daughter chatted for a long time before Bai Miaoke asked, "Where's my brother?"
"He is busy every day, and I don't know what he is busy with." Mr. Bai was a little dissatisfied when he mentioned his eldest son who was not seen all day.
Bai Miaoke asked a servant to go to the Ministry of Revenue to find her brother and tell him that she was back.
The servant replied quickly, saying that Bai Yongsi had been summoned to the palace by His Majesty and had not returned yet.
Bai Miaoke had guessed what was going on, but Master Bai was a little worried: "What does His Majesty want your brother to do?"
"It's okay, Dad. His Majesty values you, brother." Bai Miaoke comforted her father.
"Did you find out anything during your trip to Jiangnan?" Mr. Bai was not someone to be fooled, so he asked his daughter about serious matters.
Bai Miaoke originally wanted to call her brother back to discuss this matter, but he couldn't come back for a while, so she could only talk to her old father first.
She first poured a cup of tea for her father, then she slowly opened her mouth and told Mr. Bai clearly everything that had happened in the Yu family where her mother was.
This talk lasted from dawn to dusk.
Mr. Bai was already in tears, and Bai Miaoke could only comfort him, "Now everything has been investigated. We will definitely clear my grandparents' name."
Before he finished speaking, the study door was pushed open and Bai Yongsi came back.
"Dad, sister." Bai Yongsi's expression was a little complicated. There was joy in seeing his sister, but also some indescribable sadness.
"Brother, what does His Majesty want you to do?" Bai Miaoke asked impatiently.
"The Prime Minister has also returned and told His Majesty what happened back then. When he learned that we are the only remaining bloodline of the Yu family, he asked me to come to the palace to comfort us." Bai Yongsi summarized it in a few words.
Hearing the words "Yu family's only remaining bloodline", Bai Miaoke understood.
Lu Yu did not tell His Majesty about the matter between Uncle Yu and Zhu Yu, maybe because he was not sure about His Majesty's attitude.
Letting her brother sit down, Bai Miaoke told him some of the truth that Lu Yu had concealed.
The three of them looked at each other in silence.
It was Bai Yongsi who broke the silence: "Dad, Xiaoke, since I have entered the court as an official, I can't just sit back and watch. Your Majesty must give an explanation for this matter."
Bai Miaoke nodded in agreement.
Only Master Bai frowned and sighed: "When your mother passed away, she told me that she only hoped that you would live a safe and healthy life."
"I didn't understand why she said that before, but now I understand."
"Listen to your mother."
Mr. Bai’s words made both the brother and sister’s eyes red.
The servant came to report that the kitchen had prepared a table of food, so the three of them went to eat first, and no one mentioned the matter again.
At the dinner table, Bai Miaoke told many interesting stories about the trip to Jiangnan, which made the two of them laugh heartily, and everything seemed to have returned to the beginning.
Mr. Bai goes to bed early because he is old. While he is resting early, Bai Miaoke and Bai Yongsi sit at the table in the yard.
"Was your trip to Jiangnan really so smooth?" Bai Yongsi asked.
"I encountered some trouble on the road, which delayed me for some time. It's a close call." Bai Miaoke said perfunctorily.
"Then why are you traveling the same way as the Prime Minister?" Bai Yongsi asked.
Bai Miaoke scratched her head. She had never mentioned this to her father, but she didn't expect that her brother knew about it from somewhere.
She smiled awkwardly and said, "I said I just bumped into him on the way, do you believe me, brother?"
"I don't believe it! Tell the truth, or I will tell Dad tomorrow." Bai Yongsi knocked on the table and threatened.
Bai Miaoke had no choice but to stick out her tongue and start talking from the time when the two met after leaving Beijing. She skipped over some of the trivial things in between and talked about their experiences in a roundabout way.
"The Prime Minister seems to be interested in you. What do you think?" Bai Yongsi didn't know about this originally, but when he met the cold-faced and ruthless Prime Minister again today, the other party actually talked to him a lot, which was uncharacteristic of him.
Bai Yongsi understood that he couldn't avoid talking about his father and sister, so he didn't exchange too many pleasantries with him. He would ask his sister when he got back and she would know the answer.
Bai Miaoke lay on the table and pretended to be dead: "Brother~ I'm too tired, I want to rest!"
Bai Yongsi still felt sorry for his younger sister. He sighed helplessly and said only one sentence at the end: "That prime minister is not a good person. Don't be fooled by him."
Bai Miaoke waved goodbye to her brother and told him to relax, after all, it was clear who was deceiving whom.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
