One month later
Jiangnan Bai Mansion
Old Master Bai lay in bed, and the butler tucked him in and sat on a wooden stool by the bed to chat with him.
Butler Bai: "Master, you need to get better soon. Miss is counting on you."
Master Bai: "I wonder how Qianqian is doing now. She's rather frail, and the winters in the capital are cold. Send the young lady plenty of new cotton, and also plenty of the finest charcoal..."
Butler Bai: "It's already been sent over, and I reckon it'll be here soon."
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister's Residence in the capital
Sima Qingqing and Master Mu looked at the cotton and charcoal sent from Jiangnan, their feelings complicated.
Sima Qingqing: "The letter we sent out should not have been received by the Bai family patriarch yet."
Master Mu: "Sigh..."
Master Mu: "The messenger will travel by land and will deliver messages to various places along the way, which will take some time."
Originally, he could have simply sent a servant from the manor to deliver the letter, but Master Mu hesitated for a long time before finally deciding to entrust it to a messenger. In his heart, he wanted to delay the news of Bai's mother's death for Old Master Bai, so that the kind old man wouldn't be sad.
However, secrets can't stay hidden forever. Such a big thing can't be kept entirely from the other party; after all, you can't hide it forever...
Mr. Mu always remembered the kindness of Mr. Bai's support back then, and he felt guilty for not being able to take good care of Mr. Bai's mother.
Because of his official duties, he hadn't been able to return to Jiangnan to see Old Master Bai for many years.
Master Mu sighed and said, "Let's put the things away first, and distribute the charcoal."
"Let's select some medicinal herbs for health preservation and send them to Grandpa Bai along with the century-old ginseng from our home."
Bai Mansion
Grandpa Bai stared blankly at the swirling snowflakes outside the window.
After a while, he murmured, "Mu Qing is eleven years old now, isn't he? He'll be of legal age in a few years. I wonder if I'll be able to make it to that time."
Butler Bai: "Master, please don't say such discouraging things. He just has a cold and will be fine after taking a few doses of medicine."
"Cough cough cough, cough cough..." A weak cough echoed in the room.
Butler Bai poured Old Master Bai a glass of water and slowly fed it to him little by little.
Bai Feng hurried in with a servant, his face full of worry. Old Master Bai asked Butler Bai to help him sit up.
After Bai Feng and the others had cooled down a bit, they entered Old Master Bai's bedroom.
Grandpa Bai: "Xiao Feng is here. Is there news about your Aunt Bai and Brother Mu?"
Bai Feng was in a dilemma. He didn't want to hide it from Old Master Bai, but he was also worried that Old Master Bai's health would suffer if he found out. At this moment, he regretted rushing over.
Seeing Bai Feng remain silent, a bad premonition crossed Old Master Bai's mind.
Master Bai: "Speak, I can take it. Xiao Feng, you should know Master Bai's temperament."
Old Master Bai was a straightforward person, open and honest, with clear likes and dislikes.
Bai Feng is just like his grandfather; he's an upright young man. It was precisely because of this quality that his grandfather entrusted him with the management of the Bai family's business in Jiangnan.
Bai Feng was silent for a moment, then said dejectedly, "Uncle, Aunt Bai passed away half a year ago. Brother Mu left the manor shortly after Aunt Bai's death, leaving a letter saying that he would return before he came of age. The Mu family is searching for him everywhere, but they haven't found him yet."
Grandpa Bai took a deep breath, his whole being filled with profound sorrow.
Butler Bai comforted him, "Young Master is a lucky man, he will definitely be alright."
Old Master Bai waved his hand and said, "You may all leave."
Both Bai Feng and Butler Bai looked worried, hesitated to speak, and finally sighed and said, "Yes."
Butler Bai and Bai Feng left. Before closing the door, Butler Bai said, "Master, the young master is still young, he needs you..." He then gently closed the door.
Two streams of tears flowed down Old Master Bai's wrinkled eyes. Recalling his daughter's voice and smile, his heart ached, and he drifted off to sleep.
Butler Bai brought in the meal in the evening. Seeing that Old Master Bai was asleep, he left and asked the kitchen to simmer the porridge.
Dujiang Wharf
It was already dark.
An Yi: "Young Master, we have arrived."
Mu Qing: "We've finally arrived."
Mu Qing dug up five century-old ginseng plants in Anshan. After coming out, he sold them for five hundred taels of silver in a small town. He spent three hundred taels to buy two jade pendants. He spent two hundred taels on his journey and is now penniless.
During the month Mu Qing spent floating on the water, he absorbed wood energy every day and stored it in the jade pendant. The jade pendant changed from white to a deep cyan-green color, and its luster flowed.
The wood energy within the jade pendant can nourish the wearer's body and withstand three attacks when the wearer is attacked. The two jade pendants were a gift prepared by Mu Qing for Old Master Bai, as Madam Bai often mentioned that Old Master Bai liked jade.
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