Yu Ren Chapter 25

“You have to ask him about it . I just feel that this guy is definitely not just someone from the Jianghu . We rarely see a real Jianghu person . At least they should look like Bai Ah Da . They either have a tough face or vicious to their bones . They will never look like a white-faced scholar . His bearing is clearly a person who has lived in a high position for a long time, and didn’t Bai Ping Zi say he had the face of a monarch?” Bai Fu Ling thinks everything is possible in this world because of her peculiar experience . The doubts put forward by Bai Guo were nothing .

Bai Guo listened to all her conjectures and was frustrated: “Why did you suddenly believe in the Second Steward?”

“I have always trusted him . ” Bai Fu Ling looked innocent while eating fruit .

“You keep lying to others like this . ” Bai Guo, with a snort, sat cross-legged beside the reclining chair and drank two sips of warm tea slowly . Finally, she could not help but say: “You obviously doubt his ident.i.ty, why insist on doing things this way? What good will it do us to provoke these n.o.ble people to bear grudges and resentments? You… this temper, ah …”

“He wants to travel incognito and conceal his ident.i.ty, so I just cooperated with him . If you don’t know, it’s not a crime …” Bai Fu Ling refused to admit that it was because of her bad habit . And somehow, she always felt that Yang Heng wouldn’t really care about these ‘small things’ and put it against her . People who have the image of a monarch wouldn’t be too restrained by small things, after all, they saved his life .

The ancient society paid more attention to moral reputation than modern society . The more famous some people are, the more afraid they are to do such things . Although the Bai Family is only a merchant family, her brother Lu Ying is an important official in the imperial court and a general guarding one side . No one is willing to risk their reputation for a little resentment, especially His Royal Highness; Yang Heng, who is still just an ordinary Prince . It’s too late to attract Lu Ying .

The more Bai Fu Ling thinks about it, the more she feels that there will be no problem in doing so . So, she whispered to Bai Guo: “Don’t tell anyone what I told you, including the Second Steward!” Bai Ping Zi, though capable, was accustomed to it . It’s better not to tell him first . He isn’t a very proud person, he would be the first one to bow down to The Sixth Prince .

Bai Guo knows she can’t change Bai Fu Ling’s decision . She nods her head and promises to keep it secret . Ah … under the circ.u.mstances, only the big saying of ‘the ignorant is not guilty’ can be used to resist . Therefore, the ignorant should firmly pretend to be ignorant .

When Yang Heng returned to the room, he turned over the teaching materials sent by Gan Lan casually . What was on it was not the enlightenment of ‘Three-Character Sutra’ and ‘Thousand-Character Text’ and so on, which were commonly used in daily life . It was a very practical pure character learning book . In the beginning, it was writing numbers ranging from one to ten . Then there are some simple ways to implement appellations and other words, embedded in the commonly used text and expressions, from shallow to deep, very practical . When this book is learned, there is no chance for a child to pa.s.s a scholarly test, but the general letters and text can already be fully understood .

The strangest thing is that the book Yang Heng got was not manually copied, but printed!

There are hundreds of pages in this book, and it has never been seen in the market . Most of them are written by the Bai Family . What does Bai Family want to do?

The next day, Yang Heng appeared on time in the t-shaped hall of the school with many doubts . There were already ten servants dressed up in the hall . Boys and men aged from early teens to 30 or 40 were waiting . Everyone had a small case in front of them with the ‘teaching material’ that was no different from his own .

Yang Heng’s head is full of incredible absurdity, and silently receives their greetings and begins to teach them how to read . Gan Lan once said that these slaves had learned the penultimate article . Yang Heng was asked to subst.i.tute for one month, just one afternoon a day; because something had happened at their teacher’s family .

Yang Heng suppressed his unhappiness and depression and began his cla.s.s . Last night, he turned over the whole textbook and reached the third to last . In front of him, the slaves should have known at least a thousand common words . He asked random questions to investigate the degree of these ‘students’ and looked through their lessons . Although most of the words were crooked, they were rarely written incorrectly . Obviously, the former ‘teacher’ taught very carefully, and Yang Heng’s unhappiness slowly turned into surprise .

At first, he didn’t believe what Bai Fu Ling said . He thought she was just boasting . He thought that those who had the chance to read were key slaves that the Bai Family is training; they might be in charge in the future . But he watched that almost every day the ‘cla.s.s’ had new faces, and the progress of the course was different . Yang Heng’s strange feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger … Even in the imperial palace, no one would teach ordinary eunuchs and maids to read and write . Being able to read and write is very rare . While even in the capital, in a scholarly family like the Xia family; the slaves who can read and write are limited to the handful who serve their masters personally . In the Bai Family, these slaves who come to learn Chinese characters do all kinds of things . Many of them are just ordinary slaves who take care of flowers and plants .

Thinking back, Gan Lan and other servants who care for their patients in the Xingyuan hospital . They are all are tactful and obviously literate . Although Bai Family is not a laughing stock or a learned scholar, it is definitely no longer a ‘Bai Ding’ .

(白丁 [ báidīnɡ] = commoner/ unlearned person; I think this was meant as a pun of their name . )

Yang Heng became more and more curious about the Bai Family, but now he can only come into contact with the servants of the Bai Family . These people are respectful to him and answer all his questions . However, most of them have stayed in the Bai Family village for only half a year and know very little . If he wants to go further, Yang Heng has to wait for his injury to heal completely and try to get in the groups and await investigation outside the two’s courtyards .

Just as Yang Heng was contemplating his future plans and had no help, Lie Dang found him .

Seeing Lie Dang brought into the room by Gan Lan, Yang Heng was overjoyed . As soon as Gan Lan left, Lie Dang said, “Peng Tie, I didn’t expect to meet you here!”

Yang Heng listened to his address and knew that he is worried that the walls have ears, and the conversation between the two people would be eavesdropped on, so he goes along with it: “Yes, I was pursued by the enemy outside Beiguan City, almost killed . Fortunately, Miss Bai and her party rescued me . How did you get here?”

Lie Dang laughed and said, “This old man came here to find relatives, but I did not have enough money to spend . When I heard that the Bai Family wanted someone to teach their slaves how to read, I came to earn some money to make ends meet . ”

The two men gave a half-hearted account of their experiences after parting, then Yang Heng made up an excuse that the room was stuffy and went out for a walk with Lie Dang . The two of them went to an empty place and exchanged some news in a hurry . Only then did they separate .

The defense of Bai Family Village is tight on the inside and loose outside . Apart from the high security of the residence where the Bai Family’s master and his wife live; other places are not very restricted . Yang Heng walked around grandly . In a few days, he almost walked around the front of Bai Li Mountain . He had to say that this place is just like a fairyland . If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed that such a beautiful place could exist in the borderlands .

He became more and more curious about the Bai Family . It was hard to imagine where the Bai Family’s money came from with such expenses . A small Yahang has such a rich income that it cannot only support the huge courtyards and swarms of slaves but could even pay the North Town’s army expenses all together?! This Bai Family’s financial resources and business are obviously more than what someone can see on the surface .

(Yahang = p.a.w.nbroker . )

If you can recruit the Bai Family to your side then … The most important thing is that the cute little cat with sharp teeth and sharp mouth would also belong to him . Yang Heng suddenly felt that this trip to Beiguan City was really worth it!

These days, he and Lie Dang made secret contacts with his people . Now he can only wait for a suitable opportunity to reveal his ident.i.ty . Yang Heng is very interested to know what kind of expression will the kitten and the Second Steward of the Bai Family, who said that he has the profile of a monarch make; when they know of his ident.i.ty .

Bai Ping Zi has always been very kind to him . Although he is very curious about what Bai Ping Zi meant by ‘the face of a monarch’, it wasn’t convenient for him to ask it out right now .

Any ambitious man; especially one who has not only ambition but also the conditions to achieve said ambition, will be very enthusiastic about such things .

The opportunity Yang Heng wanted soon came …

Today, he was walking slowly on the mountain road when he saw from a distance a cloud of dust flying north of Bai Li Mountain . More than a dozen riders galloped all the way to the front of the mountain before reining in and slowing down . Although they raced all the way, they were in a neat formation and did not waver . Yang Heng looked at them from a distance and only felt that although their numbers were small, their momentum was not inferior to that of a hundred thousand cavalry soldiers .

The hors.e.m.e.n were all dressed in the blue-gray uniforms of the North Town’s army . The leading one was dressed in a General’s uniform . They were far apart and could not see each other’s faces clearly . Yang Heng had guessed that the first one should be Lu Ying, the North Garrison General who returned from patrolling . Behind him should be his qinbing guards, the famous ‘North Town’s 18 Riders’ .

(亲兵 [qīnbīng] = bodyguard of a senior official)

Yesterday, he received the spy tip, saying that General Lu Ying had not yet returned to the city . Today, he saw him travel-stained at Bai Li Mountain . Did he pa.s.s-through the city to come here instead of entering it? Coming straight to the Bai Family first; How good is his relationship with the Bai Family?

Lu Ying, a frequent visitor to Bai Family Village, did not have to be led by a servant . He waved to his subordinates behind him, signaling them to go rest, and rode alone to the Bai Family House .

These soldiers are used to seeing the Bai Family Village as their second home . They greeted and laughed with all the people in the lane, and went all the way to their guest houses to clean up and rest . The conditions here are much better than those in the barracks, so when they heard that the general would go to the Bai Family Village before he stopped in Beiguan City; they did not complain at all, instead, 100% willing .

Lie Dang; did not know when, appeared beside Yang Heng and looked at the scene from a distance and said: “Since Lu Ying has already appeared, when does the Lord intend to reveal your ident.i.ty to him?”

Yang Heng smiled: “The earlier, the better…