That single sentence hit Bai Shiqi’s soft spot.
She had consideration for Qiu Ying, yes. But she also had to take care of the rest of the playmates whose fates were unknown.
Suan Pan said that they had colluded with the pirates, but over the years she had dealt with the pirates, she had never heard a single piece of information about them.
She raised her hand and sword to Zhao Wujiu with a high five: “It’s a deal!”
Her own heart hesitated, but she could use Zhao Wujiu’s hand to find out the truth of that year.
***
Zhao Wujiu was an imperial son and had been in charge of military power for many years, so he naturally had a group of capable experts who were good at spying.
The company’s main business was to provide a wide range of products and services to the public.
His Highness Prince Zhou had already spread a big net in Jiangnan without leaving home.
Half a month later, Bai Zhenting dragged Huang Youbi to Qiu Ying for treatment.
The two of them were always quarelling to the point where a normal parent-child pair would’ve already broken their relationship, but Bai Zhenting understood his own child’s mind the most.
Su shi heard that Qiu Ying’s head was injured, but his life was saved, she immediately felt that the biggest matter that had been stuck in their minds had been solved, and hurriedly prepared a silver incense stick to pray: “I’ve said it before, if Shiqi can get a good marriage partner, I will make a golden statue for Bodhisattva.”
“Wife, calm down a little!” Bai Zhenting stopped her from leaving: “Qiu Ying is not dead, but it has been several years since his accident. If he has the intention to return to Shiqi and wants to marry Shiqi, why didn’t he come earlier?”
“That… Well, he was wounded severely. Didn’t Shiqi tell you to bring Huang Youbi to treat him?”
“How much injury did he suffer that he couldn’t come back? Is it a missing arm or a broken leg?”
Su shi was furious: “Didn’t you see Shiqi wrote in the letter that he was seriously injured in the head and forgot about the past, otherwise he would have come back!”
Bai Zhenting thought: No matter how smart a woman is, her heart is still soft.
He had faced so many waves in the business world, and had seen more than a woman who lived in the backyard of the house. As soon as he received the letter from Shiqi, he felt that this was not so simple.
Bai Shiqi certainly thought of Qiu Ying as a childhood sweetheart. The two had been little playmates once, so if there were any slight doubts, she’d make a turn here and there to avoid them. However, the way Bai Zhenting saw Qiu Ying was different—the way a father-in-law looked at their son-in-law, not to mention avoiding the slight doubts, he’d instead make slight doubts into bigger ones.
He couldn’t help it. Who let his family’s Bai Shiqi always come with so many problems?
If it was someone with less tolerance, Bai Zhenting was afraid that before he (Bai Zhenting) died, Bai Shiqi would first make her future husband angry and leave first instead of him.
As the shipping group’s leader, Bai Zhenting knew about common prosperity among the group members, but he was extremely tough on Bai Shiqi’s life-long affairs. In terms of family matters, he also needed to consider whether the man would be able to live in harmony with Bai Shiqi.
Even though it could be said that Qiu Ying had returned from the dead, he was not going to change this rule.
Bai Shiqi couldn’t bear to send someone to investigate, but Bai Zhenting was not going to reminisce about their old relationship. In front of his child’s life-long affairs, he did not want to be fooled by anything.
“Let’s say he forgot about the past, could it be that the one called Suan Pan who is following him around has also forgotten about the past?” From the beginning until now, Bai Zhenting had been very clear-minded. However, towards his own wife’s naivety, even wanting to pray to the Bodhisattva immediately, he snotted disdainfully: “Moreover, if you pray to the Bodhisattva so soon, and Qiu Ying is actually not the one for our Shiqi, what will you do then?”
Su shi opened her mouth but found no words to say: “…”
The number of investigations of youths the husband and wife did for the sake of Bai Shiqi’s life-long affair was not small. Before Qiu Ying re-appeared, the one who had their approval was Qiu Yunping. Did they have to change their thought because Qiu Ying appeared once again?
In order to increase the persuasive power, he even went as far as saying: “Besides, there must be a reason why Qiu Ying did not return to the group after falling into the water. So what I mean is…” He continued with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face: “What if he’s injured… in that area?”
Apparently Su shi did not understand: “Which area?”
“That area ah!” Bai Zhenting said in a hurry: “I mean the root of offspring!”
Su shi’s expression was like she was struck by lighting: “S-something that coincidental is impossible, right?”
“Nothing is impossible!” Once Old Leader Bai made up his mind, his thoughts went wild, comparable to the best storyteller in the local tea houses of Suzhou: “Before Qiu Ying’s accident, we’ve confided to him that we wanted to take him in as a son-in-law, right?”
Su shi couldn’t deny this: “… That’s what happened.”
Bai Zhenting: “But how many years has he been missing? Not only did he not come back, but he also consciously avoided Suzhou and lived somewhere else. If it wasn’t for Shiqi meeting him by accident this time, maybe they would’ve never seen each other their entire lives. I won’t believe that there’s nothing fishy about this, even if you kill me. Maybe he hurt his ‘root of offspring’ and felt that he couldn’t be with Shiqi anymore, so he used the guise of hurting his head and forgetting his past to escape this marriage. Perhaps his headache is faked.”
A perfectionist couldn’t help but be picky, and Qiu Ying was never perfect in Bai Zhenting’s eyes, so he could make up a lot of things that wouldn’t even make sense in the blink of an eye.
Su shi was almost brainwashed by him, her actions became hesitant: “What you said… is right. I’m so anxious to repay the Bodhisattva, obviously Shiqi is not even married yet. If I wrongly repay this wish, I can only blame myself.”
Faced with the marriage of her own child, the religious believer Su shi quickly sobered up from her state of fervor: “Then this time you find Huag Youbi for Qiu Ying, I also want to follow over.” In any case, it was not a business matter, she could just follow along.
Bai Zhenting: “… Are you going there to add to the mess?”
Su shi: “I’m going there for the sake of Shiqi’s life-long affair, how is that adding to the mess?”
The husband and wife argued about this until they went to the Huang’s family’s house. Old Leader Bai begged Huang Youbi, but he was ridiculed in the end. Then he shamelessly asked for peace between them, the attitude was comparable to someone proposing for marriage, pestering Huang Youbi to agree. Seeing Huang Youbi’s harshness, Su shi beat the retreat drum earlier.
—She didn’t want to get cursed to death by Huang Youbi along the way.
Huang Youbi ridiculed Old Leader Bai, not missing anything, and regardless of the presence of Su shi, spat his saliva around like it was a no-man’s land.
[T/N: Not spitting. Just lectured him (perhaps cursed) him a lot]
In the end, Bai Zhenting accompanied Huang Youbi to Gaoyou, and Bai Shiqi came to the pier to meet and take them to Qiu Ying’s small courtyard.
Suan Pan couldn’t help shrinking when he saw Bai Zhenting, but he still had to step up and greet: “Leader Bai, it’s been a long time since we met.”
Bai Zhenting snorted coldly. One did not know whether it was because he was dissatisfied with the fact that Suan Pan took Qiu Ying away, or because he had an opinion on Qiu Ying. But all in all, his expression was not good, and he didn’t pay attention to Suan Pan. He met Qiu Ying’s gaze and asked: “I heard you have forgotten all about your past? Do you still remember me?”
Qiu Ying looked blankly: “I’m sorry, I… don’t remember.”
Bai Zhenting: “Hmph. It’s good you don’t remember.”
Bai Shiqi: “Dad, leave him alone ah.” Don’t bother the patient.
Qiu Ying then looked as if he had just realized and struggled to get out of the bed to greet him: “I don’t know that Leader is coming. This junior is rude!” Bai Shiqi pressed his shoulders, making it so that he couldn’t move.
Bai Shiqi said thoughtfully: “You are not well, lie down.”
Bai Zhenting hummed angrily—I have come so far, and I have never seen you being so considerate towards me!
When Huang Youbi sat down to diagnose the pulse, the father and daughter fought for several rounds, and they were only done after he settled on a diagnosis.
Bai Zhenting glanced sideways at his child: “Since I’m here, why don’t you just get out of here and get to your business?” Years of experience made him feel something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite point out what it was.
Qiu Ying’s pleading gaze fell on her face, and Bai Shiqi was sandwiched between the two. Suddenly, she had the illusion that she was “the man caught between mother-in-law and wife”. She comforted Qiu Ying: “Old Man Huang is here with my father. You just take a good rest, I’ll see you when I’m done.”
She also threatened Bai Zhenting as she walked out: “Ah Ying is not in good health now and doesn’t remember anything. Don’t irritate him.”
Bai Zhenting was angry and felt like kicking her: “Who exactly gave birth to you?”
“My mum, of course.” She then slipped away at lightning speed, leaving her old dad fuming to death in the courtyard: “Unfilial son who favors an outsider instead of someone on his own side!”
***
Qiu Ying was being taken care of by Huang Youbi and Bai Zhenting. Although her old dad was not particularly good-natured, he was not bad at heart. Bai Shiqi felt somewhat relieved and returned to Gaoyou Guard Station with a smile.
When Zhao Wujiu saw it, his mood involuntarily improved as well: “Did something good happen?”
Bai Shiqi then reported the matter: “With Old Man Huang‘s medical skills, Ah Ying‘s headache can finally be cured. When I visited earlier, there were a lot of needles in his head, like a hedgehog.”
Zhao Wujiu smiled: “It is good that someone’s taking care of Young Sir Qiu. Just now I received information from an eyewitness that the pirates he saw last time were roaming in Yancheng Prefecture, so I’ll be heading there with some people. That is the headquarters of the salt group, you can just stay at the guard station and wait for news.”
Yancheng was the headquarters of the salt group. Bai Zhenting and the leader of the salt group, Wen Bao, always had a good relationship. Even though the two children were always at odds, it was also mostly just childish fights. If he took Bai Shiqi to the salt group headquarters and there really was a collusion between the salt group and the pirates, it might damage the friendship between the two families.
Bai Shiqi unexpectedly heard the indication: “Are you going to lead a raid into the salt group?”
Zhao Wujiu paused for a moment: “If necessary. That’s the only way to do it.”If he wanted to eradicate this long chain of pirates, he’d have to turn Lianghuai upside down.
“This is not right, I’m telling you.” Bai Shiqi hurriedly stopped him: “The men of the salt group are all tough, if you hastily go there, who knows what kind of thoughts will run in their head? Perhaps they will think you’re there to investigate the matter of private salt. Once they think that, it will not end peacefully. I will go with you and personally talk to Uncle Wen. He’s a smart person, he will surely know what to choose.”
Zhao Wujiu showed a half-smile: “Then what if I want to investigate the matter of private salt? What will your stance be?”
That single sentence hit Bai Shiqi’s soft spot.
She had consideration for Qiu Ying, yes. But she also had to take care of the rest of the playmates whose fates were unknown.
Suan Pan said that they had colluded with the pirates, but over the years she had dealt with the pirates, she had never heard a single piece of information about them.
She raised her hand and sword to Zhao Wujiu with a high five: “It’s a deal!”
Her own heart hesitated, but she could use Zhao Wujiu’s hand to find out the truth of that year.
***
Zhao Wujiu was an imperial son and had been in charge of military power for many years, so he naturally had a group of capable experts who were good at spying.
The company’s main business was to provide a wide range of products and services to the public.
His Highness Prince Zhou had already spread a big net in Jiangnan without leaving home.
Half a month later, Bai Zhenting dragged Huang Youbi to Qiu Ying for treatment.
The two of them were always quarelling to the point where a normal parent-child pair would’ve already broken their relationship, but Bai Zhenting understood his own child’s mind the most.
Su shi heard that Qiu Ying’s head was injured, but his life was saved, she immediately felt that the biggest matter that had been stuck in their minds had been solved, and hurriedly prepared a silver incense stick to pray: “I’ve said it before, if Shiqi can get a good marriage partner, I will make a golden statue for Bodhisattva.”
“Wife, calm down a little!” Bai Zhenting stopped her from leaving: “Qiu Ying is not dead, but it has been several years since his accident. If he has the intention to return to Shiqi and wants to marry Shiqi, why didn’t he come earlier?”
“That… Well, he was wounded severely. Didn’t Shiqi tell you to bring Huang Youbi to treat him?”
“How much injury did he suffer that he couldn’t come back? Is it a missing arm or a broken leg?”
Su shi was furious: “Didn’t you see Shiqi wrote in the letter that he was seriously injured in the head and forgot about the past, otherwise he would have come back!”
Bai Zhenting thought: No matter how smart a woman is, her heart is still soft.
He had faced so many waves in the business world, and had seen more than a woman who lived in the backyard of the house. As soon as he received the letter from Shiqi, he felt that this was not so simple.
Bai Shiqi certainly thought of Qiu Ying as a childhood sweetheart. The two had been little playmates once, so if there were any slight doubts, she’d make a turn here and there to avoid them. However, the way Bai Zhenting saw Qiu Ying was different—the way a father-in-law looked at their son-in-law, not to mention avoiding the slight doubts, he’d instead make slight doubts into bigger ones.
He couldn’t help it. Who let his family’s Bai Shiqi always come with so many problems?
If it was someone with less tolerance, Bai Zhenting was afraid that before he (Bai Zhenting) died, Bai Shiqi would first make her future husband angry and leave first instead of him.
As the shipping group’s leader, Bai Zhenting knew about common prosperity among the group members, but he was extremely tough on Bai Shiqi’s life-long affairs. In terms of family matters, he also needed to consider whether the man would be able to live in harmony with Bai Shiqi.
Even though it could be said that Qiu Ying had returned from the dead, he was not going to change this rule.
Bai Shiqi couldn’t bear to send someone to investigate, but Bai Zhenting was not going to reminisce about their old relationship. In front of his child’s life-long affairs, he did not want to be fooled by anything.
“Let’s say he forgot about the past, could it be that the one called Suan Pan who is following him around has also forgotten about the past?” From the beginning until now, Bai Zhenting had been very clear-minded. However, towards his own wife’s naivety, even wanting to pray to the Bodhisattva immediately, he snotted disdainfully: “Moreover, if you pray to the Bodhisattva so soon, and Qiu Ying is actually not the one for our Shiqi, what will you do then?”
Su shi opened her mouth but found no words to say: “…”
The number of investigations of youths the husband and wife did for the sake of Bai Shiqi’s life-long affair was not small. Before Qiu Ying re-appeared, the one who had their approval was Qiu Yunping. Did they have to change their thought because Qiu Ying appeared once again?
In order to increase the persuasive power, he even went as far as saying: “Besides, there must be a reason why Qiu Ying did not return to the group after falling into the water. So what I mean is…” He continued with a slightly embarrassed expression on his face: “What if he’s injured… in that area?”
Apparently Su shi did not understand: “Which area?”
“That area ah!” Bai Zhenting said in a hurry: “I mean the root of offspring!”
Su shi’s expression was like she was struck by lighting: “S-something that coincidental is impossible, right?”
“Nothing is impossible!” Once Old Leader Bai made up his mind, his thoughts went wild, comparable to the best storyteller in the local tea houses of Suzhou: “Before Qiu Ying’s accident, we’ve confided to him that we wanted to take him in as a son-in-law, right?”
Su shi couldn’t deny this: “… That’s what happened.”
Bai Zhenting: “But how many years has he been missing? Not only did he not come back, but he also consciously avoided Suzhou and lived somewhere else. If it wasn’t for Shiqi meeting him by accident this time, maybe they would’ve never seen each other their entire lives. I won’t believe that there’s nothing fishy about this, even if you kill me. Maybe he hurt his ‘root of offspring’ and felt that he couldn’t be with Shiqi anymore, so he used the guise of hurting his head and forgetting his past to escape this marriage. Perhaps his headache is faked.”
A perfectionist couldn’t help but be picky, and Qiu Ying was never perfect in Bai Zhenting’s eyes, so he could make up a lot of things that wouldn’t even make sense in the blink of an eye.
Su shi was almost brainwashed by him, her actions became hesitant: “What you said… is right. I’m so anxious to repay the Bodhisattva, obviously Shiqi is not even married yet. If I wrongly repay this wish, I can only blame myself.”
Faced with the marriage of her own child, the religious believer Su shi quickly sobered up from her state of fervor: “Then this time you find Huag Youbi for Qiu Ying, I also want to follow over.” In any case, it was not a business matter, she could just follow along.
Bai Zhenting: “… Are you going there to add to the mess?”
Su shi: “I’m going there for the sake of Shiqi’s life-long affair, how is that adding to the mess?”
The husband and wife argued about this until they went to the Huang’s family’s house. Old Leader Bai begged Huang Youbi, but he was ridiculed in the end. Then he shamelessly asked for peace between them, the attitude was comparable to someone proposing for marriage, pestering Huang Youbi to agree. Seeing Huang Youbi’s harshness, Su shi beat the retreat drum earlier.
—She didn’t want to get cursed to death by Huang Youbi along the way.
Huang Youbi ridiculed Old Leader Bai, not missing anything, and regardless of the presence of Su shi, spat his saliva around like it was a no-man’s land.
[T/N: Not spitting. Just lectured him (perhaps cursed) him a lot]
In the end, Bai Zhenting accompanied Huang Youbi to Gaoyou, and Bai Shiqi came to the pier to meet and take them to Qiu Ying’s small courtyard.
Suan Pan couldn’t help shrinking when he saw Bai Zhenting, but he still had to step up and greet: “Leader Bai, it’s been a long time since we met.”
Bai Zhenting snorted coldly. One did not know whether it was because he was dissatisfied with the fact that Suan Pan took Qiu Ying away, or because he had an opinion on Qiu Ying. But all in all, his expression was not good, and he didn’t pay attention to Suan Pan. He met Qiu Ying’s gaze and asked: “I heard you have forgotten all about your past? Do you still remember me?”
Qiu Ying looked blankly: “I’m sorry, I… don’t remember.”
Bai Zhenting: “Hmph. It’s good you don’t remember.”
Bai Shiqi: “Dad, leave him alone ah.” Don’t bother the patient.
Qiu Ying then looked as if he had just realized and struggled to get out of the bed to greet him: “I don’t know that Leader is coming. This junior is rude!” Bai Shiqi pressed his shoulders, making it so that he couldn’t move.
Bai Shiqi said thoughtfully: “You are not well, lie down.”
Bai Zhenting hummed angrily—I have come so far, and I have never seen you being so considerate towards me!
When Huang Youbi sat down to diagnose the pulse, the father and daughter fought for several rounds, and they were only done after he settled on a diagnosis.
Bai Zhenting glanced sideways at his child: “Since I’m here, why don’t you just get out of here and get to your business?” Years of experience made him feel something was wrong, but he couldn’t quite point out what it was.
Qiu Ying’s pleading gaze fell on her face, and Bai Shiqi was sandwiched between the two. Suddenly, she had the illusion that she was “the man caught between mother-in-law and wife”. She comforted Qiu Ying: “Old Man Huang is here with my father. You just take a good rest, I’ll see you when I’m done.”
She also threatened Bai Zhenting as she walked out: “Ah Ying is not in good health now and doesn’t remember anything. Don’t irritate him.”
Bai Zhenting was angry and felt like kicking her: “Who exactly gave birth to you?”
“My mum, of course.” She then slipped away at lightning speed, leaving her old dad fuming to death in the courtyard: “Unfilial son who favors an outsider instead of someone on his own side!”
***
Qiu Ying was being taken care of by Huang Youbi and Bai Zhenting. Although her old dad was not particularly good-natured, he was not bad at heart. Bai Shiqi felt somewhat relieved and returned to Gaoyou Guard Station with a smile.
When Zhao Wujiu saw it, his mood involuntarily improved as well: “Did something good happen?”
Bai Shiqi then reported the matter: “With Old Man Huang‘s medical skills, Ah Ying‘s headache can finally be cured. When I visited earlier, there were a lot of needles in his head, like a hedgehog.”
Zhao Wujiu smiled: “It is good that someone’s taking care of Young Sir Qiu. Just now I received information from an eyewitness that the pirates he saw last time were roaming in Yancheng Prefecture, so I’ll be heading there with some people. That is the headquarters of the salt group, you can just stay at the guard station and wait for news.”
Yancheng was the headquarters of the salt group. Bai Zhenting and the leader of the salt group, Wen Bao, always had a good relationship. Even though the two children were always at odds, it was also mostly just childish fights. If he took Bai Shiqi to the salt group headquarters and there really was a collusion between the salt group and the pirates, it might damage the friendship between the two families.
Bai Shiqi unexpectedly heard the indication: “Are you going to lead a raid into the salt group?”
Zhao Wujiu paused for a moment: “If necessary. That’s the only way to do it.”If he wanted to eradicate this long chain of pirates, he’d have to turn Lianghuai upside down.
“This is not right, I’m telling you.” Bai Shiqi hurriedly stopped him: “The men of the salt group are all tough, if you hastily go there, who knows what kind of thoughts will run in their head? Perhaps they will think you’re there to investigate the matter of private salt. Once they think that, it will not end peacefully. I will go with you and personally talk to Uncle Wen. He’s a smart person, he will surely know what to choose.”
Zhao Wujiu showed a half-smile: “Then what if I want to investigate the matter of private salt? What will your stance be?”
