Changyu and Mingda pulled Manbao out the door while whispering complaints, "You’re so disloyal."
Manbao said, "Loyalty cos after salary. If the emperor gets angrier, I won’t even be able to keep my job."
Mingda: "Aren’t you the one who doesn’t like having a position?"
"I’ve just sorted out my official land, and I even built a small estate on the side. I’ve prepared the money for rice seeds. If I lose my position, I’ll only be able to plant till the autumn harvest next year. I’ve invested so much money, and I haven’t even gotten back the principal yet..." Manbao rambled, "Admitting it doesn’t cost you a thing, this is about maximizing benefits, you know? And look, didn’t the Crown Prince agree to let you out of the palace now?"
Mingda: "That was because I begged and rolled on the floor for it."
Changyu: "And I agreed to take you to Taiyuan’s other palace to dig up flowers and plants you’ve never seen before."
Manbao: ...If she hadn’t promised that little bit, she wouldn’t have gone with them.
With one person on each side, they pulled Manbao out of the East Palace, chatting and parting at the main gate, "So it’s settled. You’ll wait for us at the palace gate on your day off and take us to see Wei Yu."
Manbao nodded.
Of course, they couldn’t suddenly run to soone else’s house and ask to see them, so Manbao also found Bai Shan and Bai Erlang, saying, "When we have a day off, do you want to visit Lord Wei’s house to see his son? I heard his son is also very smart and is planning to take the Imperial Academy exam on his own next year."
Bai Erlang said, "No, I’ve already studied at the Imperial Academy."
Manbao: ...
Bai Shan, however, asked her, "Why did you think of visiting Lord Wei’s son?"
Manbao said, "It’s not who wants to visit; it’s Princess Changyu who wants to."
She said, "The emperor has his eye on Lord Wei’s youngest son, hoping to make him a family connection."
Bai Shan exclaid, "It shows that no matter how much the emperor seems to dislike Lord Wei, he actually likes him a lot."
Otherwise, he wouldn’t want to have family ties with him.
Manbao nodded in agreent.
Because it involves Changyu’s marriage, Bai Shan agreed to it right away and even said, "I’ll call Yin Huo to join us that day; the more, the rrier."
He glanced at Bai Erlang, primarily because Bai Er lacked social skills and might make things awkward.
Compared to the Winter Solstice, the Lunar New Year’s Eve seed less significant.
But the court sincerely moved the holiday to New Year’s Eve day to give everyone a break, showing just how little they valued it.
On the evening before New Year’s Eve, officials and students were already on holiday and returned ho, but Manbao and the others still had to wait until the next day to leave the palace.
Early in the morning, Manbao held her horse and stood at the palace gate waiting for Changyu and Mingda.
Feng Zongping and Yi Ziyang were late leaving the palace and saw Bai Shanzhou, Manbao, and even Yin Huo waiting at the palace gate. They couldn’t help but stop and ask, "What are you all doing here?"
Bai Shan nodded at the two of them in greeting, then said, "Waiting for soone."
Just as he finished speaking, Zhao Liulang rode out of the palace with two carriages. After the inspection, the curtain of the leading carriage lifted, and Changyu and Mingda’s heads popped out, happily greeting Manbao, "Manbao!"
Manbao looked at the two of them and then at Zhao Liulang, who was riding ahead of the carriage.
Mingda followed her gaze, smiled, and said, "Big brother had cousin bring us out. After so fun, we still have to visit uncle and aunt."
The Crown Prince used the reason of letting the two sisters visit their uncle and aunt for New Year’s Eve, and see how people outside celebrate to let them out of the palace.
The emperor thought about it for a mont and agreed.
So Zhao Liulang took on this troubleso task, originally planning to go ice skating with Feng Zongping and the others, but now it seed impossible.
Once everyone was out, Yin Huo got into the carriage, Bai Shan and the others mounted their horses, signaled Daji and the others who ca to pick them up, and with a lively group, they left the imperial city and headed to Wei Zhi’s house.
In their minds, Wei Zhi was still quite authoritative, so when they reached the door, everyone shoved each other until Manbao and Bai Shan were at the front.
Not to ntion Changyu and Mingda, even Zhao Liulang retreated to the back, with a particularly valid reason, "Lord Wei is also our teacher, Bai Shan, your grades are good; teachers like you the most, you go."
As for why Manbao was pushed out, the reason was even more valid, "Little Sir Zhou, you’re the only one among us who’s a colleague of Lord Wei. Although you’re young, your position is most suitable, so you should knock."
Manbao was also a bit timid, but Zhao Liulang gave her a look, and their servant had already gone up to knock on the door. After knocking, the servant promptly turned and ran, swiftly reaching the front of the group, as agile as Daji.
The door of the Wei family opened, and as Bai Shan and Manbao, pushed to the front, were the most conspicuous, they looked up and t the gaze of the servant who opened the door.
Coincidentally, the servant rembered the two of them.
Bai Shan and Manbao had visited the Wei family two or three tis, and since their master rarely entertained guests so young, the servant’s impression was distinct.
Seeing them, he smiled and asked, "Is Young Master Bai and Miss Zhou here to see our master?"
After speaking, he realized it seed odd; there seed to be too many people waiting outside.
He opened the door wider, stepped out, and stared in bewildernt at the five or six carriages and more than thirty horses arranged on the road.
"This..."
There were too many people here?
Were they here to deliver gifts?
But their master doesn’t accept gifts...
Bai Shan saw the astonishnt on the servant’s face and embarrassedly cleared his throat saying, "Please inform that the students have co to visit Lord Wei."
The servant, influenced by Wei Zhi, was also very upright, and asked sternly, "Young Master, with such Pan An-like looks, why engage in gifting?"
Manbao couldn’t help but ask, "Why can’t good looks co with gifts?"
Bai Shan tugged at Manbao and explained to the servant, "It’s a misunderstanding, we’re not here to deliver gifts. To our sha, we ca in such a hurry today that we didn’t prepare New Year’s gifts for Lord Wei."
The servant squinted to see the great number of people and carriages behind him, pointed, and asked, "Isn’t this a gift?"
"...No," Bai Shan said, "They’re all my classmates and friends. We got a day off from the palace, and there were many people sent to pick us up, so there are more people."
The servant, getting happier, said, "I thought so, Young Master doesn’t look like a sycophant."
He smiled and said, "Young masters and misses, please wait a mont, I’ll go and inform them."
Once the servant had gone inside, Yin Huo marveled, "No wonder people say Pri Minister Wei is upright, even their servants are like this."
Bai Shan, Manbao, and Bai Erlang all nodded admiringly, amazed at the ability to remain indifferent to gold, silver, and fine cloth.
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