758: Chapter 747: Height 758: Chapter 747: Height Manbao sat across from Bai Shan with grace, and Bai Shan asked, “Is the food in your inner court delicious?”
Manbao replied, “It’s not bad, what about you?”
“It’s alright,” Bai Shan said, “but soone was always looking to speak with us, so we couldn’t really enjoy our al.”
Ms.
Zheng then suggested, “Why don’t we have the kitchen make you a bowl of noodles when we get back, would that be alright?”
“You’re the best, mom.” Bai Shan looked at Manbao and asked with a raised eyebrow, “Do you want so?”
Manbao touched her little stomach and said with feigned hardship, “I could have a late-night snack.”
Old Madam Liu then laughed and said, “Make extra, give Dalang and Erlang a bowl too, all four kids are growing, they need to eat more.”
Ms.
Zheng agreed.
Bai Shan then started talking to Manbao about the matters of the front yard, and of course, she also shared with him the interesting things she encountered, such as making a new friend today, and how, when the Little Girl from the Bai Family led her to the garden’s lotus pond, they also got lost.
She boasted, “Good thing we used to play in Yan Residence a lot, otherwise, I would have definitely let her lead us astray.”
Bai Shan didn’t notice anything amiss and said, “I wonder if they found the hole in the wall and if they did, whether they would hide things inside it too.”
The two of them then started to discuss the various secret spots inside the Yan Residence.
Sitting nearby, Old Madam Liu couldn’t help but straighten up and asked Manbao eagerly, “You said the Little Girl led you the wrong way?
Do you know where she intended to take you?”
Manbao blinked and thought for a mont before saying, “That road should lead to the yard where the servants in the back courtyard live, it’s near the garden.
Just around the corner, and not far from there is the wall that adjoins our Bai Manor.”
“Oh, that place?” Bai Shan asked with a grin, “I still rember once we snuck over there as it was getting dark, the wind blew, and those big trees made such a noise that Erlang got so scared he sat down on his backside.”
“Exactly, exactly, I rember that too, he’s really too timid, we already said the ghosts in Yan Residence were just people pretending, yet he’s still scared like that… I just let out a yell, and he started crying.”
Old Madam Liu looked at the two carefree and oblivious children and started to worry.
Ms.
Zheng, tapping the two kids with a smile, said, “You two really are quite mischievous, knowing he’s afraid of ghosts yet still scaring him.”
Both children, like cats that had stolen cream, giggled and exchanged a conspiratorial glance while holding their necks.
Seeing this, Old Madam Liu pressed down the worry in her heart and did not ntion it again.
Upon their return to Bai Manor on Huanxi Street, Old Madam Liu let them go play and she, with the support of Nanny Liu, returned to her room.
Nanny Liu, who previously sat on the shafts of the carriage, had naturally heard the conversation between the two children and noticed the Old Madam’s worried expression, so she asked, “Old Madam, should I send soone to inquire discreetly?”
“Being new here, how can we inquire about such inner court matters?”
“Isn’t that simple?
We can spend so silver to connect with the servants who go out to make purchases; we can always find sothing out.
Even if we don’t get the reason, finding that Little Girl would also do.”
Old Madam Liu nodded solemnly, “Alright, let’s do that then.”
Nanny Liu agreed, her eyes lowered in thought for a mont.
She was quite puzzled, “Miss Man is also visiting for the first ti and it’s her first eting with the folks from Old Master Yu’s household, so why was she targeted?
According to Miss Man, she got along quite well with the Misses of the Old Master Yu’s residence, could it be people from outside…”
Old Madam Liu pondered for a while, “This matter is not urgent, after all, once we leave, these kids will focus their energy on their studies, and probably won’t have much ti to mingle with them.
Let’s just have Daji be more cautious.”
Nanny Liu agreed.
The cook made them a bowl of noodles, very simple, with just an egg and a handful of greens.
Eggs were easy to co by, but the greens were rare at this ti, and all four individuals, from Bai Zhi to Manbao, were thoroughly satisfied.
After Bai Zhi finished eating, he put down his bowl and chopsticks and looked at the three Junior Brothers and Sisters across the table, giving a faint smile, “Half a year not seen, and you’ve all grown quite a bit taller.”
Manbao, believing in reciprocity, said, “Brother Bai, you’ve grown taller too.”
Bai Cheng looked up at his brother, then turned to Manbao and objected, “Are you blind?
Clearly, he hasn’t grown taller.”
The smile that had just appeared on Bai Zhi’s face: …
Bai Shan almost spit out the noodles in his mouth.
After finishing the noodles in his mouth with considerable politeness, he looked at Bai Zhi with a suppressed smile, “Brother Zhi, do you want to beat him up for you?”
Bai Zhi seriously considered his brother for a mont, then shook his head, “Forget it, what if it makes him dumber, he’s not that bright as it is.”
Manbao chuckled, “Brother Bai, are you saying you would feel sorry if it happened?”
Bai Zhi nodded somberly.
Bai Shan then said, “That’s okay, we’ll wait to beat him up after you leave.”
Bai Zhi: …isn’t that even more sorrowful?
He couldn’t help asking the two, “Do you, do you often beat up Erlang?”
Manbao imdiately clarified, “Not often, we’ve grown up, so we rarely fight anymore.
Usually, it’s just our teacher who smacks our palms.”
Bai Cheng called out, “You’re lying, last ti we went to the river to wash clothes, you two ganged up and beat .”
Manbao said, “That’s because you splashed cold water on my face.”
“It’s not like I did it on purpose.
I was wearing a lot, and the clothes were hard to wring out, so I just shook them a bit more.
How was I to know that the water would end up on your face?” Bai Cheng was indignant, “And even if you hit , that’s fine, but why did Bai Shan hit too?”
After Bai Shan finished his noodles, he put down his bowl and chopsticks and wiped his mouth with a napkin before saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, seeing the Junior Brother make a mistake, as the Senior Brother, I couldn’t resist teaching you a lesson.”
As the three started to quarrel again and Bai Zhi feared they might start fighting right then, he hastily intervened, “Alright, alright, I didn’t even mind, so you guys should stop arguing.
Our elders are just in the main hall not too far from here.”
Bai Shan consoled Bai Zhi, “Brother Zhi, don’t be sad, you’re already nearly as tall as our cousin now.
Even if you stop growing, it doesn’t matter.”
Bai Zhi stared at him.
Pushing Bai Shan away, Manbao said, “Brother Bai, let tell you, there’s a trick to growing taller.
You can try drinking more bone broth, add so soybeans to stew together, eat more soybeans, and if you stretch your arms, legs, and body every day, it will help you grow.”
Bai Zhi looked skeptical, “Are you serious?”
Manbao nodded vigorously, “It’s a conclusion I’ve co up with after consulting various books and asking a teacher.”
Bai Zhi scrutinized Manbao and asked, “Then why are you so…” short?
The skepticism in his eyes was overwhelming.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang couldn’t help but burst into uproarious laughter.
Manbao puffed up her cheeks and asked, “So tell , have I grown taller this year?”
“You have, but isn’t it normal for you to grow at your age?” Bai Zhi’s gaze swept across the three of them and said, “Manbao, I rember a couple of years ago when I went ho for New Year’s, the three of you standing together were about the sa height, especially you and Shanbao, just a little difference, but looking at you now, it seems Shanbao is quite a bit taller than you, doesn’t it?”
Manbao: …
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