Bai Zhenting realized he had made a mistake. Embarrassed, he turned his head away, his paternal affection welling up but left unspoken.
Zhao Wujiu entered the room as if nothing was amiss. "Shiqi," he said, "this is my first time traveling south. I'd very much like to take this opportunity to see the sights, but alas—" He lightly tapped his own knee. "My body is not cooperating, and I have no companion for such excursions. I wonder if you could spare some time to accompany me on a tour of the area?"
Zhao Ziheng, clutching his injured hand, looked up in surprise—his cousin was becoming stranger by the day. Hadn't he been "secluding himself and refusing visitors" just before leaving the capital? Now he suddenly had the urge to go sightseeing?
He was just about to raise his injured paw and say, "I know the Jiangnan region! I know it like the back of my hand!" when Shu Changfeng swept him up, holding him around the waist and ushering him out with concern. "Young Master, is your hand alright? Shouldn't we find a physician?"
Zhao Ziheng protested, "Do you really think I—" but was "considerately" muffled by Shu Changfeng's hand over his mouth. Using skillful pressure, Shu Changfeng steered him out. "What's that? You also think we should call a physician, Young Master?"
Bai Shiqi happened to hear this and couldn't hide her disdain. "Ziheng, are you that useless?" She didn't object to Zhao Wujiu's proposal. "Since Cousin has asked, why would it be difficult?"
Bai Zhenting hadn't known Zhao Wujiu's identity before. Hearing the little rascal call him "cousin" hadn't registered, but now, knowing the truth, that "cousin" nearly made him kneel before this young ancestor—what status must a cousin of the Prince of Zhou hold?
Kid, do you know that impersonating a member of the imperial family is a capital offense?!
His expression complex, he watched the genuine imperial relative, Zhao Ziheng, being led out by Shu Changfeng, his heart filled with desolation as if witnessing the tragic scene of the Bai family being raided and their property confiscated. "Shiqi, stop that nonsense! Young Master Zhao... is not your cousin!"
Bai Shiqi didn't understand the situation. Ever since she was a child and discovered that "Father doted on other children," she had enjoyed opposing him on minor matters. "Father, Grandfather only had you, one son. I don't even have a single cousin from the same clan. Can't I just borrow Ziheng's cousin to satisfy my verbal craving?"
Bai Zhenting desperately wanted to ask her—Are you using your life to satisfy a verbal craving?
Zhao Wujiu pretended not to hear the father and daughter's argument and asked considerately, "Shiqi, if you accompany me on these outings, will it interfere with the affairs of the gang?"
"Isn't my father still here?" Bai Shiqi rolled over on the daybed. "At most, I'm just a runner!"
"Is that so? That doesn't match what Gang Leader Bai said." A faint smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Wujiu's lips. "Thank you, Shiqi."
Bai Zhenting's paternal heart felt utterly frazzled, as if he were watching his own cub jump into a pit of fire. In a moment of inspiration, he brought up Lady Su. "Shiqi, you've been away from home for months and haven't seen your mother yet. Since you left, she's been worried day and night. Aren't you planning to go home and reassure her of your safety?"
Bai Shiqi quickly threw herself onto the daybed, playing the rogue. "...I'm injured like this. Who knows how heartbroken Mother will be when she sees me." Her posture suggested she was ready to throw a tantrum to go out and play, and if Bai Zhenting disagreed, she would tattle to Lady Su as soon as she returned.
Bai Zhenting, originally worried that his cub would be tricked by Zhao Wujiu and suffer a great loss, hadn't considered this layer of danger and immediately froze on the spot.
"Your mother... your mother, she..."
Lady Su cherished Bai Shiqi like the apple of her eye, not tolerating the slightest bump or bruise. In stark contrast, Bai Zhenting had always practiced a rough-and-tumble style of discipline since she was little. The couple had argued over this countless times. Although the most severe reaction from Lady Su when upset was either crying incessantly or banishing Bai Zhenting from the room, that was already troublesome enough.
"If Mother asks why you hit me, Father, I will tell her the truth!"
Bai Zhenting looked pityingly at his naive and ignorant cub acting foolishly. He wished he could drag her aside and give her another beating. If she were confined to a wheelchair like Zhao Wujiu, would she finally settle down?
He raised his hand as if to strike. Bai Shiqi let out a dramatic cry, covered her head, and rolled on the daybed. She had calculated her landing spot to be the footrest, but something went wrong mid-roll. Zhao Wujiu propelled his wheelchair forward directly and caught her in his arms.
Falling into Zhao Wujiu's broad, warm embrace, Bai Shiqi immediately wrapped her arms around his lean waist like an octopus. "Cousin, save me! My father is going to hit me again!"
Bai Zhenting covered his eyes: "..." This is not my cub!
Zhao Wujiu patted Bai Shiqi's back gently, as if soothing a baby. "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. Gang Leader Bai is just trying to scare you!" His gaze met Bai Zhenting's, silently signaling him not to strike again.
The composure Bai Zhenting had cultivated over decades nearly shattered. No matter how he looked at it, Zhao Wujiu didn't match the rumors circulating outside.
Capital gossip described the Prince of Zhou as strict, studious, diligent, and disciplined in leading troops, a man devoid of sentimentality... In short, he was a rigid, uninteresting commander and prince, the kind that made people apprehensive just hearing about him.
But the man before him... did he bear even the slightest resemblance to those rumors?
Where was his stern unsmiling demeanor? His aloofness?
In the past, when Bai Zhenting escorted tribute grain to the capital, he loved listening to a bellyful of street gossip in teahouses and taverns. Under the Son of Heaven's feet, rumors swirled from the Emperor and Empress in the palace and all the princes, down to the prime minister and ministers, to the romantic affairs of the widow at the front gate, the young man from the back alley stealing kisses and jade, the sordid scandals of noble households with wives and concubines vying for favor, and the secret liaisons between uncle and sister-in-law in humble, leaky homes... It was all quite the spectacle.
He had always treated rumors as mere stories. He never expected that one day the actual subject of those rumors would appear in his own home, catching him completely off guard.
"Young Master Zhao, my child is unruly. Perhaps I should take her back for proper discipline?"
Bai Shiqi peeked out from the crook of Zhao Wujiu's arm with a pair of dark, gleaming eyes, radiating an indescribable pitifulness. "Father, if you're hitting your child right at mealtime like this, does it mean one of the concubines in the house is with child?"
Bai Zhenting: You wretched child!
—I'm trying to save you, you little fool!
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll cut out your tongue and throw it in the lake to feed the turtles!"
Bai Shiqi hurriedly covered her mouth and cautiously retreated back into Zhao Wujiu's embrace, clinging to him even tighter and refusing to let go.
Zhao Wujiu said gently, "Gang Leader Bai, if you have matters to attend to, please go ahead. Shiqi's company will suffice for me."
Bai Zhenting, mentally and physically exhausted, began to suspect that staying any longer wouldn't save his cub and might even cost him his own old life. He couldn't very well expose the prince's identity in front of His Highness the Prince of Zhou. He could only leave, his footsteps heavy.
"Shiqi, behave yourself."
With all unrelated persons gone from the room, only Zhao Wujiu and Bai Shiqi remained. Hearing the receding footsteps, she lifted her head from Zhao Wujiu's embrace. Finding it quite strange that her father, for some unknown reason today, lacked his usual fighting spirit and had withdrawn from the battlefield early, she wondered, "What's wrong with my father?"
She straightened up and settled back against the daybed, lost in thought. "Could it be that the canal officials have come again with their extortion? Is he troubled by something?"
Zhao Wujiu, currently the latest source of vexation for the gang leader Bai Zhenting, was well aware of Bai Zhenting's unusual behavior but pretended ignorance, even adding fuel to the fire: "...Before I came, I heard Tian Zongping had paid a visit."
Bai Shiqi said indignantly, "Is that Tian fellow ever done? He's like an insatiable pixiu, isn't he afraid his greed will burst his stomach?"
Zhao Wujiu's gaze, however, fell on her head. He found himself thinking her hair looked particularly fine and, following his impulse, reached out to ruffle it. It felt just as pleasant as he had imagined: "Quite the worldly knowledge for someone so young. Do you despise Tian Zongping that much?"
Bai Shiqi sat with her knees drawn up, chin resting on them, finally showing a hint of adult-like worry: "Everyone from the Canal Transport Governor's office is detestable, and Tian Zongping is the worst. He'd scrape a layer of fat off every passing ship if he could, utterly insatiable!" Suddenly remembering Zhao Wujiu's profession, she asked eagerly, "Cousin, does the court just turn a blind eye to the corruption of canal officials? Doesn't it want to clean things up?"
Zhao Wujiu knew full well the intricate web of interests among local officials. Taking action against the Canal Transport Governor wouldn't just involve investigating his office; it would likely require digging deep into connections in the capital as well. It all depended on whether His Majesty the Emperor had the will to make a decisive move.
Loosening the soil of the Jiangnan officialdom a little might be worse than leaving it untouched.
But matters of the official world were too alien to Bai Shiqi. Zhao Wujiu preferred seeing her happy and carefree, so he offered an ambiguous reply: "This matter... it's not for me to decide. It depends on the intentions from above."
Bai Shiqi's low spirits passed quickly. She could accept things she couldn't change and soon perked up: "Cousin, where would you like to go? The gang brothers have already sent word everywhere. If they see Old Man Huang, they'll definitely bring him back. You needn't worry about that."
Having touched it once, Zhao Wujiu couldn't resist a second time: "I'm not familiar with Jiangnan. I'll leave all the arrangements to you." He ruffled her hair again, feeling like this sort of thing... could become addictive.
Bai Shiqi: "How about we just take a boat and drift with the current, going wherever it takes us?" She broke into a smile: "But first, I need to go home for a bit." After all, she was also concerned about Lady Su.
Zhao Wujiu: "...Aren't you going to invite your cousin to your home?"
A day later, Bai Zhenting prepared to return to Suzhou. Looking at the entourage, he felt nothing but immense vexation.
At Bai Shiqi's enthusiastic invitation, both Zhao Wujiu and his brother, along with Fourth Miss Song, were in the party. Added to them was Bai Shiqi's lackey, Qiu Yunping, who kept hovering near Fourth Miss Song, asking pointless questions about whether the journey was tiring.
Yu Song saw the group off at the gate and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This was the first time Fourth Miss Song had left Huaian city in her life. Not only did everything on the streets seem novel, but arriving at the docks filled her with even greater astonishment: "So many boats!" Seeing the bare-chested dockworkers loading and unloading cargo, their sturdy muscles on display, she secretly blushed.
Zhen'er quietly reminded her: "Miss, be careful. You're still injured. You mustn't walk too fast; your body can't take it."
Fourth Miss Song leaned most of her weight on Zhen'er, inching forward slowly.
Sure enough, Bai Shiqi turned her head to ask: "Are you in a lot of pain?"
Fourth Miss Song shook her head gently. After Bai Shiqi was dragged away by Zhao Ziheng, Zhen'er said: "The young master is truly concerned about you, Miss." If the two could consummate their marriage soon and have a child, she and her mistress would have a firm footing in the Bai family.
The Canal Gang was never short of boats, let alone when both the gang leader and the young gang leader were traveling together. The boat captain personally came to attend to them, even preparing fine wine and snacks for each cabin.
Originally, Bai Zhenting occupied the best cabin on the boat, but citing Zhao Wujiu's injury, he gave up his own cabin and moved into the one originally prepared for Bai Shiqi. This left Bai Shiqi wide-eyed. She whispered to Zhao Ziheng, "My father is acting so strangely! Really!"
Zhao Ziheng, having received Shu Changfeng's instructions earlier, felt a pang of pity for Bai Shiqi's intelligence for the first time in his life: Silly sworn brother! Your father just knows Cousin's true identity now.
Bai Shiqi speculated on her own: "Could it be... that Cousin used his official status to pressure my father?" She then dismissed the idea herself: "No, that's not right. Cousin isn't that kind of person." Having spent considerable time together, she had seen no trace of official airs about Zhao Wujiu.
Zhao Ziheng: "Why do you care? Adults have their own ways of dealing with each other. What does it have to do with us?"
Like Bai Shiqi, he was someone who loved food, drink, and entertainment. Before the boat even reached Suzhou, he had already listed seventeen or eighteen plans, eager to make up for all the fun he'd missed in previous years.
Bai Shiqi offered a more reasonable opinion: "Cousin has limited mobility. We can't just think of our own fun; we need to consider his ability to get around too."
Zhao Ziheng: "Do you think Cousin actually wants to go out and have fun? He was just saying that. With his temperament, once in Suzhou, he'll probably just hole up in his room; a book would be enough to pass the days." He suggested: "How about this: we find lots of books in Suzhou and fill Cousin's room with them. If he gets absorbed in reading, he'll forget about sightseeing?"
"That's a great idea!" Bai Shiqi thought taking Zhao Wujiu to see the sights was fine, but that rigid, old-fashioned man—if she took him to listen to songs or find courtesans, would he end up wrecking the boudoir of Suzhou's top beauty, Jiang Xiaoxian?
Her peripheral vision caught sight of Zhao Wujiu, who had somehow appeared not far behind them. She immediately changed her tune: "Ziheng, how can you be so selfish? It's Cousin's first time south of the river. Even if he likes reading, for the sake of his health, he should still get out more, breathe some fresh air, and brighten his mood. How can you only think of your own amusement?"
Zhao Ziheng was dumbfounded: "You... you just said...?"
Bai Shiqi slapped a hand over his mouth: "What did I say?" Raising her voice: "I said your attitude is unacceptable! How can you face Cousin like this?"
Zhao Ziheng struggled desperately, inwardly lamenting his recent streak of bad luck—either getting his mouth covered by Shu Changfeng or by Bai Shiqi. He felt his intelligence was being looked down upon by these people, who didn't even want to hear what he had to say.
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Bai Zhenting realized his mistake and awkwardly turned his head, his paternal affection stuck in his throat, unspoken.
Zhao Wujiu entered the room and said as if nothing was amiss: "Shiqi, this is my first time south of the river. I'd very much like to take this opportunity to look around, but alas—" He lightly tapped his own knee: "My body isn't cooperating, and I have no companion for sightseeing. I wonder if you could spare some time to accompany me on some outings?"
Zhao Ziheng, clutching his injured hand, looked up in astonishment—Cousin was getting stranger and stranger. Before leaving the capital, wasn't he still "secluding himself and refusing visitors"? Now he actually wanted to go out and about?
He was just about to raise his paw and declare, "I know Jiangnan well! I'm as familiar with it as can be!" when, unexpectedly, Shu Changfeng scooped him up by the waist, pulled him close with concern, and began steering him outside: "Young master, is your hand alright? Should we find a physician?"
Zhao Ziheng yelled, "Do you really think I—" but was "considerately" muffled by Shu Changfeng, who skillfully pushed him out: "What's that? The young master also thinks we should call a physician, right?"
Bai Shiqi happened to hear this and was utterly disdainful: "Ziheng, are you even capable?" She wasn't averse to Zhao Wujiu's suggestion: "Since my cousin has spoken, what's the difficulty?"
Bai Zhenting hadn't known Zhao Wujiu's identity before. Hearing the little rascal call him "cousin" hadn't meant much, but after learning the truth, hearing that "cousin" again nearly made him kneel before this young ancestor—what status must a cousin of the Prince of Zhou hold?
Kid, do you know that impersonating a member of the imperial family is a capital offense?!
With a complicated expression, he watched the genuine imperial relative, Zhao Ziheng, being led out by Shu Changfeng, his heart filled with desolation, as if he already saw the tragic scene of the Bai family being raided and their property confiscated: "Shiqi, stop calling him that! Young Master Zhao... is not your cousin!"
Bai Shiqi didn't understand the situation, but ever since she was a child and discovered that "Father doted on other children," she had enjoyed opposing him on minor matters: "Father, Grandfather only had you, one son. I don't even have a single clan cousin. Can't I just borrow Ziheng's cousin to satisfy my verbal craving?"
