Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Home has sent a letter urging me to return for the New Year, so I must leave!" Bai Tang found an excuse.
Master Xue thought of Bai Tang's "extraordinary background" and dared not keep him any longer, preparing a thick gift of thanks.
"Sir, please don't go!" Xue Pan clung to Bai Tang's leg, reluctant to see him leave.
"Be good!" Bai Tang patted the child's head. "I will come back to see you in the future. You need to practice hard because I will be testing you when I return. If you haven't made progress, I will have to punish you!"
"I will definitely work hard!" Xue Pan immediately released his grip on Bai Tang's leg, puffing out his chest and responding loudly.
When Bai Tang left Jinling, there were still about ten days until the New Year, and everywhere was bustling with activity. By the time Bai Tang arrived at a village between Suzhou and Yangzhou, he experienced the atmosphere of the New Year as it was celebrated in ancient times and witnessed the customs of the season.
In the village, there was a Land God Temple. As soon as the clock struck midnight on the First Day of the Lunar New Year, villagers brought pig heads, offerings, incense, and firecrackers to the temple to burn incense. After burning incense, they returned home and stayed awake until dawn. As soon as it was light, they opened the "wealth door" (the main door), lit incense candles, and set off firecrackers to welcome the New Year. Then, younger generations would get up to pay their respects to their elders, who would give them Mandarin oranges and cloud cakes as blessings for "prosperity" and "step by step higher," followed by breakfast. After breakfast, young and middle-aged people would go out to pay New Year visits to neighbors, while older family members would receive guests with sunflower seeds, candies, and pastries. At noon, no new dishes were prepared; they ate leftovers from the New Year's Eve dinner, known as "leftover food." This leftover food would last until the fifth day of the New Year; only after that would new dishes be cooked, referred to as "newly prepared." Interestingly, when daughters and sons-in-law returned home for New Year visits together, sons-in-law had to write a rental note using four copper coins as rent for staying in their wives' homes.
"Above is Tang, below is Suzhou and Hangzhou." Although it was winter and Suzhou's beauty was somewhat diminished, the air in ancient Suzhou was much better than in modern times. This made Bai Tang, who had traveled to Suzhou in modern times, marvel at how beautiful it was without pollution. Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Suzhou held lantern festivals that were incredibly lively. When night fell, the lights shone brightly like day; various lanterns dazzled the eyes. The streets were filled with performances of songs and dances, lion dances, dragon dances, and stilt walkers that left people in awe.
"To reach great heights—guess a word from a poem." Bai Tang read out the riddle and asked the stall owner, "Is the next line 'to view all mountains' referring to heavy mountains?"
"Young master has great talent; this lantern belongs to you." The stall owner handed Bai Tang a glass horse lantern.
Bai Tang happily accepted it; he felt lucky since he had seen this riddle before in modern times.
Suddenly an unpleasant voice reached Bai Tang's ears: "Hurry up! This child doesn't belong to our family; we need to leave town quickly before his family finds us."
Human traffickers? Following the sound, Bai Tang saw two shifty-eyed men running towards a horse-drawn carriage with a child in each of their arms. One child's face came into view for Bai Tang; a prominent beauty mark stood out between his brows. Bai Tang's heart stirred; he had stumbled upon this scene. Since fate had brought him here, he had to save this child!
The two traffickers had already placed the child onto the carriage and were about to drive away when a Daoist figure blocked their path.
"Are you looking for death?" one thin trafficker shouted angrily.
Bai Tang coldly smiled: "The ones looking for death are you! Where do you intend to take these children?"
"What kind of child are you, not knowing who you are!" The Thin Man snorted coldly and raised the whip to strike the horse's rear fiercely. Since this person was seeking death, he shouldn't blame him for being ruthless.
As the carriage rolled directly toward him, Bai Tang raised his hand and gently pressed down. The two heavy horses could no longer move their hooves, deeply shocking the two people sitting at the front of the carriage.
"Refusing a toast only to drink a penalty!" Bai Tang swept the two off the carriage with another palm and then dragged their accomplice out and threw him on the ground.
This commotion had already attracted the attention of others. When Bai Tang lifted the curtain of the carriage, some sharp-eyed individuals saw several children sprawled awkwardly inside and immediately shouted, "It's children! These people are traffickers!"
Without Bai Tang needing to do anything further, the crowd quickly apprehended the traffickers and took them to the government office, while the children were also sent there. Someone called for a doctor to examine the children, discovering that they had only been drugged and would wake up after a few hours of sleep. The parents who had lost their children rushed to the government office to claim them. They wanted to thank the person who saved their children but found that he had already left. Zhen Fei and Zhen Shiyin held their recovered daughter and inquired among the concerned onlookers about Bai Tang's appearance, deciding to have a portrait drawn of their benefactor and asking members of the Zhen Family to help find him—Zhen Shiyin was from a collateral branch of the Jinling Zhen Family.
Bai Tang returned to Yangzhou, having come to witness Lin Mei Mei's birth. The second day of February was both the Flower Festival and Lin Mei Mei's birthday. As soon as Bai Tang entered Yangzhou City, he was spotted by Lin Ruhai's men. Lin Ruhai personally came to invite Bai Tang into the inn. Bai Tang had been thinking about how to enter Lin Manor, so this invitation was perfectly timed; he wouldn't refuse it. After putting on an act, he happily followed Lin Ruhai back to Lin Manor.
Just as they entered Lin Manor, Lin Ruhai nearly collided with someone rushing out from inside.
"Lin San, what are you panicking about? Where are your manners?" Lin Ruhai scolded sharply.
Seeing Lin Ruhai, Lin San's eyes lit up as he hurriedly said, "Master, it's great that you're back! Madam is about to give birth!"
"Madam is about to give birth?" Lin Ruhai exclaimed in excitement and took a couple of steps toward the inner courtyard before remembering he still had a guest and halted his steps.
Bai Tang smiled slightly: "The birth of your esteemed wife is important; please feel free to attend to it, Brother Lin!"
"Thank you for your understanding, Brother Bai. Lin San, take Young Master Bai to Cinnamon Osmanthus Courtyard and treat him well," Lin Ruhai instructed his servants before hurriedly making his way outside the delivery room. This was a child he had long awaited for many years; he was extremely anxious.
After dismissing the repeatedly apologizing servants of the Lin family, Bai Tang pretended he needed rest and stayed alone in his room while secretly sneaking up into a tree above Jia Min's courtyard, waiting for Lin Mei Mei's birth.
Jia Min was giving birth for the first time, and it was very difficult; she had been in pain all night without delivering yet. Bai Tang yawned as he watched the anxious soon-to-be father pacing below and glanced at the darkening sky, unable to help but feel sympathy for Lin Ruhai: there was still more waiting ahead!
As Venus rose accompanied by waves of fragrance, the sky grew brighter and the scent became more intense, like a hundred flowers blooming. When the first ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and fell to the ground, the fragrance reached its peak, followed by a baby's cry echoing from within the room.
"She has given birth, she has given birth!"
After a while, a midwife came out to congratulate Lin Ruhai.
"Congratulations, my lord, your wife has given birth to a daughter!" The midwife was not from the Lin family, and she felt a bit anxious while delivering the news, as it was likely that the lord was hoping for a son!
"Good! Good! Reward everyone with ten taels of silver!" Lin Ruhai exclaimed joyfully. Although he also wished for a son, a daughter was still his bloodline. Moreover, if his wife could give birth to one child, she could have another; it was good to have the first bloom before bearing fruit!
"Thank you, Lord Lin!" The midwife was overjoyed. Working for wealthy families was indeed rewarding; the reward would be enough to support her family for several months.
"Not good! The lady is experiencing severe bleeding!" A panicked scream came from the delivery room.
"Hurry and get a doctor to stop the bleeding!"
The Lin family had already invited the best doctor in Yangzhou City to be on standby. After entering the delivery room for a short while, the doctor came out shaking his head. "Lord Lin, please forgive this old man for my limited skills. Your wife... alas..."
There was nothing that could be done! Just as Lin Ruhai was still basking in the joy of his daughter's birth, he had to face the impending death of his wife. Overwhelmed by both joy and sorrow, he nearly fainted from the shock.
"Doctor, I beg you to save my wife no matter what!"
"I have already done my best!" The old doctor said with a furrowed brow. "I can use Tiger-Wolf Medicine to help your wife through this crisis, but it will cause her great harm. She will not be able to conceive again and her lifespan will be shortened!"
No more children? And she would have a shorter life? How could this be? Lin Ruhai was devastated and staggered back several steps, unwilling to accept this outcome.
"My lord!" Lin San quickly supported Lin Ruhai. "Last time, when the lady almost died during childbirth, she recovered after taking Young Master Bai's pill. Should we ask Young Master Bai for another one?"
"Brother Bai? Yes, Brother Bai has medicine that can definitely save my wife!" Lin Ruhai broke free from Lin San and rushed outside.
Lin San followed behind him shouting loudly, "My lord, you are going the wrong way! Cinnamon Osmanthus Courtyard is on the left!"
Bai Tang returned to Cinnamon Osmanthus Courtyard ahead of time, waiting for an opportunity. She did not understand medicine, but she had Peiyuan Pill to cultivate vitality and Red Medicine for healing and replenishing blood, which should be useful. Before long, Lin Ruhai arrived at Cinnamon Osmanthus Courtyard.
“Brother Lin, what happened?” Bai Tang asked, pretending not to know anything, as Lin Ruhai ran in breathlessly.
“Brother Bai, do you still have the pills you gave my wife last time?” Lin Ruhai asked anxiously, grabbing Bai Tang's arm.
“I do have Peiyuan Pill, but there aren't many left!” Bai Tang replied with concern. “But does Sister-in-law need it?”
Lin Ruhai nodded. “My wife lost a lot of blood after giving birth and is in critical condition. I’m shamelessly asking you for another Peiyuan Pill.”
“This…” Bai Tang frowned.
“I know that the Peiyuan Pill must be very precious. I will pay a high price to buy it from you; I will not let you suffer a loss!” Lin Ruhai hurriedly said.
“Brother Lin, you misunderstand. How could I charge you? It's not that I can't bear to part with the pill; I'm just worried that one Peiyuan Pill may not be enough for Sister-in-law's condition. I also have a bottle of Red Medicine here that can be taken together with the Peiyuan Pill for Sister-in-law.”
With that, Bai Tang handed the Red Medicine and the Peiyuan Pill to Lin Ruhai.
“Thank you so much, Brother!” Lin Ruhai expressed his deep gratitude.
Comment 0 Comment Count