The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1000 - 979: Coming and Going

Chapter 1000: Chapter 979: Coming and Going

Bai Erlang sobbed, "I’m already this messed up and you’re still scolding me!"

Manbao then firmly pressed his palm, causing Bai Erlang to let out a piteous cry, which immediately revitalized him.

Manbao asked, "Who took you to gamble on the games?"

Bai Erlang choked out, "Everyone was going, we just went to watch the polo, and then a lot of people started betting. They asked me, and I thought it was interesting - it’s just guessing which team would win and which would lose, right? I didn’t bet much money, I was just playing for fun."

"Can you win two hundred taels with ’not much money’?" Manbao said irritably, "Does Eldest Master Shi from the county town not have money? He started off just wanting to have some fun too, and what happened? Now his shop is sold, his fields are sold, only his mansion remains, and these days, he can only make a living by doing business elsewhere. And look at Laizi from the village; he even sold his wife and daughter. Isn’t that tragic enough?"

Bai Erlang was stunned, "I, I..."

Bai Shan asked, "Was it Zhang Jinghao who led you to gamble?"

Bai Erlang thought carefully and shook his head, "No, it really wasn’t. We all went to play together, and we all bet together just for fun."

"How did you manage to win so much money?"

"I don’t know either. I just bet on four matches, two in the morning and two in the afternoon, and I won all of them. At first, I only bet the twenty taels I had on me. Then, somehow, I just kept earning more and more." Bai Erlang continued sobbing, "I really didn’t intend to gamble. Everyone said that the whole capital’s population, even the emperor, loves betting on polo. It’s considered elegant."

Standing at the doorway, having listened for a while, Bai Dalang finally understood the cause and, rolling up his sleeves, entered the room with a stern face, "Did you go to gamble on games?"

Bai Erlang looked up at his elder brother with tearful eyes.

Bai Dalang was unsympathetic, lifted him up, and spanked him on the thigh. Compared to a slap on the palm, the meaty buttocks obviously hurt less, but Bai Erlang still wailed miserably.

Neither Bai Shan nor Manbao stopped them.

After all, spanking wasn’t going to cause an injury.

Bai Dalang delivered seven or eight slaps until his own hand hurt before he stopped; Bai Erlang just lay on the bed crying, not wanting to stay there with his elder brother any longer.

Manbao helped bandage his hand and said, "Let’s go, go home."

Bai Dalang said, "Let him sleep here tonight so he doesn’t cause displeasure to the master again."

Bai Shan said, "The master has to go to school tomorrow, so it’s better for him to return to his own room to sleep. The master has already gone to bed, and as you know, the master is always magnanimous; having already punished him, he won’t beat him again over this matter."

Manbao nodded.

As soon as Bai Erlang heard the master was asleep, he immediately got up and wanted to return to his own room.

Bai Shan supported him, while Manbao carried the basket, and the three of them went home together.

Bai Dalang, with an iron face, called for Gao Song, "Tomorrow you go and find out about a person named Zhang Jinghao."

He paused before saying, "Starting tomorrow, you keep an eye on the Second Young Master; after school, he’s not allowed to wander around recklessly."

Gao Song hastily agreed.

Bai Erlang lay on his bed still sniffling and sobbing, feeling somewhat apprehensive a moment earlier, "Will the master beat me again tomorrow?"

Bai Shan said, "It depends. If you’re really scared, go to school early tomorrow, and you’ll avoid the master, won’t you? And then you can ask for his forgiveness when you return."

Bai Erlang felt a bit more settled after hearing this advice and soon fell asleep.

But even though he was asleep, he would occasionally twitch and let out a sob.

Bai Shan turned off the lamp, and seeing Gao Song return from the adjoining room, beckoned him over, "You sleep in his outer room tonight, in case he gets scared. Also, keep an eye if he develops a fever in the night."

Gao Song had no choice but to agree and carefully settled down in the outer room.

That night, Bai Erlang indeed had a nightmare and wept for a good while in his sleep, but he didn’t develop a fever. When he woke up the next day, aside from swollen red eyes, there was nothing wrong with him.

Manbao sliced the ginseng sent by Yin Huo, weighed it to divide it equally, and along with the bundles of other herbs, handed them over to Aunt Rong to simmer before putting the liquid into bamboo tubes.

After breakfast, Bai Shan placed the sealed bamboo tube into his book basket and left home.

Mr. Zhuang made a round but didn’t spot Bai Erlang, so he inquired, "Where’s Bai Er?"

Bai Shan, feeling guilty, lowered his head and said, "Third Junior Brother knows he was wrong, so he went to school early in the morning."

Indeed, it was very early; he hadn’t even had breakfast. As soon as he got up with swollen eyes, he slapped his face to freshen up and had Gao Song harness the carriage to go to school, probably having breakfast on the way.

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Bai Shan and Manbao, then with a harrumph said, "Have him come back early this afternoon, I have something to say to him."

Bai Shan agreed.

As Bai Shan went to school, Manbao quickly picked up her basket and followed.

Daji first took Manbao to Jishi Hall, then escorted Bai Shan to the Imperial Academy.

Bai Shan carried his book basket into the classroom and looked around. Spotting Yin Huo, he set down his book basket, took out a medicine tube, and handed it over, "Have you had breakfast?"

Yin Huo took it, felt that it was still warm, and nodded.

"Then drink it while it’s warm," Bai Shan said, turning to leave. Halfway through, he remembered something and pulled out a wrapped piece of candy from his pouch to place on his desk, adding, "For you, it’s sweet."

Yin Huo looked up at him skeptically, "Is it from Miss Zhou to me?"

Bai Shan glanced at him and said, "The candy is mine."

Even if the candy was given by Manbao, it was intended for him to eat. Whether to share it or not was his decision.

Yin Huo looked at him, then accepted the candy.

The whole class had been stealthily watching them, stunned by their interaction.

They saw Yin Huo open the bamboo tube, and a bitter medicinal scent wafted out, which he drank without hesitation, keeping his expression unchanged as he swallowed the medicine.

After finishing the medicine, Yin Huo methodically sealed the tube again, rinsed his mouth with the tea at hand, and then looked at the piece of candy on the desk.

After some thought, he unwrapped the paper and put the candy in his mouth.

Yin Huo, having eaten candy in his childhood to accompany his medicine, had never tasted something this sweet before.

Yin Huo was startled for a moment before he realized what was happening, and then he held the candy in his mouth without wanting to crush it.

He looked down at the medicine tube beside him, rose, and took it over to Bai Shan.

Bai Shan received it.

After a long pause, Yin Huo awkwardly said, "Thank you."

Bai Shan looked up at him, "No need to thank me. Oh, she said she would prepare a medicine pouch for you to help with your sleep. Later, put it under your pillow; it should help you sleep."

Bai Shan glanced at the dark circles under his eyes, previously thinking they were due to poor health, but now, was it because of insomnia?

Bai Shan, who usually fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, had also occasionally experienced insomnia and knew how painful it felt. Imagine suffering from chronic insomnia; that must be even more agonizing.

Yin Huo’s chest rose and fell slightly, his eyes reddening. He blinked quickly, then immediately lowered his head to prevent others from seeing and quietly replied with a low affirmation before sitting down at his own seat.

Throughout the classroom, fellow students had been quietly watching, their mouths slightly agape and faces blank, "Did they... make up?"

"Doesn’t seem like it. Didn’t Yin Huo almost start crying again?"

"But that didn’t look like the crying of someone who’s been bullied; it looked more like tears of being touched?"

"He’s not a maiden, why cry so much?"