He didn't go to bed until the fourth watch last night, and it was already noon when Xue Bai got up.
Talking to Du Wulang woke up Jiaonu in the ear room. When she came out, her face was very ugly, and Du Wulang was so frightened that he couldn't speak clearly.
"My grandpa wants to see Xue Bai. I'll take him there. You can sleep a little longer."
"What does Du Youlin want to say that even the people in the Right Prime Minister's Office are not allowed to listen to?" Jiao Nu asked back: "If I want to avoid even this matter, what will the Right Prime Minister send me to do?"
Du Wulang felt that she was being unreasonable. Even the Prime Minister couldn't be so upright and ask to be listened to.
But he didn't dare to say anything more and led them to the study with a grimace.
After passing through the third courtyard and passing by the front hall, I saw Lu Fengniang sitting there talking with the Du sisters.
Lu Fengniang held the account book in her hand and sighed.
Xue Bai only took one look and knew what she was worried about.
Now that Du Youlin has lost his official position and salary, Du's house usually has a lot of expenses. It is already quite tight to handle a case.
Lu Fengniang didn't even need to speak. Just looking at the sad look on her face made people feel tired from hearing many complaints.
"Oh, mother."
When Du Wulang saw her, he even sighed before saluting.
"You should at least give me some advice, grandpa." Lu Fengniang said, "Now is not the time to show off your aloofness. Since my uncle is here, I should ask him to help me get reinstated."
"Me? Do I want to persuade grandpa?" Du Wulang hesitated and said, "Mother, I'm taking Xue Bai to see grandpa."
"Go ahead."
Lu Fengniang looked at Xue Bai, smiled gently, then looked at Jiao Nu behind him, and subconsciously stood up, showing some respect.
What she respects is the power of the Right Prime Minister's Mansion.
But I couldn't help but murmur in my heart. The Prime Minister didn't arrange a way for the Du family, which made people want to rely on them but didn't know how.
However, the Du sisters still sat still. Du Jin glanced at Jiao Nu lightly, not even hiding the disgust in his eyes.
~~
The study is still the most elegant place in Du's house.
After Du Youlin woke up, he was still weak and could not bear to be disturbed, so his family and servants did not dare to bother him with mundane matters.
Xue Bai walked around the small bamboo garden and climbed up the steps. He smelled the faint scent of sandalwood outside the door, which made people feel calm.
"Grandpa." Du Wulang came forward and knocked on the door, saying, "Xue Bai is here."
"come in."
Xue Bai is now familiar with most people in Du's house. Even Hu Shisanniang, the back cook, can chat with him about the taste of steamed vegetables.
All in all, among the Du family members, the one he was least familiar with was Du Youlin, the head of the family.
Entering the study at this time, I saw Du Youlin was a little thinner, leaning on the couch, holding a book, and his posture was a little more free and easy than before.
"I'm here. I'm injured and can't greet you. Don't be surprised."
Du Youlin didn't wait for Xue Bai to salute, he already waved his hand, exchanged a few words, and then said: "There is no need to meet outsiders. You and Wu Lang are on good terms, just call me 'uncle'."
"Yes, uncle."
"Okay, now that I have received your call, I will say a few words to you." Du Youlin's face sank and he said: "It's the time for men to study at the third watch of the night, when the lights are on and the chickens are on the fifth watch. You are such a good young man, you will sleep until noon. How do you behave?"
Xue Bai didn't explain and just took it.
Du Youlin inevitably scolded him a few times. Although he didn't explicitly say "It's wrong for you to seek refuge with the Right Prime Minister," he quoted Yan Zhenqing's poem and scolded him for working all night for the Right Prime Minister and being unable to get out of bed during the day... In short, he was scolded. .
But no matter what, Li Linfu is still the prime minister conferred by the current saint, and his name is justifiable. As long as Du Youlin does not rebel, he will eventually be recognized. It is nothing more than beating the younger generation and maintaining a little respect.
Xue Bai didn't resent him for displaying such a level of official power. Instead, he felt a little cordial and smiled politely.
"Ahem."
Du Youlin coughed twice and said, "I have something to talk to Xue Bai."
Du Wulang wanted to go on. He turned around and saw that Jiao Nuju was motionless. He couldn't help being stunned. He turned to look at Du Youlin again. He saw that his grandfather had put down the book in his hand and stood up as if nothing was wrong. Pacing and having a deep conversation.
Otherwise, wouldn't it be possible to offend the people in the Right Prime Minister's Mansion?
Besides, it would be inappropriate for a fifth-rank official to confront a maidservant.
"Xue Bai, you suffered a misfortune when you were young, lost your memory, and lived outside. I deeply regret it." Du Youlin said slowly: "For this reason, I asked people to inquire, and I may have found out your family background."
"ah!"
Du Wulang was so surprised that he couldn't help but exclaimed. He turned to look at Xue Bai and had a lot to say.
"Are you going to find a home?!"
But where he looked, he saw Xue Bai's face was calm, even as expected.
Du Wulang then looked at Du Youlin.
"My grandpa is so awesome. He found a family background for Xue Bai without saying a word."
Du Youlin took a few steps. Yun Danfeng waved his hand lightly and said, "Jingzhao Du family has some connections after all."
He waited for a while, but saw no reaction from Xue Bai. He turned to look at Xue Bai, and his tone gradually became serious.
"Xue Bai, you are from the Xue family in Hedong. Your great-grandfather, named Rengui, was a famous general in the Tang Dynasty. Your grandfather, Xue Shenhuo, was once an official and the chief clerk of rites. Your grandfather's name is Xue Ling, and he lives here now. In Changshoufang...he really wants to see you and your mother, they are waiting for you to come back."
Xue Bai was silent, not knowing what he was thinking about, and did not answer immediately.
Du Youlin's eyes became more intense, and he stepped forward and patted Xue Bai on the shoulder.
"Shall we meet? Maybe you can remember something."
"Okay." Xue Bai responded: "It would be nice to meet him."
Du Youlin was quite happy, with a relaxed smile on his face, and ordered Du Wulang: "Go and call Quan Rui to bring someone over."
After a while, Quan Rui brought in an old servant who was the manager of Xue Ling's family, named Xue Gengbo.
Xue Gengbo was wearing an old coat. He was stooped and stooped when he walked, as if he was rushing forward slowly.
When he crossed the threshold, he almost stumbled and fell to the ground, which made people tremble with fear, but he held on to the door frame and steadied himself. In short, these two actions of Liao Liao can make people feel excited.
"Liu Lang? It's really Liu Lang." Xue Gengbo had a bad look in his eyes. After entering the study, he looked around hard, but he didn't recognize the wrong person. He went directly to Xue Bai and called enthusiastically: "I finally found Liu Lang! "
Xue Bai stretched out his hand to help him and said with a smile: "Old man, please slow down, are you sure I am your Liulang?"
Seeing the young man's calm expression, Xue Gengbo became confused. He subconsciously looked at Du Wulang and stabilized his mind before he nodded and said to Xue Bai: "I'm not mistaken, it's Liu Lang in person!"
"Too bad I can't remember."
"The old slave is old, so he is a little confused, but Liulang is Liulang, and he can't be wrong." Xue Gengbo swayed, looking excited, and said: "That year, Alang was traveling from Fanyang to Chang'an, and when passing by Weinan, Liulang got lost. Now... I have found it now!"
Xue Bai couldn't help being a little surprised and asked: "How old was Liulang when he got lost?"
"Liu Lang, you don't remember?" Xue Gengbo asked in surprise: "You were lost when you were five years old."
"Then can my father-in-law recognize me as Rokuro?"
"As soon as you hear the name, don't you know it?" Xue Gengbo leaned down and patted his own knee, saying, "There is a birthmark on the back of Liulang's neck, right?"
Xue Bai turned his back, squatted down, gave him a look, and said: "There must be a burn, I can't see it, can I take a look?"
"Hey, such a beautiful birthmark has been burned away." Xue Gengbo lamented and said: "The dealer who betrayed the beloved has been hanged!"
As he spoke, he felt more and more regretful. After howling twice, he burst into tears.
"Mukuro, you've suffered a lot these years!"
Seeing the trembling old man crying, Du Wulang had a sore nose. He turned away and wiped his eyes. It took him a while to collect his emotions. When he raised his eyes again, he caught a glimpse of Jiaonu with his arms folded and his eyebrows downturned. Standing upright, his face was full of vigilance and suspicion.
"Aren't you moved?" Du Wulang muttered in a low voice, not knowing who he was talking to.
Xue Bai's attitude was calm and he said in a rather polite tone: "Don't get excited, I don't know yet whether I am the Liulang that I said."
"How could it not be the case?" Xue Gengbo was stunned and said with certainty, "You are Liu Lang."
"Then, father-in-law, could you please tell me more details about the Xue family's missing child?"
"This... the old slave knows very little. When we meet Alang, Alang and Liulang will talk about it."
Uncle Xue Geng accepted Lao Lei and wanted to lead Xue Bai to Xue's house.
"That's fine."
Du Wulang said: "Master, can I go too?"
Du Youlin stroked his long beard, smiled slightly, and waved his hand calmly and gracefully.
"Go ahead."
Xue Bai heard that people from the Jingzhao Du family had come today. He thought that the Jingzhao Du family would take the lead in finding a relative for him. However, he didn't see anyone at this time, so he must have left.
The reason makes sense, after all, he was still sleeping soundly in the morning.
But then he thought about it, since the other party didn't wake him up, it could be seen that the purpose of this trip was mainly to talk with Du Youlin in detail.
He could probably guess the content of the conversation.
~~
Xue Gengbo looked like he was about to fall down at any moment, but he was still able to ride the donkey. After a stagger, he climbed onto the donkey, and his movements even showed a bit of the vigor of his youth.
Xue Bai saw it and asked, "Have you ever been in the army?"
"No." Xue Gengbo chuckled and said, "My grandfather once went to the battlefield with the old general."
"Oh, is it Old General Xue from Three Arrows Dingtian Mountain?"
"The old slave will slowly tell Liulang later..."
Jiaonu took the reins and followed Xue Bai. Seeing this scene, his face was so solemn that it looked like it was about to drip.
When they walked out of the side door, they saw the Tian brothers from You Xiaowei riding horses from North Street, munching biscuits and looking cheerful.
She waved.
"Girl." Tian Shenyu rode forward and asked respectfully: "Where are you going to investigate the case today?"
"Check? Do you think he still has the heart to do things for Youxiang?" Jiaonu scolded, "I don't know what the use of raising you is. You go to Youxiang's Mansion and report to the manager. He only said that Jingzhao Du family was looking for Xue Bai's wife and found her. Descendant of the second wife of Pingyang County Duke of Xue family in Hedong."
After hearing such a long string of words, Tian Shenyu immediately made a sad face, scratched her head and said, "Say it again, girl?"
Jiaonu took a closer look and realized that the futou on the soldier's head was so dirty that it was leaking oil. He leaned back in disgust.
Tian Shengong stepped forward quickly and said with an apologetic smile: "I have written down what you want to pass on, and I will go to the Prime Minister's Mansion now."
"Yes." Jiaonu nodded. Seeing that both brothers turned around and were about to leave, he cursed: "Idiot, leave one behind. Do you still remember why the right minister supports you?!"
"Take the traitor." Tian Shenyu responded, suddenly understanding something, and hurriedly leaned over and asked in a low voice: "Any clues? Could it be that those traitors tricked Xue Langjun and want to take action?"
"Go away."
Jiao Nu frowned and rode up to follow Xue Bai.
Although she hasn't seen the evidence yet, she knows that Dong Palace took action and secretly wanted to guard against the right prime minister.
