Chapter 190: Could It Be Him?
Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "It’s really inconvenient. We still have pigs to raise. It’s dirty and smelly."
"I have seen it. The West Courtyard has a pigpen and a chicken coop, whatever you want to raise, it’s very convenient. Once you enter the main courtyard from the West Courtyard, there’s a pond, you can even raise fish if you want." Yu Hongxiu said excitedly.
Bai Ruozhu understood her goodwill, but she couldn’t make the decision on her own. Her family loved her and would listen to her opinion, but she also needed to respect everyone’s thoughts. Any decision in the family would be made after a discussion.
She gave Yu Hongxiu an apologetic smile and said, "Let’s wait until my entire family has discussed it."
Yu Hongxiu knew she couldn’t push too hard, but she really wanted Bai Ruozhu to move in. So, she had to shift her idea onto her husband. Once the master spoke, wouldn’t the student obey? With Bai Zepei helping persuade Bai Ruozhu, Bai Ruozhu would definitely agree.
With this in mind, Yu Hongxiu did not insist on dragging Bai Ruozhu’s family over for a visit any longer. Returning home hurriedly with Guizhi.
"Dad, Mom, elder brother, what do you all think?" Bai Ruozhu quietly asked her family.
"Mrs. Xie means well. It’s just a bit inconvenient. Let’s discuss it further." Lin Ping’er said hesitantly.
Bai Yihong and Bai Zehao felt the same. The family didn’t proceed with their original plan to look at the house, to avoid potentially meeting Yu Hongxiu again and making her uncomfortable.
Xiaosi came back to the village with them, he sat on the donkey cart with Bai Ruozhu and Lin Ping’er. But they let him down before reaching the entrance of the village to prevent people from the old mansion from noticing him and being displeased.
In the afternoon, Bai Zepei came back home, unexpectedly earlier than usual. Bai Ruozhu looked at her second brother and asked, "Did you agree to Mr. Xie’s proposal?"
Bai Zepei slightly frowned and asked, "If you don’t like it, I’ll turn Mr. Xie down."
It seemed that he didn’t impulsively agree, he was here now to discuss it with the family.
Bai Ruozhu didn’t have any aversion to moving or dislike towards the Xie Residence. She just felt embarrassed to take advantage of people. If she kept taking advantage of someone, it could harm their relationship over time.
"That’s not exactly the case. I just feel a bit embarrassed." Bai Ruozhu said.
"Let’s go, let’s talk about it inside the house. Are dad, mom, and elder brother all home?" Bai Zepei asked.
"They’re home, resting in the house." As Bai Ruozhu was speaking, she went to the kitchen to pour a cup of chrysanthemum tea for Bai Zepei. By the time they entered the main hall, the family was already seated around the table.
Bai Zepei took a sip of tea and started to talk.
"Actually, this trip Mr. Xie undertook was not without purpose. There were some things I didn’t explain to you before. Mr. Xie originally taught at the Prefect Meng’s Anxi Residence, and was later appreciated by Prefect Meng and became a Stratagem Advisor. This time, Mrs. Meng’s family has a relative whose son has become a Scholar. Seeing as this young gentleman has to stay in Anyuan Town for a while, his family was afraid that his preparation for the Rural Examination the following year would be affected. Thus, they sought Prefect Meng in hopes of arranging a reputable teacher for their son."
"Since Mr. Xie is currently in deep mourning, he was unable to continue with the Imperial Examination. Prefect Meng suggests him to take the Rural Examination next year. Therefore, this assignment was entrusted to him. The residence he is currently staying at was gifted by that family."
After listening to Bai Zepei’s words, Bai Ruozhu remembered Yu Hongxiu mentioning that her and Mr. Xie’s marriage was arranged by Prefect Meng. Back then she didn’t ask who Prefect Meng was. Now she knew he was the prefect of Anxi, equivalent to a modern governor, and to make it all the more impressive, he was the prefect of the important northwestern Anxi. His position was indeed significant.
Bai Zepei took another sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued, "In order to be closer and conduct classes, the son of that family will move into Xie Residence in the next few days. Mr. Xie also wants me to move in to facilitate teaching each day together. I’ve already agreed."
Bai Ruozhu nodded her head. If there was only one student, it wouldn’t really matter whether he went early or late. But now that there was another prestigious young gentleman, it was not appropriate to ask him to make compromises. So it was reasonable for her brother to comply with Mr. Xie and move in as well.
But for their entire family to move over, wasn’t that inappropriate?
"Mr. Xie said that the prestigious guest has a preference for eating and drinking. He originally planned to invite a famous chef from Beiyu City. Now that we’re moving to the Western Courtyard, he can save money on hiring a famous chef." Bai Zepei said while looking at Bai Ruozhu, "I’m worried that you might overwork yourself. Mr. Xie said directly that the kitchen has assistants who can help, and it would not be too tiring for you. After hearing this, I didn’t know what else to say. I just stated that if we were to move there, we would need to pay rent, considering it as if we were renting."
Bai Yihong nodded, "It should be, it’s proper to pay rent, how could we stay for free."
"But Mr. Xie disagreed. He said that if it got out, people would say that he couldn’t afford to keep a grand manor, and he’s even calculating the money from his student’s family. He also said that if we were to pay him rent, he would have to pay Ruozhu the consultation fee and a salary for the kitchen help. It would definitely be more than the rent we pay."
Bai Ruozhu was undecided. According to what Yu Hongxiu said, the West Courtyard was separated from the main residence which meant they wouldn’t affect the people living there. The servants’ rooms were in a remote location, but they had a side that directly led to the street. Coupled with the fact that her second brother was moving there, which meant he may not be able to come home for a while, she was somewhat reluctant to let him go.
"I’m worried that Dad and Mom won’t be comfortable, and won’t get used to it." Bai Ruozhu said after considering it for a while.
Lin Ping’er started laughing, "I was worried that you wouldn’t want to."
In the end, the family discussed it for a long while and finally decided to agree. Given Mr. Xie and his wife’s sincerity, and considering it wouldn’t affect their life, if they still stubbornly refused, they would rather risk hurting feelings.
The next morning when Bai Zepei went to tell Mr. Xie that the family had agreed, Yu Hongxiu quickly received the news. Excitedly, she led Guizhi to Bai’s stall, making arrangements to help the Bai family move that afternoon, saying she had a horse carriage at home for faster trips.
Bai Ruozhu could not trouble her further, but she couldn’t turn down her enthusiasm and had to agree. The sales were good that day, she was able to close the stall by midday. Yu Hongxiu led the Bai family to push the cart to her residence in West Courtyard, and gave the Bai family a tour.
It didn’t take long for Bai Zepei to arrive at the West Courtyard. He greeted his sister-in-law and then made a secret signal to Bai Ruozhu. Bai Ruozhu felt curious and slowed down her pace, falling behind everyone. Yu Hongxiu at the front was lively introducing the kitchen and washing room, not noticing the whispered conversation between the siblings.
"Little sister, guess who the other young gentleman who will study with the master is?" Bai Zepei asked in a low voice.
Bai Ruozhu searched through her past self’s memories, she only knew a few scholars who her second brother knew. Suddenly, she widened her eyes and stared at her second brother, asking, "Could it be him?"