Chapter 16: Strange Gifts for the Twins
Ever since Chen Bai taught Qi Zheng how to send voice messages, Qi Zheng’s desire to chat had nearly reached a deranged level.
Every night, right on time, he called Chen Bai to look at potato sprouts with him.
Could it be that cold people in real life all had some unknown side once they went online?
It seemed this kind of situation was actually quite common. Some people barely spoke in front of family and friends and looked extremely quiet, but once they got online, they became very talkative with online friends, as though they had turned into a completely different person.
Qi Zheng was probably in that kind of state right now. Who knew how long this enthusiasm would last.
The one suffering the most was Chen Bai. His body could not take it.
Chen Bai felt he had already fallen into the role of a free chat companion.
And during the day at Shangjing Academy, he still had to face Qi Zheng’s bitter, hate-filled face that clearly said “don’t come near me” and “don’t talk to me” every single day.
The difference in treatment was so huge that Chen Bai sometimes felt dazed. Which Qi Zheng was the real one, the one during the day or the one at night?
Of course, he was not qualified to judge anyone else. Did he not also have two faces? With the mask and without the mask, he was even more split-personality than Qi Zheng.
After a few days of fermentation, Chen Bai’s masked identity as “Mountain Lord” had now spread throughout the entire Shangjing.
Peerless in literature, unmatched in martial skill, a qilin-like talent, the number-one retainer of the Second Prince’s residence.
There were many titles. In the streets and alleys of Shangjing, people discussed him enthusiastically. For a time, his fame had no equal.
It was said that quite a few people even specifically went to Qi Zheng’s residence to ask who exactly Mountain Lord was.
Unfortunately, Qi Zheng had never answered directly, nor had he given any of these people a chance to meet “Mountain Lord” alone.
This only made Chen Bai appear even more mysterious, his name spreading across Shangjing.
This was also thanks to Crown Prince Jiao showing off his retainers everywhere before. Since Chen Bai could defeat them, did that not make him even more impressive?
Poor Crown Prince Jiao had probably never imagined that what he had done before would actually become someone else’s stepping stone.
When Chen Bai heard the discussions in the streets and alleys, he sighed with feeling. He even saw quite a few people showing expressions of admiration. There were even people on the streets dressed in the same style as “Mountain Lord,” with masks and red robes, the full set. These were the same people who had once spat filthy words at him and stabbed him in the back.
It felt rather contradictory.
As for Chen Shouye and Madam Ronghua, they were rather worried. These past few days, they had been busy trying to pull strings, but the results had not been significant.
Now they were pinning all their hopes on the birthday banquet of Duke Shang’s two legitimate grandsons, hoping to find a chance to speak a few words with Duke Shang.
Chen Shouye was one of the Nine Ministers, so he would definitely receive an invitation to Duke Shang’s grandchildren’s birthday banquet.
But when the invitations arrived, he froze, because there were two of them.
One separate invitation was actually addressed to Chen Bai.
The steward from the Shang residence who delivered the invitation even said with a smile, “Please make sure your eldest young master attends the banquet.”
At the time, Chen Shouye and his wife were stunned.
With Brother Bai’s current reputation, someone was actually taking the initiative to invite him?
Besides, they had never heard of Brother Bai having any connection with anyone from Duke Shang’s family.
“Strange, strange indeed!” Chen Shouye muttered in his heart for a long while.
After Chen Bai received the notice, he was also baffled. Something about this matter seemed odd. The Court Commandant’s residence was one household, yet two invitations had been sent.
However, since it was an invitation from Duke Shang’s family, he really could not refuse without another excuse.
Even after getting into the carriage, he still could not figure out the reason.
Chen Bai and Chen Xiaobu shared a carriage. Chen Xiaobu was classmates with the twins, Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou, so of course he was going too.
Chen Bai looked at Chen Xiaobu, who was hugging his skateboard while wearing his helmet and knee guards, and the corner of his mouth twitched. He still could not bear to take them off. Chen Bai heard that these past few nights, he even held them while bathing and sleeping.
When they arrived at the Shang residence, someone naturally arranged seats for Chen Bai’s family.
Only…
After they sat down at their assigned seats, aside from the host family coming over to exchange a few polite words, not a single person came near them.
Chen Bai glanced at the guests around them, gathered in groups of two or three, laughing continuously. He seemed to have overlooked something.
After thinking about it for a moment, he realized. In ancient times, to be an official, one also had to consider family conduct.
A bitter smile appeared on his face. It seemed he had implicated the Court Commandant’s residence. Yet Court Commandant Chen and Madam Ronghua had never mentioned any of this to him.
Back then, although he had been locked in that courtyard, that cold courtyard had also been protecting him in a way, allowing him not to face everything outside.
Among the guests, one person was especially active. He was like a smiling tiger, slick in every direction, able to deal with everyone smoothly. Quite a few people surrounded him.
Madam Ronghua seemed unable to stand the sight and muttered, “Nothing has even been decided yet, but look at how pleased he is with himself.”
That person was indeed conspicuous. Chen Bai asked, “Is he from Duke Shang’s family?”
Madam Ronghua replied, “Duke Shang is upright and honest. How could he have a clansman who values money like his life and is so treacherous and slippery? Just look at that petty, smug face.”
Seeming to feel she had said too much, Madam Ronghua said, “He is Crown Prince Jiao’s granduncle, Wei Ran. He’s only relying on his connection to the Crown Prince. He has no real ability.”
Chen Bai froze. This person was so active that those who did not know better might think he was the host of the banquet.
Perhaps sensing Chen Bai’s family’s gaze, Wei Ran turned back and glanced at them. Then he actually smiled and brought people over.
“Isn’t this Court Commandant Chen? Why are you sitting here so quietly? Come, come, let us all toast Court Commandant Chen.”
He looked as though good fortune was just around the corner, the smugness impossible to describe.
Chen Shouye and Madam Ronghua’s expressions did not look good. In court, this man had spent every day teaming up with those people to impeach Chen Shouye for having an improper family culture. He was glib-tongued and vicious with his words.
Now he was acting like this. Was he not coming over personally to embarrass them?
“I heard Court Commandant Chen has been visiting various colleagues quite frequently lately. Court Commandant Chen has always been honest and clean, disdainful of associating with colleagues like us. When I first heard it, I thought I had misheard and was surprised for quite a while.”
“Court Commandant Chen wants to meet Duke Shang now?” Wei Ran looked left and right in surprise. “Why is it that not even a single member of the Shang family can be seen?”
Chen Bai frowned. No matter how slow he was, he could tell something was wrong.
It seemed the Court Commandant’s residence had run into some difficulty and needed to meet Duke Shang privately.
Also, the Shang family did indeed seem to be avoiding them. Aside from coming over at the beginning to say a couple of polite words, none of them had come here again.
Was it because of him again?
He had originally thought only his own situation was difficult, but now it seemed that was not the case at all. He still understood a little about his father, Court Commandant Chen. In the past, he had detested this sort of relationship-building the most. Now that he had to temporarily pull strings, one could imagine how difficult it was.
Wei Ran’s face smiled like a chrysanthemum. Just as he was about to say something else, a steward from the Shang family walked over and said to Chen Shouye, “Pardon the interruption. Our two young masters sent this servant to invite Brother Bai and the little young master inside to play pitch-pot together.”
Everyone: “…”
Chen Bai was also stunned. Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou, those two children, were inviting him and Chen Xiaobu to play pitch-pot?
Inviting Chen Xiaobu was understandable. Chen Xiaobu was their classmate. But why include him too?
The inner hall should be where the children were playing together. What did that have to do with him? Besides, he had never spoken a single word to those twins before, let alone been familiar with them.
Before he could react, Madam Ronghua suddenly straightened her posture. “Since the two little birthday stars have invited you, Brother Bai, hurry and take Xiaobu to the inner hall.”
After saying that, she smiled at Wei Ran. “What are you saying, Lord Wei? We were merely resting for a moment. How is this quiet? See, the two little birthday stars could hardly wait to call someone over.”
Madam Ronghua thought, although she could not understand how they had become so close to Duke Shang’s two legitimate grandsons, since the other side had already come over to tear off their faces, surely she was allowed to slap back with this chance?
In any case, these people had been opposing the Court Commandant’s residence day and night. She was not afraid of offending them.
Wei Ran’s smile froze. The sarcasm he had spoken just now was still lingering in the air, and now this…
Chen Shouye also looked up at Chen Bai. “Go.”
As Chen Bai left with Chen Xiaobu, he could still hear Wei Ran’s voice. “Court Commandant Chen truly is surprising. I wonder how long this liveliness will last!”
Chen Shouye lifted his cup, returning the toast from those who had come to toast him. “That is not something outsiders need to concern themselves with.”
As Chen Bai walked, he thought, sure enough, something must have happened to the Court Commandant’s residence.
Was it something that required personal connections to resolve?
When the steward brought Chen Bai and Chen Xiaobu into the inner hall, a group of little boys about Chen Xiaobu’s age gathered around them.
“Brother Bai, Brother Bai, we’re Chen Xiaobu’s classmates. We usually play with Chen Xiaobu really well!”
Chen Bai looked at a group of inexplicably sparkling eyes. “…”
Why did it feel like… a pack of little bootlickers?
At this moment, Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou, the two twins, aggressively pushed through the crowd. What was wrong with these people? Today was their main event.
“Brother Bai, we’re the ones who play with Chen Xiaobu the best.”
They tugged on Chen Bai’s sleeve, wanting to go play pitch-pot together.
Chen Bai: “…”
This sudden enthusiasm left him unable to react.
Could he have lost some memories? Had he actually gotten along especially well with these children before?
Pitch-pot was a game where one held arrows and threw them into a pot placed some distance away.
Such a simple game was deeply loved by nobles and commoners alike, showing just how barren entertainment was in this era. So one could imagine how excited the children had been when Chen Xiaobu’s skateboard appeared.
Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou each carried a big bundle of arrows. “Brother Bai, we’ll hand you the arrows.”
The words “bootlicker” were practically written on their faces.
Chen Bai played with them in confusion for a while. Before long, he roughly understood why this was happening.
He saw Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou, the almost identical twins, rubbing their little hands together, their eyes bright and sparkling.
Their faces were a little shy. “Brother… Brother Bai, where are our gifts?”
Chen Bai: “…”
The steward beside them immediately changed expression. How could there be any logic in asking a guest for gifts? It was far too rude.
Moreover, the Court Commandant’s residence had brought a generous gift today.
The steward quickly stepped forward and calmly and quietly explained things to them.
As soon as the twins heard it—what? Brother Bai did not need to send a gift himself? The gift from the Court Commandant’s residence was enough?
They had been looking forward to this for so long. These past few days, they had not even slept well. They flipped through the almanac every day in class, wishing the days would pass faster.
After finally waiting until this day, they were now being told there were no gifts?
Outside, the guests were still lively and celebrating.
At this moment, a sudden loud crying came from the inner hall.
It was terribly heartbreaking, because the two children were crying while rolling around on the floor.
This drew a crowd of onlookers. Even Duke Shang was alarmed.
He walked in and asked, “What happened?”
The steward’s face was filled with embarrassment.
But he did not even need to speak. The two twins lifted their little heads from the floor. “Brother Bai didn’t prepare gifts for us. Clearly… clearly we sent him a separate invitation.”
After saying that, they collapsed back onto the floor and started rolling again.
To children, this was probably no different from the sky falling.
They had held such great expectations.
The scene went silent.
Duke Shang’s face twitched. Were they openly forcing someone to give them gifts?
His old face.
The other guests were also stunned. There were so many guests today, so why did they insist on asking the Chen family’s eldest young master for gifts?
The Shang family members were so embarrassed they could barely stand it. If this spread…
They quickly went forward to pull Shang Jujiu and Shang Zhizhou up.
But Madam Ronghua was even faster than the Shang family members. She went forward and comforted the two children rolling energetically on the ground while saying, “Brother Bai, didn’t you promise earlier to give the two little birthday stars gifts? How did you forget it yourself? Look how anxious you’ve made the two children.”
Madam Ronghua was very happy right now. How could these two children be so sensible, insisting on pestering their Brother Bai for gifts? This was a good thing.
The corner of Chen Bai’s mouth twitched. He felt his mother was truly sharp. She had actually resolved the Shang family’s embarrassment just like that.
Chen Bai said, “It is my fault for being careless. I’ll go get them now.”
Since the Court Commandant’s residence now needed some personal connections, he might as well help.
Everyone looked at Chen Shouye, then at Wei Ran, whose expression did not look very good.
What was going on? Wasn’t Wei Ran supposed to have this in the bag? Why did it feel like Court Commandant Chen’s family had a close relationship with Duke Shang’s family?
They would not believe there was no connection. Otherwise, with so many people here, why would the Shang family twins ask someone else for gifts? Why specifically ask the Chen family’s eldest young master?
Chen Bai went out to the Court Commandant’s residence’s sedan outside the residence.
When he entered the residence again, the Shang family steward hurried into the inner hall anxiously.
“Master, Brother Bai’s gifts are truly rather strange. This servant does not know whether they should be stopped first.”
