Chapter 228 – The Foolish Prince Consort’s Farming Struggles – Startled Realization (11)
Uncle Gao was so engrossed in chatting with Baili Bin that he didn’t even notice his young master, Baili Luo, had run off with his newlywed wife.
It wasn’t until Baili Bin brought up the topic—wondering what their Seventh Royal Brother was up to—that Uncle Gao snapped back to his senses. “The young master is probably still sulking. I’ll go call him for dinner.”
Uncle Gao went to Baili Luo’s room and knocked. “Young Master, it’s time to eat.”
He knocked several times, but there was no response. Shaking his head, Uncle Gao muttered helplessly, “When will the young master finally come around?”
“Young Master, I’m coming in,” he said as he pushed the door open. The room was a complete mess—closet doors wide open, the bed in disarray.
“This isn’t good—someone’s broken into the house!” Uncle Gao shouted. “Young Master? Young Master…!”
He rushed out of the room and searched the kitchen, the bathhouse, the courtyard—every place Baili Luo might have gone. Not only was Baili Luo nowhere to be found, but Bai Tang was also missing.
“Guard Gao, what’s going on? Where’s Royal Brother?” Baili Bin asked.
“The young master is missing. Bai Tang is gone too.”
Tian Xiao went to check the front gate and found that it had been shut from the outside.
“The Seventh Prince might have run off with the Seventh Princess,” Tian Xiao said.
Uncle Gao slapped his forehead. “That’s possible! The young master really dotes on Bai Tang. He probably thought the Ninth Prince was here to steal him away, so while we were chatting, he must’ve taken the chance to sneak off with Bai Tang. That ransacked room is proof enough.”
Tian Xiao said, “The Seventh Prince shouldn’t have gotten too far. Let’s go out and look for them.”
The group split up to search. As they called Baili Luo’s name around the village, some curious villagers came out to watch the commotion. One of them pointed toward the end of the village and said, “I saw your young master and his wife walking that way.”
“Thank you,” Uncle Gao said hurriedly, then made his way in that direction.
There was only one road out of the village. When they reached the outskirts and saw no one around, they used qinggong to search along the mountain path.
“This is strange,” Baili Bin said. “Judging by an ordinary person’s pace, they couldn’t have gotten far.”
He had sparred with Baili Luo before and knew the man had forgotten all his techniques—he definitely couldn’t use qinggong. It didn’t make sense that they couldn’t find him.
Meanwhile, the person they were looking for was already nearing the town, sitting comfortably in Lin Xiaoshuang’s donkey cart.
“Tang Tang, are you thirsty? Have some water.”
Despite the hurried escape, Baili Luo hadn’t forgotten to bring all the essentials.
Sure enough, he pulled out a water pouch and offered Bai Tang a drink.
Lin Xiaoshuang had been baking under the sun for ages, while the two people sitting in the back of the donkey cart were enjoying themselves—sitting under a parasol, sipping water, looking utterly comfortable. They even whispered to each other from time to time, practically showering everyone with PDA. Who were they trying to feed that dog food to anyway?
Student Lin Xiaoshuang firmly expressed that she refused to consume their dog food and very much wanted to kick over their dog bowl and bash their dog heads.
But she didn’t dare. Even if Gao Luo was a fool, he was still a grown man—she wouldn’t be able to take him in a fight.
“Um… I’m kind of thirsty too,” Lin Xiaoshuang said.
Gao Luo looked at her parched, cracked lips and thought that if this ugly woman collapsed halfway, no one would be left to drive the cart.
After a moment of thought, he generously handed her the water pouch. There wasn’t much left in it anyway—might as well give it to her.
“Thanks,” Lin Xiaoshuang said, and took a big gulp. At last, her dry and scratchy throat felt some relief.
Bai Tang quietly asked, “Where are we going?”
Seeing how much the boy relied on him made Gao Luo’s masculine pride surge.
He gently stroked the boy’s sun-reddened, puffy cheeks, and after thinking hard, he still didn’t know exactly where to go. But at the very least, he should find somewhere for his wife to rest first.
He asked Lin Xiaoshuang to stop the donkey cart in front of Drunken Immortal Pavilion (Zui Xian Lou). Lin Xiaoshuang was amazed—it turned out Baili Bin had been telling the truth all along. The Gao family really did own the place.
She looked at the luxurious facade of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion and mentally started calculating her future opportunities.
“I’ll help you carry your things.”
Seeing how protective the fool was of the boy, Lin Xiaoshuang gave up any ideas of inserting herself into their little duo.
After all, Gao Luo had called her an ugly woman right to her face for Bai Tang’s sake. With an impression like that, there was no way she could squeeze herself in between them. She might as well focus on building a good relationship and pave the way for future business. Besides, there was still that handsome and talented Baili Bin—she wouldn’t be losing out.
Gao Luo pressed a hand on the luggage and looked at her warily. “Ugly woman, what are you trying to do?”
Lin Xiaoshuang took a deep breath and told herself, Don’t argue with a fool. Don’t argue with a fool…
“You’re carrying your wife, so it’s not convenient for you to take the luggage. I, having taken your gold earlier, now offer free luggage-carrying services.”
Bai Tang remained cautious of Lin Xiaoshuang. He didn’t want Gao Luo getting too close to her, so he quickly said, “That’s okay—we can carry it ourselves.”
He picked up the large bag. It was mostly filled with clothes and wasn’t all that heavy.
“I’ll do it, I’ll do it!” As a model husband who cherished his wife dearly, Gao Luo couldn’t bear to let Bai Tang suffer even the slightest hardship.
“Young Master, didn’t you come by just yesterday? Why are you back again today?”
Someone lingering too long at the entrance could affect the restaurant’s business, so the manager came out to check what was going on—only to spot two unexpected guests.
Failing to establish a connection earlier, Lin Xiaoshuang quickly came up with a new idea. She turned to Gao Luo and said, “Alright then, I’ve safely delivered you two from the village. When you have time, come over to my house for a meal. My parents would love to see you.”
Her words left Gao Luo completely baffled. When did I get so close with Lin Xiaoshuang?
Bai Tang was equally puzzled. Didn’t the female lead break off ties with her family the moment she showed up?
In truth, Lin Xiaoshuang wasn’t speaking for Gao Luo and Bai Tang’s benefit—her message was meant for the manager.
Sure enough, the manager gave her a few extra glances after hearing what she said.
He helped Gao Luo carry the luggage and led the two of them inside.
Having achieved her goal, Lin Xiaoshuang happily went off to sell her goods.
Gao Luo brought Bai Tang back to his private suite, ordered the best tea and food, and instructed the waiter to bring them up quickly.
“Tang Tang, you must be tired. Come, rest.” Gao Luo placed Bai Tang’s legs on his own lap and began massaging them gently.
Bai Tang poured a cup of tea and handed it to Gao Luo.
The weather was strange—cool and breezy at night, but the daytime sun was scorching, nearly peeling the skin off.
“You’re sure Baili Bin came to the town?”
“I’m sure. I personally followed the Ninth Prince into the town yesterday. Later, the marketplace got too crowded and I lost track of him. But I immediately had people guard the town’s exit—he hasn’t left.”
“Good. Even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we must find the Ninth Prince. The higher-ups… don’t want to see the brothers return. You understand…”
Bai Tang was so relaxed under Gao Luo’s massage that he was starting to doze off. But then a strange conversation from the neighboring room caught his attention. The surname Baili instantly put him on alert.
He jolted awake. Gao Luo, startled, asked nervously, “Was I pressing too hard? I’ll be more gentle—”
Bai Tang made a “shh” gesture and tiptoed to the wall, placing his ear against it.
Gao Luo mimicked him, but he couldn’t hear a thing.
“Why would the Ninth Prince come to such a remote little town? Maybe he found traces of the Seventh Prince. Stay sharp—if you run into the Seventh Prince, you know what to do…”
“I understand.”
Know what to do? That could only mean… kill him.
As soon as Bai Tang heard the keyword “Seventh Prince,” he began to suspect the identities of the people in the next room. They must be sent by another prince to assassinate Ah Luo. That Ninth Prince they mentioned… he was probably a good person. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have talked about killing both the Seventh and Ninth Princes together.
The voices in the next room went silent, and Bai Tang straightened up.
“Ow~!”
Their foreheads bumped right into each other. Gao Luo quickly reached out to rub the boy’s head. “Tang Tang, I’m sorry! Does it hurt?”
He puffed up his cheeks and gently blew on the spot where Bai Tang had bumped his head. “Pain, pain, go away! Pain, pain, fly far away!”
Bai Tang looked at Gao Luo’s reddened forehead and took out a mist spray, spritzing it gently. “It won’t hurt once I spray this on~”
Gao Luo was amazed—his forehead really didn’t hurt anymore.
He stared at the little bottle in Bai Tang’s hand. “It doesn’t hurt now. So cool!”
“Cool, right? Here, it’s yours.” Bai Tang saw how much Gao Luo liked it, so he gave it to him and showed him how to press it to make the mist spray out.
Gao Luo hurried to catch the mist with his hands—he didn’t want to waste any of it.
After he figured it out, he sprayed some on Bai Tang’s forehead. “Now it won’t hurt anymore. Pain, pain, go away!”
Meanwhile, Bai Tang mentally spoke to the two systems. “Qiu’er, who is this ‘Ninth Prince’ they were talking about?”
Qiu’er was happily eating lamb from a hotpot, mouth full and satisfied. “That’s Bai Nibi.”
Bai Tang: “???”
Xiao A clarified, “That’s Baili Bin—the Bai Bin who came looking for you two today. He’s the male lead’s full-blooded younger brother. He came out this time specifically to find the male lead.”
“You don’t have to eat so fast. I’m not stealing your food,” Xiao A said as he patted Qiu’er on the back.
Now Bai Tang understood—so it had all been a misunderstanding on his part.
That Baili Bin, honestly—he should’ve just introduced himself as Baili Bin. Why go with Bai Bin? Choosing a surname that sounds like a side character’s is just asking for a misunderstanding.
Bai Tang grabbed Gao Luo’s hand. “Let’s go, Ah Luo. Let’s go home.”
Just then, the waiter pushed the door open to bring in the food. Behind him, two men in black passed by and even glanced into the room.
Bai Tang quickly shut the door and leaned against it.
It’s over. They saw us.
“Tang Tang, why do you look so pale? I’ll take you to see a doctor,” Gao Luo said, pulling Bai Tang toward the door.
“No, don’t move.” Bai Tang clung to him. He could sense that the two men were still right outside.
The two who had passed by were Ji Zhong and his subordinate. Ji Zhong had just received portraits of the two princes from his superior, and when he glanced inside the room earlier, he thought one of the men looked a lot like one of the princes.
As Ji Zhong followed his subordinate downstairs, the more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
He turned around—he had to go back and confirm their identities.
Bai Tang heard the returning footsteps and pushed the waiter out the door. He instructed him, “If anyone tries to come in, just say we’re not seeing anyone. You must stop them.”
Bai Tang then took out his disguise kit from the small pouch space and pulled Gao Luo over to sit in a chair. “Ah Luo, sit still and be good~”
Gao Luo, like a schoolkid following a teacher’s command, sat upright with his legs together and hands neatly on his thighs, staying completely still as Bai Tang dabbed and smeared makeup on his face.
Author’s Note:
Bai Tang: Be good.
Gao Luo: I’m super good~ 😇