Chapter 231 – The Foolish Prince Consort’s Farming Struggles – The Miserable Baili Bin (14)
Baili Bin successfully reunited with his family, and since everyone was already searching for the two brothers, it was only natural that he moved into the Gao household.
The village was small—news traveled fast. It didn’t take long for everyone to know. Earlier, people had seen Baili Bin and Gao Luo fighting in front of the house, and the rumors had already spread.
Baili Bin continued to use the alias “Bai Bin” and publicly claimed to be Bai Tang’s older brother. He said that his younger brother had been kidnapped years ago, and once he found a lead, he came searching.
That made his fight with Gao Luo seem logical. As for what Lin Xiaoshuang had done, that also became a hot topic in the village. People gossiped about how the Lin family had raised such a cunning and ungrateful child—one who not only avoided marrying a fool, but even managed to get a large sum of money out of it.
At first, the villagers only mocked the Lin family behind their backs. But Madam Lin was a tigress of a woman. She couldn’t stand people whispering about her and immediately quarreled with them.
In the countryside, those who work the fields are not timid by nature. The women, in particular, all had loud voices, and soon it was chaos—shouting matches everywhere.
Madam Lin began to realize that the boy Lin Xiaoshuang had purchased had quite a background. Just looking at what Bai Bin wore and held in his hands, she couldn’t even estimate how much it all cost.
She now felt it was a huge waste to have accepted just a small amount of silver back then. With Xiaohan’s bride arriving in three days, the family ought to be properly compensated. After all, she would soon bear a plump baby boy to carry on the Lin family name.
With that in mind, she felt emboldened. If it hadn’t been for her daughter bringing the boy back, who knows where Bai Tang would have ended up? And Baili Bin would never have found his brother.
With righteous fury, Madam Lin stormed over to the Gao household, banging on the door as she shouted, “Open up! Open the door!”
At that moment, everyone in the Gao family was gathered around Gao Luo, watching him take his medicine. They had enough proper xi grass now, but it still had a bitter, fishy taste, and adding other herbs didn’t help.
Uncle Gao recalled how, the first time Gao Luo drank the medicine, he had to chase him all around the courtyard, and even then Gao Luo barely drank half a bowl.
Bai Tang looked at Gao Luo eagerly. “Ah Luo, drink your medicine.”
Gao Luo eyed the steaming herbal concoction, then glanced at Bai Tang. “It’s really bitter.”
Bai Tang leaned over and kissed him on the lips. “Drink up~”
That made Gao Luo happy. He picked up the bowl and downed it in one gulp.
Right after, he scrunched up his face and stuck out his tongue. “So bitter~”
“Then let the Princess Consort give you another kiss,” Baili Bin teased.
Gao Luo shook his head and dodged Bai Tang, who leaned in. “My mouth’s bitter. I don’t want Tang Tang to taste it too.”
He didn’t want Bai Tang to share the bitterness just because he had.
“Seventh Prince really dotes on the Princess Consort,” Tian Xiao remarked with admiration.
Because Baili Bin and Tian Xiao were both smooth talkers and kept gushing about how sweet and loving Gao Luo and Bai Tang were, Gao Luo reluctantly agreed to let them stay. He also accepted the sudden appearance of Baili Bin as Bai Tang’s temporary older brother.
The gate to the courtyard was being pounded so loudly it sounded like thunder.
Uncle Gao rushed out to open the door, and Madam Lin, having lost her support, stumbled forward and fell flat on her face.
“Madam Lin, what’s the matter? You nearly knocked our door down,” Uncle Gao said, clearly unamused when he saw who it was.
Madam Lin dusted herself off. “I’m not here to see you.”
She stood up and spotted Baili Bin, who had just walked out of the house. Her face lit up with a huge smile as she rushed over, trying to grab his hand affectionately. “In-law—!”
Baili Bin dodged to the side, and Madam Lin tripped over the stone steps and fell again, this time face-first.
“Oww—” This second fall was even worse; she hit the steps and it hurt badly.
Her loud cries of pain drew a crowd. Curious villagers, always eager for gossip, gathered at the gate to see what was going on.
Madam Lin clung to Baili Bin’s clothing, wrapping her arms around his leg.
Baili Bin’s face turned pale. He didn’t dare kick her away, but leaving her there wasn’t an option either.
“In-law, are you trying to get an old woman like me killed? In-law—!” she wailed.
Baili Bin had been raised steeped in poetry, books, and proper etiquette. He had never encountered such shameless behavior before and didn’t know how to deal with it.
“I am not your in-law. Let go,” he said coldly.
“In-law, look—your little brother entered the Gao family through my family’s door. The Lin family is practically half of Bai Tang’s maternal side. Now that his ‘maternal home’ is in a bit of trouble, shouldn’t we help each other out…?”
At that, the crowd finally understood: Madam Lin was here to ask for silver.
Bai Tang and Gao Luo came out. The moment Gao Luo saw Madam Lin, he stepped protectively in front of Bai Tang.
“What do I have to do with you? Bai Tang is my younger brother, and you already took the bride price. Now you think it’s not enough? Why didn’t you say so back then? You sold your daughter, and now you want to sell my brother too?” Baili Bin snapped.
He had already heard the whole story from Uncle Gao. Now that he knew the troublemaker was Madam Lin and saw her spouting nonsense, his good mood evaporated instantly.
What a piece of work—trying to sell his Seventh Prince Consort all over again.
The people outside pointed fingers at Madam Lin and Baili Bin. Madam Lin knew she wasn’t being entirely decent, but her family was short on silver. They needed money for everything—daily expenses, her future grandson’s birth, and all kinds of things. That girl Lin Xiaoshuang had given them only half of what was promised, and most of that had already been swindled away by Lin Xiaohan.
To get Lin Xiaohan a wife, Madam Lin had lied to the matchmaker, saying their house was newly built and well-lit, and that the family had bought cattle and land. That’s the only reason the girl agreed to marry into their family.
But now that the promises had been made and the wedding was just three days away, what if the bride came and found out it was all fake? What if she refused to marry him? Then what?!
Madam Lin was determined: today, she would get some silver out of Baili Bin or the Gao family. If she didn’t, she wasn’t leaving.
Tian Xiao had no intention of letting a village woman cling to Baili Bin any longer. He grabbed the back of Madam Lin’s collar and lifted her up with one hand, then tossed her outside.
The crowd quickly scattered to get out of the way. Madam Lin lay sprawled on the ground, yelling loudly, “Ow! Ow! Help! They’re trying to kill me!”
But Tian Xiao had been careful with his strength—she might be sore, but she wasn’t seriously hurt.
Uncle Gao gave a few pieces of broken silver to a nearby child who had been watching the commotion and sent him to fetch the village chief.
In a small mountain village like this, the village chief was essentially “the law,” and no one dared to cross him.
The child, now clutching the silver, sprinted off toward the chief’s house.
Uncle Gao turned to the gathered crowd and said, “I’ve asked someone to fetch the village chief. He was a witness back then—he saw the Lin family accept the bride price from the Gao family. From that moment on, Bai Tang has been the Gao family’s daughter-in-law. She has nothing to do with the Lin family anymore.”
With that, he shut the gate, ignoring the chatter outside. Once the village chief arrived, the crowd would disperse on its own.
Bai Tang said, “Ignore her. Once Ah Luo gets better, we’ll leave this place.”
He had read the original plot. Aside from the female lead, her family couldn’t stir up much trouble and had no real impact on the main storyline.
The village chief soon arrived and scolded Madam Lin harshly for causing a scene at the Gao family’s door. At the end, he added, “If you keep this up, the Gao family can submit the severance contract to the authorities in town. If that happens and you end up in prison, there’s nothing I can do to help you.”
The villagers fell silent, and even Madam Lin shut her mouth. She quickly scrambled up from the ground, looking perfectly fine—not at all like someone who had just claimed she’d broken her leg or back and demanded compensation.
She absolutely couldn’t go to prison. If she ended up in jail, her reputation would be ruined, and no one would dare marry into the Lin family ever again. If the Lin family lost its future because of her, the old man would beat her to death.
Seeing that the issue was resolved and Madam Lin had stopped making a scene, the village chief left, and the crowd gradually dispersed.
Three days later, the Lin family held a lively wedding ceremony and welcomed a new bride. Before the wedding, it was said that Madam Lin had pestered Lin Xiaoshuang for several days. Unable to win the argument, Lin Xiaoshuang ended up giving her money just to get rid of her.
But all of that had nothing to do with the Gao family.
Gao Luo continued taking his medicine three times a day. No matter how bitter it was, he held his nose and drank it—for Bai Tang’s sake.
And to be fair, Zheng Xi grass really worked. Bai Tang had mixed the medicine prescribed at Miaoxin Hall with a formula from the system, which helped accelerate the dispersal of the blood clot at the back of Gao Luo’s head. After just three days, although Gao Luo hadn’t fully recovered, some of his old habits had already begun to resurface.
For example, the way he held a brush, his writing posture, and his occasional use of palace etiquette.
These signs brought immense joy to everyone. They had expected a much longer recovery, but unexpectedly, there was clear progress in such a short time.
Baili Bin often clung to Gao Luo, recounting stories from their past in hopes of triggering his memories and speeding up his recovery.
However, Gao Luo had no interest in cooperating. He felt Baili Bin was just getting in the way of his time with his wife. All that talk about “the past”? He didn’t remember any of it. He much preferred his current life with his wife—who never brought up the past. If he and his wife did have a shared past, well… he wouldn’t mind hearing about that.
When Gao Luo muttered this out loud, Baili Bin had a sudden idea—he started deliberately choosing stories from Bai Tang’s past to tell.
As for matters related to his mother-in-law, Gao Luo could actually sit and listen patiently. From Baili Bin, and sometimes through Madam Bai, he began to learn bits and pieces about Bai Tang’s past.
Madam Bai loved to talk about her children whenever she visited the palace, and her favorite person to chat with was the Empress. Madam Bai would talk about her own children, while the Empress would talk about Baili Luo and Baili Bin.
When Gao Luo heard that the Empress had said—after listening to Madam Bai’s descriptions—that she rather liked Bai Tang, and even joked that it would be wonderful if Bai Tang could become her daughter-in-law someday, he beamed with joy. He felt his royal mother had excellent taste; she hadn’t even met Tangtang yet and already knew they were a perfect match.
As for Baili Bin? Sorry, when it came to anything involving his wife, Baili Bin wasn’t a brother—he was a romantic rival.
Later on, Baili Bin discovered that wherever Bai Tang was, his royal brother was never far behind. Even if he saw Bai Tang watering flowers alone and tried to greet him, before he could even speak, his royal brother would suddenly drop from the sky—literally—grab him using the light footwork Baili Bin had once taught him, and toss him aside, forbidding him from coming within three steps of Bai Tang.
Baili Bin was on the verge of tears. That goofy, clueless royal brother from before wasn’t so bad… This one, half-silly and half-sharp, has all his skills intact but none of his sense. This is the beginning of my nightmare. He swore he’d never again mention the past to his brother. Sob sob… Either recover properly, or stay completely dumb—don’t torment me like this!
Finally, after over half a month of Baili Bin’s miserable suffering, Gao Luo regained his memory.
He opened his eyes, and in those wise, discerning eyes was a smile he could no longer hide.
“Tang Tang, my royal consort.”
Author’s Note:
Baili Bin: Sob sob… My tragic days are finally over. Thank goodness.
Baili Luo: To answer your question—before I met Tang Tang, yes, you were the younger brother I cherished. After I met Tang Tang, my most beloved is Tang Tang.
Bai Tang (shyly): “Ah Luo~”
Baili Bin (grumbling): “Little brother Bai Tang~”
Baili Luo: “Be good. Call him royal brother-in-law.”
Baili Bin: “Royal brother-in-law~~~”
Bai Tang: “Good boy~”
Author: Happy Lantern Festival, everyone!