Fire Captain

Under Bai Ziyang's persistent pestering, Princess Zhao had no choice but to invite his uncle to come and play with him. Bai Ziyang also made an appointment with Sheng Changbai and was waiting to go to Sheng's mansion to join in the fun.

Sheng Hong was not very willing to let Bai Ziyang come to his family's school. Although outsiders were allowed to attend classes, he was, after all, the young master of the Duke of Qi's Mansion, and this little "son of a merchant" could not compare to him. But since he was invited by Sheng Changbai, Sheng Hong had to give his eldest son some face, so he could only agree with a pinch of his nose.

However, Sheng Hong did not expect that when he was leaving the court the next day, the Minister of Rites Bai Xuewen would come over to greet him: "Master Sheng!"

Sheng Hong was only a fifth-rank official, while the Minister of Rites was a third-rank official. Moreover, the Minister of Rites could enter the cabinet at any time, and Bai Xuewen was the one favored by the emperor in the court. Because of their different departments, Sheng Hong had never spoken to Bai Xuewen on weekdays. Now that Bai Xuewen had taken the initiative to find him, Sheng Hong was a little confused and could only say in fear, "I greet Lord Bai!"

Bai Xuewen smiled and said, "Master Sheng, you are too polite. I heard that the master's family school hired a great scholar, Zhuang Xuejiao. Even the young master wants to study at his door. How enviable!"

Sheng Hong didn't know what Bai Xuewen meant, so he could only respond vaguely: "It's all coincidence... I'm just lucky..."

Bai Xuewen smiled casually and said, "It is also Master Sheng who has sown good seeds and reaped good fruits. This useless child of mine insisted on going to Master Sheng's private school to study. This... I am so sorry to have disturbed Master Sheng's family!"

Sheng Hong was stunned for a moment when he heard this and said hurriedly: "What are you talking about? The younger generation of Lord Bai's family is naturally good. The school I teach at home is just some of the children of the family. There is no such thing as disturbing or not disturbing. The younger generation of Lord Bai's family is so welcome that it is too late!"

Bai Xuewen laughed and said, "Then I would like to thank Master Sheng on behalf of that kid Bai Ziyang!"

Sheng Hong suddenly felt that Bai Ziyang's name sounded familiar to him. He didn't have time to think about it and quickly smiled and said, "No, no, I wouldn't dare!"

When Sheng Hong returned to the mansion, he suddenly remembered that the friend his son Sheng Changbai mentioned was called Bai Ziyang? Could it be the same person as Bai Xuewen? When Sheng Hong returned home that night, all the courtyards in the Sheng Mansion knew about this matter. However, according to Madam Wang's brain, she was not as smart as Sheng Hong. After sitting and discussing with Sheng Hong for a long time, she couldn't figure out why Mr. Bai's nephews had to come to the family's academy. Wouldn't it be better to let Mr. Bai teach them? Thinking back to the time when Bai Xuewen was a top scholar in the imperial examination.

When Lin Qinshuang of Linqi Pavilion heard the news, the mother and daughter whispered to each other, wondering if there was anything profitable about Bai Ziyang. But in the end, Molan said disdainfully, "Even if he is the nephew of the Shangshu, he is just a businessman. He has no future and cannot be appreciated by the Shangshu. Otherwise, why would he come to study? If we had an uncle who was the Shangshu, our second brother would have been promoted to an official long ago. How could he need to study for the imperial examination?"

Lin Qinshuang said hesitantly, "Not necessarily. Now that the Shangshu is willing to speak well of this man, he might look upon him differently. Who knows, he might really benefit from the Shangshu uncle's influence in the future! Be polite to him when you meet him. More friends mean more 'paths'!" It's a pity that Lin Qinshuang didn't know that this Bai Ziyang was the man who wanted to "kill" Wei Xiaoniang when she gave birth, otherwise she wouldn't know whether she would think so. But she didn't know when she would have the chance to see Bai Ziyang again in the future. After all, as a wife or a concubine, the chance would not be great, right?

Mo Lan said contemptuously: "Forget it, the Shangshu may just be concerned about the family's reputation, and he doesn't even know how many side branches of relatives we have! I have Brother Yuanruo, and that's enough. There's no need for this extra path!"

As for Old Lady Sheng and Minglan, they only knew that a new "classmate" might come to the school in two days. Although he was a merchant's son, he was a distant relative of the Shangshu. They didn't ask much about the rest, so she didn't know that this new "classmate" was Bai Ziyang. Minglan decided to be neither cold nor enthusiastic. Being polite and courteous was her usual approach...

A few days later, at the agreed time, Sheng Changbai was waiting at the door early in the morning. From a distance, he saw Bai Ziyang riding slowly towards him.

When Bai Ziyang returned to Bianjing City this time, he acted very differently from the past and was much more low-key. He only brought Tingfeng with him when he went in and out. The three people from Shangcheng were sent out by him to do other things, and Tingyu, because she was a woman, stayed in the mansion most of the time to manage everything in his yard for him.

"Brother Changbai!" Bai Ziyang greeted Sheng Changbai after getting off his horse, "Why do you have to come to the door to greet me in person?"

Sheng Changbai said, "Master Zhuang is about to start his class. The rules are very strict. I'm afraid you won't be able to make it in time. It's better to leave a good impression on Master Zhuang when we meet for the first time. Come with me!"

When they were halfway there, they met Sheng Changbai's younger brother Sheng Changfeng. Sheng Changbai introduced Bai Ziyang to him. After Bai Ziyang and Sheng Changfeng got to know each other, they talked as they walked. They found that they had similar interests. When they arrived at the academy, they had already made an appointment to play polo and have a drink. Sheng Changbai watched helplessly and shook his head.

When the three of them arrived at the school, they saw someone already waiting there. Sheng Changbai stepped forward and introduced, "Brother Ziyang, let me introduce you. This is the young master of the Duke of Qi's mansion, Qi Heng!"

Qi Heng smiled elegantly and said, "Just call me Yuan Ruo!"

Bai Ziyang smiled and said, "Brother Yuanruo!"

Sheng Changbai said: "Yuan Ruo, this is a friend of mine. I specially invited him to study at my private school. Bai Ziyang, Brother Bai!"

In fact, Bai Ziyang's real name in this world should be Zhao Ziyang. After Qi Heng heard Bai Ziyang's name, he looked at Bai Ziyang's appearance and felt more and more familiar. However, as Bai Ziyang said, they had only met a few times in total, and their childhood memories were somewhat vague. Besides, Bai Ziyang looked like his mother, and unlike his brother who had a square face, Bai Ziyang looked more handsome. In addition, Bai Ziyang had two years of experience away from home. He had grown up a lot after returning, and his temperament had become more resolute and courageous besides his previous free and easy temperament. If you were not an acquaintance, you would not be able to connect him with the previous Bai Ziyang after seeing him for the first time.

So Qi Heng was just slightly confused for a moment, and after whispering "Bai Ziyang" twice, he did not immediately connect him with "Zhao Ziyang", because he and Bai Ziyang were two different types of people who could not get along, so even the name Zhao Ziyang did not appear in Qi Heng's ears too often at the beginning. Then he disappeared in Bianjing City for two years, so naturally he became more and more unfamiliar with him. Since he didn't think of anything, Qi Heng put this doubt behind him. Maybe one day, he would suddenly remember it!

While several people were talking, Bai Ziyang turned around and saw several young ladies coming with their maids.

The girl in the front had a beautiful face and wore a dark green dress. Although she was weak with every step, Bai Ziyang felt as if he saw a flower that would bloom even in winter. When the girl entered the room, she seemed to have seen no one else but Qi Heng first, and said, "I heard from the servants that Brother Yuan Ruo came very early today!"

Bai Ziyang's eyebrows twitched unconsciously when he saw this.

Before Qi Heng spoke, Sheng Changbai coughed twice and introduced Bai Ziyang, "This is my fourth sister, Molan!"

Bai Ziyang smiled and said, "Fourth Miss...Okay!"

Sheng Changbai said to Sheng Molan, "This is my friend Bai Ziyang. We will study together in the academy from now on."

Sheng Molan bowed politely but distantly and said, "Mr. Bai, how are you?"

The little girl in pink who was following behind Sheng Molan was delicate and pretty, with an innocent look, and she said as if she was not outdone, "Mr. Bai, how are you!"

Bai Ziyang turned around and glanced at Sheng Changbai, who said, "This is our fifth sister, Rulan!"

Bai Ziyang could only respond, "Hello, Fifth Miss!"

The last one who came late was a little girl in a moon-white dress. Bai Ziyang smiled as soon as he saw her and said, "I know this. This must be your sixth sister, right? Hello, sixth sister!"

Minglan was worried about being late, so she hurried in. As soon as she entered the room, she was stunned by Bai Ziyang's call of "Sixth Sister" before she could see the person clearly. When she reacted and looked up to see Bai Ziyang, she felt that he was very familiar. They hadn't seen each other for more than a year or two. When they saw each other today, Minglan took a moment to react and suddenly remembered. She pointed at Bai Ziyang with a look of surprise. She just said "Ah!" and was interrupted by Sheng Changbai before she could say anything.

Sheng Changbai said in a slightly embarrassed tone: "My sixth sister, Minglan! This is Mr. Bai..."

Minglan's face was full of surprise just now, but Molan and Rulan, who had their backs to her, did not see it. However, the men opposite saw it clearly. After Sheng Changbai reminded her, Minglan had sorted out her facial expression and returned to her usual well-behaved appearance. She gently turned sideways and bowed, saying, "Mr. Bai, how are you!"