Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 699 - 0652 The Wise Young Man (2)

Old Master Baili and Old Madam Baili both looked towards Guoguo and saw that the speaker was a little girl in a red dress. They both smiled and said, "Good, good, good."

"She is Guoguo, she is two and a half years old," Baili Rui introduced Guoguo to his grandparents.

"Good, good child." The two elders were very pleased and invited Mu Yuanxiu and the others to the main hall for tea and rest.

Old Madam Baili instructed the old servant Qing Gong to park Mu Yuanxiu’s carriage properly.

Baili Rui was still alive, and the servants’ spirits were lifted as they happily went to park.

Mu Yuanxiu, worried they might startle the leopard, followed them to park the carriage.

Li Yuzhu, with Guoguo and Zhou Zhaodi, followed the two elders of the Baili Family into the main hall of the mansion.

The Baili Family, hereditary envoys in Liangzhou City, had a large and prosperous household. The grandeur of the main hall surpassed that of the magistrate’s hall in Zhen An Prefecture.

As expected, Zhen An Prefecture was primarily mountainous with little arable land, a poor state mansion, unlike Liangzhou City, where the local tyrant ruled both military and civil matters.

Though it was icy and frozen outside, inside, it was warm as spring with four large fireplaces burning.

Old Madam Baili held her lost-and-found grandson Baili Rui, her eyes unable to hide her joy.

Mu Yuanxiu parked the carriage and followed the servants into the main hall.

Old Master Baili immediately smiled and waved him to sit up front.

The servants were busy serving tea and snacks.

While having tea, Old Master Baili asked Mu Yuanxiu how Baili Rui was found.

Mu Yuanxiu started from the day he met Baili Rui.

He recounted the entire story to Old Master Baili.

Old Master Baili suddenly understood, "So that’s what happened..."

He made a fist salute to express his gratitude to Mu Yuanxiu.

"It was just a small effort, no need for thanks, Master," Mu Yuanxiu returned the salute.

"How was it just a small effort? Look, you even traveled such a long way to return him. I must thank you greatly," Old Master Baili said with a hearty laugh.

Old Madam Baili, feeling compassionate, held Baili Rui and murmured repeatedly, "Poor grandson, luckily you met good people, otherwise, Grandma wouldn’t have been able to see you."

As she spoke, Old Madam Baili began to shed tears.

Li Yuzhu comforted her, "Elder, please take care of your health, don’t get too emotional."

Old Madam Baili smiled again, "I will take care of my health, I still have to see my good grandson get married."

Waiting for Baili Rui to get married? How many years would that be? The child would only be five after the new year.

Li Yuzhu smiled.

Guoguo looked at Baili Rui and also smiled with her lips pursed.

After a while, a servant led a middle-aged man into the main hall.

The middle-aged man saw the little boy at the head and his expression changed immediately, "Ol... Old Madam, this is..."

"Who is this? Don’t you recognize him?" Old Master Baili asked sternly.

"Wu Fan, how blind are you? Recognizing a drowned, disfigured child as Xiao Rui and bringing him back? Luckily my body is strong, or else, how could I hold my biological grandson?" Old Madam Baili stomped and scolded angrily.

Wu Fan stared unblinkingly at Baili Rui, always doubting his own eyes, "Old Madam... is, is this truly the young master?"

"How could I mistake my grandson? I might be old, but I am not so senile!" Old Madam Baili sneered.

Wu Fan stared blankly at Baili Rui, always suspicious that he was seeing wrong.

"Go, go, just seeing you puts me in a bad mood! Don’t even think about your New Year’s bonus this year, go to the estate and properly reflect on your actions!" Old Madam Baili waved impatiently at Wu Fan.

Wu Fan, scared, hurriedly replied, "Old Madam, it was my mistake, but at the time, that clothing indeed belonged to the young master, and the Second Madam also said it was the young master."

Old Madam Baili, with her face turned ashen, retorted, "If it weren’t for your leading words, would the Second Madam have believed it?"

"Alright, alright, it’s good that Xiao Rui is back." Old Master Baili glanced at Mu Yuanxiu and his guests, signaling Old Madam Baili with his eyes to remind her that there were outsiders present.

Old Madam Baili, holding Baili Rui, turned her head angrily.

Old Master Baili waved at Wu Fan, "Move the child buried in the ancestral tomb to Hundred Flower Valley, do it quickly!"

"Yes, Old Master." Wu Fan exhaled, secretly wiped the sweat from his forehead, and turned to leave.

Hundred Flower Valley, a place a mile away from the Baili family’s ancestral tomb, was where the deceased servants of the Baili Family were buried over the years.

After scolding the servant who made a foolish mistake, Old Madam Baili set Baili Rui down from her lap, "Xiao Rui, Grandma was so focused on talking to you that I almost forgot about the important matter. When you were missing, your mother fell ill from worry, and your father also fell sick. Go see them quickly."

"Ah? Are they seriously ill?" Baili Rui, thinking of his parents, his happy face suddenly turned worried.

"They were worried about you and fell ill. When you see them, they’ll recover," Old Madam Baili said to Mu Yuanxiu and Li Yuzhu, excusing herself to take Baili Rui to see his parents.

Mu Yuanxiu and Li Yuzhu both said, "Old Madam, don’t worry about us. Xiao Rui is worried about his parents too. When we were in Zhen An Prefecture, he cried every day to go home."

The Old Madam accompanied Baili Rui and left the main hall for the inner courtyard.

Old Master Baili began chatting casually with Mu Yuanxiu again, noticing that this young man was very talkative and quite familiar with Liangzhou City.

This was a young man from the south, yet he was familiar with the Northern Land’s Liangzhou City, which was indeed peculiar.

Old Master Baili liked intelligent young lads, and since this young man had saved his grandson, he had a good impression of Mu Yuanxiu and called for the servants to prepare a feast.

.

Baili Rui followed Old Madam Baili from the front courtyard to the inner courtyard, along the way, noticing the surprised looks from the servants and maids.

He returned home safely; the news that the child found months ago wasn’t him had already spread throughout the mansion.

But seeing him return, the servants were still very surprised.

Because this child was so young, being able to return safely from the south over four thousand miles away was truly miraculous.

Baili Rui first went to visit his father Baili Huang.

Baili Huang was in a deep sleep.

"Your father has been bedridden for half a month. Some say he was poisoned, some say he’s possessed, some say it’s an attack of worry and anxiety over you. We’ve called over ten doctors, yet none can cure him," Old Madam Baili glanced at her son, asleep and unconscious, her eyes red with worry and sadness, "And your mother, sigh..."

"Grandma, I want to see my mother." Baili Rui frowned with concern, his small brows knit in worry.

"Alright, I will take you." Old Madam Baili held the maid’s hand to stand up, and with the other hand, she held Baili Rui’s small hand, leading him to another room in this courtyard.

After Baili Rui’s mother fell ill, Baili Rui’s father, Baili Huang, also fell ill this month. To prevent his wife from worrying and worsening her condition, he didn’t sleep in the main house with his wife but slept in the study.

The study and the main house were separated by a main hall and two small chambers.

When Old Madam Baili and Baili Rui reached the main hall, they were met by a plump young woman.

The woman, upon seeing Baili Rui, covered her face with a handkerchief and started crying, "It’s Xiao Rui, it really is Xiao Rui, Auntie was so worried about you, don’t run off like that again."

Old Madam Baili frowned at her, her expression icy, "Why are you crying? Those who don’t know would think I’ve died!"

The woman immediately stifled her crying awkwardly, "Mother, I was worried about Xiao Rui, I got a bit anxious, please don’t blame me."

"Don’t blame you?" Old Madam Baili sneered, "When you saw that drowned child, if you hadn’t insisted it was Xiao Rui, would Xiao Rui’s mother have been frightened into illness?"

Baili Rui looked up at the plump young woman, blinking, "Auntie, do you not recognize Xiao Rui?"

The plump young woman awkwardly smiled, "How could that be? See, just now, from a great distance, I recognized you at once."

Baili Rui said, "But, how did you mistake a dead child for Xiao Rui?"

The plump young woman was stunned, embarrassed, "..."

Old Madam Baili swept her sleeves, snorted coldly, and pulled Baili Rui along past her, ignoring the plump young woman.

Once Old Madam Baili was far away, the plump young woman dared to complain angrily, "What a strange thing, how did Baili Rui, that dead child, come back?"

"First Madam, someone rescued the young master, due to his age, he couldn’t have come back alone," the maid beside the plump young woman quietly reminded her.

"I know, no need for you to talk too much!" The plump young woman glared at the maid, gathered her cloak, turned, and walked back, "Let’s go, if I’m not welcome here, I don’t want to be here, freezing to death, I’m going back to near the fire."