Chapter 2633 - 2566: Light and Shadow

In this era, a mentor is like a father. He is the mentor of Bai Shan and Zhou Man, just like their father. If his reputation is damaged, not only Bai Shan and Zhou Man, but even Bai Erlang would be affected.

As for Bai Erlang, he has no ambition in officialdom, and is content being a good consort, so no one would bother him.

But for Bai Shan and Zhou Man, as long as they are in the officialdom, they will continuously be attacked because of this.

This is also what worries Mr. Zhuang.

Bai Shan tightened the list in his hand, his face somewhat stern, "Sir, don’t worry, I will handle this matter."

Manbao also comforted Mr. Zhuang, "We are upright, not fearing shadows slanting, why should you be frightened, sir?"

Mr. Zhuang smiled at his two disciples and nodded slightly, "You have all grown up." Now they are the ones comforting him.

Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "It’s not exactly fear, just a bit of concern. I also want you to be prepared so that if someone really attacks for this in the future, you can face it calmly."

Xi Bing and May brought over the meals, so the three stopped talking.

Bai Shan put the portrait and list into his arms, and smiled at Mr. Zhuang, "Let’s eat first. If you haven’t eaten well in the evening, would you like to join us for some?"

Mr. Zhuang nodded with a smile.

The young couple accompanied Mr. Zhuang to finish the meal before returning to the main courtyard. Manbao took out Wan Dong’s portrait to look, but after staring for a long time, she couldn’t recall such a person in her mind, so she asked Keke.

Keke said, "Never seen before."

While changing clothes, Bai Shan said, "You must have never seen him, not just you, I and Bai Er, and the people around us probably haven’t seen this person either."

He said, "They managed to find people even to Yao Ge’s place, obviously not ordinary opponents. Since so, they must have been cautious. The one who went to find Yao Ge surely hasn’t shown their face before us."

Manbao was very curious, "But who would want to deal with us like this?"

She was very puzzled, "We have done nothing wrong in governance, is it just personal grudges that they seek private revenge?"

Bai Shan lowered his eyes and said, "In this world, with people like Lord Wei, naturally there won’t be fewer people like Hou Ji. If everyone was clear about public and private matters, there wouldn’t be so many disputes and grudges in this world."

Saying this, he lifted his eyelids and said, "Without mentioning others, even we can’t separate public from private completely."

Manbao thought carefully and found it really true, unable to refute.

Bai Shan threw down his clothes and turned to bathe, "Look at the list carefully and mark those I’ve offended recently."

Manbao chased to the screen, leaned on it and asked, "Why are they people you’ve offended?"

Bai Shan said, "It must be me. In this world, there may be quite a few who resent you, but none would use such a convoluted means to harm you. As a physician, there would be better ways to harm you. Moreover, you are now a famous miracle doctor, with insight in certain conditions even better than Director Xiao. Even those who hate you would have to show some courtesy, as they might need your help someday."

Manbao said, "Since we are one in marriage, harming you is harming me, isn’t it?"

Bai Shan laughed, "You are a physician. Even as a couple, if the Imperial Hospital asks you to attend to an enemy, wouldn’t you do it? Furthermore, can we certainly find out who did this?"

Manbao was startled, "We can’t find out?"

Bai Shan said, "In all likelihood, we can’t find out. If it were me, I would pick someone like Wan Dong who has no connection to me, no visible association. Even if they trace him, as long as he keeps silent, they can’t find out who is behind him."

"Then should we continue to investigate?"

"Yes," Bai Shan laughed, "This is just my speculation. What if we encounter a fool, or the opposition is sloppy and reveals their trail? We must investigate further to gather more clues to know the truth."

Bai Shan wasn’t in a hurry. Since Yao Ge came to the capital, they must wait for the result. During this time, they probably wouldn’t make more moves to avoid overdoing it.

Bai Shan soaked in the hot water, pondering deeply, yet unsure if they would be watching Yao Ge. If they were watching, they might already know Yao Ge has met Mr. Zhuang by now?

Manbao waited a long time without seeing him come out, so she left the well-studied list and came over, peeking over the screen to look at him.

Bai Shan looked up and met her bright eyes. He nonchalantly sat lower, asking, "Do you want to come in and wash together?"

Manbao’s gaze swept over the tips of his red ears and scoffed, "I don’t want to wash in your dirty water, come out quickly. I’ve asked Xi Bing to bring hot water over."

Bai Shan saw she was still by the screen, pretended to get up, and Manbao swiftly retreated.

Bai Shan couldn’t help but laugh quietly. He changed his clothes and went out.

It was Manbao’s turn to bathe, and Bai Shan glanced at the people she circled, nudging his eyebrows.

He pushed down the list in his hand, did Manbao also think Ms. Zheng and the gentry in Qizhou were more likely?

Perhaps more likely, though they are not opponents right now.

Bai Shan couldn’t help tapping the table, pondering a scheme to break the situation.

You can only guard against a thief for a thousand days, not for a lifetime, they would find something else if this plan fails, not knowing who the enemy is, being passively defensive is very frustrating.

However... Bai Shan slightly smirked; the timing may not be entirely coincidental. If they stall long enough, he could extricate from this trap.

Bai Shan had a plan in mind, glanced at the screen, took the portrait, and went to the little study on the other side outside.

He found drawing paper, spread out the scroll, grinded ink, and stared at the person in the portrait.

When Manbao finished bathing, Bai Shan had copied half of the portrait.

Manbao leaned over to look; Bai Shan smiled and asked, "Does it look similar?"

Manbao nodded, "Yes!"

Bai Shan continued drawing seriously and said, "Later, give Fifth Brother a copy of the portrait. Since he’s a trader, Fifth Brother might be able to find some information."

"Daji will also look around. I’ll also ask Senior Brother Tang later. He knows more people and is in the capital prefecture, more convenient than us, perhaps he would hear something too."

Manbao nodded, thought for a while, then said, "How about I also ask Shopkeeper Zheng?"

Bai Shan smiled, "No need, it’s not good to involve too many people. Since they are doing this stealthily, we should do so quietly as well. They think they are in the dark while we are in the light, but they don’t know they are also in the light to us."

Seeing his excellent drawing, Manbao felt a bit itchy to try her hand, she also took a piece of drawing paper and spread it out, "I’ll draw another one."

Bai Shan looked somewhat conflicted, but ultimately didn’t stop her. Fine, if it comes to that, he could quietly draw another one later to replace it.

Manbao had studied drawing, though among the arts of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, painting was ranked last, so her skill was inadvertently the least adept.

Drawing simple flowers and plants was okay, and passable to the eye, but drawing people...