The General's Mansion - Front Gate
"Mr. Bai, are you satisfied now?"
Bai You'an fanned himself, watching as furniture was moved out one by one, without answering Zuo Suiran.
Zuo Suiran wished he could tear the person in front of him apart, but he maintained a "polite" smile on his face.
There was no choice!
He was the one asking for a favor!
He himself had let this plague god stay. What else could he say?
After all, furniture could be remade, and items could be reacquired.
But if a person's life were gone, it was gone.
"What else do you need? Take it all!" Zuo Suiran waved his hand, his general's belly jiggling, "I still have time to prepare, but we absolutely cannot let Miss Zhong suffer."
Bai You'an tilted his head and smiled, "General Zuo, rest assured, Zhong'er is pampered. When it comes to such items, I will naturally not be polite with you. It's just... is it really alright to use the things you prepared for your son?"
"What does it matter?" Zuo Suiran waved his hand with a smile, helping the workers who almost dropped the items, "As long as Miss Zhong is happy."
Bai You'an put on a distressed expression, "It's also my poor upbringing that I didn't expect him to smash the inn. Miss Hongxing will likely be heartbroken. However, I didn't bring much money with me when I went out, so I must thank General Zuo for rescuing us from danger at that time."
"Not at all, not at all."
Zuo Suiran's voice came through gritted teeth.
He truly hated him to the bone.
He was unwilling to provoke the wealthy patron behind Hongxing, but luckily, he gave Hongxing a sum of money, and the matter was settled.
He just didn't know if this matter would reach that person's ears.
Bai You'an's antics had truly cost him half his life.
Now, all he hoped was that this lord would behave himself at the medical clinic, treat the sick, and save people, and not cause any more trouble.
The two conversed, and in the end, Bai You'an gained a little, and as he left, he angered Zuo Suiran so much that he almost collapsed on the spot.
"General Zuo, I will come to offer congratulations on your son's wedding next year. I bid you farewell for today."
Zuo Suiran smiled and acknowledged him.
After Bai You'an was completely gone, Zuo Suiran's face darkened completely.
Please don't come!
It was truly easier to invite a god than to send one away!
Zuo Suiran walked back into the mansion with his hands behind his back, looking at the empty courtyard, his heart as cold as the perpetually unmelting snow on the mountains of Saibei.
Bai You'an, it had to be said, was truly restless. Within two days of arriving, he had gone on a wild spree at Yunshui Jian in the city.
He ignored Miss Zhong, who had come from Chang'an, and even drunkenly muttered the names of other women.
Miss Zhong was no less troublesome. After causing a scene at Yunshui Jian for a few days, she directly smashed Hongxing's inn.
She even said she wanted to go to Ling Shi Valley to find some girl.
She said that girl was Bai You'an's dream lover.
The reason Bai You'an agreed to protect Song Qingchao for the Grand Princess was that his dream lover was also in this group.
And the Grand Princess had leveraged this point, hence this situation.
Zuo Suiran finally understood. No wonder Bai You'an insisted on going to Ling Shi Valley no matter what he said; it turned out he had a dream lover inside.
He had thought that once he resolved the inn issue for them, it would be over.
But he truly did not expect Bai You'an to actually agree to let Miss Zhong enter Ling Shi Valley.
If she wants to enter, let her enter. He had no objections.
But Bai You'an said that even though he had sent her in, he still did not want Miss Zhong to get into trouble.
He wanted to arrange things properly inside, discarding the old and finding the usual unsatisfactory, but instead, he took a fancy to the items in his son's new chamber!
Could he refuse? Could he?
Zuo Suiran sighed heavily. The thought of his wife crying made him feel even more troubled!
Seriously, please, Bai You'an, don't cause any more trouble!
But...
This was somewhat unrealistic.
Bai You'an had just encountered trouble and was preparing to stir up a big one.
"You're Bai You'an?"
Bai You'an lazily looked at the row of burly men standing opposite him and nodded, "Do you sirs have business with me?"
"Yes!" The leading burly man directly raised his weapon and charged at Bai You'an, "I heard it was your woman who demolished Sister Xing'er's shop?"
Bai You'an thought these people were looking for him for something important.
So it was just this.
But the shop wasn't actually destroyed by him, well, not by his direct orders anyway.
If the proprietress named Hongxing had bothered him less, he might have asked Ying Zhong to be more gentle.
But unfortunately, these were all "what ifs."
Bai You'an shrugged to indicate it wasn't him.
He closed his fan in his hand, "That person is now in Ling Shi Valley. If you want to hold someone accountable, why not go inside and look for her?"
The burly men behind him exchanged glances, but the one in front became even more enraged, "Who are you fooling! You'd send your woman into that place that eats people without spitting out bones?"
Bai You'an sighed, sounding tired, "Women, just for fun."
He extended his slender fingers and looked at them, then sneered, "You guys haven't even touched a woman, have you?"
Bai You'an nonchalantly blew on his fingertip, "Shall I take you brothers to Yunshui Jian for some fun?"
The men who were teased were immediately angered, "Are you insulting our loyalty to Sister Xing'er!"
They all drew their weapons and advanced, giving Bai You'an no chance to speak further.
Bai You'an hadn't expected his few words to provoke them to this extent.
While calmly and steadily fending them off, he was also thinking.
Whether it was Zuo Suiran's attitude towards Hongxing or the moves of these men, he felt that this woman Hongxing was no ordinary person.
A woman, opening an inn alone in the northern desert, not only having a thriving business but also no one to cause trouble, constantly surrounded by a group of strong men, and each of these men had exceptional skills.
This was abnormal, truly too abnormal...
After knocking out the last person with his fan, Bai You'an dusted off his clothes, then unfastened his cloak and covered the men with it, and placed a few more pieces of firewood in the center to start a fire.
Although they would only be unconscious for half an hour, in the climate of the northern desert, lying there unconscious in the snow would likely result in them freezing solid.
He had no deep-seated hatred to the point of taking someone's life.
Exiting the alley, Bai You'an headed towards Yunshui Jian.
He was currently living there, in a den of courtesans.
However, Yunshui Jian was his.
The girls inside,
were all his trained secret guards.
Whether it was for gathering information or their combat skills, they were all top-notch.
He pushed open the door, and the girls inside greeted him.
"My lord, dressed so lightly, is your passion too strong? Shall we go upstairs?"
Upon reaching the upper floor, the once charming girl instantly knelt on one knee, "Master."
Bai You'an grunted, then waved her to rise, and then sat down at the table to brew tea.
The reason he hadn't sent the girls here to Ling Shi Valley was, firstly, he was afraid Song Qingchao wouldn't be familiar with it, secondly, he was afraid she would misunderstand, and thirdly, he wanted to test Hongxing and Zuo Suiran.
He took a sip of hot tea. The warm water flowed down his esophagus, instantly warming his entire body.
What he wanted to know now was the person behind Hongxing, and also...
He cast his gaze out the window.
The Xi Yun Pavilion, known throughout the Da Yuan Kingdom, now stood in the cold wind and heavy snow.