For
Bai Shanbao was momentarily at a loss for words. After some thought, he set aside the snacks and went to the bookshelf to find a book. After a while, he found a thin book and whispered, "This is my father's childhood diary." "Please don't tell anyone."
Manbao exclaimed and leaned over to look. Only then did she realize that the cover was empty, thickly pasted with a layer of paper. Upon opening it, she found a bundle of cut paper inside, with very immature handwriting.
Bai Shanbao said, "I found this in a miscellaneous book called 'Secret History of the Previous Dynasty.'" My grandmother said it was written by some people in the folk, nine parts false and one part true, not entirely credible. "But I think it's quite interesting as a story."
In fact, Mrs. Liu didn't allow him to read such books, fearing they would influence his character. However, she allowed him to read miscellaneous records focusing on customs and geography.
But she didn't allow him to read obviously fabricated stories, especially those involving love and hatred. She even searched the study to find any overlooked books and placed them back into the bookcase.
However, when Bai Shanbao found this one, he couldn't resist. While his grandmother went next door to visit the Bai Erlang's family, he sneaked back to find it again. This time, he found the notebook tucked in the back.
The book was thick and wide, whereas this notebook was obviously self-bound and quite small, making it impossible to notice it at the back.
Once Bai Shanbao found this notebook, he lost interest in the other book and simply took the notebook.
Originally, this was his own secret. It was his father's childhood diary, and he hadn't even told his grandmother and mother. But now he took it out to show Manbao, whispering, "Take a look."
Bai Shanbao was very mischievous, while Mrs. Zheng was extremely gentle. Therefore, it is highly probable that his father, Bai Qi, was also a playful person.
In fact, it was true. Bai Qi was even more troublesome than Bai Shanbao when he was young.
When he was seven years old and visiting someone else's house, he dared to imitate adults by kissing pretty girls. In the end, he was, of course, beaten by Mrs. Liu, and quite severely at that.
"My father warned me that kissing girls would lead to getting scolded by grandma." "The Book of Rites" also states that men and women should maintain a certain distance.
Of course, this wasn't said by Bai Shanbao. He couldn't understand profound books like "The Book of Rites." These were lines written in the notebook. Judging from the neat handwriting, it was obviously Bai Qi's commentary after he grew up and reread this diary.
The two heads leaned together to sneak a peek at their ancestors' diary, suggesting they should keep their distance, but evidently, it didn't affect them significantly.
The diary covered many things. It was Bai Qi's diary from the age of seven to ten, recording many things. Of course, it was impossible for him to write every day; essentially, he only wrote when something significant happened to him.
For example, when he was scolded by Mrs. Liu, when he received praise from his teacher, or when he got into a fight with someone in school and overturned the teacher's desk...
When Mr. Bai walked over, he saw two children huddled together, reading a book and whispering while laughing. He didn't know what was so interesting about the book that made them so happy.
Mr. Bai stared intently at Bai Shanbao.
In fact, he was very similar to Bai Qi, even better-looking than his father, a bit more mischievous, but also smarter.
Despite the slight distance between their families, Bai Qi and he got along well due to their fathers' good relationship.
They were similar in age, so they went to school together. At that time, the Bai Li family also lived in Longzhou. His father moved back from Mianzhou specifically for him, hoping to send him to the clan school so he could excel.
He still enjoyed studying, but his grades were not very good.
Bai Qi, on the other hand, was the opposite. He didn't love studying when he was young; he was more mischievous but very smart. When it came to memorization, he only needed to read it three or four times to remember, unlike Bai Shanbao, who needed to read it a dozen times.
He was just lazy, so when they were young, they were not the type of students teachers liked. It wasn't until their fathers passed away one after the other.
When they studied in the clan school, they were always bullied, so Bai Qi gradually stopped being lazy. When he got serious, he was quite formidable. Starting from the age of ten, his progress skyrocketed, even surpassing Mr. Bai.
And Bai Shanbao was evidently more talented than his father because he truly enjoyed reading.
Mr. Bai could see this. At least, no other child could stay in the study for a whole day without adult supervision.
Such talents and gems; it would be a pity if they didn't progress further.
Mr. Bai stood there for a long time before finally turning around to find Mrs. Liu and asking, "Have you considered it, Madam?"
Mrs. Liu looked at him. "What about you?"
"I am willing to go to the county and personally meet Mr." Wei."
Mrs. Liu's Buddhist beads slid quickly through her hand. After a while, she said, "Fine, you can go."
This was an agreement to hand the person over to Mr. Wei.
Mr. Bai breathed a sigh of relief, bowed, and then stepped back.
Once Mr. Bai left, Mrs. Liu got up and headed towards the yard where the three captives were being held.
Daji was also there.
The two people who had been electrocuted hadn't seen anyone since they regained consciousness. They could hear the sounds outside and see shadows passing by, but no one came in to attend to them.
They were kept separately, and when they woke up, the room was empty except for themselves. Their hands and feet were tied, their mouths were gagged, and there was no food or water. After a day of this, they felt extremely weak and despaired due to the unknown.
As the door opened, the person lying on the ground's eyes lit up, struggling to lift their head to see who was standing at the door.
No matter if it's for killing or torturing, at least someone acknowledged their existence.
The person lying on the ground saw Mrs. Liu silhouetted against the light. They felt slightly stunned, then instantly realized that their cover was blown.
The room was empty, with nothing in it. Daji brought a chair from outside for Mrs. Liu to sit on.
Mrs. Liu sat on the chair, looking down at the person lying on the ground. She accepted the tea offered by Daji and took a sip. Seeing the other person's eyes shining and their throat moving several times, she held the teacup and asked, "Would you like some water?"
The person nodded vigorously.
"Then I'll ask you a question," Mrs. Liu leaned forward slightly, staring into their eyes. "Who sent you?"
The person immediately collapsed to the ground and did not respond.
Seeing this, Mrs. Liu sat back, took another sip of water, and said, "It seems you don't want to talk." "Well, you'll have to wait another day to quench your thirst."
With that, she got up to leave.
He didn't expect her to leave just like that. He struggled violently, whimpering.
Mrs. Liu turned back, looking at him coldly.
Daji said, "Do you think we'll let you live?"
The person's pupils contracted.
Daji continued, "There are many ways to live, and many ways to die." "It's quick to be killed by a knife, but what if you starve or die of thirst slowly?"