Chapter 2: Great Calamity Approaches

"Is it the fifth year of Tianbao, when... there was Consort Yang?"

"Eh, you can't even remember your own background, but you remember Consort Yang so clearly?"

"Is there An Lushan?"

"I seem to have heard my eldest brother-in-law mention him, a military governor somewhere? He came to the capital and made many friends among the nobles, causing quite a stir."

"..."

Xue Bai woke up on the small bed in the side room, still recalling the conversation from last night.

Many things needed to be prepared, but his body was still weak.

Shaking his head, he got up and put on the padded jacket by the bed, filled with silk floss, which was quite warm.

He had been living in the Du family's house for three days, eating two meals a day. The taste was not important, but at least he could eat his fill of soup noodles or sesame cakes, and he learned a lot about local customs and manners.

Entering the side room, he walked around the screen, and Du Wulang was still snoring.

Xue Bai pushed him, saying, "Get up, a Taoist is coming to exorcise evil spirits today."

"Let me sleep a bit more." Du Wulang turned over and mumbled, "I should get up, today is for Duan Yan's bridge crossing."

"Bridge crossing?"

"The Bridge of Sighs. Drink the Forgetfulness Soup, cross the Bridge of Sighs, and be reborn into a good family in the next life."

Du Wulang felt much better as he said this and propped himself up.

Xue Bai was slightly lost, muttering to himself, "Forgetfulness Soup."

"Yes, otherwise you'll become a wandering ghost." Du Wulang put on a fox fur robe, casually fastening the buttons, and said, "But if I could remember the previous life when I reincarnate, that would be very interesting."

"Indeed, it would be interesting."

At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and Xue Bai went to open it.

It was Qinglan again. Her hair was tied into two buns with ribbons, and a sash around her waist lifted her green and white striped skirt for easier movement... dressed like a Tang dynasty maid.

Well, she was a Tang dynasty maid.

"Is Wulang up? The Taoist is already here."

"He's up."

Qinglan walked into the room, frowned at Du Wulang's messy appearance, and scolded Xue Bai, "You didn't even help Wulang put on his clothes properly."

She stepped forward to help Du Wulang fasten his clothes.

"I can do it myself." Du Wulang panicked, stepping back two steps, not knowing where to put his hands, "I can dress myself, you go about your business, I'll be over soon."

"Then Wulang will go to the second courtyard to wash up later." Qinglan bowed and then called Xue Bai over, "We need help setting up the altar, you come with me first."

"Okay."

She had arranged both of them in the room, showing the demeanor of a senior maid.

Leading Xue Bai through the corridor, she still found time to lecture him.

"I know you might come from a wealthy background and are not used to this, but compared to being an official slave, working for the Du family is a great blessing, you should be more diligent."

"Okay, I should be."

"Wulang treats you like a playmate." Qinglan smiled, then became serious, "But don't lose your sense of being a servant."

She felt this speech was gentle yet strict, quite impressive.

Xue Bai still replied, "Okay," with a calm expression.

Qinglan felt she couldn't quite control this young servant, almost mistaking him for a fifth-rank official.

They passed through the rear gate, and she stopped behind, adjusting herself, reminding herself to maintain the demeanor of a senior maid.

~~

The second courtyard was already set up with an altar, and servants were placing incense tables with a Taoist boy.

Many small bells hung, making a clear sound.

An old Taoist with gray hair and beard stood proudly in the courtyard, holding a duster and a peachwood sword, looking like a sage.

Seeing Xue Bai and Qinglan, the old Taoist smiled and stepped forward.

"I, Fang Daxu, greet you. Today, I see that Du Wulang is naturally gifted and has a unique charm, and will surely be extraordinary in the future."

At the end of his words, the old Taoist lightly waved his duster, speaking with certainty.

Qinglan, who was about to bow, was stunned and said, "Master, you misunderstood, Wulang hasn't come yet, this is..."

She glanced at Xue Bai, thinking it might be awkward to say he was a book boy to Fang Daxu.

At that moment, there was a loud "bang" from the study.

Qinglan gently pushed Xue Bai, saying, "Go see if anything is broken and clean it up."

"Okay."

Xue Bai bowed to Fang Daxu, who was still stroking his beard to hide his embarrassment, and walked towards the study.

Passing a small bamboo grove, he climbed the steps and could already hear the argument.

"If it weren't for you, how could Wulang have suffered such a great calamity?!"

"It was Wulang's rash words, fortunately, my son-in-law asked a friend, and Ji Dalang released Wulang..."

"Shut up, you're just making excuses, don't mention your friends anymore!"

"Father-in-law, you are so angry, but what did I do wrong? I made friends with the elite, isn't it for the good of the Du family?!"

There was another loud "clatter."

The study door was open, and Xue Bai walked in to see Du Youlin angrily pushing over a low table.

"For the good of the Du family? Cough, cough, you can say such things? As a military official, what is your salary? You used An'er's dowry to give extravagant gifts to those scholars, bringing disaster to the Du family, and you still speak with such confidence."

"Father-in-law, you are confused. Don't you know that there must be giving to receive? Now, by winning their favor, they will support the Crown Prince in the future..."

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Du Youlin was almost fainting with anger, supported by Lu Fengniang and Quan Rui on either side, holding his forehead and breathing heavily.

Standing opposite them was a handsome young man, wearing a brocade robe and a dark blue soft cap, holding a folding fan with a jade pendant, looking very elegant in the cold winter.

This must be the Du family's eldest son-in-law, Liu Ji.

Although Xue Bai had only been in the Du family for three days, he had often heard the name of this Liu son-in-law.

According to Du Wulang, his eldest brother-in-law was free-spirited, enthusiastic, and unconcerned with trivialities, thus having many friends; but according to others in the Du family, Liu Ji was arrogant and disrespectful, fawning on outsiders but indifferent to family, and was all talk and no action, good for nothing but his appearance.

Liu Ji ignored Du Youlin's anger and continued, "It is precisely because the Crown Prince has no power in the court that he is bullied by others."

"I told you to shut up! Don't mention the Crown Prince!"

Du Youlin's face turned red, trying to break free to attack Liu Ji.

"What can't be said? Father-in-law, you will be the father-in-law of the current Crown Prince, you are too timid and cowardly..."

Xue Bai suddenly understood why Du Wulang always spoke of his "second sister" with respect, as the second daughter of the Du family was married to the current Crown Prince.

Du Youlin's eyes widened, and he fainted.

"Master!"

Liu Ji, who was about to say, "I am the brother-in-law of the Crown Prince," suddenly saw this and his face changed, rushing forward to help.

"Get away!" Lu Fengniang screamed, flustered.

Quan Rui quickly shouted, "Quick, get a doctor."

A maid named Caiyun rushed out, bumping into Xue Bai.

Xue Bai calmly helped support Du Youlin.

"Let him lie on his side, loosen his collar, and keep his breathing smooth."

"Master! Master!"

Fortunately, Du Youlin soon woke up, and the first thing he did was to point at Liu Ji with difficulty, mumbling a word.

"Divorce... Divorce...?"

Xue Bai looked at Liu Ji, whose eyelids were visibly twitching, his face full of disbelief.

Turning around, he saw a calligraphy hanging on the wall of the study, eight neatly written large characters.

"Speak cautiously, act prudently, as if walking on thin ice."

~~

That afternoon, the old Taoist was still shaking his spirit bell in the courtyard, mumbling incantations.

"Pray to the Nine Heavens Guardian to dispel the shock...?"

Liu Ji, in a daze, walked past the altar, not even noticing his fan had fallen to the ground.

~~

It was nearly evening.

The ritual was finally over, and Lu Fengniang prayed for "no disasters, no illnesses" several times before ordering the altar to be cleared, then invited the old Taoist to have a meal.

Xue Bai helped clear the items and had a meal with the servants in the front courtyard.

A servant asked him, "Did you see? Master is really determined to divorce the eldest daughter-in-law this time?"

Xue Bai shook his head, "I don't know."

"But Quan Fu said at lunch, you were in the study then."

"I didn't understand."

Others were still muttering about the morning argument, but Xue Bai remained silent, focusing on eating his sesame cake.

"Xue Bai."

Du Wulang, with his hands behind his back, poked his head out from the outer gate, saying, "Come over quickly."

The two walked to the corridor and sat by the railing.

"Here, eat."

Du Wulang looked around, took out a chicken leg from behind him, and a boiled egg from his sleeve.

This was not the first time, and Xue Bai took it and ate it calmly.

He did not feel ashamed of working, and believed that mutual help was a common human trait. He had the confidence that he could repay any help he received, so he was open and unembarrassed.

"Standing all day, Fang Zhenren waved the talisman in front of my eyes, it was tiring." Du Wulang stretched, saying, "What about you?"

"Sweeping, cleaning." Xue Bai said, "I secretly read some of your books while organizing the bookshelf this afternoon."

"They're all full of 'zi hu zhe ye,' what's the point of reading them?"

"To be useful, not for fun."

"You are truly different from others." Du Wulang couldn't help but sigh, asking, "Did my grandfather and eldest brother-in-law argue again? Are they really going to divorce?"

Xue Bai countered, "Is divorce bad? How does Liu son-in-law usually treat your eldest sister?"

"I don't know." Du Wulang thought for a moment, then scratched his head and sighed, "I just feel that my eldest brother-in-law is very enthusiastic towards me. Like I didn't want to go to Pingkang Fang, but... sigh!"

"You wanted to repay his enthusiasm and did something you didn't want to do?"

Du Wulang nodded, thinking of the deceased Duan Yan.

"How old is your eldest sister?"

Du Wulang counted on his fingers, "Bing Yin... twenty-six, what's the matter?"

"Remarriage won't be difficult."

Xue Bai had briefly considered that becoming the brother-in-law of the Crown Prince might be a good way out, but the age difference was too great now.

What a pity.

"Remarriage?" Du Wulang asked, "You don't like my eldest brother-in-law?"

"There's something I've always found strange, does Liu son-in-law know Ji Dalang?"

"Yes, they can talk to each other."

Xue Bai asked, "So, Liu son-in-law taking you to Pingkang Fang, meeting Ji Dalang, and Ji Dalang causing trouble for you, was all a coincidence?"

Suddenly, there were shouts from the front courtyard.

"This is the private residence of a government official!"

"Get out!"

The two turned to see a group of officials kicking their way into the second courtyard, pushing the gatekeeper aside, looking fierce.

The leader, looking arrogant, shouted, "We are from the Jingzhao Prefecture! Who is Du Youlin?"

"Please wait a moment." Quan Rui hurried out, politely calling, "Please come to the hall for tea, is that okay?"

"Bring out Du Youlin!"

The official coldly looked up, pushing Quan Rui's hand away.

A few silver coins fell to the ground.

"What's the commotion?"

With these words, Du Youlin slowly walked out from the western study, one hand behind his back, the other holding a scroll, asking, "Is it the Jingzhao Prefecture looking for me?"

"Are you Du Youlin? Arrest him!"

The officials rushed forward and grabbed Du Youlin.

In the chaos, the scroll fell to the ground.

"Let go! This is a disgrace... do you know who I am?!"

Quan Rui, not expecting them to really arrest a government official, rushed forward to stop them.

"Don't be rash, don't be rash, do you know? The second daughter of the Du family is the consort of the current Crown Prince!"

"We are arresting the father-in-law of the Crown Prince!"

There was a "clang" as the official drew his sword, intimidating Du Youlin, who was still struggling.

"Listen up, Du Youlin is charged with 'falsely claiming prophecies, plotting with the Eastern Palace, and defaming the emperor.' He is to be arrested and interrogated by the Jingzhao Prefecture. The rest of you are to remain in the house, not to leave without permission!"

Upon hearing this charge, everyone was stunned.

Lu Fengniang rushed out from the hall, seeing the scene, and collapsed in shock.

Du Youlin looked as if he had lost a loved one, his lips trembling, not daring to move.

Quan Rui's face turned pale, his eyes vacant.

This family, once of noble lineage, had been struck by a bolt from the blue, doing nothing wrong but suddenly facing a great calamity.

The charge was so severe that no one in the house could escape.

"Grandfather!"

Du Wulang, seeing Du Youlin being taken away, instinctively took a few steps forward, almost falling to the ground.

Someone caught him.

He looked up and saw Xue Bai's still youthful face and calm eyes...