Chapter Twenty-Three: Beloved Neighbors

The next day, after rising, Bai Yu headed toward the row of rooms facing the street early in the morning, intending to ask the Li family to look after his father. Since this large, crowded residential complex was quite a distance from the Meridian Gate, he needed to set off early.

New employees were generally quite diligent, and besides, Bai Yu had found the experience the day before rather pleasant. He felt that being stationed at the Meridian Gate was quite interesting—very suitable for someone with a penchant for political debate.

However, when he reached the rooms facing the street, he found several neighbors who were also up early gathered at the entrance. As for Old Man Li’s family, they had vanished. Inside the three rooms they had occupied, all their meager belongings were gone; it appeared they had been cleaned out entirely.

Bai Yu felt bewildered. What was going on here?

Mr. Yan, from the west wing of the front courtyard, said gloomily, "The Li family was so frightened they ran off in the middle of the night."

Another neighbor asked in disbelief, "Why is that?"

Mr. Yan glanced at Bai Yu and said with a sarcastic sneer, "Because someone with ulterior motives, having gained a bit of status, tried to force Old Man Li to marry off his daughter. He went so far as to fabricate news of an imperial selection to coerce the Li family into giving up their second daughter."

Bai Yu wanted to shout that heaven and earth could bear witness to his innocence! His warning yesterday about the imperial selection was purely out of kindness—a reminder for Old Man Li to make early arrangements to avoid it! And it was certainly not a rumor; he had heard the ministers discussing it himself in the East Morning Hall. How could such a rare good deed be misunderstood to this extent?

Although in his memories, the original owner of his body had indeed teased the girl named Li Caifeng, was this reaction from Old Man Li not a bit extreme? Did he think that because Bai Yu had "made it," he was now going to forcibly abduct a commoner’s daughter, causing them to flee in terror overnight? Was the reputation of the original owner really that wretched?

Bai Yu had absolutely no intention of marriage, and that girl Li Caifeng, who looked like she lacked any curves, was not his type. He felt that one of the greatest injustices in life was being branded a tyrant who abused women before one had even had the chance to do so.

Suddenly, someone asked, "Did the Li family return your rice, Bai Yu?" Everyone in the compound knew that the day before yesterday, Bai Yu had given the Li family the last of his family’s hard currency—their rice—to pay them to look after his father for a few days.

Damn it! Bai Yu wanted to curse. Not only had the Li family run away, but they had also taken his rice with them! He had lost both his reputation and his property. In a city as vast as the capital, where was he supposed to find Old Man Li? And who was going to help look after his father today?

***

Bai Yu found it laughable; he could handle high-ranking figures with ease, yet he was always helpless when dealing with the bottom-tier commoners, whose historical records were so sparse.

Filled with indignation, Bai Yu opened the virtual screen of his AI assistant and, in a fit of impotent rage, entered a query: "In the 39th year of the Jiajing era, find the whereabouts of the stonemason Li Wei in the capital!"

He knew there wouldn't be any real results; the AI would surely spout nonsense to fool him. The question was purely for venting.

The "caring" psychiatric AI assistant "thought" for a moment before providing feedback: "In the 39th year of the Jiajing era, there is no information in the database regarding the whereabouts of the capital stonemason Li Wei. However, it is suggested to monitor the news of the imperial selection of palace maids for that year. Stonemason Li Wei’s daughter, Li Caifeng, was selected by the Imperial Court and assigned to the mansion of the Third Prince, Prince Yu, to serve the Prince and his consort. Three years later, Lady Li gave birth to a son—the future Ming Shenzong, the Wanli Emperor. By tracking the news of the selection and Lady Li, there is a high probability of locating Li Wei."

Bai Yu: "..."

Holy cow, what explosive information was this!

Standing in front of the door, Bai Yu remained motionless, stunned into a statue for a long while. Though the sky was clear, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning again and again! What kind of terrifying, magical turn of events was this? The Li family’s second daughter was the biological mother of the Wanli Emperor, the future Empress Dowager Li? The same Empress Dowager Li who, in the early years of the Wanli reign, formed the political "Iron Triangle" with Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao? In the Ming Dynasty, few women in the inner court were capable of interfering in politics, but this Empress Dowager Li was certainly one of them.

Wasting his precious AI assistant usage quota, Bai Yu hurriedly reopened the assistant to verify. Father Li Wei, ten years ago, fled into the capital to avoid northern invaders, working as a stonemason. Elder brother Li Wenquan, a man who worked with his father but was shiftless and uneducated.

The key information was verified; it was all correct, and it all matched up! The Li family’s second daughter, Li Caifeng, with whom he had been involved in constant scandals, was truly the biological mother of the Wanli Emperor in history!

If he had been more proactive, more aggressive, perhaps the rice would have been cooked long ago. When he had first transmigrated, he had complained about the poor living conditions and how hard it was to attach himself to a powerful figure. He hadn't expected the greatest "golden thigh" to be right by his side. Truly, the strong should not complain about their environment.

***

Or perhaps not. If he had clung to Li’s "golden thigh," she might not have remained pure. Then she would not have been selected for the palace, would not have given birth to the future emperor, and would not have become the "golden thigh" in the first place. This seemed to be a philosophical question of spacetime variables—a Schrödinger’s golden thigh?

Was history still on track now? What if Old Man Li didn't believe that the court was about to hold a selection?

The massive shock left Bai Yu’s mind in a mess, his thoughts racing uncontrollably. It seemed only this way could he soothe his agitated emotions.

Suddenly, a neighbor said indignantly, "The Li family is too unprincipled! They agreed to look after Old Father Bai, yet they ran off with the Bai family's rice!"

Someone else immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Such behavior from the Li family tramples on the trust built over years of being neighbors. It’s truly shameless!"

This was not surprising; as long as someone seemed to have "made it," there would always be people eager to curry favor. It was only human nature for these neighbors to stand up and help Bai Yu curse Old Man Li.

Just as two people were going back and forth criticizing Old Man Li, getting quite heated, Bai Yu regained his senses and shouted, "Everyone, stop!"

The crowd was slightly taken aback. What was wrong? Someone was speaking up for him, and he didn't like it?

Bai Yu looked around at the neighbors and said with a determined face, "I believe that Old Master Li is absolutely not a person who would break his word or act shamelessly. There must have been some underlying hardship! Therefore, I, Bai Yu, will not blame Old Master Li. He is a neighbor and friend I hold most dear! Compared to the ten-year bond of neighborly friendship between me and Old Master Li, what is a little bit of rice?"

The neighbors were shocked. Had Brother Yu of the Bai family taken the wrong medicine? Or was his brain acting up again?

Bai Yu patted his chest and declared loudly, "If any misunderstanding has occurred, it is I, Bai Yu, who was at fault first. In short, all the faults are mine! You must not criticize the Li family anymore! From this day forward, whoever maliciously slanders Old Master Li again will be an enemy of mine, Bai Yu!"

The neighbors: "..."

Ever since he was struck by lightning, Brother Yu’s brain hadn't been right. It seemed he still hadn't recovered. He used to call him "Old Man Li" or "Old Li," but now he called him "Old Master Li" every other word—was he being servile?