"Uncle Ding speaks wisely," Bai Sheng agreed, feeling that the events happening to them were too miraculous. "But we can't just wait for clues from fate. Perhaps Aunt is not doing well right now, so we still need to find her quickly. Therefore, everyone should keep an eye out for women around twenty-five years old who have lost their seven-year-old sons."
"Also, this matter must be kept from Tianya for now. After we find Aunt, we will tell him everything," Lu Ye instructed.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Lu Ye looked at Uncle Cripple, gently saying, "Third Uncle, from now on, helping Grandpa with his case and finding Aunt will be handled by my wife and me. You and Fourth Uncle don't need to worry about anything; just take care of your health."
Uncle Cripple smiled with happiness, "Alright. You must be careful and never put yourselves in danger."
"Yes, Third Uncle, rest assured," Lu Ye nodded.
The four of them discussed matters in the study for quite some time before adjourning.
Bai Sheng asked Lu Tong and Lu Tie to be responsible for looking after Uncle Cripple and Uncle Fool from now on.
Lu Tong ran over and carried Uncle Cripple to the front courtyard.
Uncle Fool was currently surrounded by Lu Yu and the other children, being fed all sorts of delicious food. Uncle Fool ate with his head bobbing, looking exceptionally happy.
Bai Sheng walked over, felt Uncle Fool's pulse, and then checked his eyelids.
Seeing Bai Sheng treat him this way, Uncle Fool chuckled and felt Bai Sheng's pulse, then tried to flip open Bai Sheng's eyelids. Finally, he imitated Bai Sheng's frown, also frowning.
His simple, foolish appearance made Lu Yu and the other children burst into laughter.
Uncle Fool truly still had the heart of a child. Bai Sheng planned to clear the blood stasis in his skull first to see the effect.
Such a handsome Fourth Uncle couldn't be allowed to remain foolish forever; she had to do her best to cure him no matter what.
As soon as Uncle Cripple arrived at the front courtyard, he clamored to hold his nephew's children. Lu Ye then had Lu Huo bring the four little ones to Uncle Cripple.
When Uncle Cripple saw the four adorable little ones toddling unsteadily, his cold and hardened old heart melted on the spot.
He held one, then another, doting on each one.
The babies weren't afraid of him either. It seemed they knew he had difficulty walking, as they didn't struggle when he held them.
The eldest, Hua Hua, poked his cheek with her tiny pink finger, giggling each time, as if finding it very amusing.
Uncle Cripple also couldn't stop laughing at her antics.
The second child, when held, remained silent. With big, bright eyes, he stared intently at Uncle Cripple, his little brow furrowed as if contemplating a problem.
Oh my heavens, how adorable!
When it was the third child's turn, he curiously tugged on Uncle Cripple's ear, pinched his chin, and poked his nostrils. In short, he treated Uncle Cripple as his research subject.
The fourth child was a little warm man. He kissed Uncle Cripple's old face repeatedly, warming Uncle Cripple to the point of tears.
At this moment, he thanked Uncle Ding once again in his heart for successfully preventing him from committing suicide countless times. It turned out that living a wretched life was better than dying a good death; as long as one was alive, there was truly hope.
"Babies, call him Uncle, come, call him Grand Uncle, Grand-Un-cle," Uncle Cripple taught the four little ones to call him.
The four little ones called out "Jiu, Jiu, Jiu, Jiu" for a long time, but they couldn't get the tone right to successfully pronounce the word "Ye" (uncle/grandfather).
However, just "Jiu Jiu Jiu" made Uncle Cripple extremely excited.
Uncle Ding saw that the third young master wanted the young masters to call him Grand Uncle. Although he was momentarily alarmed, he thought that if they only told outsiders that the third and fourth young masters were the master's long-lost uncles and didn't mention the Baili family at all, it should be safe.
Moreover, their appearances clearly indicated they were family; concealment was impossible.
After Uncle Ding shared this thought with Lu Ye, Lu Ye agreed. As long as they only called them Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle and didn't mention the Baili family, it wouldn't matter.
Uncle Ding then carefully instructed Lu Hua, Lu Yun, and Lu Yu again, deciding to announce at dinner that Uncle Cripple and Uncle Fool were the master's long-lost uncles.
Then, their titles would be changed. They could no longer be called young masters. The nephew's children were the young masters, and Lu Ye was the master. They should be directly upgraded to "Lao Ye" (Elder Master) and "Jiu Lao Ye" (Uncle Master).
Third Uncle Master and Fourth Uncle Master. Although the titles were a bit awkward to say, they would finally clarify the family relationships.
Uncle Ding remembered his father telling him that the most crucial thing for a steward of a large household was to clearly understand the relationships of everyone in the mansion. This was the first step to managing the household affairs properly.
Bai Sheng returned to the refining room in the back quarters and prepared several doses of medicine for Uncle Fool, then took some scar removal cream back to the front courtyard.
She asked Aunt Ding to decoct Uncle Fool's medicine. After Uncle Fool took the medicine at night, she would administer acupuncture to stimulate his meridians.
Once the four little ones had thoroughly "researched" Uncle Cripple, they lost interest in him and insisted on getting down to run around.
Uncle Cripple sat on a chair, watching them play, chuckling foolishly.
Bai Sheng walked over and teased, "Third Uncle, you like the little ones so much, why don't you have a few more yourself then."
Uncle Cripple glared at her, "You lass, you just like to make fun of Third Uncle. Third Uncle has no hope for love or marriage anymore; I'm past that age!"
Bai Sheng glanced at him and said casually, "Why do you all say that? You've stopped hoping for love, and you're only in your thirties, not even halfway through life."
Uncle Cripple looked confused, "Who else has said that?"
"Consort Mei, of course. When I visited her last time, she said the same thing," Bai Sheng said with a normal expression. In fact, she was thinking of helping Third Uncle with dating. What did it matter if she was the Emperor's wife? As long as one dared to think and act, they could still get her.
Besides, that scumbag Emperor, that pig's trotter, that sea king, that universal air conditioner, that philanderer, that greasy old lecher... was utterly unworthy of Consort Mei.
As expected, as soon as Consort Mei was mentioned, Third Uncle blushed. "She... she said that too? Doesn't she... already have... love?"
"Third Uncle, do you think emperors have true love?" Bai Sheng walked closer to Uncle Cripple, straightened his face, and prepared to apply medicine.
Uncle Cripple said, "That depends on who the emperor is. Relying on marriage alliances with women to balance court power is the incompetence of a ruler."
If he were the emperor, he would only cherish one person; that was the family tradition of the Baili family.
"That's true," Bai Sheng nodded and whispered, "Consort Mei perhaps truly loved the Emperor at first. But if the Emperor repeatedly broke her heart and caused her to accumulate disappointment, once her disappointment was enough, she would definitely stop investing her feelings and slowly withdraw them. I think Consort Mei is someone who knows her limits."
A light gradually appeared in Uncle Cripple's eyes.
Bai Sheng finished applying medicine to one side of Uncle Cripple's face and moved to the other. She leaned into Uncle Cripple's ear and whispered, "Third Uncle, do you like Consort Mei?"
"What did you say!" Uncle Cripple was so startled that his shoulders trembled, and he almost jumped out of his chair, looking at Bai Sheng with a horrified expression.