"Master, Mr. Bai has arrived!" Zha Zhongping pushed the door open, raindrops still clinging to his temples. He stepped aside, revealing a thin-faced middle-aged man behind him—none other than Bai Zhanhui of the Bai family. Bai Zhanhui's cloth shoes were caked with mud, clearly having hurried all the way.
"Master!" As soon as he stepped inside, Bai Zhanhui bowed deeply, his knees instinctively bending. His rough fingers clutched tightly at the hem of his tunic, his knuckles turning white from the force. Moving with practiced agility, Zha Zhongping reached out and caught him by the elbow. "The Master has said it before—we are all our own people here at Xia Family Village, none of this formal nonsense."
"Yes!" Bai Zhanhui's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice as dry as sandpaper. He stood in the corner of the study, his spine held rigid, not daring to meet Xia Huai'an's gaze as he stared fixedly at the mud-spattered tips of his shoes.
Chapter 137