Chapter 1023 - 1025: The Secret Bai Fu Kept_1
"Nonsense, if they don’t carry the Bai surname, then what do they carry?" Bai Fu suddenly burst into great rage, his roar exceptionally loud, which subdued everyone in the yard, even the Old Master Bo gave a shudder, and Madam Bo showed a look of suspicion.
Bai Ruozhu’s heartbeat couldn’t help but quicken—could she be about to uncover a new secret?
Did the Old Lady mean that her family was not part of the Bai Family, suggesting that her father was not the biological son of the Old Master and the Old Lady?
Once, Bai Ruozhu had also suspected this possibility because the Old Master and the Old Lady were really too partial, but after inquiring in secret, she felt it was impossible. After calculating the age differences between her eldest uncle, her father, and her youngest aunt, she found nothing suspicious.
Even Zhou Deshun’s wife had said that she had seen the Old Lady pregnant and going out in the village, and later she gave birth to Bai Yihong.
So what was the situation now?
When the Old Lady was shouted at by the Old Master, she jolted and didn’t dare to continue speaking.
Bai Ruozhu silently cursed the situation, and after thinking for a moment, she laughed and said, "Grandmother, you are too fiery. Who speaks like that about one’s own son? Let’s not give the uncles a reason to laugh at us."
Liu Family’s anger had just been suppressed when she heard Bai Ruozhu’s words, and her anger flared up again. She pointed at Bai Ruozhu and said, "It is exactly you who are the most scheming. Indeed, you bear the Bai surname, but you are not our family members, nor are you descendants of the Mother-in-law, and have absolutely no relation to the Bo Family!"
Bai Fu’s face turned ashen with anger, and he rushed over quickly, slapping Liu Family across the face.
"Shut up!" Bai Fu shouted sternly.
Everyone in the yard was stunned once again, as Bai Fu actually raised his hand and struck Liu Family in public, which showed the extent of his fury.
Liu Family was stunned for a second, then burst into loud crying. After all, she was a woman from the countryside and upon crying, she sat down on the ground, wailing and rolling about. Tao Ren, who had been hiding to the side, found it difficult to ignore and had to come over to help her, and even got pushed away in her tantrum, falling on her buttocks.
"Big brother, what in the world is going on?" Bai Lu also felt that something was amiss and asked.
Bai Fu was taking deep breaths, as if that was the only way to quell the rage in his chest, "What’s going on? She must be going crazy, not wanting to recognize her second son, but no matter the child’s faults, he is still their own. What kind of parents wouldn’t recognize their own child?"
As he spoke, he also sighed, "Just like the eldest, he is also my son. Even if he has made mistakes, I as a father won’t truly refuse to forgive him, I still have to give him a chance to repent."
These words somewhat moved Old Master Bo, who nodded slightly and said, "You are right, a child is still a child, and it is time to give Yibo a chance to reform."
Bai Ruozhu was still pondering over the Old Lady’s words and what exactly the Old Master was hiding, so she didn’t pay attention to what Old Master Bo had said. By the time she realized, she did not speak up to stop them. Right now, what was more important was to clarify that secret. She believed that Bai Fu had definitely hidden something, and it was extremely, extremely important.
Bai Yixiao opened his mouth but was pulled back by Bai Lu. The father and son both felt that the situation was very strange, but since Old Master Bo had already spoken, it would be counterproductive for them to say more.
After presenting the Invitation Card, Bai Ruozhu took her leave. Before departing, she discreetly called Tao Ren to one side and spoke to her, slipping her some broken silver and instructing her to take good care of the Old Lady and to casually probe her for information. Tao Ren was a clever girl; otherwise, Bai Ruozhu would not have arranged for her to be at the Old Lady’s side. She trusted that Tao Ren would not disappoint her.
However, after she left the Bo Residence, she hastily ordered Jianqi to deploy people to monitor the Old Master’s movements and perhaps eavesdrop on his conversations with the Old Lady.
...
In the afternoon, Old Master Bo went to take his nap, and Madame Liu continued to cry and wail, even casting her accusing eyes at Bai Fu, mumbling, "You old coot, how could you be so cruel? My teeth are all loose!"
Bai Fu glared at her and said to Tao Ren beside him, "Go brew two cups of tea."
Tao Ren knew the old man wanted to send her away, but she had no choice but to leave helplessly.
Once Tao Ren was gone, Bai Fu glared at Madame Liu and said, "If you dare to speak nonsense again, don’t blame me for divorcing you in my old age!"
Madame Liu jumped up immediately, "How have I spoken nonsense? What are you afraid of? They’ve already caused Yibo so much harm, how can you still not see the truth? What are you afraid of? Could it be the fear of them calculating the debt?"
Bai Fu’s face showed a hint of embarrassment and he glared fiercely at Madame Liu, but unfortunately, she no longer feared him as much as before.
"Don’t you dare bring this up again, or else you’ll roll back to Mountain Village with me," he said with a cold snort.
"You’re just worried about that money, and you won’t even let me ask about it? Just with the Old Master’s fondness for you, if you were to bring it up properly, with all his wealth, couldn’t he help you repay it? And it might not even be necessary to repay; after all, he owes us, and providing for us is only proper," Madame Liu said, curling her lip as if she scorned Bai Fu’s current cowardice.
"That is a woman’s view, and you must not speak of it in front of the Old Master; what would he think of me?" Bai Fu said, sighing. He was indeed helpless; if it weren’t for the family’s poverty and the need to provide for Boss to study for the Scholar exams, he would not want to be looked down upon.
Madame Liu wanted to say more, but when Bai Fu saw Tao Ren returning with the tea, he gestured to her to keep silent. Madame Liu could only sulkily swallow her words back down.
Soon the conversation between the two was reported to Bai Ruozhu. The dark guard, an expert at surveillance, had captured every word. Bai Ruozhu listened thoughtfully. The old man refused to reveal the secret because of a sum of money?
That night, Bai Ruozhu told Jiang Yichun, who had just returned from an errand, to see if he could find any clues.
"Your dad is already forty this year. It’s not easy to investigate something from forty years ago. Even if he is not their biological son, they have always been cautious, and even the villagers haven’t spotted any flaws; it’s even harder to investigate now, unless..." Jiang Yichun’s voice trailed off.
Bai Ruozhu understood from his expression right away, "Unless we use medicine on the Old Lady to make her confess everything?"
Jiang Yichun nodded, "Although this is somewhat unfilial, don’t you want to know the truth instead of being kept in the dark?"
Not wanting to know was false, but with the old lady and the others currently in the Bo Residence and Bo Qun being a military man, it was best to be cautious.
"Let’s try to find out some information first. If we can’t, then we’ll have to resort to that method, and we’ll see then," Bai Ruozhu said with a sigh, "What do you think my dad will do if he finds out he’s not their biological child? Will he be upset?"
Jiang Yichun curled his lip, "Perhaps Dad would actually feel relieved, at least knowing why his parents were unreasonably biased."
Bai Ruozhu nodded; that was probably the reason.