Chapter 1026 - 1028: Drugging for Interrogation_1
Bai Fuqi’s palm slammed onto the table as he shouted, "Do you still have any respect for your elders, or does becoming an officer grant you the license to be unfilial? No wonder people outside say you are a scourge, it really is true!"
"Old man, it’s none of your business how I deal with my son. I made it clear to Marquis Bo just now. If you’re unhappy, you can have your eldest son bear another grandson to sell," Jiang Yichun retorted without showing any weakness.
Seeing that a quarrel was about to start, Bai Yihong’s family all felt that the elder had gone too far, but they were also afraid that Jiang Yichun would hold a grudge, so they all went to persuade Jiang Yichun not to mind the elder. After all, the second branch of the Bai Family had already separated from the main house. Moreover, with several generations between Dengdeng and the elder, was there really a need for the elder to worry so much? It was unclear who had insisted on not including the child in the family register in the first place.
"Big brother, you should stop interfering as well. The child has his parents to worry about him, and at only one year old, there’s really no rush to learn martial arts. It won’t be too late to discuss this in a few years," Bai Lu advised from the side.
Bai Ruozhu went to persuade Jiang Yichun, "Don’t be mad. Take Dengdeng back to our yard first, so as not to frighten the child." As she said this, she gave Jiang Yichun a knowing look. Jiang Yichun understood that she intended to take action and, nodding, did not deign to argue with Bai Fu any further.
Bai Fu continued from behind as he saw Jiang Yichun preparing to leave with the child, "Stop right there, the elder has not finished speaking, who gave you permission to leave?"
However, Jiang Yichun paid him no heed, leaving Bai Yihong no choice but to try and persuade his own father, while feeling an immense headache coming on.
Then Bai Ruozhu approached Nanny Liu, saying, "Nanny, are you not planning to move back in? I’ve made new winter clothes for you. Would you prefer to try them on when you move back, or should I send them with you to Bo Residence?"
Nanny Liu had food and clothing at the Bo Residence, but she loved taking advantage of any bargain. Hearing this, she immediately said, "Since they are already made, it would be a waste not to wear them. I’ll take them to the Bo Residence."
"Then follow me and take a look at the clothes to see where they may need adjustments. We have embroiderers at home who can alter them immediately, so you can take them with you when you leave," Bai Ruozhu offered.
Nanny Liu suddenly eyed her skeptically and asked, "Would you really be that generous?"
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh. Making clothes at home wouldn’t deny anyone theirs, and she wasn’t miserly about such expenses. It was Nanny Liu herself who was overly stingy on a regular basis. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be just one garment—Bai Ruozhu wouldn’t bat an eyelid even for ten.
"We couldn’t possibly make the Bo Residence think the Bai Family is stingy, could we?" Bai Ruozhu casually replied.
Contempt flashed across Nanny Liu’s face. Hmph, it’s nothing but fear of the Bo Residence, worrying they would accuse them of being unfilial and settle scores. With this in mind, Nanny Liu felt reassured and followed Bai Ruozhu to her yard.
Bai Ruozhu discreetly dismissed the attendants and led the old lady to the Ear Room in her yard to look at the clothes, while Jiang Yichun had Nanny Zhang take Dengdeng to play in the backyard, and he quietly joined them.
Soon, Nanny Liu began to feel dizzy, not understanding why, only assuming it was a bout of drowsiness in the afternoon before her eyes lost focus.
"Why do you say Bai Yihong is not a Bai Family member? What have you and Bai Fu been hiding?" Bai Ruozhu asked softly.
In a daze, Nanny Liu murmured, "He has the Bai surname, but he did not come from my womb. The one in my womb died just a few days after he was born. Oh, my poor daughter..." And with that, she began to cry.
Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun exchanged glances, both showing expressions of surprise. Many people in the village had seen Nanny Liu heavily pregnant, but what came out of her wasn’t Bai Yihong—it was actually a baby girl who died young!
Where did Bai Yihong come from?
"Stop crying. How did Bai Yihong become your second son? Where is he from?" Bai Ruozhu asked.
"The patriarch met a man surnamed Bai when he went to take the Imperial Examination years ago, and later, neither of them passed it, and they hadn’t been in contact for years. On the third day after Er Ya passed away, that man suddenly showed up at our home late at night, holding a skinny baby boy, saying his wife died after giving birth, and that he had Tuberculosis and wouldn’t live for many more days. He begged the patriarch to adopt his child," Liu Family explained.
Liu’s eyes lacked focus, her mind wasn’t clear, and her speech was somewhat wooden, but when she mentioned this, a look of contempt still flickered across her face.
"We’re not doing well ourselves, so why should we raise someone else’s child? And Er Ya had just died," Liu said indignantly. "But then he took out a sum of money, saying half of it was for the patriarch, and the other half to raise the child and send him to school."
School... Bai Ruozhu’s expression darkened. She knew the patriarch hadn’t really let Bai Yihong study much, always saying that the family didn’t have the money to support more than one student.
"I said we didn’t know if the child had been infected with Tuberculosis and didn’t want to raise him, but the patriarch agreed, took the man’s money and token, and also promised him to let the child study and take the Imperial Examination. The man also said that if the child one day passed the Imperial Examination, he could go back to recognize his relatives, and if he didn’t pass, he would just stay as part of the Bai Family for life," Liu continued.
"What token? Is it still here? And who are that person’s relatives?" Bai Ruozhu asked urgently.
"I’ve never seen the token. Later, when Boss was getting married and the family had no money, it was pawned. He didn’t mention who his relatives were, I just know that his surname was Bai," Liu said, her strength fading, the medicine taking its effect. She was old and her body could only hold out for so long.
When Liu awoke, she remembered nothing. She found herself lying on the heated brick bed in the Ear Room, with her new clothes placed beside her. She called out a few times, and Tao Ren walked in from outside.
"Madam, you just fell asleep because you were tired. The young lady and the young master didn’t dare disturb you; they had things to attend to. Do you think you can get up now?" Tao Ren spoke as Bai Ruozhu had instructed.
Liu yawned, feeling quite sleepy indeed—when had she fallen asleep? She had no memory of it. She saw the brand-new clothes beside her and pushed the doubts in her mind to the back, getting up to try on the garments.
The clothes fit perfectly, requiring no alterations. Satisfied, Liu asked Tao Ren to put the garments away, saying she would take them to the Bo Residence to wear.
Meanwhile, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun had already left the Bai Family home. She was afraid she would lose control and rush over to beat the patriarch because he was truly despicable.
A dying friend entrusted his child to them and gave them a large sum of silver coin as compensation, covering the costs of the child’s upkeep and education. He agreed to their requests, but what did he do later? Bai Yihong only went to school for a few days, yet the Bai Family never allowed him to study more, saying they couldn’t support the expenses of two scholars, and then made him work the fields like an ox, treating him like a slave.
Bai Ruozhu remembered a time when her mother joked that her father used to work day and night in the old mansion, eating even worse than her family’s pigs. If his birth father knew about this, would he rise from underground to settle the score with Bai Fu?
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This long-buried thread is now revealed. Everyone should understand why the old mansion was so biased, right?