Chapter 1055 - 1057: Choosing to Forgive, Greedy and Insatiable_1
Lady Bo’s face showed embarrassment, and she turned to glare at the maid beside Bo Gaozhuo, not knowing who had incorrectly reported to the Old Master without clarifying the matter.
"Father-in-law, you’ve misunderstood the situation," Lady Bo spoke up.
Bo Gaozhuo was taken aback. He valued this daughter-in-law highly. When Bo Qun returned from the battlefield and was ennobled, the marriage was decreed by the emperor. Lady Bo was a noble lady from a prestigious family, even a full ten years younger than Bo Qun. Bo Gaozhuo had been worried initially, but over the years, Lady Bo had managed the Bo Residence well, top to bottom, and borne several sensible children for the Bo Family, so on normal days, she could indeed speak her mind in front of Bo Gaozhuo.
Lady Bo wanted to explain the previous affair to Bo Gaozhuo, but Mrs. Liu immediately became anxious, clamoring, "My lord, you can’t just listen to their one-sided story! That granddaughter of mine has always been a tricky one, bringing our family shame on many occasions."
Bo Gaozhuo frowned. He had never liked the unruly country woman Bai Fu had married.
"Wasn’t the matter just clarified? I definitely heard you demanding five thousand taels of silver from Bai Yihong’s family," Lady Bo said indifferently with a glance at Mrs. Liu.
By this time, Bai Fu had recovered his composure. He sighed heavily, bowed to Bo Gaozhuo, and said, "Uncle, it’s my lack of discipline, allowing her to spout nonsense here. No one should take it to heart."
"Five thousand taels? What exactly is going on here? Are you trying to use the silver to save Yibo?" Bo Gaozhuo furrowed his brow. Five thousand taels were a huge sum, not just for ordinary families but even for their Marquis’ Residence to casually produce.
"It was cousin-in-law who told Yihong to give them five thousand taels of silver, considering it repayment for their years of raising him," Lady Bo said with a light smile, her eyes brimming with contempt.
Bai Fu grew anxious and blurted out, "Lady Marquis, please pay no attention to my wife’s ramblings."
Yet, Lady Bo smiled and said, "The Old Master has asked about it, so we owe him an explanation."
Then, not caring about how mortified Bai Fu looked, Lady Bo succinctly revealed Mrs. Liu’s slip of the tongue, clarifying that Bai Yihong was not the biological son of Bai Fu and Mrs. Liu but was a child they raised for a friend.
She spoke impartially, even relating what Bai Ruozhu had said about Bai Yuanqing. Bo Gaozhuo’s expression grew increasingly ugly, though it was unclear how much he believed.
Bai Fu’s anxiety peaked, almost smoke rising from his head, fearing that the Old Master would disapprove of him upon knowing the truth and would then refuse to help save Bai Yibo.
"Uncle, that’s not true at all. Think about it, if Bai Yuanqing really had money, flinging a thousand taels at a time, why would he entrust his child to a household like mine?" Bai Fu hastily defended, "Decades ago, anyone who could directly produce a thousand taels must have had an extraordinary status. Why wouldn’t he entrust his child to his own kin?"
His argument held some water, and Bo Gaozhuo began to hesitate.
Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly and said, "That Bai Yuanqing had had a falling out with his family and refused to return home without passing the Imperial Examination. So when he entrusted the child to you, he also said that half the silver was your reward, and the remaining five hundred taels were for you to finance the child’s education. Once the child passed the Imperial Examination, you were to give him the token so he could go back and acknowledge his kin. It’s a pity you went ahead and sold the token without permission!"
According to Bai Yuanqing’s instructions regarding his own child, it seemed that his refusal to seek out his family was undoubtedly because he hadn’t passed the Imperial Examination, or perhaps because of some family disaster. In any case, Bai Fu was not clear on the specifics, and Bai Ruozhu’s account was enough to deceive him.
Turning pale, Bai Fu pointed at Bai Ruozhu and exclaimed, "Nonsense! You conceived before marriage and when I reprimanded you, you took it to heart, always looking for an opportunity to slander me. How can a woman be so malicious?"
"Who says I haven’t married? Grandpa, this isn’t the first time you’ve smeared my name. My marriage certificate is still lying in the Anyuan Town County Government Office, and now that I’m following my husband, I’ve even received an imperial decree. How can you still have the face to speak of me like this?" Bai Ruozhu sighed, "Since Grandma has acknowledged my father’s origins, nobody wants to dwell on the past with you. Doesn’t everyone make mistakes? Why do you stubbornly refuse to admit it?"
Bai Fu almost passed out from anger. What did she mean by ’Doesn’t everyone make mistakes’? Wasn’t that just a roundabout way of saying he had made a mistake but was too afraid to admit it?
As he fumed, he found it difficult to breathe, and the figures before his eyes began to blur. Then, he collapsed...
Ruozhu reacted quickly, rushing over to support him. Truth be told, she wouldn’t have minded if Bai Fu suffered a bit more, but today’s setting wasn’t appropriate. If Bai Fu fell and got seriously hurt, he would become the disadvantaged party. Even if he had done something wrong, it would be easy for others to sympathize with him, thus making her family seem overbearing.
Moreover, her father hadn’t completely severed ties with Bai Fu and the Liu Family. If Bai Fu were to fall and die, according to Danliang Country’s customs, they would have to observe strict mourning. Her second brother would be in mourning for three years and could only participate in the next Imperial Examination.
How many threes years does one have to waste? Xie Dun was a stark example, having solemnly observed mourning thrice, thus wasting nine years of his life.
Indeed, as soon as the Old Master Bo saw Bai Fu faint, he immediately became furious and scolded Ruozhu, "Look what you’ve done, you’ve made the man sick. Biological or not, he at least raised your father to adulthood!"
Ruozhu ignored him and called for Bai Yixiao to help move the old gentleman to a chair. Bai Yihong hesitated, but in the end, he stepped forward to help. Though there was a look of indignation in his eyes, it was mingled with concern.
"Don’t panic, everyone. Let me have a look."
Ruozhu started to examine Bai Fu and found that he was merely overwhelmed with anger, nothing serious. She took out a silver needle, intending to administer acupuncture, only for Old Master Bo to hastily intervene, "You, don’t be reckless. We should find a proper doctor to take a look."
Lady Bo urgently whispered, "Father-in-law, Ruozhu’s medical skills are extraordinary. She’s just saved Noble Lady Le’s child in the palace and received the emperor’s reward."
Old Master Bo, being advanced in age and oblivious to worldly affairs, was quite startled by this news and ceased his interference.
Ruozhu continued with the acupuncture, and not long after, Bai Fu regained consciousness.
Bai Yihong gave it some thought then approached and knelt with a thud before Bai Fu.
"Dad, let’s leave the past in the past. After all, you did raise me. Even if you didn’t fulfill the promise you made to my real father, I don’t hold it against you. You shouldn’t let this anger ruin your health."
In the end, Yihong, with a soft heart, chose to let go of the past grievances. Ruozhu and Lin Ping’er exchanged glances and decided to respect Yihong’s decision.
However, upon hearing this, the Liu Family matriarch became anxious. Was she about to lose the five thousand silver in her grasp?
"Since you are aware that raising you wasn’t easy for us, then like you said, you owe us. Five thousand silver isn’t much; just let us know when you can settle it," Liu nonchalantly said.