Chapter 109: Can You Be Any More Shameless?
When Bai Zepei returned home, more than an hour had passed. His expression was unchanged, giving no indication as to whether things had gone according to plan.
"Ruozhu, Sanding was beaten twenty times. Grandpa did it himself," Er Lang said, looking at Bai Ruozhu who was holding her child.
Bai Ruozhu laughed, "Grandpa must be exhausted then."
"Exhausted in his heart." Bai Zepei made a helpless head shake, which amused the whole family.
The old man deserved to be exhausted even if his heart ached. When San Lang was stealing, the old man should have taught him a stern lesson, or looked further back, when San Lang was not handling his business properly years ago, the old man should have disciplined him, otherwise San Lang wouldn’t have turned out to be so crooked.
Of course, Bai Ruozhu believed that the problem with the old man was not with San Lang, but with Bai Yibo. He is keen to cultivate his eldest son, so he should demand more strictly, rather than pampering Bai Yibo who didn’t study hard or work on the farm. Hence, the saying "a crooked beam makes a crooked house", San Lang turned out to be that way too.
"Big brother, I’ve heard about the osmanthus cake incident. If you still have energy, perhaps go to the town again," Bai Ruozhu winked at him and explained her plan.
Bai Zepei looked up at Bai Ruozhu, a smile already in his eyes. He had always thought that his little sister was smart, but he didn’t expect her to truly live up to the name of Lady Zhuge.
"Alright, I will go now. The eldest brother should rest at home first, and there’s no hurry to go to the government office," Er Lang said before swiftly leaving.
Lin Ping’er anxiously asked Bai Ruozhu, "Will this really work?"
"In a few days, the results of the rural examination will come out. The final outcome of this matter depends on how my big brother did in the examination. Judging by how confident he looks, his results will not be bad," Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.
When Bai Zepei returned home again, it was already time to light the lamps.
He sat down and first drank a large cup of tea, it was then when he began to speak, "The incident has been reported to the Government Office, Officer Li will definitely give us justice."
Then he broke into a smile, "The shopkeeper of Men Chaodong Inn is also a clever man. I said what you told me to, and he understood. He agreed to testify for me, even saying he will cooperate with the government office to nab the perpetrators."
Bai Ruozhu also started laughing. Earlier, she had asked Bai Zepei to visit the inn and suggest to the shopkeeper that the incident might have been caused by their competitors. Wouldn’t it be a pity if this wasn’t thoroughly investigated? Regardless, it was still a good deed to punish the evildoer and eliminate the evil. The aim was to discourage any people who dared to harm others in their inn.
The shopkeeper is a wise man - he wouldn’t miss an opportunity to bring down the competitors. Even if the competitors didn’t do it, it would still be advantageous to warn those who harbor ill intentions to back off, to tell them to pick their grounds and not to think Men Chaodong Inn is an easy target.
Officer Li was very angry after knowing about this incident. He immediately dispatched an officer to look for the "assistant" who delivered the osmanthus cake. However, finding the person instantly is impossible so he asked Bai Zepei to go home and rest while waiting for the examination results.
Listening to Er Lang’s recount, Bai Yihong felt somewhat worried. He couldn’t help but ask: "If this incident was really caused by my uncle, would he be imprisoned and stripped of his title?"
Before Bai Zepei could answer, Lin Ping’er jumped up and began scolding him, pointing at his nose: "You still care about your big brother’s well-being! When he and his son harmed my daughter, did they ever consider my daughter and grandchild’s safety? When they harmed my son, did they think about my son’s future?"
Being scolded by his wife in front of his children, Bai Yihong’s face went red. He stammered: "I, I’m not worried about him. If he has done evils, he deserves to be punished. I, I’m just afraid that our father and mother cannot stand this shock..."
"Those are your father and mother, don’t drag me in it. If they can’t bear shocks, they should have prepared themselves long ago. Look at what your father said: calling San Lang’s robbery as a pickup; calling sexual harassment a joke; accusing Ruozhu for making a fuss over trivial matters; biased as he is, and you still worry about them? If they were not biased, could your big brother’s family be so corrupt?" Lin Ping’er had been holding on to this for a while and was itching to give vent to her feelings.
In the end, it was Bai Ruozhu who pulled her arm to calm her down.
Speaking of Bai Yihong, he was quite pitiful. He was not exactly a foolishly filial son, but he was a little worried about the elderly. However, the old folks were so irrational that whatever he could do was to no avail.
"Right, right, the father did not mean that, who can choose their parents? Mom, let’s have dinner, otherwise Dengdeng will soon get hungry," Bai Ruozhu hastily played the role of a mediator and deflected the conversation.
Dengdeng was waving his small hands about. His coordination wasn’t good yet, but when he heard Bai Ruozhu calling his name, he seemed to understand that they were talking about him and even curled up the corners of his mouth.
If Dengdeng was hungry, Bai Ruozhu would have to carry him back to the room to nurse him and she couldn’t eat with the family. So Lin Ping’er glared at Bai Yihong and began preparing the meal in a hurry.
During dinner, no one brought up the upsetting matters anymore. Instead, they discussed about the exam papers of Er Lang’s examination. Er Lang talked about some questions and how he had answered them. Bai Ruozhu nodded incessantly. Although she wasn’t an ancient person, she could make out the basic content. She was able to discern that her brother did very well and it was almost certain that he would become a scholar.
Bai Zehao, who had been educated for several years, continually commented, "This time my younger brother will definitely become a scholar, he is so much better than my uncle!"
Lin Ping’er and Bai Yihong were happy upon hearing his words. If Er Lang could really become a scholar, that would be wonderful!
Of course, what they wished for wasn’t just the glory of their ancestors, but also the smoother official career and brighter future for Er Lang.
As Officer Li needed time to investigate the case and promised to send someone to inform Bai Zepei as soon as there was news, Zepei didn’t leave the house for the next two days. Instead, he spent his time tidying up the books that had been ruined by San Lang, restoring the room to its original state.
Meanwhile, Bai Zehao proceeded with his lodging. In another two or three days, it would be completed.
People passing by would laugh and ask how Bai Zepei did in his exams. Whenever he had free time, he would help with the construction and respond to the uncles’ questions with modesty and politeness, earning their praises.
However, some people privately told Bai Zepei that there were some unfavorable rumors about Bai Ruozhu in the village. They cautioned him to be aware and to take precautions.
Those who could speak such words knew Bai Ruozhu well, but unfortunately, not everyone in the village was aware. Those rumors were harmful to Bai Ruozhu and the Bai Family, and could even impact Bai Ruozhu’s child.
Bai Zepei was somewhat surprised. Bai Ruozhu had not left the house since giving birth, so how could there be any negative rumors about her? After asking for details, his face darkened. How much more shameless could these people be?