Chapter 121: Finally Finished with the Postpartum Period
Bai Zepei managed to hold back, but Bai Zehao couldn’t resist and asked: "Little sister, how did you guess that? Did Guizhi tell you?"
Bai Ruozhu shook her head and said, "I just guessed it. In his mind, the worst thing for me would be to be a widow for the rest of my life." She was not afraid of being a widow or abandoned. Having no one else to fight for Dengdeng was the best result for her. Couldn’t she remarry if she wanted to? Or, when she had money, she could adopt a reliable stepfather for Dengdeng.
However, what Bai Yibo said was "to be a widow for life," which implied that Bai Ruozhu could not remarry in her life, or if she did, her husband would die. This was really malicious!
Lin Ping’er and Bai Yihong both jumped up. Lin Ping’er directly rolled up her sleeves and started yelling: "I’m going to settle the score with him! What kind of person curses our family to death, let’s see how long he can live! He even dared to curse my daughter, I’ll ensure he’ll be picking up his teeth off the ground!"
Bai Yihong, nowadays didn’t want to speak up for his older brother at all. He was also immensely angry, "I never thought my big brother would be so narrow-minded and malicious. I’m going to ask my father if he will punish him this time."
Bai Ruozhu then pulled them back and said, "Let’s not go today. Let’s respond calmly. If we make a big fuss about it, my grandpa might not even want to punish my uncle. He’s been feeling sorry for him these past few days."
"Humph, you think your grandpa is willing, don’t you?" Lin Ping’er sneered disdainfully. Although she adored her eldest child, she would never spoil Bai Zehao excessively. If he did wrong, he must be punished. Otherwise, it is not love for the child, but harm."
"Mother, don’t worry. There are so many people in the village watching. Even if my grandpa is unwilling, he can’t help it. Unless he really doesn’t want to save face for the Bai family, you know grandpa cares about face the most." Bai Ruozhu smiled, let the old man choose between face and his eldest son.
The family, having heard Bai Ruozhu’s words, all felt she made sense, they swallowed their anger.
Fang Guizhi’s eyes were sparkling as she quietly asked Bai Ruozhu: "You have such influence at home, I wish I could be half as influential as you. My mother never listens to me, and I am often afraid to speak up."
"Just take it slowly." Bai Ruozhu didn’t know how to console Fang Guizhi. Good relatives were needed for this, and Fang Guizhi’s mother’s strong preference for males over females was really difficult to handle. But she didn’t want Fang Guizhi to be disappointed, so she changed the subject.
"Recently, hasn’t your mother been less restrictive with you? That’s progress." Bai Ruozhu said.
Fang Guizhi started to laugh after hearing Bai Ruozhu’s words, "Yeah, so if you have anything else for me to sell, give it to me quickly, in case my mother changes her mind and confines me at home again."
Actually, Fang Guizhi just casually mentioned it, but little did she know, she would actually be confined at home by her mother shortly after, but that’s a story for another time.
That night, when the lights in each household were out and everyone was sleeping, several people from the old Bai family secretly left the mansion with buckets and cloths to erase Bai Yibo’s writings. As a result, due to their sneaky behavior, they were almost caught as thieves.
In the end, the families whose fences had been written on by Bai Yibo pretended not to know and went back to sleep. There would be more excitement to see tomorrow.
"This can’t be washed out at all. I said let’s use ink to cover it up, but grandpa disagreed." The speaker was Sanlang, who was beaten with a rattan stick not long ago. He was still hurting all over and didn’t want to move, just wanted to sleep in his blanket. Hence, he was exceptionally grumpy.
"Does ink not cost money? You really know nothing about living a frugal life." Mrs. Bai scolded softly.
Sanlang was displeased and mumbled a few more words. Finally, Bai Ruolan couldn’t bear it anymore and said to the old lady, "Grandmother, this is really not a solution. Let’s go back and talk to grandpa. Let’s put some ink on it. If this is seen by others, how will Sanlang and I face people in the future..."
Old lady Bai was not pleased, "You two can’t face people, and I can? Is my old face not worth anything?"
Wangshi is also cleaning at this moment reluctantly. Hearing that the old lady was about to make a fuss, she quickly signaled her two children. The three went to drag the old lady back home.
Early in the morning the next day, the villagers discovered that Bai Yibo’s "ink treasures" had changed. Some were rubbed and faded, some were smeared into lumps of black, but no matter how they were disguised, almost everyone in the village knew what Bai Yibo had originally written. It’s not only the Bai family in the village who can read.
Thus, Bai Yibo’s reputation in the village plummeted. Being a senior, he was jealous of his nephew who had scored first in the exam, cursed his younger brother’s family, and even insulted their daughter very harshly. This was absolutely disgraceful. Not to mention that scholars should not behave like this, even illiterate peasants would not behave in such a manner.
Bai Yibo had not left the house for two days and was constantly being scolded by his father at home. As soon as his father started scolding him, he would cover his face and squat in the corner, looking extremely miserable. Thinking of his encounter, his father also started to feel sorry for him.
"Boss, this is fate, don’t blame others." Bai Fu sighed and said.
Bai Yibo lowered his head and covered his face, as if he was crying. His father could not see his expression. When he looked up, his eyes were already red, and his father couldn’t help but feel sad.
"Forget it, forget it. Don’t drink in the future, so as not to cause trouble." His father waved his hand, indicating that Bai Yibo could go back to his room.
When Bai Ruozhu’s family heard about the actions of the old mansion, they all laughed. Did they think that by smearing it, no one would remember?
Of course, the family did not pay further attention to this matter, because the next day was the full moon celebration for Dengdeng, and also the end of Bai Ruozhu’s confinement period.
At the moment, Bai Ruozhu was choosing eggs with her mother. They wanted big-sized eggs that were well-shaped. Early the next day, they would be boiled, and cooled, either left to cool at room temperature or cooled down in cold water, and then dyed red.
In the end, they decided to boil some that night, and the next morning let Bai Yihong and Bai Zehao deliver some while they continued cooking the rest at home.
If it wasn’t for the hot weather that day, they could have done it a day earlier, so they wouldn’t have been so rushed.
Early the next morning, Lin Ping’er asked Bai Yihong to deliver the red eggs to the old mansion. Regardless, they had to uphold family customs. As for how the old mansion lost face, that was their business.
Then she instructed Bai Zehao to deliver red eggs to the Wan Family. Bai Zehao was blushing as he left. It was proper to develop a good relationship with the in-laws before marriage, but some elderly people in the village liked to tease him.
Bai Ruozhu and her mother had already boiled a big pot of celebration eggs, air-cooled them, and then dyed them red. Fang Guizhi also came over to help, and Zhou Deshun’s wife volunteered to assist. She happily chatted with Lin Ping’er. With many hands, the celebration eggs were ready in no time.
Bai Ruozhu specifically took out a few and separated them, saying: "These are for Doctor Liu of the Fushou Hall, and these need to be sent by Yihong to Official Li. After all, he did help us name Dengdeng. And send these to the Du family, and these to the Zhang family."
Lin Ping’er laughed and said to Zhou Deshun’s wife: "This girl has been cooped up at home for a month, now she wants to go to town to play."