Chapter 124 Witness’ Reputation
Actually, Bai Ruozhu doesn’t really care about surnames. A name is but a code, but this era doesn’t allow such nonchalance. Your surname determines which clan’s genealogical record you belong to, which ancestral hall you worship at, and if you are a boy, the recommendation for the Imperial Examination you will need from your clan.
"Dad, what kind of question is that? Chang Sheng was the one who came to marry into our family, if the child doesn’t take the Bai surname what surname will he take?" Bai Yihong frowned, he didn’t expect the old man to pick on this issue.
The grandpa gave him a cold glance, "You have the nerve to say that, when you let someone marry into our family, did you ask me, the head of the family? I didn’t agree to it, so how can the child enter the Bai Family’s ancestral hall?"
Bai Ruozhu looked at Grandpa in shock, he is a scholar but he promised before, doesn’t he feel shameful to not keep his words now?
However, Bai Ruozhu didn’t plan to ask Grandpa why he had changed his mind, because she knew that even if he asked, Grandpa would never admit his mistake, so why bother to annoy herself and her family?
"Dad, how can you..." Bai Yihong was instantly anxious when he heard what Grandpa said. If it wasn’t for Bai Ruozhu pulling him, he would have argued back.
Being pulled by his daughter, Bai Yihong stared at Bai Ruozhu in confusion, only to hear Bai Ruozhu say, "Dad, we came today so Grandpa could meet Dengdeng. Let’s talk about other things another time."
Grandpa sneered, saying: "Don’t try to stall me, I absolutely won’t budge on this matter!"
At these words, Bai Ruozhu’s family were all anxious. Even Er Lang opened his mouth, but he heard Bai Ruozhu say: "This is not a stalling tactic; Grandpa is thinking too much."
Bai Zepei looked at his sister with a hint of surprise. After thinking about everything that had happened recently, he finally closed his mouth. His little sister had her own decision, and he just needed to respect her choice.
With Bai Ruozhu being so humble, Grandpa didn’t know how to continue the conversation; he had to let the topic go. Fortunately, he had other matters to stir up trouble, so he won’t make it easy for the second family.
"No need to show me any courtesy, I don’t have such a calculating granddaughter like you who stirs up family relations." Grandpa coldly glanced at Bai Ruozhu and Dengdeng in her arms.
As expected, he’s bringing this up!
Er Lang frowned and said, "Grandpa, don’t be deceived by others. Don’t say such hurtful words. Ruozhu didn’t steal or rob anyone. Why don’t you acknowledge her? If we are talking about instigating relationships, some people are the first to be wrong, right?"
Bai Ruozhu quietly applauded Er Lang. Although Er Lang didn’t talk much on ordinary days, his eloquence was really good. He struck the key point as soon as he spoke.
As expected, Grandpa’s face became extremely ugly. Not stealing or robbing, was this implying that the third brother had stolen and robbed? After all, didn’t he acknowledge this grandson too?
Grandpa was so angry that his hands started to tremble. In his eyes, the third brother wasn’t stealing or robbing, but merely taking, and it was Bai Ruozhu who blew things out of proportion.
Grandpa slammed his palm on the table, causing the tea to spill out.
"How dare you! Just because you obtained the position of ’case header’ in the Child Student Exam, it doesn’t mean you are the Champion. Don’t you dare lecture me and argue about my mistakes!"
The wife of the Wang family also joined in and stretched her neck to shout, "What do you mean, who are you accusing of stealing and robbing? Can you say whatever you want just because you scored first in the exam?"
Grandpa glared fiercely at the woman from the Wang family. Should such matters be brought up in public? Women love to chatter without thinking things through. They cause more harm than good!
The wife of the Wang family didn’t understand why Grandpa was glaring at her. Feeling annoyed, she shrank back and was pushed to the side. Bai Yibo cast her a look, indicating her to keep quiet.
"Don’t interfere when Grandpa is dealing with things. He will handle it." Bai Yibo whispered.
The wife of the Wang family thought about it and felt that every time she spoke, it seemed like she was bullying the second family. It’s better for her to stay quiet as it made her feel more at ease.
The old woman glanced at Er Lang and also stated, "Er Lang, just because you’re successful now doesn’t mean you can upset your grandpa, right? If this gets out, it’s disrespectful. Even if you were to become a Champion, the Emperor would still punish you for your disrespect!"
Although Grandpa was dissatisfied with the old woman always using earthy language, he felt that she was very accurate this time, nodding approvingly, "Put filial piety first in all things, your grandma is right."
Alright, pushing filial piety above all else really can squash a person.
"Grandpa, Grandma, your lessons are well noted." Er Lang respectfully saluted the two and spoke briefly.
The old woman was delighted, not caring how illiterate she was, she could still make sound arguments! However, Grandpa furrowed his brows slightly. He picked up on the aloofness in Er Lang’s tone and realised that his grandson seemingly did become more and more distant from them.
Unfortunately, after realizing this, Grandpa did not self-examine who caused this situation. Instead, he felt that it was the second family distancing themselves. He really felt closer to the eldest son, he even glared at Bai Ruozhu, blaming her for rousing trouble which made Er Lang distant from him.
Why didn’t he consider that he had slapped Er Lang in public?
"Now that Ruozhu is no longer in confinement from childbirth, you can take the child away, it’s time for me to teach her a good lesson." Grandpa impatiently waved his hand, as if trying to shake off the annoying thoughts in his head and switched the topic to wanting to punish Bai Ruozhu.
Now Lin Ping’er was unhappy and retorted, "Dad, this is the first time I heard about a woman being punished right after her confinement. You can’t be this biased?"
So, the grandpa hit Er Lang and now he wanted to vent his anger on Bai Ruozhu! He really loves Er Lang, Bai Ruozhu thought, squinting her eyes, but she didn’t plan to take the beating without resistance.
"What right do women have to interrupt when men are talking? Have some manners!" Grandpa glared at Lin Ping’er.
However, Lin Ping’er wasn’t afraid of him at all and retorted, "She is the daughter I gave birth to. She’s my own flesh and blood. If others don’t care about her, I do! Why do I have no right to speak?"
"She tricked the third brother into your house and tarnished his reputation. Just for that, it’s my duty as the head of the family to punish her." Grandpa finished speaking and glanced at Er Lang, then said, "There are witnesses in the village. If you don’t agree, you can go to the head of the Bai Clan to sue me, straight up disrespecting your elder."
The Bai family does not only include Bai Fu’s family, but there are also several other branches. Bai Fu has two cousins, plus a younger brother who all live in the nearby Fengye Village. The current head of the Bai Clan is Bai Fu’s younger brother Bai Lu, but they don’t have a good relationship so they seldom interact.
Filing a lawsuit against your own elder at the clan leader’s place was pretty much a sequence to break off relations, almost no one dared to do this.
Bai Ruozhu looked at Grandpa and suddenly smiled, "So the witness claims I asked her to send a message to the third brother. Has she not considered if it’s appropriate for an unmarried woman to go find the third brother? There are some things I don’t want to say, as I’m considering her reputation too."