Chapter 214: The Doctor Denies Responsibility
Bai Ruozhu chuckled inwardly, thinking that the old man assumed he could bully people around because they were in the village. Well, who knew he would face off with a scholar? Besides, in town, a scholar wasn’t so exceptional. It all relied on whether the people conducting their businesses in the marketplaces are willing to give him some respect.
If the old man knew that coming to the stall not only failed to invoke any trouble from the second house, but rather had them embarrass themselves, he undoubtedly wouldn’t have made this trip.
This time, it had nothing to do with her. She didn’t even say a word!
"Mother, how many days left till the first day of next month?" Bai Ruozhu suddenly asked Lin Ping Er, her mother, beside her. In ancient times, there were no watches or calendars, which made it difficult for her to keep track of dates.
Lin Ping Er suddenly showed a smiling face. "Just six days. Do you think the wine banquet at your grandpa’s house can still take place?"
Bai Ruozhu seemed to think that her mother had turned a bit wicked under her influence, yet looking forward to it, "Of course! They’ve already sent out the invites. We know how much face matters to grandpa. Furthermore, the one who made the mistake is of the Wang family, to him, they’re outsiders, it’s not a loss of face for him."
The smile on Lin Ping Er’s face faded a bit. she responded, "Your grandpa certainly doesn’t care about Xiaosi, I suppose he wishes Xiaosi was an outsider, just as your grandma said."
Bai Ruozhu, too, felt her heart ache and said slightly irritated, "Xiaosi is actually very intelligent, they are just blind and didn’t see it!"
"That’s right, Xiaosi is a bright child. He was tortured to the point of not wanting to talk anymore," said Lin Ping Er indignantly.
Bai Ruozhu suddenly realized that when the old man and his party left, Xiaosi didn’t seem to follow them. She hastened to look around, but she could not see Xiaosi anywhere.
"Big brother, have you seen where Xiaosi went?" Bai Ruozhu asked Bai Zehao, who was standing at the entrance of the stall.
"No, it seems he didn’t leave with grandpa and the others." Bai Zehao showed a worried expression. Xiaosi was small in size, so it’s difficult to find him if he hid somewhere.
As Bai Ruozhu and her family started worrying, the old man from the noodle stand across started to shout. "He’s over here! The kid is watching how I make noodle figures!"
Bai Ruozhu peered and found Xiaosi squatting at the noodle-making stall. As he was short and squatting, he didn’t catch their eye readily.
Bai Ruozhu quickly walked over, thanked the old man, and then squatted next to Xiaosi, asking softly, "Which one do you like? Let’s sister buy it for you."
Xiaosi shook his head and said, "I don’t like any. I’m just looking."
Bai Ruozhu felt a dull pain in her heart. Clearly, he was so interested, being so curious, yet he said he didn’t like any, probably because he was afraid of making her spend money.
"A noodle figurine doesn’t cost that much. I must get it for you!" Bai Ruozhu sniffed to prevent her voice from choking. She followed Xiaosi’s gaze and picked a Sun Wukong. She paid the old man and handed the lifelike Sun Wukong doll to Xiaosi.
"I don’t want it." Xiaosi stubbornly turned his head away.
Bai Ruozhu held the noodle figurine in front of him and swayed it, saying as she did, "What should I do, then? I’ve paid it and can’t return it now. I don’t like to play with these things either. I guess I’ll have to throw it away."
The noodle maker chuckled softly. Of course, he knew that Bai Ruozhu was teasing her brother. Otherwise, why would he refuse to return the money?
Xiaosi’s eyes followed the noodle figure’s movement closely. When he heard Bai Ruozhu was about to throw it away, he quickly grabbed it and said, "We can’t waste things."
Bai Ruozhu laughed and ruffled his hair before leading him back to their stall. She made him another hand-grabbed cake, guessing that he probably hadn’t eaten anything all this while.
And sure enough, Xiaosi ate it hurriedly, like he hadn’t eaten for a long time.
Fusa came over and asked Bai Ruozhu in a whisper, "What were your grandma’s mentions about plotting tricks and questioning a child’s intelligence? What is it all about?"
People love gossip. Not just Fusa, even the others at the other stalls were speculating. Bai Ruozhu furrowed her brow. She didn’t want the matter to be spread around, so she intended to let the prefect mediate in the public hall instead of gossiping with others. She didn’t foresee that the old lady would blurt it out without regard for the occasion.
What she didn’t know, however, was that the old lady of the Bai family didn’t just start her tirade in town. As soon as she returned to the Mountain Village, she quarreled with the Wang family, and the neighboring villagers heard it all. By this point, the news had quickly spread throughout Mountain Village.
The old lady seemed to want everyone to know the whole matter so that everyone knew the Bai family didn’t produce a "stupid" child and that the "stupid" child wasn’t a Bai family offspring. The old man didn’t seem to stop her, perhaps harboring the same intention.
Later, when the old lady’s quarrel with the Wang family escalated, some people came to mediate, and this made the whole course of events clearer.
...
Bai Ruozhu didn’t’ want to share much with Fusa. She simply lowered her voice and said, "The child is, in fact, the most pitiful. I don’t want many people to know about this either. Sister, let’s just drop it."
Fusa got the message and responded with some embarrassment, "I was reckless, let’s just forget that I even asked."
"Sister, you’re being too formal with me, it’s making me feel embarrassed," replied Bai Ruozhu, feeling a slight guilt for keeping secrets from Fusa, who had always helped her family.
Fusa gave a soft chuckle and swiftly strayed to another topic.
By the afternoon, Bai Ruozhu insisted that Xiaosi shouldn’t return to the old mansion that day. She was afraid that someone from the Wang family or elsewhere might vent their anger on the child unfairly. Lin Ping Er, slightly concerned, asked, "What if they can’t find him and come to us making a fuss?"
Bai Ruozhu scoffed, "I bet until now, they haven’t even noticed Xiaosi missing and certainly won’t care whether he returned. They didn’t care before, and now that they know he isn’t their own flesh and blood, they’re even less willing to care."
Thinking about it, Lin Ping Er found that it made sense and felt even sorrier for Xiaosi. She suggested, "Then let’s have Xiaosi sleep in our room tonight."
To their surprise, Xiaosi, who heard the conversation, interjected with a stern face, "I’ll stay with my third sister."
Unable to hold her laughter at the response, Lin Ping Er teased Bai Yihong, "See, we’re being frowned upon."
Xiaosi, who was slightly introverted and not used to joking with people, replied seriously, "I’m not frowning upon you."
Bai Ruozhu was already laughing so much it hurt, finding Xiaosi’s explanation hilarious.
As the family was enjoying the good time, Wan Minglu rushed over. Bai Ruozhu immediately offered him a seat, served him a bowl of soup, and made a hand-grabbed cake for him.
"Brother Wan, you’ve had to run around a lot today. This is for you. If you try to pay me, it means you’re looking down on us." Bai Ruozhu pretended to be stern, knowing that he would indeed insist on being polite otherwise.
Wiping the sweat off his forehead, Wan Minglu somewhat embarrassed, said, "Then, I won’t stand on ceremony." He took the hand-grabbed cake but didn’t start eating right away. Instead, he lowered his voice and said, "We found Doctor Fu. But, he denied everything vehemently. I’m afraid he will play dumb when we go to court tomorrow."