Chapter 272: The Old Scholar and the Pretty Widow
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh. She knew the old lady had received plenty of benefits from the Wang Family. But to have this matter brought up so publicly, and heard by so many people, was quite embarrassing indeed.
"And then what happened?" Bai Ruozhu asked, chuckling.
"Your grandmother certainly denied it, saying how could she know what Wang’s wife needed when she’s staying at her parental home. She even claimed that her own secret stash of money was blamed upon her husband’s family." Lin Ping’er laughed even harder as she spoke. "You know what happened after that?"
Everyone looked at her. Er Lang gave a small cough. "My wife is being mischievous, teasing us to find out more."
Embarrassed by his words, Lin Ping’er threw a glance at him, then decided to do away with the suspense. "Well, Old Lady Wang is quite something herself. She pointed at your grandmother’s clothes and said that she bought them for her daughter-in-law the month before, even specifying where in town she bought them and how much silver she had spent."
"And then she singled out the bracelet on your grandmother’s wrist, claiming that she had given it to her daughter-in-law as it bore a joyous magpie design. If your grandmother didn’t admit it, she challenged her to take it off and let others see." Lin Ping’er shook her head as she spoke. "All of this has spread throughout the village. Even the Wan Family, who live quite far from the mansion, know all about it."
Bai Ruozhu smiled. "Who asked my grandmother to be so cheap? Hopefully, this incident will serve as a lesson to her."
But Bai Yihong’s brows furrowed with worry. The disgrace his mother had brought upon herself had clearly unsettled him. Bai Ruozhu saw her father’s reaction and sighed inwardly. She could empathize with him. After all, that woman was his mother.
"Later, Old Lady Wang made a big fuss, but there was no way around it. Your grandmother was adamant about divorcing Wang. Eventually, Old Lady Wang brought your uncle into the situation. He too felt that the Bai Family couldn’t tolerate this and insisted on the divorce." Lin Ping’er continued. "But I only found out later when I went to visit your Aunt Deshun that your uncle has another woman."
Bai Yihong was taken aback. "You’re joking. My elder brother is an educated man; how could he have another woman outside..."
Bai Ruozhu sneered, "People aspire to emulate officials with their numerous wives and concubines. It’s just that their conditions don’t allow it; if they were to, you can just wait and see."
"Exactly, you better believe it. Not only does your brother already have someone outside, but we hear he’s even got the woman pregnant!" Lin Ping’er dropped this bombshell outright.
"What?!"
Everyone in the family was shocked. His divorce with Mrs. Wang hadn’t even been settled yet and he hasn’t married the other woman either, yet she was already pregnant. This was too rash!
"Don’t be surprised, I was so shocked when I first heard the news. Aunt Deshun’s daughter-in-law even saw Bai Yibo with the woman. She’s a beautiful widow from the nearby Fengye Village. Her husband died young and didn’t leave behind any children, but he did leave a few acres of land. So despite being a widow, she’s living quite comfortably. Ordinary farmers wouldn’t even be considered by her, but she ended up with your uncle."
Bai Ruozhu made a face. They seemed quite matched, so she decided to let them be.
"My father, who’s usually pretty traditional, will probably be at a loss for words when it comes to my eldest brother." Bai Yihong shook his head helplessly.
Bai Ruozhu snickered internally, thinking about how furious her grandfather must be and feeling a wave of satisfaction wash over her.
Once the family finished their chatter, Bai Ruozhu continued knitting little hats with Lin Ping’er. She stopped after a while to pick up a pen and paper, sketching out several designs. Seeing this, Lin Ping’er curiously peeked over and found Bai Ruozhu drawing some very lifelike pictures of little hats.
Bai Ruozhu wasn’t much of a painter but her drawings were simple yet three-dimensional, which made them appear quite realistic. She planned to visit the Ding Family the next day. As it would be hard to describe her ideas verbally, she decided to take some illustrations to show them.
The next morning, Bai Ruozhu dressed in a newly made, respectable outfit and, taking the illustrations with her, left the house with her family to set up their stall. They were early, so there was still time to visit the Ding residence afterwards, especially as Madame Ding wouldn’t be expecting them so early.
Fusa also wore a new, respectable outfit. She was naturally beautiful with a fair complexion, so the dress made her look even more lovely. She was the epitome of a tofu-beauty.
Before Bai Ruozhu could compliment her, Fusa took the opportunity to flatter Bai Ruozhu first.
"Ruozhu, you look very beautiful today. You should dress up more often, instead of always looking so disheveled." As Fusa spoke, she even adjusted Bai Ruozhu’s hairpin for her.
"I work all day in a smoky kitchen. Even if I had good clothes, I couldn’t wear them," replied Bai Ruozhu.
On considering this, Fusa sighed regretfully. Bai Ruozhu laughed quietly to herself. Why would she need to dress up fancily, just to attract the attention of the passing customers?
As per Bai Ruozhu’s instructions, Fusa brought various colored threads which her mother-in-law had praised highly. They were packed in a small bag. She handed the bag to Bai Ruozhu, asking, "Is this enough?"
"It’s more than enough." Bai Ruozhu nodded. She showed Fusa her designs which Fusa admired immensely and praised Bai Ruozhu for her creativity.
Again, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but chuckle. She wasn’t creative at all. She’d seen all these designs on the streets or online in her past life.
After setting up their stalls and selling a few more hats, Bai Ruozhu felt it was about time and called for Fusa to accompany her to the Lin Family.
Seeing her mother leaving, Dengdeng waved his little hands and cooed. Bai Ruozhu leaned over to give him a big kiss on his little face, saying, "Be good, Dengdeng. Mommy is going out to earn money. I’ll be back soon."
Dengdeng giggled when he was kissed and stopped fussing. Bai Ruozhu mused to herself that this little rascal was likely also a money fanatic like her, the mere mention of making money made him happy.
They arrived at Lotus Lane and quickly found the Ding Residence. At the door, Bai Ruozhu took a moment to observe. She didn’t know anything about the Ding Family, but their house was only slightly smaller compared to the Xie Residence.
After they introduced themselves at the entrance, a servant woman appeared, smiling and saying, "You’ve come at just the right time, my mistress mentioned you earlier. I’ll lead you to her."
Both of them thanked the woman. Bai Ruozhu discreetly handed her a few copper coins, "It’s cold out. This is for your troubles, enjoy a hot cup of tea later."
The servant happily accepted the coins, and her manner toward them turned even friendlier. Fusa took note of the situation and remembered to tip the servants when visiting these large households in the future to curry some goodwill.
Soon, they were led to Madame Ding’s courtyard. A maid came out to greet them and led them inside. "The mistress has been anxious for you all morning," she said with a smile. "She was wondering why you hadn’t arrived yet."
Returning her smile, Bai Ruozhu replied, "We are late, and we will apologize to the mistress when we see her."
The maid laughed, "You really took that to heart, huh? Come in."
As Bai Ruozhu stepped inside, she glanced at the people in the room and gasped in surprise.