Chapter 275: The Old Lady Has Caused Trouble
"I’m still hale and hearty, is it time for the ceremony? Then hurry up, don’t miss the hour." Madame Bai didn’t look for trouble, and urged them to start the ceremony straight away.
Bai Ruozhu heard this and felt that she clearly meant: hurry up and get it over with so I can feast and drink to my heart’s content.
Since Dengdeng’s name was a gift from the county’s governor and didn’t follow the Bai Clan’s naming traditions, it seemed a bit irregular. Bai Lu explained publicly that the name Dengdeng was an honour bestowed by the local parents’ official, which could also be regarded as a special honour for the Bai family.
The Bai Clansmen present immediately revealed a look of envy, and they looked at Bai Zepei with more admiration. By virtue of Bai Zepei’s status as a promising scholar, the members of Bai Fu’s branch of the family were able to enjoy such an honour.
The old lady, however, curled her lips to the side, apparently disdainful, but she didn’t want to create trouble, especially since this wasn’t her home, so she tempered herself a little.
The ceremony was not complicated. Bai Lu carried Dengdeng up to worship their ancestors. Dengdeng was very cooperative, didn’t make noise and even left a footprint on the registry with his little foot at the end. Bai Ruozhu watched this from the side and found it particularly adorable. She had never thought that babies would leave footprints instead of handprints and she wondered what her footprint looked like when she was a baby.
The ceremony ended swiftly. According to the Bai Clan’s customs, the elders of the clan all had to hold Dengdeng. Thus Bai Lu handed him to Bai Zhaoshi to hold, then to Bai Zhanfu and Bai Zhangui. Dengdeng was brave, not afraid of strangers, and even giggled a few times along the way.
Everyone found the child amusing and became even friendlier towards him. Little Dengdeng, who was good at sensing other’s kindness, boldly tugged at Bai Zhangui’s beard.
Bai Ruozhu’s lips twitched. Why did the child like to pull people’s beards so much?
After all the elders in the clan had held him, it wouldn’t be appropriate if Dengdeng’s great-grandma didn’t hold him too. So in a tense atmosphere, Dengdeng was handed over to the old lady by Bai Zhangui’s wife.
Bai Ruozhu leaned in, hoping the old lady would finish her turn quickly so she could take the child back.
Madam Bai looked down at Little Dengdeng. There wasn’t much affection on her face, but she didn’t look displeased either. It seemed that she found the child tolerable. But just then, Dengdeng suddenly burst into loud wails.
Bai Ruozhu jumped in shock and practically sprung forward to take Dengdeng back. At that moment, she feared the worst - could it be that the old lady, out of spite, had pinched the child secretly?
"Why has he suddenly started crying? What’s wrong with the child?" Lin Ping’er also hurried over, sounding angry.
The old lady didn’t take kindly to that, and gave Lin a sidelong glance. "What are you implying? Do you think I would pick a fight with a child?" The old lady grumbled, "Truth be told, he doesn’t feel like my kin at all. He’s an outsider."
Seeing Dengdeng’s distress, Lin was angered, "What do you mean an outsider? Our Dengdeng’s surname is Bai, his name is Bai Chengtai!"
The old lady just sniffed dismissively, but Bai Lu intervened before she could say anything else, "Enough, stop arguing, let’s see what’s wrong with the child."
Bai Ruozhu had already begun to check. The child wasn’t injured or ill, he just seemed very wronged. Though he’d stopped crying so hard, his little nose was scrunched up, sniffling continuously.
She started wondering. Why was Dengdeng reacting so strongly? Even if he didn’t like the old lady, he didn’t have to cry so bitterly, did he?
What she didn’t expect was that Dengdeng began to sneeze in a row afterwards, with mucus even squirting out. Only after Bai Ruozhu wiped his nose with a handkerchief, did he seem to feel a little better.
"Has the child caught a cold?" Bai Zhaoshi asked with concern.
Bai Ruozhu shook her head, handed the child to her mother, and walked towards the old lady.
"What are you doing?" The elderly woman watched as Bai Ruozhu approached her, and began to shout in a somewhat fearful yet defiant tone.
Bai Ruozhu ignored her. She suddenly leaned down and sniffed her. No wonder, the child was allergic to scent!
"It’s not the cold wind, it’s the scent on my breast milk clothing that irritated the baby’s nose," Bai Ruozhu said somewhat unhappily. God knows what cheap incense the old woman had applied on her clothes. The scent was not strong, and since they hadn’t been close to the old woman, they hadn’t noticed it at all. However, Little Dengdeng was still a baby and his nose was very sensitive, so he couldn’t bear it when held up close.
At her age, she was still applying incense on her clothes, something uncouth among respectable families. The crowd’s gaze on the old woman held a hint of disapproval. Someone even leaned in to sniff, muttering, "Truly abnormal."
The elderly woman couldn’t hold back her embarrassment, hastily explaining, "The clothes were given to me by my eldest daughter-in-law; I didn’t know she had put some kind of incense on them."
Upon hearing this, Bai Ruozhu looked at her mother. The old mansion intended to dismiss the Wang Family, didn’t they? The old woman just said that her clothes were from the Wang Family. What was going on?
Bai Ruozhu noticed that the eyes of the elderly woman kept moving, and she realized that the clothes seemed to have only been worn a few times. She had probably guessed that the old woman simply took her things for herself while Wang Family was treated for her illness.
It wasn’t that she felt sorry for the Wang Family, but the old woman’s conduct was simply inappropriate. If they were to dismiss the Wang Family, Wang Family should take away all their dowries and clothes when leaving the Bai Family. How reasonable was it to dismiss them and also take away their belongings?
The elderly gentleman always prided himself on their renowned scholarly family, didn’t he feel such behavior was disgraceful?
The crowd had diverse looks upon hearing the old woman’s words. People from Fengye Village knew about Bai Yibo’s intention to divorce his wife, too. Bai Lu gave the old woman a displeased look, and said to his family, "Stop looking, hurry up and serve the food."
Bai Ruozhu tenderly held Dengdeng to comfort him for a long time until he finally stopped crying. But he would occasionally sneeze. Bai Ruozhu had to keep him far away from the old woman which seemed to slowly improve his condition.
"Poor child. He was so happy just now, and ended up suffering unknowingly." Lin Ping’er pitied Dengdeng and couldn’t help but mumble.
"Your mother wouldn’t know, don’t say it or it’ll stir trouble," Bai Yihong persuaded at the side.
Hearing him speak those words made Lin Ping’er even angrier. She grimly glared at him, saying, "Yes, your mother knows nothing. We’re just slandering her. She must have offended someone to be so pitiful?" Her eyes reddened as she spoke.
"Father, mother, please don’t quarrel, or Dengdeng will be upset. We were doing so good. Don’t be the laughingstock to outsiders," Bai Ruozhu quickly interjected.
Both Bai Zehao and Bai Zepei comforted their parents, and only then did Lin Ping’er relent, glaring at Bai Yihong one more time before ceasing her quarrel with him. But it seemed like she was really angry, and clearly wanted nothing to do with him.
Bai Yihong looked at Bai Ruozhu with a pitiable expression, afraid that Bai Ruozhu was angry at him as well. Bai Ruozhu could only smile helplessly, as her father was truly caught in a hard place.
The feast was soon ready. Bai Lu asked everyone to sit down, but just then, there was a knock on the outer door.
"Elder Bai, the village chief has summoned you to go over to Widow Zhou’s place. Some outsiders want to cause trouble!"
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