Chapter 285: Big Trouble is Coming to the Old Mansion
It took Bai Zehao a good while to come to his senses, his face revealing a look of intense joy, "Thank you, sir, this is truly wonderful!"
Lin Ping’er also revealed a joyous expression, "The Wine Feast is in five days, in the Mountain Village. It would be an honor for our family to have you join us."
At this moment, Bai Yihong had also returned from fetching water, and caught the gist of the conversation. He approached Jiang Yichun to give his thanks, saying, "Thank you, kind sir, for the honor."
Jiang Yichun didn’t expect Bai Ruozhu’s family to be this polite to him, overwhelmed with gratitude and respects. He quickly glanced over at Bai Ruozhu, wondering if the woman would be offended by it.
Indeed, Bai Ruozhu was there, carefully making pancakes, but found herself angrily stabbing several holes in the dough. By the time the pancake ended up in Jiang Yichun’s hands, its appearance was quite unpalatable.
"There is no need for such formalities, I will be sure to be there on time." Jiang Yichun did his best to soften his tone and appear more approachable, but how could he appear approachable with that constant icy aura around him?
When Lin Ping’er saw the pancake that Bai Ruozhu had brought, she couldn’t help but express surprise. She knew well of her daughter’s cooking skills, how had such a perfectly good pancake turned into this? It looked like the meat and eggs inside were about to leak out.
Jiang Yichun held the pancake in his hand and gave a bitter smile. He pressed the mechanism beneath his mask, blowing on it forcefully. Then, despite the heat, he quickly wolfed down the pancake in large bites. His usual elegance was entirely obscured by this moment of gluttony.
Could he do anything but eat quickly? That pancake was about to fall apart completely. He even had the impression that Bai Ruozhu was using the pancake as an outlet for her frustration. Thus, he was left with no choice but to swallow her anger along with the pancake.
Wan Minglu sat there, initially scared and nervous, not daring to even glance at this mysterious man. But now, his gaze was filled with curiosity and a hint of hostility. He wasn’t particularly intelligent, but he wasn’t stupid either. He could sense this man’s unusual interest in Bai Ruozhu. Could it be that this man was also attracted to Ruozhu?
Thoughts like these startled Wan Minglu, causing a wave of anxiety to wash over him.
If Lin Ping’er and the others were to hear this, they’d surely think it impossible, given the huge gap in their social status. After all, Bai Ruozhu was a woman who had been married and had a child. Why would such a distinguished man not mind that?
However, Wan Minglu was different. He was in love with Bai Ruozhu and thought she was perfect in every way. It wouldn’t surprise him if a mysterious man, or even a great general, fell for Bai Ruozhu. He wouldn’t find it impossible at all.
Ruozhu was such a good woman, naturally, anyone could fall for her. But deep down, he hoped that only he loved her. He was afraid that he couldn’t compete with others. Especially with this mysterious man who owed the Bai family a favor right in front of him.
After finishing the pancake, Jiang Yichun leisurely started sipping soup. More guests came and the Bai family got busy once again. As he was sipping his soup, his attention occasionally drifted off to Bai Ruozhu. His mood began to lighten up.
He was supposed to be investigating something, yet couldn’t resist the urge to see her as he passed by. But she didn’t seem to want to see him at all. This ungrateful woman even glared at him because of another man.
While the Bai family was all bustling about, Little Dengdeng woke up from his nap. With his big round eyes turning curiously, he caught sight of Jiang Yichun and reached out his tiny hand towards him while babbling a few sounds.
Jiang Yichun stopped drinking his soup and with cleaned hands, quickly went over to Little Dengdeng, scooping the child up without missing a beat.
Wan Minglu’s face turned even more sullen. He remembered how he had failed to soothe Little Dengdeng last time, but this mysterious man had managed to do so with ease. Clearly, Little Dengdeng liked him. But what was he supposed to do about this?
In the brief moment when he got distracted, Little Dengdeng was already playing with Jiang Yichun’s mask. Well, more accurately, Jiang Yichun was amusing the child by flipping open the mask’s mechanism. Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes while she was making the pancakes. It had already broken once because of this, when was he going to learn the lesson?
Dengdeng started chortling again, but the playful laughter that usually cheered people up, now felt like a knife stabbing at Wan Minglu’s heart. He looked at the harmonious picture of the big and small playing together and suddenly felt a wave of frustration.
"Uncle, auntie, I’ve got some chores at home, I’m going back now," he said, abruptly standing up, his abrupt departure suggesting he was fleeing from the scene.
"Eh, who knows why Minglu was in such a rush? I hope there isn’t any urgent matter at home," Lin Ping’er murmured as she watched his retreating figure.
Bai Ruozhu’s gaze darkened slightly. Had Wan Minglu picked up on something? She let out a faint sigh - if this realisation could cause him to pull back from the imminent danger, that could only be a good thing.
But recalling all the help Wan Minglu had extended to her family, and his affection and friendship towards them, Bai Ruozhu felt a strange heaviness in her heart. She lowered her gaze and continued to make the flatcakes.
"Melancholic, aren’t we?" Jiang Yichun’s light voice floated into Bai Ruozhu’s ears, startling her. She quickly recalled that Jiang Yichun was using a secret voice transmission technique; nobody apart from her heard it.
Everyone else was busy and paid her no attention. She shot a glare at Jiang Yichun, exposing his tendency to gloat and highlighting his implicitly sharp tongue.
Jiang Yichun scooped up Dengdeng and secretively started walking away, whispering, "Take care of the business, don’t worry about others."
Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes at him. "Mind your own business."
Little Dengdeng reached out to touch Jiang Yichun’s chin and burst into laughter again, his jovial peals ringing out just as the two finished speaking, making them both feel awkward as though they were being mocked.
Bai Ruozhu quickly finished her work and went to collect Dengdeng. As she moved closer to Jiang Yichun, she caught a pleasant scent wafting from him. It was not like that of incense, rather a natural fragrance unique to him. She inhaled deeply, the smell was indeed the same as the one she remembered from the day of her childbirth. It seemed that she really ought to investigate him thoroughly someday.
"Stay away from the old mansion lately. Something bad’s going to happen," Jiang Yichun’s light voice wafted into her ears again. Bai Ruozhu was taken aback and quickly turned to look at him. He responded with a faint shake of his head, the meaning of which was clearer than any words.
Bai Ruozhu felt her heart pounding. If Jiang Yichun had gone to the extent of warning her, then this couldn’t be some trivial matter. She suddenly didn’t feel like entering into any more discussions, was it related to the Commission for Disciplinary Inspection? Was it Bai Fu or Bai Yibo who had gotten themselves into trouble?
Jiang Yichun left shortly after. For the rest of the afternoon, she found it hard to collect her thoughts. Even when Dengdeng’s cries of hunger pierced her ears, she was momentarily dumbstruck. Only when Lin Ping’er called out to her a few times did she come back to her senses and hurriedly went to the back alley to feed Dengdeng.
Seeing her like this, Lin Ping’er quickly followed her and asked, "Ruozhu, what’s wrong? Are you tired?"
Bai Ruozhu scrambled to push her concerns to the back of her mind and replied with a smile, "I’m just a bit lost in thought, I’m going back to the west courtyard to rest for a while."
"You’ve been working too hard lately, close up shop early today." Lin Ping’er was evidently oblivious to her hidden worry.
The thought of doing business was the furthest thing from her mind, so she nodded and agreed. After greeting their neighbour Fusa, the family decided to close up shop early.
----Can anyone guess what’s going to happen? Also, thanks for your support, Mouka has got through the PK competition for the next stage, 6 more updates tomorrow! If you’re passing by, remember to leave your vote for Mouka, remember to store it on the bookshelf for next time if you’re reading from the bookstore. If there are no other constraints, opt to subscribe to the new Chapters automatically (choosing to automatically subscribe to new Chapters).