Chapter 299: It’s More Satisfying to Do Things Myself
Bai Ruozhu had just taken her mother’s arm and left the prison when they were stopped by a member of the Wang Family who was waiting at the gate.
"How is Bai Yibo now? He hasn’t been beaten up or starved, has he?" The Wang family member asked anxiously, her voice tinged with a pleading tone.
"Do you think the prison would use torture indiscriminately, auntie? And he just had breakfast, it hasn’t even reached midday, how could he be starving?" Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes, feeling exasperated by her aunt’s lack of understanding.
"Please, find a way to save Yibo, he is your eldest uncle after all. No matter what, you can’t sever these blood ties, please help him," the Wang family member begged through her tears.
A mention of blood ties had only aggravated Lin Ping’er, who had previously been sympathetic. "What bloody ties are you talking about? We don’t even know him! Besides, you two are divorced. Why are you still sticking your nose in his business?" Lin Ping’er chastised, forcibly removing the woman’s hand from Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Yihong and Bai Zehao stepped in, keeping the Wang family member at bay from Bai Ruozhu and her mother. Despite continued pleas, the family ignored her and left the County Government Office without another word.
Bai Ruozhu planned to go home to check on Dengdeng and let her mother rest. Although her mother had vented her anger, she had been up all night, and with her poor health, she needed rest to prevent her from falling ill again.
Lin Ping’er didn’t want to return home. Her anxiety for Bai Zepei’s situation consumed her. This time, Bai Ruozhu firmly opposed, sternly telling her mother, "If you don’t rest and fall ill, we will have to worry and care for you in addition to saving my second brother. Then what?"
With that, Lin Ping’er dared not insist anymore and reluctantly said, "But I’m feeling restless and can’t sleep."
"That’s alright, I’ll give you some sedatives when we get home," Bai Ruozhu reassured.
She was effectively referring to modern sleeping pills. Given her mother’s current state, she needed them to get a good night’s rest.
On their way home, they ran into Master Xie, Xiaosi, two of Xie Residence’s house servants, and a firmly tied up young man.
"Great timing running into you all. You can accompany me to the County Government Office," Master Xie greeted loudly.
Bai Ruozhu had an idea about what might have transpired but she was surprised by the speed at which events had unfolded. Upon seeing the bruises on Xiaosi’s forehead and face, she felt a pang of heartache and immediately rushed over, grabbing his hand and asking, "How did you get hurt like this?"
A sense of pride illuminated Xiaosi’s expression, "Sister asked me to guard the house. I caught the bad guy." He pointed at the tied-up man as he spoke.
"This guy sneaked into the West Courtyard trying to plant something in Zepei’s room. Xiaosi caught him. He’s really a brave kid, he ensured the man was apprehended even at the risk of his own life, and called for the house servants to help capture him," Master Xie explained. His gaze was filled with approval when he looked at Xiaosi.
Furious, Bai Ruozhu went to kick the tied-up man, "Were you the one who hurt my brother?"
The guy shrieked from the kick but fearing another beating, he confessed, "I didn’t mean to hit him. I was just trying to escape and accidentally bumped into him."
"Bullshit!" Bai Ruozhu cursed, aiming another kick at his groin, "You dare to hit my brother, I’ll make sure you never have children!"
The man screamed in agony, curling up on the ground in pain, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
Master Xie rubbed his nose and turned his head away; he had seen nothing, after all, Zepei’s sister was indeed a bit too fierce...
Seeing Bai Ruozhu aim a kick at the man’s groin and hearing her swearing about him never having children made Lin Ping’er’s face turn red. She chastised Bai Ruozhu, "You didn’t need to dirty your hands personally, your eldest brother was here, right?"
Bai Zehao, who was ready to fight, glared at Bai Ruozhu; probably because he felt she had stolen his thunder and also because her words were unladylike.
Bai Ruozhu grinned at her mother, "It’s just more satisfying to do it myself." She reached into her bag to retrieve a small ointment bottle. As she applied it to Xiaosi’s injuries she realized he had more wounds than what were visible. She couldn’t imagine how a six-year-old child had managed to hold back a young man.
Bai Ruozhu’s eyes welled up with tears. Trying to suppress her anger, she said, "Silly Xiaosi, even if he had escaped, we could have found another way to catch him. If something had happened to you, I would never have forgiven myself."
She deeply regretted having Xiaosi guard the house. Had she known that there would actually be intruders, she would never have left Xiaosi behind.
Xiaosi reached out to wipe away Bai Ruozhu’s tears, "Sis, it doesn’t hurt. I caught the bad guy, and that makes me really happy."
Xiaosi’s speech was becoming more and more like that of a typical child, but a stubborn, unwavering quality that most kids did not possess accompanied it.
Bai Ruozhu dried her tears and taking Xiaosi’s hand, said, "Let’s go to the Government Office, hand him over to Officer Li, and make sure the one who orchestrated this does not go unpunished."
Bai Zehao lifted the tied-up man off the ground and, brandishing his fist, interrogated, "Who ordered you to do it?"
Whether it was because he was too pained to speak or reluctant to do so, the man simply hummed and clung to his leg. Seeing this, Bai Ruozhu walked over and threatened another attack, "Really want to never have children?"
Instantly, the man started trembling from head to toe. He didn’t dare look at Bai Ruozhu but quickly admitted, "Don’t hit me, it was Bai Yibo who asked me to do it!"
Bai Ruozhu looked puzzled. Bai Yibo was locked up and wasn’t given any visitation rights. How could he possibly covertly instruct this young man? Could he be a pawn deployed by Jiang Yichun to solidify the charges against Bai Yibo?
Suspecting this, she quickly stopped Bai Zehao from hitting the young man further, "Brother, stop hitting him. Let Officer Li interrogate him."
Only then did Bai Zehao put away his fists and, taking the young man with him, headed towards the County Government Office.
Poor guy, he was in such pain he could hardly walk. Thankfully, he was skinny and didn’t weigh much which made it easier for Bai Zehao to drag him along.
Upon reaching the entrance of the County Government Office, Master Xie requested an officer to announce their arrival. Soon, Officer Li welcomed them in. Given the urgency of the situation, instead of conducting inquiries in the rear hall, the group was directly led to the Main Hall.
After the group bowed to Officer Li, Master Xie explained the situation and handed over the item the man had attempted to plant. Upon examining the bruises on Xiaosi’s face and head and questioning him, Officer Li was met with nothing but determined responses from the boy.
Opening the piece of paper handed to him, Officer Li discovered that it was the test paper from a previous examination. Was this an attempt to frame Bai Zepei for buying the test questions in advance? If so, the plan seemed incredibly foolish. Who would keep such incriminating evidence once they had seen it?
After a hard smack on the Courtroom Wooden block, Officer Li demanded, "Who is there in the hall? Identify yourselves immediately!"