Chapter 311: All Efforts Wasted
Bai Yihong endured, but that didn’t mean the others in the family could do the same.
Lin Ping’er rushed over, pulling Bai Yihong behind her and glaring at Grandpa, she asked: "Why did you hit him? He’s spent decades toiling for your family ever since you brought him into the world. And now you continue to make his life difficult, even after he has had children? You pamper your eldest son, who’s about to bring disaster upon the entire Bai Family, yet you blame us for not rescuing him? You are a scholar, too, but your words lack reason. Where did all your learning go?"
Bai Ruozhu didn’t want her mother to argue with Grandpa, fearing she might endure public blame, so she pulled at her mother’s sleeve and said to Grandpa: "Grandpa, it’s not that we didn’t want to help Uncle. The three officials lodged a joint memorial in the belief in my brother’s integrity and literary talent, knowing that my brother truly didn’t cheat. As for Uncle’s crime, the evidence is irrefutable, and surely they can’t risk being accused of perverting justice just to plead for him, right?"
Many onlookers nodded in agreement: proving your innocence is one thing; sheltering you from severe crimes you’ve committed is another, that would be unreasonable. Even the common people can’t stand for it.
"You sharp-mouthed girl, your uncle is already in deep trouble, and you’re adding insult to injury by removing his name from our lineage. I, Bai Fu, didn’t have such a granddaughter!" After saying that, he glared at Bai Yihong, "I didn’t have such a son either!"
Bai Zepei stepped forward. His clothes were a bit dirty, but his demeanor set him apart. He respectfully said to Grandpa: "Grandpa, don’t blame my parents; they are trying to save me and the Bai Family. Grandpa, you need to wake up. The Bai family does not belong to you alone. The Bai family has so many young and promising sons, should they all lose the chance to take the Imperial Examination and ruin the future of the Bai Family due to Uncle’s mistake?"
"Enough with your grand talk! Isn’t it just prioritizing your self-interest over your Uncle’s well-being?" Grandpa bellowed.
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but sneer at the side, "Wasn’t it Uncle who cheated for his own self-interest first, disregarding the lives of his family and clan?"
With these words, the crowd shifted their gaze to Grandpa, feeling even more that the old man was being unreasonable.
Just then, a woman suddenly threw a cabbage at Bai Yibo, who was being punished, while cursing: "It’s all because of you, you cursed devil! You tricked my son into buying your exam topics, swindled our silver not to mention, and now my son is going to be exiled. I curse you to die a horrible death!"
It turned out that a new batch of cheating students were being tried in the courthouse. They were sentenced to each receive twenty corporal punishments and then be exiled, never to be allowed to participate in the Imperial Examination again.
The woman who threw the cabbage at Bai Yibo was the mother of one of these students, and she was now venting her anger on Bai Yibo.
On hearing the commotion, Grandpa felt sorry for Bai Yibo and urgently ordered the woman to stop. But the woman was rather fierce and immediately started cursing at Grandpa, "You old devil, if you hadn’t raised such a good son to bring disaster upon us, even if my son failed to make it as a scholar, he wouldn’t have ended up like this. It was Bai Yibo who approached us, talking glibly about selling test questions to my son. Otherwise, how would we common folk have access to such things? My poor son."
The woman began to wail uncontrollably, her son was also brought out and, after Bai Yibo, her son was next to be punished.
Bai Ruozhu tugged at her mother’s sleeve, "Mother, we should leave before Grandpa starts another fuss."
Everyone agreed and, while Grandpa was distracted, they quickly left the place of contention.
After stepping out of the crowd, Bai Ruozhu gently nudged her mother and pointed in a direction, asking: "Isn’t that Widow Zhou?"
Lin Ping’er hurriedly looked over and nodded, "It really is Widow Zhou. Why didn’t she rush over to see Bai Yibo? Isn’t she supposedly carrying his child?"
"Ha, she’s really suffered this time, all her efforts and hopes dashed. She will probably still have a confrontation with the old mansion. Bai Yibo truly is a long-lasting disaster." Bai Ruozhu shrugged, suppressing her silent helplessness. The family was in high spirits now; she didn’t want to spoil the mood by bringing up these unfortunate matters.
She could already imagine Widow Zhou asking Grandpa for her hundred taels of silver; one could hardly let all their efforts be in vain, right? But where would the old mansion find a hundred taels of silver now? In the end, wouldn’t she have to beg from their family?
Even if they detested Grandpa to the core, if the matter spread around the village and Grandpa swallowed his pride and asked for their help, they would have no choice but to lend a hand. Otherwise, the village chief and the village elders would probably come to persuade them as well.
They could sever ties with Bai Yibo, but Grandpa and Granny were after all Bai Yihong’s biological parents. They couldn’t escape this blood tie.
Bai Ruozhu sighed quietly and followed her family towards the West Courtyard. However, after only a few steps, the corners of her mouth twitched slightly upward again. Perhaps this approach wasn’t so bad. Let’s wait and see.
As the family entered the West Courtyard, Bai Zepei exchanged a few words with his family, then said he was going to the East Courtyard to thank the teachers. During the questioning, Teacher Xie had been in the rear hall. By this point, he should’ve already returned home.
"Then you go. Be sure to thank the teacher profusely. We really owe the teacher and Master Li a big thanks this time." Lin Ping’er said, then looked puzzled, "Hmm, didn’t the royal messenger say three officers lodged a joint memorial? Who’s the third one?"
Bai Zepei swiftly glanced at his sister and then told his mother, "It’s the same officer who saved Ruozhu."
"Oh, it’s our benefactor! Never thought he would help our family again. He really is a great man!" Lin Ping’er said, moved, her thoughts full of gratitude for Jiang Yichun.
Bai Ruozhu’s eyelid twitched. She had a feeling her brother’s glance carried some hidden meaning. Could it be that her brother had guessed something? With that thought, she began to feel uneasy, as if her brother’s aloof eyes could see through everything.
"I’m going back to the room to nurse Dengdeng." Bai Ruozhu practically fled back to her room.
In a corner of the room, Fang Guizhi, as she watched Bai Zepei walk away, laughed and shed tears.
He’s okay; that’s really good!
After Bai Ruozhu finished nursing Dengdeng, she carried the child to the main hall and began to discuss a matter of importance with her parents.
"Father, mother, I’ve thought it over, we should prepare a grand wedding for Eldest Brother." Bai Ruozhu said straight to the point.
"We were just talking about not postponing it any further. After all, we haven’t reached the delay period yet. But your father was concerned that with only two days left, we really won’t be able to prepare in time," Lin Ping’er spoke up.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "It truly is too hasty, even the ingredients for the feast would not be prepared in time. I consulted the almanac and found that a day seven days from now is also auspicious for weddings. Why not change it to then when we can have more time to prepare?"
Lin Ping’er and Bai Yihong both nodded in agreement; a few days would be enough time for the preparations.
"Furthermore, I thought that we should invite the entire village. It’s time we express our gratitude to our fellow villagers." Bai Ruozhu suggested.