Chapter 341: Who is the Real Troublemaker?
Bai Ruozhu frowned, dissatisfied with her grandfather’s current behavior. Being yelled at by her grandfather was something she had grown accustomed to, but the person who had just spoken was a guest. What was he shouting for? It was as if just because he was a scholar and everyone in the village looked up to him, he thought he could shout at others without any decorum.
"Alright, Grandpa, stop shouting at the guest. If there’s anything you want to discuss, let’s talk it out in front of everyone," Bai Ruozhu spoke up loud and clear. Although she did not show overt respect to her grandfather, there was no hint of disrespect either.
"We ordered a cartload of tofu from the tofu workshop before, and it didn’t arrive even after waiting for a long while. So, Xiaosi went to check, who would’ve known the reason is Sanlang—he’s supposed to be at home nursing his injury, but instead, he toppled all the tofu off the cart with his crutch," said Bai Ruozhu, looking at everyone around her. "You can go check if you don’t believe me. You’ll find tofu scattered all over the road. Isn’t this a wastage of food? Isn’t he scared of divine retribution?"
The villagers took food scarcity seriously. Even the smallest child in the family wouldn’t dare to waste food. If an entire cartload of tofu was wasted, that definitely warranted old grandpa’s punishment.
"Don’t talk nonsense. How can Sanlang ruin an entire cartload of tofu just by taking a walk outside? And how could he have done that with his limp?" Old grandfather retorted, glaring at Ruozhu.
"How unusual to hear that one must go out and about while nursing an injury. If he isn’t staying at home obediently and causes his injury to worsen, he can’t blame anyone else," Bai Ruozhu didn’t reply to how Sanlang with a limp could scatter the tofu. Even she felt that the tofu shop’s owner was too careless.
"Sanlang has always liked bullying Xiaosi, and today he tried to hit him with his crutch again. I was only advising Xiaosi to dodge the hits. Aren’t our children also supposed to avoid being beaten and scolded?" Bai Ruozhu was raising her voice now. "So instead, Sanlang didn’t hit Xiaosi but hit himself with his crutch, and now I’m the one to be blamed?"
The crowd found the outcome rather amusing. Some even remarked, "He must have been punished by the heavens for wasting food."
Bai Ruozhu shot a quick glance at Jiang Yichun. By that logic, wouldn’t Jiang Yichun be considered the "heaven" punishing Sanlang?
At that glance, she saw Jiang Yichun’s eyes cold and distant, as if he could erupt at any minute. She hurriedly took a peek at him, indicating that she could handle this, and only then did Jiang Yichun dial back his cold demeanor.
As the official seated there, Li was the first to feel Jiang Yichun’s chilling air. He quietly cursed at the foolish old man of the Bai family for stirring up trouble again. If they offended the official, he could kiss his hope of seeing his eldest son again goodbye.
At that moment, Xiaosi ran over and spoke up. "It was indeed brother Sanlang who tried to hit me with his crutch. I managed to dodge, but he accidentally hit his own leg. I’m not lying, I can’t fight back against him!"
The crowd naturally believed Bai Ruozhu and Xiaosi. Sanlang did not have a good reputation in the village. He had never done any proper work, and had even upset the mountain god on the mountain, causing his leg to break in a strange manner. Could he possibly be a decent person?
Just then, some curious folks who went to see the scattered tofu returned, yelling to the crowd, "It’s true! There’s tofu all over near the old Bai Mansion. What a waste of food!"
Bai Ruozhu turned to Old Grandfather and asked, "Grandfather, the villagers’ eyes are sharp. They’ll judge who is stirring up trouble. I believe everyone has a clear picture."
"Nonsense! Don’t think I don’t know how crafty you are. You’re coaxing Xiaosi to say these things. Among all of us, you’re the most devious, always calculating against us. If it wasn’t for your ’memorandum’, your eldest uncle wouldn’t have been exiled, his life hanging by a thread," Bai Fu’s eyes reddened at the thought of his beloved eldest son.
Upon hearing this, Bai Lu couldn’t sit still. He stood up and retorted, "Bai Fu, have you lost your mind? Are you saying that someone else instigated your eldest son’s actions? On the contrary, he’s been the one riling up others, causing harm to several young men from the neighboring village. Your Bai Yibo cheated during the examination. Even without Ruozhu’s ’memorandum’, he would still have been caned and exiled."
Bai Ruozhu also had a cold smile on her face. Today, with so many guests present, she might as well make things clear with her grandfather once and for all.
"In Grandpa’s eyes, Eldest Uncle can receive absolution for whatever he does, but we, even though we have not done anything wrong, cannot justify ourselves. We must share in the downfall caused by Eldest Uncle. Otherwise, we’re seen as causing him harm and being unfilial," the colder Bai Ruozhu’s words got, the colder her voice became. "How is this fair? If our whole family gets imprisoned, can the crime committed by Eldest Uncle fall onto our shoulders? Do you really think the imperial envoy will spare the actual criminal?"
Bai Fu remained stubbornly ignorant of his mistakes, standing tall to argue, "You folks seek help from others but didn’t even try asking them to put in a good word for your elder uncle. Yes, he committed a mistake, but it didn’t warrant death. But what did you do instead? You submitted the memorandum, expelled him from our sect. This is tantamount to kicking a man when he’s down. Where’s the compassion of the Bai family?"
This time, both official Li and Mr. Xie couldn’t stand it anymore. Officer Li took the lead and admonished, "Bai, your words are wrong. We jointly petitioned for Zepei because we believe in his character and acknowledged his knowledge. As a parental official overseeing this area, do you think I would abuse my power and plead for a convicted felon?" By the end, his voice had turned stern and harsh.
"Indeed, while I, Xie Dun, am not entirely incorruptible, I certainly am not one to shelter the guilty. Old man, wake up! Even if a prince breaks the law, he would be treated the same as a commoner. Do you think your eldest son is more noble than a prince?" said Mr. Xie displeased. One had to admit, when Mr. Xie spoke, he was quite adept at shutting down his opponents.
Jiang Yichun let out a cold laugh and remarked, "How dare someone like you point fingers at us?"
Before this, the two men had started off being reasonable before openly expressing their standpoints. However, Jiang Yichun, being quite domineering, directly expressed the meaning of "you are not entitled". Yet his demeanor was so extraordinary, his words so imposing, that one could not accuse him of being ill-tempered. It seemed as if it was part of his noble identity, and that he had every right to tell off Bai Fu.
Bai Fu’s face reddened to his neck. He dared to scold Bai Ruozhu, dared to scold Bai Yihong, even dared to reprimand both Bai Zehao and Bai Zepei in public, but he did not dare to utter a word in opposition to Officer Li and his party. That would be, unless he had grown truly tired of living.
The villagers, watching this spectacle, couldn’t help but chuckle quietly amongst themselves. Bai Fu was getting his just deserts. He should be enjoying the blessings of his children and grandchildren. Why stir up trouble?
At this point, Bai Lu nodded slightly to Bai Ruozhu, then stood up to bow to Officer Li and his party. "Gentlemen, my older brother’s mind has been clouded since his oldest son got into trouble. I apologize if he said anything offensive. Please don’t take his words to heart. I will try to look after him and help him get over this hard time."
Bai Fu smelled a rat and glared at Bai Lu. "What do you mean? Are you hoping for my death? Are you here to add insult to injury?"
Bai Ruozhu feigned a headache, "Looks like Grandfather’s mental health isn’t very good. Regrettably, we’re helpless. Just the sight of us seems to anger him."
Bai Lu laughed and shook his head, "You’ve got it tough managing the family business in town. He is my brother, after all, and it’s my duty to look after him."
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