Chapter 361: Didn’t Hear Because the Kowtow was Too Light
"Hey, this is truly miraculous!" someone exclaimed. "A while ago, an elderly neighbor in my mother’s house had a stroke just like Granny Wang. We had invited a doctor from Fushou Hall, who used acupuncture and prescribed medicine, but my neighbor only improved after several days."
Everyone began praising, Although Granny Wang hadn’t spoken, they could tell from her clear and bright eyes that she felt different than before. Even their gaze at Bai Ruozhu was filled with curiosity and respect.
Granny Wang was initially terrified and wanted to shout at Bai Ruozhu not to touch her, but her tongue was so numb that she couldn’t speak as she wished. Now that she could move, she was cautiously looking at Bai Ruozhu and asked, "Are you really this kind? Are you going to harm me subtly after pretending to cure me?"
Before Bai Ruozhu could speak, the crowd scolded her.
"Granny Wang, stop being so ungrateful! If they hadn’t saved you, you would be paralyzed for the rest of your life and you might not even walk again. And you’re doubting them even after you’ve recovered? Be careful. You might get struck by lightning!"
"Exactly, we all saw it. If she wanted to harm you, she wouldn’t have saved you in the first place. The Bai family just doesn’t want to cause trouble, unlike you, who is always stirring up chaos."
"What kind of person is this? To be a neighbor of such an ungrateful person is too much for us to bear."
...
Everyone chimed in, leaving Granny Wang’s face to turn ugly again. This time, however, she was much quieter and didn’t dare to argue with anyone. She was afraid her illness might act up if she got too worked up, and she also didn’t want to provoke everyone’s wrath again.
Zhao E bowed towards Bai Ruozhu and said, "Thank you for saving my mother. I apologize on behalf of our family for our fault before."
Bai Ruozhu didn’t have any negative feelings towards Zhao E, but she wasn’t particularly fond of her either. She coldly glanced at Zhao E and asked, "What about the promised kneeling apology?"
Upon hearing that, Granny Wang became agitated, "So you saved me just to humiliate our family!"
Bai Ruozhu laughed coldly, "Do I need to go through all this trouble just to humiliate your family? I saved you to show you that in my eyes, you are nothing more than an ant. My forbearance doesn’t mean I can’t deal with you. If you know what’s good for you, behave yourself and stop provoking me!"
The onlookers all gasped. What a tough woman! Her words were so domineering. But having just seen her rescue Granny Wang, no one thought she was arrogant or unreasonable. Instead, they felt she had every right to act this way.
The Bai family members cheered for her. Bai Ruozhu might have saved Granny Wang, but she also saved the Bai family from further trouble, and she also gave the Wang family a tight slap in the face.
Zhao E on the side didn’t say anything. She clenched her teeth, knelt on the ground and said, "I, Zhao E, always keep my promises. You saved my mother-in-law, and I promised to kneel in apology to you." After she finished speaking, she bowed her head down and kowtowed.
At this moment, Bai Ruozhu began to have some positive feelings towards Zhao E, the sister-in-law from the Wang family. She could give and take, she was capable and had an admirable spirit, which was rare among women.
Wang Xiujun stood there in shock. After a while, he came back to his senses. He instructed someone to assist his mother and then he too knelt beside his wife.
"Xiujun, get up! Our Wang family can’t afford this humiliation," Granny Wang shouted.
Wang Xiujun did not turn around. He spoke in a heavy voice, "Our Wang family can’t afford this humiliation indeed, and we have to keep our word."
"Bullshit! It was that traitor who made the promise, not you. Get up now! You’re not allowed to kowtow to her!" Granny Wang tried to break free from the support of her relatives and wanted to pull Wang Xiujun up.
Wang Xiujun glanced at Bai Ruozhu, bowed, and said, "Miss Bai, thank you for saving my mother. I want to apologize to you by kowtowing, and promise that we will not bother your family again."
Bai Ruozhu looked at him, then coldly glanced at Granny Wang and asked, "Can I take your word with your mother’s temper?"
Wang Xiujun’s face turned a deep shade of crimson. He had kowtowed too hard, and a bruise had formed on his forehead.
"I’ll make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble anymore."
Bai Ruozhu turned her gaze to Wang Family’s father and daughter in the yard and asked, "What about your father and sister? They’re not easy to deal with either."
Wang Xiujun’s face turned red again, "I will keep an eye on all of them."
"I hope you remember what you said today, or the next time it won’t be as simple as smashing a few things." Bai Ruozhu squinted, her eyes flashed a cold light.
Wang Xiujun shivered involuntarily, hurriedly said, "I will certainly remember it."
"By the way, tell your sister to kneel and apologize to my older brother and Er Lang. Don’t think I don’t know who sent the Osmanthus Cake with Croton Powder to my Er Lang before his Scholar examination, causing my older brother to have diarrhea for a whole day. We need an explanation for this, or I won’t let her off today." Bai Ruozhu stood at the gate, with an air of attitude that unless Wang Xiujun’s sister apologized, no one could save her.
The bystanders didn’t think Bai Ruozhu’s demands were excessive after hearing her. Instead, they whispered about how cruel the Wang family was for spiking their own nephew’s cake with Croton Powder. Was that to prevent him from passing the Scholar examination? That was disgraceful! No wonder the Bai family confronted the Wang family. If they had been in the Bai family’s shoes, they definitely wouldn’t let the Wang family off either.
Wang Xiujun looked at his sister, who was moaning in pain on the ground inside the yard, and shouted, "Quickly apologize to them, it was indeed your fault."
The Wang sister was in so much pain that she felt as if her bones were broken, but her elder brother was actually asking her to kneel and apologize. Was he still her dear elder brother?
"I won’t kneel. My whole body hurts. How should we hold them accountable for beating me like this? Why don’t they apologize to me?" the Wang sister whimpered.
Wang Xiujun stomped his foot in frustration, "I advise you to keep it down. We can’t get in to save you. If you want to continue enduring the beating, just keep being stubborn and refuse to apologize."
The women of the Li family conveniently twirled their sticks, giggling and saying, "You don’t have to kneel if you don’t want to. After all, we haven’t had enough of beating you."
When the Wang sister heard this, she could no longer be adamant. She had underestimated the brutality of the women of the Bai family, who claimed to be honest peasants. She felt completely deceived!
In the end, she grit her teeth, gathered all her strength, and gave a resounding kowtow. The pain in her forehead brought tears to her eyes.