Chapter 446 New Aunt
Lady Li laughed until tears streamed down her face, not because she found Liu Xianxian ridiculous, but because she had never imagined that she herself was the pitiful and laughable one.
Liu Xianxian glared at Lady Li, suddenly scrambled up to pounce on her, but was knocked back onto the floor with a flick of Jiang Yichun’s finger.
Startled by Liu Xianxian’s ferocious expression, Lady Li quickly thanked Jiang Yichun for saving her after she composed herself.
Jiang Yichun responded indifferently, displaying the cold attitude he always had towards Li Shunsheng and the others. He only treated Bai Ruozhu differently. Even the coin he had prepared earlier to protect Bai Ruozhu ended up helping Lady Li.
"Liu Xianxian, how can you remain unrepentant?" Li Shunsheng was furious. "It seems there’s no choice but to lock you up first."
"Li Shunsheng, you can do this to me? Ten years, I’ve loved you for a whole decade, and in return, you lock me up?" Liu Xianxian broke into maniacal laughter, but tears were streaming from her eyes.
Liu Xianxian was eighteen this year, implying she started loving him even when she was only eight- quite precocious indeed.
"Ten years ago, I asked you, can I become your wife in the future? You chuckled but didn’t wait for me. I’m not blaming you since I was too little then, so I had to strive myself? What did I do wrong, she is simply not worthy of you!" Liu Xianxian said aloud.
Li Shunsheng looked extremely displeased. "When did I ever agree to marry you? You are my cousin, and eight years my junior. How could I have had such thoughts?"
"When I asked you then, you didn’t object either and even smiled at me so tenderly." Liu Xianxian seemed to retreat to the moment ten years back, her face showing a yearning expression.
Li Shunsheng couldn’t help but give a wry smile. "But I did not agree to it, did I? You made it a big issue when it was merely child’s babbling."
Bai Ruozhu admired the strength of Liu Xianxian’s heart. Even though the others never agreed with her, she held onto her fantasy for ten years. But of course, liking someone isn’t a crime, her error was attempting to murder someone else out of selfish motives.
Old Lady Li somewhat pitied her, her gaze at her daughter-in-law was beseeching. "Xianxian is due to discuss her marriage next year. If she goes to prison, it will tarnish the reputation of both the Li family and Hao family. Do you think..."
"No!" Before Lady Li could speak, Jiang Yichun coldly interrupted. "This matter is not so simple. A weak woman should not have access to poison. Li Shunsheng, you are clear about which sect the Hao family is from, right?"
Li Shunsheng sighed. If his mother continued to fool around, he might lose his official hat. It wasn’t that he cared for his position more than Liu Xianxian’s life, but Liu Xianxian deserved to be punished for her actions. Her relation to him didn’t matter, even a prince committing a crime would be tried as any commoner would.
"I will comply with whatever the officer decides." Li Shunsheng said to Jiang Yichun respectfully.
Liu Xianxian fell into utter despair, collapsed onto the floor, and started crying loudly.
Jiang Yichun then ordered his men to take Liu Xianxian away. Bai Ruozhu quickly said a few words to the couple of the Li family before leaving. She needed to prepare the antidote and accompany her parents back to Mountain Village.
Bai Zepei left along with her, leaving only Jiang Yichun behind, apparently to discuss some matter privately with Li Shunsheng.
During their journey home, Bai Zepei remained silent. Unable to contain her curiosity, Bai Ruozhu asked, "Second Brother, what’s wrong?"
Bai Zepei seemed distracted and only responded to her after she called his name again.
"Nothing," he said indifferently.
Bai Ruozhu turned her gaze, then exclaimed in sudden realization," I figured it out. There must be more than one girl who has expressed a desire to marry you in the future, isn’t it?"
A hint of blush spread across the usually calm face of Bai Zepei. Bai Ruozhu’s curiosity was piqued as she stared at her elder brother and asked, "Hurry up, who is it? Otherwise, once we return home, I’ll tell our parents about it."
Bai Zepei glared at her and said, "In fact, there are several. Zhaodi in our village, Miss Li, and also a girl with a melon-seed face, but I forgot her name"
Bai Ruozhu burst into laughter. It turned out that her elder brother only remembered one girl’s name, and that was because her name was ’Zhaodi’. If those girls found out, they would probably cry for days.
No, they would definitely cry their hearts out day and night.
She realized that her second brother’s embarrassment wasn’t due to remembering some girl, but rather due to the trouble that Li Shunsheng ran into due to his cousin’s childish confession. He was probably pondering whether he had refused clearly or not.
With the recent openness in societal manners, some good aspects did emerge, but there were also side effects. For a handsome and scholarly youth like Bai Zepei, it was indeed easy to get into trouble.
"Second Brother, do you think any young lady from Beiyu City will confess to you once we get there?" Bai Ruozhu could not hold back her smirk. "You must take a lesson from Officer Li’s predicament. If you didn’t intend to accept the invitation, make sure to refuse clearly."
Bai Zepei slightly furrowed his brows and said, "I have a clear understanding of Brother Li’s character. He isn’t a vacillating person, he probably just thought that it was a child reciting playful verses and didn’t take it seriously."
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but pout, her second brother was really defending Li Shunsheng.
After the two returned home and had lunch, Bai Ruozhu fed Dengdeng and rocked him to sleep. The family then packed their gifts and set off for Mountain Village.
"When we get to the old mansion, you should tell your mother by yourself, to avoid any unnecessary fuss." Lady Lin had no fondness for Old Lady Bai and preferred to minimize any interaction with her.
Bai Yihong looked uncomfortable, clearly at a loss dealing with his mother.
"Mom, Dad, I’ll handle this. It’s beneficial for my education that we’re moving. Naturally, I should explain it." Bai Zepei stepped in to take on the responsibility amidst the tension.
Bai Yihong heaved a sigh of relief, revealing an approving smile to his second son.
Bai Ruozhu held Dengdeng to the side, appearing as if she was there just for a walk on due to her part being minimal. All she needed to do was to bid her close friends a goodbye and pay a visit to Fengye Village to discuss the issue with the village head.
Soon, the family arrived at Mountain Village. Bai Zepei was carrying two boxes of dim sum and knocked on the door. The old lady tottered to the door, still dressed up extravagantly. The smile on her face seemingly took a few years off her appearance.
However, Bai Zepei slightly furrowed his brows. His grandmother was even using scented powder now. Wasn’t she afraid of becoming the talk of the village?
Upon seeing the old woman’s flaunting behavior, Bai Ruozhu twitched the corners of her mouth. Surely Widow Zhou hadn’t been a bad influence on her grandmother? If that were the case, the Bai family’s reputation would be tarnished.
The smile on the old lady’s face vanished the moment she saw them. She sounded impatient as she asked, "What are you all here for?"
"We came to see you, Grandma. Do you have guests today?" Bai Zepei’s tone held a hint of coldness.
Normally, when the men of the house were away, the women did not entertain visitors. For instance, when Zhang Liliang was away on business, Rongrong’s mother wouldn’t carelessly entertain male guests.
"Hmph, your Aunt has just arrived. I invited some intimate sisters over for a get-together. So, why are you here without sending word ahead?"