Chapter 451 - 453: Carelessness Leads to Sickness
After a while, the old man finally sighed and said, "After all, you are young and promising."
Again, he fell into silence, making the atmosphere in the room extremely awkward. There was a sad gleam in his eyes. Coupled with his greying hair, he looked particularly forlorn.
Bai Ruozhu felt like the old man really had calmed down. In the past, he surely would have insisted that this opportunity to study at the North Beiyu Study Palace should belong to his eldest son. He would have blamed Bai Zepei for being selfish, not yielding to Bai’s eldest uncle, and so on.
Of course, he can no longer make such complaints now; his eldest son can never take the Imperial Examination in his lifetime.
Perhaps the old man has truly sobered up a bit, or perhaps he has just resigned to his fate.
"You can go if you want to, I can’t control you anymore," the old man said after a while, his tone carrying a hint of spite.
Bai Yihong looked quite upset. There was a feeling of guilt and reluctance in his eyes. But he was afraid that his father might get stubborn and try to save Bai Yibo, which could translate to a capital offense.
Bai Lu didn’t join them in the room. He stood outside and said, "If you’re leaving, have dinner tonight. I’ll prepare it for you."
Everyone who had a good relationship with Bai was proposing to have a meal with them. It was a good thing, but there were too many people, which became a worry instead.
Bai Yihong quickly said, "Zehao’s in-laws have already asked us first, can we come over and eat tomorrow night?"
"Okay, then it’s settled. Come over earlier in the afternoon tomorrow, and don’t bring anything. I have everything here!" Bai Lu said as he patted Bai Yihong’s shoulder.
With this interruption, Bai Yihong and his family stepped out of the old man’s room. The old man didn’t pay attention to them anymore and started reading on his own. Everyone bowed to the old man before leaving.
Bai Fu was always cold and seemed to be reading a book, but Bai Ruozhu noticed that he had glanced in this direction.
Upon returning to the Mountain Village, Bai Ruozhu and her family enjoyed a good meal at Wan’s family. The food was abundantly delicious, almost as lavish as the dishes at a wedding banquet. This made Bai family from the second house feel quite embarrassed. Bai Ruozhu was thinking about giving more gifts to the Wan’s family when sending New Year presents.
After dinner, the two families chatted for a while before Bai’s family got up to leave and meet up with Zhou Deshun. By then it was already dark. Bai Yihong, Zhou Deshun, and Bai Yizhong were drinking in the Main Hall.
Bai Zepei, Bai Zehao, and Bai Zeji, the three brothers, went to the room where Bai Zepei used to live to chat.
The women gathered in Bai Ruozhu’s room to chat, anyway, they didn’t plan to rush back to town that night, so they let their old men drink a few more glasses.
"Yihong, I’m afraid we brothers won’t have many chances to be together like this in the future. I don’t know when we can gather again. You won’t be rushing back for the New Year, will you?" Zhou Deshun was quite drunk, his speech slightly slurred.
"Don’t worry, there will always be opportunities in the future." Bai Yihong didn’t share Zhou Deshun’s sentimentality. Because of something his daughter had said, he saw a brighter future, even anticipating their two families gathering together again. But as nothing was definite yet, it wouldn’t be good to speak too soon.
In the women’s room, they were having a playful chat.
"Ruozhu’s mother, you are really lucky. Both your sons and your daughter are so outstanding. If only my son Zhou Chuang could be as steady as Zehao, then I would be more at ease." Somehow the topic ended up on the topic of children, and Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law could not help but worry for her eldest son Zhou Chuang.
During the busy farming season, Zhou Chuang had helped Bai Ruozhu’s family with the harvest. Bai Ruozhu remembered him as not being too old, but also very energetic. She never thought that he was not steady.
"Zhou Chuang is capable and hardworking. He was really efficient last time when he helped our family with the harvest." Lin Ping’er agreed.
Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law quickly shook her head, "You can’t just look at the surface. He’s careless. When asked to buy something, he always forgets something. Last time, I asked him to pass a message to his grandparents, he did go, but he only delivered half of the message and forgot the rest."
Bai Ruozhu didn’t immediately respond, wondering to herself whether he did not take things to heart or if it’s a memory problem.
The memory of young people is generally better, and often only declines with age. However, this is not without exceptions, but these are often due to physical diseases or conditions in the brain.
Perhaps it’s the former, and she’s just overthinking.
But Bai Ruozhu still suggested, "Auntie, how about calling Zhou Chuang to come over and I’ll feel his pulse?"
Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law was startled and asked nervously, "Does this mean he has a disease?"
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly said, "Don’t overthink it. Sometimes, if the body’s nutrition is not correct, it will be like this. Some treatment will take care of it."
Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law didn’t quite understand what ’the body’s nutrition is not correct’ meant, but she thought it would be reassuring to let Bai Ruozhu have a look. She immediately jumped off the kang, and in her shoes, she hurriedly went out.
Lin Ping’er scowled at Bai Ruozhu, "See, you scared your aunt Zhou."
"If there’s nothing wrong, then she can be completely relieved. But if there is something wrong, it can’t be delayed." Bai Ruozhu was quite helpless. Was she supposed to pretend she didn’t know what could be wrong with Zhou Chuang?
Quickly, Zhou Chuang was dragged in by his mother, but he didn’t go into Bai Ruozhu’s room, but into the Main Hall for Bai Ruozhu to take his pulse.
Zhou Deshun, being quite drunk, saw Zhou Chuang and said, "Did you come here to scrounge up some drinks? Go to bed quickly, you have to work in the field tomorrow!"
Zhou Chuang shrank his neck and said, "I was brought here by my mother."
At this moment, Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law had no heart to explain to Zhou Deshun. She turned to Bai Ruozhu and said, "You don’t bother about them, have a look at my son Zhou Chuang as soon as possible."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, came over, and grabbed Zhou Chuang’s wrist. Zhou Chuang subconsciously wanted to pull his hand away, but was held by his mother, who scolded, "Stay still, don’t interfere with your Sister Ruozhu’s pulse diagnosis."
Zhou Chuang was still clueless about what was happening. He was fine, so why was Sister Ruozhu checking his pulse? It wasn’t like he was a woman who was pregnant and needed a doctor to confirm with a pulse diagnosis.
Bai Ruozhu held Zhou Chuang’s wrist for a long time without speaking. After a while, she let go and asked, "Do you have any headaches? For example, do you get headaches if you rest late? Or do you feel dizzy?"
Zhou Chuang shook his head, "No."
Bai Ruozhu nodded and asked again, "Is there anything abnormal about your body?"
"No, I’m really in good shape. But why do you want to look after me?" Zhou Chuang couldn’t hold it in anymore and asked directly.
Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law suddenly said, "He has bumps on his back, does that count?"
"I’ll have to see it," Bai Ruozhu said, frowning a bit.
By this time, Bai Yihong and Zhou Deshun had stopped drinking and were watching what was happening. They probably guessed that Zhou Chuang had some health problems. Zhou Deshun’s drunkenness had sobered up significantly.
Zhou Deshun’s daughter-in-law was anxious too. She pulled her son’s clothes down, revealing the lower half of Zhou Chuang’s back. In the middle of this cold winter, Zhou Chuang shivered from the sudden chill and muttered, "Mother, these are just wind bumps, what could they be?"