Bai Zehao came back in the evening and showed clear excitement when he heard that a horse had been bought, immediately wanting to go to the stable to see the horse. Bai Ruozhu thought to herself that her older brother was more adorable, showing his joy directly.
After returning from the backyard, Bai Zehao was still excited and said, "Ruozhu, you really did a good job, the horse you picked is not bad."
"I don’t know how to pick a horse, Wa San helped with the selection," Bai Ruozhu quickly explained the situation of hiring Wa San.
Bai Zehao laughed and scratched his head, "So, you know how to pick people, huh."
Everyone laughed. Seeing that the time was late and that she wouldn’t need to use the carriage, Ruozhu asked Wa San to go take a rest. But Wa San said, "I’ll feed the horse first, then leave later."
Bai Ruozhu remembered a saying from her past life that if you want to raise a horse well, you need to feed it in the middle of the night. Those who raise horses need to be diligent.
"We can feed it at this hour, just tell us when and how much hay to feed the horse. You should go back early, you still have to come over early in the morning," said Bai Ruozhu.
Fusa, standing by, was quick to say: "Right, let my Lai Fu feed the horse in the middle of the night. Our room is close to the backyard too."
"Yes, I can do it. I’m used to getting up at midnight to grind beans," Lin Laifu also quickly agreed.
Ruozhu didn’t show any courtesy to the Lin family. Feeding the horse wouldn’t take much effort.
Wa San explained to Lin Laifu how to properly feed the horse and then took his leave.
Shortly after, Bai Zepei returned. He was brought back by the Meng Mansion’s carriage, and was accompanied by the manager, Meng Qiu. He was practically supported into the courtyard by Meng Qiu.
Lin Ping’er was taken aback due the strong smell of alcohol before they even reached her. How could he have drunk so much?
Bai Yihong and Bai Zehao hurriedly helped Bai Zepei to his room. Bai Ruozhu’s face cooled and she asked, "Mister Meng, how did my second brother become this drunk?"
Meng Qiu, with a smile of apology, said, "Master Bai and our lord were drinking and making merry, they both drank too much."
Bai Ruozhu found it unusual because her second brother was usually serious and rarely drank. Even if he did drink, he never made himself staggeringly drunk. Today, he was so drunk it was certainly about her.
She didn’t want to make it difficult for Meng Qiu, so she gave him a reward and let him go back first.
Bai Ruozhu handed Dengdeng to her mother to hold, then she went to her second brother’s room. She was afraid that if she held Dengdeng and went in, Little Dengdeng might be overwhelmed by the alcohol smell on her second brother.
Bai Zehao was wiping Bai Zepei’s hands and face with a hot towel. Bai Ruozhu sighed lightly and said, "Brother, you must be tired today. Let me take over."
Her second brother had gotten this drunk for her sake, she would feel guilty if she didn’t do anything.
Bai Zehao didn’t argue but didn’t leave either. He helped move Bai Zepei further into the bed, worried that he might roll off the bed in his drunken stupor.
Bai Ruozhu wiped her second brother’s face and hands. Though clearly drunk and confused, his demeanor was surprisingly calm. He didn’t fuss or make a noise, very peaceful.
She felt somewhat disappointed. It is said that some people act completely differently when they’re drunk. For instance, quiet people suddenly become chatterboxes. She had hoped to see her second brother’s chatty side but all she heard was the sound of his snoring.
Afterwards, Bai Ruozhu went to the kitchen to prepare a hangover soup for her second brother, to ensure he would wake up next morning in time for his academy classes, and also to alleviate his post-drunk headache a bit.
Once the hangover soup was ready, Bai Ruozhu took it to her second brother. But after calling him for a long time, her second brother still didn’t wake up. She had no choice but to shake her second brother hard, only to hear her second brother mumble in his sleep: "One.. one more drink!"
Bai Ruozhu was both amused and exasperated, so she handed him the hangover soup, propped him up, and said, "If you’re a real man, finish this bowl!"
As a result, Bai Zepei, with his bleary eyes, took the bowl and gurgled it down.
Bai Ruozhu was startled to see this. Luckily, she had let the soup cool for a while earlier, otherwise, her second brother would have burned his throat. She had no idea that her second brother could be so heroic and carefree when it comes to drinking.
But when she finished with the empty bowl, Lin Ping’er came over and asked, "Is your second brother feeling better? Did he finish the hangover soup?"
Bai Ruozhu shook her head. "He drank it like it was regular alcohol."
Upon hearing this, Lin Ping’er couldn’t help but laughed, "Let him sleep it off, and wake him up in the morning. You need to take Little Dengdeng to rest, too."
With that, Lin Ping’er took the empty bowl and handed Little Dengdeng back into Bai Ruozhu’s arms.
She took Dengdeng back to the room to nurse him to sleep and quickly fell asleep herself.
In the middle of the night, Bai Ruozhu was vaguely woken up by Little Dengdeng. As she got up to feed him, she suddenly noticed a dark shadow beside the table, which scared her so much that she almost fell off the bed. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was Jiang Yichun, asleep on the table!
The realization of him making an overnight trip struck her deeply, causing a sour and bitter pain in her heart. She figured he must be exhausted, and fearing to wake him with Dengdeng’s cries, she didn’t dare to move over with Dengdeng, instead she opted to nurse Dengdeng from her bed. Once Dengdeng was fed, he immediately quieted down.
The room was extremely quiet, with only the very light sound of Dengdeng swallowing. Bai Ruozhu kept looking at the dark shadow, concluding that he must be exhausted, otherwise, he wouldn’t have slept through Dengdeng’s noises.
Or maybe he had been under a lot of stress lately, and only when he was beside her could he truly relax.
After Bai Ruozhu finished nursing, and Dengdeng dozed off again, she slipped on her shoes and carefully tiptoed to his side.
Did he feel cold sleeping like this? She touched his sleeve, and it was still the same thin, dark outfit. She secretly blamed him for not taking better care of himself. She regretted that the fur vest she bought for him wasn’t ready yet, otherwise she could have let him wear it.
And wasn’t it uncomfortable for him to sleep half-propped up like this? His arm must be hurting. With a pang of sympathy, she took a thin blanket from the wardrobe and gently draped it over him.
She herself shivered from the cold; nights in winter were always particularly freezing. She hurriedly put on an extra jacket, then went back to sit on the bed, and lit a candle in the corner. She then took out the sable fur from her storage space and started sewing.
As she was sewing, she suddenly heard a stir from Jiang Yichun’s side. She quickly put the sable fur back into her storage space.
Jiang Yichun was puzzled. He had meant to stay awake and keep Bai Ruozhu company, how could he have fallen asleep? The moment he noticed the thin blanket on him, he immediately understood that Bai Ruozhu must have woken up during the night. He quickly turned around and locked eyes with her deep, clear ones.
He got up and walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge facing her. He asked, "You haven’t been mistreated, have you?"
She sniffled, realizing he had rushed back over night for fear she would be mistreated. Unable to hold back her tears, she started crying, saying through sob, "I wasn’t... until I saw how poorly you are taking care of yourself."
Jiang Yichun was taken aback and hurriedly reached out to wipe her tears. In his eyes, she was somewhat crafty, but also incredibly strong, so whenever she cried, he would panic. Just like the time when he had made her cry in the back alley of Anyuan Town, he was left dumbfounded, not knowing what to do.