Chapter 484 - 486: Someone is Here to Confront and Accuse
She chuckled to herself. Did he really think she hadn’t noticed the change in him? Bai Ruozhu’s face flushed a bit. He must have kept it to himself with great effort.
Bai Ruozhu slipped out of her coat and laid back down. She planned to take a nap. After all, the child was like a small alarm clock, which would surely wake her up when it was time.
When Dengdeng started crying, it was already broad daylight. Bai Ruozhu tiredly got up, fed Dengdeng while half-asleep, then got up to freshen up. Seeing Bai Ruozhu with dark circles under her eyes, Lin Ping quickly asked, "Ruozhu, did you not sleep well?"
Bai Zepei, who had just awakened and was freshening up, glanced at her with a furrowed brow. Was it because of that matter last night that she didn’t sleep well? Did she not supposed to care about those things?
Noticing the intense gaze from Bai Zepei, Bai Ruozhu rubbed her eyes and said, "I was up late last night preparing new medicine."
Rongrong’s mother, who was now able to get out of bed and was helping with breakfast, paused and asked, "Ruozhu, you’re not preparing medicine for Rongrong and I, are you? We are not in a rush, you must not overwork yourself."
Upon hearing this, Bai Ruozhu quickly assured, "No, no. I was preparing medicine for Old Lady Meng from the Meng family."
Rongrong’s mother then heaved a sigh of relief, "If there’s nothing else, go take a nap after eating."
"I am afraid the Meng family will be looking for me. They have a bodyguard who has been severely injured and they want me to treat him," Bai Ruozhu bitterly laughed.
Bai Zepei, his face freshly cleaned, spoke in a dismissive tone, "Your health comes first. Missing one day won’t kill their bodyguard!"
Lin Ping opened her mouth in surprise. Why did Zepei sound so indifferent, almost angry? He was a man of few words, but not heartless.
Bai Ruozhu knew that her elder brother was just worried about her, so she just grinned at him, "Zepei, you were quite drunk last night. You downed the hangover soup in one gulp and wanted more."
A faint blush spread on Bai Zepei’s face. He was seldom caught off guard, let alone drunk. On hearing Bai Ruozhu’s words, he quickly turned his head away and dismissively retorted, "Impossible, I have no recollection of such thing."
Bai Ruozhu made a face, "Why did you drink so much with the City Lord? I heard he was also drunk. Were you trying to outdrink him?"
Bai Zepei cast a sidelong glance at her. Who was he doing all this for? Meng Liangshen had been unhappy yesterday, even though he had agreed to his requests. He put him on the spot with the drinking. With the momentum of the competition, both ended up dead drunk. He didn’t even remember how he got home.
Fortunately, Bai Ruozhu’s hangover soup was effective, otherwise, he might still be drunk.
Seeing her son having a hard time, Lin Ping hurriedly urged him to eat some porridge, "You better eat something, or you’ll feel sick."
Bai Zepei nodded and went to the Main Hall for breakfast. Truth be told, he had a terrible feeling of nausea. The hangover was unbearable.
After breakfast, Bai Zepei left for the Academy. As Bai Ruozhu watched his thin figure retreat, her heart ached a little. She couldn’t help but worry about him at the Academy. What would the others say to him there?
She regretted not being better prepared for such a situation, and even regretted not finding a way to stop Mrs Meng’s ludicrous behavior. She had always wished to stay out of the family disputes, only to realize that the fight had come to her door.
After breakfast, Bai Ruozhu didn’t go back to sleep. She asked her mother to take care of Dengdeng while she busied herself with the waistcoat she was working on. She was unsure if she could finish before Jiang Yichun left this time. She couldn’t bear to see him running around in such thin clothes.
A knock came half an hour later when she was working on the waistcoat. It was Meng Qiu.
Upon hearing the knock, Bai Ruozhu knew someone was here for her, so she hastily hid the waistcoat in a space and stepped out after adjusting her dress.
"Miss Bai, my lord asks you to reexamine the bodyguard," said Meng Qiu.
Bai Ruozhu smirked inwardly, Meng Liangshen was indeed smart. He also knew how to use the excuse of getting a second opinion about his guard’s injury. Of course, if it were to be truly investigated, his guard was genuinely injured and Bai Ruozhu did treat him.
"Alright, I will accompany you there now," said Bai Ruozhu.
After bidding farewell to her family, Bai Ruozhu didn’t bring Dengdeng with her today. She didn’t know what problems might arise, and leaving Dengdeng at home was safer.
As she stepped out, she saw two bodyguards standing outside. One of them was the one who had taken her to see the injured bodyguard in the backyard the day before.
The guard bowed to Bai Ruozhu, "Doctor Bai, I am Sui Xing, Mr. Meng sent me to protect you."
Bai Ruozhu nodded slightly, and the guard gave Meng Qiu a knowing glance. Meng Qiu saluted Bai Ruozhu and departed.
Bai Ruozhu got into the horse-drawn carriage, and guard Sui Xing rode alongside it, whispering through the carriage window, "Miss Bai, the lord has arranged for you to go to a different place."
"Understood, thank you, Guard Sui," Knowing the plan, Bai Ruozhu had asked Meng Qiu to leave. Moreover, the carriage was different from the usual one from the Meng Residence, it looked very ordinary and did not bear the Meng Residence’s emblem.
The carriage circled around Beiyu City and eventually stopped in an alley in front of a small courtyard.
When Bai Ruozhu arrived, she saw the four doctors were already practicing in the yard. Seeing Bai Ruozhu, all four lifted their heads, a schadenfreude glint in their eyes.
They weren’t clear about what had happened yesterday, but after hearing some rumors today they realized that Lady Meng had targeted Bai Ruozhu, not Ling Shan.
Ling Shan did not vent her anger on Bai Ruozhu. In fact, she felt a bit sympathetic towards her. However, Bai Ruozhu had prevailed over them, so they were glad to see her fall into misfortune.
Especially when they saw dark circles under Bai Ruozhu’s eyes, they thought she hadn’t slept well. This filled them with a sense of satisfaction.
Bai Ruozhu ignored their reactions. Let them revel in their triumph as long as they don’t care about revealing their true identities. If she was wrongly accused, they would certainly be implicated.
...
Meanwhile, Meng Liangshen did not go to the new teaching site, as he had to avoid any suspicion, and had new problems to deal with, like Jiang Yichun who already knocked on his door.
If Bai Ruozhu had been there, she would have noticed a change in Jiang Yichun’s voice. Facing Meng Liangshen, he once again became "Official Yi". In the Ministry of Political Affairs, many of the officials had multiple identities, some of which were unknown to their peers, and were only known to the higher-ups.
"Is this how you take care of the one I entrusted to you?" Jiang Yichun began, his tone cold.
Meng Liangshen was currently having a headache from the hangover and didn’t have the luxury of Bai Zepei’s strong hangover soup. He sighed slightly, here came another one demanding accountability.