Chapter 569 - 571: Causing Parents to Worry
Although the situation was clarified, there was still an awkward tension between them. Jiang Yichun slowly walked over, bent down to pick up the bellyband, and tucked it directly into his bosom.
"This belongs to me now." He turned his head and gave Bai Ruozhu a devilish grin.
Bai Ruozhu was a bit dumbfounded. She blushed and said, "If you like it, I can give you a new one. That one is dirty."
She meant that it had been taken by Li Yi before. The very thought of it made her feel slightly sick.
Jiang Yichun, however, curled his lips into a smirk and said, "Your things are never dirty. I can simply wash it clean." After saying this, he paused, walked over and kissed Bai Ruozhu.
The kiss was not a long one. Jiang Yichun’s internal injury was severe. Even this short kiss left him almost breathless.
"Of course, if you want to give me another one, I’d absolutely love to accept," Jiang Yichun said, releasing Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Ruozhu could taste the metallic sweetness in her mouth. His kiss had intensified that taste. This showed that his internal bleeding was much worse than hers.
She looked at him reproachfully and helplessly, saying, "Don’t get cheeky. Your injuries have gotten worse. Who knows how long it will take for you to recover."
"That’s fine too. It gives you more reason to come and see me," Jiang Yichun said nonchalantly.
Seeing that he did not care for his own body, Bai Ruozhu felt both angry and anxious. After some thought, she said, "Don’t you still want to go to the Hot Spring Mansion? What can you possibly do with your current condition?"
Jiang Yichun hadn’t expected Bai Ruozhu to be so straightforward. He couldn’t help but cough a few times, "Alright, I will recover from my injuries as quickly as possible, but you must not escape anymore."
Bai Ruozhu gave him a warm smile, "I won’t run anymore. I belong to you for the rest of my life." After saying this, she reached up and pulled his neck down, stood on her tiptoes, and planted a smacking kiss on his face.
This action, which she had done many times before, took almost all of her breath away this time. The metallic sweetness intensified in her mouth. She needed to recover from her internal injuries.
Jiang Yichun had a smile plastered all over his face. He held Bai Ruozhu by her waist and said, "You too should stay put. We both need quite some rest."
After saying this, they both burst into laughter. Even though they were in a terrible state, they were perfect in each other’s eyes.
Soon, Xu Huilin returned, oblivious to the fact that the crimson bellyband he had discarded was missing and was now in Jiang Yichun’s possession.
Soon, the sound of approaching horse hooves echoed from afar. The government soldiers had arrived.
Meng Liangshen was leading them. Upon seeing the condition of the trio, he was taken aback and hastily said, "Are you all alright? I will send someone to take you back for treatment."
Instead of questioning the whereabouts of Li Yi as soon as he arrived, he showed concern for their wellbeing. This earned him some favor in Bai Ruozhu’s eyes. But soon, she noticed Meng Liangshen’s gaze was focused on Xu Huilin. She almost slapped herself for reading into things too much, realizing that Meng Liangshen was worried about his own son.
Despite this, she was happy for Senior Fox. At least this showed that Meng Liangshen did care for his son, even if he didn’t show it ordinarily.
Thinking about the unreasonable Princess Wang Miaoshuang, Bai Ruozhu guessed that Meng Liangshen might be denying his relationship with Xu Huilin and his mother to protect them.
"We all suffered internal injuries. Li Yi’s subordinates fought to the death while he escaped," Jiang Yichun volunteered to answer first upon seeing Xu Huilin ignoring Meng Liangshen, even feigning regret.
"It’s good that you’re both fine, I will arrange for someone to take you back to rest and recover." Meng Liangshen hastily made arrangements for them to return, and sent some people to continue the chase, but they knew that they would likely not catch anything.
Bai Ruozhu was taken back to Wu Residence. Afraid that her family would worry, she sent a message home. After saying this, she fell into a drowsy sleep so quickly that she didn’t even remember how she had arrived at Wu Residence or where she was staying.
It was not until the next afternoon that she woke half-conscious and saw her parents with red, swollen eyes. She thought she had been sent home and quickly reassured them, "Father, Mother, I’m fine. I’ll get better soon."
Bai Ruozhu’s internal injuries were not severe. It was only the extreme joy and sorrow of the past days, and her mental exhaustion, that had worn her out. The doctor informed Bai Yihong and his wife about her condition. Nevertheless, they could not ease their worries until Bai Ruozhu woke up.
"Ruozhu, you’ve suffered a lot." Lin Ping’er, Bai Ruozhu’s mother, tenderly smoothed Bai Ruozhu’s messy hair. Seeing Bai Ruozhu trying to sit up, she rushed to support her, and put a pillow behind her back.
It was only when Bai Ruozhu sat up that she realized this was not her home, but the guest room she had previously stayed in at Wu Residence. She was grateful to Wu Yunfeng for allowing her parents into Wu Residence, a place where outsiders were usually not allowed.
"Mother, how is Dengdeng?" Seeing that her parents were not holding Dengdeng, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but worry.
"We didn’t bring him along because we feared scaring the child. I’ll bring him over in the afternoon." Lin Ping’er replied.
Bai Ruozhu struggled to say, "No need, I’ll be going back home with you later."
This time Bai Yihong stopped her, "No, the doctor said your internal injuries cannot be moved around carelessly, otherwise, it will leave complications. He said you have to rest here for at least three days before you can leave."
As a doctor herself, Bai Ruozhu checked and knew this was not an exaggeration, so she didn’t push the issue.
"Father, Mother, I’ve dragged everyone into this mess. There haven’t been any other problems, have there?" Bai Ruozhu asked. But seeing her mother’s red and swollen eyes, she knew well enough that it hadn’t been all right — her entire family had been worried for her.
Bai Yihong gently patted Bai Ruozhu’s shoulder and said, "Mr. Wu has already explained everything to us. This is not your fault, that Turkic man was just too despicable."
Bai Ruozhu was curious about what Wu Yunfeng told her parents, it seemed he didn’t mention her risking her life to save Jiang Yichun at Tianshan Town. However, she decided not to ask about it now and would bring it up when she met Wu Yunfeng later.
Soon, a maid brought the medicine soup. Bai Ruozhu smelled it and knew that the medicine was expertly prepared.
Not wanting to be fussy, she drank the medicine soup in one go and returned the empty bowl to the maid.
The maid was pretty surprised, "Isn’t the black soup bitter, Miss Bai? Let me get you some candy to remove the bitterness."
Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "No need, it will affect the effectiveness of the medicine."
Right now, all she wanted was to recover as soon as possible and take care of her precious son. What was some bitter medicine in comparison to that?
After resting for a while after drinking the medicine, the maid brought in some porridge. Lin Ping’er insisted on feeding Bai Ruozhu spoonfuls from the edge of the bed. Bai Ruozhu felt like a baby, but to ease her mother’s worries, she had to grit her teeth and accept this special service.
Soon after finishing the porridge, Bai Ruozhu started to feel sleepy. Lin Ping’er and Bai Yihong asked her to lie down and rest. They said they would return home first and bring Dengdeng over in the afternoon.
Bai Ruozhu nodded her head. She fell asleep quickly, and when she woke up again, she could hear the laughter of Dengdeng in the yard and the voice of Wu Wanqing...