Chapter 573 - 575: Can’t Meet with Family
Bai Ruozhu didn’t dare to interrupt him, she quietly found a chair to sit down and began to ponder the sight of Xiaosi.
Had Xiaosi been taught the method of breathing exercises by Xu Huilin? Otherwise, why would he be sitting cross-legged, adjusting his breath?
After a while, Xiaosi slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Bai Ruozhu sitting in the room, he couldn’t help but show a look of surprise.
"Sister, how long have you been here? Why didn’t you call for me?" Xiaosi wanted to get off the bed, but Bai Ruozhu hurriedly stopped him, saying, "You’re not fully recovered yet. Don’t move around."
Xiaosi didn’t insist following her word. Bai Ruozhu sat on the edge of the bed and asked him, "Does it still hurt?"
Xiaosi shook his head vigorously and said, "It doesn’t hurt, I’ve been fine for a while now. Second Young Master said visiting you would disturb your rest."
Bai Ruozhu laughed quietly. Xu Huilin was probably just trying to keep him from running around. She asked, "You’re close with the Second Young Master? Do you want to learn martial arts from him?"
Xiaosi looked nervously at Bai Ruozhu. He knew she was not supportive of it.
"Father must have told you, I want to learn martial arts to serve in the Tongzheng Division." Xiaosi showed a determination.
Bai Ruozhu had already thought about what to say on the way. She touched Xiaosi’s head and said, "I understand that you want to learn martial arts to protect the family, but have you ever thought about this? The Tongzheng Division holds a special place in society. If you choose this path, you will have to sever ties with the family and might not even see us for years. What’s the point of having advanced martial arts if you cannot even meet us? Can you protect your family?"
Clearly, Xiaosi had not thought about this point and was stunned by Bai Ruozhu’s question.
"Also, the Tongzheng Division often carries out dangerous missions. Take a look at this time; I merely helped the Tongzheng Division, and as a result, it brought great trouble to our family. If you provoke enemies while carrying out missions, don’t you think they will trouble us at home?" Bai Ruozhu thought that this incident was an excellent negative example.
Xiaosi showed a worried expression, his thoughts obviously wavering. However, he was a stubborn child and loved to insist on his own ideas, so he would not change his mind immediately.
Bai Ruozhu thought about his meditation stance and felt that he indeed liked learning martial arts. She said, "If you want to study martial arts, I can help find you a good master. You don’t necessarily have to join the Tongzheng Division. Wouldn’t it be better for you to stay at home and protect us when something happens?"
"I will teach you some medical skills later. You will then have the ability to protect yourself and save people." Originally, Bai Ruozhu had no plans to teach Xiaosi medical skills. Xiaosi was still a child, and she wanted him to play a couple more years without a care in the world, then decide according to his liking. However, now she realized that she could not treat Xiaosi like an ordinary child.
Bai Ruozhu felt that she had said enough, so she touched Xiaosi’s head and said, "I will be going back home with mom and dad today. You should come with me."
There was a look of hesitation in Xiaosi’s eyes. Bai Ruozhu knew that he wasn’t reluctant to go home, but wanted to learn more martial arts from Xu Huilin.
"Sister, the Second Young Master still has a set of boxing techniques that he hasn’t finished teaching me, and I haven’t said goodbye to him yet." Xiaosi’s voice was very small, he dare not look at Bai Ruozhu as he feared that she would get angry.
Bai Ruozhu could not help but wanted to laugh, she suddenly felt as if her little brother was about to be abducted.
"Alright, you can stay a few more days. I will come over to see Third Young Master the day after tomorrow. At that time, I will bring you home, is that okay?" Bai Ruozhu said.
Xiaosi seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and nodded, "Alright, I need to tell Second Young Master about it."
She then took Xiaosi’s pulse and found that he was healthier than she had expected. This was probably due to the pill given by Li Yi. She chatted with Xiaosi for a while then got up and left.
Not long after she had returned to her temporary guest room, Bai Yihong and Lin Pingér came over — they did not bring Dengdeng with them as they were to bring Bai Ruozhu home, fearing that they would be too busy.
Bai Ruozhu informed the maid before taking her parents to meet Wu Yunfeng.
The trio paid their respects to Wu Yunfeng, thanked him once again. Wu Yunfeng hastily said, "No need for formalities, it is Bai Miss who has helped me out greatly. She involved herself in this incident and yet needs to apologize, I should be the one thanking you."
Bai Ruozhu quickly said she dared not, and then said, "I have been disturbing you for a few days now, my health has improved a lot, and I should take my leave."
Wu Yunfeng didn’t make an effort to keep her from leaving, nodding his head he said," You should go back and rest well. Feel free to visit Yichun whenever you have time."
Bai Ruozhu nodded in agreement.
Lin Pingér made a mental note as she listened from the side: her daughter’s benefactor was the Third Young Master, called Yichun, who was Wu Yunfeng’s disciple, and from Wu Yunfeng’s attitude, he knew about Yichun and Ruozhu’s relationship and wholeheartedly approved.
If it wasn’t for the presence of Mr. Wu, Lin Pingér would have laughed out loud. Her daughter was finally going to turn her luck around. Previously she had misfortune due to Chang Sheng disappearing, but now, a better youth had appeared.
But... thinking about this incident, Lin Pingér had started to worry again. Her son-in-law’s mission was too dangerous, if only that could change.
After bidding farewell to Wu Yunfeng, Bai Ruozhu left the Wu Residence with her parents. Seeing them, Wei San quickly opened the horse carriage curtain for her, his eyes slightly red, "Miss, I’m relieved that you’re alright."
Wei San didn’t stay in the Bai family compound that night, and only came to know of the incident the next morning. Although he had not personally experienced the danger, just hearing about it was frightening enough.
Bai Ruozhu nodded at him, "I’ll be fine after a few days’ rest."
The horse carriage started moving. Bai Ruozhu was taken home by her parents. Upon arriving, everyone came out to greet them. Seeing Bai Ruozhu’s somewhat pale face caused everyone’s eyes to redden. Fusa and the others could not hold in their tears.
Bai Ruozhu laughed and said, "You should not cry. If you cry, won’t that make me cry? The doctor has said that crying will exacerbate my internal injuries."
Hearing this, everyone stifled their impending tears. Lin Pingér stood by her side, finding it amusing; she was present when they met the doctor and he did not mention anything about crying worsening internal injuries.
Bai Ruozhu looked around but did not see her older brother and sister-in-law. Hurriedly, she asked, "Have my older brother and sister-in-law not returned yet?"
Bai Yihong nodded, "Probably in the next few days. Maybe the Su family couldn’t bear to part with your sister-in-law and decided to keep her a few more days."
Bai Ruozhu didn’t say much. She didn’t think the Su family was preventing them from leaving. Aunt Su from the Su Family was very good at maintaining relationships, she surely considered that the Bai Family had a lot of work to do and thus shouldn’t rush them home. Elder Wan would never let a married daughter neglect her duties towards her in-laws. Therefore, it must be something else; Bai Ruozhu had a vague feeling that it could be related to the old mansion.
As she was not feeling very well, no one dared to engage her in too much conversation, allowing her to rest in her room. Lying on her bed with Dengdeng cuddling up next to her, Bai Ruozhu suddenly felt a sense of reality — returning home really did feel different.
She rested at home for half the day. In the afternoon, the sound of a horse carriage approached, closely followed by knocking on the door. Everyone thought it was Bai Zehao and his wife who had returned, however, they were all stunned when they opened the door...