Chapter 582 - 584: I Don’t Want What Others Have Used
Bai Ruozhu shivered slightly, meeting his affectionate gaze, she was momentarily at a loss for words. She even wondered if she was overthinking. If he himself didn’t care, why should she insist?
Both of them were in a somewhat somber mood and seemed to want to drop the topic, so Jiang Yichun suggested, "Let’s go to the hot spring for a bit. However, since your internal injuries aren’t fully healed yet, don’t immerse your whole body in it."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, deciding to go dip her feet in the hot spring with Dengdeng.
After all, Elder Shougu was living in the manor, and they didn’t know if he would suddenly return, so they didn’t mess around. Also, neither of them were in the mood for it right now.
Bai Ruozhu carried Dengdeng into the hot spring room, but before she could take off her shoes to dip her feet in, she noticed something white in the corner. Because of the poor lighting and the object was curled up, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t see it clearly.
She walked over with Dengdeng in her arms and could finally see that it was a silk handkerchief – a woman’s silk handkerchief!
All of a sudden, she felt displeased. She could even guess who owned the handkerchief. She was told that this place was hers, so why did he let another woman come in and use the hot spring room?
Thinking of this, all interest in soaking in the hot spring was lost, and she left holding Dengdeng.
Jiang Yichun was standing outside, lost in thoughts, when he saw her suddenly leaving. He chuckled, "Do you want me to take care of Dengdeng? You should rest."
Bai Ruozhu glared at him resentfully, "No need! Was Wu Wanqing here yesterday?"
When she had gone to the Wu Residence yesterday, Wu Wanqing wasn’t there, so it was highly likely she came here.
Jiang Yichun’s expression changed slightly as he said, "Yes, she did come looking yesterday. Fearing it would startle the snake in the grass, I asked Elder Shougu to hide."
Angrily, Bai Ruozhu threw Wu Wanqing’s handkerchief at Jiang Yichun. The handkerchief was light and no matter how hard she threw, it just floated easily over, displaying no force at all.
Jiang Yichun’s expression darkened when he saw the handkerchief. He looked at Bai Ruozhu and asked, "Can’t you see she did it on purpose?"
Of course, Bai Ruozhu could see it. Otherwise, how could she just so happen to leave her handkerchief there, in such an inconspicuous corner? If it were more visible, Fubo would have picked it up by now.
However, who gave her this opportunity to "purposefully" drop it?
"Jiang Yichun, you gave this place to me, but this is the second time I’ve seen another woman here. I don’t care what her relationship with you is, since this is my place, did you ask me if I agreed to let her come in? Did I agree to let her use the hot spring?" Bai Ruozhu was truly angry this time, and her tone cooled down.
"Last time her guard even kept me out. This time, my hot spring room was used by her. Don’t you know that I have mysophobia? I don’t want it after she’s used it. I don’t believe you couldn’t stop her. Couldn’t you say that you’re healing and can’t be disturbed by anyone?"
Seeing Bai Ruozhu getting angry, Jiang Yichun became somewhat anxious. He grabbed her hand and said, "Ruozhu, don’t get angry first. After all, she’s still my master’s daughter, I have to give face. At worst, I won’t let her in next time."
Bai Ruozhu shrugged his hand off, "It’s exactly because of your attitude that she hopes you’ll give her face because she’s the master’s daughter. This gives her hope, making her feel ambiguous. Don’t forget that she’s given you the poisonous insect, and don’t forget whether it’s appropriate for a man and a woman to soak in the hot spring together. If it causes bad rumors and your master asks you to be responsible, what are you going to do?"
The more Bai Ruozhu spoke, the angrier she became. She took out the land deed to the manor from her sleeve and threw it hard at Jiang Yichun, "Since you still let other women take a bath in the hot spring, I don’t want this place anymore. Give it to whoever you like!"
Having said that, she turned around and left. Last time, only Fubo was present, and since he was a servant, it was fine if he couldn’t stop Wu Wanqing. But now that Jiang Yichun was there himself and still couldn’t stop Wu Wanqing, what was that all about?
Although Danliang Country isn’t too strict about protecting women’s chastity, a woman’s bathing habits must be carefully paid attention to. Otherwise, why would a transmigrated woman like Bai Ruozhu choose to use a private hot spring room?
Wu Wanqing bathing in the hot spring at Jiang Yichun’s manor, where there was a man (Fubo and Elder Shougu could be disregarded), wouldn’t that invite idle gossip if people found out?
Was Wu Wanqing trying to provoke her, or to prove that she had been there? It was no longer important. What mattered was that Jiang Yichun did not stop her from entering.
Bai Ruozhu was already in the carriage and said to the coachman, "Take us back to the city."
Jiang Yichun couldn’t use his internal strength or lightness skills. He chased her, calling out to her, but in the end, he could only watch helplessly as the carriage sped away.
Dengdeng thought his mother and uncle were playing hide and seek and giggled. Bai Ruozhu, who was holding Dengdeng, buried her face in his chest, hiding her tears.
He claimed that this was her place, so why did he allow another woman to enter? He spoke of face, of his master, but did he respect her feelings? She had already told him last time that she didn’t want Wu Wanqing to enter her territory.
When they were about to reach home, Bai Ruozhu got rid of her gloomy expression. There were still a lot of things she needed to handle, and she had the children and the household to take care of. She wouldn’t be defeated by these small matters.
If asked whether she was truly angry with Jiang Yichun, the answer was an affirmative yes. But if asked whether she would really not interact with Jiang Yichun because of this, the answer was naturally no. She just wanted to teach him a lesson to avoid letting Wu Wanqing in again.
Just like she asked Jiang Yichun, if bad rumors were to circulate and his master told him to be responsible, what would he do? It couldn’t be ruled out that, when desperate, Wu Wanqing wouldn’t opt for a strategy that harmed both her and him.
When they reached their door, Bai Ruozhu got off the carriage and paid the coachman. As she entered the yard with Dengdeng, Madam Bai happened to glance over and saw the carriage behind her, whereupon she began to curse.
"Oh my, she’s now acting like a rich lady, even taking carriages out. She really thinks she’s super delicate and precious. This is how she squanders the household money, she doesn’t know how to live within her means." Although she didn’t mention any names, everyone knew she was cursing Bai Ruozhu.
Bai Zehao, having heard the commotion, came out of the house looking angry. "Grandma, what are you complaining about all day? Can’t we have some peace in our home since you’ve come here? Dengdeng is scared to tears by you every day, and the other children don’t even dare to play in the yard anymore. Other old people are always kind-hearted, can’t you be a little less harsh?"
Bai Zehao had held back his anger all the way from Mountain Village. Now that his wife, Wan Caiyue, was in confinement and he was even more irritable, the old woman cursing his sister saddled him. If it weren’t for his younger sister, they wouldn’t have the comfortable life they had now. What’s wrong with his little sister taking a carriage? Even if she takes the grand sedan chair, it wouldn’t be too much!
"Oh, you’re now something, not even respecting elders. You’re being undutiful. I’m going to tell the old master!" The old woman once again brought up filial piety, and had a smug look on her face, as if she were certain that Bai Zehao would be scared to death.
Bai Zehao coldly said, "Then hurry up. Anyway, I’m not pursuing a career in government, and this isn’t a village, so I’m not afraid of being backstabbed."