Chapter 586 - 588: Jiang Yichun Finds the Bai Family
The two of them took the horse carriage to the entrance of the alleyway. Bai Ruozhu wouldn’t dare to let the horse carriage reach their front door now. If the old lady found out they had bought a horse carriage, who knows what new drama would unfold.
As they approached the entrance to their home, they saw a horse carriage parked outside.
"Do we have guests?" Fang Guizhi asked curiously.
Bai Ruozhu frowned and said, "Let’s go in and see."
As soon as they entered the door, Bai Ruozhu loudly announced, "Mother, Madam Xie was worried that I might not being able to manage things while recuperating, so she sent Guizhi over to help out for a few days."
Everyone in the yard understood when they heard this. They were mindful of Guizhi’s situation and naturally chose to tread lightly with their words.
Upon hearing this, Lin Ping’er rushed out of the main house with a smile, "We’ve been troublesome to Madam Xie again, how can I let you do this? Guizhi, you don’t have to do anything; just help us cook."
Fang Guizhi immediately responded with enthusiasm, preferring to be busy than being cooped up in the small room anymore.
Lin Ping’er shot Bai Ruozhu a look, said, "Your benefactor is here, your grandmother is entertaining him." She couldn’t help but curl her lip as she spoke.
Bai Ruozhu twitched at the corner of her mouth, she had not expected that the carriage at the door belonged to Jiang Yichun. In the past he had always arrived on horseback, if not, he had relied on his lightness skill. Thus, she never would have thought that the horse carriage outside would be his.
And what is her grandmother seeing? Is he rich or does she assume he’s a high-ranking official that would warrant this warmth?
Bai Ruozhu was irked and didn’t want to see him, but her mother was unaware of the situation. If she didn’t meet him, she’d appear impolite, so she had to go in with a frown.
When Old Lady Bai saw Bai Ruozhu enter, she beckoned her, "Ruozhu, so you’re finally back. Mister Yi has been waiting for you for quite some time."
Bai Ruozhu almost lost her balance, Old Lady Bai’s tone was warm and her old face crinkled up into a smile as if she was particularly close to Bai Ruozhu on any other day.
About four hours earlier, Old Lady Bai was probably still scolding Bai Ruozhu for riding back in a horse carriage. Now, it’s as if she was a completely different person. Has she been possessed?
Bai Ruozhu tried to keep her contempt hidden, turning her gaze onto Jiang Yichun sitting to one side, he was once again wearing his ugly black wooden mask.
Bai Ruozhu respectfully performed a salute, saying, "This humble woman greets Mister Yi."
Jiang Yichun rarely spoke of his surname while he was outside. It was likely that Old Lady Bai had asked, hence he addressed himself as Yi.
Old Lady Bai felt disregarded by Bai Ruozhu, creating a blow to her pride. However, she knew that Mister Yi had come to see Bai Ruozhu, thus she took great pains to hide her displeasure. After all, she was aware that this masked gentleman had once been affiliated with Master Li, it’s possible that he is an even higher-ranking official than the county magistrate himself.
Jiang Yichun noticed Bai Ruozhu’s cold demeanor toward him, and her respectful salute made him feel as if his heart was being cut by a knife. He knew that Ruozhu was truly angry this time and that she was about to sever ties with him.
Bai Ruozhu looked at Jiang Yichun’s darkened eyes, her heart aching. But who was it that allowed Wu Wanqing into the hot springs?
"Miss Bai, there is no need for such formality. You are the one who saved my life; there is no need for you to be so distant." Jiang Yichun’s voice sounded considerably pained.
Old Lady Bai’s eyes were rotating, hasn’t she heard that Mister Yi was the Bai family’s benefactor and had saved the entire Bai family? How is it that he’s claiming his life was saved by Bai Ruozhu?
Bai Ruozhu clicked her tongue at Old Lady Bai. Old Lady Bai was completely clueless and didn’t retreat, her wide eyes still focused on them. This yard only had one reception hall in the main house, and Old Lady Bai had occupied it. This made it inconvenient for future guests.
She thought, what if her second brother’s friends from school visited, and they encountered Old Lady Bai in such a state of disgrace, could he still hold his head up at the Study Palace?
Bai Ruozhu thought for a moment, and pretended to say, "Because I saved Mister Yi, I have offended those who should not be offended. I don’t know what will happen later. Mister Yi, you should probably leave."
Jiang Yichun was taken aback. He knew that Bai Ruozhu was angry, but why did it sound like she was referring to people who were not to be offended?
Despite everything, he was smart and realized quickly that Bai Ruozhu’s words were intended for Old Lady Bai who was standing nearby.
Old Lady Bai’s eyes darted around, she interrupted from the side, "Ruozhu, you silly girl, you don’t know how to speak properly. What "not to be offended" nonsense. Can they be more formidable than Mister Yi?"
Bai Ruozhu disregarded Old Lady Bai, and said to Jiang Yichun, "Mister Yi, didn’t you want to see the winter vegetables that my father has been cultivating? Shall I show you?"
At the mention of this, Jiang Yichun promptly stood up, "Alright, let’s go take a look."
Old Lady Bai also stood up, "Mister Yi, allow me to accompany you."
Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes, Old Lady Bai really lacked any sense of propriety, was it necessary to be so persistent?
"I couldn’t possibly trouble Old Lady Bai, it’s cold outside, we can’t have you getting chilly." Jiang Yichun politely declined.
"It’s no problem at all, I’m not so old that I can’t walk." Old Lady Bai was already laughing and walking outside with a smile.
Lin Ping’er watched Old Lady Bai’s disrespectful performance as she prepared to bring in some dim sum. She glared at Bai Yihong, implying, "Your mother is really embarrassing, can’t she hear that he is declining?"
Bai Yihong’s face reddened from embarrassment, he was also aggrieved but he couldn’t vent his dissatisfaction, he could only approach Old Lady Bai and say, "Mother, you should rest inside, there’s a lot of mud in the backyard".
Old Lady Bai wasn’t pleased when she heard this, she felt that the people from the second room didn’t want her to have more interactions with Mister Yi, so they deliberately didn’t want her to showcase herself. She glared sharply and said, "What’s wrong with a little mud? Aren’t you supposed to entertain guests when they come home? Is this how you treat guests?"
Bai Yihong was so angry that he was almost passed out from anger. He tried to hold her back and said, "Mother, you should help out in the kitchen with your spare time."
Old Lady Bai rolled her eyes at him, pushed him aside, and pursued Jiang Yichun.
Jiang Yichun and Bai Ruozhu had already gone to the backyard, but Old Lady Bai clung to them stubbornly. If Jiang Yichun wasn’t wearing a mask, everyone would clearly see how irritated he was.
Bai Ruozhu was also annoyed by Old Lady Bai and stopped to say, "Forget it, you should go back first, I will visit you tomorrow."
Jiang Yichun was helpless, today there was really no convenient opportunity for him to speak with Ruozhu, so he had no choice but to nod and agree, "Alright."
After that, he bid farewell to Bai Yihong and Lin Ping’er, then made a large stride and left.
Old Lady Bai was still following closely behind, asking, "Mister Yi, why aren’t you going? If they were disrespectful to you, don’t take it to heart."
Jiang Yichun didn’t want to bother with her, he didn’t say a word, got into the horse carriage, and left.
Old Lady Bai turned around and angrily stared at Bai Yihong, screaming, "It’s all because of you blocking me! Look, you have been disrespectful to Mister Yi, and he left because he was angry!"
Everyone in the yard was holding their heads, they felt that Old Lady Bai, despite her old age, knew nothing about human relations and couldn’t tell that the others didn’t like her because she lacked propriety.
Bai Ruozhu paid no heed to Old Lady Bai and went straight back to the room to play with Dengdeng.
When Bai Zepei came back at night, Bai Ruozhu called Bai Zepei to her room. As expected, Old Lady Bai promptly came out to eavesdrop by the wall.
Bai Ruozhu signaled to her second brother and said, "Today, an important person came to see us, and I fear that the Turkic prince might seek revenge soon. I intended to inquire about everything from this person, but Grandmother insisted on tagging along. The gentleman found it inconvenient to speak and left earlier."
Outside the room, Old Lady Bai gave a shudder, she almost thumped down on her butt...