The cotton dress was not new, but made after her arrival in Beiyu City. She intended to wear it while doing house chores for comfort, but ended up dressing more nicely due to frequent outings. Thus, she rarely wore the dress and it still looked new.
She didn’t care about the dress. Even if it was a better one, she would give it to the old lady if she wanted it, as long as she could leave peacefully.
But stealing was not acceptable. She blatantly used Guizhi to distract her and pilfer from her. This habit was truly terrible!
"What happened? Is anything missing??" Guizhi asked anxiously.
Bai Ruozhu smiled at her, "Don’t worry, I hid my things well. She couldn’t find them. She only took a set of my fine cotton clothes."
Fang Guizhi sighed in relief upon hearing this. "That’s good. You gave me a scare."
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh, "Even if she took something, she can’t get far. Look at you, so scared."
"Pfft, if she got her hands on something, do you think you can get it back? If she kicks up a fuss later and brings it to the government office, it’ll be even more troublesome," Fang Guizhi pouted.
Bai Ruozhu shrugged. What Guizhi said made sense. It would be another round of hassles.
In the afternoon, Bai Yihong and the others returned to their yard. Zhou Deshun, upon seeing Bai Ruozhu, cheerfully said, "Ruozhu, we are leaving early the day after tomorrow. We will bring Zhou Chuang over for a visit after some time."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "Alright, Uncle Zhou, please be careful on the road. I’ll have someone hire a horse carriage for you tomorrow."
Zhou Deshun rubbed his hands awkwardly and said, "No need, no need, I can find one myself tomorrow."
"Why are you being so polite with me? My grandmother will be relying on you to take care of her on the journey," Bai Ruozhu said.
Zhou Deshun’s wife came over and hooked her arm with Bai Ruozhu’s, whispering, "Your grandmother has been pushed out of her old nest. If Zhou’s wife isn’t driven out, she won’t be able to stay in the Mountain Village."
"As long as she agrees to divorce Zhou’s wife now, everything else will be easy. When the time comes, you can help me deliver two letters. One for the village head, and the other for Wan Minglu to forward it to the County Magistrate. That should solve the problem." Bai Ruozhu said, flashing a confident smile.
Upon seeing Bai Ruozhu’s confidence, Zhou Deshun’s wife also felt relieved.
After a chat amongst the two families, Lin Ping’er went back to her room to grab some things, saying that she wanted Zhou Deshun’s wife to deliver some things to her parents’ home on her behalf.
Ever since Bai Ruozhu transmigrated, her mother hadn’t been in contact with her maternal grandparents’ house. One reason was because both her maternal grandparents had passed away, leaving only one uncle at home. But the uncle’s wife was a mean person who always looked down on Lin Ping’er. Subsequently, the interaction between the two families had decreased.
She didn’t even visit when she came to Beiyu City. Why did she think of sending things now? Bai Ruozhu was a bit puzzled as she watched her mother leave.
Suddenly, her mother called out from the room, "Oh, where did my wooden box go? Have you seen it, head of the family?"
Bai Yihong came over upon hearing her voice, saying, "I haven’t seen it. Didn’t you keep it in Er Lang’s room?"
Lin Ping’er searched around for a bit, but her face quickly fell. She whispered, "I took it out from the main house that day. The old lady was eyeing it. Could it be..." Her voice trailed off because she had no evidence to support her suspicion.
Bai Ruozhu quickly walked into the room and said to her mother, "It must be her. Today, she treated Guizhi like a maid and sent her away to rummage through my room. Luckily, I hid my things well. She only found a set of fine cotton clothes."
"Ah, I’m going to get my stuff back!" Lin Ping’er said angrily as she stormed off to the main house. No one managed to stop her.
"Father, what’s in mother’s box?" Bai Ruozhu asked, frowning.
"She prepared a silver lock for your eldest male cousin’s child. Your mother doesn’t get along with your uncle and his wife, but she really likes her elder nephew. The boy is sensible. When you gave birth to Dengdeng, he sent a ruler as a gift upon receiving the message. He recently wrote to us saying that his wife gave birth to a big fat boy. Your mother feels that she should send a return gift." Bai Yihong explained.
Bai Ruozhu nodded. So that’s what happened. Her memory of her elder cousin was of a simple and kind person who treated her kindly in her childhood. Of course, these were the memories of her predecessor.
After understanding the value of the item, she walked towards the main house. A couple of steps in, she heard a big fight starting inside. She quickly handed Dengdeng to Guizhi, saying, "You take the child and play in my room. Don’t scare him anymore."
Guizhi quickly ran off with Dengdeng, afraid that the argument would frighten him.
Inside the main house, the old lady was standing with her hands on her hips, glaring at Lin Ping’er, "Which eye of yours saw me stealing your things? I know I’m not welcome here, and I am leaving. And you’re still trying to discredit me. Let’s go out and let others decide who’s being unfilial here."
Lin Ping’er laughed coldly, "Not a single thing has ever been lost in our yard, not even a handful of rice. How come things started disappearing once you came? Ruozhu’s clothes went missing, and the silver lock I prepared for my eldest nephew’s son is also gone. How can all these be a coincidence?"
"Mother, even at your age, should you be stealing things? That lock has the child’s name engraved on it. It’s not suitable to give to others, and I don’t have time to make a new one now. Give it back to me, and I’ll give you a tael of silver," Lin Ping’er, despite her anger, still wanted to quickly get her things back and thought about making a concession.
The old lady snorted. In her heart, she knew that the lock was worth more than one tael. Besides, she wanted to see Lin Ping’er anxious; it was enjoyable.
When Bai Ruozhu walked in and saw this scene, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow. This old lady was really too shameless!
"Mother, give back what you took today, and I’ll give you two taels of silver," Lin Ping’er ground her teeth and persisted.
The old lady’s eyes flickered with greed. She turned her gaze and said, "What’s there to give? I told you I didn’t take anything!"
"Mother!" Lin Ping’er was so angry that she was gasping for breath. She had planned to have Zhou Deshun’s wife take the thing back for her. But they were leaving soon, and she didn’t have time to make a new lock. Plus, she was short-tempered, which made her anxious.
"Woman, what happened? Calm down, don’t let it get to you," Bai Yihong quickly went to support Lin Ping’er who had suddenly crumpled. He comforted her lovingly.
The old lady snorted again, "What a drama queen! Why doesn’t she cry, make a scene, or threaten to hang herself? Who would believe that she’s fainted?"
When Bai Ruozhu heard ’hang herself’, her face darkened. Glaring at the old lady, she raised her voice, "How could we lose things in our yard? My mother must have misplaced the thing in the main house. Come on, let’s help her find it!"
Humph, you dare to make my mother faint, I dare to search the house! After all, this is my place!