Chapter 599 - 601: Dove Occupying the Magpie’s Nest
Thinking of this, Bai Ruozhu looked at the square-faced woman with an even colder gaze.
"The Xie Family is known for their erudition, always adept at treating guests appropriately. Are you implying, dear auntie, that our illustrious family should now disregard etiquette because of your presence?" She spoke in a frosty tone, a hint of sarcasm lingering on the corners of her lips. "We are in Beiyu City, not some uncivilized countryside. Imagine the laughingstock we would become if others knew the relatives of the Xie Family behaved so unreasonably."
The square-faced woman cynically stared at Bai Ruozhu and countered, "Then let the people here know what kind of fraud you are! Cravings in pregnancy are normal, aren’t they? And yet, just to curry the favor of the Xie Family, you disregard the wellbeing of the unborn child and recklessly give the mother any random concoction to drink."
"Are you the doctor here, or am I? If you have no clue, then go read some books. Not everyone suffers from cravings, and even those suffering from cravings can be relieved. In contrast, Sister Hongxiu, she’s been feeling great, but problems surfaced the minute you arrived." Bai Ruozhu retorted without hesitation.
Small and timid, the maid called Ruyi gathered the courage to whisper, "My lady was upset by her aunt-in-law. She didn’t pay attention and bumped into my mistress’s belly."
"What rubbish are you talking about? When did I ever bump into her? Dare you repeat what you just said!" The square-faced woman rolled up her sleeves, appearing quite menacing. Ruyi, terrified, was now crying.
Bai Ruozhu scowled, ’how can the relatives of the Xie Family be like this? Cann’t Mr. Xie say anything?’.
Distracted by her thoughts, she didn’t see the square-faced woman, with sleeves rolled up, charging towards Ruyi. The woman moved so quickly that within a blink of an eye, two resounding slaps were heard, leaving a clear handprint on each side of Ruyi’s face!
No wonder this woman is so arrogant, no wonder Yu Hongxiu got so sick from her aggression, and no wonder even Ruyi is scared of her. This woman actually has some martial arts skills!
Angry, Bai Ruozhu stormed up and pulled the woman back, pinning her down with some tricks she knew. "Stop bullying others just because you have some skills, or else you’ll be the one at a disadvantage one day."
The woman had been itching to strike back at Bai Ruozhu. As she turned her head, she slapped at Bai Ruozhu’s face. Ruyi screamed in fright from the sidelines, shouting, "Madam, you can’t hit Miss Bai! Her brother is a favored person at the City Lord’s Residence!"
In fact, Ruyi was just trying to prevent anything bad from happening to Bai Ruozhu. Hence, she exaggerated a bit in her remark.
Although she paused briefly at Ruyi’s words, the square-faced woman disbelievingly retorted, "This downtrodden aura that she emanates, who are you trying to fool?"
Taking advantage of the pause, Bai Ruozhu slipped past the woman into the room, not even bothering to acknowledge her. What a piece of work, using her skills to bully people in their relative’s home.
Inside, Yu Hongxiu was crying. Bai Ruozhu sighed in exasperation, "Stop crying, getting upset with this kind of person isn’t worth it. Isn’t Mr. Xie going to say anything about this?"
Wiping her tears, Yu Hongxiu responded, "Deng Shi even dared to hit my master. Accusing me of not taking proper care of myself, she kept me confined at home, not even allowing me to step out of the room. When my master had a few arguments with her, she threatened to accuse him of unfilial conduct. I stopped my master from falling into her trap. He needs to focus on his studies as he still needs to take the Imperial Examination this year. Nothing can disturb that."
Bai Ruozhu snorted coldly, "And what is her purpose in doing all these? There has to be an endgame, right?"
Before Yu Hongxiu could answer, Deng Shi, the square-faced woman or the aunt as Yu Hongxiu referred her as, stormed in again and loudly declared, "Hongxiu is unwell and in no condition to entertain guests. You better leave now or I won’t hesitate to throw you out." She emphasized on the last two words and rolled up her sleeves provocatively.
Bai Ruozhu understood what she meant by ’throwing her out’ very well. But Bai Ruozhu was also annoyed. After a brief encounter, she already knew she was no match for this Deng Shi. Resorting to physical confrontations would benefit her in no way.
"Ruozhu, you better leave for now, come back to see me again in a few days." Yu Hongxiu urged Bai Ruozhu with a suggestive glance, afraid that Bai Ruozhu might be hurt.
Bai Ruozhu gave her a slight nod, "No need to fear, I will handle everything."
Yu Hongxiu understood what she meant and smiled, nodding back.
Turning around, Bai Ruozhu left, with Deng Shi snapping at her from behind, "Humph, as long as I’m here, I will not allow a quack like you to deceive people."
"Deceive people? So, in Mrs. Xie’s eyes, bringing joy to the Xie family with the prospect of an heir is bad? You don’t want Mr. Xie to have descendants?" Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but retort.
Deng Shi’s eyes flickered, neck outstretched, she retorted, "Nonsensical babble, you really have a sharp tongue."
Bai Ruozhu didn’t respond to her anymore and left the Xie residence in large strides. She got into a horse carriage and directed Wa San straight to the Meng Residence.
Upon hearing the announcement that ’Miss Bai’ had returned, the old lady at You Ran residence couldn’t help but be puzzled, wondering if something had happened.
When Bai Ruozhu entered the room, she explained all about Yu Hongxiu’s mishaps to the old lady. As she listened, the old lady slammed her hand onto the table, "This is clear usurpation!Can’t Xie Dun even handle a unreasonable relative?"
"Sister Hongxiu is concerned about damaging Mr. Xie’s reputation and thus they aren’t eager to retaliate, don’t we still have you to help? I’m useless in such matters, but I can run errands, so I came to beg for your assistance." Bai Ruozhu pleaded, cheerfully smiling at the old lady.
The Old Lady couldn’t help but chuckle as she poked Bai Ruozhu’s head, "You’re already a mother, and yet, you can’t be more reserved. Anyways, I will definitely take care of this matter. Hongxiu is such a good girl, we cannot just watch her being undermined by someone."
Bai Ruozhu nodded seriously, "I suspect they have other intentions."
The old lady thought for a moment before she handed over her pair of jade pieces to Shuxin, her senior maid, instructing, "Take this jade piece and assign two guards. Then head to the Xie Residence to bring Mrs. Xie here. Tell them I would like to see her. If anyone dares to stop you, they will be disrespecting the City Lord’s Residence. If the vile woman dares to resist, let the guards teach her a lesson. Remember, ensure Mrs. Xie’s safety and do not harm her in any way."
Upon receiving her orders, Shuxin quickly left the room. Bai Ruozhu also stood up, thanked the old lady with a bow, then suggested, "It’s almost lunchtime; shall I prepare something for you to eat?"
The Old Lady nodded contentedly, "Prepared something for Hongxiu too; she must be quite disenheartened these days."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, and even without the old lady mentioning it, she would have cooked for Hongxiu anyway.
...
On the other side, Shuxin took two guards, a horse carriage, and headed straight to the Xie Residence. Soon she crossed paths with Deng Shi. Being the senior maid in the Meng household, Shuxin spoke with an impressive and commanding presence that left Deng Shi taken aback.
Deng Shi’s eyes flickered, "Of course, Mrs. Meng would be concerned for Hongxiu. If she knew that Hongxiu’s pregnancy requires bed rest at this stage, she wouldn’t want Hongxiu to endure the discomfort of carriage travel. What would we do if something went wrong?"
"That’s none of your concern. The City Lord’s Residence has plenty of renowned doctors. They will naturally take care of Mrs. Xie’s health and well-being" Shuxin looked at Deng Shi from the corner of her eyes and retorted bluntly.
"Oh my, why is your attitude so bad? Surely Mrs. Meng isn’t under the influence of Bai Ruozhu? If that’s the case, I’ll go with Hongxiu to clarify the facts to her." Deng Shi protested.