Chapter 650 - 652: Jealous Men are Quite Cute
At the court, Lady Wang had already been called. She was a chubby woman in her forties whose curved eyebrows and eyes gave her a kind and amiable look when she spoke.
"Greetings, sir," Lady Wang bowed to Kuai Minglang.
"Deng Shi claimed you saw her buying a belt at Hua Xiangrong’s shop. Please take a close look at this belt and see if it’s the one you saw that day." Kuai Minglang had someone bring the belt to Lady Wang.
Looking at the belt closely, Lady Wang nodded repeatedly, "It should be like this. I even commented on how bright the color of the Red Coral Beads were. They wouldn’t be suitable for someone of our age to wear."
A glimmer of hope flashed in Deng Shi’s eyes, as she felt that the person she had desperately tried to implicate was turning out to be a credible witness. Unfortunately, her joy was short-lived as Lady Wang spoke again.
"However, sir, this belt seems wrong. The beads I saw on that day were all top-quality coral. This seems like fake coral. Also, I noticed a scratch on the side when I glanced at it. I initially thought it was scratched by a ring Lady Deng was wearing, so I didn’t mention it."
Turning the belt around, Lady Wang added, "But there’s no evidence of a scratch on this belt."
At this point, the case had become clear.
Kuai Minglang slammed the Courtroom Wooden block and sternly asked, "Deng Shi, you’ve falsely accused others. What’s your punishment?"
Frightened, Deng Shi kneeled down abruptly, "Sir, this is unjust. Clearly, Lady Wang has been bribed by Bai Ruozhu and is giving false testimony on her behalf."
Lady Wang sneered upon hearing this, "I have no need to give false testimony for anyone. Just telling the truth. How could a middle-aged woman like myself fail to recognize such poor-quality fake coral?"
Kuai Minglang slammed the Wooden block again, and loudly declared, "The witness was provided by you, and the Bai Family had no knowledge of her. How could she have been bribed? Stop wriggling out of this. Confess directly to avoid further punishment."
"I plead with you, sir, to uphold justice for this wronged woman and Hua Xiangrong. I only wish to know who is the mastermind behind this and why they want to harm me," Bai Ruozhu spoke with a chillingly cold expression on her face. "Also, a few days ago, someone attempted to kill Sun Ji during Hua Xiangrong’s press conference and falsely placed the blame on the Zhang Family. These two people must have some influence."
Kuai Minglang had been investigating the Zhang Family. Although he had uncovered some things, he knew it was just small fry, so the case was still open. With Bai Ruozhu raising this point, it made him suspect more about the case, possibly connecting it with another case.
In the end, Kuai Minglang ordered the arrest of Deng Shi for further questioning, signalling that she was headed for torture.
Bai Ruozhu excused herself from Kuai Minglang and left the Government Office.
Lady Wang quickly followed and said cheerfully, "Miss Bai, Hua Xiangrong’s products are very clear to her regular customers like us."
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly bowed in gratitude, "Thank you, my lady. Today, I should avoid any possible misunderstanding. Please come to the shop another day. I must show my gratitude for your righteous and outspoken support."
Lady Wang laughed genially, "No need to thank me. This is my duty. Now, I have to leave. We can chat another day." She took a few steps then stopped and turned back, "Miss Bai, do you have a good husband?"
Bai Ruozhu was taken aback, just about to ask what she meant when Lady Wang boarded her horse carriage and left.
Did Lady Wang mean her husband was Jiang Yichun? What did he have to do with this? Bai Ruozhu couldn’t figure it out and decided to find Jiang Yichun and ask him directly.
At that moment, a burst of laughter from children echoed down the street. Recognizing it from her son Dengdeng, Bai Ruozhu perked up her ears.
"It seems Dengdeng is over there. Let’s go check it out," Bai Ruozhu said to Fusa and Guizhi.
Fusa and Guizhi, who had heard what Lady Wang said and were sure that ’Lord Grandson-in-law’ had arrived, nudged each other and joined Bai Ruozhu.
"Ruozhu, it’s not good to close the shop for half a day. I need to go back and look after it. I will leave you here." Fusa hurriedly spoke.
Guizhi followed suit, "I’ll go help Fusa. We will go home later so as not to affect Hua Xiangrong’s business."
Bai Ruozhu immediately realized that they didn’t want to be the third wheel. She shot them an exasperated look and let them leave. It was indeed urgent that they attended to Hua Xiangrong’s shop, and she wanted to have a private conversation with Jiang Yichun anyway.
As she was about to leave, she saw the officer who had brought her over to the Government Office leaving with his colleague. Seeing her, that man quickly walked over with a smile, "Lady Bai, I’m sorry for the inconvenience earlier. We are going to search Deng Shi’s house, hoping to find some clues."
Bai Ruozhu bowed and replied, "Thank you, brother officer."
The man felt somewhat embarrassed, scratching his nose and saying, "I’m Zhao Zhongcai. I used to maintain security at Hua Xiangrong’s press conferences. You can just call me Xiao Zhao. I couldn’t presume to be called ’brother.’"
Bai Ruozhu observed that he was a few years older than her. Why couldn’t she call him ’brother’? Did she look old?
Not far away, Jiang Yichun, holding Dengdeng, was walking towards them. From a distance, he saw an officer happily talking to Bai Ruozhu which made him frown. Wasn’t this the same fellow who had gone to Bai’s house and was trying to win Bai Ruozhu’s favor?
Thinking this, he quickened his pace.
"Ruozhu, I and our son have been waiting for you for a long time." He flashed a sunny smile, talking and walking towards Bai Ruozhu.
The officers couldn’t help but look at him, guessing that he must be Miss Bai’s husband, and remarking on his handsome features.
Bai Ruozhu twitched the corner of her mouth. ’I and our son’... Was he flaunting his status?
Zhao Zhongcai admired Bai Ruozhu and appreciated her business acumen. Seeing her husband arrive, he warmly greeted Jiang Yichun and then went away with his companion to carry out his duties.
Jiang Yichun squinted his eyes, watching Zhao Zhongcai leave, and couldn’t help but snort.
Bai Ruozhu looked at him quizzically, "Why the long face? Do you have a problem with him?"
"Yes, there’s a problem. Anyone who dares to flirt with my wife has a grievance with me!" He declared without hiding his feelings.
She was stunned for a while before recovering herself. She almost laughed. Was he jealous?
She rolled her eyes at him, "So, according to you, anyone who is good to me, polite to me, is at odds with you? Would you rather they hate me, dislike me?"
"Well, there’s indeed no reason for men to go out of their way to be nice, unless they have ulterior motives." As he spoke, he switched Dengdeng from one arm to the other, drawing closer to Bai Ruozhu.
Dengdeng held a dough figurine of Sun Wukong in his hand waving proudly as if to show off his treasure. Bai Ruozhu was amused by her son’s adorable display, and lost the desire to argue with Jiang Yichun.
However, Dengdeng kept trying to put the dough figurine into his mouth. Jiang Yichun reached out to stop him, resulting in a playful wrestling match between father and son. In doing so, it entertained Dengdeng who laughed aloud.
Bai Ruozhu reached out to take Dengdeng, but Jiang Yichun said, "You’ve been tired all morning. Let me hold him."