Chapter 656 - 658: Dealing with Evil Requires Ruthlessness
Ruyi is a poor child, always beaten by Deng Shi recently. She was somewhat dizzy because of Deng Shi’s push earlier. After hearing Bai Ruozhu’s words, she ran out in a hurry, almost tripping and falling down on the ground.
Deng Shi tried to block her again, but this time two guards intervened.
Bai Ruozhu told Yu Hongxiu to enter the room first. Taking advantage of this distraction, she flicked her fingertips slightly, then walked into the room with a smirk.
"Sister Hongxiu, don’t be angry, just wait and enjoy the play." She said, and winked at Yu Hongxiu.
Yu Hongxiu was originally somewhat angry, but seeing her expression, she couldn’t help being curious and let go of her anger.
Ruyi ran to the outer courtyard and asked the steward to summon the doctor and also invite the master to come back. The steward hurried out, just bumping into Mr Xie who was returning with a friend.
As it turns out, Deng Shi and Deng Jiayin had known that Mr Xie would bring a friend over to visit today, so she brought Deng Jiayin to drink tea in the Main Hall, intending to let Deng Jiayin entertain Mr Xie’s visitors, acting as a hostess of the Xie Residence.
She did not expect Yu Hongxiu to return in such a quiet manner, and even defeated her easily. Therefore, she deliberately made a big fuss, wanting Mr Xie and his guest to see how Yu Hongxiu mistreated her, as an elder.
As for the Xie’s family reputation, she simply did not care.
Mr Xie was taken aback when he heard the steward’s report. "When did the lady return? How could she suffer from Fetal Qi attack upon her return?" He asked.
The steward glanced at the people beside Mr Xie, somewhat embarrassed, and said: "It seems that the Madam refused to leave the Main house and was yelling at the lady."
No one in this family seems to like the Madam. If there were no guests, the steward even wanted to say more.
Mr Xie sighed slightly and said to the friend beside him, "Brother Ji, I apologize for this awkward situation."
Ji Ziyan quickly said, "We’ve been friends for many years, why be bothered by such trivial matters? Go and check on your wife quickly and ask the steward to invite the doctor."
Mr Xie quickly asked the steward to summon the doctor and hurried to the backyard with Ji Ziyan.
Before the two could get close, they heard Deng Shi yelling. Ji Ziyan frowned slightly, "That must be your second aunt, right? I haven’t seen her for many years, but she doesn’t seem to have changed at all."
Mr Xie forced a smile, "Can’t be helped, can’t be helped."
He was worried about Yu Hongxiu’s safety and thus sped up, not noticing that he had left Ji Ziyan behind.
"What has your aunt done? I heard Hongxiu is not feeling well, I’ll go check on her first." Mr Xie quickly said, then attempted to enter the room. However, Deng Shi with disheveled hair, rushed over like a madwoman, pulling his sleeves and shouting loudly.
"Xie Dun, your parents passed away early, your uncle and I have always treated you like our own child. Now that you are living a good life, you let your wife drive us away? Even calling guards to hit me, you are really heartless!" She babbled, her expression was incredibly dramatic.
Two guards stood straight, one of them saluted to Xie Dun without arrogance or humility, and said: "Mr Xie, we are guards arranged by Madam Meng to protect Madam Xie. We did not take any action just now, we were just afraid that this lady would hurt Madam Xie, so we stopped her."
"Nonsense, if you didn’t hit me, how could I have become like this?" Deng Shi’s emotions were somewhat out of control, and her shouting voice was exceptionally loud. She was truly acting like a madwoman, and she even started to hit the guard, saying: "I’ll fight you to the death!"
Xie Dun rubbed his temple, feeling a splitting headache. He took the opportunity to bypass her and finally made it into the inner room.
"Hongxiu, are you alright?" He quickly approached, gripping Yu Hongxiu’s hand and asked.
Bai Ruozhu quietly observed his expression, his anxiety did not appear to be pretense. It seemed that he really cared about Yu Hongxiu, and Bai Ruozhu felt a sense of relief because of this.
Yu Hongxiu had already seen Ji Ziyan from the window gap. But since she married Xie Dun, she hadn’t met Ji Ziyan.
"So auntie and cousin were in the Main Hall helping you entertain the guests? If I had known that, I wouldn’t have come back to cause trouble." Yu Hongxiu said somewhat petulantly.
Bai Ruozhu patted her hand and said: "Sister Hongxiu, don’t take it to heart. Mr Xie’s cousin probably feared that entertaining guests would be too shabby and lose face for you guys, so she took your jewelry to wear."
Mr Xie was taken aback. "When did I ask them to entertain guests in the main hall? Did they mess with your things too?" His aunt helping to entertain guests was one thing, but why was Deng Jiayin involved?
He suddenly recalled that he had noticed Deng Jiayin standing off to the side, wiping tears. She seemed to have a familiar hairpin on her head, which should be his wife’s.
"What a mess!" As a scholar, Mr Xie was not tolerant of sneaky activities. At this moment, he was so angry that his face turned red and was ready to confront Deng Shi, but Yu Hongxiu stopped him, saying: "We have guests today, just let it go."
Mr Xie took a deep breath. "Hongxiu, if my second aunt were as understanding as you, our home wouldn’t be so filled with turmoil."
After saying that, he looked at Bai Ruozhu and asked: "Miss Bai, how is Hongxiu actually? Why do we need to call for another doctor while you’re here?"
"There are two babies inside Sister Hongxiu. She needs to take more care than a regular pregnant woman. Upon her return, she was yelled at by your second aunt till her face turned white. How can she have a peaceful pregnancy like this?" Bai Ruozhu said, shaking her head, "Your second aunt also said that I am a quack and a fraud, so I have to call another doctor to come and see."
"Don’t mind her, even Lord Meng praised your medical skills. What does she know?" Xie Dun was really angry, and he didn’t even care to use honorifics for his second aunt.
"Now that Mr Xie trusts me, let me say something inappropriate. Whether you believe it or not, consider it as a warning from me." Bai Ruozhu said, her eyes sweeping towards the window.
Xie Dun quickly bowed to Bai Ruozhu and said, "Miss Bai, feel free to speak. I am all ears."
Bai Ruozhu pointed with her chin to the outside window, "I think your second aunt is acting very strangely. I saw her last time and thought she was just unreasonable. But it seems like something is up with her mentally. Mr, better be more vigilant. If she goes mad one day and hurts someone, or even scares Sister Hongxiu, it’s not going to be good."
The last time she did not harm Deng Shi, it was out of consideration for her being Xie Dun’s relative, and also out of fear of affecting the frail Yu Hongxiu if she mishandled it. Today, she applied the safest medicine to Deng Shi. It wasn’t a strong poison, only a drug that would make her emotions maniacal, and then magnified.
For instance, if she usually yelled, now she was howling like a mad woman. If she usually hit people, now she was like a lunatic, kicking and punching.
Outside the window, just as expected, Deng Shi started to shout and hit the motionless guard.