Chapter 701 - 703: Dengdeng has been Poisoned by the Insect
Bai Ruozhu, afraid of misunderstandings from her mother, explained in a low voice, "Chang Sheng was adopted by his master as a child and grew up with his three martial siblings. Later, his master told Wu Wanqing to choose a husband from among them. She chose the eldest martial brother, yet her heart lingered on Chang Sheng."
Lin Ping’er sneered, "That’s utterly unbecoming of a woman."
"Chang Sheng fell off a cliff by accident and suffered serious internal injuries. He was supposed to return to us, but he encountered mountain bandits and had to send a letter to his master. However, the one who came was Wu Wanqing," Bai Ruozhu continued slowly, "At that time, Wu Wanqing’s husband was still alive. She confessed her feelings to Chang Sheng who promptly told her that he was already married. In her anger, Wu Wanqing placed a poisonous insect on him that made him forget about the time he spent with us."
"We didn’t share this earlier for fear that it would frighten you. Even the injury that Wu Wanqing suffered this time was a result of her sneak attack on me, which ended up backfiring," Bai Ruozhu added.
By then, Dengdeng had already fallen asleep. Bai Ruozhu carefully laid him down on the kang-bed, tidying his hair with a look of distress. The child must have been scared today.
"After doing such despicable acts, she gets off just like that?" Lin Ping’er asked indignantly.
"Chang Sheng was able to grow up thanks to his master’s adoption, and his master’s only relative is Wu Wanqing. Had it been someone else, Chang Sheng would’ve taken her life by now. But this time, Wu Wanqing dared to kidnap Dengdeng, we will definitely make her pay!" Bai Ruozhu articulated through gritted teeth.
As they were talking, the sound of fighting came from outside. Bai Ruozhu rushed to the entrance to look, Zhang Liangcai whispered from outside, "Miss, the young master has returned and is dealing with those outside." He spoke with a trace of triumph–served them right for not helping earlier.
Bai Ruozhu quickly walked to the gate of the yard and said loudly, "If you want to fight, do it farther away, don’t wake up my son!"
Her scolding almost rivalled the roaring of a lioness. Jiang Yichun paused in his action, the pleas for mercy from the members of the political office also ceased. It became extremely quiet, with everyone only dared to breathe lightly.
Jiang Yichun finally sighed and said quietly, "All of you get out! I don’t want to see you again! We don’t need you here anymore!"
With tears in his eyes, someone spoke, "Third Young Master, we had no choice. In the future, we will definitely be loyal to you."
"Get lost, my son was snatched and you all ignored it. To hell with your loyalty! Get the hell out of here, or I’ll cripple your martial arts!" Jiang Yichun roared.
The team leader issued an order to the crowd, "Let’s go, let’s not bother the Third Young Master anymore."
"Team Leader..." The others felt they should try begging some more, but the team leader shook his head. He had served the third young master for a long time, how could he not understand his temper? It was their fault for not being firm enough. Originally, they should have refused to obey, even if it meant being punished by the political office or being expelled from it.
Unfortunately, there is no medicine for regret in this world.
Listening to their commotion in the yard, Bai Ruozhu’s temper flared again. She shouted, "Can’t you understand what I’m saying? Everyone quiet down!"
The people from the political office knelt down in unison and bowed to Jiang Yichun before they finally left. Jiang Yichun entered the yard, his face filled with a sorrowful expression.
"Ruozhu, how are mother and Dengdeng?" He asked tentatively, as if worried that Ruozhu might drive him away as well.
Seeing him like this, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but feel pity. All the anger she had been holding back also seemed too cruel to vent. If she were betrayed by her trusted subordinates, she might also feel this disappointed and upset, right?
"They’re okay. Thankfully, we have the dark guards given by Elder Lin at home. Otherwise..." Otherwise, Dengdeng would have been kidnapped today.
The sullen expression on Jiang Yichun’s face deepened, "The guards from the political office said Wu Wanqing had a token from the political office’s historian, they couldn’t disobey her order."
Bai Ruozhu originally thought that Wu Wanqing had used her father’s status to buy off those people, but did not expect the political office historian to be involved. She sighed and said, "They were left with no choice. Firing them after they have been following you for so long isn’t kind, right?"
Despite his firm expression, Jiang Yichun’s eyes betrayed a sense of loneliness and loss, "No need, those who have betrayed me will never be used again."
His stubborn stance was heartbreaking. Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but take his hand and said, "If they’re not needed, so be it. We still have the Commerce Association’s dark guards."
"I’ll send more people. If anyone finds out, just say they are from the Commerce Association." Jiang Yichun said in a low voice, realizing he must now make use of the forces of Lou Shang Lou.
After their conversation, they entered the house. Upon seeing Lin Ping’er, Jiang Yichun remorsefully said, "Mother, I’m sorry."
Seeing him like this, Lin Ping’er couldn’t bear to blame him at all, thinking how pitiful this child was.
"It’s alright, it’s not your fault, didn’t someone come to help later? However, you absolutely cannot let Wu Wanqing off easily," Lin Ping’er said.
Jiang Yichun nodded, "Mother, rest assured, I won’t let her off."
Bai Ruozhu leaned on her mother’s arm and said, "Mother, the people who came later were my subordinates, you thanked the wrong person."
"What?" Lin Ping’er looked incredulous, wondering when her daughter had gained such powerful subordinates?
"Mother, the elders of the Commerce Association have taken a liking to Ruozhu and decided to take her as their disciple. Those are her guards." Jiang Yichun said and finally smiled, turning to Bai Ruozhu, he said, "Elder Lin plans to hold the Disciple Acceptance Ceremony for you in the next few days, and announce in the Commerce Association that you are his chosen heir. He should notify you once he’s made the arrangements."
Bai Ruozhu nodded, thinking that it was a good idea. With this status, even if the political office historian wanted to eliminate her, they would need to consider carefully.
She was now incredibly grateful that she had agreed to Elder Lin’s request and received these ten dark guards. Otherwise, Dengdeng would have been kidnapped by that perverse woman, Wu Wanqing, today. Thinking about this, she glanced at Dengdeng who was still sound asleep on the kang-bed, and felt a chill.
Suddenly, a small furry ball from her sleeve sprang out and landed straight on Dengdeng’s face. Bai Ruozhu was startled, thinking that something was wrong with the furball and that it would hurt Dengdeng. She quickly called back the furball with her thoughts, but noticed it was contorting its tiny body in a certain spot on Dengdeng’s face, as if it was trying to say something.
Bai Ruozhu widened her eyes, could it be that Dengdeng was poisoned by the poisonous insect?
She quickly asked her mother, "Mother, did Wu Wanqing touch Dengdeng anywhere? Did she touch his face?"
Lin Ping’er was startled by her daughter’s frantic expression and quickly walked over, and Jiang Yichun also came closer.
"She held Dengdeng, right, she also scratched Dengdeng’s face with her nails, right here. And then Dengdeng started crying. Could it be that Dengdeng’s face was scratched?" Lin Ping’er said, checking Dengdeng’s face - the furball had already returned to Bai Ruozhu. Seeing that there was no redness or swelling on Dengdeng’s face, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at her mother, then gave Jiang Yichun a meaningful look, saying, "Mother, I’m going to take Dengdeng to the room to rest for a while. I’ve been feeling a bit of a headache because I’ve been too nervous."