Chapter 704 - 706: Child Delivers a Letter
Jiang Yichun, protecting his wife, glared at the crowd and said, "Are you suggesting that we should watch innocent people drown? Don’t you have any conscience? Don’t bring up any ghosts or gods!"
"If she fell into the river during River God Festival, it must be that the River God wanted to take her. You dare to snatch someone from the River God; there won’t be a good end for you!" Someone in the crowd yelled out, "You will bring us bad luck, you better leave our Linchuan City immediately. Get out!"
Many people on the bank started yelling in agreement, "Get out! Get out!"
Bai Ruozhu was soaking wet from the river now, the wind causing her to shiver from the cold. However, nothing was colder than her heart at this moment. She glared at the crowd, shouting loudly, "She was not taken by the River God, she was pushed into the river by someone."
The one who had bumped into the girl was a young girl around fifteen or sixteen years old. Clearly, she had felt herself bump into the girl, causing her to fall into the river. But she hadn’t yelled for help, nor had she come forward to explain anything. Judging from her previously demonstrated carefree personality and dramatic actions, it’s not that she was a particularly timid person. So there was only one explanation—she did it on purpose.
Unfortunately, no one was listening to Bai Ruozhu’s words. The onlookers continued to curse at her, and the perpetrator she had seen had vanished without a trace.
"Even if someone pushes a person into the river, won’t it still be considered that the River God wanted her? Can’t she be saved?" Jiang Yichun growled. If he wasn’t afraid of waking his son, he would’ve used his inner strength to shout even louder.
"If you say yes, I will throw you all into the river. Since you believe in the River God, you should be obedient and let the River God take you. Don’t climb back on shore yourself, so as not to displease the River God!" Jiang Yichun’s voice was cold, and his gaze was particularly sharp, frightening the crowd. For a moment, everyone quieted down, and no one dared to shout again.
"Ruozhu, let’s go back. Be careful not to catch a cold." Jiang Yichun lovingly wrapped his arm around his wife, quickly left the riverside using his lightness skills.
When the two of them started to move, someone came back to their senses and started yelling at them again, telling them to leave Linchuan City.
After returning to the inn, Jiang Yichun ordered the inn’s staff to heat some water to take off Bai Ruozhu’s wet clothes. He then helped wipe her dry with the hot water and put her into comfortable dry clothes. Several times during the process, he felt a surge of desire, but seeing Bai Ruozhu’s worried expression, he repressed his feelings.
"Achun, it’s all my fault for meddling with others’ affairs. Look, the girl’s family didn’t even thank me." Bai Ruozhu said, sounding somewhat disheartened.
Jiang Yichun helped her dry her hair while gently saying, "Regardless of what they say, as long as you have a clear conscience, it’s fine. It’s not a hassle. Saving a person’s life helps you live without any long-lasting guilt."
This reminded Bai Ruozhu of a past life memory when she and a classmate encountered an old beggar. Although the beggar didn’t look genuinely impoverished, her classmate gave him a few coins anyway. They were just students then and didn’t have much money to spare. Confused, she asked her classmate, "Aren’t you afraid of being swindled?"
She still remembered her classmate’s response: "If I’m swindled, I only lose a few coins. But if I see him and do not help, I am constantly worried that he might genuinely need help. This feeling of guilt will make me unhappy. Why would I make myself uncomfortable over a few coins? Just take it as me buying peace of mind for a few coins."
Now, thinking about it, it made sense. Even if she was scolded, at least she was at peace with herself. Otherwise, if she’d just watched a life being taken away, she would never be able to find peace in this life.
Sadly, Bai Ruozhu underestimated the superstitions of the people of Linchuan City. She didn’t know how they found out which inn she was staying in, but by noon the next day, people started gathering outside the inn, shouting for the woman who broke their customs to leave Linchuan City.
News of this incident spread quickly, and more people started shouting outside the inn. Dengdeng hadn’t taken his nap yet and was very curious about the unified shouting. He started babbling as if he was asking his mother: what are they yelling about?
Dengdeng could sit stably now and seemed to enjoy doing so. He was sitting on the bed playing with a pellet drum, shaking it in rhythm. When the people outside shouted, he would shake it, and when they stopped, he would too. He played like this tirelessly, breaking into fits of giggles from time to time.
"Our dear guests, you really shouldn’t have interfered by saving people from the river. Look at the situation we are in now, it’s affecting our business." The shopkeeper’s tone wasn’t particularly harsh, but with the commotion outside, who would dare come into the inn?
Jiang Yichun opened the door, handed him thirty taels of silver, and said, "This is to compensate for the loss in your shop. We will stay at most another two days before leaving."
"Thank you for your generous reward," the shopkeeper said, not hesitating to take the silver. He then added, "Just close the windows and ignore them. However, please be careful when you go out. Who knows what these people might do? They say they even tried to drown that girl in the river today, as a human sacrifice to the River God."
Bai Ruozhu stood up, turned to the shopkeeper at the door, and asked, "How is that girl now?"
"Her father made a big fuss and reported it to the city government. It was only when the government dispatched officers and men that they managed to stop it," the shopkeeper, having probably dealt with outsiders more, wasn’t as superstitious as the other locals. He sighed and said, "There’s a chance someone intentionally instigated this. If pushing someone into the river during the River Lamp Festival causes them death, then no family would let their children do it, and adults wouldn’t either. Otherwise, anyone with a grudge can just push someone into the river causing harm and possibly death."
"I don’t think they’re targeting us. I’m afraid the person who purposefully pushed her might have other ulterior motives. The poor girl that fell into the water might have unknowingly offended someone, and ended up suffering such misfortune at such a young age," Bai Ruozhu speculated.
The shopkeeper shook his head, "I hope the officials at the government office can quickly figure this out." With that, he retreated.
With everything going on, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun didn’t have the mood to worry about other people’s problems. They each had their concerns, particularly the news about Elder Shougu. However, by evening, a child managed to squeeze through the protesting crowd and said to the shopkeeper, "I am looking for the pretty sister who was holding a child. Someone asked me to deliver a message to her."
Wary of the people outside, the shopkeeper didn’t dare to easily let the child go to them. He first went to their room to notify them. Jiang Yichun listened, frowned, and said, "Bring the child up."
White Ruozhu placed Dengdeng on the inside of the bed to continue playing, but she felt somewhat nervous. She had a feeling that whoever was coming was likely related to Elder Shougu.
The child appeared to be about eight or nine years old. As soon as he entered the room, he loudly proclaimed, "An old man asked me to come to the inn to find the pretty sister who was holding a child. He wants to know if you have a certain plant?"