Chapter 723: Wants the Child, Not the Mother
"What?" Bai Ruozhu exclaimed, a sudden understanding came into her mind, fearing that the Officer Su was not an ordinary person.
"I’ll go and talk to Officer Su. He doesn’t like being bothered by others. I want to protect our home by attaching ourselves to him through knowing our neighbours." Jiang Yichun said.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, feeling even more sure that Officer Su was a reclusive expert, probably very unwilling to be bothered by others.
The next day, Jiang Yichun negotiated a price and rented the neighbouring mansion, paying six months’ rent upfront.
Bai Ruozhu raised her eyebrows at him, "Didn’t you give me all your private money? How did you pay the rent without asking me for money?"
"I just received my official salary and some income from previous businesses, so I just paid it since I had money in hand." Jiang Yichun said with a laugh.
"Are you short on cash? Do you need to use a few hundred taels?" She couldn’t help but think of him borrowing money from Xu Huilin previously.
"No need, I still have money." He replied.
Later, Bai Ruozhu told her parents about renting the neighbouring mansion. Her parents were very pleased and said they would visit the place later.
Lin Ping’er chatted with Bai Ruozhu for a while, and then suddenly asked, "Ruozhu, your birthday is in four days, how would you like to celebrate it?"
Bai Ruozhu was stunned. She hadn’t even realised that her birthday was coming up. In her previous life, she celebrated her solar birthday in April, but now her lunar birthday was in March. The timing was similar, but she hadn’t paid attention to this before.
"I don’t need anything fancy. Just a bowl of Longevity Noodles cooked by Mother would suffice." Bai Ruozhu remembered her past birthdays, or rather, the birthdays of her former self, when Lin Ping’er would cook her a bowl of Longevity Noodles with two soft-poached eggs.
"Absolutely not!" Lin Ping’er immediately objected, "We were financially struggling before, but now we’re doing well. We must throw a nice party for you."
"Mother, I am hosting a farewell banquet three days from now, and I will be tired out the day after, let’s just keep it simple." Bai Ruozhu cajoled, rocking Lin Ping’er’s arm.
"Farewell banquet? Have you sent the invitations yet?" Lin Ping’er widened her eyes, "If not, we can move it after your birthday."
Bai Ruozhu scratched her head. She was disorganized due to the trouble at the shop and had not yet had time to send out the invitations.
"I’ll go and ask Old Shen later. I told him to book the whole Welcome Guest Restaurant for that day. I’m afraid they’ve already told the customers." Bai Ruozhu picked up her stuff to go out. Jiang Yichun had just finished his work and accompanied her and Dengdeng out.
On the horse carriage, Jiang Yichun teased her again and again, causing Bai Ruozhu to pinch him several times. But with his strong muscles, it was difficult for her to make him flinch. He grinned at Bai Ruozhu, provoking her to smack his forehead, warning, "Behave yourself, or I’ll walk by myself."
Jiang Yichun raised his hands in surrender, then chuckled, "Promise to accompany me to the Hot Spring Mansion later, and I’ll leave you alone for now."
Bai Ruozhu’s face flushed red, she protested, "The mansion is full of female guests."
"We will be in the backyard. They won’t come over. You just need to distract Guizhi and the maids." Jiang Yichun said, grinning as he caressed Bai Ruozhu’s cheek. His calloused hand rubbed against her smooth skin, stinging slightly, but feeling more ticklish, creating a tingling sensation.
Bai Ruozhu glared at him with a blushing face, "We have a child here, mind your manners."
"Why don’t you ask Dengdeng if he wants a little sister?" Jiang Yichun teased Dengdeng in Bai Ruozhu’s arms, causing the child to giggle, his happy shouts sounding like "want, want".
"Are you okay with our son being alone? We need to try harder then." Jiang Yichun gave her a flirtatious wink.
This time, Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes at him, "It’s been just over half a year since I gave birth, I haven’t fully recovered yet, we should wait at least another half a year before trying for another child. It would be good for both of us and the child! You, a master of medical skills, don’t even know this basic fact. I think you only care about having children, regardless of my wellbeing."
Jiang Yichun was taken aback by her words, hastily retorting, "I don’t specialize in gynaecology, don’t millions of peasant women have a child every three years?"
"That’s why their bodies are ruined, getting all kinds of diseases later in life." Bai Ruozhu retorted disdainfully.
The couple continued their bantering on the way to the Welcome Guest Restaurant. Jiang Yichun carrying Dengdeng didn’t get off the carriage, Bai Ruozhu went alone to the restaurant’s backyard to see Old Shen.
As soon as she entered the backyard, she saw the self-service dining stands, plates, and small tables she had requested. Most of the preparations were complete. Shen Lu was undeniably efficient.
"Old Shen, most of the preparations are done, right?" Bai Ruozhu asked with a smile.
Shen Lu shook his head, "We are still making the forks you requested, it’s a bit of a trouble, and we don’t have enough yet."
"It’s okay, most people won’t be accustomed to using them, we don’t need too many." Bai Ruozhu responded, and then asked whether he had informed the guests that the restaurant would be closed that day, and if the event could be postponed.
"Interestingly, I was planning to put up the notice this afternoon. If you want to change the date, it’s not too late." Shen Lu replied cheerily.
"Then please postpone it for three days, I have quite a few things to deal with these days." Bai Ruozhu said.
Shen Lu narrowed his eyes, "I heard about your situation. If you need any help, feel free to tell me."
Bai Ruozhu really wanted to ask him for help, to see how strong the faction behind Shen Lu actually was. But she couldn’t take favors lightly. The situation was already nearly resolved, there was no need to bother others any further.
"Thank you, Old Shen. If I need anything, I’ll definitely tell you."
After that, Bai Ruozhu was indeed dragged by Jiang Yichun to the Hot Spring Mansion. As soon as she left the Welcome Guest Restaurant, Jiang Yichun pulled her into his horse carriage. Perhaps under Jiang Yichun’s instructions, Wa San steered the carriage towards the outskirts of the city.
"How dare you corrupt my man..." Bai Ruozhu glared at him. Before she could finish her sentence, her mouth was blocked by his hot kiss, forcing all her words back.
Finally, she found an opportunity to speak, but he fiercely kissed her again, biting and sucking forcefully. He only softened a little when her feet started to stamp in pain, essentially not letting her speak.
Bai Ruozhu was so angry that she pinched him. The two frolicked on the way, and soon they arrived at the Hot Spring Mansion on the outskirts of the city.
The carriage stopped outside the mansion, Bai Ruozhu carried the child inside, Jiang Yichun went to the backyard to avoid the guests. Since it was announced that men weren’t allowed in the mansion, he couldn’t simply stroll in.
Bai Ruozhu wanted to greet Guizhi, but was told by a maid that the Second Miss was in the backyard. As she approached the backyard, she heard some commotion.
"Second Miss, please spare me, I won’t dare to do it again..."