Chapter 731 - 733: Yearning is Just Commonplace
Bai Ruozhu memorized the appearance of two of the guards within the Space, at least she could confirm that these two knew the plan of the steward and were his accomplices.
Then, someone practically burst into the backyard, as the door to the backyard was forcefully kicked down. Bai Ruozhu saw Jiang Yichun appearing on the large screen, his face was anxious. He looked expectant but also deadly, most likely because he knew that the steward was trying to conspire against her, driving him to a point where he wanted to kill the steward.
Under the crystal-clear shot on the large screen, the dark circles under his eyes were all too visible. Because he had stayed up all night, stubble had formed on his face. He appeared a lot more weathered, and his previously nourished cheeks had sunk again.
She thought of how he always forgot to eat when he was busy. He would be like this when he was working, and certainly even more so now that she was missing. She couldn’t help but feel worried for him - was he trying to starve himself into developing a stomach illness?
"Speak, where is she?" Jiang Yichun rushed over and picked up one of the guards, who was none other than the man who had just mentioned that he wanted to hide, unfortunately, he wasn’t fast enough to escape Jiang Yichun’s speed.
"I...I don’t know. She sneaked away herself." The man, believing that he was here to kill Bai Ruozhu, trembled uncontrollably with fear. He fell limp to the ground after Jiang Yichun threw him away.
Bai Ruozhu quickly escaped from the Space, calling out from behind the backyard wall: "Achun, I’m hiding behind the wall!"
Jiang Yichun’s face lit up with exhilaration. With a single leap, he vaulted over the enclosing wall and engulfed Bai Ruozhu in a tight hug. He buried his head in the crook of her neck, greedily inhaling her scent, murmuring as he held her close, "You’re safe, you’re safe, that’s great!"
After saying that, he swiftly lifted his head, took a step back, and began to inspect her from top to bottom with his hand on her shoulders, asking, "You’re not injured, right?"
Bai Ruozhu shook her head vigorously, "I’m fine. You were worried sick, weren’t you? Where’s Dengdeng? We should hurry and find him. I won’t be at ease otherwise."
She was afraid that Zhou Jue would capture Dengdeng to force her into compliance upon seeing her escape.
"Don’t worry, I’ve got Dengdeng safely ashore. I’ll take you to him right now." Jiang Yichun wrapped his arm around her waist, leading her swiftly away from the scene.
The two guards stood there in a daze. They couldn’t believe that she had been hiding right behind the wall of their Commerce Association headquarters, and they hadn’t noticed. It was simply beyond imagination.
Jianqi, who was following behind, had two of the guards captured. Just like Bai Ruozhu, they too heard the conversation between the guards. Moreover, the general manager, Zhang Zhifang, was also arrested that night.
Jiang Yichun ushered her into an inn within the city at incredible speed. Upon entering the room, Bai Ruozhu saw Xiaomao dozing off at the bedside while Dengdeng was already asleep on the bed. There were still tear marks on his face, indicating that he had cried before sleep.
Bai Ruozhu patted Xiaomao, signaling her to rest, at which Xiaomao reacted with both shock and delight, unable to hold back her tears.
She gently stroked Xiaomao’s hair to soothe her, affirming she was fine now. Only then did Xiaomao wipe her tears and leave the room after a respectful bow.
Sitting by the bed, Bai Ruozhu stroked her son’s soft hair, looking at his peaceful sleeping face. She couldn’t help letting tears of painful sympathy roll down her cheeks. The child must have been worried about her. At such a young age, he had already suffered so much. Bai Ruozhu even regretted bringing the child to the capital, but if she had left him at home, wouldn’t that have made him a ’left-behind child’?
Jiang Yichun hugged her shoulders from behind, softly saying, "It was my mistake. I failed to protect you."
Bai Ruozhu turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her head against his chest, saying, "Silly, it’s not your fault. Zhou Jue was just too cunning." She then told him about the incident where Zhou Jue’s men had dragged her into the water, and how she had been pulled away by a hook. She also disclosed how she had managed to escape danger, although she didn’t mention hiding in the Space. She merely stated that Zhou Jue had fallen ill and went to a woman, and she took the opportunity to have Furball unblock her acupuncture points and escape.
Then she went on to tell him about the Commerce Association steward’s plan to frame her, and how fortunate she was to have overheard it. Otherwise...
"Don’t worry; Jianqi and the others have sent him to a higher-level Commerce Association for punishment. As for the matter you promised Zhang Deng, you can talk to Master Lin yourself," Jiang Yichun said.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, "I’ll write a letter to Master tomorrow."
After she finished speaking, she looked up at him and asked, "Have you eaten?"
He was stunned. Shouldn’t the two of them be confiding their longings for each other at this moment, or shouldn’t she be laying on his chest saying how scared she was, how much she missed him? Why did she start talking about such mundane matters so quickly?
"Not yet," Jiang Yichun said softly, "Have you eaten?"
Bai Ruozhu suddenly let out a burp, directly answering his question. She had baked another fish out of boredom while waiting in the Space, and she had stuffed herself.
"You’re not eating at regular times again!" Bai Ruozhu said reproachfully, trying to hide her embarrassment. She wished she hadn’t eaten so much. He was searching for her on an empty stomach while she had eaten so much she was burping, feeling guilty indeed.
"I don’t have the mood to eat," Jiang Yichun said pitifully.
Bai Ruozhu quickly grabbed his hand and said, "Have the Waiter send up some hot dishes for you. I’ll eat with you."
Jiang Yichun laughed and nodded, "Alright, I’m feeling quite hungry myself."
Soon the meal arrived, and Bai Ruozhu served him lots of dishes. He had a full meal, and he looked a bit more lively.
"I shouldn’t have chosen the waterway for the sake of speed. The people of Chengshui Country excel in swimming. We are no match for them in the water. Let’s take the land route from now on," Jiang Yichun suggested.
Bai Ruozhu held his hand and said, "This can’t be blamed on you. The waterway is faster and more stable, which has made our journey a lot easier. I think we should continue by water. It would be tiring for Dengdeng to travel by a horse carriage the whole way. I can’t imagine Zhou Jue finding another opportunity so easily after such a big commotion. At worst, I’ll stay in the ship cabin the whole time."
Jiang Yichun thought for a moment and agreed, as traveling by land was neither as fast nor as smooth as by water.
While they were talking, Dengdeng woke up. Upon seeing Bai Ruozhu, he began to call out, and Bai Ruozhu scooped him into her arms, saying sympathetically, "Were you scared, Dengdeng? Did you miss Mommy?"
Apparently missing Bai Ruozhu a lot, Dengdeng sniffled and started sobbing again.
Bai Ruozhu held her son comfortingly and tried to cheer him up. Seeing him still crying, she began to tickle his little stomach.
"Tickle tickle tickle, don’t cry, Dengdeng," she said, laughing.
Dengdeng, intolerant to tickling, soon started giggling. Even though his eyes were still teary, he had already put aside his unhappiness.
Bai Ruozhu played with her son for a while before she noticed that Jiang Yichun had been quiet for some time. When she turned her head, she saw him propping his head up with an arm, lying facing them, with closed eyes and a happy smile on his face...
Under the candlelight, the contours of his face softened, giving him an air of warmth. Bai Ruozhu’s heart filled with a sweet yet dull pain. She felt sympathy for him, for being so worn out because of her, to the point where even watching the mother-son interaction could put him to sleep.
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This Chapter is a continuation from yesterday. Five more Chapters to go. Stay tuned for tomorrow...