Chapter 737 - 739: Entering the Palace to Meet the Saint
Inside the box was a jade hairpin, the jade was uniformly white and warm, it was top-notch Hetian mutton-fat white jade.
They say gold has a price, but jade is priceless; even though the price of jade at this time wasn’t as inflated as it is today, this item was still quite valuable. Bai Ruozhu pushed it back, saying, "I cannot accept this gift as I have done nothing to deserve it. It’s enough that I have received Miss Wang’s kindness."
"Why can’t you accept it? Otherwise, you could help me knit a skirt, then we can exchange." Wang Zhenru said with a chuckle, then turned to glance at Leng Wanhua, saying, "Just as long as it’s prettier than Wanhua’s."
"Are you kidding me? Or are you just being petty?" Leng Wanhua remarked indifferently.
Wang Zhenru ignored her, turning towards Bai Ruozhu and said, "Sister Ruozhu, is that okay?"
Her voice was soft and tender, and now it was a bit coquettish, making it hard for people to resist.
All of a sudden, Dengdeng started crying. Bai Ruozhu realized that Dengdeng who had yanked out Wang Zhenru’s hairpin earlier, lost his toy when she had to stop picking up toys for him, and of course, that would make the child cry.
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly held Dengdeng and bent over to pick up the toy, however, it was evident that she was struggling. Leng Wanhua quickly stepped forward, picked up the toy, and handed it to Bai Ruozhu.
Now that the toy was back in Dengdeng’s possession, the child was still crying. Bai Ruozhu sniffled a bit, well, the little fellow was crying not only because he had dropped his toy but also because he was uncomfortable after soiling his trousers.
"The child has pooped, it seems I must take leave, as I am unable to entertain you both today. When I’m free, I’ll invite you both to have a meal at Yingke."
Leng Wanhua bowed politely to say goodbye to Bai Ruozhu. However, Wang Zhenru laughed and said, "Well, Sister Ruozhu, you’ve promised, don’t go back on your word!"
The volume of Dengdeng’s crying increased. Bai Ruozhu suspected that whenever he disliked someone, he would poop in front of them to scare them away. Could this be his biological weapon?
Bai Ruozhu apologized with a smile to the two, picked up Dengdeng, and returned to her room. After seeing her leave, neither of the two ladies could stand the sight of each other, so they exchanged glances and went their separate ways.
Leng Wanhua left first, with Wang Zhenru trailing a bit behind. She turned her head and mumbled to herself, "She doesn’t even have a nurse to take care of the child."
...
Jiang Yichun was still under the jurisdiction of the Tongzheng Division, even when the Emperor had previously issued the Holy Edict to summon him to the Capital City, it was conveyed through the Tongzheng Division. Therefore, immediately upon his arrival, he first reported to the Tongzheng Division, and then sent a note to the Palace from there.
While the historian of the Tongzheng Division, Sun Chengchao, was still in Beiyu City, there weren’t any superiors in Capital City who would put pressure on Jiang Yichun or cause him trouble. After all, even the Emperor wanted to meet him in person, who would dare to trouble him for no reason?
His former Tongzheng Division guards were unavailable, and now his dark guards were from the upper levels and could not show their faces, so he accepted the few guards arranged by the Tongzheng Division. He then commanded the two to wait for word from the Palace, and if there was a response from the Palace, they would find him or his wife Bai Ruozhu at the Commerce Association.
Jiang Yichun rode out of there. Due to the regulations in Capital City, horses weren’t allowed to go too fast, and some streets didn’t allow horses at all. He took his time to observe the scenery of Capital City along the way. Over the years of his absence, there have been many changes to Capital City.
At this time, a horse carriage slowly approached from the opposite direction. The curtain of the carriage was rolled up, and Jiang Yichun instantly saw the old man sitting inside. His face turned as pale as paper and his eyes filled with hatred.
He took a deep breath, averted his gaze and passed the carriage, as if he hadn’t seen the man at all.
All day, Elder Jiang Ge had a feeling of hesitation but he couldn’t pinpoint the reason for it. Only when he saw a young man riding a horse did his eyelids twitch. This happened even after the man had already passed by, Elder Jiang Ge turned his head for another look and his eyelids twitched again.
The child was twelve years old when he left home. Nine years had passed, and there wasn’t much change in him. Elder Jiang Ge recognized him at first glance, but he didn’t know whether the child had recognized him. With this thought, Elder Jiang Ge sighed heavily.
When Jiang Yichun found Bai Ruozhu, his face was gloomy. Bai Ruozhu noticed that his mood was off and asked worryingly, "What happened? Did we delay on the road and upset the Emperor?"
"No, I ran into someone I didn’t want to see," Jiang Yichun said lightly, sighing faintly.
"Elder Jiang Ge?" Bai Ruozhu asked with surprising.
Jiang Yichun nodded but didn’t speak further.
Bai Ruozhu sighed lightly. Capital City was much larger than Beiyu City, how was it that he ran into Elder Jiang Ge on his very first day there? Was it a connection of blood relations? Or was it a cruel trick of fate?
"Did he see you?" Bai Ruozhu asked again.
Jiang Yichun’s eyes became profound. "Probably not, and I didn’t want him to."
Bai Ruozhu hugged his waist, leaning her face against his chest and said, "Dear, sooner or later you will have to face him, and he will know that we are here sooner or later. Don’t let him affect your mood, otherwise it will just make you unhappy."
"Dear?" Jiang Yichun’s hand, which was hugging her waist, tightened slightly.
"Yes, it’s a term from my previous world. The ’dear’ of intimacy, and the ’love’ of romance, don’t you think it’s very affectionate?" Bai Ruozhu said cheerfully.
Jiang Yichun held her face and said, "Then am I your dear husband?" His look was very charming, the gloom on his face had cleared, and his mood had obviously improved.
"In my world, we call it a ’dear husband.’" Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but laugh. The combination of "dear" and "husband" seemed out of place.
"Husband?" Jiang Yichun wrinkled his nose. "It sounds awful."
Bai Ruozhu burst into laughter. Similarly, when she was young and the term ’husband’ was just getting popular, she and her classmates laughed, finding it very unpleasant to the ear as they felt it was akin to saying ’old man’. But later in the modern era, the word ’husband’ was accepted by everyone.
Bai Ruozhu then told Jiang Yichun about the people from Leng family and Wang family visiting, and Jiang Yichun couldn’t help but laugh, saying, "Just do what you see fit. Be friends with whoever you feel comfortable with. After all, I don’t have any complicated family relationships or past, there’s nothing I need to avoid."
Bai Ruozhu nodded and said, "You will be busy with official duties recently, I will try to open a branch of Hua Xiangrong here in Capital City. Even if we lack time, we could at least do some preliminary preparations before we leave. I didn’t want to rush this, but if I don’t make a move now, people may start to look down on me at the Commerce Association."
"Okay, go ahead and do it. If you need any help, just tell me." Jiang Yichun had always supported her career and respected her choices.
By afternoon, it was already getting dark. The guard sent word from the Palace, the Emperor commanded Jiang Yichun to introduce his wife and child to him after the morning court the next day.
----
Dear readers, the annual meeting is so busy. I only updated twice yesterday when there should have been four updates, so another two were once again owed. Now a total of four updates have been owed, I feel so worried...