Chapter 799 - 801: Xiaoning Confesses, A Risky Military Maneuver
Ren Jiangyichun, full of enthusiasm, was taken aback by these words. He was already upset, so he pretended not to hear and continued. However, it turned out that the maid was foolish, still calling out from the outside: "Miss, did you hear that? Are you poisoned too? What...what are we going to do?"
Jiang Yichun’s mouth twitched. He could imagine that the maid was about to rush in, so he had to stop all movements, harshly telling Bai Ruozhu, "I’ll deal with you later!"
Bai Ruozhu was already holding back her laughter. Wasn’t he just boasting and spanking her? Now he can’t be so arrogant, can he? However, to avoid bringing more trouble upon herself, Bai Ruozhu was smug deep down, but she didn’t show it at all on her face. When she got up from the bed, she even gave Jiang Yichun an innocent smile.
In the end, caring for a life was top priority, Bai Ruozhu couldn’t delay any longer. She straightened out her clothes and walked out the door.
"What happened?" Bai Ruozhu asked the maid.
"He...he slipped into the medicine bath, I couldn’t hold him steady. After he was pulled out, his eyes and nose were bleeding." The maid started sobbing, "Miss, I really didn’t do it on purpose, he won’t...die, will he? I didn’t mean to hurt him."
Desciding that a little maid was highly pressed to assist Chu Han alone, she pulled a long face, called Cui Fan over, and instructed, "Call two guards to help. Be careful not to get Chu Han’s blood on them."
"Yes, Miss." Cui Fan quickly arranged it.
Bai Ruozhu walked towards the room, giving Chen Feng a harsh glance. If he was willing to help, this wouldn’t have happened. If Jiang Yichun knew that Chen Feng ruined his plan, what would happen to Chen Feng?
In the room, Chu Han was propped over the wooden barrel, blood coming from his eyes and nose. Bai Ruozhu hurried over to take his pulse, her face becoming more serious.
Chu Han’s poison had attacked his heart. As a result, he choked on water, causing his Qi Blood to flow backwards and hemorrhage from his eyes and nose.
Bai Ruozhu quickly called for help to lift Chu Han out of the medicinal bath barrel, then gave him a set of needles. Then she made a new prescription for the medicinal bath, and had someone boil the medicine for Chu Han’s bath.
After a while, the blood finally stopped flowing from Chu Han’s eyes and nose. It was just a pity that he still hadn’t regained consciousness.
"Soak in the bath three times according to this prescription, half an hour each time. When the time is up, replace with fresh decoction. Cui Fan, keep an eye on him." Bai Ruozhu instructed.
"Yes." Cui Fan respectfully replied.
While Bai Ruozhu was busy turning her house upside down, something happened at the Embroidery Pavilion.
Xiaoning, feeling distressed because her waist-card was returned and subtly rebuked by Bai Ruozhu, believed the Young Master liked her. Why else would he help her pay for the medical treatment and continue to employ her, giving her a salary?
She felt her background wasn’t too inferior either, nothing more than a decline in family fortune. Wouldn’t she be worthy enough to be a concubine to the Young Master? Why did Mistress look down on her so much?
No, she couldn’t be resigned to this fate nor sit idle waiting for death. She must convey her feelings to the Young Master properly.
So, when Bai Zehao left for the shop in the afternoon, Xiaoning found an opportunity to confront Bai Zehao alone, asking pitifully, "Does Young Master really not want the threadball made by Xiaoning? Do you think Xiaoning’s hands and feet are too rustic?"
"Don’t overthink it. Do your job well, and spend more time with your father," Bai Zehao kindly advised.
"Doesn’t the Young Master understand Xiaoning’s feelings? The Young Master saved my father, and I’m willing to forever serve the Young Master as a slave or a maid." Xiaoning said softly, her voice so tender, it seemed ready to turn into water.
Bai Zehao furrowed his brow, increasingly feeling his sister was right. Xiaoning was acting improperly.
"No need, it was just a trivial effort for me. I don’t want your repayment. Even if it was anyone else, I would have helped in the same way," Bai Zehao answered indifferently, his tone evidently distancing himself.
Xiaoning looked at him in disbelief, asked stuttering, "You weren’t like this before, clearly you liked me. Did someone say something to you? Was it Mistress? I know she doesn’t like me." As she spoke, Xiaoning started to sob with a whimper, seeming extremely wronged as if Bai Ruozhu had bullied her.
Bai Zehao grew irritated. He hadn’t expected to attract such trouble. He always thought Xiaoning was a simple and filial sister, but he didn’t expect her to harbor such thoughts and even start making up stories about his Sister.
"Xiaoning, you must be mistaken. My wife is beautiful and virtuous. Having her is enough in my life. How can I like others? " He sighed, "Let’s consider what you just said as nonsense. You’re young and bound to be rash at times. If you don’t want to stay here, the payment I gave your father for medical treatment doesn’t have to be repaid. If you want to stay, you’re always welcome, but I hope you won’t continue making the same mistakes."
Xiaoning was in shock. She hadn’t expected such a response. She suddenly regretted her impulsivity. She should have waited some more; given more time, he would have liked her more and wouldn’t have cared so much about his wife and sister.
All her plans were disrupted by Bai Ruozhu!
Bai Zehao didn’t even care about Xiaoning who stood dumbfounded. He turned around and left without looking back.
...
In the Bai family yard, Bai Ruozhu returned to the room to talk to Jiang Yichun, both of them playing with the child. Jiang Yichun behaved better this time, refraining from "openly seducing" her.
"Do you recognize the poison afflicting him? He’s a madman too, testing such strong poison on himself. Even if I had ten times the courage, I wouldn’t dare mistreat myself like this." Bai Ruozhu said, curling her lips.
Jiang Yichun was thrilled to hear Bai Ruozhu evaluate Chu Han this way and quickly echoed, "Yes, exactly, he’s just a madman."
As the two were talking, they saw a slender figure bouncing into the room where Chu Han was being treated. Bai Ruozhu tensed up. It wasn’t just anyone—it was Bai Ruolan, whom Bai Ruozhu was looking after at the house.
After Bai Ruolan’s suicide attempt, her behavior reverted to that of a toddler’s. Previously, Bai Ruozhu had let Lamei take care of her. Later, when Bai Ruozhu went to the Capital, she took Lamei with her and arranged for another little maid to take care of Bai Ruolan. Despite not eating with the Bai family and being miscast due to her childish behavior, she had enough to eat and drink and lived a relatively decent life.
"What is your silly sister up to?" Having seen the situation outside through the window, Jiang Yichun couldn’t help but asked out of curiosity.
Bai Ruozhu smiled. "You’ve called her silly yourself. Perhaps she finds it amusing."
Sure enough, in the room, Bai Ruolan treated Chu Han like a giant toy. She pulled on his hair at one moment, then sprinkled bathtub water around the next, even pouring some onto Chu Han’s unconscious body and face. It’s a pity that Chu Han remained unresponsive to it all.
However, since her suicide attempt that resulted in her becoming mentally challenged, Bai Ruolan seldom showed such interest in anyone.