Chapter 809 - 811 Ji Ziyan Found Juejue_1
Bai Ruozhu went to the main house to greet her parents, exchanged a few words, and then returned to look for Jiang Yichun. Dengdeng, seeing his mother, reached out and called out "Ah, ah," wanting to be held. Bai Ruozhu hurriedly took him into her arms and glared at Jiang Yichun, saying, "What are you doing propping him up on your legs? It’s still too early for that, it might harm the child’s legs."
Jiang Yichun scratched his head, looking somewhat innocent, and said, "But I see other families’ babies doing the same thing, and besides, our son likes it. If I don’t let him stand, he cries."
Bai Ruozhu gave him a stern look and said, "The child doesn’t know any better right now. Just because he wants it, you give in? Don’t you ever think about his safety? Those other families’ kids, that’s their problem, and can you even tell how many months old they are? Once Dengdeng’s bones are well-developed and he’s strong enough, he’ll be able to stand up slowly on his own with the support of the wall or the bedhead, without any help. For now, it’s just too soon."
Jiang Yichun touched his nose awkwardly and coughed twice, "I come back and get scolded right away, but we can’t have this in front of the child when he’s older, where would that leave my dignity as a father?"
Dengdeng conveniently giggled at the side, and although Bai Ruozhu was maintaining a stern face, she was soon laughing as well. She turned to her son, pretending to be fierce, and said, "You’re not being good either, you have to take things step by step, no more mischief in the future."
Dengdeng didn’t understand anyway, and just laughed "Hehe" at Bai Ruozhu, then reached out to be held. Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help but adore her son and took him into her arms.
Afterward, she briefly shared her experience at the Meng Residence with Jiang Yichun, whose face grew grim. After a long moment, he said, "That Tu Lie is just obstinate, and his wife too, unreasonable. It seems we have indeed made enemies."
Bai Ruozhu was also displeased with what Mrs. Tu had said. She directly called for Jianqi and instructed, "Arrange it so the Tu Family misunderstands Mrs. Tu, leading to her being forced back to her maiden home."
"Yes," Jianqi nodded, about to leave the room, but Bai Ruozhu stopped him, "Never mind, let’s not act just yet. We’ll wait and talk about it later."
Seeing Bai Ruozhu’s furrowed brows, Jiang Yichun couldn’t help but feel distressed. He reached out to massage her between the eyebrows and said, "You’re just too kind-hearted. I’ll handle this kind of matter myself."
Bai Ruozhu smiled sheepishly, she indeed tended to be soft-hearted, "I know you’ve been tolerating the Tu Family because of me, but we can’t keep going like this forever. Forget it, I’ll talk with Tu Ying and Tu Bai tomorrow."
"And Wang Miaoshuang should not be let off lightly; she no longer needs to play the role of the City Lord’s wife," Jiang Yichun’s eyes flashed a cold light.
This time Bai Ruozhu didn’t stop him. Wang Miaoshuang deserved to be kicked out, but it was pitiable for Meng Jinse.
Unexpectedly, without having to look for Tu Ying and Tu Bai, they took the initiative to visit. Just as Jiang Yichun had stepped out, Bai Ruozhu invited them to the main hall for tea and a chat.
"Ruozhu, we’ve already heard about today’s incident, and we’re truly, truly sorry," Tu Ying said with flushed cheeks, looking somewhat embarrassed.
Tu Bai also cleared his throat twice and said, "My parents are both quite stubborn, please don’t take it to heart."
Bai Ruozhu had always regarded Tu Ying as a good friend, and seeing her so restless, she felt somewhat sympathetic. She sighed and said, "Honestly, we don’t care much about it, but I’m afraid Captain Tu could be influenced by others; taking the wrong side could be troublesome. You are my friends, and I don’t want to see such a thing happen to you."
"We must go back and earnestly persuade our parents. At their age, they still easily lose their temper, which is truly..." Tu Ying struggled to find the right words to continue.
"You must know that no matter what you do, the most important thing is the emperor’s favor. Don’t lose His Majesty’s trust." Bai Ruozhu felt that, by saying this much, the message couldn’t be any clearer.
Tu Bai was clearer than his father in what he said, mentioning, "Indeed, Brother Jiang was personally sent by the emperor. Isn’t my father’s behavior tantamount to dissatisfaction with the emperor? There must be someone who has stirred things up behind his back. We’re still young and have never been involved in the affairs of our Residence. Our family doesn’t have those kinds of despicable people, and we’ve never needed to worry about anything. Who knew that this time, our parents would be deceived by someone? This matter, we, as siblings, must investigate promptly and persuade our parents to turn back as soon as possible."
Bai Ruozhu nodded upon hearing this, "That would be for the best."
After the Tu siblings left, Bai Ruozhu let out a slight sigh. After this incident, the chances of something happening between Tu Ying and her second brother seemed even more impossible now.
The next day, Bai Ruozhu visited the Xie Residence to see Yu Hongxiu and her twin sons. Yu Hongxiu had recuperated well from her confinement, having regained much of her complexion; she invited Bai Ruozhu to sit by the bed and said with a smile, "Do you know what became of Deng Shi and her people?"
Bai Ruozhu hadn’t asked about that specifically, as she had been busy with other things.
"Let me tell you," Yu Hongxiu’s eyes lit up as she spoke, "Deng Shi had someone plead with my uncle for leniency, and my uncle even approached Xie Dun about it. But this time, Xie Dun absolutely refused. As a scholar, he believes that princes should be punished for their crimes just as commoners are; let alone someone from the Deng family. So, Deng Shi and the midwife were both beaten with twenty heavy sticks, then exiled to a border post to work hard labor." Yu Hongxiu seemed very satisfied with her husband’s actions this time.
"Moreover, you definitely don’t know that Ji Ziyan has proposed breaking off the engagement," Yu Hongxiu said with a hint of schadenfreude on her face.
This, Bai Ruozhu hadn’t anticipated, but hearing it didn’t shock her too much. She felt that Deng Jiayin was not a good match for Ji Ziyan, even though Ji Ziyan was already a widower.
Furthermore, she didn’t think there was anything wrong with Yu Hongxiu taking pleasure in Deng Jiayin’s misfortune. Deng Jiayin had often joined her family in scheming against Yu Hongxiu and was no good thing, coveting another’s husband. It was only natural for Yu Hongxiu to dislike her.
Besides, the twins from Yu Hongxiu’s womb likely carried poison from Deng Jiayin’s hand. Ji Ziyan calling off the engagement might indicate that Mr. Xie had already found something out. After all, he couldn’t possibly allow his close friend to marry a woman with a heart as venomous as a viper’s, could he?
"Speaking of which, I’ve always wondered why Mr. Ji would marry Deng Jiayin. Isn’t he still attached to his late wife?" Bai Ruozhu asked, a bit of gossip in her tone.
Yu Hongxiu sent Ruyi to the kitchen to check on the stew, which was actually an excuse to send people away. She then whispered to Bai Ruozhu, "I couldn’t understand it either, until one day, I visited Xie Dun’s study. He happened to be drinking with Ji Ziyan, and both were somewhat drunk. I accidentally overheard some of their conversation."
Yu Hongxiu smiled sheepishly, "I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but they were loud because they were intoxicated. Ji Ziyan said he couldn’t forget his late wife, and later he met a woman who bore a striking resemblance to her. They were intimate without being married, and at first, he treated that woman as if she were his late wife. Even after realizing they were not the same person, he still couldn’t extricate himself from her. But not long after, that woman mysteriously disappeared."
"Ji Ziyan searched for her frantically everywhere, even in the brothels, to no avail. He didn’t know her real name; all he knew was that at the height of their affair, she asked him to call her Juejue..."