Chapter 81 - 081: Second Brother’s Tao Hua Refuses to Bloom
Bai Ruozhu didn’t know how to respond, so she just laughed awkwardly and said, "I dare not imagine such things. As long as he grows up healthy and lives a decent life, that’s enough."
Zhou Taohua was somewhat surprised by Bai Ruozhu’s response. She had always believed that parents should hope for their children to have a promising future. Why did Bai Ruozhu seem to hope for her son not to achieve much?
Bai Ruozhu saw the confusion in her eyes and laughed inwardly. How could this young girl understand the wisdom of "peace and safety are the greatest blessings"?
Zhou Taohua snapped back to reality, her smile returning to her face, "Where are you headed? I hope I’m not interrupting."
Bai Ruozhu wanted to say ’yes’, but thought better of it. Unexpectedly, Fang Guizhi chimed in first: "We are just strolling around, no interruption at all. Let’s walk together."
Fang Guizhi had not perceived Zhou Taohua’s intentions but had formed a good impression of her. Indeed, from her past life memory, Zhou Taohua was quite a nice girl, cheerful and easy to get along with the girls in the village, but...
However, Bai Ruozhu underestimated Zhou Taohua, believing her second brother wouldn’t be interested in Zhou Taohua. Not because her second brother was too lofty to be interested in a village girl, but because she felt that her second brother was wholeheartedly dedicated to his studies and obtaining a scholarly honor. He didn’t want to marry too early. Many men in Danliang Country married late, and the current emperor even encouraged men to first achieve success before getting married. But how many years could a woman afford to wait?
Considering this, Bai Ruozhu decided she needed to keep her distance from Zhou Taohua to avoid leading her on. Of course, she couldn’t bring herself to be hostile towards Zhou Taohua. She was just a girl with a crush on her, without any ill intentions. She wouldn’t even have the heart to give Zhou Taohua the cold shoulder.
As expected, the three of them chatted as they walked, and it wasn’t long before Zhou Taohua steered the conversation to Bai Zepei.
"Sister Ruozhu, your second brother studies too hard. It seems like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Brother Zepei leave the house."
Bai Ruozhu’s smile, in response, felt stiff. She just laughed awkwardly again, saying, "Yes, he is engrossed in his studies. It’s almost time for the Rural Examination."
"He mustn’t wear himself out. I hope that Brother Zepei does well in his exams," Zhou Taohua said, her cheeks turning pink. She was clearly embarrassed.
"On my brother’s behalf, thank you." Bai Ruozhu quickly interjected, before adding, "Oh dear, I’m feeling a bit tired. I need to go home and rest."
Zhou Taohua’s eyes lit up. She didn’t let go of Bai Ruozhu’s arm and said, "I have nothing else to do. Let me walk you home and pay my respects to Uncle Bai and Auntie."
Bai Ruozhu’s face twitched slightly. Had she unwittingly invited the wolf into her house?
"I plan on sleeping when I get home, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to keep you company," Bai Ruozhu said after a moment’s thought. She hoped this girl wouldn’t disturb her second brother. Considering her extraordinarily shrewd second brother, she really didn’t want to stir up trouble.
Fang Guizhi, while not exactly the brightest, had spent enough time with Bai Ruozhu to instantly pick up on her demeanor. Even though she could not understand why Bai Ruozhu wished to avoid Zhou Taohua, she would unconditionally support her decision.
"Sister Taohua, why don’t we avoid disturbing Ruozhu and go to my house to look at the new embroidery designs I’ve made instead?" Fang Guizhi suggested as she linked arms with Zhou Taohua, evoking a clear sense of intimacy.
Bai Ruozhu had to stifle a laugh. Her best friend, Guizhi, really knew how to read situations. It’s just that her mother cared too much about boys and girls. Otherwise, Guizhi might not have necessarily lost to Bai Ruozhu’s past life.
"You two go and enjoy yourselves. We can play together after a few days when I’m feeling better," Bai Ruozhu tactfully put in another dagger.
Zhou Taohua’s face fell slightly. She opened her mouth to say something, but in the end, said nothing.
Bai Ruozhu winked at Fang Guizhi and sauntered off in the direction of her home.
"Sister Taohua, let’s go," said Fang Guizhi, flashing a grin and taking Zhou Taohua away. Luckily, Zhou Taohua, despite her slight disappointment, did not take out her frustration on Fang Guizhi. Eventually, she forgot about the incident and had a lively chat with Fang Guizhi.
Only after she got home did Bai Ruozhu finally heave a sigh of relief. By dinner time, she couldn’t help but glance at her second brother a few more times. She wondered what expression he would make if he knew someone had a crush on him. After all, despite his mature demeanor, he was still an eighteen-year-old youth.
Thinking about this, Bai Ruozhu’s lips curved slightly into a smile. But when her second brother suddenly looked at her and asked, "Is there something on my face? Why are you staring?" she was caught off guard.
Such acuity! Bai Ruozhu thought, grinding her teeth. But, she managed to keep a smile on her face as she responded, "I was just thinking about how soon I will have a sister-in-law. And I wonder when I will get a second sister-in-law."
Lin Ping erhaps chuckled at hearing this. "Your second brother is getting old, it’s time to start considering his marriage."
Contrarily, Bai Zepei showed none of the shyness and blush that his elder brother had shown at the mention of marriage. He remained calm, even somewhat aloof. He was utterly uninteresting.
"Mother, you needn’t worry. I have no plans to marry before achieving scholarly success," Bai Zepei said, his tone indifferent but decisive.
Lin Ping’er was taken aback and turned to Bai Yihong, expressing her concern. It seemed the second son was dead-set on his decision, regardless of what anyone said.
Bai Ruozhu felt a bit disappointed and pouted slightly, "A good number of village girls will be heartbroken to hear this. Second brother, did you know, someone was asking about you today?"
She initially assumed Bai Zepei would ask who it was. But to her surprise, Bai Zepei didn’t show any curiosity. He simply replied indifferently, "What’s that got to do with me?" He was completely uninterested.
Well, she knew her second brother had high standards.
Seeing her second brother easing into the teasing, Bai Ruozhu shifted her focus to her elder brother, "Elder brother’s impending marriage has also left a number of village girls heartbroken. Many of them are envious of Sister Caiyue."
True to her expectations, this caused Bai Zehao’s face to turn red. He stuttered, "Ruozhu, stop teasing me."
With that, Lin Ping’er got excited, her eyes shining brightly "Aside from giving birth to three outstanding children, I haven’t accomplished much in life. Not to boast, but your older and second brothers are definitely the most promising young men in the village. We have many marriage proposals because of them."
Bai Yihong chuckled at this, his face full of pride.
Bai Ruozhu gulped and slumped down slightly, feeling out of place. She had unfortunately been left a widow by her missing husband, despite being recognized as an outstanding daughter. She hoped her mother wouldn’t recall that episode; otherwise, she would be saddened again.
Fortunately, the whole family was in high spirits and didn’t think about Chang Sheng. Finally, Bai Ruozhu sighed in relief.
A couple of days later, Bai Ruozhu handed over twenty pieces of dried fish to Guizhi and asked her to sell them in town. She didn’t expect the same good fortune as before. Guizhi had previously managed to meet a benefactor, but she couldn’t expect to be so lucky every time, could she?
But Guizhi surprised her once again. Not only were the dried fish sold out, but Guizhi had also fetched a good price – a shiny silver ingot.