Chapter 810 - 812 There’s Trouble in the Field_1
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help shivering and getting goosebumps all over. Juejue? Could it be Zhou Jue?
She couldn’t help but think of the charming demeanor Zhou Jue displayed when disguised as a woman, but he wasn’t hermaphroditic, so how could Ji Ziyan possibly...
She suddenly widened her eyes. When she had taken Xiaosi to visit Ji Ziyan, hadn’t she suspected that Ji Ziyan had been drugged, causing him to be excessively wasted? If Zhou Jue used the Bone Shrinking Skill to take on a female figure, with his looks no one would believe he was a man. Add to that the effect of the drugs, it’s possible that even Ji Ziyan himself couldn’t figure out what exactly happened in the bed.
Yu Hongxiu looked at her and asked, "Ruozhu, what’s wrong? Do you know that Juejue?"
Bai Ruozhu came back to her senses and said hastily, "No, I was just shocked by the thought of what marriage entails. I didn’t expect Mr. Ji to be so open-minded, so it startled me."
She dared not mention Zhou Jue’s matter to Yu Hongxiu. Knowing too much about this could be detrimental to Yu Hongxiu.
"Indeed, I was dumbfounded when I heard it. Who exactly is that Juejue, I wonder? Ji Ziyan must have been truly infatuated. Later, when he said he couldn’t find Juejue, he gave up on himself and agreed to the marriage with Deng Jiayin," said Yu Hongxiu.
Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat chaotic inside. She silently calculated the dates, her visit to Ji Ziyan with Xiaosi coincided with Zhou Jue’s abduction of her at the Hot Spring Manor; afterwards, he was injured and escaped. She remembered Jiang Yichun had destroyed the Chengshui Country’s stronghold in Beiyu City but never found Zhou Jue’s whereabouts.
Moreover, during her visit to Ji Ziyan’s house, she had sensed danger, possibly Zhou Jue’s original plan to attack her.
Thinking of this, Bai Ruozhu felt a bit restless. After chatting hastily with Yu Hongxiu for a few more sentences, she excused herself and left.
After returning home, Bai Ruozhu relayed the matter to Jiang Yichun. His mouth twitched with disgust; Bai Ruozhu covered her mouth and laughed, it was said that straight men can hardly stand hearing about such things.
"I’ve heard every man has a bond of brotherhood hidden deep inside, one that transcends friendship. Do you have that with Xu Huilin?" Bai Ruozhu teased.
Jiang Yichun glared and flicked her forehead, "What kind of nonsense are you filling your head with? Thinking of such dirty things, see how I deal with you!"
As he spoke, he pounced towards Bai Ruozhu. Dengdeng clapped hands on the playmat, but Jiang Yichun quickly pulled up the bed curtain, shielding their son’s view, then transformed into a wolf and thoroughly handled his wife.
Two days later, Nanny Lu personally visited the Bai Family Yard. Bai Ruozhu hurriedly welcomed her into the house, and seeing that Nanny Lu seemed to be cautious of others, she took her to her room to talk.
"Nanny Lu, is there something the matter?" asked Bai Ruozhu.
Nanny Lu lowered her voice and said, "We’ve found out what made the second miss faint. It turns out the second miss is allergic to pine nuts, but because it’s mild, it was never noticed before. She never eats pine nut dimsum, just occasionally eats corn with pine nuts, cold spinach with pine nuts; eating those would cause some dizziness and chest tightness, but she has always been frail and never thought about allergies. Her personal maid, arranged by the head wife, noticed this, so during breakfast, she mixed a lot of finely ground pine nut powder and oil into her porridge."
Bai Ruozhu clenched her teeth in anger. How could Wang Miaoshuang do such a thing, knowing that Meng Jinxia had a heart disease and still deliberately blending a large amount of an allergen into her food? What if it had led to a fatal outcome? Did she think that if Meng Jinxia were to die, she would have an easier time claiming Bai Ruozi’s life?
This woman is too malicious!
"The old lady asked me to inquire about the second miss, whether eating those pine nuts she is allergic to will have a significant impact on her illness, and whether she needs any additional medicine or something of that sort?" Nanny Lu asked.
Bai Ruozhu shook her head, "The allergic symptoms already appeared a few days ago; now it’s just a matter of proper care. As long as she avoids eating them in the future, she should be fine. If we’re not entirely at ease, then drinking more plain water instead of tea to promote bodily circulation would be better."
Nanny Lu sighed with relief and said, "You don’t know how mad the old lady was when she interrogated that head maid today. She was really, truly vicious!"
Nanny Lu didn’t specify who was too vicious, but how could Bai Ruozhu not know whom she was talking about?
"Has the matter of someone drugging the old lady been clarified yet?" Bai Ruozhu asked.
"Who knows what she promised that maid, but the maid insists that it was her own idea and that no one instructed her. She also claims that she bought the sleeping powder by herself. The grand master took people to investigate, and it indeed appears that the maid bought it on her own," Nanny Lu explained.
"It’s fine, the truth will come to light eventually," Bai Ruozhu said indifferently. She knew that Jiang Yichun would have someone administer that type of drug to the maid. It was the same one she had used to get the young master Qiao to tell the truth.
"If the truth is uncovered, what will the city lord do?" Bai Ruozhu asked in a hushed voice. She needed to gauge Meng Liangshen’s attitude to determine how far she should go.
Possibly glancing toward the door, Nanny Lu said with great caution, "Divorce."
Bai Ruozhu nodded. Divorce was already giving Wang Miaoshuang enough face. If she weren’t a princess, committing such an act as poisoning an elder, she surely would have been repudiated.
"She has already lost her mind. Who knows what she might do next. The City Lord’s Residence is a symbol in the Northwest; it cannot be thrown into chaos. Having such a woman as the female head of the house is unacceptable," Nanny Lu commented.
Bai Ruozhu nodded, considering the state of unrest in the Meng Residence. Even a generally normal official’s family wouldn’t manage its affairs so recklessly.
After Nanny Lu left, Bai Ruozhu thought about waiting for Jiang Yichun to return to ask if he had taken action, but Jiang Yichun did not come back. Instead, there was a knock at the door, and the one who came in was Zhou Chuang.
Zhou Chuang, with an anxious face, entered the room and said as he walked, "Uncle Bai, there’s trouble in our fields. My father sent me to rush over and ask if you want to report this to the authorities immediately."
Bai Yihong rushed out from the inner room at a quick pace, his clothes disheveled and his collar buttoned incorrectly in his haste.
Bai Ruozhu also hurried to the main house and saw her father in a state of panic and disarray. She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. Surely enough, it wasn’t long before her mother came out from the inner room as well. She couldn’t resist snickering to herself. Her parents were quite affectionate after all, and who knows, she might even get another brother or sister.
"What happened? Take your time and tell us," Bai Yihong asked.
Zhou Chuang, with his face flushed from hurrying over and his forehead covered in a fine layer of sweat, casually wiped away the sweat with his sleeve and said, "Some village bully, Zhou Buren, came over today with a gang of thugs and ruffians. He claimed that our fields are using their water supply, affecting their irrigation. He wants to cut off our water and destroy our crops."