Chapter 839 - 841: Someone was bitten by a snake_1
Bai Ruozhu dismissed the morning breeze and Muyu, instructing Muyu to accept his punishment once they reached their destination. Muyu, seeing that the lady had spoken, let out a great sigh of relief. After all, being able to delay it by even one day was still one day gained, and at least he wouldn’t have to become a useless casualty.
"You didn’t succeed?" After the others had left, Bai Ruozhu turned to Jianqi and asked.
Jianqi shook his head slightly, "No opportunity arose."
Bai Ruozhu knew Jianqi was prudent, and nodded, saying, "Don’t worry, we won’t make any moves tonight to avoid raising suspicion. We’ll look for another chance tomorrow."
"Yes, my lord," Jianqi replied, then left the room, throwing Muyu a fierce glare, as if wishing he could poke a few holes through him.
Muyu shrank his neck and kept glancing at Jianqi. After a while, he couldn’t help himself and leaned in to whisper a question: "What did you go do? The lady said not to hit him, so what method did you use?"
Jianqi gave him a cold glance, chilling as a breeze in deep winter, making Muyu involuntarily shiver.
"That’s not for you to ask. Keep your mouth shut!" Jianqi warned.
Muyu let out a muffled acknowledgment and dared not speak any further.
Bai Ruozhu could hear everything from inside the room and shook her head in resignation. Given Jiang Yichun’s nature and his strictness with subordinates, how could he possess such a wayward follower like Muyu?
A while later, Jiang Yichun returned to the room and said to Bai Ruozhu, "I didn’t find any suspicious people. It’s probably someone who was sparring at midnight and feared my punishment." He said this and raised his eyebrows at Bai Ruozhu, implying that she surely knew everything and had better confess quickly.
Bai Ruozhu rolled her eyes at him. It was clearly his men who had thwarted her plans, yet he assumed the posture of an inquisitor. Was he itching for a fight?
She then lowered her voice and explained the situation, but in the end, for fear Muyu would receive a harsh punishment, she swallowed back the words she meant to complain about Jiang Yichun.
Jiang Yichun’s face darkened. Bai Ruozhu quickly tugged at him and said, "I told Muyu he could take his punishment once we arrive. You must give me this face."
Jiang Yichun gradually calmed his anger, shook his head helplessly, and said, "These people are all sent to serve you, so of course it’s up to you."
Seeing that he had calmed down, Bai Ruozhu smiled and asked, "I’ve always been puzzled; you are so serious, how could you have a subordinate as exuberant as Muyu?"
Jiang Yichun’s mouth twitched, clearly having had his fair share of headaches over Muyu’s personality. It seemed that no matter how many times he was punished, Muyu’s nature remained fixed.
"Don’t be fooled by his silliness. His loyalty is beyond question, and he has a significant talent for protecting targets. You’ll see for yourself if there’s a chance, but I’d rather that such an opportunity never arises," Jiang Yichun said.
Bai Ruozhu paused, then realized he meant he didn’t want Muyu to have the opportunity to showcase his skills, which essentially meant not wanting her to face danger.
"Don’t worry, I have so many people around me, and I can protect myself well. Besides, isn’t Zhou Jue, the most threatening on the water, back in Chengshui Country now?" Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.
Before they embarked, they found out about Zhou Jue’s whereabouts at the Commerce Association. Chengshui Country’s old Emperor fell ill, and the princes rushed back to attend to him, and Zhou Jue had been specifically ordered by the Emperor of Chengshui Country to return.
Bai Ruozhu had mocked Jiang Yichun at the time, joking that maybe the old Emperor of Chengshui Country was infatuated and pined for Zhou Jue. But he was seriously ill, so shouldn’t he be more concerned about preserving his health?
For saying that, Jiang Yichun spanked her, telling her she wasn’t acting like a proper girl by bringing up such things and warned her not to mention it again, otherwise he’d thrash her bottom.
Before they knew it, it was the next day and many people were discussing last night’s events. The head of the academy and the others took it very seriously. They didn’t go to the deck for meetings during the day and instead stayed in a larger room to discuss the topic.
After taking the medicine, Liu Jianzhou indeed didn’t vomit or have diarrhea anymore, and none of the other people who took the seasickness medicine experienced similar issues. Only a few people with weak stomachs had some diarrhea, but it got better after taking a dose of medicine.
Thus, people on the boat trusted Bai Ruozhu’s medical skills even more and looked down on Dang Youshen for having doubted her medicine.
In the afternoon, Bai Ruozhu took Dengdeng, who had just woken up from his nap, up to the deck for some fresh air. Dengdeng, extremely curious about the sail, raised his little hands and made noises, obviously wanting to touch it. Helplessly, Bai Ruozhu said to Dengdeng, "Little stinker, it’s too high for you to reach."
Tu Ying said from the side, "That’s no problem, I’ll carry him up to touch it."
"What?" Bai Ruozhu was a bit slow to react. As a modern soul, she wasn’t aware that one could play with a child this way.
"Don’t worry, my lightness skill is very good, and I won’t go too high. Boys like adventure, so let him have a touch," said Tu Ying with a smile.
Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help thinking about an article she had read in modern times that said children liked to touch things as they grow to learn through tactile exploration.
With this in mind, she agreed, handing Dengdeng over to Tu Ying and saying, "Don’t go too high. Just high enough for him to touch is fine."
"Alright!" Holding Dengdeng, Tu Ying slightly bent her knees and then sprang up, flying into the air in an instant. She stepped on the mast and reached just beneath the sail in two steps. With one hand she held Dengdeng and with the other she gripped the mast, and asked, "Dengdeng, having fun?"
Dengdeng touched the sail in front of him, excitedly clapping his tiny hands, and after Tu Ying thought it was enough, she carefully jumped back down to the deck with him.
Bai Ruozhu would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous; she even regretted letting Tu Ying carry him up. But Tu Ying was cautious, didn’t go very high, and quickly came down.
Dengdeng chuckled happily, clapping his little hands joyfully. His eyes shone brightly as he babbled something to his mother and then looked again at the high sail, his eyes filled with longing.
"Just you watch, your son is surely going to be good martial arts material in the future," Tu Ying said with a smile.
"How can you tell?" asked Bai Ruozhu, curious.
"Look, he’s not scared at all, and his body is agile. Maybe he should become my apprentice in the future?" said Tu Ying excitedly, grabbing Bai Ruozhu’s arm as if afraid she might refuse.
Bai Ruozhu wasn’t opposed to Dengdeng learning martial arts, since starting early would be good for building a foundation and staying healthy. But when it came to accepting a master, should she ask Jiang Yichun’s opinion first?
As she was thinking this, Jiang Yichun’s voice came from behind, "Thank you for the kind offer, Ms. Wu, but I will personally teach Dengdeng martial arts."
Tu Ying hid her disappointment, but what could she say when the boy’s father had spoken?
Bai Ruozhu gave Jiang Yichun a glance, wondering if he could really teach the boy well when he was so indulgent. She knew that learning martial arts required suffering, and how could it be effective if the master wasn’t strict?
Just then, a small boat caught up from the official ship behind them, and someone climbed onto the deck to report: "Sir, one of our delivery personnel has been bitten by a poisonous snake..."